November, 1986
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
442
with men. who raise their hands for prayer. They often travel with me when I am asked to speak in churches and conferences, and their music is a great attraction. Gen erally speaking, Bible-Institute trained young men have knowledge of the Scripture which enables them to give a reason for the hope that is within them. And workingmen need that hope, something to anchor to in these days of unrest.”. The quartette sings several selections and is enthusiastically applauded. The speaker is introduced. He gives a simple, straight forward gospel message, followed by a clear-cut appeal for men to accept Christ as Saviour. To every inquirer the way of salvation is made plain. Prayer is offered and the quartette sings again. It is evident that there is no attempt to hurry the meet ing. The customary lunch hour of thirty minutes has already extended to an hour, and it may be an hour and a half before the men return to work. They are enjoy ing. this period at the company’s expense, and if they do not wish to attend the meet ing, there is no compulsion—they may use the time as they prefer. Only a few choose to be absent. Q uestions A nswered As the meeting is about to close, you turn to Mr. Le Tourneau with a request: ■“I ’d like to meet those boys who sing.” As the four young men are presented, Mr. Le Tourneau remarks that he himself attended Biola a few years ago. You learn that the quartette members are not the only Biola students who have been employed at the Le Tourneau plant from time to time, and that at present, four other Christian institutions are represented among the em ployees. There is no time for extended con versation, for, the meeting over, everybody is on his way back to work. Already weld ing torches are sputtering, blazing out blue flames; the power plant is drumming, hum ming, thumping; the lathes and drills whirring, the hooktender’s whistle shrilling to clear a path for seven or eight tons of Scraper high in the air. With Mr. Le Tourneau, you accompany the singers as they proceed to their re spective departments. You askr “Why are you men—Bible-Institute trained—willing to work at day labor?” “Willing?” one echoes. “This is a priv ilege. There’s a mission field here.” In your own mind, a conclusion is being reached. Le Tourneau wants men who are alert, capable, ready to work hard and to achieve. He believes, moreover, that there is a place in modern industry for the giv ing of the gospel of the grace of God, and Biola men, because they know the Word and love the Lord, are quick to share their employer’s vision and add their whole-hearted efforts to his in the daily task and for the glory of the Lord. Three of the quartette members have had to hurry off to their tasks. Mr. Le Tour neau detains Norman Dirks, the leader of the shop men’s chorus. “Tell us, Norm, why you’re here,” he says. Without a moment’s hesitation, Dirks re plies: “I feel there is a great opportunity for any young Christian in an industrial plant.” [Continued on page 451]
Followed by the preacher, Mr. Le Tour neau lopes down the shop, yelling as he goes, “Shop meeting, men.” There is no formal seating arrangement. Many of the men prefer to sit atop a Carryall, or on some bins, or to stand eating their lunch against a machine used for a counter. Mr. Le Tourneau jumps up on a flat car, says a few words of introduction, and the meeting is on. Up steps the King’s Mes sengers’ Quartette, the four graduates of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles about whom Mr. Le Tourneau has told you. You are impressed with their sincerity, with their evident deep-seated happiness. There is contagion in their smiles. While they are getting ready to sing, you whisper to Mr.
THE GOSPEL IN INDUSTRY [Continued from page 417] There are a half dozen other letters like the one which you have read. In penman ship and grammar, they are often imper fect. But they would be graded high by any one who looked for honesty, apprecia tion, and loyalty. You read the concluding sentence written by a furnace man: “To work here, where the Lord is thought of at all times, makes a person feel that he or she could work forever and call it pure pleasure.” You know now why ‘content ment and efficiency characterize the Le Tourneau plant; it is because, in unnum bered instances, employer and workman are united in service for a common Mas ter, the Lord Jesus Christ. I mportance of a W eekly G ospel P aper You leaf through the issues of NOW that your host has handed you. He has told you that this weekly paper was originated in Portland, Ore., where it is still being used for the purpose of carrying the gos pel throughout that state, and that, when the editor came to Peoria to work at the Le Tourneau plant, permission was gladly given for the distribution of copies among the workmen. This resulted in a special Le Tourneau edition. The paper is five and one-half by eight and one-half inches, and has four pages; You see on the front cover excellent story-telling pictures of Le Tourneau equipment and pictures of plant personnel, and on the back page, headed “Plant Life,” there are items of shop news.; You look inside—and are amazed. Here are two pages of gospel messages—nothing else. The comments are terse, readable, filled with Scripture quotations. You con cede at once that the name, NOW, has distinct news value, and as you read the gospel messages in a few of the issues that , are in your hands, you see that there is also a relation between the name and the masthead text, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” Mr. Le Tourneau has told you that 1,200 to 1,500 copies are distributed each week in the Peoria and Stockton plants, and to a growing mailing list; that 42,000 copies of a special edition were given out from door to door prior to the dedication of the Le Tourneau plant in August, and that the purpose of this distribution was to get the gospel into every home in Peoria. His words ring in your mind: “NOW puts the gospel before men week by week. How carefully they read it, I cannot Say. But I know that if the paper is a little late, coming out in the afternoon instead of the morning, there are any number of inquiries. The men ask for extra copies, some of them to be mailed to relatives or friends.” You are just beginning a perusal of the issue of September 25, which carries the headline “Johannsen Brings Home British Views,” when a whistle blows. It is noon. Activity in the factory ceases, and the men hurry to lockers for lunch pails or to the cafeteria for trays. A S hop M eeting “Come on,” Mr. Le Tourneau calls to you, “meeting time!”
Between 1,200 end 1,500 copies of the weekly publication, called NOW , are distributed in the Le Tourneau plants in Peoria, III., and Stockton, Calif., and to a growing mailing list. Copies of this unique periodical will be mailed without cost to any one sending a request to R. G. Le Tourneau, Inc., Peoria, III. So far as he is able to do so, Mr. Le Tourneau will give personal attention to any questions that may be addressed to him concerning the place of the gospel in industry. Persons in terested in receiving information regarding Bible Institute students who might serve in industrial plants, following the Le Tourneau plan, are asked to communicate with the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Inc., 558 So. Hope St., Los Angeles, Calif. Le Tourneau, “HoW did these men get here anyway?” And he replies, “They came through Peoria filling engagements as a quartette. They are men with abilities useful to this plant, and what is more, each of them has a burning desire to win souls for Christ. They were employed in November of last year.” In the pause between numbers, you urge Mr. Le Tourneau to tell you more about these former Biola students. He is glad to comply. “These boys,” he says' “have been a po tent influence for good in this place. They are tactful, and they are earnest, too. They live their religion and the men know it. Their assistance is most helpful in dealing
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