From the Editor’s Notebook
The Annual Meeting
On November 7, 1981, the Annual Meeting of Food for the Flock Inc. was held in Toronto at Don Valley Bible Chapel. It was the unanimous decision of the committee to continue to publish the magazine for another year, and this, in continued dependence upon our Lord for all needs both spiritual and material.
However, a few changes were decided on and they are as follows:
1. The magazine title will be changed to our incorporated name, FOOD FOR THE FLOCK, using “Ministry in Focus” as a subtitle.
FOOD FOR THE FLOCK was, of course, the original title of the magazine from the beginning of its publication in January 1955 through December 1968. It was at the start of 1969, when the magazine was changed from a monthly to a bimonthly publication, that the title change was implemented. And, I might add, it was also at that time that this present editor became the associate editor.
2. In co-operation with our printer, it was left to the editor to choose a different outside front cover starting with the 1982 Jan.-Feb. issue. I hope it meets with your approval.
3. Effective, July 1, 1982, the yearly subscription price of the magazine will be raised to $6.00.
Presently it is costing us .91 cents to print each copy of the magazine, exclusive of postage. Occasional gifts from individuals and a few assemblies, plus the exchange on U.S. currency, have enabled us to meet our obligations. To all who have contributed we are sincerely grateful.
We regret any inconvenience to our subscribers regarding the expiration date of their subscription which appeared on the outside back cover over the past year. Our addressing system was undergoing transition, this being the reason for a discrepancy in the date shown.
The following is a list of the corporation members of Food for the Flock Inc., the list being divided into the categories of Directors, Officers and Operational:
Directors
Sydney H. Green, James Gunn, Harry Masters, W. Ross Rainey and Russ Took.
Officers
President — Russ Took
Vice-President — Sydney H. Green
2nd Vice-President — James T. Naismith
Treasurer — William Hamilton
Secretary & Assistant Treasurer — Lillian Telfer
Operational
Editor-in-Chief — W. Ross Rainey
Associate Editor — James Gunn
Question Column Editor — James T. Naismith
Administrative Chairman — Douglas Telfer
Vice-Chairman — William Burnett
Treasurer — William Hamilton
Business Mgr. — Joan Hamilton
Assistant Mgr. — Lillian Teller
Circulation Mgr. (Canada) — Russ Took
Circulation Mgr. (U.S.) — Jay Walden
Additional corporation members are: Joseph Cumming, Ray Fox and Graham Swales.
Just a reminder to our readers that all matters of an editorial nature should be sent to the Editor, 9257 Caprice Drive, Plymouth, Michigan 48170. All business correspondence should be directed to the Treasurer, Box 353, Etobicoke, Ontario M9C 4V3. Questions for “The Question Column” should be sent to Dr. James T. Naismith, 1121 Hilltop Street, Peterborough, Ontario, K9J 5S6.
Also, if you are moving to a new address, it is a great help to us to have this information in advance of such change. Not only will it save us expense but it will enable you to receive your copies of the magazine without interruption.
Answered Prayer
I asked God for strength, that I might achieve; I was made weak, that I might learn to obey. I asked for health, that I might do greater things; I was given infirmity, that I might do better things. I asked for riches, that I might be happy; I was given poverty, that I might be wise. I asked for power, that I might have the praise of
men; I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God. I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life; I was given life that I might enjoy all things. I received nothing I asked for — everything I had hoped for. My prayers were answered and I am among all men most richly blessed.
—Author Unknown
Barrenness
“By much slothfulness the building decayeth, and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through” (Eccles. 10:18).
Cicero is said to have practiced speaking before friends every day for thirty years in order to perfect his elocution. Gibbon spent twenty-six years writing The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Noah Webster worked for thirty-six years to produce the first edition of his dictionary. To accomplish their desire such people counted no sacrifice too great.
Many of us are put to shame when we compare our exertions in the Lord’s work with the examples of these men. Much of our services in Christ’s name are performed halfheartedly at best. A Sunday School teacher may try to “get by” with only a few minutes of study and less prayer, and then wonders why his teaching seems to fall on barren ground. A missionary society officer persuades someone else to act as a substitute on an assigned task and, as a consequence, discovers how paltry is his church’s missionary giving. Many of us fail to pray as we ought — for praying is hard, hard work —and then we are perplexed that we do not hear answers to our petitions.
A good deal of spiritual barrenness may be traced to downright laziness; and this on the part of those who have been exhorted, “Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord … for ye serve the Lord Christ” (Col. 3:23-24).
—The late E. S. English in The Pilgrim
Correction
In the Nov.-Dec. 1981 issue of the magazine I incorrectly stated in connection with Mr. Carlton W. Truax’s article that he is lawyer. Actually, he is a journalist, and as such is editor/manager of the S. C. Insurance News Service in Columbia, South Carolina.
Unrecallable
Wasted hours cannot be recalled. You can stop the hands of a clock but you cannot prevent the passage of time. There may not be much of it left — the Lord may return at any moment or He may take you from this earth soon. Only what is done for Christ has eternal value. Let us make proper use of the time that remains.
—Selected