A Personal Decision
W. Carl Ketcherside
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I am not sure you will be the least bit interested in what I am going to tell you, but I felt an urge to share with you some personal attitudes about MISSION MESSENGER. It could be that I am unconsciously seeking justification for something and am not aware of my real motives. In any event, here is what happened.
Not long ago a group of fine brethren, possessed of a great deal of business acumen, set up a conference with me. They had been talking with one another about my work and they wanted to talk with me personally. They said a lot of very complimentary things about my writing and the paper and they implied that its impact had helped to spark a revolution in the restoration movement in our day.
They felt that I deserved a larger audience and they proposed to make the paper into a much larger monthly. They suggested a use of color, art work on the inside, a new format with varied type faces for chapter headings and a lot of other things. Space would be sold for legitimate advertising. The subscription price would be increased to $3.00 per year. They offered to raise $25,000 to finance the changes and underwrite the costs of production as a start. It was suggested that I be the editor and receive a salary, and that we have a managing editor as well as a contributorial staff of writers selected purely on the basis of ability rather than on identification with any party or school of thought in the restoration movement.
I listened very carefully to the whole proposal and then I turned it down. I am sure these brethren think I am either stubborn or nearsighted. As it is, the paper is small and stereotyped in appearance. We have no office in which to edit it or from which to mail it except the room downstairs in our home. I have no secretary. There is no one to type the manuscripts except myself. And that's the way I want it.
Nell and I live a simple life. We believe it is the way He would want us to do. Our personal wants are few. We seek to serve God and all of His children without trying to impress anyone with a sense of importance which we know we do not have. I write the articles for the paper on planes, in air terminals, in hotel rooms, and at our own kitchen table. I read all of the proof and I go get the papers when the printer notifies us that they are ready.
Nell takes care of all of the subscriptions, address changes and files. With the help of Emily (our daughter-in-law,
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We put many hours of our own lives into each issue. We see the names of our family of subscribers every month. We wonder how those in school are doing, we are interested in those who are parents. We are especially interested in those who are grandparents. We wonder if they know "The Joy" as we know Him. And because we never take one cent from the subscription price or contributions sent for the work it is a work of faith and a labor of love.
MISSION MESSENGER is not an organization. It is just us! And we know who we are, just down-home folks from the Missouri hills. We're interested in being ourselves and not someone else. I have no illusions of greatness about our feeble effort. I am not carrying on a crusade and I am not leading a movement. I am not much of an editor, and I do not aspire to be one.
All I want to do is to share what I think with all of our brethren who are in the fellowship of the concerned ones. I have a sort of old-fashioned notion that if you love people (really and truly) and write from the bottom of your heart, it will shine through and they'll read what you have to say if it is printed on brown wrapping paper salvaged from the meat market.
I do not want to write because I am a member of an organization or an incorporation. I'm sick and tired of having to organize something in order to be friendly and neighborly. I am weary of institutionalized religion. I am tired of vested interests and party machinery. So MISSION MESSENGER will continue to be plain in appearance as long as I have anything to do with it. It is for plain folks!
We have no trust funds, no endowments, no nothing! I've given orders that when I die, MISSION MESSENGER will die with me! We will bury it the day I'm buried! I want to share with others while I live but I do not want anything I've started to be used to pressure them after I am gone. We will not send any money back if a subscription has not expired at the same time I do. If you send a five year subscription you'd better pray that I live that long.
It costs us more than a dollar per year for each subscription, but we do not intend to raise the price, I like to know that a college boy can stick a dollar in a letter and tell us to send the paper for a year. The difference is always made up by friends and brethren who believe in what we are doing. The Holy Spirit did not whisper to us to start the paper and we have no information from the Spirit as to what we ought to write, beyond a firm trust in God and His blessed word! We also trust our brethren.
I would not want you to think that I do not appreciate the interest of the good brethren who would like to help us dress the paper up and make it a little more appealing. We thank them for their evidence of concern but we'll continue as we have been for as long as God allows us to serve.
There are a lot of journals which are very attractive. Many are doing a good work. We are not rivals or competitors with any of them. I like to mention them and urge others to read them, and especially if they make a direct attack upon us. We have nothing to lose but our souls, therefore, nothing to fear! Nothing! Best of all we're free in Christ. We can publish articles from anyone. We do not have to worry about what "the faithful brethren" will think.
This is not very businesslike, but we will keep on like we have been, and those who feel that we do not deserve reading can drop out. We'll love them just the same. We do hope to have the honor of retaining most of you for a long time and we trust you'll not be too disappointed that we have chosen to continue as plain individuals to put out a plain paper.