438 R e a l E n l i g h t e nm e n t 3 N EW BOOKS BY K E IT H L. BROOKS, D.D., Pres. Am erican Prophetic le a g u e , Inc., E ditor of Prophecy Monthly: “P roph ecies o f th e E p is tle s ”-^-- rich exposition, 50c: “T h e C ertain E n d ” —tim ely helps on Dartlei’s Prophecies, 35c; “P ro p h etic Q ues tio n s A n sw ered ,” a reference w ork of g re at value, $1.00. Real vitam ins in these three books. • AMERICAN PROPHETIC LEAGUE, INC. Box BB, S ta. E agle Rock, Cos Angeles. Calif. Flannelgraph Lessons Lessons are complete with plenty o f well-drawn cutout figures, at no extra cost. WIN the BOYS and GIRLS for CHRIST N e w vello backgrounds. Every thing needed f o r flannelgraph work. Write fo r price list. , BAUER ART STUDIO P.O . Box 73 San Marino, Calif. CHRISTIAN GREETING CARDS for re-sale or personal use. C hristm as cards. Also cards for all occasions. B irthday. C ongratu lations. Good Cheer. Get Well, and Sym pathy folders. True C hristian sentim ents. E ach exqui site ca rd lias some distinctive touch which gives it in stan t appeal. There should be a BIG dem and in -y o u r community fo r these cards.. Rock-bottom prices insure our agent's large all-year-round profits. W rite /TODAY for com plete inform ation. SCRIPTURE GREETING CARD COMPANY D ept. 2 Box 822 P hiladelphia, Pa. reach many through the use of Chris tian literature. The excellentcoopera tion given by the American Bible So ciety, the Gideons, the Bible Institute Colportage Association, and denomi national agencies in supplying attrac tive portions of the Scriptures and other literature results in widespread distribution of the Word of God. Many of the men take Gospels and Testa ments from the pews or tracts from the tables at the rear of the chapel. Some borrow books on missions and other p h a s e s of Christian truth. [Copies of THE.KING’S BUSINESS are also available for free distribution.] Thus the work of tlie c h a p l a i n is greatly extended by the printed page^ It is also the chaplain’s privilege to visit all men of his unit confined to the hospital. While the one or two afternoons each week spent in this work do not afford time for extended conversation, they do enable the chap lain to reach a large; number with a brief word of encouragement and to leave with them suitable literature. Men under these circumstances seem to be especially receptive and have more time and inclination to listen. Often the chaplain takes time to read a p o rtio n o f S c rip tu re a n d to o ffer THE CHRISTIAN MINISTER IN UNIFORM [Continued from Page 413]
November, 1943
THE K I NG ’ S BUS I NESS
small group of God’s own—a custom followed in this writer’s battalion— does much to give a chaplain the vic tory on Sunday morning in the pulpitr It is thus obvious that the underly ing purpose of a minister’s life is not altered by his putting on the uni form of the armed forces of our land. His dominating.objective should,'*still be the meeting of the spiritual needs of men. The chaplain is a soldier and an officer only that he may car»y forward the wo r k most effectively. While a good chaplain does not for get that he is a soldier, neither does he become so intent on being a soldier that he loses sight of the fact that his primary purpose is a spiritual one. As this war shakes our very founda tions and discloses that the best of our human planning is insufficient to m e e t our rapidly mounting human problems, men are more ready than they have been for a long time to listen to what the man of God has to say concerning ^man’s need and God’s provisions for meeting that need. Christian chaplains may therefore look upon this as an unparalleled op portunity to reach those upon whom our country’s and the world’s destiny now appears to hinge. If through faithful preaching in camps, s o u n d testimonies in h o me churches, and much prayer on the part of all God’s people, a great multitude of these men may come to know Christ or to be strengthened in their devotion to Him, who can j u d g e the consequences through all eternity? CONGRESS ON PROPHECY Under the auspices of the Ameri can Board of Missions to the Jews, the New York Congress on Prophecy will be held in the Calvary Baptist Church, 123 West 57th Street, New York, N. Y., November 1 to 8,1942. This will be a gathering of Bible-loving Christians to reaffirm their faith in the sure word of prophecy in a chaotic world. On the list of “speakers and spon sors”. appear the names of the. fol lowing persons, among others: Louis S. Bauman, R. S. Beal, Keith L. Brooks, Lewis Sperry Chafer, V. Raymond Ed- man, H. A. Ironside, L. Sale-Harrison, B. B. Sutcliffe, and Louis T. Talbot. Dr. Talbot said: “Such a conference is timely. The day in which we live’ calls for a reaffirmation of the great truths propounded in your manifesto.” Dr. Bauman declared: “In these days when there are so many conflicting Jdeas growing up among prophetic preachers, I think it would be well for them to get together and compare notes. The idea of having a preachers’ conference for half a day each day is the most excellent part of the pro gram as I view it.” Prayer is asked for the Lord’s di re c tio n of th is im p o r ta n t g a th e rin g .
prayer at the bedside of the patient, even though it may be in a ward. Such acts are of great comfort to a soldier in the hospital, and have re sulted in several open confessions of faith in Christ. While much of the work done in the hospitals' must be classified as sowing, there are also occasions of reaping. Mingling with the Men Through o t h e r avenues, too, the chaplain comes to know and to min-, ister to the men under his care. He frequently goes out with the men on hikes or on bivouacs. He visits the men in their quarters and reserves hours of several evenings each week when the men can come to his office for interviews. It must be remembered that the chaplain is the one officer that the enlisted men can approach directly without any feeling of inhibi tion due to military formality. In order that the men may become aC- q u a i n t e d with the chaplain, he is given the opportunity of speaking to them at the beginning of each train ing cycle. He also gives a lecture on Sex Morality to all the men. The chap lain handles a number of welfare cases, enlisting the aid of the Red Cross when such aid appears desir able. Through such services to the men, many of them are influenced to take a more sympathetic attitude towards the chaplain’s spiritual min istry. Difficulties to be Faced So far attention has been directed to the many opportunities open to the chaplain, but there are also many difficulties besetting his work. The men come in for their basic training and remain for only a brief period, during which time they work exceed ingly hard. Often they are so tired that they would rather remain in bed Sunday mornings than go to services. Since nearly all the mert are busy during the day hours, only the brief leisure hours are open for the chap lain to become more than casually ac quainted with them. Moreover, few men come to our c a m p s well in structed in their faith, and chaplains must often overcome many mistaken notions before men come to under stand what Christianity r e a 11y in volves. Not only is there widespread igno rance of the gospel on the part of many men, but also some seem thoroughly indifferent and a few actually hostile. Against such obstacles, as well as the Satanic opposition that inevitably ac companies faithful preaching, a chap lain must struggle. But the task is a high one, and a spiritually minded chaplain almost always discovers a few faithful and strong Christian men who greatly assist him in it. A prayer m e e tin g o n S a tu r d a y n ig h t w ith a
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