By Paul W. Fleming

WE WOULD BE STARTLED if we picked up the evening paper and read this glaring headline "Longshoreman's Union Selects Woman President," with an account following, explaining that, in view of the fact that the majority of the longshoremen were now women, it was about time they had a woman as president

This is perhaps as ridiculous as it is absurd. The tough job of loading and unloading ships is certainly a man's job. At least, we are going to be awfully hard pressed before we find women leading the way in this profession.

But, by contrast, we point to another tough job--to the work of world missions. We're startled when we realize that many more women than men are applying for missionary work in foreign fields. While Bible schools and seminaries are turning out more men than ever in their histories, men seem to be crowding to the pulpits while the women are doing the men's job out on the tough pioneer mission fields of the world.

There is not much you can say for the multiplied hundreds of young men who continue to flood into the ministry and take refuge behind the pulpit while we continue to let the women in increasing numbers do the toughest job assigned to Christian soldiers.

What is it that attracts the women in the mission field in such great numbers, compared to men? What is it that attracts so many men to the ministry in their home land compared to those who go to the mission field?

Today, we have prepared men to be brilliant, capable, and eloquent and have emphasized their personalities. Such preparation hardly prepares a man for the jungles The little brown or black tribesman is hardly capable of appreciating such a one's true earthly value.

So it seems that the man, who has worked hard to become what he is, is evidently too good to be wasted on the heathen and should stay where he is appreciated. Surely God isn't continually calling 95 percent of the Christian men to stay while 5 percent pursue the world objective which we, as Christians, have received from the Lord Himself.

The Church's need is not necessarily more preachers but more obedience to God's Word. God could surely do something about the ills of our nation if He found us willing to practice what we preach. (Men of such shortsightedness and with the desire to remain in comfort while leaving others to do the dangerous job of preaching the Gospel will never challenge lives.)

While we thank God for every woman who has made an effort toward reaching; the untouched, we realize it is a MAN'S job The leveling off' process must begin

Either the Church must give more men for front line evangelism on the far flung battlefields of the world, or we will have a horde of shriveled up pastors and laymen who are beating the air and dying because they have no vision that is big enough and positive enough to demand all that they are for God's front line job

Reprinted from BROWN GOLD, Dec-Jan 1947-48

We men!-We are the stronger sex
It has always been so!
We send our gifts to mission fields
To which the women go.
While up the steepest jungle paths
A woman bravely treads,
We men, who are the stronger sex,
Do pray beside our beds.
When women leave to go abroad
The heathen souls to reach,
We men, who are the stronger sex,
Do stay at home to preach.
While women, in some far off shack
Do brave the flies and heat,
We men, who are the stronger sex
In cool and comfort eat.
Fatigued and weary, needing rest,
The women battle on.
We men, who are the stronger sex,
Do write to cheer them on!
O valiant men!-come-let us sleep
And rest our weary heads.
We shall not be the stronger sex
If we neglect our beds!

"For I Seek . . . You" (II Corinthians 12:14)

If, through the message of this tract, God has spoken to your heart that you should live in a greater way for getting the Gospel to tribal people in remote areaa, we pray that you may be obedient to His voice: ". . . why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46). We have too long enjoyed the blessing of Christianity and selfishly failed to share it with the rest of the world. God wants to use your life as a channel through which He may work toward this objective.

For further information, write:

NEW TRIBES MISSION, 1000 East First Street, Sanford, FL 32771-1487