Schwan Constitution!

In the early years of the Missouri Synod, Pastor Schwan (future Synodical President) found himself being told over and over again by fellow pastors that his poor small congregation needed a constitution. This is what he submitted:

Title, constitution and by-laws of the German Evangelical Lutheran Congregation at ...

(1) In our congregation all divine and spiritual matters are to be done in accordance with Scripture and Luther's doctrine (Concordia, 1580).

(2) But all other matters to be done in accordance with love.
From The Heart of Missouri: A History of the Western District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, 1854-1954. by August R. Suelflow (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1954.)

It's Here! At Home In The House Of My Fathers

I didn't have to order one; my pastor brought me a signed copy from the Western Missouri District Pastor's Conference earlier this week. 

Walther's theological opinion (Gutachten) on parish boundaries is interesting.  Very much in line with Luther's views about the subject that I've read -- I can't remember if that was from Letters of Spiritual Counsel or The True Visible Church/Form of a Christian Congregation.

Schwan (who I've quoted before on this blog) is great.  On the Temperence Movement:  "A German Christian does not become mixed up with those who demand prohibition of alcohol on Sunday; rather, he is aways for good, strong law enforcement."