Who was going to be put in charge? Three brothers were in line: C. C. Binkele, until then responsible for the Zurich office; E. Zaugg, already in Bern and responsible for the work there and in the French section; and there was also Jakob Weber, who cared for the colporteur and preaching work.”

Among others, Jakob Weber, who was responsible for the Service Desk at Bethel, was not impressed. He was so sure that all the anointed would be glorified in heaven by the end of the year that he pursued a “liquidation course.” He sent large quantities of literature to congregations without having received orders for it, instructing them to distribute the publications free of charge in their territory before the end of 1925.

All the efforts of the brothers at Bethel to reason with him were to no avail. Finally, he left not only Bethel but the truth and caused much grief among the brothers throughout the country, since he drew many with him. Some congregations were reduced to less than half their former size.