This is a special episode of a presentation I prepared for the Society of German American Studies symposium in April in Milwaukee.

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The year 2025 marks the 175th anniversary of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Originally established in the Milwaukee area as the Die erste deutsch. evang.-luth. Synode von Wisconsin, this German immigrant ecclesiastical organization, immediately needed printed materials in its native language that would serve the needs of its people in a new geographic and social setting.  The Wisconsin Synod primarily sought to preserve and transmit conservative confessional Lutheranism in the first several generations.  The motto, “Halte was du hast,” crowned the synod’s first regular publication, the Gemeindeblatt.  Its message, “Hold what you have,” reflects the conservative concern of the ministers who encouraged Lutheran immigrants to preserve their faith and pass it on to future generations.  Wisconsin Synod leaders also recognized that as the synod faced new challenges and opportunities in its frontier immigrant context, it must also apply theological principles in ways that precluded simplistic repristination of the 16th century Reformation.  The resulting “Wauwatosa Theology” came to life in the German publications of the synod. 

To meet the needs of its laity, pastors, and scholars, the Wisconsin Synod locally produced various printed materials in the German language to meet its high theological standards.  These German American Lutherans required many printed materials: hymnals, service agendas, synodical reports, catechisms, bibles, and devotional literature.   Regular publications: the Gemeindeblatt and the Theologische Quartalschrifft not only served to communicate to and inform laity and pastors within the Wisconsin Synod but also spread its news and theology across the nation and back to the German homeland.  

The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod required German materials for well over a century—despite the erosion of a German-speaking demographic accelerated by two world wars.  In the post-war years, the synod experienced an irreversible transition from needing German materials to holding on to them for personal comfort.  Still, the synod continued to print officially in German regularly until 1970.  

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• About the Host
  • Benjamin Phelps is a 2014 graduate from Martin Luther College with a Bachelor of Arts with a German emphasis. From there went on to graduate from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2018.
    Ben loves all things history and enjoys traveling. A descendant of over a dozen Lutheran pastors, Ben has an interest in his family roots, especially 19th-century Lutheranism, and has written several papers and journal articles on the topic. His 2018 thesis on Wyneken won the John Harrison Ness award and the Abdel Ross Wentz prize. He is also the recipient of two awards of commendation from the Concordia Historical Institute.
    Ben is currently a doctoral student in historical theology through Concordia Seminary's reduced residency program in St. Louis.

In this WELS 175th episode, we talk with Joel Otto, the anniversary committee chairman, about the pictorial history book Christ Through Us, which he co-authored with John Braun.

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• About the Host
  • Benjamin Phelps is a 2014 graduate from Martin Luther College with a Bachelor of Arts with a German emphasis. From there went on to graduate from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2018.
    Ben loves all things history and enjoys traveling. A descendant of over a dozen Lutheran pastors, Ben has an interest in his family roots, especially 19th-century Lutheranism, and has written several papers and journal articles on the topic. His 2018 thesis on Wyneken won the John Harrison Ness award and the Abdel Ross Wentz prize. He is also the recipient of two awards of commendation from the Concordia Historical Institute.
    Ben is currently a doctoral student in historical theology through Concordia Seminary's reduced residency program in St. Louis.

In this WELS 175th episode, we talk with Joel Otto, the anniversary committee chairman, about what WELS worship has looked like in the past and how it has changed.

Support the show

• Confessional Languages Scholarship
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• email: [email protected]
• About the Host
  • Benjamin Phelps is a 2014 graduate from Martin Luther College with a Bachelor of Arts with a German emphasis. From there went on to graduate from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2018.
    Ben loves all things history and enjoys traveling. A descendant of over a dozen Lutheran pastors, Ben has an interest in his family roots, especially 19th-century Lutheranism, and has written several papers and journal articles on the topic. His 2018 thesis on Wyneken won the John Harrison Ness award and the Abdel Ross Wentz prize. He is also the recipient of two awards of commendation from the Concordia Historical Institute.
    Ben is currently a doctoral student in historical theology through Concordia Seminary's reduced residency program in St. Louis.

image: Adolph Hoenecke from the host's family photo collection.

In this WELS 175th episode, we talk with Prof. James Danell who teaches German at Martin Luther College in New Ulm, MN, about Adolph Hoenecke, who taught for many decades at the Wisconsin Synod's Seminary.  Prof. Danell speaks in this episode about his significant influence on the spirit and theology of the Wisconsin Synod.

Not only does Danell teach the German language, but his advanced classes read through German Lutheran materials from the Reformation through the 19th and 20th century American Lutheran theologians.  His students, therefore, get to sharpen their German skills, study theology, and learn Church History--all at the same time!

You can support the Confessional Language Scholarship here.

Support the show

• Confessional Languages Scholarship
• Youtube ( even more behind-the-scenes videos available for certain patron tiers)
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• Interview Request Form
• email: [email protected]
• About the Host
  • Benjamin Phelps is a 2014 graduate from Martin Luther College with a Bachelor of Arts with a German emphasis. From there went on to graduate from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2018.
    Ben loves all things history and enjoys traveling. A descendant of over a dozen Lutheran pastors, Ben has an interest in his family roots, especially 19th-century Lutheranism, and has written several papers and journal articles on the topic. His 2018 thesis on Wyneken won the John Harrison Ness award and the Abdel Ross Wentz prize. He is also the recipient of two awards of commendation from the Concordia Historical Institute.
    Ben is currently a doctoral student in historical theology through Concordia Seminary's reduced residency program in St. Louis.

This is part of a longer conversation I had with Prof. James Danell about the imperative need for scholars who know German to do Lutheran history.

You can support the Confessional Language Scholarship at MLC to encourage this endeavor here.

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• Confessional Languages Scholarship
• Youtube ( even more behind-the-scenes videos available for certain patron tiers)
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• email: [email protected]
• About the Host
  • Benjamin Phelps is a 2014 graduate from Martin Luther College with a Bachelor of Arts with a German emphasis. From there went on to graduate from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2018.
    Ben loves all things history and enjoys traveling. A descendant of over a dozen Lutheran pastors, Ben has an interest in his family roots, especially 19th-century Lutheranism, and has written several papers and journal articles on the topic. His 2018 thesis on Wyneken won the John Harrison Ness award and the Abdel Ross Wentz prize. He is also the recipient of two awards of commendation from the Concordia Historical Institute.
    Ben is currently a doctoral student in historical theology through Concordia Seminary's reduced residency program in St. Louis.

This is a cross-over episode with The Shepherd's Study Podcast, where I was a guest of Jared Natsis and Phil Moldenhauer.  We talked about the content and merits of the book Brand Luther which came out shortly before the Reformation 500th anniversary.

The Shepherd’s Study podcast is produced by Grow in Grace to help pastors grow in the art and practice of pastoral ministry. Each episode features Lutheran pastors discussing a book that is salient to their work.

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speakers’ own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary or the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only.

Support the show

• Confessional Languages Scholarship
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• email: [email protected]
• About the Host
  • Benjamin Phelps is a 2014 graduate from Martin Luther College with a Bachelor of Arts with a German emphasis. From there went on to graduate from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2018.
    Ben loves all things history and enjoys traveling. A descendant of over a dozen Lutheran pastors, Ben has an interest in his family roots, especially 19th-century Lutheranism, and has written several papers and journal articles on the topic. His 2018 thesis on Wyneken won the John Harrison Ness award and the Abdel Ross Wentz prize. He is also the recipient of two awards of commendation from the Concordia Historical Institute.
    Ben is currently a doctoral student in historical theology through Concordia Seminary's reduced residency program in St. Louis.

In this episode, we talk with Peter Prange about the third volume in his series, Wielding the Sword of the Spirit, in which he gets into the details and nuances of the Election Controversy that rocked the Synodical Conference.

Support the show

• Confessional Languages Scholarship
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• email: [email protected]
• About the Host
  • Benjamin Phelps is a 2014 graduate from Martin Luther College with a Bachelor of Arts with a German emphasis. From there went on to graduate from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2018.
    Ben loves all things history and enjoys traveling. A descendant of over a dozen Lutheran pastors, Ben has an interest in his family roots, especially 19th-century Lutheranism, and has written several papers and journal articles on the topic. His 2018 thesis on Wyneken won the John Harrison Ness award and the Abdel Ross Wentz prize. He is also the recipient of two awards of commendation from the Concordia Historical Institute.
    Ben is currently a doctoral student in historical theology through Concordia Seminary's reduced residency program in St. Louis.

In this WELS 175th episode, Tim Grundmeier and I talk about who Johannes Muehlhaeuser was, Christmas trees, and the founding of the Wisconsin Synod.

Support the show

• Confessional Languages Scholarship
• Youtube ( even more behind-the-scenes videos available for certain patron tiers)
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• email: [email protected]
• About the Host
  • Benjamin Phelps is a 2014 graduate from Martin Luther College with a Bachelor of Arts with a German emphasis. From there went on to graduate from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2018.
    Ben loves all things history and enjoys traveling. A descendant of over a dozen Lutheran pastors, Ben has an interest in his family roots, especially 19th-century Lutheranism, and has written several papers and journal articles on the topic. His 2018 thesis on Wyneken won the John Harrison Ness award and the Abdel Ross Wentz prize. He is also the recipient of two awards of commendation from the Concordia Historical Institute.
    Ben is currently a doctoral student in historical theology through Concordia Seminary's reduced residency program in St. Louis.

Image: JP Koehler at Wauwatosa Seminary, candid photo taken by a student.


While going through some old boxes in my grandfather's basement, I stumbled upon something truly remarkable: my great-grandfather’s diary. He was a student at the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary from 1910 to 1912 and had the unique opportunity to learn from the famous Wauwatosa theologians of that era. As you can imagine, this diary could be a treasure trove of insights into the life of a seminary student over a century ago.

But here’s the thing—the handwriting is challenging to decipher. It’s very different from what we’re used to today, and to do it justice, I need to hire professional transcribers who can carefully decode its contents. Only then can I start the process of translating and studying it. This project isn’t just personally meaningful to me; it could also provide valuable historical insights, and I plan to use it as the basis for an article in the Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly Journal.

Here’s where I’m asking for your help. The cost of professional transcription is about $1500. To make this project a reality, I’ve set up a crowdfunding campaign. If this story resonates with you, if you’re passionate about preserving history or just love a good discovery, I’d be incredibly grateful for your support. Whether you’re able to contribute or just share the campaign with others, every bit helps.

https://patreon.com/tlhp?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

Support the show

• Confessional Languages Scholarship
• Youtube ( even more behind-the-scenes videos available for certain patron tiers)
• Facebook
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• Interview Request Form
• email: [email protected]
• About the Host
  • Benjamin Phelps is a 2014 graduate from Martin Luther College with a Bachelor of Arts with a German emphasis. From there went on to graduate from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2018.
    Ben loves all things history and enjoys traveling. A descendant of over a dozen Lutheran pastors, Ben has an interest in his family roots, especially 19th-century Lutheranism, and has written several papers and journal articles on the topic. His 2018 thesis on Wyneken won the John Harrison Ness award and the Abdel Ross Wentz prize. He is also the recipient of two awards of commendation from the Concordia Historical Institute.
    Ben is currently a doctoral student in historical theology through Concordia Seminary's reduced residency program in St. Louis.

Link to the service and hymns: https://trinitylutheransd.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Reformation-Hymn-Festival-2024.pdf

The first evangelical hymnal—which in retrospect we can also call the first Lutheran hymnal—rolled off the presses around the middle of January 1524. But interestingly, it did not roll off the presses in Wittenberg, even though the title page gave that impression, or even at Luther’s instigation. It was printed by Jobst Gutknecht in Nuremberg, well over 200 miles to the south of Wittenberg, and apparently on his own initiative. Gutknecht compiled four hymns that had been individually published in Wittenberg on broadsheets in 1523 and 1524. He also obtained the texts of three additional Luther hymns, which were already being sung in services in Wittenberg. (There were no copyright laws back then, and printers regularly copied, reprinted, and sold works they obtained from elsewhere.) To these seven hymns he added one more anonymous one, which was possibly given to him in the composer’s own manuscript. He published these eight hymns under the title:
Some Christian Songs, Hymns of Praise, and Psalms, Produced in 
Conformity with the Pure Word of God from Holy Scripture by Various 
Well-Educated Men for Singing in Church, Just As Is Already Being Done 
with Some of Them in Wittenberg

Support the show

• Confessional Languages Scholarship
• Youtube ( even more behind-the-scenes videos available for certain patron tiers)
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• Interview Request Form
• email: [email protected]
• About the Host
  • Benjamin Phelps is a 2014 graduate from Martin Luther College with a Bachelor of Arts with a German emphasis. From there went on to graduate from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2018.
    Ben loves all things history and enjoys traveling. A descendant of over a dozen Lutheran pastors, Ben has an interest in his family roots, especially 19th-century Lutheranism, and has written several papers and journal articles on the topic. His 2018 thesis on Wyneken won the John Harrison Ness award and the Abdel Ross Wentz prize. He is also the recipient of two awards of commendation from the Concordia Historical Institute.
    Ben is currently a doctoral student in historical theology through Concordia Seminary's reduced residency program in St. Louis.