# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1922_S23
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

of the Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America. 1922. 23

These general faults, their power over us and their ruinous influence on our cause, we must penitently put away.

There are also faults that concern specifically the school system. The core of all these faults may lie in this, that with the school the form easily becomes more important to me than the substance. From this there grows in me at times an excessive zeal, in a legalistic manner, to stress the parish school, at times a certain sluggishness, so that I regard the school, so to speak, as a necessary evil. From this it then comes about that the public school with its magnificent organization, with its curriculum worked out to the last detail, etc., almost wants to appear to me as a model ideal. From this it then further grows that I enter into competition with the public school or seek its recognition. From this it follows further that I imitate its methods of education, that I feel religious instruction almost as a burden, that I conduct it mechanically, that instead of determining the spirit for the whole work it is degraded to a subject among subjects.

With these and similar temptations I have much to contend; they have often made me weary and crippled my work. And, as it seems to me, in this respect too I am only a child of my time. The whole air seems fairly pregnant with such views. This must therefore be the first, the chief victory, that we penitently recognize and overcome our faults.

To the victory that corresponds to our work as witnesses it belongs, furthermore, that we be filled with new zeal for our school.

There is still much to do. Let us look at our school buildings; they are often not in such a condition as they should be. This is the case not only in poor congregations, which maintain their present school only with the utmost exertion, but also in better-off ones. The equipment of the schools with teaching and instructional materials could surely everywhere be much better than it is. Not all the children of our own congregations are yet in our parish schools. Many outside children could be won. On the synod's behalf, itinerant preachers are gladly appointed, but in the appointment of teachers at mission congregations much more could be done. There is also still a great lack of suitable teaching staff; how long congregations often have to issue calls before they finally succeed in filling a vacancy in their school! And if we go to the school work with new zeal, we shall in future need more rather than fewer teachers than hitherto. Our teachers' seminaries are not equipped, either with teaching staff or with teaching materials, as they should be. Everywhere we may look, zeal for the school finds ample opportunity to be active.

Such zeal we do not want to prove by being able to parade before the world with magnificent achievements. Then the apparent victory would be a crushing defeat. Nor do we want to prove the zeal in the opinion that we would then be safe from attacks