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union with one another and with the risen Lord cannot be guilty of forming `another sect'
by so doing. Should unscriptural practices, leaders, or ideas be allowed, these departures
would merit the undesired title, and it is these `self-choosings' we must shun."
The meetings thus criticized continued, and their number grew, yet in 1924 we were
as far as ever from forming a "Sect", for the Foreword written for Volume XIV will be
found this reassertion of freedom:
"We are happy to say concerning The Berean Expositor exactly the same as we said
ten years ago, viz., that it is:--
The organ of NO SOCIETY,
The property of NO SECT,
The exponent of NO CREED."
The fear express in 1921/1922 had not materialized even though the opportunities
increased.
In 1927 a new note was struck, for the Foreword of that year says:
"Now that the long period of pioneering has in measure passed,"
and although this might have caused in some that recurring fear, no word reached us,
and the change as it took place made no difference in the basic attitude of the Witness,
the change being only of method and opportunity.
In the notice pages of that year we not only find meetings arranged in many parts of
the country, but an indication of the Editor's visit to Canada to make known the truth
entrusted. This involved organization both at home and abroad, funds had to be handled
and accounted for, but still that "Sect" failed to materialize, neither did the Editor become
"involved" or "fettered". Further, in the same year "Agents", who out of love for the
truth stocked our literature and supplied local orders in Canada, U.S.A. and Australia,
made their appearance on the notice pages, and still we remained "untrammeled". After
Volume XIX, notices appeared on the cover of the issues, and ceased to be included in
the bound volumes, but the witness spread, and visits were made to France and to
Holland in the interest of the truth, and articles and pamphlets were translated into French
and Spanish, but still no adverse change in the testimony.
For a period following the outbreak of War in 1939 itinerant witness was suspended,
and only by the most valiant efforts of a few friends was THE BEREAN EXPOSITOR
itself saved from eclipse. No "Sect" came to its rescue, no Society stirred a finger; it was
saved through the grace of God and the fellowship of those who loved the truth.
At last it was borne in upon the minds of a few that the time had come to again pick
up the threads, and prepare for the "peace" it is hoped will soon dawn. Just as in 1927 we
struck a new note, so we strike one again in 1943. Just as, however, that new note in
1927 saw no change in our basis or our freedom, so this new note leaves us exactly in the
same position. To quote from the Circular Letter dated March, 1943, in regard to the new
work planned: