“A. Z. Conrad: Park Street Pioneer” 

New England Reformed Journal, Issue 16 [2000], 1-16

            He was known simply as "A. Z." by thousands of his admirers. "Dr. A. Z. Conrad," The Boston Transcript reported on October 31, 1925: "The A is for Arcturus but the name behind the Z is his own secret." Only after he died was it revealed that his preacher father must have had a fascination at the time of his birth with astrology. The Z which he would never elaborate on stood for "Zodiac".

            Arcturus Zodiac Conrad. For fifty-one years of highly public and visible ministry he was both known and unknown. The sensa­tional sermons, the outspoken positions, the flamboyant oratory: he seemed to have his own persona. An individual with the ready response, the quotable line, the masterful summing up. Yet the real A. Z. Conrad seems at times strangely faceless, impenetra­ble, unwilling to be easily type-cast. His numerous books and published sermons are conspicuously lacking in personal revela­tion of any kind. The events of his life can only be pieced together from press clippings and the speeches made in his honor at those frequent anniversaries which seemed to pace out his life and at which the great and the grateful in each city he served as pastor.

            For thirty-two years he dominated the religious life of Boston as minister of Park St. Church. He was a maverick, one who - through his wife who was an Adams - still seemed slightly uncouth to be at the foot of Beacon Hill. For most of his time here he lived in a Hotel - Westminster in Copley Square. The choice of a hotel for permanent lodging was perhaps appropriate. Arcturus Zodiac Conrad never seem quite settled, at home, any where.

            Except in the pulpit: here he reigned supreme. "Brimstone Corner" became his personal platform. Indeed for some A. Z. Conrad was Mr. Brimstone. And it is from this position that his influence spread and that makes him an interesting subject for analysis. Conrad has had no biography, no doctoral study, no in-depth analysis of his ministry, to the best of my knowledge. His very refusal to be identified with a party either in the changes that took place in congregationalism during the forty-seven he served two of their leading pulpits, or in the fundamentalist-modernist controversy. A. Z. Conrad was always his own man.

            What his a study of his career does is to provide color, rather than direction, to the course the American pulpit took between the 1880's and the 1930's. He provides definition also to the beleaguered forces, first of orthodox trinitarian congrega­tionalism in the city of Boston and in New England. And, finally, to the gradual emergence within the main-line denominations of a strong independent anti-modernist response that centered on down-town preaching centers in most American cities. In the study made by Allyn Russell in 1980 of eight of Conrad's fundamentalist contemporaries one can draw interesting parallels, even though he himself never wanted to be called a fundamentalist.

            Conrad had his violent moments, like Frank Norris of Fort Worth, though culturally he was certainly not a Southern Baptist. One could drag analogies with John Roach Straton of Manhattan's Calvary Baptist, for like Straton he was born in the Hoosier state and pastored in the 1920's a downtown church in a business district. Like  William Bell Riley of First Baptist Church, Minneapolis, he was an organizational genius. J. C. Massee ("the moderate fundamentalist") and A. Z. Conrad were an interesting study in contrasts as they pastored two congregations a half block apart with radically different lineage. When J. C. came to Tremont Temple it was said that "He knows how to sell reli­gion."¹ A.Z. knew how to sell religion but it was more intellec­tual, more culturally sensitive to New England, midwesterner though he was.

            Among the others Russell describes, one could quibble as to whether J. Gresham Machen was a fundamentalist. But - in the records of Park St. Church - there are two letters from Dr. Machen to the Chairman of the Temporal Committee of Park St. Church, George Watson, insistently asking that his best wishes be conveyed to Conrad's eightieth birthday party². With William Jennings Bryan ("statesman-fundamentalist") he shared a horror of evolution and a desire to be "the great commoner" or class leveler (in spite of his wife's social position). And finally it would  be to Clarence Edward Macartney ("preacher-fundamental­ist") that he would look for his successor, Harold John Ockenga.

            A. Z. Conrad's life, and his influence at Park St., is important, if for no other reason, than the light it sheds on the subsequent ministry of Harold John Ockenga. Ockenga both shaped  and was shaped by Park St. Church. His seminal influence on evangelicalism from 1940 to 1970 is directly attributable both to the influence of, and the platform provided by, A. Z. Conrad.

I. LIFE

            A. Z. Conrad was born in Shiloh, Indiana, on  November 26, 1855, the son of the Rev. Jacob and Margaret Slagle Conrad. When he was only a babe in arms the family moved out to Sterling, Minnesota, where his father appears to have had a four hundred acre farm along with an itinerant ministry, founding congrega­tions, building churches.

            In the most personally revealing article ever written about him³, following an interview on the eve of his 73rd birthday, the Boston newspaper The American provided some sidelights on his childhood. "I wasn't much for play," A. J. reminisced in a mellow mood, "we had no time for play, and the care of a large ranch furnished enough excitement." On the farm he followed the plow, spreading the seed. It was an intensely serious home: it was "almost a misdemeanor to sit down without a book or paper in the hand to read." But there was also laughter: "Our table was a picnic and we youngsters looked forward to it with real joy." The father read to them improving books such as Tom Brown's School­days. His father was also a great story teller: something that is somewhat lacking in Conrad's later homiletic efforts.

            The paper noted that Conrad "does not remem­ber a time when he was not moved by religious emotions". He was converted at the age of ten at revival meetings.  There was family worship two times a day, with "prayer, Scripture and the singing of psalms". The family motto  was "Be Somebody". At 14 Conrad found himself the sole proprietor of a four hundred acre farm.

            It was perhaps for that reason that only at the age of twenty-seven did Conrad graduate from nearby Carleton College in Northfield. But in the mean time he had been pursuing his voca­tion: from the age of 16 he was speaking in churches and Sunday schools across rural Minnesota. He was to say later that "A great compulsion led me into the Christian ministry. It was a deep conviction, a duty, that led me as early as the age of 12 to decide upon this great vocation."⁴

            In 1882, he arrived in bustling Manhattan, the country lad from Minnesota. Three years later he had received his diploma from the most academically prestigious seminary of its day, Union Theological, married on August 26, 1885, Harriet Narcissa Adams, a musician and one of the Adams, that prominent New England family as a direct lineal descendent of John Quincy Adams, and been called, in the middle of his final year at Union, to the Ainslie St. Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn. He had put his rural past behind him: the change in his fortunes and outlook could not have been more cataclysmic.

            With his wife's money they were able to travel extensively and two years after his ordination, in 1887 he went to Europe as the church in Brooklyn was building an extension to accommodate the four hundred new members who had come, and would come, during five year ministry.        Nor was he idle during that ministry: he wrote a Ph. D. thesis at the City College of New York, now New York University, and was awarded the degree in 1891 a year after he had been called to the Old South Congregational Church of Worces­ter, Massachusetts.

            Old South had just erected an ambitious granite edifice which had stretched the resources of the 400 members beyond their limit. There was a debt of $40,000. The congregation was demoral­ized and afraid for its future. Twelve years later, when he left on doctor's advice, the church had 1200 members and the entire city of Worcester came out to give a rousing sendoff with a purse of $2000. In his farewell he said that he owed three quarters of his success to his wife, and a quarter to hard work.⁵

            Three years of a kind of sabbatical were spent by Conrad and his wife touring Europe and preaching in congregational pulpits in England, concluding in 1905 with three months in the presti­gious Bromley Congregational Church in South London. Calls came from England and from the United States, but the one that most appealed seemed to be that of Park St. Church in Boston. He was to state later that "I accepted the Park Street proposal because it was the hardest proposition."⁶

            Hard it was. The church had gone through a lengthy debate as to whether it would stay in its location on the Boston Common or move to the suburbs. When he arrived there were 371 members, 112 of them male, 257 female. They had gained 10 but lost 22 in 1905. The collapse of various real estate deals - first with Park Associates Trust and then with the Boston Herald to raze the 1811 edifice had left a sour note in the congregation, particularly since the son-in-law of the minister, Dr. Withrow, had been conducting the negotiations. A public spirited group calling itself The Committee for The Preservation of Park Street Church had worked to protect the edifice. And at the annual congrega­tional meeting Withrow proposed an "associate pastor who, by means of his physical, mental and spiritual gifts, could revive its waning life."⁷

            The advice of the Boston Journal, in an editorial on July 1, 1903, after the collapse of the first real estate offer, was "Quit fussing and get the goods". And it  was obvious from the start that A. Z. Conrad had the goods. Even before he was in­stalled on January 18, 1906, he had declared firmly and without equivoca­tion, that Park St. Church would remain on Park St.

            Over the next thirty-two years of his ministry - Conrad, at his death at 81 in 1937 would serve the longest of the eleven minis­ters of Park St. Church at that time - A. Z. Conrad became the voice of the congregation. In the first ten years 757 people united with the church. By 1919 it was necessary to get tickets for the Easter service. And in 1923 the church became one of the first in North America to broadcast its services.

            From 1924 to 1932 Conrad became a well-known author. His seven books of sermons were widely circulated  - particularly his first Jesus Christ At The Crossroads which went into four edi­tions and was translated into several languages.

            Conrad's passion was travel and he went to speak in many parts of the country. In August of 1924 he preached in City Temple. He was also a guest in Carr's Lane Chapel in Birmingham, in Renfield St. Free Church in Glasgow and in other prominent pulpits.⁸ Park St. pulpit likewise became a place where luminar­ies gathered: in 1911, Sylvester Horne; in 1918, Bishop Charles Gore; in 1925, G. Campbell Morgan. And in 1928 a thousand English Congregational "Pilgrims" gathered for a service in Park St.

            Edward Payson Drew who was his associate in Worcester, and who later had a distinguished ministry in Auburndale, Massachu­setts, analyzed the secret of Conrad's success: "A declaration in no uncertain terms concerning the most important affirmations of human thought ... Dr. Conrad has abundantly demonstrated that he is a true physician of the soul ... Dr. Conrad has a way of making people that it is always possible to do whatever it is right to do  ...  One always knows  exactly where Dr. Conrad stands with respect to any issue ... There are high achievements for righteousness that would not easily have been possible without the leadership and cooperation of the distinguished pastor of Park St. Church."⁹

            In 1932 Narcissa, his partner in ministry for forty-seven years, died suddenly. According to the papers she left her sizeable estate to her husband. By October of that year there were pictures of A. Z., then a man of almost seventy-six, with his "child bride", Jean Livingston, substitute summer organist. The Sunday Post for October 2, 1932 asked: "What does Boston's 76 year-old pastor of the Park Street Congregational Church, the militant Dr. A. Z. Conrad, who plans to marry a 27-year old girl think of love and marriage?" The following month - November 9 - they were wed.

            An uproar ensured. At a congregational meeting attended by 326 on January 10, 1933, a vote of confidence was given: "Park Street Church hereby declares its complete confidence in her pastor and leader, Dr. A. Z. Conrad. We record our profound appreciation..."¹⁰  But the damage had been done -  between the Depression and the marriage over five hundred had left the Church.

            Whether it was the journalistic style of the time, the so-called "yellow press" popularized by William Randolph Hearst, clippings that report Conrad's activities over his thirty-two years in Boston show increasing shrillness and a bombastic style not in keeping with the earlier Conrad. He was also the target of a law-suit, sensationalized by the media, and launched by the Liberal Civic League who claimed he had slandered Congressman La Guardia.¹¹ There was a damaging revelation of substantial loss­es ($15,000) in an investment scheme promulgated by a Brook­line woman "agent".

            Through his seventies, however, he maintained his vigorous ministry. As he approached his eightieth birthday it was not­ed¹² that "he was in vigorous health and busy with the manifold duties of his important city pastorate". In the Spring of the following year he went into the hospital for what was billed as "minor surgery" but he did not rally and eventually died on January 22, 1937.

            His great contribution at the end was the choice of a successor. In his Annual Report for 1933 he wrote that

"In the very nature of the case, a comparatively short time will necessitate the transfer of the heavy burden of leadership to someone whom none of us know but whom God will raise up to carry on this great historic church."¹³

And in an anniversary sermon on February 25, 1934, he declared:

"Every Pastor (of Park St. Church) has been a thorough-going EVANGELI­CAL. This ac­counts for the unbroken progress experienced."

"Only a progressive and aggressive attitude can make this church worthy of its heritage. No achievement of yesterday will take the place of the larger work of tomorrow. With the unmistak­able evidences of a limit­less possibility of a church filled with the Holy Spirit. The differences of today are peculiar to to­day."

            It was that same year that the first overtures were made to Harold John Ockenga, minister of Point Breeze Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh. Ockenga had graduated from Westminster Seminary in 1930, leaving Princeton with Dr. Machen and others the previous year. He had gone on to be Assistant to Clarence Edward Macartney in First Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh. Both Machen and Macartney recommended him to Conrad. He finally accepted Park Street's offer in the Fall of 1936 and his ministry began on November 15.

            By telephone from the hospital some of Conrad's final words to his congregation were:

"I commend my brother, Dr. Ockenga, as a man of God as one upon whom God has already signally laid His hand of approval; also, as one who is committed to proclamation of the truth indicated particularly in God's Word as 'Christ and Him crucified.'"¹⁴

II MINISTRY

            What kind of a minister was A. Z. Conrad?

            At his farewell at Old South Church in Worcester in 1902 its characteristics were described as "personal magnetism, organizing power, indefatigable energy and pastoral fidelity".¹⁵

            A. Z. Conrad was a pastor, or as Edward Payson Drew de­scribed him "a physician of the soul".     As a preacher President Nathan Wood of Gordon College and Divinity School summarized  it best on his eightieth birthday: "In a day when preaching is clever and shallow, when the preacher is not the trumpet of God, I like to hear a man who has a mighty message, and preaches it mightily ..."¹⁶.

            He preached without notes, with a flow of language that was described as "rapid but smooth". His sermons were not exegetical, nor were they specifically topical. They do not read well sixty years after publication as they have a somewhat rhetorical style with a use of language which is lacking in color. His divisions are somewhat synthetic, and seem to be his own ideas rather than any obvious division of subject matter.

            In terms of Bible teaching most of his Biblical material was done in the prayer meeting. The bulletins of Park St. Church for 1920, at the peak of his ministry, show that in October he went through Mark, November Luke and December John. His sermon titles for November 21, 1920, are typical: in the morning, "Progressive Emancipation: Following the Gleam To The Gates of Heaven" and in the evening: "Interpreting Natural and Personal Destiny: 'Watch­man What of the Night?'" Though all his sermons have texts, the closest any of his books came to a systematic dealing with the text was his Secret of the Life Sublime, which dealt with the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:21 and 22.

            There was always in his messages the pleading note: "The one thing that Jesus Christ despises is patronage," he once wrote¹⁷. His gospel invitation was always positive:

            "A weary world may feel the lifting of its burdens as it      looks into the Author of life and health and joy."¹⁸

"Shine, until all of life shall become one splendid manifes­tation of Divine Glory. Get under God's smile. Breathe in it; bathe in it; live in it."¹⁹

"What kind of a life will you live? Are you sure of yourself and sure of God and sure of eternal life? You may be sure, if you will, today, just by the hearty acceptance of God's love in Jesus."²⁰

            Indeed - and in spite of the newspaper headlines - A. Z. Conrad was a man who received warmth and affection from his congregations. Under his ministry there was little controversy or divi­sion. That is what made the furor over his second marriage so painful to him. Both at Worcester and in Boston he enjoyed great popularity.

            His view of ministry could be described as paternalistic. Certainly as a pulpiteer he exerted great influence. This was consolidated by three politically astute moves that consolidated power in Park St. Church and made it almost his private domain. In May of 1915 all societies in Park St. Church were made subor­dinate to the Board of Directors. In April of 1916 the Park St. Congre­gational Society was consoli­dat­ed with the congregation. The church records note that "The change was instigated by Dr. Conrad." Finally, in 1926 the boards of the church were organized as the Pastor's Cabinet.

            Not to minimize the strength of  lay leadership within Park St. Church. In 1922 the papers quoted him as saying ch and made it almost his private domain. In May of 1915 all societies in Park St. Church were made subor­dinate to the Board of Directors. In April of 1916 the Park St. Congre­gational Society was consoli­dat­ed with the congregation. The church records note that "The change was instigated by Dr. Conrad." Finally, in 1926 the boards of the church were organized as the Pastor's Cabinet.

            Not to minimize the strength of  lay leadership within Park St. Church. In 1922 the papers quoted him as saying ch and made it almost his private domain. In May of 1915 all societies in Park St. Church were made subor­dinate to the Board of Directors. In April of 1916 the Park St. Congre­gational Society was consoli­dat­ed with the congregation. The church records note that "The change was instigated by Dr. Conrad." Finally, in 1926 the boards of the church were organized as the Pastor's Cabinet.

            Not to minimize the strength of  lay leadership within Park St. Church. In 1922 the papers quoted him as saying ch and made it almost his private domain. In May of 1915 all societies in Park St. Church were made subor­dinate to the Board of Directors. In April of 1916 the Park St. Congre­gational Society was consoli­dat­ed with the congregation. The church records note that "The change was instigated by Dr. Conrad." Finally, in 1926 the boards of the church were organized as the Pastor's Cabinet.

            Not to minimize the strength of  lay leadership within Park St. Church. In 1922 the papers quoted him as saying ch and made it almost his private domain. In May of 1915 all societies in Park St. Church were made subor­dinate to the Board of Directors. In April of 1916 the Park St. Congre­gational Society was consoli­dat­ed with the congregation. The church records note that "The change was instigated by Dr. Conrad." Finally, in 1926 the boards of the church were organized as the Pastor's Cabinet.

            Not to minimize the strength of  lay leadership within Park St. Church. In 1922 the papers quoted him as saying ch and made it almost his private domain. In May of 1915 all societies in Park St. Church were made subor­dinate to the Board of Directors. In April of 1916 the Park St. Congre­gational Society was consoli­dat­ed with the congregation. The church records note that "The change was instigated by Dr. Conrad." Finally, in 1926 the boards of the church were organized as the Pastor's Cabinet.

            Not to minimize the strength of  lay leadership within Park St. Church. In 1922 the papers quoted him as saying ch and made it almost his private domain. In May of 1915 all societies in Park St. Church were made subor­dinate to the Board of Directors. In April of 1916 the Park St. Congre­gational Society was consoli­dat­ed with the congregation. The church records note that "The change was instigated by Dr. Conrad." Finally, in 1926 the boards of the church were organized as the Pastor's Cabinet.

            Not to minimize the strength of  lay leadership within Park St. Church. In 1922 the papers quoted him as saying ch and made it almost his private domain. In May of 1915 all societies in Park St. Church were made subor­dinate to the Board of Directors. In April of 1916 the Park St. Congre­gational Society was consoli­dat­ed with the congregation. The church records note that "The change was instigated by Dr. Conrad." Finally, in 1926 the boards of the church were organized as the Pastor's Cabinet.

            Not to minimize the strength of  lay leadership within Park St. Church. In 1922 the papers quoted him as saying ch and made it almost his private domain. In May of 1915 all societies in Park St. Church were made subor­dinate to the Board of Directors. In April of 1916 the Park St. Congre­gational Society was consoli­dat­ed with the congregation. The church records note that "The change was instigated by Dr. Conrad." Finally, in 1926 the boards of the church were organized as the Pastor's Cabinet.

            Not to minimize the strength of  lay leadership within Park St. Church. In 1922 the papers quoted him as saying ch and made it almost his private domain. In May of 1915 all societies in Park St. Church were made subor­dinate to the Board of Directors. In April of 1916 the Park St. Congre­gational Society was consoli­dat­ed with the congregation. The church records note that "The change was instigated by Dr. Conrad." Finally, in 1926 the boards of the church were organized as the Pastor's Cabinet.

            Not to minimize the strength of  lay leadership within Park St. Church. In 1922 the papers quoted him as saying ch and made it almost his private domain. In May of 1915 all societies in Park St. Church were made subor­dinate to the Board of Directors. In April of 1916 the Park St. Congre­gational Society was consoli­dat­ed with the congregation. The church records note that "The change was instigated by Dr. Conrad." Finally, in 1926 the boards of the church were organized as the Pastor's Cabinet.

            Not to minimize the strength of  lay leadership within Park St. Church. In 1922 the papers quoted him as saying ch and made it almost his private domain. In May of 1915 all societies in Park St. Church were made subor­dinate to the Board of Directors. In April of 1916 the Park St. Congre­gational Society was consoli­dat­ed with the congregation. The church records note that "The change was instigated by Dr. Conrad." Finally, in 1926 the boards of the church were organized as the Pastor's Cabinet.

            Not to minimize the strength of  lay leadership within Park St. Church. In 1922 the papers quoted him as saying ch and made it almost his private domain. In May of 1915 all societies in Park St. Church were made subor­dinate to the Board of Directors. In April of 1916 the Park St. Congre­gational Society was consoli­dat­ed with the congregation. The church records note that "The change was instigated by Dr. Conrad." Finally, in 1926 the boards of the church were organized as the Pastor's Cabinet.

            Not to minimize the strength of  lay leadership within Park St. Church. In 1922 the papers quoted him as saying ch and made it almost his private domain. In May of 1915 all societies in Park St. Church were made subor­dinate to the Board of Directors. In April of 1916 the Park St. Congre­gational Society was consoli­dat­ed with the congregation. The church records note that "The change was instigated by Dr. Conrad." Finally, in 1926 the boards of the church were organized as the Pastor's Cabinet.

            Not to minimize the strength of  lay leadership within Park St. Church. In 1922 the papers quoted him as saying ch and made it almost his private domain. In May of 1915 all societies in Park St. Church were made subor­dinate to the Board of Directors. In April of 1916 the Park St. Congre­gational Society was consoli­dat­ed with the congregation. The church records note that "The change was instigated by Dr. Conrad." Finally, in 1926 the boards of the church were organized as the Pastor's Cabinet.

            Not to minimize the strength of  lay leadership within Park St. Church. In 1922 the papers quoted him as saying ch and made it almost his private domain. In May of 1915 all societies in Park St. Church were made subor­dinate to the Board of Directors. In April of 1916 the Park St. Congre­gational Society was consoli­dat­ed with the congregation. The church records note that "The change was instigated by Dr. Conrad." Finally, in 1926 the boards of the church were organized as the Pastor's Cabinet.

            Not to minimize the strength of  lay leadership within Park St. Church. In 1922 the papers quoted him as saying ch and made it almost his private domain. In May of 1915 all societies in Park St. Church were made subor­dinate to the Board of Directors. In April of 1916 the Park St. Congre­gational Society was consoli­dat­ed with the congregation. The church records note that "The change was instigated by Dr. Conrad." Finally, in 1926 the boards of the church were organized as the Pastor's Cabinet.

            Not to minimize the strength of  lay leadership within Park St. Church. In 1922 the papers quoted him as saying ch and made it almost his private domain. In May of 1915 all societies in Park St. Church were made subor­dinate to the Board of Directors. In April of 1916 the Park St. Congre­gational Society was consoli­dat­ed with the congregation. The church records note that "The change was instigated by Dr. Conrad." Finally, in 1926 the boards of the church were organized as the Pastor's Cabinet.

            Not to minimize the strength of  lay leadership within Park St. Church. In 1922 the papers quoted him as saying ch and made it almost his private domain. In May of 1915 all societies in Park St. Church were made subor­dinate to the Board of Directors. In April of 1916 the Park St. Congre­gational Society was consoli­dat­ed with the congregation. The church records note that "The change was instigated by Dr. Conrad." Finally, in 1926 the boards of the church were organized as the Pastor's Cabinet.

            Not to minimize the strength of  lay leadership within Park St. Church. In 1922 the papers quoted him as saying ch and made it almost his private domain. In May of 1915 all societies in Park St. Church were made subor­dinate to the Board of Directors. In April of 1916 the Park St. Congre­gational Society was consoli­dat­ed with the congregation. The church records note that "The change was instigated by Dr. Conrad." Finally, in 1926 the boards of the church were organized as the Pastor's Cabinet.

            Not to minimize the strength of  lay leadership within Park St. Church. In 1922 the papers quoted him as saying ch and made it almost his private domain. In May of 1915 all societies in Park St. Church were made subor­dinate to the Board of Directors. In April of 1916 the Park St. Congre­gational Society was consoli­dat­ed with the congregation. The church records note that "The change was instigated by Dr. Conrad." Finally, in 1926 the boards of the church were organized as the Pastor's Cabinet.

            Not to minimize the strength of  lay leadership within Park St. Church. In 1922 the papers quoted him as saying ch and made it almost his private domain. In May of 1915 all societies in Park St. Church were made subor­dinate to the Board of Directors. In April of 1916 the Park St. Congre­gational Society was consoli­dat­ed with the congregation. The church records note that "The change was instigated by Dr. Conrad." Finally, in 1926 the boards of the church were organized as the Pastor's Cabinet.

            Not to minimize the strength of  lay leadership within Park St. Church. In 1922 the papers quoted him as saying ch and made it almost his private domain. In May of 1915 all societies in Park St. Church were made subor­dinate to the Board of Directors. In April of 1916 the Park St. Congre­gational Society was consoli­dat­ed with the congregation. The church records note that "The change was instigated by Dr. Conrad." Finally, in 1926 the boards of the church were organized as the Pastor's Cabinet.

            Not to minimize the strength of  lay leadership within Park St. Church. In 1922 the papers quoted him as saying ch and made it almost his private domain. In May of 1915 all societies in Park St. Church were made subor­dinate to the Board of Directors. In April of 1916 the Park St. Congre­gational Society was consoli­dat­ed with the congregation. The church records note that "The change was instigated by Dr. Conrad." Finally, in 1926 the boards of the church were organized as the Pastor's Cabinet.

            Not to minimize the strength of  lay leadership within Park St. Church. In 1922 the papers quoted him as saying ch and made it almost his private domain. In May of 1915 all societies in Park St. Church were made subor­dinate to the Board of Directors. In April of 1916 the Park St. Congre­gational Society was consoli­dat­ed with the congregation. The church records note that "The change was instigated by Dr. Conrad." Finally, in 1926 the boards of the church were organized as the Pastor's Cabinet.

            Not to minimize the strength of  lay leadership within Park St. Church. In 1922 the papers quoted him as saying ch and made it almost his private domain. In May of 1915 all societies in Park St. Church were made subor­dinate to the Board of Directors. In April of 1916 the Park St. Congre­gational Society was consoli­dat­ed with the congregation. The church records note that "The change was instigated by Dr. Conrad." Finally, in 1926 the boards of the church were organized as the Pastor's Cabinet.

            Not to minimize the strength of  lay leadership within Park St. Church. In 1922 the papers quoted him as saying ch and made it almost his private domain. In May of 1915 all societies in Park St. Church were made subor­dinate to the Board of Directors. In April of 1916 the Park St. Congre­gational Society was consoli­dat­ed with the congregation. The church records note that "The change was instigated by Dr. Conrad." Finally, in 1926 the boards of the church were organized as the Pastor's Cabinet.

            Not to minimize the strength of  lay leadership within Park St. Church. In 1922 the papers quoted him as saying p. Yet let me make it plain, please.  I am not a Fundamen­tal­ist. I refuse to be thus labeled .. I cannot  accept their extreme positions. Many of my brother ministers class me with the Fundamentalists, and to be sure I am a thousand times nearer them than the modernist. Let me tell you what I am: I am an evangeli­cal Christian. I believe  with my whole soul in Biblical inspira­tion; the Deity of Christ; that Christ atones for man's sin by his death on the Cross; and that Spiritual death results unless man be thus saved. Nothing is more definitely declared in God's word than that every man is lost until he finds and accepts Jesus Christ."²¹

            As he wrote two years earlier at the height of the Fundamen­talist-Modernist controversy in his former denomination:

"Labels are often libels. The writer is not a 'literal­ist' nor a 'verbalist', yet a believer in a full in­spired Gospel of Christ. This book is written from the standpoint of a Progressive Evange­licalism, which designa­tion the writer accepts."²²

            One is being prepared for the distinction Harold John Ockenga always made between "fundamentalist" and "evangelical" and for the subsequent rise of what Ockenga called "the new evangelical­ism". Labels, especially in polarized New England with its extremes of fundamentalism and liberalism in the church, was very important.

            Biblical authority was one of Conrad's main preoccupations. In the eleventh chapter of his Secret of the Life Sublime, titled "The Bible - There It Stands" Conrad would soliloquize about Scripture, with each statement concluding with "The Bible - There It Stands". He concluded "Trust It, Love It, Obey It and Eternal Life is Yours"²³. As he would conclude at the end of eleven propositions in his personal credo with which he marked forty-five years in the ministry:

"All these statements of faith are only another way of saying I Believe God's Word. Every spiritual hope I entertain is founded on God's Word. If one does not  believe these things, then he does not believe the Bible. I stake my hope of Eternal Life on the fact that the Bible is the Word of God. Here I take my stand."²⁴

            From his view of revelation, Conrad went on to extrapolate other controversial doctrines: "The integrity of the Scriptures, their credibility, authority and reliability, are all involved in the truth of the virgin birth."²⁵. His was a Biblical faith because it  was a blood religion: "Christ understood that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. Christ taught that He was deliberately laying down His life for man. He found the whole meaning of His life in Calvary."

            Conrad also had a strong ecclesiology, though hardly from a Reformed  stance: "It is the business of the church to be help­fully interested in everything that concerns the well being of humanity"²⁶. Referring to Park St. Church he would state: "Its  vital stand on the fundamentals of the faith makes it conspicuous in this age of uncertainty and doubt...It is the purpose of the Church to make its influence  felt  as strongly as possible on great constructive lines, precisely as set forth in the teachings of Jesus and throughout the entire New Testament Scriptures."²⁷

IV LEADERSHIP

            A. Z. Conrad stamped his image across the life of the city of Boston for almost two generations. His campaigns were numerous and were reported fully in the local papers. Unfortunately, in his seventies, they became more and more idiosyncratic and cranky. One crusade was to expand Park St. itself into the Boston Common!

            In 1907, shortly after arrival in Boston, a sermon's title asked the question "Who Are Desirable Citizens?" and he replied: "The supreme curse of this nation is 'selfism;. Selfism is that which is causing the graft that is cursing the city of Bos­ton."²⁸.In 1911 the papers made much of his declining a $500 raise, without noting the reality that he  was, through his wife, independently wealthy. In 1916 the newspapers note that:

"Warning that Soviet rule will supplant the existing order in Boston before long, and that he will be one of the first of those  killed, has been received by Rev. Dr. A. Z. Conrad."²⁹

            On July 1, 1917, the headline read: "Crush the Hohenzollern hyena, says Dr. Conrad". And on May 13, 1918, he was praising the ability of Bugden to manufacture an impressive number of air­planes for the war effort. He noted with alarm the effects of the War: "America's stupendous task is to put down this rebellion against authority."

            In 1918 the subsequent passion of his life - prohibition - was mentioned for the first time. On April 22, 1918, quoting a sermon, the Globe cited his view that the "first move  necessi­tated by the President in speeding up the Liberty loan was to institute war prohibition." As the eighteenth amendment came under greater attack Conrad leapt to its defense. On May 23, 1928 it was reported that Conrad had asked that state employees who were  witnesses in a liquor hearing be excused from their depart­ments. And he remained active as Chairman of the Prohibition Loyalty league until the Trustees of Park St. Church asked him to resign as it  was taking too much of his time³⁰.

            He also got involved in electoral campaigns. He complained, in a letter to the Boston Post on October 20, 1928, that he had been misquoted as having attacked Governor Smith, then running on the Democratic  ticket for the Presidency. ("Your statement was incorrect except by inference.") There were questions about whether he had or had not support W. S. Youngman, a Republican candidate for governor in 1928. And in 1930 the Liberal Civic League's lawsuit for damages of $25,000 for libel by Dr. Conrad in insulting Congressman La Guardia was eventually settled in a personal interview. ("I had never met Dr. Conrad before, was La Guardia's statement after a reconciliation interview.) The Post reported on September 12, 1932, that he supported Herbert Hoover ("Hoover Loves Conrad's Voice") but then he issued a denial. By 1935, in response to a letter sent out by F. D. R., Conrad was quoted as "basting" the New Deal. Opposed to Soviet recogni­tion³¹, he was anxious for clergy to take the same loyalty oath being demanded of teachers³². Howls  of protest from clergy of every variety were quoted the following day: "threat to the church" was the headline.

            "Aggressiveness is one of Dr. Conrad's chief characteris­tics", was the observation of the Transcript after an interview in 1925³³. A. Z. Conrad was always good copy for the newspa­pers.

            Part  of his concern was for a downtown church to speak to the social needs of the city. "The reason why this virile clergy­man decided to hold his pastorate close to the heart of the city was because he wanted to do his share toward keeping that heart pure and of good repute. He explained that he did not care to  be off in some comfortable and well-to-do suburb, but asked for a job where evil is at work, ever striving for the mastery and where courage and righteousness are continually as faithful watchdogs in the night."³⁴

            But his vision for Park St. Church was more than it be a platform for political and social views. He shared his passion in 1934 at the close of his ministry there:

"Thousands of Churches are looking to this Church for an example of victorious achievement. Thousands of Churches are also watch­ing to see whether it is possi­ble that Park St. Church will waver in its allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ as 'God mani­fest in the fles­h.' We cannot, we dare not, in the slightest degree compromise our credal position. We stand for the Bible as the Word of God as at the beginning. We stand for a Saviour, supernatu­rally born, who gave a supernatural message, died a supernatural death, experienced a supernatural resurrection and is today our supernatural mediator at the throne of grace."³⁵

            That  was A. Z.'s passion and to that grand pursuit he devoted all of his considerable gifts. His leaving of Park St. was his both his saddest and his finest hour. Sad because he had stayed on too long, displayed too many errors of judgment, but - in the end - he had rescued Park St. Church in 1936, as  he had in 1905, by providing a continuity of leadership that would insure that, alone of all the churches in downtown Boston, it would remain strong, united and - above everything else - commit­ted to an Evangelical faith.

Bibliography

Primary Sources:

Articles:

            Conrad, A. Z.; "Honesty In The Pulpit";

                                                "Response To The Boston Transcript", 1909.

Books:

            Conrad, A. Z., Ed.; Boston's Awakening; Boston, MA ('The King's Business Publishing Co.' Tremont Temple), 1909.

                                    Ed.; Commemorative Exercises at the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Organization of Park St. Church, February 26 - March 3, 1909; Boston, MA (Park St. Centennial Committee), 1909.

                        Jesus Christ At The Crossroads; New York, NY (Fleming H. Revell), 1924.

                        Comrades of the Carpenter; New York, NY (Fleming H. Revell), 1926.

                        The Seven Finalities of Faith; Philadel­phia, PA (The Sunday School Times Co.), 1926.

                        The Gospel for an Age of Thought; New York, NY (Fleming H. Revell), 1928.

                        Secret of the Life Sublime; New York, NY (Fleming H. Revell), 1929.

                        Radiant Religion; New York, NY (Harper and Brothers Publishers), 1930.

                        You Must Go Right On; New York, NY (Fleming H. Revell), 1931.

Tributes To Dr. Conrad:

Edward Payson Drew; A Milestone In A Notable Ministry: An Appre­ciation of the Twenty-five Years Pastorate of Rev. A. Z. Conrad, D.D., over Park St. Church, Boston.

            A Farewell Tribute: Rev. A. Z. Conrad, D.D., Ph.D., Pastor, Old South Church, Worcester, Massachusetts; Worcester, MA (old South Congregational Church), 1902.

Secondary Sources

H Crosby Englizian; Brimstone Corner: Park St. Church Boston; Chicago  (Moody Press), 1948; page 207.

Gordon, George A.; My Education and Religion; Cambridge, MA (Houghton Mifflin), 1925.

Handy, George; A History of Union Theological Seminary in New York; New York (Columbia University Press), 1987.

Marsden, George; Fundamentalism and American Culture; New York (Oxford University Press), 1980.

Numbers, Ronald L.; The Creationists; New York, NY (Alfred A. Knopf), 1992.

Russell, C. Allyn; Voices of American Fundamen­tal­ism: Seven Biographical Studies; Philadelphia, PA (The Westmin­ster Press), 1976.

Smith, Gary Scott; The Seeds of Secularization: Calvinism, Culture and Pluralism in America, 1870 - 1915; Grand Rapids, MI (Christian College Consortium), 1985.

Notes