Our Last Suppers

It’s been emotional, today, my last communion service with Newport. An odd moment made me cry. While in the pulpit looking down at the order of service I was reminded that I was not having a children’s time this week, that only one more was left two weeks from now. I thought of how much they have taught me, how good and kind they are. I wish I weren’t so senitimental. Every passing minute in front of the congrgation or visiting with the members privately is filled with a deeper meaning now. The grief of realizing our loss is quickening.

Later, after lunch at home, Sharon and I took communion to Bill and Wendy, an elderly couple who find it hard to attend church now, and to Hilda, a widow in a care home. Given their ages, all three are past ninety, I imagine it was the last time I will see them.

After an hour of catching up, we broke the bread and drank the grape juice with Bill and Wendy as we sat in the shade on their back porch, a black bird singing through our prayer, the warm summer afternoon calming our hearts with thoughts of God’s love. Later they walked us to our car. It is a slow pain, this leaving one by one by one.

By the time we made the short drive to Hilda it was near her dinner time.

What Will Be

I’ve been busy this week preparing our move to America. “Busy” includes facing the loss growing inside me. I know what is coming, not only the loss and it’s grief, but the inevitable fading of the pungent pain, the way a flower’s fragrance slowly fades with it’s wilting. Faces fade away and cherished times tumble out of view; nothing I do will change that.

Time with age causes me to forget, not entirely but too much, many of the people I’ve grown to love. And they forget too. I know it is coming, the loss, like so many times before. Yet the thought just occurred to me: I’m returning, after ten years, to people and places I wasn’t sure I would see again. How will my faded memories meet them? Will we still know each other or will we be strangers of a sort?

Who can say what the future holds, really? Who knows, with all the plans I’ve made, what God has for me tomorrow, the next day, and the next? Aren’t we always thinking of the next day even on our last? How we mourn our loss even while a new day is dawning!

I’m sure, without a doubt, I was not created for death but for life. God had and still has someting better in mind.

A Life Observed

Time is passing so quickly, a common middle-aged observation. I think it and hear it all the time. Recent days have been full of activity, as we are anticipating a move back to the States. I’m still waiting on a final word, a “call” as we refer to it in the ministry. But we have positive assurances and a sense of God’s leading that tell us this is the way forward for Sharon, myself, and the wider Adventist community.

The whole experience of contemplating a move, planning a change of continents, leaving dear friends and making new ones, all of this and more is proving a bitter-sweet feeling, a mix of loss and eagerness.

The process of pastoral change in the Adventist church, at least in America, involves numerous interviews. The interview process is nothing new for an Adventist pastor. We are interviewed several times by committee’s and church leaders before leaving University. We are evaluated by local church boards, formally and informally. It feels like an endless process, something not for the faint of heart or insecure. In fact, the whole of the pastoral life as a spiritual leader involves being open to the deeply probing personal observations of others. The man (woman) is most often the message, therefore, we are continual subjects of interpretation, evaluation, and conclusions. We and our near ones, our dear ones, live under the discerning, and at times not so discerning, eye.

Being a naturally introspective fellow, the process keeps me in a state of openness to change, a good thing but also stressful at times. Perhaps this has led me to my strong belief in remaining adaptable, flexible in my leadership and general outlook on life. Of course, there are dangers which I succumbed to more often when I was younger, those of becoming rigid in my thinking in the attempt to protect myself from the rigors of change and the fear of compromising principles. After all, I am an absolutist when it comes to ethics.

At this point in my endlessly changing life, I’m thankful to have the conviction and assurance that God loves me, that he is near me in my need, and that his plans will unfold as naturally as a flower in spring if I will abide in him through faith. It is his promise and presence that give the mundane day as well as the “interesting” times a sense of meaning for me, a sense of purpose, significance, and security in knowing him.

With an increasing knowledge of God, an increasing personal experience of his love for me, I find myself growing through the necessary pains of life, growing, again like that spring flower, upward toward the warmth of the sun, taking in the nourishment of God’s grace. I know the day will come when the flower fades, when the grass withers. It will as if it’s only tomorrow, very soon, perhaps suddenly, but not unexpected. In all of life there is the movement toward an end, the telios, the goal. Yet with God, through faith in the righteousness he provides me through the death of his Son for my sins, what the world calls an end, a death, a loss of all things imagined, all things hoped for, there is in God the wonderful assurance of everlasting life, when all the good things of God are restored to those who followed him in sacrifice as they carried their cross behind Jesus.

I look forward under that cross, feeling my own and seeing his ahead. The shadow of my Lord in his crucified form is the most profound promise that I will indeed live again. In that light and shadow I move forward without fear or regret, not because of who I am, but because of who he is, a God of tender mercies and steadfast love, One who is good for his Word and full of life.

Spiritual Gifts & I Corinthains 12: Study notes on my morning's reading

Here are the notes I made on observations from my morning reading of I Corinthians 12 (click for text). I hope to develop some of these ideas into a paper for .pdf upload. Anyone interested?

vs. 1-3. The Corinthians were divided in spirit and disorganized in their worship, as the introduction shows and Ch. 14, among others, confirms. Paul is informing them of the Spirit’s true work to bring them into proper unity for the common good. They have, in fact, shown themselves to be “uninformed” regarding the Spirit’s gifting work. From the beginning Paul has wanted their faith to stand in the power of God, not of men. 2.1-5. He wants them to know what it means to be Spirit-led.

Note he is addressing the church at large. James.D.G.Dunn points out in comments ch. 14 that there it is implied there is no dominant leader in terms of the spiritual gifts. All are on an equal footing. Paul addresses the “brothers”, the group, not an individual as he does with Timothy or Titus. The ecclesiology of Timothy and Titus should not override what is here for establishing a paradigm of church order or hierarchy. The community of faith is a a body of many members with equal status. Leadership is service > Mark 10:42-45 “And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

“Led astray” is in contrast to speaking in the Spirit, that is, being led by the Spirit. Paul is giving identity to who is considered a Christian…those who speak by the Spirit, saying “Jesus is Lord”. Dunn repeatedly emphasises this as the NT mark of who was a Christian. Spirit-filled and morally obedient was the mark, not doctrinal ascent as such.

Contrast between mute idols and speaking by the Spirit. Jesus “is Lord” is not spoken of here as a casual comment but as a declaration of faith. Lordship of Christ is the ground of the church’s servant hood by spiritual gifts, which Paul will inform the Corinthians about.

vs. 4-7 Note the Trinitarian formulation. Varieties of gifts-same Spirit / Varieties of service-same Lord / Varieties of activities-sam God.

Tentative Summation: The variety of gifts are to be used in active service for God for the common good of all. The gifts given by the Spirit are for the service of the Son (Lord: service is to a lord) and the activity is empowered by “God”, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The who, what, when, where, why, and how of service are given, defined, and directed by God. Mutual service for the common good and glory of God are the theme. Unity in diversity. Authority is God’s: it is not centred in man.

vs.16 If one part of the body is missing, inactive, diseased, or dysfunctional, the whole body suffers loss.

vs. 17-19 If one gift dominates the others, the body suffers loss. What are the implications for the dominance of priests and pastors in the various communions? Is there strong Biblical justification for allowing the teaching or administrative gifts to have so much authority?

vs. 18 God has arranged the gifts in the body. This is not man’s work. We are to know the gifts and their arrangement in the body and follow God’s leading for his body, the church.

vs. 21-25 Mutual dependence of the relative parts of the body. Each has need of the other. The temptation is to see the “weaker” parts as less useful, less meaningful, yet God has given them the greater honour!.

vs. 26 In the Spirit, through his gifts, we are to share a common experience. The emphasis is on corporate experience of the Spirit, not an individual work.

vs. 29 The obvious answer to Paul’s rhetorical question is NO. All are bound together but all do not have the same gifts. Nor does one member have all the gifts of the others so that he is more important than others. (Must reconcile this with the parable of the talents…one 5…others less. Q: Are talents in the parable equal to spiritual gifts.

Added Note: J.D.G. Dunn has argued there is no Biblical justification, according to a theology of the gifts, especially prophecy, for restricting the offering of the Lord’s Supper to “ordained ministers” or “priest”. He rejects the argument that “good order” would be disturbed otherwise. I am leaning this way, from the Biblical evidence. Would this also apply to the administration of Baptism?

He has says the Biblical evidence, outside of the pastoral letters, strongly supports the idea that ordination was temporary and carried local authority, apart from the apostolic office. That the idea of a life-long ordination is not clear in Scripture. Still thinking this through. Timothy and Titus might suggest otherwise, though the tradiion that grew from them into the offices of Bishop makes me wonder. It was very quickly abused and remains so down the millinia to our day.

Persuasion or Manipulation: What is the difference in leadership?

I’ve uploaded a short, two-page article in .pdf format on knowing the difference between persuasion and manipulation, particularly in leadership. It is hardly necessary to highlight the importance of such an issue, given the common struggle all leaders have in this area. I certainly confess it. I have often been guilty of manipulating others, even using what I thought was love or her principles to get others to do what I wanted. In short, I’ve prostituted myself to meet my needs. How often I’ve done it in the name of God! Thank God there is hope for sinners, even those who have led others into sin. The thought that this kind of sin Christ also bore on the cross, even as the leaders of the day mocked him with it, should humble all of us who profess to be “agents of change”.

Selfishness, self-interest, even in the name of God, is ever so close to the bone in all our efforts to lead others, especially in the direction of change. An awareness of the pitfalls, a clear understanding of the dangers as well as the benefits of “persuasion” is essential if we are serious about this thing we call “truth”.

If you would prefer a Biblical study (this is a secular article), then you might examine the Pharisee’s Guide to Leadership as revealed in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The Old Testament narrative as well as the wisdom books of Psalms and Proverbs are also full of instruction on how power is used to supplant the loving persuasion of God. (Search on keywords such as hypocrisy, greed, violence, deceive, lie, trust, expose, hide, power, etc.) Of course, the New Testament letters are also full of instructive examples and passages along the same lines. Personally, I’ve found the opposition of the Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes, Lawyers, and Rabbi’s to the life and work of Jesus to be the most explicit exposition of the Devil’s Guide to Power.

There you see how necessary the use of threats, secrecy, lying and deceit, peer pressure, titles, position, public posturing, reputation, humiliation, silence, money, manipulation, gossip, backbiting, and physical force (to name the obvious) are to the devil’s leadership of men and men’s domination of others. The gathering of committees to impose the will of a few on the many proved to be particularly effective against Jesus. All and more were used on nearly a daily basis to challenge and destroy Christ. At the end, it appeared as if they had been a complete success, achieving their goal of sacrificing one for the good of all. The means were justified by the end.

Such study is more necessary than ever, given the perfection of the deceptive arts today. Evil has never looked so good. Only prayerful study of the Scriptures, the Spirit’s guidance, attention to history and our own hearts, a continual willingness to repent of our abuses, and an aching dependence on Christ’s merits alone will unable us to survive the daily temptation to let the end justify the means, which is proving to be one of the truest marks of genteel evil.

Here is my site link to the article.

Update on Sunday, June 7, 2009 by Jan McKenzie

It will be obvious to the academic that I am philosophically somewhere between Virtue and Deontological Ethics, something I learned about myself in my first ethics class in the 1970’s. Though I wondered shamelessly into hedonism during my two periods of drug addiction, following a sub-category of the consequentialist, the pleasure principle, I have never defended that as the true way to walk through life and it is not my habit today.

As my above comments show, I have no room for Consequentialism and it’s associated Utilitarianism.

(It is an interesting memory that I was reading John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham, fathers as it were, of Utilitarianism, during my drug addled days, along with Jefferson, Monroe, and the Federalist Papers (on American democracy) and Shelby Foote’s and Bruce Caton’s volumes on the American Civil War. Strange bed-fellows in my depression and addiction. William Faulkner, Walker Percy, and Flannery O’Connor also kept me company in those days. I think Percy, thankfully, stays with me the most. A fine, Catholic, existentialist, Christian of the first order, doctor of life and letters. Ah, but now I am bragging. Isn’t self a slippery creature?)

Philosophically, virtue, deontological, and consequentialist ethics are the three dominant forms in Western society today.

Politics, being the art of expediency, favours Consequentialism. When this becomes the ethic of church leadership, she too takes on the characteristics of the purely political animal. Not an uncommon occurrence today. The spiritual / ethical union of church and state appears to form gradually, well before the legislative power of the state is offered to the church.

Interesting times are ahead, just around the the ethical bend, for both church and state.

NCD: Natural Church Development

You may be hearing more from me on Natural Church Development in the future. I’m still planning some posts on the nature and work of the Holy Spirit, but these will fit well with NCD’s emphasis on gift-oriented ministry, with all of it really, since Passionate Spirituality is the theological core, the biotic principle of growth within NCD.

So…here is a good general link from the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventist, who are thankfully promoting NCD to their churches. The eight principles of NCD are briefly articulated, a separate page for each category. I highly recommend taking the time to wet your appetite with this good introduction to Christ-like principles for a healthy, growing, fellowship in Christ.

I have a few books to buy and some research to do. There are good things to come.

Update on Saturday, June 6, 2009 by Jan McKenzie

I thought I’d save you some time and provide the page intro, with links, here. This is from the site I mention above.

NATURAL CHURCH DEVELOPMENT:
Eight Characteristics of a Healthy Church

As described in the book, Natural Church Development, by Christian Schwarz, through scientific research in Christian churches of various denominations in over 100 countries, it has been discovered that every healthy, growing church has eight characteristics in common. These characteristics are:

Empowering Leadership

Functional Structures

Gift-Oriented Ministry

Holistic Small Groups

Inspiring Worship

Loving Relationships

Need-Oriented Evangelism

Passionate Spirituality

The Despised Christ

“He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” -Isaiah 53:3

We create the sorrow and grief of Jesus when we hide our faces from him, when we see little in him worth our time and attention.

Jesus is most often rejected so that we might be more religious. Self-righteousness feels no need of a Saviour. The self is full of confidence in it’s own abilities and talents, so sure of just what to say, just what to do, just how to get our own way.

This is the sorrow and grief of Christ. Yet it is also his joy to bear this very sin of ours. Good news.

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all”. -Isaiah 53.6

His Terrible Act

“In His temple doth everyone speak of His glory.” Pslam 29.9

” I will speak of the glorious honour of Thy majesty, and of Thy wondrous works. And men shall speak of the might of Thy terrible acts: and I will declare Thy greatness.” Psalm 145:5,6

As I’ve been reminded recently, it is not only possible but often the case that “Christians” can teach or preach from the Scriptures without extolling the most magnificent of God’s works, the cross of Christ.

Is there a more “terrible act” of God than the crucifixion of his Son? This is a very necessary question since Scripture itself, that from which Christians take their authority, says that the cross of Christ was not a mere murderous act of men, but the most integral part of God’s plan for the reconciliation of humanity. All theology and it’s interpretation takes the cross for it’s benchmark of meaning. As I’ve written before, the cross is not a theology, but theology itself.

And there is “might”, a great power of God, in this “terrible act”. Jesus said that if he was lifted up, as Moses lifted the serpent in the wilderness, he would draw all men to himself. In the terrible work of Christ is healing for our work of sin against God, for at the cross he was “made to be sin for us”. There is power in the work of Christ to relieve our shame, strengthen our weakness, educate our ignorance, and give hope for our despair.

Is this the living testimony of my heart? Is this the truth of the heart that my mouth gives a voice? Whose glory do I speak of, mine or his? And when I speak of his, am I drawn continually to speak of his terrible act, that most terrible of acts that has secured for me immeasurable grace and power over my self?

Update on Thursday, June 4, 2009 by Jan McKenzie

If your interested in a definitive Seventh-day Adventist statement regarding the appropriateness of uplifting the cross in every sermon or Bible study, this may interest you.

Never should a sermon be preached, or Bible instruction in any line be given, without pointing the hearers to “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29. Every true doctrine makes Christ the center, every precept receives force from His words.—Ellen White, Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 54

This does not mean we bash people over the head, attacking them in a confrontational way. Note the context. It is when the social contract has been made that we are entering Christian teaching, as with sermons and Bible instruction, that the cross is to be made front and centre.

“Hanging upon the cross Christ was the gospel… . This is our message, our argument, our doctrine, our warning to the impenitent, our encouragement for the sorrowing, the hope for every believer. If we can awaken an interest in men’s minds that will cause them to fix their eyes on Christ, we may step aside, and ask them only to continue to fix their eyes upon the Lamb of God.“— Ellen White, Manuscript 49, 1898

As you explore the theology of the cross, of the principle of divine influence attending it’s proclamation, this statement takes on a transcendent quality.

For me, the simple fact has been clear for some time that it is Christless presentations that rob us of the Holy Spirit’s power. Preaching Christ crucified will do what marketing methods cannot. It will move forward with the creative energy of divinity, for Christ has pledged his own life as guarantee of it’s success.

Why did I become a Christian?

I became a Christian because I reached a point when I no longer wanted to live in the world around me, yet I was afraid to die. Or at least that was part of my thoughts that led me toward God. But, as I began to search for something better I realized the world around me was not my problem. Something deeper was eating at my soul. The more I thought about my life I began to see how utterly self-centred I was. Everything, even my desire to be better, was all about me. I couldn’t stop being selfish, wanting my way, wanting to feel good even if it hurt others. I began to hate more and more about myself until I could no longer live in my own skin. It was either find an answer or die. I was not going to continue on like that. I thought I had given everything and everyone but God a chance in my life. So, I began to search for him. I would read here and there, try to pray, but mostly just argue with myself day after day, blindly groping through my confused and conflicting thoughts.

One Friday evening, alone in my grandparents flat, I knelt down by the dinning room window and began to ask God to show me himself. I thought that if I could see God, I mean see him in the night sky, see his face, that this would somehow help me. I don’t know or remember exactly why I thought that, but I had a deep longing to see God, to talk things over with him.

Very shortly, in just a minute or two of prayer, I began to see something….but it wasn’t God. I began to see myself as utterly hopeless, as being so selfish I couldn’t see past myself, let alone see God. Then a small thought formed in my mind. I heard God telling me that this was the real problem, that I, my self, was the real problem. I knew it was him. I knew he was talking to me. I responded by saying, “if I am so corrupt then what can I do”? The answer came back quickly, immediately. “There is nothing you can do, but there is something I can do”. And just as suddenly I realized how true that was and that everything would be fine if I would accept this word, if I could accept my total helplessness in his hands. believing he would take care of me just as he said.

Quietly, I stood up and went to bed. I had a sense of peace I had never known before and I soon fell asleep. When I woke up I knew I was somehow different. Something about me had changed.

It took some time before I understood exactly what had happened. I began to study, reading the Bible morning and evening, sometimes into the night, all day on the weekend. I began attending church and studying with others. I had many questions, many misconceptions. Right away I was sharing with others what God had done for me. I even went to my neighbors, those I had never met, and told them what had happened. Some themselves became Christians. Others made fun of me. I lost all of my friend but soon made new ones. 

After that evening in prayer by the window, yielding my life to God, I stopped smoking, both cigerattes and dope; I quit drinking and the other drugs as well. The desire, the habit was gone. I stopped swearing. I left my immoral sexual life behind. My diet changed. I became a vegetarian. My whole life was centred in worshipping and serving God. I was only 19 years old.

There is much more to the story. Years later, in mid-life, after a divorce and depression, I fell away, far away and back into my old habits. I left my faith in God, not my belief in him, but my trust. After five years of hell, returning to addiction and immorality, running a second marriage, I once again had a meeting with God that gave me a new life. It was more dramatic than the first because I knew so much more about him and recognised clearly what was happening. I was being born again. i was dying and living again in a single moment of time. The afternoon light became brighter, the colour of the grass, the trees, and the sky grew more vivid. It was like a veil had been lifted from my face.

That was in 1995. I now pastor two churches in Wales and live one day at a time by the same grace that gave me this life.

God is still working in my life. He is near me today. He has been working hard this week to draw me closer (I’ve strayed a bit). I don’t always “feel” God is with me, but I know he is because of his promise and because over these years he and I have had a lot to talk about. I am familiar with his voice and when I set aside quite time, when all the other noise and activity in my life is put on hold, he still talks to me, teaching, guiding, correcting, convicting, and comforting me.

I am resting in his love this evening and praying for him to keep me through to another day. That’s all I have, all he has promised, all I need, one day at a time.

Ellen G. White's Observations on the Australian Depression of the 1890's

In searching on a different topic today I came across the following piece written by Ellen G. White, a primary spiritual influence in and founder of, the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

As a contemporary of the times (she died in 1915) I found her observations on the Australian Depression of the 1890’s to have interesting parallels to our current global economy and spiritual condition. The picture, causes and effects, are strikingly similar to the current global crisis. I offer it here especially for Seventh-day Adventist who are struggling to comprehend the crisis we are facing today.

Source: Published in Manuscript Releases Volume 12 [no.941 of nos. 921-999], 1990. White Estate Washington, D. C. July 15, 1982. Online at: The Complete Published Writings of Ellen White.

(emphasis is mine.)

“All these things have lessons for us. Few now are really industrious and economical. Poverty and distress are on every hand. There are men who work hard and obtain very little for their labor. There is need of much more extensive knowledge in regard to the preparation of the soil. There is not sufficient breadth of view as to what can be realized from the earth. A narrow and unvarying routine is followed, with discouraging results. The land boom has cursed this country. Extravagant prices have been paid for lands bought on credit; then the land must be cleared, and more money is hired. A house to be built calls for more money, and then interest with open mouth swallows up all the profits. Debts accumulate, and then come the closings and failures of banks, and the foreclosures of mortgages. Thousands have been turned out of employment; families lose their little all. They borrow and borrow, and then have to give up their property and come out penniless. Much money has been put into farms, bought on credit or inherited with an incumbrance (sic).The occupants lived in hope of becoming real owners, and it might have been so, but for the failure of banks throughout the country.

Now, the case where a man owns his place clear is a happy exception to the rule. Merchants are failing, families are suffering for [lack of] food and clothing. No work presents itself. But the holidays are just as numerous. Their amusements are entered into as eagerly. All who can do so will spend their hard-earned pence and shillings and pounds for a taste of pleasure, for strong drink or some other indulgence. The papers that report the poverty of the people have regular standing notices of the horse races, of the prizes presented for different kinds of exciting sports. The shows, the theaters, and all such demoralizing amusements, are taking the money from the country, and poverty is continually increasing. Poor men will invest their last shilling in a lottery, hoping to secure a prize, and then they have to beg for food to sustain life, or go hungry. Many die of hunger, and many put an end to their existence. The end is not yet.

Men take you to their orchards of oranges and lemons and other fruits, and tell you that the produce does not pay for the work done in them. It is next to impossible to make ends meet, and parents decide that children shall not be farmers. They have not the courage and hope to educate them to till the soil.

What is needed are schools to educate and train the youth so that they will know how to overcome this condition of things. There must be education in the sciences, and education in plans and methods of working the soil. There is hope in the soil, but brain and heart and strength must be brought into the work of tilling it. The money devoted to horse-racing, theater-going, gambling, and lotteries; the money spent in the public houses for beer and strong drink, let it be expended in making the land productive and we should see a different state of things.—Ms 8, 1894, pp. 9-11. 

Hoped to See the Work Go Forward in Australia—

The failure of banks, the financial pressure, makes hard times everywhere in this country. It is difficult for students to obtain money to defray their expenses at school, or for our brethren to build even the most humble places for worship. We hear of people starving to death in the cities, and nearly every day persons come to our door begging for something to eat. They are never turned away. And we are constantly called upon to hand out money to keep the work moving.

Oh, how thankful I shall be when we shall see the work going with power, and many souls compelled to come in from the highways and hedges because of the overwhelming evidence of the truth that the Lord impresses upon human hearts.—Letter 47, 1894, pp. 8, 9. (To J.H. Kellogg, April 18, 1894.)

Thousands Destitute in Australia During Depression—

The poor are everywhere. The banks have ruined the country. They invested the people’s deposits in various speculations, exceeded their funds, and as the result some have failed, and others have closed, so that the people are poor and helpless. Thousands are destitute of money; they are thrown out of work, and distress is everywhere. The country is in financial ruin. We need not have felt the pressure we are now under if the books could be sold, but not much can now be done in this line. People are so poor that canvassing is not a success. The horse-racing, the multiplied holidays, the theater-going, the gambling, the public houses (called saloons in America), gather up a large share of what little means there is, and the country is made no better for it. If the public houses were but closed, how much suffering would be saved.—Letter 30a, 1894 pp. 2, 3. (To Walter Harper, July 8, 1894.)

How Ellen White Dealt With the Financial Depression in Australia—

Our faith has been tested and tried. We have been pressed with poverty on every side. Families were continually coming to me and telling me that they had no money to buy bread, but what could I do? I could not pay my own workers any wages, and our grocery bills were accumulating. For three or four months my workers could not be paid, but they were willing to suffer inconvenience. I received from Battle Creek six hundred dollars. This would barely set me straight with my creditors, but some of them were willing to wait.

I immediately set to work on my garden men who were in need, some of these destitute of daily food. One man with a family of four children came to me and said that they had had nothing but squash to eat for a week. I gave them a cow, for they must have something for their children. We also plowed their land for them, my hired man doing the work. To another family I loaned a cow, that they might have milk for their children. I cannot see such poverty as this without great pain of heart, for I know that there is enough in the world to sustain all if economy were practiced by those who have the means.—Ms 55, 1896, pp. 1, 2. (Diary, Oct. 1, 1896.)