of the faithful. Her pedagogic duty is pointed out. (See Rohnert,
Dogmatik, pp. 508 and 487.)

This visible character of the Church is recognized in the New Testament
in the various commands and promises given to her: the power of the
keys, the duty to confess before men, to serve one another in love, of
united intercession, of contending against the kingdom of darkness. In
the Epistles the presence of sinful men is everywhere recognized,
nevertheless the members of the Church are termed "the called" of Jesus
Christ.

Lutheranism of the 16th century stood between two opposite errors, Rome
on the one hand with its exaggerated ideas of the Church as an
institution, and Reform on the other hand with its one-sided notions of
the invisible church. The Lutheran Church took the _via media_,
declaring that the Church, _proprie_, was spiritual, but that it was
also an institution. The question for us is whether we Lutherans of the
twentieth century have remained on the _via media_ or whether we have
not slipped too far to the right or to the left.

To find the answer one would naturally consult our church formulas and
constitutions. According to Dr. Walther's "Pastorale," the candidate for
admission to a "Missouri" church must be a truly converted and
regenerated Christian. The General Council requires that the candidate
shall have been admitted to the Lord's Supper and shall accept the
constitution. The Synod of New York requires that candidates be
confirmed, accept the Augsburg Confession, lead a Christian life, obey
the constitution and any other regulations that may hereafter be
adopted.