THE FUTURE OUTLOOK
J. F. JOHNSON Editor & Publisher
MISS EMMA P. JOHNSON r_News Reporter
L. A. WISE Staff Photographer
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Institutions For
Welfare Children
Children who are placed in homes by the welfare
agency sometimes develop in a deplorable situation. Many
of the welfare agencies contend that it is hard to find a
suitable family who is willing to take care of children and
that families who are able to take care of them and who
are willing, are not properly situated. On the other hand,
there are some people who are willing and able and have
all the facilities needed to care for them properly. These
people take this responsibility because they are concerned
and love the children.
Many families who take in these children do not live
in suitable locations, do not have the facilities needed, are
unable to prepare food to provide a balanced diet, do not
furnish proper clothing and do not know how to take care
of children.
Many of these people have not had children of their
own and take these to capitalize. They are too lazy to
find a standard job and are in declining health.
The children placed by the welfare department come
from homes where there has been some type of tragedy
such as accidents, chronic illnesses, illegitimate births,
and in most cases, from broken homes due to violations of
some criminal law.
The children are not responsible for such incidents,
but the tax-paying people are. Therefore, these children
should be properly cared for.
One contractor suggests a multi-purpose building
which he would be responsible for with a little aid. This
multi-purpose building would be suitable for all convales
ing persons and would not be agreeable or suitable for
public school-aged children now being placed under super
vision of families.
It was publicized in the papers a few weeks ago that
the welfare department was alloted more money but the
purpose for the money was not stated. Many of the wel
fare agencies should take this matter of a suitable institu
tion before the County Board of Commissioners or the
City Council to recommend a referendum to raise the
money for it
One may pick up the morning paper and see the scene
of an auto accident where both parents were killed leaving
six or seven children or the mother and father had a heat
ed quarrel which ended in murder. The other parent is
sent to prison. Just go to the courtroom today, or the hos
pital, or take a long trip on the highways. You will see
all of these different types of tragedies which cause
broken homes leaving little innocent children without
proper supervision.
Some may say that the victims have relatives who
are able to come to their rescue by adopting them, but, in
most cases, they are not prepared and are upset. Then
what will become of the children while settlements are
being made? Sometimes it might be better to place the
children in a suitable institution with trained people to
care for them until they are able to take care of them
selves.
The health department should supervise more of
these homes capitalizing on welfare children so they will
see the need for a suitable institution.
Poet's Corner
I shall have peace, when I go born#."
"When I go home may quiet reign
And nothing will I say or do ?
To eauM regret or neadhaa pain
In thoaa I lore whan I go bona.
What I go horn*, my glory Crown
Wkai baavan'a boat to Him bow down,
Wffl be that Christ to Umt* wthronad;
T his Weed's Sunday School Lesson
POWER FOR WITNESSING
BEGINNING WHERE YOU
ARE
The Protestant Reformation
of the sixteenth century was
basically a struggle over the na
ture of the church. What was
the purpose of the church?
Where was its authority? What
was its mission? Conflicting an
swers to these questions divided
Christendom, and it has not yet
been knit together.
Today the church again in
turmoil as it faces similar ques
tions. Within both Protestant
ism and Catholicism loud voices
join in debate. Various groups
of Methodists with special con
cerns caucus at annual confer
ences. Eager young ministers
leave the pastorate because they
feel "the church is irrelevant,"
while troubled laymen stay home
on Sunday because they don't
want ^to hear "pulpit editorials"
about the "secular problems"
they face all week.
The basic problem between
these groups is that they do not
agree on the nature and purpose
of the church. Unfortunately,
some of these views are so con
tradictory that they cannot be
realized within the same church.
In such a time of confusion
and division we may find it help
ful to go back to the beginning.
How did the church start? What
view of the church did the first
Christians have?
For the next three months
we shall be thinking about the
plac of the church in God's plans
for his people. The next eight
lessons will be drawn chiefly
I from the Book of Acts, supple
mented by reference to some of
the Letters. For this first Sun
day after Easter, we shall con
sider the fifty days after the
Resurrection. The story is told
in the Book of Acts.
SEARCHING THE
SCRIPTURES
The Scripture for this lesson
is Acts 1:1 through 2.42. Select
ed verses are printed below.
Acts 2:1-6, 14, 36-42
1 When the day of Pentecost
had come, they were all togeth
er in one place. 2 And sudden
ly a sound came from heaven
like the rush of a mighty wind,
and it filled all the house where
they were sitting. 3 And there
appeared to them tongues as of
fire, distributed and resting on
each one of them. 4 And they
were all filled with the Holy
Spirit and began to speak In
other tongues, as the Spirit gave
them utterance.
5 Now there were dwelling in
Jerusalem Jews, devout men
from every nation under heav
en. 6 And at this sound the mul
titude came together, and they
were bewildered, because each
one heard them speaking in his
own language. . . .
14 But Peter, standing with
the eleven, lifted up his voice
and addressed them, "Men of
Judea and all who dwell in Jer
usalem, let this be known to
you, and give ear to my words.
. . 36 Let all the house of
Israel therefore know assuredly
that God has made him both
Lord and Christ, this Jesus
whom you crucified."
37 Now when they heard thi?
they were cut to the heart,
said to Peter and the rest of the
apostles, "Brethren, what shall
we do?" 38. And Peter said to
them, "Repent, and be baptized ?
every one of you in the name I
of Jesus Christ for the forgive
ness of your sins; and you shall
receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit. 39 For the promise is
to you and to your children and
to all that are far off, every one
whom the Lord our God calls
to him." 40 And he testified
with many other words and ex
horted them, saying, "Save
yourselves from this crooked
generation." 41 So those who re
ceived his word were baptized,
and there were added that day
about three thousand souls. 42
And they devoted themselves to
the apostles' teaching and fel
lowship, to the^breaking of bread
and the prayers.
Memory Selection: You shall
receive power when the Holy
Spirit has come upon you; and
you shall be my witnesses in
Jerusalem and in all Judea and
Samaria and to the end of the
earth. ? Acts 1:8
EXPLORING THE QUESTIONS
The Book of Acts is the sec
ond book of a two-volume work,
Luke-Acts. The author dies not
tell us his name, but tradition
credits the two books to Luke,
Paul's traveling companion and
physician.
After a brief introduction,
Acts 1 tells of resurrection ap
pearances that Jesus used for
further teaching about the King
dom. On the fortieth day, Jesus
commissioned the disciples to be
witnesses "in Jerusalem and in
all Judea and Samaria and to
the end of the earth." (Acts
1:8) This commission can be
taken as a rough outline of the
book.
Acts 1 also records Jesus' in
structions to his disciples to wait
in Jerusalem for the gift of
power in the Holy Spirit.
Chapter 2 tells how, on the
day of Pentecost, the Spirit came
with power upon the little group
gathered in the upper room. The
whole company moved outside,
where a great number of pil
grims who had come to the fes
tival were attracted by the
strange happenings.
Peter then preached the first
Christian sermon. (Acts 2:14-36)
His message was that Jesus, who
had been crucified, was proved
by his resurrection to be the
Messiah. Therefore Peter sum
moned the people to repent and
be baptized in the name of Christ
And three thousand of them re
sponded.
FINDING HELP WITH XOUB
QUESTIONS
The church that went out from
Pentecost to conquer the Roman
world in three centuries had few
visible assets. This church owned
no property, had no endowments,
and met in a borrowed room. It
had within its fellowship no men
of wealth, power, or prominence.
Its financial resources seem to
have come chiefly from a few
devoted women. It had no com
mittees, boards, or executive
secretaries. Peter assumed a
natural leadership, but decisions
seem to have been reached by
a sort of consensus. Yet the
church was remarkably success
ful.
This evaluation of the early
church doe* not mean that fine
buildings, financial resource*,
and efficient organization axe
necessarily bad. Nevertheless,
each person must ask whether
the contemporary church may
assign too much importance to
the material means of accom
plishing the church's mission
while losing sight of its object.
This reversal of values leads
many zealous young critics to
regard the church as an insti
tution concerned with guarding
the status quo while forgetting
the suffering victims of our cul
ture.
The Power of the Early Church
Why was the early church so
powerful in spite of its lack of
money and elaborate organiza
tion? Several suggestions can ba
gleaned from the lesson Scrip
ture in Acts.
1. The church expected divine
aid. Before Jesus parted from
the disciples on the mountain, he
counseled them to wait in Jeru
salem for the gift of the Spirit.
While the disciples waited, they
met daily for prayer, perhaps in
the upper room, where they
were staying, or in the Temple,
as they did after Pentecost or
both. We may picture an earn
est group of about 120 men and
women, uncertain of their im
mediate future^ but heartened
by their encounters with the ris
en Lord and confident that their
way would become plain if they
waited for God's guidance.
In their gatherings the disci
ples undoubtedly shared with
one another their remembrance
of Jesus' words. But, above all,
they waited upon God in the an
cient worship of Israel and in
their private group prayers.
2. They were open to the lead
ership of the Holy Spirit. Since
the events described in Acts 2
happened so long ago, it is point
less for us to attempt a scien
tific analysis of what occurred.
But the fact that these men and
women were transformed is be
yond doubt
They ascribed their change to a
new and vitalizing endowment
of the Spirit of God. Fear and
uncertainty were swept away.
They could only describe their
experience in symbolic langua
age: sounds as of a mighty wind
and tongues of fire. They had
received the gift of power the
Master had promised them.
3. The church shared it* gift
with others. These early Chris
tians did not remain in the up
per room keeping their ecstacy
to themselves. They went into
the street proclaiming Jesus of
Nazareth as the promised Mes
siah.
Pentecost is one o f the most
important Jewish festivals. It is
observed fifty days alter Pass
over and celebrates the giving
of the Law to Moses on Mount
Sinai.
Since Pentecost comes at a
time of year favorable for trav
el, first-century Jerusalem was
even more crowded then than
at Passover. Devout Jews from
all across the empire were in
the city. Many of these pilgrims
were among the crowd to whom
Peter declared that Jesus of
Nazareth, recently crucified by
the leaders of the people, had
been raised from the dead and
thus was shown to be the Mes
siah.
The main significance of the
events at Pentecost is that only
seven weeks after the authori
ties had demonstrated their op
( Continued en 7a#t 1)