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During February the work of the Church as a whole has been
running $1,000 a day behind. Mr. Mattson, our Business Manager,
was putting into the Building Fund account $500 per day, even tho
you members were only sending in about a third of that amount.
That is one reason we were going so rapidly behind in payment of
regular operating expenses.
Something had to be done. The first thing I did was to
direct Mr. Mattson to stop putting the $500 a day into the Building
Fund, but instead to put in exactly what is received SPECIALLY FOR
THAT FUND each day.
Brethren WHAT SHALL WE DO? Some 900 of you were unable to
see the speakers at the Festival last fall. Some 500 of you were
unable even to get inside the present Tabernacle and had to sit
outside. Next fall there will be probably 1200 to 1500 unable to
even get inside the building!
IS THAT THE WAY GOD'S PEOPLE MUST HOLD GOD'S GREAT FESTIVAL?
When God's people of old, in Moses' day, needed a Tabernacle, Moses
sent out a proclamation asking them to send in special offerings to
build it. THEY RESPONDED SO GENEROUSLY MOSES WAS FORCED TO SEND
OUT A SECOND PROCLAMATION ASKING THEM TO STOP SENDING IN SO MUCH!
Brethren, WHY ARE WE NOT LIKE THAT TODAY? Are we, after all,
the lukewarm "Laodicean" Church? Some few have written that they
have been thrown out of jobs. That only means that the rest of us
ought to sacrifice all the more to make up for it. I KNOW THAT
SOME OF YOU HAVE BEEN DOING THAT. But the facts themselves tell
us that MOST of you have not been doing all you could!
Here are the facts! In December you brethren sent in for
this Building Fund $1,991. In January the first 16 days, $1,800.
Then. after my last letter about it, amounts went up for a while,
and the January total was $6,575. The February total was
$6,551.13. That is less than HALF of what we must pay out every
month for a year and a half.
THERE REMAINS ONE LAST POSSIBLE CHANCE! Mr. Reuter of the
Behlen Company told me on the long-distance phone just now that
they could hold off ten days, and still start it. THEREFORE, IF
you brethren will now respond MORE GENEROUSLY, and send in PLEDGES
for this Special Building Fund totalling $15,000 per month, within
ten days---to reach us here not later than March 15th, we can yet
go ahead and have the Tabernacle.
BUT, remember, this must be ADDITIONAL---over and above your
tithes and regular offerings for the Gospel work of the Church!
This must be money you would not otherwise have sent. If you
merely mark part of your regular offerings for this special purpose
you are taking it out of the Gospel work, and then that would have
to stop. This must be EXTRA---ADDITIONAL to everything you could
otherwise have sent!
I feel I should set the example. This is our situation: Mrs.
Armstrong and I had hoped we might, for the first time in our
lives, be able this year to start saving a little toward future