"B

ELIEVE me, that's some job!" Slang,

to be sure, but a colloquial mode of expression in vogue that is picturesquely descriptive rather than elegant. Behind the scenes with the general committee in charge of perfecting arrangements for the great international convention of the Luther League of America in Albany, "believe me, that's some job," told a story not easily put into cold type.

Until one has had the experience he little dreams of the magnitude of a convention 'such as that of the Luther League of America. The work is considerable. Money to be provided to defray the expenses; music, entertainment, registration, reception, printing, and the correspondence incident to big and little questions-questions that are sensible and those that are silly-and the hundred and one little details constitute no little labor for the busy men who usually make up your local convention committee. Yes, "believe me, that's some job!" And Albany is going to do herself proud, and delegates and visitors will be delighted beyond measure with what is in store for them during this great convention.

The "Flying Squadron"-a sobriquet adopted from Chicago-has been doing yeoman's service. Meetings have been held at a number of places, among them Hartwick Seminary We recall with pleasure this first visit to Hartwick Seminary, dating back to 1797 and the oldest Lutheran educational institution in America. Venerable institution that has enriched the Church in many ways; and sentiment waxes eloquent for her future and her continued prosperity. At Middleburg, in the beautiful and historic Schoharie Valley, the general secretary had the delightful pleasure of meeting one of his former professors, Rev. Adam Martin, the first time since leaving his alma mater.

The societies within a radius of over one hundred miles of Albany have been visited by the "Flying Squadron." So far seventeen days have been given to this work, and there are quite a number of places still to visit.

We spent a few days in the LUTHER LEAGUE REVIEW office. This is always a busy time for the general secretary. Well! it's a busy place. But for the system the enormous volume of business could not be dispatched with anything like schedule time. We were hardly inside the office when the foreman

came in to say the LUTHER LEAGUE REVIEW was nearly all up-had the cuts arrived, and had articles been received? "No"; and twenty-five weekly and monthly publications to be gotten out. Our matter not in on time, and we had lost our turn. A friend of ours in Illinois urged a mutual friend to undertake the publication of a paper. Our advice was asked. We said: "Certainly, you will enjoy it. You will see your ideas embalmed in black and white, your thoughts will be preserved, like vegetables in an ice box, by the cold type and think of the novelty of the experience! Each week or each month you can write copy and read proof. You can use your scissors and paste pot so much oftener. It won't interfere with your plans for a little trip, for the subscribers can wait. Then after you have 'run' 'The Progressive Age' for six months and your bright ideas begin to resemble a July cornfield in time of drought, you will wonder where you will get 'copy' for the voracious maw of the columns of your pa- . per; and you will inform the spelling reformer that if there were twenty-six more letters in the alphabet instead of six less in a word you believe you could fill the columns of your paper. Yes, and you would have the joy of dunning your patrons for their subscriptions and convincing your advertisers that 'there's money in it.' After the novelty's worn off and you have considered the real drudgery of the treadmill grind of a newspaper office, Ed, if you desire a little experience, of course, publish a paper." This was our advice to the frien who had been urged to start a paper. We remember his smile-like the bland blank Chinee. Whenever we enter the REVIEW office in New York we think of the old horse we saw as a boy in our old South Carolina home, and we think of the patience and perseverance and devotion of the men of our Luther League responsible for the publication each month of our official organ, and I see Ed's bland smile.

The Luther League outlook was never so bright as it is today. The State Leagues are splendidly officered. The District Leagues are in good shape. The nerve centers of the League work like Chicago, Toledo, Twin Cities, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, New York and Albany are in healthy condition; and signs of hope and promise are written large in our sky. LUTHER M. KUHNS.

N

ORWEGIAN hospitality and generosity successfully entertained the fifteenth annual convention of the Luther League of Wisconsin, held in the First Lutheran Church, Stoughton, Rev. M. H. Hegge, pastor. Even the weather united forces with the cordial entertainers in extending a warm welcome.

Tuesday Evening.

The convention opened on Tuesday evening, Rev. L. W. Steckel conducting the vesper service. The local choir rendered a beautiful anthem including a solo by Mr. John Olson, Stoughton. Rev. F. E. Cooper, Milwaukee, delivered the convention sermon; its

Lutheran should ever have been ashamed of his faith. We are ashamed of the Lutherans whose faults have caused others to misunderstand our faith. We are ashamed most of all of any degree to which our Lutheranism falls short in doctrine or life.

But when Paul penned his text such things as these were not for the time the objects of his contem lation, though we well know how he gave them due attention. And ashamed as we are (and we might profitably be much more ashamed) of all by which we obscure or distort the pure Lutheran faith, when we think of that faith, of its source and controlling principle, the Holy Scriptures, of its chief documents, the ancient creeds, the Augsburg Confession and the Catechism, and above all of its object, the Triune God and His redeeming love, like Paul, we protest before the Church and the world, Of our Luth.ran Faith, we are not ashamed!

There were those in his day who thought Paul ought to be ashamed of the Gospel. It is for this reason he expresses himself as he does. He is on the defensive. The Greek thought he ought to be ashamed of the Gospel, for to the Greek it was foolishness. The Jew thought he ought to be ashamed of the Gos

strength and strictly Lutheran flavor tending to make every Lutheran proud of his faith: We Are Not Ashamed of Our Lutheran Faith!

Text: Romans 1, 16. "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth."

The Lutheran Church preaches the gospel Paul preached; with him she declares it to be the power of God unto salvation; that salvation she describes as did Paul, and not otherwise; like him, she offers and bestows it upon any and all who believe and remain in faith, and like him, her young people of the Luther League confess and deny not, but confess, We are not ashamed of our Lutheran faith!

There were things of which Paul was ashamed. He was ashamed of weak and wayward Christians, such as he had in his churches in Corinth and in Galatia. He was ashamed of cowardly and disloyal fellow-ministers like Mark, who afterwards repented, and like Demas who forsook him, having loved this present world. He was ashamed, most of all, of his own sins, of his perverted life before his conversion, and of his shortcomings since.

So there are things of which we Lutherans are ashamed.

We are ashamed of our divisions, wherever sin has caused them. We are ashamed not to represent better the faith committed to us. We are ashamed that any

pel, for to the Jew it was was a scandal. Hence the choice of his phrase, I am not ashamed.

So there have always been those in whose judgment we Lutherans ought to be ashamed of our faith. And for reasons as diverse as were the reasons of Greek and Jew. Some think we ought to be ashamed because our faith is a new and an invented faith. This is the statement of a Roman Catholic catechism, used in American Catholic schools. Luther is said to have been the inventor, and pride and jealousy are said to have been his motives. Others again think we ought to be ashamed of our faith because it is not only old, but antiquated, in assuming that the Bible is the Word of God, utterly inadequate to meet modern conditions, and demonstrably mistaken in declaring that any supernatural revelation has ever been made.

We

Now if any of these things is really true of the Lutheran faith, it is a thing to be ashamed of. are agreed with the Catholic catechism that a new faith cannot be the true faith, and that an invented faith is a blasphemy. We agree that our faith is utterly wrong and harmful, and a thing to be ashamed of, if, as Lyman Abbott says, "The Bible is not the final authority. The final authority is the soul of man." For, according to the Lutheran faith, the Bible is the final authority. It is a thing to be ashamed of, if, as Abbott says, "It is as natural for man to perceive the beauty of truth and goodness and to be guided by that perception as it is for him to perceive the light of day and walk in that light." For, the Lutheran faith holds with Paul that "The natural man receiveth not the things of God, for they are spiritu

ally discerned." That faith accepts the declaration of Christ that "that which is born of flesh is flesh," and that "except a man be born of water and the spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."

new to

Over against the might and splendid pretensions of Rome, and over against the confident statements of the editor of one of the most influential weeklies of America, our Lutheran faith may seem. to many utterly discredited-as Paul and Luther must have seemed to many in their day-however conflicting the several grounds of their attack may be. And yet, we are not ashamed of our Lutheran faith! For, it is not a new faith! We challenge the Romanist to point out its novelties! Is it acknowledge the authority of the Sacred Scripture? This we do, and so did the psalmist, so did the reformers and prophets of Israel, so did our Divine Lord, so did the Apostles, so did the early church, so did the church of the middle ages! Is it new to acknowledge Christ as the only mediator? But why go through the whole catalogue of familiar doctrines! The Lutheran Church knows no doctrines but those of the faith once delivered to the saints, and rejects no doctrine so delivered.

The Lutheran faith is not an invented faith. Its source is not Luther. We accept no doctrine on the ground that Luther taught it. God committed no new revelation to him, nor did he pretend to be the bearer of a new and fuller revelation. We hold the Lutheran faith, not because Luther taught it, but because Scripture teaches it. Luther did not invent this faith, nor did he discover it. But it found him, and laid hold of him and possessed him and constrained him to confess and teach it, as it has done with many another witness and teacher in the history of the Church.

The Lutheran faith has not developed out of the heart and mind and soul of man. We are Christians, not because the powers of our souls in unfolding Fave reached the stage of Christian development, but because the Gospel was brought to our heathen forefathers, and because they accepted it and handed it on to us. Our faith has come to us from without, by the Church, by a Book, as a special gift, Lyman Abbott to the contrary, notwithstanding. How strange, that the things for which a man like this thinks we ought to be ashamed, these are the very things of which we are constrained to say, We are not ashamed! No! We are not ashamed of our Lutheran faith, which believes that the Bible is the Word of God! Which believes that all men are lost and condemned creatures, and that they will be lost forever unless delivered by our Lord Jesus Christ! Which believes the incarnation of God, by a virgin birth, the life of Jesus as described by the evangelists, His atoning death on the cross, His actual bodily resurrection from the grave, His ascension into glory, the mission of the holy spirit and founding of His Church-all for the salvation of us men! Which believes that He will come again in His glory, to judge the quick and the dead! Which believes that God offers this salvation to all, through the Gospel, bestows it upon all who believe and are baptized, and preserves it in all who abide in faith until their end! Glorious faith, of which Paul was not ashamed, of which the fathers were not ashamed, of which the reformers were not ashamed, of which we should be ashamed to be ashamed, of which many, alas, often are ashamed, of whom unless they repent and return Christ will be ashamed when He comes to see what we have done with the faith He has committed to us!

This was followed by a vocal solo by Mr. John Lund, Mt. Horeb, after which Rev. Hegge, in his gracious way, heartily welcomed the pastors, the delegates and visitors to the beauties, the sobriety and the Lutheranism of Stoughton. In the absence of the president, Mr. Frank Paeske, Jr., the response was made by the Rev. W. K. Fricke, D.D. A violin solo by Mr. Christian Engh, Stoughton, closed the service. Following this a reception was given in the Sunday school rooms of the

Church, where former acquaintances were renewed and new friends made.

Wednesday Morning

The morning service opened with devotions conducted by the Rev. Paul Roth, Beloit. Mr. John Lund rendered another pleasing solo. Rev. L. W. Steckel, appointed acting president, called for the usual order of businessminutes and reports and appointment of committees. The following visitors were welcomed and extended the privileges of the floor:

Prof. C. O. Solberg, St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn.

Rev. W. F. Barnett, Sharon, Wis.
Mr. Testal, Jefferson, Wis.

Sisters Malinda and Bergit, deaconesses of the Hospital of Chicago.

The convention theme-"The Word of God"-upon which strong emphasis had been made in the convention sermon, was forcibly characterized throughout the entire convention. Several excellent papers were read:

"What the Bible is, or the Bible the Word of God," by Mr. Hansen, of Madison. "Or What the Bible Principally Speaks," by Miss Minda Johnson, Stoughton. Part of which is quoted:

"This book contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts binding, its histories are true and its decisions are immutable. It contains light to direct you, food to support you and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler's map, the pilgrim's staff, the pilot's compass, the soldier's sword and the Christian's charter."

The forcible discussion of both papers testifying to the Lutherans' faith in the Word of God revealed the essential need of a more thorough knowledge of the Bible.

Wednesday Afternoon

This session opened with devotions in charge of Rev. W. F. Rex, Racine.

The following officers were elected: President, Rev. L. W. Steckel, Platteville; recording secretary, Miss Gilda Midtbon, 115 North Henry street, Stoughton; corresponding secretary, Mr. John Lund, Mt. Horeb; treasurer, Miss Jennie Outmans, La Crosse; executive committee, Mr. Oscar Freed, 914 Harrison avenue, Beloit.

Rev. Kuhns extended greetings from the

Luther League of South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Ohio, Indiana and Iowa. An address On "Ways and Means for an Effective League," followed by a round table discussion conducted by Rev. S. M. Kuhns, General Secretary, Luther League of America, proved to be one of the most interesting and instructive methods for giving new enthusiasm to the delegates to take back to their local Leagues. Some of the questions discussed were: How can the Luther League become more of a factor in the life of the congregation?

What should be the supreme aim of the Luther League?

What is the true relation of the Luther League to the Church?

Why believe in the Luther League? Answers to the latter question--because: 1. It is based on God's word.

2. It is soundly Lutheran in doctrine.

3. It is churchly-of, by, and for the church. 4. It is educational in the solid, not sentimental way.

5. It emphasizes the great points of agreements among Lutherans, not their minor difference.

6. It opens its doors to all Lutherans.

In the Christian development and work of the Church in what has the Young People's Society been a great factor?

1. It has set the Church a thinking.

2. It aids in that it developed the youth to Christian life by giving them something to do. It sets them to work.

3. It educates them in Christian truth, acquaints them with Christian thought, and life. 4. It brings them together socially and makes them fellow helpers.

5. Interests them in the objects of the Church and develops them in liberality and thus prepares them for the future when the work will entirely devolve upon them.

A model Luther League meeting was conducted by Dr. Frick, taking as his topic "Medical Missions," and having his class delegates and visitors of the convention.

Wednesday Evening

Rev. A. J. Holl, Milwaukee, opened the evening session with devotional service. Mrs. Charles Severson rendered a vocal solo after which an address, "The Man with an Open Bible," was delivered by Prof. C. O. Solberg, of St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn. Here again was heard the keynote of the Lutheran

Church, "God's word a means of grace in the midst of the nation and the heart of man." The elementary principle of the true Lutheran is the study of the Bible, which teaches of the upward look of faith and hope. I John 1:7: The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin, and I John 5:4: And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. No amount of good resolutions will save-we need the good old faith of Luther.

Rev. Kuhns then read the official greetings of the president of the Luther League of America. A well rendered organ solo by Miss

Resolved, That we hereby express our appreciations of the efficient services of our retiring officers, Mr. Frank Paeske, Jr., president, and Miss Hannah Hegge, secretary, our regret at their departure from among us and our hope that their services may be as fruitful for the Church in their new fields of labor as they have been here in Wisconsin.

The following papers were then read and discussed:

"How to Study the Bible," by Mr. Oscar Freed, of Beloit, which said in part: "One method is the simple reading of the Bible consecutively from beginning to end in order to become familiar with the subject matter and to get a general view of its contents. The Bible has a beginning, a development and an end and we can understand the growth and progress of God's redemptive plan only by reading it in this way. Another method is to study particular books of the Bible by themselves. Try to find the general plan of the book and what you can about the author, his time, his circumstances."

"Benefits from Studying the Bible," by Miss Lena Jensen, Racine. Part of this excellent paper: "To the Luther League, the Word of God is what the sun is to the flowers

r the water brooks are to the hart. It is by studying its sacred pages that the Leaguer becomes imbued with its spirit; and thus takes on the beauty and fragrance of willing service and self sacrifice. It is when we catch the Spirit of the Master, through the studying of the Gospel, that we become faithful in attendance upon the meetings of the League and are willing to sacrifice a little time, a little pleasure, a little ease, in order that the League, in co-operation with the Church, may be able to fulfill its God-given mission in this world of much sin, selfishness, indifference, ignorance and temptation."

Thursday Afternoon

At the close of the morning session the delegates and visitors were happily conveyed, by automobiles furnished by interested members and friends of the local congregation, to beautiful Lake Kegonsa. A bountiful repast was served amid much enjoyment, Rev. L. W. Steckel acting as toastmaster.

A delightful afternoon spent underneath the trees and on the water was followed by an informal lunch and a joyous homeward ride. The courtesy, good will and hospitality of the genial hosts and hostesses will long be remembered by those in attendance.

Thursday Evening

Vespers of the closing session were conducted by Rev. W. F. Barnett, Sharon.

Solos were rendered by Mr. Olson Gjertson, Miss Pearl Judson of Stoughton and Miss Haspell of Madison. The Luther League Rally Hymn was sung with much enthusiasm.

A paper laid over from the morning session was read by Miss Agnes Daile, Mt. Horeb. Part of this well prepared paper, “A Study of the Bible," is quoted:

"Although nature tells of the existence of God it does not reveal His will. At creation God revealed His law by writing it in the hearts of men, but neither conscience nor nature can tell us anything of God's gracious plan of salvation. This revelation we must obtain from the Book which is not of human devising but was written by the holy prophets, evangelists and apostles who were divinely inspired. The inspiration of the Bible is proven by its contents. It contains information which no man by his own power could have discovered or known."

Rev. H. R. Gold, Madison, gave an address in which he spoke of the church world and the non-church world; the Luther Leaguer's work being for the latter. "By his fruits ye shall know him." The non-church world expects the Luther Leaguer to be fruitful; the Church expects him to be fruitful. In this he has three changes with which to contend-pleasure, prosperity and education. Though the currents of thoughts are trying to the faith the Church expects the Luther Leaguer to be loyal and patient. The Saviour expects him to dedicate himself completely to the life with the Master.

In his address Rev. W. F. Barnett spoke of the Luther League touching his own life, asking the delegates what they would bring to their societies of the convention. He gave a summary of the good things heard at the meetings, urging the young people to be faithful, not only in the reading of the Word of God, but in the handling of the Bible and hymn books as well. Quoting John 12:32, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me," he said: "We as Luther Leaguers will be successful in the degree in which we lift up to the Master in our lives."

The convention closed with the singing of Luther's hymn, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God."