Collection › LCMS Convention Proceedings (St. Louis, Missouri) › 1959 · 44th Convention, San Francisco › Page 45
LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1959, Page 45

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

DOCTRINAL ESSAY 45

the overwhelming majority in this assembly learned what divine
doctrine really is from their instruction in Luther’s Small Cate-
chism in confirmation classes, in our schools and Sunday schools?
As a result of Luther’s great concern for the Christian training
of the youth of the church a new day of Christian education
dawned on the church. We are among the beneficiaries of that
great blessing of God. Soon after our forefathers arrived in this
country, they regarded it their sacred duty to establish schools
for their children and schools for the education of pastors and
teachers. Our forefathers and fathers bore in mind also that their
preaching must also be teaching, and so we find that they stressed
“doctrinal” sermons and also preached sermons on the Catechism.
They also introduced what became known as Christenlehre, in-
struction for Christians in Christian doctrine. In this instruction
the entire congregation participated. They also introduced Sat-
urday schools. Later Sunday schools were established and, only
a few years ago, vacation Bible schools. In recent years more and
more Bible classes have been called into existence for adults of
all ages. Some larger Lutheran communities have arranged for
Bible institutes. Especially in the last decades our system of parish
schools has enjoyed a remarkable growth. In most recent years
Lutheran high schools have been built in cities where there are
concentrated constituencies of our people. Since 1925 consecrated
members of our church conduct a flourishing university at Val-
paraiso, Ind., which provides for instruction in divine doctrine for
men and women of college age. Synod as a synod, that is, as
a fellowship of many congregations throughout the country, is
supporting two theological seminaries (Springfield, St. Louis) for
the theological preparation of pastors, two teachers colleges for the
training of men and women teachers in our elementary schools, and
almost a dozen colleges where students are prepared for admission
to our theological seminary in St. Louis. In addition, our Synod, for
ninety years, maintains its own publishing house, whose purpose
it is to print and distribute Christian literature which reflects the
divine doctrine entrusted to our church. A large number of period-
icals, also published by our church, find their way into tens of
thousands of homes of our members and provide them with that
kind of reading material which strengthens and deepens their
knowledge and appreciation of divine doctrine. Through a system
of supervision by officials of our Synod, our church makes sincere
efforts that we retain and pass on to our children the “sound”
doctrine which we have inherited by God’s grace from our fathers,

Earlier in one of these essays we called attention to the great
and intensive research that is being done also in the area of. God’s
Word, Holy Scripture. We may be certain if this research is done