M95t8 .?4M ,#■'■ Reformed church in the United States S yn o d s • Pi 1 1 sburgh Jubilee Booklet Pros-rams and Addresses /O' ^JSTofTST^ cf '"^t^iCAL ^^i:. ■.'•■■'iYi'i JUBILEE BOOKLET PROGRAMS and ADDRESSES ^ FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF PITTSBURGH SYNOD AND INAUGURATION OF REV. EDWARD S. BROMER ^ jO TO THE CHAIR OF PRACTICAL THEOLOGY IN THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY AT LANCASTER, PA. oe PITTSBURGH, PA., OCTOBER 11-15,1921 JUBILEE BOOKLET PROGRAMS and ADDRESSES «M FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF PITTSBURGH SYNOD AND INAUGURATION OF REV. EDWARD S. BROMER TO THE CHAIR OF PRACTICAL THEOLOGY IN THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY AT LANCASTER, PA. / PITTSBURGH, PA, OCTOBER 11-15, 1921 PRESS OF THE NEW ERA PRINTING C0MPAN1 LANCASTER, PA. THE ANNIVEESAEY AND THE INAUGUEAL SEEVICES AT THE MEETING OF THE PITTSBUEGH SYNOD IN GEACE EEFOEMED CHUECH, PITTSBUEGH, PA., OCT. 15, 1930. DAVID B. LADY, The Pittsburgh Synod of the Eeformed Church in the United States was organized in Grace Eeformed Church, Pittsburgh, Pa., February 11, 1870. The first annual meeting was held in Buffalo on the first Wednesday in November of the same year. At the annual meeting, November 18, 1918, in Somerset, it was decided to meet in Grace Church, Pittsburgh, in 1920, in celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Synod's organization. At the meeting of Synod in Jeanette in 1819 "the ministers of Pittsburgh, with Eev. F. C. Nau, D.D., chairman, in consulta- tion, Eev. D. B. Lady, D.D., were instructed to prepare a program for the jubilee meeting of Synod." Synod met on Monday evening, October 11, 1920. The special anniversary service was held on Wednesday evening, October 13. Eev. N. D. Darbaker, D.D., presided. The scripture lesson was read by Eev. A. K. Kline. Eev. Jacob F. Snyder led the assembly in prayer. Eev. David B. Lady, D.D., made a brief introductory and historical statement. The memorial address was delivered by Eev. A. E. Truxal, D.D., and Eev. A. J. Heller, D.D., offered the closing prayer. The benediction was pronounced by Eev. S. G. Wagner. These features were interspersed with appropriate anthems and hymns. The men participating in this service were veterans. Eev. Jacob F. Snyder entered the ministry in 1863 and has served con- gregations in the Synod since that time. Dr. Truxal and Dr. Lady began their work in 1872 and always served in the Synod. Dr. Truxal was born, brought up, catechised and confirmed near Greensburg and was a student for the ministry in Westmoreland Classis, the oldest Classis in the Synod. The other men on the program spent most of their ministry in this Synod. Eevs. Snyder, Kline and Dr. Darbaker were born and brought up within the bounds of Synod, in fact, in Westmoreland Classis, and were under the care of this Classis while students for the ministry. Eev. Snyder and Dr. Heller were members of the Synod and were present at its organization. The addresses delivered on this occasion were printed in the 1 January number of the Reformed Church Review for permanent preservation. An equally important and interesting service was held on Wed- nesday evening, October 14, the inaugural service for the induc- tion of the Professor of Practical Theology, Rev, E. S. Broraer, D.D., elected a year before by the Synod at Jeannette, into his responsible office. This service was in charge of the officers of Synod. The presi- dent, Rev. Paul B. Rupp, presided. The scripture lesson was read by Rev. W. H. Cogley, corresponding secretary of Synod. Prayer was offered by Rev. J. C. Bowman, the retiring incumbent of the chair into which Dr. Bromer was being inducted. The minute of the election, the call and its acceptance were read by Rev. J. Harvey Mickley, D.D., stated clerk of Synod. The declaration and affirmation was administered by Rev. John W. Pontius, one of Synod's representatives on the Board of Visitors of the Semi- nary. The charge to the Professor was made by Rev. Paul B. Rupp, President of Synod. The Inaugural Address was delivered by Rev. Prof. Dr. E. S. Bromer. The benediction was pronounced by Rev. Prof. Dr. H. J. Chri&tman, President of Central Theologi- cal Seminary at Dayton, 0. These addresses are also printed in this number of the Review. ANNIVEESAEY ADDEESS, GEACE CHUECH, PTTTS- BUEGH, PA., OCTOBEE 13, 1920. DAVID B. LADY. The word anniversary is evidently a combination of two Latin words : Annis, year, and Vertere, to turn. It means literally the return of the year. The anniversary of an event is the day, a year, or two years, or more, from the time on which the event took pJace. The declaration of America's independence was made on the 4th of July, 1776; and every 4th of July since has been an anniversary of that act; and the 4th of July, 1876, was the 100th anniversary of that act. An anniversary is possible because time does not move forward in a stright line, as the crow flies, or even in a crooked line, like a stream of water flowing through valleys, between higher ground and hills, but in circles, as the second, the minute, the hour, the day, the week, the month, the year, the decade, the century. The second is a circle, the minute is a circle made up of 60 second, the hour, a circle made up of 60 minutes, the day, a circle made up of 24 hours, the week, a circle made up of 7 days, the year, a circle made of of 52 weeks, the century a circle made up of 100 years. The years are said to roll, as in the hymn beginning: " When rolling years brought on the day." Time is said to roll, as in the lines: Backward ! roll backward, O, Time, in tliy flight, And make me a boy again, just for to-night. God made the universe, we are told in the biblical account of the creation, in six days, and rested on the seventh day. We com- memorate, among other things, the completion of the creation every seventh day of the week, by resting from our week-day toil. A year is a complete circle, impressively so. A century is a circle made up of 100 yearly circles. A half century is a circle made up of 50 yearly circles. On the 11th of February, 1870, 50 years ago, after the necessary constitutional steps had been taken to make their action ecclesi- astically legal, the pastors and delegated elders of four Classis, west of the Allegheny Mountains and east of the Ohio line, met in the old Grace Eeformed Church on the corner of Grant and Webster Streets in Pittsburgh and organized themselves into the 3 4 Pittsburgh Synod, electing officers and attending to some neces- sary preliminary work. At this initial meeting these ministers who are still living were present, and took part in the proceedings: Walter E. Krebs, D.D., Andrew J. Heller, D.D., John H. Stepler, D.D., Jacob F. Snyder, and Thomas F. Stauffer. Eev. Jacob F. Snyder and Eev. Dr. A. J. Heller are members of this Synod. The first regular annual meeting of the Synod was held in Zion's Eeformed Church of Buffalo, N. Y., on the first Wednes- day of November of the same year. In addition to those still living who attended the meeting for organization in Pittsburgh in February, there were present at Buffalo in November, Eev. J. I. Swander, D.D., and Elder William E. Barnhart. All the others have gone over to the great majority. The Synod has passed its childhood, its youth, its early man- hood, and is now in the full vigor of its mature life and strength. And it is hoped and expected that it will prove its maturity and strength by subscribing and paying more than its full share of the Forward Movement contribution of $11,000,000 which the Eeformed Church has undertaken to secure, as well as by engaging in its full portion of the other Forward Movement activities, and as a consequence securing for itself its full share of the Forward Movement blessings. In 1783, 137 years ago, there was one settled Eeformed min- ister in the territory now embraced in this Synod, the Eev. John William Weber, an emigrant from Germany, who closed his work with his translation in 1816, and whose body lies at rest in the Muehliesen's graveyard, five miles south of Greensburg, under a granite monument erected to his memory by a grateful community in 1874, 58 years after his death. Sixty years later, in 1845, there were in this district, ten settled ministers : Nicholas P. Hacke, Henry Koch, William Weinal, Henry Earnest Frederick Voigt, H. G. Ibbeken, Henry Knepper, Philip Zeiser, George Leidy, and John Althaus, In this year of Grace, 1920, 77 years later still, there are 108 ministers — too many to name in a brief introductory address like this. Fifty years ago when organized the Synod had a membership of 43 ministers, 116 congregations, 8,339 communicants and con- tributed for benevolence $5,649.17. Twenty-five years later, in 1895, there were 136 congregations, 71 ministers, 16,276 com- municants and the benevolent contributions were $16,944, In 1920, the present year, there are 108^ ministers, 158 congregations, 26,583 communicants, and the benevolent contributions are $106,600. 1 This is seven less than a year ago. This decrease was caused by the removal of pastors to other sections of the church. The St. Paul's Orphans' Home, the orphans' home of this Synod, began its work in 1867, three years before the Synod came into existence, without a foot of ground or a dollar of money except what it was in debt for. Now it has 400 acres of land, farm buildings, cattle and farming implements and buildings for the Home and equipment and furniture worth about $150,000, and funds and securities on hand or on their way to the treasury, as an endowment, amounting to about $200,000 — a total of $350- 000. Many years ago, in 1893, to be specific, this Synod, as a Synod, legally by a change in the charter, acquired a share in the Theo- logical Seminary at Lancaster, and has in the fifty years of its existence contributed for permanent improvements and endow- ment of the Seminary the sum of $238,552.88, counting in the coal of the Beam farm recently sold for about $150,000. At the same time similar rights, with their attendant respon- sibilities, were secured in Franklin and Marshall College at Lan- caster. The Synod has contributed for permanent improvements and endowment of the college, in these 50 years, as nearly as could be ascertained, $131,667. Beside this these two last named institutions own the coal under about 1800 acres of land in Somerset County, donated by the Wilhelm family; and the prospects are that this coal will soon come into market and that from one fourth to three fourths of a million dollars will be realized from its sale. Similar interests have also lately been secured in Hood Col- lege for girls at Frederick, Maryland; but very little has been so far given for its support. These facts have meaning, and are mentioned here as showing the interest the ministers and people of Pittsburgh Synod are taking in the cause of the orphans, the liberal education of her sons and daughters, the preparation of young men for the min- istry, and of young men and women for positions of leadership in the church and community life. These sums of money and other property, so generously con- tributed, along with the steady and rapidly increasing gifts to Home and Foreign Missions and other benevolent objects are noticed as indications of the spiritual condition and progress, as the decades passed, of our congregations and people, and our growth in grace and the practice of piety and helpfulness. We have great cause to congratulate each other on this anni- versary occasion on what has been done and to take courage and press forward to new and greater progress and achievements in the next half century of our history. PITTSBUKGH SYNOD, 1870-1920. A. E. TEUXAL. The foundations for Pittsburgh Synod were laid by the Ger- man, Swiss and Scotch-Irish families that located in western Pennsylvania in the early days of our country. They came from eastern Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. They were men and women of strong physical constitutions and of heroic mind and heart, who feared not to dare the dangers of wild beast and savage Indian. And with it all they possessed great boldness in the Lord and were supported in their trials by their faith and trust in Him. The strong and steadfast character of these men and women who settled in the forests and glades west of the Alleghenies formed the firm and substantial foundation for the church established in this portion of the country. For the ex- pression and development of their religion they erected in the various settlements school houses of a primitive character in which their youth were instructed during the week, and the people comforted and edified on Sunday by the reading of sermons, the singing of hymns and the offering up of prayers. The first man to minister unto these people in spiritual things was the licentiate, John Conrad Bucher, who had been an ofBcer in Colonel Bouquet's regiment of Eoyal Americans. He began his labors in 1764 — 156 years ago — and for five or six years preached over a large portion of the territory which now constitutes Pitts- burgh Synod. After a long vacancy he was followed in 1783 by Eev. John William Weber who ministered unto this scattered flock faithfully and selfsacrificingly for a period of thirty-three years. Then came Eevs. Henry Habliston, Nicholas P. Haeke, John Koch and William Winel. Eev. Mr. Haeke served the Greens- burg charge the long term of 58 years. The pastors and congregations of this field were originally members of the mother synod with its headquarters in the east. In 1819 they were organized into Western Pennsylvania Classis in connection with their synod. But in 1836 the Classis was united with the Ohio Synod with the view of aiding in the establishment of a seminary in the west. In 1839 the Ohio Synod formed itself into a general body and divided its territory into three district synods. Western Pennsylvania Classis becoming the first District Synod of the Ohio General Synod, Three years later the district 6 synods were again dissolved, and Westmoreland and Erie Classis constituted of the First District Synod. In 1850 the portion of Westmoreland Classis north of the Kiskiminetas river was con- stituted a new classis under the name of Clarion. Later Clarion Classis was divided and St. Paul Classis formed out of a por- tion of it. Westmoreland Classis was connected with the Ohio Synod, but Clarion and St. Paul Classis united with the Eastern Synod. The preliminary requirements having been met, Westmoreland, Clarion, St. Paul and West New York Classis were, on February 11, 1870, organized into a District Synod under the General Synod of the Eeformed Church in the United States. In 1873 two new classis were formed — Somerset composed of that portion of West- moreland Classis lying east of the Laurel Hill; and Allegheny composed of portions of Westmoreland and St. Paul Classis. A few years later West New York Classis was dismissed for the purpose of uniting with other classes in the formation of the Ger- man Synod of the East. In later years the Hungarian Classis was added to Pittsburgh Synod, so that at present it is constituted of six classes. The first annual meeting of the Synod was held in Buffalo, New York, on the first Wednesday in November, 1870, when the following statistics were reported : Ministers 50 ; congregations 128 ; members 9,841 ; benevolent contributions $6',048. Last year's statistics were, ministers 115; congregations 163; members 26,610; benevolent contributions $90,070. The Synod now has fully two and two third times as many members as at first and contributes annually fifteen times as much to benevolence. Various conditions moved the classes to ask for a synod of their own, some of them of a temporary nature, but the controlling motive was the earnest desire to prosecute the work of Home Missions and Church Extension within their own bounds. The city of Pittsburgh with its suburbs and the towns throughout the various classes were growing rapidly in population and wealth and numerous places were opening for the establishment of Re- formed congregations. It was clearly felt that a synod was necessary to meet the pressing demands. All of the classes had been doing missionary work within their several bounds. This was especially the case of Westmoreland, the largest and strongest classis of Synod. When Grace church was established on Grant street the Classis pledged $60 to the support of the pastor and $1,000 towards the purchase of the church prop- erty. It gave encouragement and support to mission congrega- tion in various places. It became so filled with the spirit of missions that in 1866 it elected one of its ministers, the Eev. F. K. Leevan to the office of Missionary Bishop whose duty it was to organize mission congregations, procure pastors for them, supply 8 vacant congregations and have general management of the mis- sionary work of the Classis. This Classis, as the other classes did also, sought out young men for the Gospel ministry and sup- port them in their studies. In 1871 it had 11 students on its roll, 9 of them beneficiaries. The result of these efforts and labors on the part of ministers and elders became manifest in the revival of interest among the people in the general affairs of the clmrch. This came to view in their benevolent contributions. Eev. John A. Peters, the treasurer of Classis, reported in 1864 $300.18 as the benevolent contributions of the large Westmoreland Classis extending from Cumberland to Pittsburgh. But in 1865 he re- ported $603.82; in 1866 $1,240,79; and in 1867 $2,631.97. In 1870 the Synod at once elected Eev. F. K. T.eevan, mis- sionary superintendent of synod. The following year Eev. Geo. H. Johnston was elected to the position, and when he removed from the Synod Eev. Mr. Leevan served again in that capacity imtil the trisynodic arrangement was entered into for the prose- cution of Home Missions. The result of this missionary work is seen in the large flourish- ing congregations in the towns of synod: Cumberland, Hyndman Myersdale, Connellsville and Scottdale; Johnstown, Derry, La- trobe, Jeannette and Larimer; Du Bois and Kittaning; Meads- ville, Sharon and Butler; and all of the congregations of Pitts- burgh and vicinity. In fact all the congregations have received inspiration and benefit from the missionary spirit if the synod as a whole. Pittsburgh Synod has also been deeply interested in other forms of church work. St. Paul's Orphan Home of Greensville is an institution of the synod and has been generously supported by the people of our churches with contributions, gifts and bequests, both large and small. The largest gift has been that of Eev. C. E. Ferner of a few years ago valued at more than $80,000. And within the present year Mr. Daniel L. Dillinger gave $40,000 to this institution. The colleges and seminaries of the church have also received the loyal support of Pittsburgh Synod. It is in the habit of responding willingly and promptly to the special demands that arise. When in 1890 it undertook the establishment and endow- ment of a professorship in the seminary at Lancaster it raised $33,000 for the purpose in two years' time. In the present year its people gave pledges in support of the Forward Movement to the amount og $686,255.62; nearly all of which was secured in one week's time. The above sum has been somewhat increased since the late meeting of the General Synod. Individual members of Synod have at different times given liberal gifts and made large bequests to our institutions of learning. The Wilhelms bequeathed their large estate, valued at many thousandfe of dollars to the college and seminary at Lancaster; Abraham Beam bequeathed his entire estate, lately disposed of for $1-50,000, to the seminary; Valentine Hay, Esq., of Somerset, gave $30,000 to Heidelberg University at Tiffin, Ohio; and F. W. Biesecker, Esq., also of Somerset, lately contributed $30,000 to Franklin and Marshall College. All of these liberal givers belonged, and one of them still belongs, to Somerset Classis. Thus we see that Pittsburgh Synod has during the past fifty years been faithful and efficient in carrying forward the work of the Lord entrusted to it. It has zealously supported Home Mis- sions and Foreign Missions; maintained an Orphans Home; con- tributed liberally to the colleges and seminaries; is part owner of F. and M. College and the Theological Seminary at Ijancaster and of Hood College for Girls at Frederick, Md. It has from the beginning until now put forth earnest efforts to raise its ap- portionments for the benevolent operations of the church and has succeeded fairly well in doing so. There is therefore much cause for us to come before the Lord on this anniversary occasion with thanksgiving and praise for what He has enabled us by His grace to accomplish. At the same time we ought not to cherish a Phari- saical pride in what we are and have done. We also have our short comings and sins to confess. Our pastors have not always been f^^lly consecrated to the Lord and our people have not always been as faithful as they ought to have been. We might have done greater things and better things than we have accomplished. In the midst of our rejoicing let us not forget to confess our sins, and pray for divine grace that we may henceforth consecrate our- selves more fully to the blessed service of our Lord and Savior. Pittsburgh Synod has all along been pervaded by a life and spirit of its own. It does not always maintain much dignity in its deliberations. The members are free and candid in the ex- pression of their views on the subjects before the body. The Synod has been composed largely of young men and they have not been held in restraint by staid dignitaries of the church. Yet important matters have alwa3^s received serious and earnest con- sideration. On different occasions vital questions were discussed thoroughly, pro and con, during the sessions of an entire day. The Synod has been remarkably free of factions and divisions. The members at times divide honestly and earnestly on some sub- jects, but they all acquiesce in the conclusions finally reached and heartily cooperate in the work undertaken. There are no slackers in Pittsburgh Synod. As a consequence the general and special work of the church receives the cordial support of every classis and every pastor of the Synod. The future is now before us. The conditions of our field and of the country and of the world are very different from what they were fifty years ago. The Christian church is confronted by 10 problems and demands peculiar to the present age. Her ministers and leaders are challenged to give themselves to thorough study, earnest prayer and hard work. I am a native of Pittsburgh Synod, "was licensed by one of its classes, ordained by another, became a member of the Synod in 1872, remained a member ever since, and if not mistaken attended all of its regular and special meet- ings save one. My course is now about finished. If I have one regret it is that I am not permitted to take part in the great con- flict in which the gospel of our God is called to engage. The work before the church of the living God at the present time is an immense one. The enemy is entrenched in its strongholds. It is imperative that the ministers of the gospel should have a proper knowledge and understanding of the present condition con- fronting them. The whole world seems to be in the grasp of a spirit of selfish- ness, lawlessness and godlessness. This seems to be especially the case with the people of the so-called Christian nations. There is a large amount of indifference in regard to the church and to every other fundamental institution among men. Eespect for the church and for civil government and for law is at a very low ebb. The leaders of Germany have constantly and stoutly professed their faith and trust in God and at the same time declared the gospel to be idealism that cannot be actualzied, that its principles are applicable to individuals but not to national, international and military affairs. The government of Eussia has discarded the church and the Christian faith. Every nation of Europe in the present turbulent condition that prevails there is actuated by selfishness. Among the working men the world over there seems to be a deep-seated unrest and an ominous dissatisfaction with the present order of things. Our government and our people are not free of the power of selfishness. The only cause in which the people in general seem to be thoroughy interested in is money and the comforts and pleasures which it can bring them. Many of them seem to be entirely in the control of greed. Scarcely one third of the members of the church are at the morning services on the Lord's Day and less than one tenth at the evening services. Many of them spend Sunday travelling hither and thither in their automobiles. The fear of God has departed from the hearts of many. Taking all of these untoward and unpromising conditions into consideration it would seem that the kingdom of the devil were coming instead of the Kingdom of God. This is the condi- tion the church has to face at the present time. The only thing that can bring about a reaction and cause truth and righteousness to prevail is the power of Jesus Christ and this power must be brought into exercise by the church of the living God. Christ must be held up before the world and His Gospel applied to every activity among men. And the church 11 must first of all set herself right before God and the world. Judg- ment must begin at the house of Israel. The church must re- pent of her sins, and return whole heartedly unto the Lord. Then will she become the salt of the earth and the light of the world. To meet the exigencies of the present day a great Chris- tian revival is demanded; not one patterned .after the revivals of the near and remote past, but one that will take permanent hold of the hearts and minds and wills and lives of men, so that they will make the Lord supreme in their persons and their works. This is the work to be accomplished by the ministers of the Gospel, a work that will demand much soul-searching meditation, earnest communings with God, prayerful study and willing self-sacrificing work. A great religious, moral, social and political battle is im- pending for which an army of strong men is needed — men of faith and bravery and determination — men strong in their con- victions of righteousness and truth, strong in the Lord and the power of His might. When these requirements are met there can be no doubt as to the final outcome. The battle will be fought and the victory won, perhaps by ways and means that cannot now be foreseen. Let us cherish the sure hope that Pittsburgh Synod with its ministers, elders, deacons and people will grasp the situation fully and perform its part in the work of the Lord faithfully and well during the next fifty years. CHARGE TO PEOFESSOR OF PRACTICAL THEOLOGY BY THE PRESIDENT OF SYNOD. PAUL B RUPP. Dear Brother: You have been called to the Chair of Practical Theology, in the Eastern Theological Seminary at Lancaster, Pa., as the representative of Pittsburgh Synod in that institution. You have accepted the call. It now becomes my solemn duty, in the name of this Synod, to charge you, first of all to be true to the young men who may be hereafter committed to your instruction and care. They will later go in and out among their fellowmen as spiritual guides and moral leaders and it will rest upon you and your associates at the Seminary to cultivate in these future ministers of the gospel studious habits, high ideals and standards of personal integrity which will be far above the average. Thus you must assist them in building their foundation of moral leader- ship strong and deep in a knowledge of the will of God. They will look to you for counsel upon the things of the Kingdom, and through you they must be enabled to see the glory of God in the face of the living Christ. Your responsibility for the example you will set them will, therefore, prove to be a most grave one. May you find strength in the Lord to be a " workman that needeth not to be ashamed." In the next place, I charge you to be true to the spirit of the age, which is the spirit of truth-seeking. Never has any genera- tion been such a lover of the truth as this. " Our old men are dreaming dreams " of what might have been, and " our young men are seeing visions" of what ought to be. The age will not be put off with platitudes, half-truths or evasions. And the young men who will come under your tutelage will but partake of the spirit of the age. They too will be truth seekers, and you must prove yourself "a suffering servant of God" to lead them into deeper reaches of the truth. "The times are out of joint" and it will be your task, by the grace of God, to show these coming leaders of our Church how they may cooperate with God in set- ting the times right. Men are looking for panaceas for all human ills, and they are running to and fro in their search in a manner which sometimes bespeaks a hopeless heart or a fruitless quest. Deep down in their souls however, there is a love for truth. May you respect that love and guide their steps into the ways of truth. 12 13 May you never fear to revise your views when God sheds new light upon the truth for you, and as a humble thinker of the thoughts of God may you grow in wisdom and grace from more to more. Again, I charge you to help our young men cultivate a Christ- like love for humanity, for it is that alone which will help them to become faithful pastors of their people. They are not to be preachers alone, but spiritual fathers. The care of souls will be in their keeping. They, too, must come to know with Jesus Christ "what is in man" — man's weaknesses, frailties, and sorrows and sins; and with the big heart of Jesus Christ flooding their hearts with whole-souled love, they must love man and live for him. It will be your purpose to help God make lovers of the human race, but you can do so only as you yourself enter fully into the common daily experience of the race. For this age has no place in it for theological ventures. It wants men, and it needs men, who are filled with the spirit of the living God — of that God, who in Jesus Christ, suffers for the sins of the race and struggles with it to bring it into living reconciliation with him. And to that end I charge you finally to be true to him who in the very effulgence of the Father's glory and the express image of his person and character. " The truth as it is in Jesus " will be your one goal. In him must you find all the necessary light for the world's moral darkness. And through him you must lead your students into the very presence of God. His ideal of human brotherhood, built upon the impregnable rock of God's living fatherhood, you must ever hold before the eyes of those who will look to you for guidance. In Jesus Christ, as the complete revela- tion of the Father's heart and the goal of all human evolution under the directing hand of the Father himself, you must find your own inspiration for daily living and the content of your theological instruction. Thus may you be true to the developing ideals of your students, true to the truth-seeking spirit of the age, and true to the loving heart of the Saviour and Master of men, knowing that as you thus labor in the Kingdom of your God your labors will not be in vain, inasmuch as they will be performed in the name of the Lord. May the Lord bless you and keep you; May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; May the Lord let the light of his countenance rest upon you and give you wisdom and peace. INAUGUEAL ADDEESS. EDWAED S. BROMER. Mr. President, Fathers, Brethren and Friends of Pittsburgh Synod, I am at this moment keenly conscious of the grave import- ance and the spiritual significance of the task which you have just laid upon me. My first impulse is to turn away from it and cry out, "Lord, who is sufficient for these things?" The an- swering consciousness that, " Our sufficiency is of God," alone can satisfy and sustain one in such a moment ; for, only God in Christ can say, " My grace is sufficient for thee, for my power is made perfect in weakness." My second impulse turns me toward you as brethren in the ministry in a deep feeling of humility, which is greatly intensified by your own expressed appreciation and estimate of the importance of the task to which you have called me. I must confess that it is not so much a feeling of gratitude that fills me, as one of joy in a mutual privilege and honor which permits me now as a professor of practical theology to join with you in the great task of developing an efficient ministry for the Church and the King- dom of God. Your hearty and sincere call, your sustaining pray- ers, and your aggressive Christian spirit stimulate in me the cour- age necessary to attempt the task assigned. Permit me, there- fore, to express my appreciation of your personal confidence in electing me and the official privilege you have now granted by inaugurating me as the professor of practical theology to con- tinue with you in the fellowship of Christ and the building up of the Kingdom of God among men. According to the constitution of our Church the privileges and duties of a professor of theology are inherent in the ordination to the Christian ministry; for, it declares in Article 25 that, "a teacher of theology is a minister of the Word, who has been duly elected .and inaugurated as a professor in a Theological Seminary of the Church." He is a minister of the Word chosen to teach. There is, therefore, no special ordination. As a professor of theol- ogy I am only sharing with you as a brother among brethren, the life and work of the Christian ministry. It is in full accord with the democratic spirit of the constitution that the ordination of elders, deacons, and the confirmation of members in the laying on of hands, point to the fact that we all, in the universal priest- 14 15 hood of believers, are partakers of the divine nature of our Lord and co-workers in His ministry. As ordained ministers of the Word we are preachers, or teachers, or missionaries. By your act of election and inauguration I have this evening been declared a teacher in the department of practical theology in the Theologi- cal Seminary of the Eeformed Chuch in the United States. This reference to the democratic spirit of our constitution is not made by mere chance. Members, deacons, elders, preachers, mis- sionaries, and teachers are all members of a common brotherhood. The source of authority finally is the congregation. Among us the congregation is the origin, conserver, and the bearer of the Christian experience and life. It is, therefore, quite in keeping on this inaugural occasion to speak of the Christian community as the norm of practical theol- ogy- , . . . . r_ :, In presenting this theme the following divisions will be observed : First, the historical development of the conception; second, its effect on the definition, purpose, scope, and divisions, of practical theology; third, several of its primary implications and results. I. The Historical Development op the Conception. Whilst it is true that the beginnings of the Christian work usu- ally treated in practical theology are found in the New Testament, particularly in the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles, and were continued in growing emphasis during the Post-Apostolic period of the Church as witnessed in such ancient writings like the Didache, it is nevertheless only in the writings of Chrysostom that we find an attempt to state any of the principles either of the pastoral care of individuals or of the art of preaching. About 381 A. D. Chrysostom wrote a book, entitled. Concerning the Priesthood, in which he states certain things concerning the art of preaching. The next work of importance is Augustine's treatise, called. Concerning Christian Doctrine, in which a great advance over Chrysostom's statement is made. It maintained a position of constant influence throughout the Middle Ages, and was only surpassed by a work written by Gregory the Great, which, in summary form, gathered the pastoral and homilectic instructions for the priest and became the standard of the Catholic Church. Many writers may be enumerated in the period of the history of the Church prior to the Eeformation, who made attempts at stat- ing the principles and work of what later was called practical theolog}^, but it is not necessary for our purpose. In all Catholic treatments of the subject of practical theolog}^, the entire work is considered from the viewpoint of the priestly office. The reason for this is self-evident when we consider the Catholic 16 theory of the Church. As dogma is beyond reason, so monastic life is beyond ordinary life; so, also, is the Church as the holy in- corporation of all the power and grace of God above all human organizations, including the State. The Church is the institution which God established in the earth for the salvation of men. It is, therefore, the transicendant miracle, the .incorporation of heavenly powers and gifts, exalted and holy, as no other institu- tion in the world. It has the whole of divine truth in its posses- sion, which it, in the course of its existence, dispenses through sacraments. It alone is the possessor of this truth, and, therefore, infallible. This possession is based on the divine supernatural revelation. Therefore, the Church decides what is true and false in the world. It, therefore, also has the salvation and happiness of its members in its own power. It is their very life, because it exercises the benevolent miraculous power of God in this, and in the world to come. It not only promises heavenly blessedness, but also earthly good. It is above human control. It is the only grace dispensing institution in existence. The center of its do- ings and the instrument of its blessing is the cultus. Therefore, above all things it is an institutionalized cultus sending out its power through sacraments to its members. Its living heart is the offering of the eucharist; herein is concealed the highest and richest of its gifts. Through this sacrament of the eucharist it transmits the divine substance of God as the germ of eternal life to the believer. Through the sacrament of the confessional it controls the ethical issues of the inner life of its adherents. Through the sacrament of marriage it enters the home with au- thority. Through the sacrament of baptism it claims all the chil- dren. Through the sacrament of extreme unction it opens the gateway of death. Through the sacrament of penance it delivers the soul in purgatory and controls the future life. Consequently, the norm of all practical theology in Catholicism is the priestly office. From it radiates all practical activities. Its natural divisions are the cultus, the confessional, and the homily or preaching. The second period of decisive change in practical theology is the Eeformation, in which the ecclesiastical congregation becomes its norm instead of the priestly office. The primary religious significance of the Eeformation lies in its return to the direct experience of God by the individual be- liever over against the indirect institutional experience of God through sacraments as maintained by the Catholic Church. Its central principle of the justification of the individual believer by faith, and faith only, require for its corollary the universal priest- hood of all believers. This logically shifted the emphasis from the institutional to the personal experience of religion; from the clerical to the human interpretation of life; from the sacerdotal 17 to the spiritual viewpoint. This great change is best summarized by Luther in his little book, entitled, " The Freedom of the Chris- tian Man/' which marks the height of the Eeformation in its first outbreak of enthusiasm and power. The social counterpart of this individual experience of God, and of this spiritual viewpoint of the religious life, is the universal priesthood of believers and the consequent democratic exaltation of the congregation or community of believers to primary considera- tion in the organic conception of the Church. After the first out- burst of the Reformation was over, and the sober second thought of the responsible leaders of the movement reasserted itself, it became manifest that only the Mystics and the Anabaptists dared fearlessly attempt to apply this high spiritual experience and prin- ciple to practical life, and fully recognize the congregation or the community as the guiding norm of the activities of the home, Church, State, etc. It was their conflict with the State that brought them to grief. Luther and the Lutheran movement made their compromise, on the one hand, with the mediaeval Catholic concep- tion of baptism and the Lord's Supper as sacraments, and, on the other, with the civil authorities by surrendering the control of secular life to the state in return for the financial support and the military protection of the church in the exercise of its distinctive functions of the preaching of the Word and dispensing the sacra- ments. Consequently, the congregation itself, as a factor in the Christian life, receded into the background and the semi-priestly and pastoral office remained the norm or directive conception of the practical activities of the German Lutheran Church. For them practical theology was pastoral theology, in definition, and scope, and division. From the pastoral office radiated all the functions of the religious life of the congregation. In the Reformed Church, under Calvinistic influence, it was distinctively different. The doctrine of the elect was the de- termining center. The religious experience of the individual was presupposed but it was not the creative principle of Galvanism. It was the elect and the congregation of the elect that became the determining factors. This principle connected itself with the Old Testament and exalted* the sovereignty of God and the right of the elect of God to rule in the earth. Therefore, the emphasis of the congregation of the elect and its alliance with the state is made in order to control the moral and religious life of the people. The best illustration of this was the rule of Calvin and his con- sistory over the city of Geneva. ISTot only was the congregation and its pastor exalted, but its chosen officers and others as lay- men were freely used in the service of the Church. Thus did Calvinism open the way toward the centrality of the congregation, both in Church government and moral discipline of the com- 18 nmnity. The Puritan comnrnnities in England, the Netherlands, and America, are typical illustrations of the elaboration of the congregational principle as the basis of a representative type of democracy. Our own branch of the Reformed Church, extending up the Ehine to the Netherlands, combined the religious principle of Lutheranism with the congregational principle of Calvinism, which accounts for the fact that we find it so easy to move both with the progressive evangelical ,and the social democratic movements of our time. It is, however, to be noted that both the Lutheran and Ee- formed branches of the Eeformation remained under the general Catholic conception of revelation. They alike accepted the dogmas of the great oecumenical councils, the same theory of the inspira- tion and infallibility of the Bible, and neither of them in actual practice fully maintained the great spiritual principal of free- dom in the experience of God in Jesus Christ by faith, and by faith alone. Even though the Mystics and the Anabaptists main- tained the principle by the intuitions of experience, they could not justify themselves in reason and fact on the basis either of the scriptures or of tradition, because they, too, held the same general view of revelation, the Bible, and dogma. Consequently, the logical democratic deductions from the prin- ciples of justification by faith only, and the universal priesthood of believers were not made. The pastoral office, on the basis of congregational activities, became the guiding principle of prac- tical theology in the Eeformation and Post-Eeformation period. All the practical activities were derived from this pastoral con- ception. Hence, the use of the title, pastoral theology as summing up the whole of the practical department. This leads us to the third or modern stage, in which we see the Christian community finally recognized as the guiding norm of practical theology. What the Eeformation accomplished in behalf of the freedom and permanence of religion as an individual, immediate personal experience of God in Christ, over against the Church, as a closed infallible corporation or institution, that our modern period, through historical criticism, through an enlarged scientific vision of the world, through the moral failure of the ruling culture of the period, and through the present demands of the spiritual life of the people, had to accomplish for us, over against an in- fallible Book, and an infallible dogma, and an inexorable scien- tific law. It is declared openly by those most deeply interested in religion, and most gripped by the experience of God in Christ, that a man is not only justified before God, and partakes of the spirit and life of God by faith, and faith only, over against an in- fallible institution, but also over against an infallible Book, and 19 an infallible dogma, and an infallible statement of physical and moral laws. In fact, the effective and practical evaluation of the Church as an authoritative institution, of the Bible, as a positive revelation of the living God in Christ, and of dogma, as the his- torical expression of experimental doctrine or truth, is now pos- sible as never before in the history of Christianity. Consequently, the vital reality of the experience of God in Jesus Christ, of the authority of the Church, Bible, and Dogma, and of the Kingdom of God as the social hope of mankind, was never more free, cer- tain, and imperative than in our own days of constructive faith. It is significant too, that the real contribution of the Mystic and the Anabaptist in the time of the sixteenth century Reforma- tion is now apparent. The democratic trend of the Reformed branch of the Reformation is now coming to fruition. In America we are rapidly approaching the time when the center of the prac- tical activities of the Church is becoming the democratic Chris- tian community. We are truly shifting the emphasis from the institutional to the personal, from the clerical to the human, from the sacerdotal to the spirtual, from the autocratic to the democratic, from the absoluteness of infallibility to the vital cer- tainty of living experience. The divisiveness of sectarianism, the social helplessness of the churches in their individualism, the grave moral dangers of modern life, involving the overthrow of governments and nations, the breakdown of individual character, and many other causes, have made us ask anew, Who is God? Who and what is Man? What is religion ? What is Christianity ? What is the goal of society ? \Vhatever else may characterize our quest, this one thing does mark it, — we are seeking not only the direct approach to God, which was the claim of the 16th Century Reformation, but the sure grasp of a living, present experience of God upon personality and char- acter, on the one hand, and upon society and the social hope of humanity, on the other, both as a present and a future reality. The constructive work is far on the way. The prophets of a new era of constructive Christianity are rising in every land. We are putting into vital relation the two poles of life, — personality and society, individual salvation and social redemption. In fact, we are being born again to see and to enter the Kingdom of God in the earth, as well as in heaven. The Kingdom of God has avowedly become the foundation of Christian thinking and ac- tion, with Jesus Christ its chief corner stone. It is, therefore, quite true to the historical facts to s,ay, that, since the days of Frederick Schleiermacher, practical theology has been finding a new path to the restoration of the Christian com- munity to its place of centrality in the considerartion of the ac- tivities of the Christian Church. In this respect it is a return to the original experience of Apostolic Christianity. 20 II. Its Effect on the Definition, Puepose, Scope, and Divisions of Practical Theology. In general, in the mediaeval Catholic Church, the entire science of theology in its several departments issued in practical theol- ogy; in particular as a special treatment it was developed as the theory and practice of the priestly office. Its natural divisions were : the cultus, the homily, and the confessional. In the Protest- ant Church, up until the middle of the nineteenth century, prac- tical theology was distinctively developed as pastoral theology. The emphasis was shifted from the priestly office to the congrega- tion, but still centered primarily in the minister as the preacher of the Word and the dispenser of the sacraments. Consequently, the normal divisions were : ( 1 ) The Theory of the Christian Min- istry, or the Minister as the Ambassador of Christ as Prophet, Priest .and King; (2) Ecclesiology (Church Law or Polity), the Minister as Ruler; (3) Liturgic; The Minister in Worship (as Priest); (4) Homiletic: The Minister as Preacher; (5) Cate- chetic: The Minister as Teacher; (6) Poimenic: The Minister as Pastor; (7) Evangelistic: the Minister as Evangelist and Mis- sionary. During the nineteenth century, beginning with Schleiermacher, the change of emphasis became apparent, which puts the congre- gation into a central position in practical theology as determining both the definition of the science and the principle of its divisions. The following are typical modern definitions. Practical theology is the theory of the ecclesiastical practice of Christianity (C. J. Nitsch). Practical theology is the science of the self -activity of the Church in its own edification (E. Chr. Achelis). Practical theology is the science of the activities of the life of the Church with reference to the Kingdom of God (Christlieb). Practical theology is the science of the activities of the Christian com- munity in its processes of realizing the Christian ideal of indi- vidual and social life. Its object is the work of the minister him- self in and for his congregation, as well as the work of his mem- bers and helpers whom he is to quicken, lead, and train. The goal or aim of this work is the development of the congregation into a living community whose influence shall reach out, in all directions, into the entire social order just as far as its own genuine leadership and vitality permit (Frederick Mebergall). In a descriptive way the catalogue of the Hartford Theological Seminary says, practical theology concerns itself with the environ- ment, planting, and nurture of Christianity. These definitions make the Christian community the determin- ing center of practical theology. They vary, however, in the de- gree in which they are true to the principle in making their divisions. They are all European writers and have the background of the continental Protestant "^-hristianity. Strange as it may 21 seem, there is not a single complete system of practical theology published by English or American theologians. It is, neverthe- less, apparent that we have been far in advance of the continental churches in recognizing the democratic centrality of the congre- gation in the practical activities of the Church, despite the fact of our continental inheritance of doctrinal creed and church organization. It is quite in keeping with this occasion to suggest the outlines of a system of practical theology which reflects the spirit and genius of our American type of democratic Christianity. In do- ing so we recognize that the factors of church activity are both idea and fact, i.e., theory and practice. The actual facts of the life of the Church more or less agree or disagree with the original idea. The conditions of a historical manifestation, as well as the inner conception of the idea operating it, are not only universal and permanent, but also relative and changing; for example, the national conditions. The future of the Church rests upon the basis of the present, a present, however, that is only comprehensible through the past. Consequently, in the theory of practical theol- ogy, not only the given standpoint of the inherited ecclestiastical system must be involved, but also all the present vital activities of the Church and the determining conditions of its environment. On such a basis it becomes possible to make the adjustments re- quired in meeting the present and future requirements of the new era already settling upon us. We, therefore, are considering practical theolog}^, first, as to its theory, and second, as to its activities, and both on the basis of the Christian community as its determining norm. Part I. Its Theory. I. The Christian Community and the Goal of Society stand out as the first consideration. The attempt to state the Christian ideal is essential. It involves the problems of personality and the com- munity and their ideal interrelation and harmonious interaction in the dominant conception of Jesus, namely, the Kingdom of God. At the heart of this Christian ideal is the individual and social experience of God in Jesus Christ, as its moral and spiritual creative power. II. The Actual Community, i.e., the community as it is in its present activities and standards of Christian living at once de- mands consideration. The ideal is essential, but unrelated to the actual processes of history and fact becomes purely mystical or rationalistic and a hindrance to real progress. The actual community may be considered from three points of view, — the religious, the moral, the ecclesiastical. This means a community study — a kind of science of the people as such. 22 The religious point of view recognizes the fact that the present religious life of any community involves all the primitive re- ligious instincts of the race. The background of the history and evolution of religion is implied. The same is true of the facts involved in the study of comparative religions. The present crisis of the World War has revealed how the primitive religious in- stincts fundamentally control us. Even in normal times we have to do with the survival of fortune-telling, powwowing, and numer- ous other primitive experiences. The psychology of religion also deals so effectively with the actual personal, individual, and social experience of religion, that it necessarily becomes one of the most effective means of learning to know and to understand the people of a parish community. In a day when the materialistic, economic interpretation of his- tory is playing such havoc among the masses, the problem of the relation of the social economic struggles to their moral and spirit- ual life demands primary consideration. In other words, the consideration of the Christian community as it is requires us to take into account the results of the critical- historical methods of study especially involving the history and evolution of religion, the individual and social psychology of religion, and the social economic development of the race. The influence of the modern sciences, not only upon theology, but upon the actual living of the community, stands out as one of the prominent features of our modern life. From the moral or ethical point of view of the community we have somewhat more direct applications of all that has been said with reference to the various sciences in relation to the religious life of the people. What affects and interprets their religious out- look, necessarily affects their moral life. The question of moral conduct, both as the individual and social experience, strikes at the very root of Christian ethics as rooted in a living experience of God. The details of daily life involving our constant conduct cannot be explained outside of our fundamental inner reli^ou8 experience. The question of the spiritual man in his own per- sonal life, and in relation to his fellowmen, cannot be separated from the question of the natural man in the same relationships. There is, therefore, a type of popular Christian ethics that must be studied and understood by the preacher. Its relation primarily to the religious life determines its essential developments. It is at the point where character and conduct touch the daily practical problems of life that the Church becomes vitally interested. At no time is its mission separated from this plain daily ethical life of the people as it works itself out in business, in industry, politics, trade and calling. The ecclesiastical viewpoint of the community raises the whole question of the actual working relation of the Church as an 23 institution to all these vital problems of the people. It is just as important to know what is the present attitude of the masses to the Church, and their viewpoint concerning it, as it is for the minister and the leaders of the Church to know the past history of the Church as an institution, and of Christianity as a doctrine and a life. It is still more important to know what contribution the Church is actually making toward the solution of these ethical and spiritual problems of the people which must essentially grow out of their daily struggle for existence. The great demand is for the presentation and realization of the ecclestiastical system as the organized individual and social experience of the living God in Christ, and, therefore, the moral and spiritual creative power that is to quicken the social hope of the Kingdom of God in the hearts and minds of the people. All tliis involves a study of the exciting facts concerning the working efficiency of the Church in its local environment. Such a study of the actual community as it exists puts into Practical Theology a concrete, active and progressive realism which illuminates and quickens its best ideals. III. The Christian Congi-egation Conserving the Ideal, there- fore, is the next step in the theory of practical theology, after discussing the ideal and the actual Christian communities. It accordingly becomes necessary to consider the historical forms of the Church from the point of view of practical theology. Catholocism, both Greek and Eoman, Protestantism, both Luth- eran and Eeformed, Anabaptism, Pietism, Methodism, ]\Iodern- ism, both Protestant and Catholic — all these must pass in review and particular attention given to actual life of the Church and its mode of operating in the life of the people. Only then may the problem of the modern Church be stated, and the description of the living Church as a present reality at- tempted. The community, the churches, and the Kingdom of God will begin to stand out as definite conceptions and facts of the historical process. The whole question must be raised as to the efficiency of denominationalism and nationalism in maintain- ing and propagating the Christian religion as the redemptive hope of mankind. IV. The Experience of God in Jesus Christ as the Moral and Spiritual Creative Activity and Power of the Community, con- sequently, becomes the central problem. The actuality of this living experience of God in Jesus Christ is the only hope of a modern department of practical theology. Otherwise we would soon lose ourselves in an empty, rationalistic Unitarianism, on the one hand, and a fruitless individual and social ethical legal- ism on the other, in the storm and stress of the oncoming social democracy that is filling the modern world. The elements of this religious experience of God in Christ are 24 the fatherhood of God, the sonship of the individual believer, and the brotherhood of man. It must be set forth in its individual and social aspects. Its doctrinal content must also be differ- entiated. Its personal agencies, the minister and all other per- sonal agencies, clerical and lay, involved in the organization, administration, and prosecution of the work of the Church, must not only be theoretically considered, but opportunities for training all these agencies should be afforded. The expansion of this ex- perience of God in Christ as the individual and social power, must reach out into the community, the nation, and the world. The following quotation from the Hartford Seminary catalogue states the problem very clearly : " The power of God unto salvation is not a mechanical force. It is a vital energy, moral and spiritual, and the methods of its utilization must be those which belong to the realities of life. The religion of Jesus Christ is a vital prin- ciple to be implanted by the minister within a social environment, for the regeneration of the world. To accomplish this is the task of the Christian Church, and the minister is the leader of the Church. If he is in any measure to meet his responsibilities he must have : ( 1 ) Knowledge of what the Christian religion is, as a vitalizing faith; (2) knowledge of what the environment is in which Christianity is to be planted; (3) knowledge of how to plant and nurture Christianity within the environment. To supply this knowledge, and to make it dynamic in the personal- ities of those who are taught, is the real task of a school of Chris- tian theology." Part II. For the sake of convenience we approach the Activities of the Christian Community, first. As to Content, second, As to Or- ganization. I. As to content, it is most interesting to notice how the ac- tivities of the Church naturally grow out of the Christian com- munity as the norm of practical theology. 1. The Public Services, or the Congregation Assembled, marks the beginning of the classification. First, there is Worship, which involves the history and growth of the cultus, ,as well as its present use and new developments. Second, is Preaching or Homiletics, including the history of preaching, the principles of homiletics, its practice and its ma- terials. It is especially in the consideration of the materials of homiletics that one of the interesting phases of the new develop- ments of practical theology consists. There exists at present a very wide, breach between the matured results of the historical and critical study of the books of the Bible in commentaries and the real evangelical interests of the Church. This is best illus- trated by the series covering the whole Bible, called, " The Inter- 25 national Critical Commentary." The contrast between this scien- tific modern commentary and the " Pulpit " or " Speakers " com- mentaries of the past, from the homiletic viewpoint, is very great. No preacher thinks of going to the International Critical Com- mentary for homiletic suggestions. The mediation between the accredited results of the historical-critical interpretation of the Bible and the evangelical needs of the Church, becomes one of the new scientific duties of the department of practical theology. Courses bearing the following titles become necessary : The Homi- letic Use of the Bible, The Homiletic Use of Christian Doctrine, The Homiletic Use of History and Sociology, The Homiletic Use of Literature, especially poetry. The various types of public services also come under considera- tion, and hymnology likewise must be considered. 2. Eeligious Education, or the Congregation Educated and Edu- cating, is the second branch of special activity in which the Chris- tian community is interested. It recognizes, above all, the Christian content to be taught, but it also fully appreciates the value of religious psychology and pedagogy. Its particular or- ganization in the local congregation is differentiated as it effects the pulpit, catechetics, the school of religion, and public religious education. At no point is the modern demand for thoroughness and aggressive advance more manifest. It includes not only the training of preachers, but also of laymen as religious educational directors and teachers of the congregation. 3. Pastoral Theology, or the Congregation Shepherded, rises to special importance in the new consideration of practical theology. It presents the cure of souls from the point of view of a vital Christian experience. It touches not only preparation of the pastor himself, but also the training of lay workers, in order that they may assist in the specialized work of the spiritual care of the people. It needs to be organized both from the pastoral and lay points of view. 4. Evangelization, or the Congregation Growing, is imme- diately recognized as a fundamental activity. The discussion of the history and principles of evangelism has attained a special significnce in these later days when we are considering the King- dom of God as an actual present reality in the world. On the basis of the individual and social experience of God in Christ as the leaven of society, it becomes both the theoretic and practical de- mand of the Church. It works itself out in the following forms: Personal, Parish, Community, National, and International Evangelism. In the local congregation it is the problem of per- sonal evangelism developed into community evangelism. In the denomination it becomes home and foreign missions. The specific training of the preacher, elders, deacons, Sunday School superin- tendents and teachers, and other local church workers in this 26 evangelistic work of the Church will be more and more required if the Church is to meet its new duties in the new era of the social democracy which is being rapidly established throughout the world. 5. Christianization conceives of the congregation as a social power. Evangelization more particularly involves the heralding of the good news of the Kingdom, both as an individual experi- ence and a soocial hope; Christianization has more particularly reference to the self-realization of the community in its Christian life, involving all its various forms of expression, political, social, economic, and religious. The contribution of social psychology and social ethics, as well as those of the study of comparative religions, are prominent factors in arriving at the proper con- sideration of the Christian religion as the Christianizing force intended ultimately to bring to pass the Kingdom of God in the earth. II. As to Organization: Finally, the consideration of the ac- tivities of the Church, with the Christian Community as the prin- ciple of definition and division, lead us to the question of organi- zation. The readjustments necessary in the system of organiza- tion become apparent as soon as we face the fact of the scope and character of the modem social democratic movement. It is not only necessary to consider organization from an ecclesiastical, but also a non-ecclestiastical viewpoint. From the ecclesiastical view- point it is clear that the first problem to be thoroughly discussed, is the organization of the local church or congregation, second, the organization of the denomination with special reference to its effect upon the local congregation, third, interdenominational or- ganization considered likewise with special attention to its effect upon the local congregation. Non-ecclesiastical organizations are, first, local and communal, second, national and patriotic, and third, international and hu- man. It is important that the modern minister and workers in the local Christian community should understand the various or- ganizations that in our day expresses the faith of the people, both in interdenominationalism and internationalism. It is becoming quite apparent to most Americans that there can be no real effective League of Nations or International Court of Arbitration until the religious conception of the Kingdom of God has been more fully preached and taught throughout the world among aU nations. We have thus, in the briefest form possible, suggested the out- lines of a system of practical theology, based upon the Christian community as its organizing principle. 27 III. Some of Its Primary Implications and Kesults. It remains to consider some of the implications of such a recog- nition of the Christian community as the organizing principle of practical theology. First, of all, it implies that the individual and social experience of God in Jesus Christ is the central light and life of the Apostolic literature and Church. Second, it implies the continuity of this experience throughout history and its present day reality. Third, it implies the free and full application of this experi- ence to the whole individual and social life of man. Fourth, it implies that the individual soul is of infinite worth, and that the Kingdom of God is the goal of humanity. Fifth, it implies that the Church, or the Christian Community is the instrument of God to bring to pass the Kingdom of God in the earth. Sixth, it implies that the natural history of man as an indi- vidual, and of society as a whole, and the present status of our knowledge of man and society are needful to a proper appre- ciation of the present problems of Christianity as an evangelizing and christianizing influence in the world. It, therefore, recognizes the value of the historical-critical methods of research, and of the sciences known as the history of religion, the psychology of re- ligion, and comparative religions, as well as political and social economics in their relation to the moral and spiritual welfare of man. It is at the point where the sciences of political and social economics are related to biology and psychology that the vital problems for the preacher arise. The doctrine of the Kingdom of God of necessity involves the question of a Christian social order. Besides these implications there are various definite results. The adoption of this principle of the Christian community as the norm of practical theology enables us to meet the practical demands of the Church in the midst of the new democratic social order which the World War has actually made a world-decision. The divisions of practical theology, as we noted above, grow naturally out of the principle. The curricula of the leading semi- naries of America, in the department of practical theology, are gradually being changed. The results are manifest in many definite courses designed to meet the new needs. The new needs may be summarized in one, namely, the need of mediating between the practical evangelical requirements of the Church and the accredited results of the critical-historical study of the Bible, Christian doctrine. Church history, and the social conceptions of Christianity as historically included in the doctrine of the Kingdom of God. The diflEiculty as stated by G. B. Smith, is "that the critical-historical judgment of the student and in- 28 vestigator is very different in its psychological constitution and in its spiritual value from the personal judgment of the believing Christian. The former can only direct and correct. The latter alone can supply life and energy. The chief business of the min- ister is to aw,aken and stimulate religious life. The historical direction is already being admirably supplied. The great need of the present is a practical theology which shall supply the dynamic for vitalizing Christian faith." Let us think, for a moment, of the Christian community in its creative experience of God in Christ, as epitomized and in- carnated in the individual preacher and note how the problem of preaching is effected by the fact of schism between the verified results of critical study of the Bible and of the evangelical need of the Church. There is a type of religious impotence in the objective historical method when it simply states its results as is done, for example, in the International Critical Commentary. The evangelical needs of the preacher are present and imperative. If his preaching is to be experimental .and vital there must be an effective mediation between the accepted results of historical criticism and the immediate spiritual necessities of the people. A course on the homiletic use of the Bible is clearly demanded. It should deal largely with principles and methods. Such a course will then be subdivided and books will be separately treated, as for example, The Homiletic Value of the Prophecy of Amos, or. The Homiletic Use of Synoptic Gospels, etc. When we turn to the problem of dogmatics we have a similar situation. The problem of dogmatics is to study the facts of the genesis and growth of Christian dogma and arrive at an adequate statement of doctrine as vitally held in the present Christian consciousness, or what may be called practical dog- matics. In the present confused, transitional period there is evi- dent need of making clear to theological students how to trans- late the vital values of their study of Christian doctrine into homiletic material, and thus make the pulpit the most important center of religious education in the community. The same principle should be applied to history and sociology, especially church liistory and the social teaching of the Bible and the Church historically treated. Such a homiletic use of history and sociology would give us a new sense of the providence of God, in which faith and providence would once more be united in the working out of the great human issues in individual, na- tional, and international life. The hope of a new Christian social order would again become the great inspiration of believers throughout the world. Evangelism would again be restored to its essential, central place in the life and work of the Church and the foolishness of preaching once again proved the great need of man- kind. 29 When we think of the Christian congregation as an effective moral and spiritual social force in the community, we see the same problems before us even as in the individual task of the Christian preacher. There is demanded the same mediation between the evanglical mission and needs of the Church and the accepted results of the historical-critical study of the Bible, the Church, dogma, and social and political history and present life and en- vironment of the people. It involves courses on the Inspiration of the Bible, on Religious Education, in theory and practice, on Spiritual Dynamics — Prayer, Faith, and Providence, and on The New Christian Social Order. These courses, however, should not only be given from the peculiar angle of the needs of the minister, as a preacher emphasized a moment ago, but from the point of view of the minister as a trainer of leaders in the work of the local church. The minister in these days must indeed be a prophet, but he must also, in his own congregation, be the head of a school of prophets. If he would succeed he must do as his great Master, choose and train at least twelve men. Consequently, the courses just designated should be given in the department of practical theology, so as to make the minister a maker and trainer of the lay-leadership of his congregation. But even this does not view the whole of the present trend of the department of practical theology. One of the plain results of the principle of the Christian community as the norm of practical theology is, that either our present seminaries or other schools must directly train the lay-leadership of our churches. The need of a director of religious education in the local church is becom- ing more apparent each year. In many churches the experiment of using such directors has been tried and found both practical and successful. The training of the department heads of the graded Sunday School is becoming equally imperative. The in- dications at present also seem to show that week-day religious education, under the direction of each denomination, will be gen- erally adopted in America. The consequent demand for teachers adequately trained for such work will necessitate an adaptation both of the denominational college and seminaries. The basic courses of study for such training of leaders will cover the in- spiration, value and use of the scriptures, the theory and practice of evangelism and religious education, the history and theory and practice of missions, and the ideal hope of a Christian social order. In conclusion it may be said in a summary way, that practical theology attempts to state Christian truth in such a way as to emphasize its experimental religious value. Its aim is to present the spiritual message of Christianity rather than its archeological, historical, and speculative results. It finds its message centered in the vital experience of the living God in Jesus Christ as the creative power able not only to quicken and remake the personal 30 character of the individual, but also to recreate the social life of mankind. It may be said, in the second place, that its purpose is to enable the minister and the lay Christian worker to ascertain and use the best results of theological scholarship. Otherwise the practical work of Christianity may be reproached by the clear judgments of science and common sense, and fail to be truly allied with the actual needs of man in the struggle of life. It will, therefore, be more interested in stating Christian truths in immediate relation to the present needs of life than in relation to their origin .and historical development as such. Finally, it may be said, that the department of practical theol- ogy should be so organized as to enable the students to determine the practical applicability of the knowledge attained in each of the other departments. On the basis of the Old and New Testa- ment studies, the proper relation of the Bible to the home, the Church, and the Sunday School should be determined in the theory and principles of Biblical and religious education. On the basis of the historical department, the present-day religious movements should be studied and accounted for, and directive suggestions offered. The dependence of present forms of Chris- tian experience on the past should be emphasized and the present experiences should be studied, in order to see and understand the new departures which are already preparing for the future. On the basis of the department of dogmatics, both the material of preaching and the content of religious education should be con- sidered with a view of expressing our present Christian conscious- ness and meeting the actual moral and spiritual needs of life. And on the basis of the entire scope of theological education the principles and doctrine of .a Christian social order should be set forth as the present and future hope of mankind. a< 877188 Manu/aclureJ by ©AYLORD BROS. Inc. Syracuse, N. Y. Stockton, Calif. 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