RURAL LEADERSHIP 



foundation of faith. What a wonderful group of men and 

 women are named in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews ! This 

 chapter has been called the Bible's roll of honor and the 

 wonderful names represent the Hebrew Hall of Fame. 



Osborne, in quoting Walter Rauschenbusch, speaks elo- 

 quently of the Miracle of Spring. 1 Today the trees are leaf- 

 less, the grass is dead, the woods are still. In a short time, 

 however, what a transformation ! New-born leaves array the 

 whole forest in a dress of green, the lawns and meadows look 

 beautiful covered with their new carpet of spring and all the 

 woods resound with the music of the happy birds that have 

 winged their way from the Southland. This is the Miracle 

 of Spring and from the beginning it has been an annual 

 occurrence. Everyone has faith that God will ever continue 

 to repeat the Miracle of Spring. If God's children have such 

 implicit faith in nature's annual rebirth, is there any reason 

 why they should fail to develop a robust faith in the affairs 

 of life? Yet most people are of little faith. If the world is 

 to take a forward step in the New Era there must be a re- 

 surgence of faith. There are great tasks confronting the 

 world today, and world tasks require a great faith. Moreover, 

 everyone can have a part in performing these tasks if faith 

 is exercised. Someone has said most truly : " We have to 

 struggle hard to persuade ourselves that in a given city in a 

 given building on a given street, we as plain people can take 

 any steps or do any bit of work that will substantially affect 

 great world futures. And yet it is true that so closely inter- 

 volved are all men and all things that the humblest transaction 

 instantly relates itself to the whole world process." And this 

 is truer today than it ever was before because of the con- 

 tracting world of the twentieth century. 



Faith on fire has vision. Vision sees a goal. In the lexicon 

 of the country leader the triumvirate of words that must 

 dominate are: faith, vision, goal. St. Paul had a great faith, 

 he beheld a wonderful vision, he reached a world goal. The 



1 W. F. Osborne, " Faith of a Layman," p. 2. 

 lip 



