The 1904 Synod Convention

The following table is a translation from Maanedstidende v. 31. No. 2. Edited by Prof. Dr. Laur. Larsen. This was the official synodical publication of the Old Norwegian Synod published by Norwegian Synod Publishing in 1904, p. 740-741

The issue concerns the divine institution of the local congregation as it differs from other organizations that the Church in her freedom may choose to establish.

Vore synodemøder. III Refereret af S. Lee.
Our Synod Meeting, part 3, presented by Sophus Lee.

Torsdag eftermiddag meldtes 8 prester ankomne. Formand Torgerson fra Iowa distrikt blev af formanden budt velkommen til mødet. Hjælpesekretærer blev udnævnte af sekretæren. En indstilling fra komiteen for indberetningerne blev oplæst og behandelt, og de forskjellige sager henviste til vedkommende komiteer. Derpaa begyndte man med læreforhandlinger. Temaet var: Den kristne lokal= eller stedsmenighed. Referent past. L. I. Ierdee. I indbledningen gav referenten skildring af Guds rige paa jorden. Følgende satser blev dikterte:	Thursday afternoon it was reported that eight pastors arrived. Chairman Torgerson from the Iowa District was bid welcome to the meeting from the chairman. An assistant secretary was appointed by the secretary. A recommendation from Committee for Reports was read out and discussed , and these various matters were referred to the appropriate committee. Then we started with the doctrinal discussion. The topic was : The local Christians—or the Local Congregation. Pastor L. I. Jerdee presenting. In outline form (I indbledningen) the presenter gave a description of God's kingdom on the earth. The following propositions were dictated :
Den kristne lokal= eller stedsmenighed.	The local Christians—or the Local Congregation
I. Dens oprindelse.	I. Its Origin.
a) Ikke af menneskelig, b) men af guddommelig oprindelse. Den er ifølge Guds vilje stiftet af ham, opholdes ved ham og skal ved hans kraft bevares.	a) It is not of human origin, b) but of divine origin. It is according to God's will instituted by Him, sustained by Him, and shall by His power be preserved.
II. Hvad den kristne stedsmenighed er.	II. What the Christian Local Congregation is.
a) Efter sit indre væsen er den samlingen paa et bestemt sted af dem, som tror paa Kristus og har fælles bekjendelse.	a ) According to its inner nature it is the assembling together at a certain location by those who believe in Christ and have a common confession.
b) Efter sin ydre skikkelse er den samlingen paa et bestemt sted af dem, som har en fælles bekjendelse og holder sig til Guds ord og sakramenterne.	b ) According to its external form it is the assembling together at a certain location by those who have a common confession and hold themselves to God's Word and Sacraments.
III.. Hvorledes man bliver et virkeligt medlem af den kristne stedsmenighed.	III. How can one be a true member of the Christian Local Congregation.
Et virkelight medlam bliver man	A true member will be one
a) ikke ved at bo indenfor dens parokialgrænser,	a) not by the fact that he resides inside its [the congregation's] parochial boundaries,
b) ikke ved at betale penge til dens kasser,	b) not by the fact that he pays into its treasury,
c) ikke blot derved, at man er en troende,	c) not by the mere fact that he is a believer,
d) men ved en ret benyttelse af naademidlerne:	d) but by a right use of the Means of Grace:
1 Guds ord,	1 God's Word,
2 daabens sakramente,	2 the Sacrament of Baptism,
3 alterens sakramente,	3 The Sacrament of the Altar
e) og derved, at man bejærer optagelse i menigheden og ved stemmegivning optages i samme.	e) and thereby, that one assents to becoming a member of the congregation and by vote is taken into the same.
IV. Dens goder og rettigheder.	IV. Its Property and Rights.
a) Naademidlerne: Guds ord, daabens og alterens sakramente,	a) The Means of Grace: God's Word, Baptism and the Sacrament of the Altar,
b) Himmeriges riges nøgler og dermed retten:	b) The keys to the kingdom of Heaven and thereby the rights:
1 til at styre i sine egne anliggender,	1 to rule its own affairs,
2 til at have og opretholde ordets embede iblandt sig,	2 to have and maintain the Office of the Word in its midst,
3 til at forkynde Guds ord og forvalte sakramenterne,	3 to proclaim God's Word and administer the Sacraments,
4 til at ansætte og afsætte prester og lærere,	4 to appoint and depose pastors and teachers,
5 til at drive mission, baade den indre og ydre.	5 to establish a mission, whether domestic or foreign.
Referenten udtalte under første punkt, at der i verden var en hel del foreninger af den mest forskjellige karakter, men de var alle lige deri, at de var of menneskelig oprindelse. Menigheden er den eneste, som er af guddommelig oprindelse. I samtalen over dette punkt deltog formand Bjøro, dr. H. G. Stub, Pastorerne J. G. Monson, Olaf Hoel og T. O. Tolo.	The Presenter explained under the first point that there in the world was filled with unities of the most varied character, but yet they were all alike in that they were of human institution. The congregation alone is instituted by God. President Bjøro, Dr. H. G. Stub, Pastors J. G. Monson, Olaf Hoel and T. O. Tolo took part in the discussion concerning this point.
Formanden udnævnte derpaa følgende komiteer:	Then the President named the following committees:
Til medlemmer af læreanstalt=komiteen pastorerne J. W. Preus, J. D. Ylvisaker, J. R. Vaaler og S. M. Orwoll samt repræsenterne J. R. Større og Fred N. Field.	To the membership of the Seminary Committee: Pastors J. W. Preus, J. D. Ylvisaker, J. R. Vaaler and S. M. Orwoll with representatives J. R. Større og Fred N. Field.
...	... (other various committee appointments)
Fredag formiddag fortsattes med lærerforhandlinger over punkt 1 og 2. Som komite til at justere læreforhandlingerne udnævntes pastorerne Blilie, Erdahl og Bothne. Følgende menigheder optoges i synoden: Sions menighed, Hazel Run, Minn.; Lily menighed, Lily, S.D.; St. Pauli menighed, N.D. Treenigheds menighed, Esmond, N.D.; Froens menighed, Flaxton, N.D. Pastorerne N. Brandt og R. O. Brandt af østlige distrikt optoges som raadgivende medlemmer.	Friday forenoon continued with doctrinal discussion concerning point 1 and 2. Pastors Blilie, Erdahl and Bothne were named to a committee for the purpose of evaluatiing the doctrinal discussion . The following congregations were taken into synodical membership: Sion's congregation, Hazel Run, MN; Lily congregation, Lily. SD. ....
...	... (Various other convention business)
Fredag eftermiddag .... Resten af sessionen anvendtes til løreforhandlinger over punkt 3.	Friday afternoon ... The rest of the session was given over to the Seminary Committee concerning point 3.

No negative remarks were recorded here or in the following general pastoral conference, nor in the report to the Convention in 1905.