Article April 12, 1999 Issue

"What's it take not to quit?"

A report on the thirty-ninth annual congress of Vision New England, in Boston

By Kim Shippey, News Editor

During The Conference, writer, public speaker, and television host Jill Briscoe instantly captured her audience of several thousand when she told them about one of her favorite posters. It shows a dejected young sports enthusiast slumped alone on a bench. Clearly, he is in trouble—perhaps after a bad game. At the top of the poster, it says "I quit." In the bottom corner is the shadow of a cross, and underneath in small letters are the words "I didn't."

"This," said Mrs. Briscoe, "prompts the question 'What's it take not to quit?' " Turning to the theme of the conference, "Proclaiming Hope: On Christ the Solid Rock We Stand," she asked: "How do we proclaim hope when everything around us appears to be hopeless?"

In answer, she offered a profile of two men in the Scriptures who just wouldn't quit—the prophet Jeremiah and Baruch, his brave and faithful friend and secretary, whose name means "blessed of the Lord." They are a fine example, she said, of companionship, of servanthood, and of teamwork in the face of a chaotic situation nationally and internationally. "Together, they went on proclaiming hope to their own people—who didn't want to know—and to others, despite assassination attempts, the slime pit in which they couldn't feel the rock beneath their feet, the prison, and the stocks.

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