MISSIONARY WORK

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 147, 24 June 1933, Page 13

MISSIONARY WORK

BASIC PRINCIPLES

AN AMERCAN REPORT

JMPOKTAXT POINTS

An add 1 ess of eon«ideiablc inteiest to all concerned m missionaiy w^ik was given by the Rev. W. Nelson r.itton, Homc.sccictaiy of the London Missionaiy Society, it a lunchcon-hcld in hi-, hon'oui vcsteid.iy by the National Missionaiy Couutil of New Zealand. Aftci lefei'ung to the activities of the coufcienec of Bi tish Mission Societies and the Intel national Missionaiy Council, and mentioning the practical mtei.st in missionary work shown by Mi. J. D. Rockefeller, jun., Mr. Bitton said that'a few yeais ago .hen questions wore being asked in America as to how fai the .work of Chnstian mis .ions _as proceeding along light hues, a number of people representing man. societies met, at the invitation of Mr. Rockefeller, and decided that, as lepresenting the lay suppoiters of Chiistian missions, they should send out commissions to inquire into the woik that was being canied on in Japan, China,.and India. The membcis of the first 'commission were called fact-finders. They weie ncaily nine months abroad, and t'licv letmncd with a viwt. amount of lnfoimatioii. It was then decided that it was dcsnable to send 'out anoth.i commission which, armed with vthe lacts, could appraise their effect and do something definite towaids fomnng a missionary policy. Out of their deliberations it was expected that ceitam linpoitant suggestions for reshaping the polity of missionary societies would be. toitheoming. ** ' AN UNFORTUNATE EFFECT. Theie -ucio nine men aii.il women in the second paity, ldd by Di. Hocking, a professor of philosophy with an international lcputation, Mi, Bitton continued. Re, en of them lppipsentod difi'eiriit missionaiy so(i<*tics in the sense that they went out with the appioval oi their own oignnisntions, but they ivero not appointed by any authou.ed gioup of soeietios. When they returned they drew up their report and, since it was to the laity supporting Christian mission's that they wanted their findings to go, they engaged n publicity agent to whom they gave ad- ' vanec copies. This* publicity agem gave out to the Press extracts from the lepoit it hull he thought would ntliact the attention ol the general missionniv constituency. Naturally he took those, parts, of the Topoit that weie most savoury, and the result was that a very one-sided impression was guen to the public. The effect was most unfoitunate It was made to appeal that the commission ■ almost condonmed Cliri-nti.iii missions because* certain very definite .suggestions for lpoiganisation of the methods and reconsideiation of missionaiy policy weie m.ide. _ Those -uggestions. how-over, did not condemn i the work being carried on biU wcic made with a view to nnpioving it.

BETTER PREPAEATIOK. Mi. BittQii s.ud it was clear fiom a geneial sun py of the ippoit which had been published undci tho title, "Re-thinking Missions,'"' that theie was a gieat deal more dissatisfaction with the methods'of carrying on-mis-sionary work in the United States than theie was in Gieat Britain. Tho commissioners weie obviously conscious-of that aspect, and made it-quitc clear that they were dealing only with American societies,, and their comments had no bearing on the great Biitish missions. Tho standard of preparation for missionary work was diffpient fiom the Biitish standaid, and a _ diffeient type bf missionary was being sent out. Some of the things in tho report had been said out of tho commission's sense of the inadequacy of, the missionaiies on the spot to deal with the vastness of the pioblem. They pleaded, therefore, for an entnclv bettei pieparation of Chnstian missionaiies They had also taken very largely into account the fact that the countries of the woild did not stand still, and that the China, India, and Japan of thirty years ago weie not the same todaj : that ' the message of tho Chnstian Gospel must be imparted tb;a'tyt>e of person vastly different from'the'person ofVgcnciation ago. They'pleaded that thcic should bo on the, part of missionaries a far better appioeiation of the standaids of thought and tho ideals of non* Christian people in oidci that thcic might be a moie ((> mpathetic piescnta* tion of the Gospel of God. One'could not read thcrcpoit without criticism, and all who ipad it should have in their minds a sense of the inadequate appreciation of the com missioneis of tlio gieat things foi •a Inch tho Gospel stood. Th&y went so far as to say that wheie thcie.was n6 likelihood of a self bupporting chuich being established in a iea*«onablo time in,'certain parts of India, it was an open question whethci the Gospel should be taken theio oi not Mi. Bitton said he did not think.that am one who had studied, the life of Jpmis, Chust oi understood wli it ieilly lay belnlid the ideal of the New Testament could accept such a punciplc.

SETTLED POLICY NEEDED: Theie was no doubt that the commission pis weie right in fit aw ing attention to one thing, and that was that thero mu.t be a moie settled policy m connection with the gieat work of Chnstian missions it lesults wero to be attained All ecclesiastical diffeicuees must be cast aside, Jiid at the homo end there must be a vciy much better sense of administration in oidei that the slilndaid of missionaiy attain ment of those sent out might bo nioie adequate to the task. Tt would not do to say tint people who could not quality lor the Christian ministiv in Home chinches might vci'j well lind a sphoic of service in the mission field. The commissioners said that the situatiori was quite the reverse, and that only those who could specially qualify for the woik should be sent out. The ropor.t should be road with sympathy, and,'although its readers would be peituibcd by some of tho things s.ud I.U the fust thaptci, bcfoio they icached the end of the lepoit they would sec that the new judgment upon the work of Christian missions might contain things of tremendous, value .for every mission iry wociety. "If wo take them lo heait and uso them according to the ,-judgment given to us in con* , nection with our various societies Out of .the expenence of the best mission-■ariesrfrom-the field, we mayent6r upon a really better and more, efficient service* to'-God throughout tho world," Mr.' Bitton concluded. "Wo cannot afford/ to give God 'anything'less than the best." '.. _ '