00:00:01 The Governing Body has always felt a keen responsibility
00:00:05 to live up to Jesus’ command:
00:00:07 “Feed my lambs. . . . Shepherd my little sheep.”
00:00:10 Today’s technology
00:00:12 makes the Governing Body feel like family.
00:00:14 But did the worldwide brotherhood in times past
00:00:17 enjoy such a strong bond with the Governing Body?
00:00:27 Let’s go back to January of 1945.
00:00:31 Brothers Knorr and Franz
00:00:32 set out on a tour of Latin America
00:00:35 that ended up with conventions in North America.
00:00:38 It took four months.
00:00:40 The purpose was to visit
00:00:43 branches already established,
00:00:45 to organize new branches,
00:00:47 and to forward the movement
00:00:49 of the Kingdom preaching work.
00:00:52 Service tours often combined
00:00:53 supervising operations at a branch,
00:00:56 giving talks at conventions,
00:00:58 dedicating new facilities,
00:01:00 overnight visits to remote missionary homes,
00:01:03 followed by evening meetings with a local congregation.
00:01:06 All this was packed into a few days.
00:01:10 They provided instruction
00:01:12 on the field ministry,
00:01:13 how to conduct meetings,
00:01:14 and also on what was taking place in the worldwide field.
00:01:18 And then they would take time
00:01:20 to go out into the field ministry with them.
00:01:23 One such visit included a stopover in Guatemala,
00:01:26 where they visited a very small congregation
00:01:28 of just eight people.
00:01:31 Their heart was in the preaching work.
00:01:33 I can speak from my own experience
00:01:35 that the missionaries were very close to Brother Knorr’s heart.
00:01:39 So after sending them first to Latin America,
00:01:43 he was eager to see their progress.
00:01:45 And so he visited them.
00:01:47 And then, over the years, he traveled the world
00:01:49 and he visited as many missionary homes
00:01:51 as he possibly could.
00:01:53 He privately met each missionary personally
00:01:57 to talk over their challenges,
00:01:59 to arrange for better accommodations if needed,
00:02:01 to assess the potential for growth,
00:02:04 or even to establish a new branch
00:02:06 or arrange to purchase new property
00:02:08 if needed.
00:02:10 Brother Knorr loved the brotherhood,
00:02:13 especially missionaries
00:02:14 and branch personnel.
00:02:16 And he would take the opportunity
00:02:18 of a 15- or 20-minute stopover
00:02:21 in a train station or an airport
00:02:23 to give encouragement
00:02:25 or to help them to advance the preaching work.
00:02:30 Brother Knorr had deep concern
00:02:34 for the welfare of the brothers
00:02:36 in the war-torn countries of Europe.
00:02:38 Brothers Knorr and Henschel
00:02:41 traveled to Britain, France,
00:02:44 Switzerland, Belgium,
00:02:46 the Netherlands, and Scandinavia
00:02:48 in November 1945.
00:02:50 Imagine, just a few months
00:02:52 after World War II ended,
00:02:55 the railroad track was destroyed and bridges were destroyed.
00:02:58 So there were no good connections
00:03:00 between the cities.
00:03:02 It was not tourist travel;
00:03:04 it was really hard work.
00:03:08 But even this they did
00:03:12 because of loving the brothers
00:03:14 and helping and encouraging
00:03:16 the brothers in these countries.
00:03:24 After visiting the friends in war-torn Europe,
00:03:27 then Brothers Knorr and Henschel embarked
00:03:29 on a very ambitious and extensive
00:03:31 47,000-mile (76,000 km) tour.
00:03:33 They visited some lands
00:03:36 where there were few or even no Witnesses.
00:03:38 If no branch operated in a country they visited,
00:03:41 they connected with the local congregations
00:03:43 in private homes,
00:03:45 they attended their meetings,
00:03:47 and they accompanied the local publishers
00:03:49 to the homes of interested ones for group meetings.
00:03:52 And they often rented venues for public meetings.
00:03:56 Brothers Knorr and Henschel went on the streets to advertise the talk
00:03:59 that evening.
00:04:01 And then Brother Knorr himself even rode with bicycle parades
00:04:05 to advertise his talks.
00:04:07 And these meetings attracted hundreds of interested ones,
00:04:09 even though in one city,
00:04:11 there was a threatening note that was received.
00:04:16 Well, things don’t always turn out as planned.
00:04:19 Brother Knorr and Brother Henschel
00:04:21 had a service tour of countries in Africa.
00:04:23 One of those was Nigeria,
00:04:25 and they were to give talks at two conventions.
00:04:27 One of those conventions was 400 miles (640 km) away
00:04:30 and involved a road trip.
00:04:32 So they got off to an early start at 3:30 in the morning.
00:04:35 On into the trip, they started to have car problems.
00:04:38 Those car problems turned into a grueling 18-hour delay,
00:04:42 and they realized they weren’t going to make the convention.
00:04:45 So they decided to go back to the branch in Lagos.
00:04:48 But the return trip took 24 hours
00:04:51 through jungle roads and additional car problems.
00:04:54 They got back to the branch,
00:04:56 they took a very brief rest,
00:04:58 and they were on to the next branch.
00:05:01 Brother Knorr loved the brothers,
00:05:03 and he enjoyed being with them.
00:05:05 I remember very well
00:05:06 how after his concluding talk,
00:05:08 he waved to the brothers
00:05:11 and we in the audience took out handkerchiefs
00:05:14 and waved back for many minutes.
00:05:17 But that was not all.
00:05:19 He and Brother Henschel then went to the railroad station
00:05:22 to say farewell to the brothers leaving in special trains.
00:05:26 They called out “Auf Wiedersehen! Gute Reise!”
00:05:30 and they stayed there till 10:30 at night doing that.
00:05:33 They thought not of their comfort,
00:05:35 but they thought of the brothers.
00:05:39 A request to hold a large special meeting
00:05:41 in Athens in 1952
00:05:44 was not granted by the authorities because of religious interference.
00:05:47 But not wanting to miss an opportunity to encourage the Greek brothers,
00:05:52 Brother Knorr came up with an alternate plan.
00:05:55 He and Brother Henschel would take taxis
00:05:58 to the homes of local brothers,
00:06:00 where they would give a talk for approximately 20 minutes.
00:06:03 Then they would go on to another home,
00:06:05 even though they risked arrest because of meeting together.
00:06:09 They were able to meet with 905 of our Greek brothers.
00:06:13 In describing that day, Brother Knorr wrote,
00:06:16 “It was one of the most blessed experiences
00:06:20 of our lives.”
00:06:22 Brother Franz visited Spain many times,
00:06:23 but during the 1950’s,
00:06:24 our work was under ban.
00:06:26 Brother Franz wanted to encourage the local brothers,
00:06:29 but he was especially concerned for their safety.
00:06:32 On this one event,
00:06:33 Brother Franz and his driver decided to park their car
00:06:36 near the home of their host,
00:06:38 a certain Brother Garcia, who was a mechanic.
00:06:41 So with the hood of the car open,
00:06:43 they asked a neighbor, “Is there a mechanic in the area?”
00:06:46 Of course, he was referred to Brother Garcia.
00:06:50 Brother Garcia then looked at the car and said,
00:06:52 “Your car needs to come into my shop.”
00:06:54 That was the opportunity
00:06:56 for Brother Franz to meet some local brothers and sisters.
00:06:58 When it was time to walk to the meeting later that day,
00:07:02 Brother Franz decided to wear the beret
00:07:04 and a sheepskin coat typical for the area
00:07:07 so that he would safely blend in with his brothers.
00:07:10 Well, these brothers were
00:07:11 very loving and courageous men.
00:07:14 They worked very hard
00:07:15 to keep the brothers in countries under ban fired up with zeal,
00:07:19 even risking their own safety.
00:07:22 Brother Franz actually was arrested
00:07:24 while meeting with the brothers
00:07:26 in Barcelona, Spain.
00:07:28 Well, these schedules that they kept
00:07:30 must have been exhausting.
00:07:33 If a country under ban was on the itinerary,
00:07:36 they might pay a visit to government officials
00:07:38 to promote legalization of our work.
00:07:41 Brother Knorr visited all of the branches
00:07:44 to encourage the brothers, and he talked with the missionaries.
00:07:47 But in the 1950’s, there was much growth,
00:07:50 and that proved to be too much for him alone.
00:07:53 So he decided that it would be appropriate
00:07:56 to train some of us brothers
00:07:59 so that we could assist in that work
00:08:02 and see that the shepherding was done
00:08:05 and that the work in the branches
00:08:07 was done in unity.
00:08:10 On the service tour of Africa in 1963,
00:08:14 Brother Henschel attended the convention
00:08:16 at Gbarnga, Liberia.
00:08:18 Suddenly, soldiers invaded the convention.
00:08:22 They arrested Brother Henschel and others.
00:08:24 He was mistreated
00:08:26 —beaten with a rifle butt to the point
00:08:29 where he thought he was going to die.
00:08:34 But he remained on the scene to encourage
00:08:36 and assist the brothers to be faithful,
00:08:39 to avoid compromise.
00:08:41 And when finally he was released,
00:08:44 instead of going home,
00:08:46 he completed his assignment
00:08:48 to visit other branches
00:08:50 and upon return
00:08:51 never acted the part of a hero or martyr.
00:08:55 It was just the cost of doing the Lord’s business.
00:09:00 Well, the headquarters representatives
00:09:02 wanted the best
00:09:03 for delegates to a convention.
00:09:05 Brothers Knorr and Henschel were known
00:09:07 to personally inspect venues
00:09:09 and even negotiate contracts.
00:09:11 In more recent times,
00:09:13 Brother Jaracz personally visited hotels
00:09:16 to make sure that there was a proper standard
00:09:18 of comfort and cleanliness.
00:09:20 He even tested out the beds.
00:09:24 Brother Knorr was well-aware of the situation
00:09:26 that the brothers were facing
00:09:27 in the Soviet Union.
00:09:29 He wrote many letters
00:09:31 in which he called on the brothers to live in harmony
00:09:34 under the direction of the organization.
00:09:38 One such letter fell into the hands of the KGB.
00:09:42 They altered it.
00:09:43 But when Brother Knorr was told about it,
00:09:45 he drew the brothers’ attention
00:09:47 to the spirit of the letter
00:09:49 because from the spirit of the letter
00:09:51 it would be evident immediately
00:09:53 whether it was a letter from the organization
00:09:55 or a forged letter.
00:09:58 This is because the spirit of the organization
00:10:00 serves to unite the brothers, not divide them.
00:10:04 All this attention to the international activity
00:10:07 was taking place while simultaneously directing
00:10:10 the work and expansion at world headquarters,
00:10:13 handling various legal issues,
00:10:15 organizing and speaking at conventions
00:10:17 throughout the United States,
00:10:19 Gilead School lectures and graduations,
00:10:22 annual meeting programs,
00:10:24 and all the while taking care
00:10:26 of their own spiritual well-being
00:10:28 and that of their wife if married.
00:10:30 The next few decades would see even greater growth
00:10:34 but also greater challenges.
