National Lutheran Council. Executive Director (1930-1948 : Long)

Ralph H. Long (1882-1948) served as the NLC's third executive director from 1930 until his death in 1948. An ordained pastor, Long previously served as stewardship secretary for the Evangelical Lutheran Joint Synod of Ohio and Other States (1927-1930). The Service Commission was instituted by the NLC in 1941 to support chaplains in their duties, establish Lutheran service centers near camps and large cities, and to encourage local congregations to keep in touch with their servicemen. Directed by N.M. Ylvisaker, this temporary commission became the NLC's Bureau of Service to Military Personnel in 1948.