Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1958, Page 23

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Lutheran Synodical Conference, 1958 23

to apply to the contemplative mode, in the sense of outreaching,
as Browning puts in in his poem “Andrea del Sarto”: “A man’s
reach should exceed his grasp.” Reaching for the infinite, striving
toward God and godliness, sitting at the feet of Jesus, pondering
the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge
of God—may the church ever cherish these sublime activities
of the contemplative mode of life.

I
THE ACTIVE MODE OF LIFE

The active mode of life in religion is America’s specialty.
We have thus far produced little that is original in theology. But
what an impressive record we have in the practical field! We have
more charities, missions, donations, and clergymen per capita than
any other country. A larger proportion of our people are now
church members than ever before. Many of our local churches
are models of administrative efficiency. We know within minutes
how large our church attendance, our Communion attendance,
and our Sunday collection have been. Stewardship committees
are hard at work trying to increase all three. Secretaries have the
schedule of sick calls, emergency calls, meetings, letters to be
answered, bulletins to be written and sent out, at their finger tips
for the busy pastor. Pastors are expected to minister in an increas-
ing number of areas. They used to be shepherds of souls. Now
they are comforters, counselors, social workers, group organizers,
advertising experts, business managers, boosters, psychotherapists.
As a result of this hustling, bustling, muscular Christianity, the
prestige of pastor and church in the community is greater than
it was in pioneer days; at least you hear more about it in the
weekly religious columns of the local newspapers.

What has been said of the local congregation applies with
equal cogency to the synods, those amazingly complicated, cohe-
sive, and efficient organizations that inspire so much loyalty —
and so much criticism. Furthermore, this achievement in activism
in America is entirely the result of the volunteer effort of indi-
viduals. We have never had a state church and have never re-
ceived any help from the state, except indirectly in tax relief. But
our principle of the separation of church and state has been worth
more than subsidies.

The active mode of life in the church covers many phases.
There is the personal sphere—the winning of the individual for
the kingdom of Christ and all the work that goes into making
him a well-informed, responsible, and generous church member.
There is the congregational sphere—the work of ministering to
the membership as a whole, of encouraging church attendance,
participation in the Sacrament, and regular giving, of spreading
information about the synod’s work and fostering synodical loyal-
ties, not so much for their own sake as for the sake of extending
the Kingdom outside the local church. It also includes the build-
ing of churches and schools and keeping things shipshape.

A third great area is that of missionary activity — choosing
strategic mission fields and consecrated missionaries, superintend-
ing them, raising money to support them, and studying the best
methods of doing the work. It also includes guarding against the