The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1910-08-25
In Opening Address President
Schuette Denounced Trial
Sermons and Salary Bats
to Ministers.
ALL BUSINESS READY
po0 INFERENCE
S-A-<<aa
Each Day Is to Be Set Aside
for the Hearing of Commit
tee Reports An Election
Next tuesday.

The fortieth Biennial convention Of
the Evangelical Lutheran Joint synod
of Ohio and other states opened this
morning for . six day conference at
st. Johns Lutheran church with about
two hundred delegates in attendance.
After q devotional service which was
conducted by the Rev. Schuette OF Co
lumbus, Ohio. president Of the synod,
the business before the body was pre-
sented.
The preliminary committee to the
synod. composing about sixty MEM
bers has been in session for two days
and had all business which was to be
presented ready for systematic pre-
sentation. Each day Of the convention
Is set aside for reports Of committees.
Procedure of business 10 AZ follows:
Today, reports Of organization and
missions committee: Friday. reports
Of committee ON educational institu-
tions: Saturday. reports Of committee
on nomination; Monday. reports Of
committee on finances and institu-
tions; Tuesday. report OF committee
on publications and other matters. al
50 election Of officers in the forenoon;
Wednesday. unfinished business and
miscellaneous matters.
prssident's Address.
IN part President schuette said. ~
his opening address:
Trial sermons, so-called, have Al
ways been objected to among us. be-
ing considered as inconsistent with
our doctrine Of the call. Now II this
our position is reasonable and right,
the question arises: How are we to
Judge of visits made and sermons
preached following the receipt Of a
call but before its acceptance or decli-
nation Is decided on? II 1t is contrary
to good churchly order for a congre-
cation to see and hear the man it IL
advised to call to its pastorate, then
I fail to see how It can be proper for
the person called to inspect the field
and its premises before he makes up
his mind. whether or not he will go
and establish himself there. Brethren
let US be fair; above all, let US beware
of making the impression as II in q
matter SO entirely sacred the will of
our Lord hinged on and were to be
discerned' from modern conveniences.
pleasant environments, and the like"
Another innovation-and to me one
OF very questionable merits the in
crease Of salary offered. be it to in
duce a pastor ito stay or be 1t to
entice him ito come" when called to
another field. To be sure. an addition
to ones income Is q very desirable
thing; nay more than that, in not a
few cases It is dire necessity: at the
same time / would submit the question
whether 1t is expedient to use it as a
bait, SO to speak, or to make It play 3
part In Weighing the pros and cons Of
q pastoral change. OF course. circum-
stances may be such that . higher
salary than has been paid can very
properly be made a condition of ac-
cepting . call: but II SO. the utmost
care should be exercised; for 1t be-
hooves Us to remember that the divin-
ity of call does not lie in the dollars
therein involved: and moreover, that
Ill disposed persons are ever present
and ever ready to sit in judgment on 4
pastors everysaction.
a "Roil of Honor
"a formal roll Of honor" has been
set up wherein tab il kept OF every
salary-raise. and which seems to find
great favor here and there. To me 1t
II . meaningless and doubtful exped-
lent. We are informed that the peo-
pie at x have advanced their pastors
or teachers salary by 20 many dol
lars. Very. we'll: but what had they
been paying. and are they paying .
living salary now? Moreover. are We
to conclude that congregations whose
names do not appear In the roll Of
honor are less Just and generous than
are those made mention Of?
1T II quite in place. and even neces-
sary, that the question Of adequate
support receive attention now and
then In our church papers: and mucn
that has been said on the subject was
to the point. and said In the right
spirit; but I am sorry to observe that
here and there odious comparisous
creep In. Granted that our brethren
way mp North Just must drive double
and must have coats, robes, shoes ana
mittens Of fur. and other hike things
at considerahle cost to themselves.
does It follow that they should be sal
aried higher than their brethren South
or East! And may not these have
expeusss The brethren North know
nothing OF Al. lst - beware of the
eye that p evn In this matter. . n
every ctAer.