Previous objects and documents

Our website will contain previous "Documents of the Month" and "Objects of the Month" as long as we have space available.

Documents

• "The Pastor: A Promoter of Benevolent Efforts"--Raising money has never been easy or without controversy in the church, as this anonymous document from the 1850s aptly demonstrates. (October 1996--24 kb)
  
• A Lutheran Rebellion--In 1938 a group of pastors asked the convention of the United Lutheran Church in America to reveal the salaries paid to denominational officers and to set a minimum and maximum for them. (November 1996--5 kb)
  
• The New System--St. Pauls Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chicago announced in its March, 1924, newsletter that it would be shifting from pew rents to a pledging/envelope system. (December 1996--4 kb)
  
• Pensions for Pastors--The Christian Century reported on a 1924 "scientific" proposal to provide pensions for retired Presbyterian clergy, following the trend in other professions. (January 1997--4 kb)
  
• The Religion of Life Insurance--A scholar speculated about the religion side of business for the Christian Century in 1963. (February 1997--4 kb)
  
• Report of the Book Steward--A clergyman of the African Methodist Episcopal church reports on his finances and sorrows as the denomination's book steward for 1854. (March 1997--4 kb)
  
• Acres of Diamonds--Russell Conwell's famous speech from the late nineteenth century embodied the "Gospel of Wealth." (April 1997--8 kb)
  
• What is adequate compensation for ministers?--In a booklet from 1960, the National Council of Churches tried to encourage lay people to increase the pay of their pastors. (May 1997--5 kb)
  
• A Palace for the Hive--An official of the Church-Erection Society of the United Brethren Church argued in 1894 that church building was an essential part of home mission. (June 1997--5 kb)
  
• The Man Nobody Knows--Advertising mogul Bruce Barton describes for his 1920s audience Jesus' gifts as an executive. (July 1997--6 kb)
  
• The Cokesbury Party Book--To help congregations plan social events for youth and adult groups, denominational publishing houses came out with numerous "fun books" full of party ideas. (August 1997--4 kb)
  
• Ministerial Dress--A guide to ministerial etiquette from 1950s tells clergy how to dress like a Christian and a gentleman. (September 1997--15 kb)
  
• The Fable of the Good People Who Rallied to the Support of the Church--George Ade satirized the financial behavior of American Christians. (October 1997--2 kb)
  
• How to Organize Your Church Office--Good advice from an expert on finding the right secretary for your church. (November 1997--4 kb)
  
• The Minister's Wife; or What Becomes of the Salary (1861) is the tale of a minister who finds financial trouble when he moves to a wealthier congregation. The minister's wife bewails the expense of maintaining a larger house. (December 1997--9 Kb)
  
• A Lutheran pastor of the 1920s praises the envelope system as the best way of encouraging regular giving. (January 1998--23 kb plus 55 kb of images)
  
• The Law of Divine Beneficence--A crusading tract writer of the 1850s encourages his fellow Christians to support the church's work with the poor, as did the first Christians. (February 1998--10 kb)
  
• The Communion Credit Card--From a 1930 book aimed at making Communion more meaningful comes this suggested record-keeping system. (March 1998--5 kb)
  
• The Minister and His Savings--Good advice on saving for your retirement--ethicallly--from 1928. (April 1998--8 kb)
  
• The Individual Communion Cup--A turn of the century Lutheran pastor explains the theological and sanitation justifications for using the individual cup. (May 1998--15 kb)
  
• Planning a Budget--In the early twentieth century denominational offices advised town and country churches how to conduct their business like city churches. (June 1998--8 kb)
  
• There Were Twelve--A stewardship play for men's groups with a somewhat disturbing moral. (July 1998--27 kb)
  
• Communion Tokens--A little-known liturgical object held the key to renewing the Presbyterian church, says this 1936 source. (August 1998--14 kb)
  
• Tabernacle Infirmary--An Atlanta pastor tells how he founded what is now Georgia Baptist Medical Center. (September 1998--19 kb)
  
• Weakness of Common Worship in American Protestantism--Theologian Reinhold Niebuhr fulminates against mainline liturgical practice--and reflects on what it means for a church to look like a church. (October 1998--15 kb)
  
• Pagan Ownership and Christian Civilization--A early twentieth-century stewardship official reflects on the historical meaning of property in "pagan" and Christian cultures. (November 1998--11 kb)
  

• The coffee bar at Willow Creek Community Church, added recently to the food court at the suburban Chicago megachurch to attract "Generation Xers." (October 1996--12 kb)
  
• A portable reed organ, most likely used by a traveling evangelist. (November 1996--26 kb) UPDATED!
  
• The tithing man used his church stick to waken sleeping worshippers in New England colonial churches. (December 1996--12 kb)
  
• Local citizens attending the Pie Town Fair in New Mexico prayed before the fair barbecue in this 1941 photo from the Farm Security administration. (January 1997--31 kb)
  
• In this 1930 advertisement, the Brunswick Corporation encouraged churches to build bowling alleys as part of their evangelical outreach. (February 1997--186 kb)
  
• The American Baptist Publication Society advertised its products and services with objects like this letter opener, dating from the turn of the century. (March 1997--58 kb)
  
• From the late 1920s to the mid 1940s, many Presbyterian ministers in urban churches wore preaching suits for Sunday services. (April 1997--77 kb)
  
• Built in 1925, Calvary House in New York embodied a parish's changing mission over the last fifty years. (May 1997--30 kb)
  
• The Vatican web site provides a new way for an old church to reach its audience. (June 1997--137 kb)
  
• The Upper Room building in Nashville is both a denominational headquarters and an object of pilgrimage for readers of the devotional magazine. (July 1997--188 kb)
  
• By providing doughnuts for doughboys during World War I, the Salvation Army made soldiers feel at home, and made a reputation for the Army as a service organization. (August 1997--60 kb)
  
• Money-drawing incense combines Catholic practice and capitalist acquisitiveness in a small container. (September 1997--35 kb)
  
• This child's mezuzah reflects how traditional religious objects can be adjusted to the market. (October 1997--21 kb)
  
• Registration card and attendance card from a Moravian Sunday school reflect the influence of the public schools. (November 1997--60 kb)
  
• An advertisement from 1882 and a booklet from the 1980s reflects the ongoing battle of Christmas, over themes of materialism and religion. (December 1997--125 kb)
  
• A prayer book and rosary set was most likely a confirmation gift for a Catholic boy of the 1940s. (January 1998--143 kb)
  
• Bible gum--complete with sugarless gum and biblical verses--reflects the important role the Bible plays in American religion and commerce. (February 1998--69 kb)
  
• An anonymous artist depicted the "Old Time Religion" with some very material artifacts. (March 1998--50 kb)
  
• In the south before air conditioning, church fans were essential--and were also an important advertising medium. (April 1998--189 kb)
  
• A 1892 family Bible is both a reference work and a work of art. (May 1998--150 kb)
  
• A prayer covenant from World War II was an important devotional object for an evangelical Protestant. (June 1998--143 kb)
  
• A Cracker Jack prize reflects the inescapability of the Bible in American culture. (July 1998--75 kb)
  
• A set of communion tokens from colonial America illustrate the month's document. (August 1998--179 kb)
  
• Christians who are dedicated exercisers can purchase Christian aerobics gear. (September 1998--21 kb)
  
• When passing through Ohio, visit the Living Bible Museum, an evangelical shrine. (October 1998--156 kb)
  
• An evangelical dollar bill can support a preacher, but it can preach itself, too. (November 1998--23 kb)