The Home Mission Work of the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical

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The Home Mission Work of the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Concordia Seminary - Saint Louis Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary Doctor of Theology Dissertation Concordia Seminary Scholarship 5-1-1991 The omeH Mission Work of the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference: A Description and Evaluation George Gude Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholar.csl.edu/thd Part of the History of Christianity Commons, and the Missions and World Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Gude, George, "The omeH Mission Work of the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference: A Description and Evaluation" (1991). Doctor of Theology Dissertation. 10. http://scholar.csl.edu/thd/10 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Concordia Seminary Scholarship at Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Theology Dissertation by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. For more information, please contact [email protected]. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION. Chapter I. THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN SYNODICAL CONFERENCE GROPES TO HEED JESUS' GREAT COMMISSION. • • • • • • 8 Historical Background ••••••••••••• 8 Synodical Conference Attempts at Joint Work. 10 Joint Educational L~stitutions •••• 16 The Freedmen of the South. 18 Conclusion •••••••• 24 II. THE DEVELOPMENT AND CONDUCT OF THE SYNODICAL CONFERENCE BLACK MISSION •••••••••• 26 The First Stages of the Mission Development. 26 Factors Hampering the Mission's Growth •• 29 Four Significant Facts. • • • • • • • • • 33 North Carolina Becomes the Dominant Mission Field. 36 Black Lutherans Influence the Growth •••••••• 39 The Obstacle of Prejudice and Segregation 42 Finding Funds for the Mission 46 An Emerging Authoritarianism. 48 The Beginning of Organizations in the Black Mission. • • • • • ••• 50 Education •••••••••••• 52 Expansion into Alabama ••••••• 54 A.~d All Points Beyond - Expansion/ Change/ Tension. 59 Migration's Impact - A Changing Situation ••••• 59 A Changing Role for the Day School. • • •••• 62 The Nature of the Supervision ••••••••••• 64 Absolute Control Over the Work of the Mission. 65 Control over the Person of the Worker. 70 The Worker as a Pawn ••• 74 Gross Insensitivity •••• 76 Pressure Changes the Tone 79 Infallibility? •••• 81 Them and Us. • • • • • • • • ••• 83 The Manner of Supervision Changes • • ••• 84 The Impact of Racism in the Spread of Black Missions. 87 The End of the Synodical Conference Black Mission. 90 Conclusion 91 III. TRAINING BLACK WORKERS FOR THE MISSION. 93 A Hesitant Beginni:.ig • ·• • • • ••• 93 Black Institutions of Higher Learning •• 98 A New Direct ion • • • • • • • • • • 100 ii Luther College •••••••••• . 103 Immanuel College • • • • • • • • 107 Saga of Immanuel College •• 108 Why Did Immanuel Close? 122 Alabama Lutheran Academy •••• 131 A Desire for A.~other Way • 137 Conclusions ••••• 144 IV. THE STRUGGLE TO BECOME A "CHURCH". 147 A Church in a Vacuum 147 Incessant Pressure for Affiliation •••••••••• 148 The 1938 Proposed Constitution and Reactions to It 160 Continued Pressure • • • • • • • • • ••• 171 Achieving the Solution •••••• 173 The Report of the Survey Committee •• 174 The 1944 Constitution Proposal. 177 A Changing Point of View in the Black Churches. 186 1946 Resolution •••••••••••••••••• 190 The Process of Amalgamation •• 193 Conclusions •••••••••• . 203 v. THE FACTORS OF RACISM AND AUTHORITARIANISM IN THE WORK OF THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN SYNODICAL CONFERENCE. 206 The Attitude of Racism ••••••• 206 Racism of the Leaders. • • • • • • • • •••• 208 Fostering Racist Attitudes within the Church •••• 217 Racism in the Congregations • • • • ••• 225 The Practical Effects of Racism in the Mission. 230 An Attempt at the Theological Validation of Racism. 237 Efforts to Eradicate Racism •• 245 Conclusions •••••••••• 248 The Attitude of Authoritarianism 248 Definition ••••• 249 Authoritarianism in the Synodical Conference. 249 Conclusion. • • • • • ••• 252 POSTSCRIPT - CONCLUDING THOUGHTS. 255 Lack of Strategy •• 255 Segregation/ Racism. 257 Relation between Board and Workers •••••• 258 Factors Outside of the Synodical Conference •• 258 Nature of the Synodical Conference Itself ••• 259 Conclusions ••••••••••••••••• 261 Appe!'ldix A. Ohio Synod, 1818 ••• 264 B. Illinois Synod, 1846. 267 c. Missouri Synod, 1847. 270 D. Wisconsin Synod, 1850. 274 iii E. Norwegian Synod, 1853. 277 F. Minnesota Synod, 1860 ••• 280 G. English Synod, 1888 ••••• . 282 H. Michigan Synod, 1860 ••• 287 I. Slovak Synod, 1902 ••• 290 J. The Process of Formation •• 292 K. Divisions within the Synodical Conference ••• 297 L. The Status of Blacks - 1878-1960 ••••••••• 301 Reconstruction and Its Aftermath ••••••• 301 A New Emphasis ••••••••••••••• 307 Between the World Wars • • • • • • • ••• 309 The Tide for Change •• 310 BIBLIOGRAPHY ••••••• . 315 iv INTRODUCTION The Eva:1gelical Luthera:1 Sy:1odical Co:1ference of North America 1 prese:1ts a complex picture. It bega:1 as an expression of the doctri:1al u:1ity which existed amo:1g its co:1stitue:1t sy:1ods. I:1 his presi de:1 tial address to the 1946 conventio:i of the Sy:iodical Confere:ice , Pastor E. Be:ijamrn Schlueter2 rem1:1ded the delegates of the dual purpose of the Sy:1odical Co:1fere:1ce by quot1:1g portio:1s of Dr. C. F. W. Walther' s sermo:1 preached at the ope:ii:ig of the first co:1ve:1ti.o:1 of the Synodical Co:1fere:1ce i:i 1872 . He poi:1ted out how Walther had said that the Sy:iodical Co:1fere:1ce was to be a mea:1s to assist its co:1stitue:1t sy:1ods i:1 mai:1tai:1i:1g their fa i. thful'.1ess to the Scriptures and the Lu thera:1 Co:1fessio:1s . It was also to have as the fi:1al purpose of its joi:1t work the savi:1g of souls , 3 To e:1able the Sy:iodical Co:1fere:1ce to fu:ictio:i as a:1 age:1t to help preserve the orthodoxy of its co:1stitue:1t sy:iods, doctri:ial essays were prese:ited at its co:1ve:1ti.o:1s a:1d the actions a:id essays of the i:1di.vidual sy:1ods were give:i a thorough scruti:1y by review committees a ppoi:1ted at 1Hereafter it will be designated as the Sy:1odical Con fere:ice . 2Edwi:i Albert Be:1jami:1 Schlueter (1880- 1952) of the Wisco:isi:1 Sy:iod was elected preside:it of the Sy:1odical Conference in 1944 . He was at this time also the pastor of Gr ace Lutheran Church i:1 Oshkosh , Wisco:isi:1 . 3proceedi:igs of the Thirt y- Ni:ith Conve:iti.on of the Eva:igeli.cal Luthera:i Sy:1odical Confere:1ce of North America Assembled at Milwaukee, Wi sco:1si:1 August 6- 9, 1946, (St. Louis, Mo.: Co:1cordia Publishi:1g House , 1947), pp . 7- 8. 2 each Synodical Conference convention. Yet in spite of all these efforts, in the end the Synodical Conference disintegrated in doctrinal strife.4 In making its effort to ensure doctrinal orthodoxy, the Synodical Conference did not neglect the goal of saving souls. The scope of this dissertation is to describe, analyze, and evaluate the home mission work5 of the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference, which was a mission to Afro-Americans.6 The purpose is to expose the various factors which impacted this mission work and either helped or hampered its success. As a result of the study, it is the hope of the author that the church will learn from its past and manage to put fewer obstacles in the path of the Gospel it proclaims. In making this study of the black mission work of the Synodical Conference, it became apparent to the author that the two theological disputes which disrupted the Synodical Conference, the Predestinarian Controversy of the 1880s and the fellowship dispute which began in 1938, 4For an account and evaluation of the process of disintegration see George J. Gude, "A Description and Evaluation of the Pressures and Difficulties within the Synodical Conference which Led to Its Destruction," (STM Thesis, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. Mo., 1986). 5The terms home or inner missions were used interchangeably in the sources to describe the mission work that was done within the United States, in contrast to the mission work that was done in a foreign country. Beginning in 1935/1936 the Synodical Conference also conducted mission work in Nigeria. The history of the foreign mission work of the Synodical Conference has yet to be given scholarly treatment. 6It must be remembered that the individual synods were also conducting various types of mission work on their own throughout the period. This dissertation deals only with that which was done by the Synodical Conference itself. 3 had little impact on its black missio!l work. 7 There appear to be two reasons for this. The first was timing. The Predestinarian Controversy occurred just as the missio!l to the Afro-Americans was beginning, and the mission was still tiny. While it was true that the first missionary, Rev. Joh!l F. Doescher, sided with the opponents of C. F. W. Walther and left the Missouri Synod, Doescher had by that time already taken a call out of the black mission. L~ the case of the Fellowship Co!ltroversy, by the time the majority of the heat was generated by this controversy, the process of amalgamating the black congregations into the existing sy!lods, begun in 1946, was already well underway. The second reason that these theological controversies had so little impact on the Synodical Conference mission work was the integral relationship between the black missio!l a!ld the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. There were several aspects to this relationship. The vast majority of the white workers, including both pastors and professors, were from the Missouri Synod and would naturally have been sympathetic to its position. Since these men from the Missouri Synod were the ones who taught in the educational institutions which provided trai!ling for the black workers, it was natural that the black pastors also would favor the Missouri position. Fi!lally, the Missouri Synod provided over eighty percent of the funds for the black mission.
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