Australasian Record and Advent World Survey for 1978
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IUSTRALASIAN UNM1111) Ind advent worlc survey Ec ta:Roloert H .Parr Registered for posting as a Periodical—Category A VOL. 83, NO. 6 PRICE 17 CENTS February 6, 1978 RADIO-TV ADMINISTRATOR WARNS THAT WE COULD BE ... Running Up the Down Escalator D. J. SILVER, Manager, A.R.T. Productions, Australasian Division But what happens when a growing segment of the community no longer reads? A Bible course isn't going to impart information to a person who never asks for it because he has given up reading. Buying air time to sell a Bible course to a non-reader is, in fact, something like running up the down escalator at Sydney's Wynyard station and paying $5 a step to do so. It's a lot of expensive effort for very little progress. New Gauge Needed But if we recognise that in this modern world many acquire information mainly via radio and television instead of the printed page, then we will also realise that the measure of our effectiveness can no longer be gauged in terms of Bible course applications. To say that the preaching of the message on radio is now ineffective because it no longer produces a flood of applications for reading material reminds me of the dear old lady who refused to get into the modern 727 aircraft ONE OF THE FACTS of life with which we live today is that increasing millions are because it didn't have propellers like yester- virtually illiterate—not because they cannot read, but because they refuse to read. And day's DC3. the man who starves to death because he refuses to eat food is just as dead as the man who The fact of the matter is, good pithy radio starves to death because he has no food to eat. preaching is today just as effective as it always has been. In our transistorised society more people than ever are listening to radio—in their Thousands who willingly, and even avidly, Now I am sure we all agree that the desperate cars, on the beaches, in the garden, in the look at television and listen to radio by the hour need of millions today is to be fed spiritually, kitchen and even walking down the street. The do not read a thousand words of print from one and we must keep this changing pattern in mind impact of the message on radio is undi- week's end to another. And they have no desire as we seek to fulfil the divine commission to minished, and its scope is increasing. The Holy to do so. feed them. Spirit still speaks to the hearts of men and When it comes to the impartation and In bygone years radio was used very women right across Australasia and indeed assimilation of information, the printed word, successfully to gather enrolments for our Bible right around the world, from the jungles of despite its reign of centuries, faces the courses, which in turn imparted the information Papua New Guinea to the villages of India, as challenge of electronic methods. It is not as we sought to "get across." Hence, we tended the radio preachers use the air waves to tell the ridiculous as it may at first seem, to suggest that to measure our success in terms of Bible world of the soon-coming Saviour. the day may soon arrive when our Bible study correspondence course applications received. courses will be offered in cassette as well as And in those days it was a reasonably valid (concluded on page 12) printed form. assessment. Remember Radio-TV Rally Day on February 18 GIVE GENEROUSLY TO THIS IMPORTANT WORK 2 :: AUSTRALASIAN RECORD :: February 6, 1978 of relief. We were to learn later that Pastor Possingham had stopped to help another runner who had tripped and fallen heavily and injured his leg. Into the straight came our pastor and another runner, now running neck and neck. With the crowd cheering the runners on, the sixth runner fell only metres from the finish. The crowd were stunned to see Pastor Possingham stop to assist the man and to hear his words of encouragement, "Come on, mate, we'll walk over the line together." The crowd of over 1,000 gave a great ovation as Bob half-carried, half-dragged the other runner to the finish to the waiting ambulance and oxygen. Great Team Effort Within two minutes of one another, coming seventh, tenth, fifteenth and seventeenth, Pastors Bob, Graeme, and Michael, and David Johnston came home in that order. But now the members were anxiously watching for David Harker. We knew he was still coming. Would his determination get him to the end of the race in the humid mid-afternoon heat? Suddenly he appeared down the straight, and our runners went back to give him extra encouragement on the final and hardest part of the race, as he came "The Good Life" Team that ran in the Johnstone Jog. They are, from left: Pastor R. Possingham, holding Reagan Chamberlain; David Harker; Pastor Graeme Bradford; David Johnston, and Pastor in. It was a tremendous effort, for he had had no Michael Chamberlain with his son Aidan. training. Photo: M. Chamberlain. When the placings were given out, the team members were jubilant to learn that they had been placed first in the teams section. ADVENTISTS AND VEGETABLES SET THE PACE IN THE JOHNSTONE JOG As one newspaper reporter said wryly afterward, "It looks like vegetables won the day." The event was reported in seven separate READY, SET, SWEAT newspaper articles in papers of the far north. For their effort the men received a cheque for MICHAEL CHAMBERLAIN, Innisfail and Tully Church Pastor, North Queensland $150 which they divided up to the charity of their choice. TO BORROW A PHRASE from Time magazine, that's exactly what happened, when Footnote: Tigers for punishment, Pastors a team of five jubilant Seventh-day Adventists won the teams event in the first ever Graeme Bradford and Michael Chamberlain Innisfail road race, "The Johnstone Jog." This thirteen-kilometre foot-race was the with David Johnston entered the "Fun in the Sun Run" in Cairns the following week, and climax to the sugar festival celebrations at the rain city metropolis of far north their team, "The Good Life Team," was Queensland, and the Adventist team was competing against other teams around north placed second, coming seventh, tenth and Queensland. fifteenth over their twelve-kilometre run Resplendent in bright red singlets, blue Adventist Encouragement through the streets of Cairns. One hundred and athletic shorts and red and white insignia The race was filled with much excitement fifty contestants entered from as far away as advertising our programme, "The Good Life," and drew interested crowds. Cheering Adven- Brisbane. ## on Radio 4KZ, the five runners, amid eighty tists from the local church were constantly 40= other hopefuls from Townsville to Cairns, popping up at every corner of the route to urge rushed off from the Mourilyan sugar museum the runners on. The Community Services ladies starting-line. Our team was well studded with headed by Sister Val Johnston, mother of "men of the cloth." Among them were Pastors David Johnston, had cold wet paper towels Robert Possingham, North Queensland Youth organised at four separate points, and other and Temperance director, Graeme Bradford, members had ice, buckets and hoses of cold the Cairns evangelist, and Michael Chamber- water. Some members came all the way from lain, Innisfail and Tully church pastor and radio Malanda to cheer and help with buckets of speaker on the 4KZ "Good Life" programme. water. As the exhausted runners came in on the David Johnston, a sixteen-year-old student final stretch of their race at Pease Park, from the local high school and 3,000-metres Innisfail's showground and trotting track, athletics respresentative, and David Harker, the Adventist eyes were strained to see who was bravest of them all, who literally at the eleventh coming in first in the teams, and whether red hour turned up and offered to make the and blue were near the front runners. much-sought-after fifth member to compete in As the runners started to enter the park, the the teams effort. Both these men are members oldest minister of the team, Bob Possingham, of the Innisfail church. was recognised by his white handkerchief as we The Adventist team was one of the eight watched it bobbing in the distance against the teams entered, and much interest was contrasting dark trees of the golf links on the engendered by the local radio station in the fact last kilometre of the race. A second, third, and that three of the five aspirants were Adventist yet a fourth red singlet came quickly into view, clergymen. It was the hope of team leader, and the first four runners of our team were all Michael Chamberlain taking a well-earned rest Pastor Chamberlain, to enter a team and give visible on the track. Watchers saw the bobbing after completing the course in good time. This the community a practical lesson in what the white handkerchief suddenly stop. After a picture appeared in Cairnsweek, and is pub- Adventist health message can do. pause we saw it start again, and breathed a sigh lished by courtesy of that newspaper. February 6, 1978 :: AUSTRALASIAN RECORD :: 3 USUALLY the statistics of departmental secretaries' reports go almost unnoticed except TEMPERANCE IN ROTORUA for a few brief moments in a church business J. LUDLOW, Communication Secretary, Rotorua Church, North New Zealand meeting. But sometimes, when listening to these reports, one cannot but reflect on the record of good works that lie behind the figures presented.