Dad
May 16, 2003
—MOJune 26, 1973DO No.241
—Rough Notes on a Rough Session!
Copyright © July 1973 by The Children of God
P.O. Box 31, London WC2E 7LX, England or GPO Box 3141, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936
HOW TO DISTRIBUTE LITERATURE!
1. IF YOU DO IT THE RIGHT WAY‚ THE DEVIL WILL FIGHT YOU. If you never get any objections, you must not be doing the job. You can get the message out if you only stand there and hold up the Letters and the NNN. I'm not for guitars when you're distributing NNNs. I WOULD RATHER SEE THEM GIVE ONE WORD TO A THOUSAND THAN A THOUSAND TO ONE!
Four main obstacles to distribution:
2. IF MY LETTERS CAN'T SELL THEMSELVES AND AREN'T CLEAR ENOUGH TO EXPLAIN THEMSELVES, WHAT GOOD ARE THEY? What the Hell good is literature if every one has to be described? Their job is just to get it into the hands of the people. The main idea is to get the literature out. It doesn't need explanation. It will explain itself. I have had salesmen over-explain things to me‚ where I wasn't even curious to see it. Leave something up to their curiosity. Curiosity will inspire them to read it. I'm jealous of the words of the Lord. TELL THOSE KIDS I CAN DO MY OWN PREACHING. I don't need them to do it for me, and I think the Letters do a better job than they can. All I need is sweet, bright-eyed happy kids to get it into their hands. I am not for this high-pressure salesmanship and all this explanation.
3. THE PUBLIC COULDN'T PAY ENOUGH FOR ONE OF THOSE LETTERS! The kids are not selling Letters. The public should be thankful to get one! The token donation is just something to help pay for expenses. They're not paying for the Letter. The main idea is to get the Letters in their hand, and if possible get the 10p [pence] and take off. STOP SERMONIZING! The fourth obstacle to distribution is dreaming with their eyes in the sky, not even looking at the people they're passing‚ much less offering them an NNN!
4. NUMBER 5, THEY'RE TOO BUSY TALKING JUST TO ONE PERSON, or witnessing. The literature is their witness. MO has asked you a favour: Would you please let him do the witnessing and you just be the delivery boy? But they're too busy talking and witnessing to get out the NNN. Too busy witnessing to really distribute. Sometimes I think it's a matter of pride. They'd rather stand there talking to people and kind of hide their NNNs instead of GOING ALONG LIKE A HUMBLE LITTLE NEWSBOY OFFERING THEM TO EVERYBODY IN THE STREET. I think I can preach a better sermon than they can and I would just like to have them deliver the sermon for me. They're not supposed to be the preacher, just the paperboy.
BE GOD'S NEWSBOYS!—WITNESSING IS OUR MAIN JOB‚ NOT WINNING!
5. WE CAN'T POSSIBLY REACH ENOUGH PEOPLE IN OUR PERSONAL WITNESS. SO GOD GAVE ME THE ANSWER: LITERATURE is the answer! So what happened? Now they're going out with their literature in one hand, but continuing to do just what they were doing before, and we're still getting nowhere. So they happen to give some of these guys they're witnessing to some literature and get a few coins in return. But they're not really distributing like they should.—It's just a sideline and incidential. You may think your 40 NNNs in 2 and 1/2 hours was pretty good.—If I'd been out there I'd have probably gotten out 400 in that same length of time, because my main idea would have been to get that paper in their hand!—Because if they are curious enough to give you a 2p or a 6p or a 10p for it they'll be interested enough to read it.
6. IT'S NOT THE KID'S RESPONSIBILITY TO PREACH A SERMON AND PERSUADE THEM. OUR MAIN JOB IS NOT SOUL WINNING, BUT WITNESSING. Our main job is not their witnessing, but my witnessing. There are millions of people downtown everyday. It's pitiful how few pieces of literature are getting out. They're just not doing it right. They should be going down sticking it under everybody's nose for them to see: "Would you like to have a copy? It's priceless, but you can have it for only 10p!"—But don't just stand there and explain it!—"We're a New Nation and a group of young people and we believe, bla, bla‚ bla!"—And by the time they get through they've unsold the guy!—He's too busy to stand there and talk.
7. THEY'RE NOT THE ONES NOW PREACHING THE SERMONS. IT'S GOD who is preaching the sermon through the Letter itself‚ and they are only delivery boys and paper boys! That may hurt their pride, some of these people who like to preach so much, or talk so much, but it's the truth! If the people get it in their hand, if they are a sheep, God says, "My sheep hear my voice and they follow!"—When they read it, they're going to hear His voice‚ and they'll find you out wherever you are!—They'll be chasing you around! THE SHEPHERD JUST CALLS AND THE SHEEP FOLLOW HIM. But our kids are out on the street spending all their time yelling and chasing sheep and trying to follow them instead of just going down the street, call, call‚ call, "Will you? Will you? Follow me!" If they're interested they'll follow.
8. YOUR STATISTICS PROVE THE POINT: Check out how many NNNs and how many people distributing them and your average per person. IF NEWSBOYS SOLD THEIR PAPERS THE WAY OUR KIDS SELL NNNs, THEY WOULD GO BROKE AND STARVE TO DEATH AND THE PEOPLE WOULD NEVER GET THE NEWS! Most of the newsmen and newswomen some places just stand there and never say a word. If you just stood there with one in each hand, if they're interested, they'll come and look. The literature is the sermon. The idea of the literature is to save having to preach all these sermons and doing all these hours of exhausting witnessing! If they're interested‚ they'll ask questions. If they're sheep, they'll follow. You don't have to go chasing them down the street!
9. THE LORD NEVER CHASED THE NINETY AND NINE. THEY FOLLOW. Once in a while there was a stray sheep He followed. They're out there with ninety and nine lost sheep. When one comes by and you offer him the message‚ you've found him. If he doesn't want it, he can stay lost! IF YOU OFFER A DROWNING MAN A LIFESAVER AND HE DOESN'T WANT IT, LET HIM DROWN! If they're not interested enough to buy it just for the reason it is graphically illustrated and has all those interesting titles on the front, etc., your sermon sure isn't going to sell it! THEY'RE SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME PREACHING, WHICH IS DEFEATING THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF THE LITERATURE! But the way they're distributing literature they're not distributing. They're out there preaching themselves‚ instead of trusting God to use the Word!
10. FOR GOD'S SAKE, WHY DON'T YOU LEAVE SOMETHING UP TO THE HOLY SPIRIT? Can't you trust God once you've given them the Word? It's not our job to win them or drag them in! It's only our job to deliver the message, and once you've got it stuck in front of their nose, you've delivered the message‚ and if they don't accept it, that's their funeral, even if they don't take it in their hand! You kids are nothing but delivery boys, but you all want to be preachers! You want to get out there and brag about how you're living. But COLONY LIVING IS NOT OUR MAIN MESSAGE, as though organising a Colony is the ultimate end of all things!—It's just a sample that proves the Words!
11. THAT'S WHY GOD HAS GIVEN ME THE BURDEN TO GET THESE KIDS OUT ON THE ROAD AND SELL LITERATURE: They'll get it out or they won't be able to live!—They'll starve to death. But as long as they think somebody is paying the bills and they're just strolling along hoping the time will pass till suppertime, they'll never get anywhere. Only one way to get action is an ultimatum and a deadline! Aaron and Ho had 50 papers to get delivered in an hour when they were small boys, to the homegoing traffic. TWO LITTLE 10- AND 12-YEAR-OLD BOYS COULD SELL 50 PAPERS IN AN HOUR! Each of our teams ought to be able to distribute 50 Letters and NNNs per hour! Either get them all out or don't come home for supper! Don't come home until you've got them all out!
STATISTICS, RECORDS AND QUOTAS REQUIRED TO SEE RESULTS!
12. WHEN I USED TO DISTRIBUTE HANDBILLS, THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS: I either had to get them out or else!—Worked until after dark with the big dogs jumping on me and everything else. If you find out some of these guys are really loafing on the job, just KEEP AN ACTUAL RECORD FOR EACH PERSON. Every week the two lowest scorers are going to get shipped out on the road. Here's your quota. If two little newsboys could sell 50 an hour, you two can sell 50 between you. The world puts their salesmen on quota systems: Why can't we do it with God's work? Put the pressure on! If they'd been doing the job like they should have been, we wouldn't have to put the pressure on. What did the Lord of the Harvest do when He came back and found they weren't doing the job?—He put the screws on! The man with the talents the same.
13. DOES GOD PUT THE PRESSURE ON? We're His salesmen, and if we don't deliver, He'll put the pressure on! That's what He did to me in the "Birthday Warning"! I was fiddling around with a lot of other things‚ when I should have been taking care of the most important job. The two lowest scorers every week will be given their bed rolls and back packs with a bunch of literature and will have to make it on their own and go anywhere they want. If you don't reach the people in your area, we're going to send you out to reach the people in other parts of the world! SEND THEM OUT BY FAITH FOR A WEEK OR WEEKEND, and they'll have tales to tell!
14. WHEN YOU GUYS WERE SELLING NEWSPAPERS ON THE STREETS, YOU HAD A DAILY QUOTA TO MEET. You were delivered your 50 papers and you had to get 'em out or you were stuck with them‚ and if you turned back too many, you got bawled out! We're going to count how many you bring back every day. OUR KIDS ARE ONLY AVERAGING 8 TO 10 PIECES OF LITERATURE PER DAY—ABOUT ONE PIECE PER HOUR on an 8 hour work day!—And this includes all the literature: prayer letters, letters they write, tracts, MO Letters‚ NNNs, etc.
15. SOMETHING IS SADLY WRONG somewhere! The average Colony has 12 people. Ten times 12 are 120 pieces of literature in one day. In five days the average Colony during their working days, with two days off for the weekend, each Colony is only distributing about 600 pieces of literature per week! Now if every Colony had to print their own, goodnight!—They could mimeograph them at that rate! At the rate they're being distributed, forget the printing!—We could almost write them by hand!
CIRCULATION BOTTLENECK—GET OUT OF COLONIES AND DISTRIBUTE!
16. CIRCULATION IS OUR BOTTLENECK NOW. Thank God we're beginning to print, but distribution is our problem. They're still out there trying to give the Holy ghost sample, but they've had it! From now on they and MO Letters are their Holy Ghost sample, their witness, the message, and that's all they're responsible for! THEY DON'T HAVE TO HAVE A SONG-AND-DANCE‚ AND NOT EVEN A COLONY!—LET'S GET OUT THE MESSAGE! God has provided a means to get out the message, and at the same time a means of support in return by selling it or giving it away for a donation, whatever you want to call it. The labourer is worthy of his hire. The delivery boy delivers the message. He gets his tip. The paper boy delivers the paper. He gets his pay. There's no excuse for us not getting it out! THE ONLY COLONIES NECESSARY now are those who are printing literature, caring for children and those like Central Offices who are handling the business and mail, and maybe a few for handling newborn babies, babes and teaching and training a few new disciples!
WE ARE IN A WAR—BULLETS OR BALLISTICS?
17. THE SOLDIERS HAVEN'T LEARNED HOW TO SHOOT THEIR GUNS! They walk up to the enemy and say, "This is my gun, and I'll show you how it works. And this is the bullet, and this is the case, and this is the powder. Now would you like to have this? Now I'm going to put it in the gun and shoot it at you." Whereas they should be going down the street with a machine gun and rat-a-tat-tat‚ and they're bound to shoot somebody! INSTEAD OF GETTING OUT THERE AND SHOOTING THE BULLETS AND HITTING WHOEVER THEY CAN HIT, THEY'RE OUT THERE EXPLAINING THE PRINCIPLE OF THE GUNS AND THE BULLETS AND GIVING LESSONS IN BALLISTICS! It's just that ridiculous, to stand there and explain it! So if he doesn't want it after you've explained the whole science of ballistics, you've completely missed and wasted all that time! Just go down the street and shoot at everybody with those little bullets, and they're bound to hit a few at least!
18. THE WORLDWIDE TOTAL OF LITERATURE for the month of May is only a little over a half a million copies—a Colony average of only about 4000 each for the month: Ten copies per person per day! I COULD SIT OUT THERE ON A BENCH IN THE PARK WITH MY EYES CLOSED AND PRETEND I WAS ASLEEP, AND I BET I WOULD GET MORE LETTERS OUT THAN A COPY AN HOUR! For year to date, the average per person was nearly 900 per month, almost three times the average for May!—But we were concentrating more on the tracts than which anybody can pass out with little or no effort. If these people in publications are not even interested enough to get them to the people they shouldn't even be in publications! I LOVE TO WRITE THESE LETTERS‚ BUT I ALSO LOVE TO SEE THE PEOPLE GET 'EM. Its as ridiculous to get the letters printed and not get them out to the people, as it is to have a Colony without any people!
19. LEAVE THE GUITARS BEHIND and don't sing one single song! [K]eep people out of the Colony on Saturday and on the streets witnessing.
20. WE HAD RIFLE CONTESTS AND WERE ISSUED A RIFLE AND BULLETS IN THE ARMY AND TOLD TO HIT THAT MARK SO MANY TIMES OR WE WERE OUT!—And I was an expert marksman. I wonder how much my company would have accomplished if my company captain had said, "Here how many of you would like to go out for rifle practice today?" and" How many bullets would you like?" and now, "Would you like to shoot at the target‚ or at the daisies, or straight up into the air just to hear the bang of the gun, or how many of you would like to see if you can hit the target? Well‚ that's fine we don't know what we've accomplished today, but at least we've been out here all day! Now check your rifles in, or you can sleep with them if you want to, and we don't need to know if you have any bullets left." Let me tell you, it wasn't made voluntary to get out there!—And we were taught to take that rifle apart and put it back together in so many minutes, and it wasn't made voluntary how many bullets we were to shoot!—And we were supposed to hit our particular target, period!-And if we got in too few shots we were on KP! We hit the kitchen if we couldn't hit the target!
21. EVERY DAY MAYBE WE SHOULD FIND OUT WHO WAS THE LAZIEST AND GOT THE LEAST DONE AND PUT THEM ON KP! Maybe they can do better on KP than as a soldier in the field. Maybe they'd rather do that. What a lovely war! Maybe some of these guys don't think it's so lovely. Maybe they don't even want to be in the war. Every time we came back with our rifles each day, there stood the company captain and his sergeant to check off the record of the rifles, the bullets‚ etc.
22. WE ARE IN A WAR BROTHER! This is a serious business! We're not playing games! We're not just taking a summer vacation! Some of us are working like mad to get the things out and in print, but than some soldiers are just lazily dreaming around passing them out haphazardly here and there with not much motivation and no sense of urgency. War is no funny business! If you don't do the job, the officer in charge has a right to shoot you on the spot‚ because one guy deserting can influence a whole lot of others to do the same. You may have to sacrifice a few soldiers to teach some of these people a lesson, that this is a job and we have to work at it!
23. THIS IS SERIOUS BUSINESS: WE HAVE THE FATE OF THE WORLD IN OUR HANDS! But some of our soldiers are strolling up and down the streets chatting with each other, or staring into the sky or in too big a hurry to get somewhere, or too busy preaching sermons and showing how much you know about ballistics! We're working hard, but if they don't get out there and use it, all our work is in vain! We're stymied right at the point of final accomplishment, and THE WHOLE REVOLUTION IS IN VAIN IF WE'RE NOT GETTING THE MESSAGE OUT TO OTHERS! What some of these people call a Holy Ghost sample is a Holy Ghost failure, and I wouldn't even want to call it Holy Ghost! It's a dead-end!
JOB OF THE SHEPHERD—FEED, LEAD AND HOUSE! JOB OF THE SHEEP—PRODUCE
24. THE SHEPHERD'S JOB IS NOT ONLY TO FEED HIS FLOCK AND LEAD HIS FLOCK TO GOOD PASTURES AND PROTECT HIS FLOCK‚ BUT IF THE END RESULT IS IGNORED—WOOL, MEAT AND LAMBS—HE'LL FAIL, LOSE AND STARVE! If he feeds and leads and protects them well, but they don't produce any wool and they don't bear any lambs, his whole job is defeated. It's the shepherd's job not only to feed and lead and protect and care for and heal, but it is his job to see that those sheep deliver the GOODS: produce the wool and bear the lambs! The wool, brother‚ is what you make your money out of: That's what really keeps you going, and the lambs are the disciples! They perpetuate the flock. In the goat business, it's not those kids that are your money: It was the mohair that was produced!
25. BUT YOU GOTTA HAVE BOTH THE WOOL AND THE LAMBS!—And if after all this feeding and leading and caring and housing, they don't produce the wool, they're too lazy to bear lambs, you're sunk!—Because pretty soon you'll have no money and no flock! The new lambs perpetuate the flock and increase the herd, but the wool, meat and the milk are your daily bread. They pay expenses.—AND ONE OF THE BIGGEST AND TOUGHEST JOBS IS THE SHEEP SHEARING‚ and boy!—They can squeal and yell and baa!—They don't like it! But every one of them has to go through that shearing door!—And sometimes if they struggle, they get nicked or cut, but the ones that take it get sheared easily. The ones that struggle and fight it get nicked time and time again.
26. YOU TELL THOSE SHEEP THAT IT IS THE SHEPHERD'S JOB TO FEED AND LEAD AND HOUSE, BUT IF THE SHEEP DON'T GET OUT THERE AND PRODUCE the wool and the meat and deliver the lambs‚ the whole thing is defeated! Because if you don't have more lambs, pretty soon you'll have no more flock! We have had more new disciples in the past year than we still have disciples in the whole Revolution! That means we've lost that many old sheep! Think of that! They die off almost faster than we're getting them!—Old bottles, bursting and dying!—And that's one reason why we have to keep getting new sheep and new flocks.—And if you don't keep shearing those sheep to get the wool, and keep getting rid of the sick ones who don't produce wool, YOU ARE GOING TO GO BROKE in the process‚ and wind up with no sheep and no money, and all the rest of your work is in vain!
27. THE FIRST THING THEY MUST DO WHEN THEY GO OUT ON THE STREETS IS TO TRY TO SELL an NNN or a MO Letter. We'll be passing out very few free tracts.—We won't use them as substitutes for letters, but as bonuses for those you have time to witness to personally after you've passed out your NNNs and Letters. We can also offer FOREIGN LANGUAGE TRACTS TO FOREIGNERS who can't speak our language. We're going to have a minimum on the letters and NNNs and a maximum number of free tracts allowed. We ought to be tougher, harder and even stricter‚ and WORK EVEN HARDER IN THE LORDS WORK THAN WE DID FOR THE SYSTEM! We should be more faithful for the Lord than in the world, and keep more accurate records for Him than for filthy lucre! We're going to have to give an account for every idle word, so Somebody must be keeping track of those words somewhere! So why shouldn't we require these kids to keep track of every idle moment every idle MO Letter and every wasted penny?
28. THE BIGGEST JOB WHEN IN THE SHEEP AND GOAT BUSINESS wasn't just bearing lambs or kids. The BIGGEST JOB WAS IN CARING AND FEEDING TO GET THE BIGGEST RESULTS, the wool and mohair. Because otherwise we couldn't have survived. If our income gets below our expenses to where we go bankrupt and we can't afford to operate, we will have to dump the flock if they're not producing. The labourer is worthy of his hire including the shepherd! IF WE'VE GOT PEOPLE WHO DON'T WANT TO WORK, WE'VE GOT TO GET RID OF THEM.—But we must warn them first. If sheep don't get the job done, it's not always their fault.—It's oftentimes the shepherd's fault.—And if you under-shepherds don't get the job done‚ it's my fault if I haven't warned you!
29. IF THEY KNOW THEIR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT THEY'LL GET THEM OUT!—And it does!—Their life with us. If you're too sick to get out of bed‚ you're also too sick to eat, so you can stay in bed and fast and pray while you're sick. GROUP MEETINGS ARE THE ONLY TIMES YOU NEED TO SING AND DANCE AND HAVE SKITS—PARK WITNESSING, maybe or where you have a stationery crowd and lots of time. The day of that ignorance are past! At least one day a week we should make every person go out, top staff and everybody! Some haven't been willing to do their best for the Lord so now we're going to see if maybe they'll do it for money! it's a matter of reward: God uses both awards and punishment.
30. WE'RE GOING TO REWARD THOSE WHO GET THE JOB DONE, AND PUNISH THOSE WHO FAIL TO PRODUCE! We're going to require them to spend that time in the field and to get out a certain quota. You've got to give some kind of reward to the guy that's diligent!—And chastise those who aren't! Cash and carry, or carry and cash in! It takes money to pay for that paper: you've got to have money to run this outfit! WITHOUT CIRCULATION THE BODY WILL DIE! I'LL BE THE HEART THAT'S PUMPING THE LIFE'S BLOOD TO YOU, BUT YOU KIDS HAVE GOT TO BE THE CORPUSCLES WHO DELIVER IT TO EVERY SINGLE CELL!—And you've got to get something for it, or we'll not survive!
OUR MAIN MOTIVE—OBEY GOD AND GET THE MESSAGE OUT! REWARDS AND CHASTISEMENTS!
31. OUR MAIN MOTIVE SHOULD BE TO OBEY GOD AND GET THE MESSAGE OUT‚ the wonder working words to the waiting world!—Millions for the billions! But maybe some of you need a little added incentive to make you keep moving and not waste so much time, and really try to reach as many as possible.—God gives rewards and chastisements, so why shouldn't we?—He gives extra blessings to those who do more than their duty and who are extra diligent.—He also sets minimum standards. To him that hath it shall be given, but to him that hath not it shall be taken away! Give and it shall be given! Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap! The labourer is worthy of his hire! Muzzle not the ox that treadeth out the corn!—And maybe you think some of it's pretty corny! (Mt.25:29; Lu.6:38; Ga.6:7; Lu.10:7; Deut.25:4)
32. BUT MAYBE IF WE SAY, WITH WHAT MEASURE YOU METE IT OUT, IT SHALL BE METED UNTO YOU, and we reward the hard workers for their diligence and chasten the loafers for their slothfulness, then maybe some would be inspired to do better. What about a movie for the top two, and KP for the bottoms?—Or ten-percent of the take across the board for everybody?—You already get your room, board, clothing and all your needs: what about a little extra reward for a few luxuries like an extra meal out‚ a movie, a ride—or something? THERE MUST BE SOME WAY WE CAN INSPIRE YOU TO DO BETTER!—Maybe some extra time off—Or time on!—How about it?—Talk it over and decide.
33. THEN GET OUT AND DO YOUR BEST FOR JESUS AND LOST SOULS!—AND GOD HIMSELF WILL REWARD YOU with everlasting souls and joy of the Lord! Well done, He'll say, thou good and faithful servant!—Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord!—Hallelujah!—They that win many shall shine!—But some will be ashamed!—WHICH WILL YOU BE?—A SHINER?—OR A SHAMER? (Mt.25:21; Dan.12:3) God help you!
TEN TOP TIPS!—ON DISTRIBUTING LIT!
34. TEN TOP TIPS FOR TIP-TOP TIPSTERS FROM YOUR TIPSY OL'TIPPLER TO TIP THE TIPPLE! (To help you pour out the new wine‚ Stupid!—Hollelujah!):
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family