Collection › LCMS Convention Proceedings (St. Louis, Missouri) › 1926 · 33rd Convention, Holy Cross Church › Page 107
LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1926, Page 107

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

Ev. Luth. Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States. 1926. 107

Regular Visitation of Our Foreign Mission Field.

The missionaries of the China Mission Conference respectfully
appeal to the Delegate Synod to authorize the Board of Foreign
Missions to send a member of the Board or some pastor or professor
to our China Mission field once a year, or at least every other year.

_ The purpose of such a visit by a learned and experienced man
from the homeland would be chiefly to: give us the benefit of a doc-
trinal paper for discussion at the annual meeting of our conference
or of a series of lectures on some important topic. The brethren in
the ministry at home feel the need of having eminent pastors and

‘ theologians prepare doctrinal papers for conferences and synodical

meetings. It is easy to see that the need for such doctrinal studies
is equally great on the mission-field in a heathen land. Some, if not
all, of us feel that the need is even greater here than at home, as it
is evident that Satan will exert himself to the utmost to defend such
a stronghold of heathenism as China. Indeed, the devil has by no
means spared the missionaries of the pure Word in China, but has
vexed us with various perplexing problems. During the past few
years important questions of doctrine and practise have agitated the
minds of your missionaries. Thorough doctrinal papers on these
questions and the advice of an experienced pastor or theological pro-
fessor might, under the guidance of God, have contributed greatly
towards an early and God-pleasing settlement of these matters. Left
to themselves, as they were, your missionaries have had to struggle
for years with serious difficulties, which in some cases burdened their
consciences and reduced their efficiency. As to the future, there will
always be problems which it will be highly profitable to discuss with
a competent theologian from home. Moreover, a pastor or professor
who has visited the mission-field could also do much to further the
interests of our China Missions among our fellow-Lutherans in
America.

At home it is customary for pastors and professors to travel
long distances, if necessary, in order to deliver sermons, lectures,
papers, etc., at special meetings or conferences. In China sectarian
missionaries have annual union conferences in the summer at such
mountain resorts as Kuling, and lecturers are regularly secured from
abroad at no inconsiderable expense. Even if we could take part in
such unionistic conferences, we could derive little benefit from them,
as too often such Modernists as Fosdick are the lecturers secured.
What sectarians and Modernists are willing to do in order to secure
such visitors as only tear down the Church of Christ we Lutherans
should be even more willing to do in order better to avail ourselves
of existing opportunities for building up the true Church in the
heart of heathen China.

We consider that it is not an impracticable matter to have