The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1920-04-02
.NEWWORDSNEEDED
IN MISSION work
New Classification Also Are
a Vital Need of the
Hour.

Writing In the Missionary Review Of
the World, Tyler bennett, OF New
York, director Of the Publicity depart
ment of the Interchurch world Move
ment says:
Life does not move forward greatly
in advance Of ifs vocabulary. The new
world calls for new definitions. In the
last three years demo cracy'' has been
the most minted word in the American
vocabulary Indeed, Il was minted SC
often and put into circulation SO fire.
quently with less than its face value
OF idealism and ethical conviction In
reserve, that the word has suffered a
depreciation equal almost to that Of
the Russian ruhle. Yet no one will
deny that the word powerfully affected
the Wills OF a hundred million people
and It's constant use through the world
in one OF the chief factors in creating
this present need for the restatement
Of practically every definition OF hu,
man purpose and intention.
Is not the missionary purpose OF the
Christian church also in need OF new
definitions? Itwould be stimulating
to the vitality Of ones personal relig.
ious convictions II, every ten years
he were compelled to write new def
milton OF why he is a Christian. Words
become deyitalized with constant
usage until at last they lose their
power to move the will. The search
for new words often stimulates crea
tive thought and leads on to new ex.
perience Any attempt to redefine the
purpose Of Christian missions, In the
light Of the newly discovered facts and
nawlv awakened human interests
which have been brought forward in
me past tive years, will have the dou,
Die benefit Of making our purpose more
iDtei'igtble TO others and of stimulat
ing our own personal convictions.
We pass easily from the realm OF
personal religi ous convictions to that
OF missionary purpose because the two
are identical. They are as inseparable
as the two sides of a Federal Reserve
note. It's because in the past we have
attempted the impossible task of de,
partmentsl lifting our religious life and
cTchfi;Ig department of missions, as
distinguished from departments Of
chcrch e,:tengion and religious educa.
ton ana theology, that both Christian
experience and Christian missions
nave Jared badly In fact Christian ex.
perience lis missionary experience, and
II the experience is not missionary II
is not Christians
Forty. I'VE years ago great Ameri.
can poet apostroph ized the age as
standing at thy temple door. heart In.
head out. The description is now al.
most obsolete, for while the present
eye still stands at the temple door, con.
ditions are nearly reversed for millions
OF people The head is in but the heart
Is OUT. That is TO say, vast numbers
OF people do not understand that what
they hear In the churches. or what
they do there, has "a very. close rela.
y aila''A That IS happening each day In
the streets OF the world. For them the
nnrrose of the church must be made
Ineligible, and this involves restate.
ment OF the missionary purpose.
In the second place, we. require a
new definition Of the purpose Of Chris.
tan missions In order that the mission
airy worker may not fail to grasp the
direct bearing which his labors have
on the tremendous issues of interim.
uonai politics finance, commerce. and
trade relations, and also upon restora.
ton of healthy civic and national life.
the restoration OF goodwill, and me
draining off Of the vast reservoirs OF
spiritual poisons which the period OF
the war accumulated.
Thirdly, we need new definition of
missions as the transcendent purpose
OF the Church of Jesus Christ in or.
der to preserve for us as individuals
the vitality Of our convictions and to
stimulate apostolic zeal.
Before we are prepared to restate
the definition OF Christian missions, we
must study a host of new facts which
the last five and one-half years OF up
heaval have created or laid bare. We
must take into consideration the new
political boundaries which have been
established. the withdrawal of the
rights Of missionary liberty from large
areas, the economic questions involved
in our dealings with the native races.
We cannot frame the purpose of mis-,
sionary work in any land without first
carefully studying, in the light of the
Gospel OF Christ, the needs and priv.
neges of this great hour.
Not only do we need information as