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Too Quick to Label Some as “Goats”?

A full-time minister writes from Arizona: “I was given a certain section of territory in which to preach from house to house with the observation that others had found only ‘goats’ in it.

“The first time I covered this territory every door was slammed. The second time I did not take any literature with me nor did I ring any doorbells. I just talked over the fence to those standing in their yards. It was a new housing project and I commented on the things that I noticed that were favorable, anything to get a conversation started. Many had trouble making things grow and this gave me an opportunity to tell about what conditions would be like in the New World. Then with a cheery ‘I’ll be seeing you again,’ I passed on.

“The next time I called I was invited inside most of the homes, where I was able to show from the Bible how close we are to the Kingdom Jesus taught us to pray for, at the same time placing literature. There seemed to be little interest in the territory for individual home Bible studies; so, finding a place where a group study could be held, I invited the housewives to it. Fifteen came the first night. While some dropped out on following nights, others took their place and when I had to turn the study over to another minister after some months because of leaving this city, twenty were attending regularly. This summer one of the witnesses there told me that this study is now being held in her home and that from forty-five to fifty attend it each week.”

And this was supposed to be a neighborhood where only “goats” were to be found!