It is not always just clear as to what things need to be restored to us, nor to what things we need to be restored. Since the scope could be quite comprehensive, and since certain factors are relative, varying according to the section in which one lives, or the background and experiences which tend to color one's interpretation, I shall confine my consideration to current restoration efforts among the congregations with which I have been attached since becoming a Christian, that is, the non-instrument churches of Christ. Restoring the realization of this relationship. Restoring the benefits of this relationship, the fervor, the spiritual power, the enthusiasm, the intensity, the persuasiveness, the conviction which result from such a restoration. Effort has been expended to restore the letter, the rightness of the mechanics of public meetings, the perfunctory performance of group procedure, but the moving influence of the Spirit is negligible.
Most congregations are at peace, but it is the wrong kind of peace.
It is not the peace which comes by conquest or victory, but the peace of death. We have the letter but are too often devoid of the Spirit. We are right, but dead right. Those who speak may not be wrong doctrinally but the message grows out of the head rather than the heart. We cannot expect many to accept the truth.