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mission. On the American scene these many religious groups have undergone changes. The changes have been on the whole in the direction of blending with the American culture with its strong pressure toward conformity. It would appear that only those religious groups (or elements within the groups) are able to survive and fulfill their mission who do two things: (1) They retain and pass on their faith in its essentials; (2) they are able to make wise and safe adaptations to a changing world in order to live effectively in it and to communicate effectively with it.

The problem is an old one-and a permanent one. As one theologian has stated it:

All through her history the Church will know the same tension that faced the people of God in Canaan: the tension of being "in the world," not "of the world"; the tension between the danger of assimilation (which faced Israel in

pre-exilic times) and the danger of pharisaic isolation (which was the danger of post-exilic Judaism). 3

The Christian church in its long history has known no other way to fulfill its mission than by being fixed in purpose but flexible in method. And in the end the Christian church, or any part of it, relies for wisdom and strength on its Lord, the Founder, who builds His church anew in each generation.