Image: Three generations of Franks and Kerlers in Greenfield 1889.

"I prefer America," one German Lutheran immigrant wrote. Letters of German Lutheran immigrants in 19th century America give under-analyzed perspectives of lay members and their views of church establishment and denominational selection.

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Podcast Meet and Greet October 8

• Confessional Languages Scholarship
• The Wauwatosa Diary (book)
• YouTube
• Website
•  email: [email protected]

About the Host:

Benjamin Phelps is a 2014 graduate from Martin Luther College (BA with a German emphasis) and a graduate from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2018.  Ben has been a regular writer and presenter on various Lutheran history topics.  His 2018 thesis on Wyneken won the John Harrison Ness award and the Abdel Ross Wentz prize. He is also the recipient of several awards and recognitions from the Concordia Historical Institute.  He serves on the board of the Lutheran Historical Conference. Ben is currently a doctoral candidate in historical theology through CSL.

Image: Regina, Veronica and Frank Kerler
"I prefer America," one German Lutheran immigrant wrote. Letters of German Lutheran immigrants in 19th century America give under-analyzed perspectives of lay members and their views of church establishment and denominational selection.

Meet and Greet Registration

Support the show

Podcast Meet and Greet October 8

• Confessional Languages Scholarship
• The Wauwatosa Diary (book)
• YouTube
• Website
•  email: [email protected]

About the Host:

Benjamin Phelps is a 2014 graduate from Martin Luther College (BA with a German emphasis) and a graduate from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2018.  Ben has been a regular writer and presenter on various Lutheran history topics.  His 2018 thesis on Wyneken won the John Harrison Ness award and the Abdel Ross Wentz prize. He is also the recipient of several awards and recognitions from the Concordia Historical Institute.  He serves on the board of the Lutheran Historical Conference. Ben is currently a doctoral candidate in historical theology through CSL.

In 1929, the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) was a small church body serving primarily German immigrants with congregations in twelve states, mostly in the  Midwest; the only “foreign” work was a mission on the Apache reservation in Arizona. By 1961,  WELS was still only in sixteen states, but WELS missionaries were working in Japan and  Central Africa. By 1983, WELS was carrying out mission work in ten foreign nations and had a  presence in every state. This mission expansion occurred despite extensive crosses the synod had to bear: the burden of a substantial debt during the Depression years and other financial challenges, a world war, a shortage of pastors at varying times, and a lengthy doctrinal battle with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) that ended in the painful severing of fellowship ties in 1961. In addition, extensive building projects on the ministerial education campuses of the Wisconsin Synod and the establishment and expansion of area Lutheran high schools and Lutheran elementary schools, as well as building programs at local congregations, were also ongoing during this time period. These various challenges and obstacles contributed to internal tensions over budget priorities and synod mission policies. Some of these crosses became catalysts for mission work. By examining primary source materials, this thesis endeavors to demonstrate that WELS had to persevere under numerous heavy crosses in order to carry out a vigorous mission expansion program at home and abroad, resulting in a nationwide and
worldwide confessional church body.

Read the paper here

Meet and Greet Registration

Support the show

Podcast Meet and Greet October 8

• Confessional Languages Scholarship
• The Wauwatosa Diary (book)
• YouTube
• Website
•  email: [email protected]

About the Host:

Benjamin Phelps is a 2014 graduate from Martin Luther College (BA with a German emphasis) and a graduate from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2018.  Ben has been a regular writer and presenter on various Lutheran history topics.  His 2018 thesis on Wyneken won the John Harrison Ness award and the Abdel Ross Wentz prize. He is also the recipient of several awards and recognitions from the Concordia Historical Institute.  He serves on the board of the Lutheran Historical Conference. Ben is currently a doctoral candidate in historical theology through CSL.

In this episode, we welcome back Rev. Nathaniel Biebert to continue his mini-series on lesser-known details of 500th anniversaries of the Reformation.

Here, we focus on the 500th anniversary of the "September Testament."  In this case,  almost any detail will be a “detail less often  told.” Most Lutherans familiar with Luther’s life are aware that he translated the New  Testament into German at the Wartburg in less than eleven weeks, that it was published later that year, that he famously included the word alone in his translation of Romans  3:28, and that his translation (not just of the Testament, but eventually of the Bible as a  whole) helped to standardize the German language and to unify German-speaking peoples.

Meet and Greet Registration

Support the show

Podcast Meet and Greet October 8

• Confessional Languages Scholarship
• The Wauwatosa Diary (book)
• YouTube
• Website
•  email: [email protected]

About the Host:

Benjamin Phelps is a 2014 graduate from Martin Luther College (BA with a German emphasis) and a graduate from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2018.  Ben has been a regular writer and presenter on various Lutheran history topics.  His 2018 thesis on Wyneken won the John Harrison Ness award and the Abdel Ross Wentz prize. He is also the recipient of several awards and recognitions from the Concordia Historical Institute.  He serves on the board of the Lutheran Historical Conference. Ben is currently a doctoral candidate in historical theology through CSL.

Today's guest is Pastor Scott Henrich, a WELS pastor serving in Knoxville, Tennessee.  His experiences reading historic Lutheran sermons inspired him to research Lutheranism's homiletical heritage in a way that may challenge some contemporary assumptions about the historic perception of Lutheran preaching.

Meet and Greet Registration

Support the show

Podcast Meet and Greet October 8

• Confessional Languages Scholarship
• The Wauwatosa Diary (book)
• YouTube
• Website
•  email: [email protected]

About the Host:

Benjamin Phelps is a 2014 graduate from Martin Luther College (BA with a German emphasis) and a graduate from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2018.  Ben has been a regular writer and presenter on various Lutheran history topics.  His 2018 thesis on Wyneken won the John Harrison Ness award and the Abdel Ross Wentz prize. He is also the recipient of several awards and recognitions from the Concordia Historical Institute.  He serves on the board of the Lutheran Historical Conference. Ben is currently a doctoral candidate in historical theology through CSL.

From his earliest memories to his final legacy, Wyneken’s life story can be told in connection with the catechism.  It is a story of Lutheran catechesis on both sides of the Atlantic.  It is a story of centuries of Lutheran catechesis practices in German lands.  It is a story that highlights the impact of catechesis upon those who immigrated in the 19th century.  Wyneken’s ministry unfolds details on the practice of teaching children and adults.  His leadership highlighted the clear need to form individual character and congregational culture.  He took part in the transition from state to synod catechisms and formed the place of the catechism in the Missouri Synod's mission and identity.

Meet and Greet Registration

Support the show

Podcast Meet and Greet October 8

• Confessional Languages Scholarship
• The Wauwatosa Diary (book)
• YouTube
• Website
•  email: [email protected]

About the Host:

Benjamin Phelps is a 2014 graduate from Martin Luther College (BA with a German emphasis) and a graduate from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2018.  Ben has been a regular writer and presenter on various Lutheran history topics.  His 2018 thesis on Wyneken won the John Harrison Ness award and the Abdel Ross Wentz prize. He is also the recipient of several awards and recognitions from the Concordia Historical Institute.  He serves on the board of the Lutheran Historical Conference. Ben is currently a doctoral candidate in historical theology through CSL.

Image: Albrecht Dürer The Annunciation

Today's guest is Dr. Beth Kreitzer was raised in California and has degrees from Stanford and Duke Universities.  Her graduate study in the Program of Religion at Duke focused upon the history of the Church from the patristic era through the early modern period.  Her dissertation, upon the images of Mary in Lutheran sermons of the 16th century, was also her first book, "Reforming Mary."

Kreitzer's work looks at Lutheran sermons between 1520 and 1580 and the various occasions on the church calendar where Mary is the main or at least a major focus. 

While some aspects of reforming the Church’s view and use of Mary focused on key concepts like salvation through faith alone through Christ alone, other aspects of reforming Mary seem less doctrinally central but were just as impactful to the life of everyday Christians. 

You can purchase the book here:https://www.amazon.com/Reforming-Mary-Changing-Sixteenth-Historical/dp/019516654X

Meet and Greet Registration

Support the show

Podcast Meet and Greet October 8

• Confessional Languages Scholarship
• The Wauwatosa Diary (book)
• YouTube
• Website
•  email: [email protected]

About the Host:

Benjamin Phelps is a 2014 graduate from Martin Luther College (BA with a German emphasis) and a graduate from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2018.  Ben has been a regular writer and presenter on various Lutheran history topics.  His 2018 thesis on Wyneken won the John Harrison Ness award and the Abdel Ross Wentz prize. He is also the recipient of several awards and recognitions from the Concordia Historical Institute.  He serves on the board of the Lutheran Historical Conference. Ben is currently a doctoral candidate in historical theology through CSL.

Image:  The Wartburg Castle taken during my trip there in 2016.

In this episode, we continue our series with Pastor Nathaniel Biebert where he digs into the lesser-known details of important milestones in the life of Luther and the Reformation.  Here we look at Luther's "capture" on his way back from the Diet of Worms and his time at the Wartburg Castle.  

Meet and Greet Registration

Support the show

Podcast Meet and Greet October 8

• Confessional Languages Scholarship
• The Wauwatosa Diary (book)
• YouTube
• Website
•  email: [email protected]

About the Host:

Benjamin Phelps is a 2014 graduate from Martin Luther College (BA with a German emphasis) and a graduate from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2018.  Ben has been a regular writer and presenter on various Lutheran history topics.  His 2018 thesis on Wyneken won the John Harrison Ness award and the Abdel Ross Wentz prize. He is also the recipient of several awards and recognitions from the Concordia Historical Institute.  He serves on the board of the Lutheran Historical Conference. Ben is currently a doctoral candidate in historical theology through CSL.

A must-know topic for understanding 19th-century Lutheranism!

Order online at www.oup.com/academic with promotion code AAFLYG6 to save 30%!

Historians of modern German culture and church history refer to "the Awakening movement" (die Erweckungsbewegung) to describe a period in the history of German Protestantism between the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 and the Revolution of 1848. "The Awakening" was the last major nationwide Protestant reform and revival movement to occur in Germany. This book analyzes numerous primary sources from the era of the Awakening and synthesizes the current state of German scholarship for an English-speaking audience. It examines the Awakening as a product of the larger social changes that were re-shaping German society during the early decades of the nineteenth century. Theologically, Awakened Protestants were traditionalists. They affirmed religious doctrines that orthodox Protestants had professed since the confessional statements of the Reformation-era. Awakened Protestants rejected the changes that Enlightenment thought had introduced into Protestant theology and preaching since the mid-eighteenth century. However, Awakened Protestants were also themselves distinctly modern. Their efforts to spread their religious beliefs were successful because of the new political freedoms and economic opportunities that the Enlightenment had introduced. These social conditions gave German Protestants new means and abilities to pursue their religious goals. Awakened Protestants were leaders in the German churches and in the universities. They used their influence to found many voluntary organizations for evangelism, in Germany and abroad. They also established many institutions to ameliorate the living conditions of those in poverty. Adapting Protestantism to modern society in these ways was the most original and innovative aspect of the Awakening movement.

Meet and Greet Registration

Support the show

Podcast Meet and Greet October 8

• Confessional Languages Scholarship
• The Wauwatosa Diary (book)
• YouTube
• Website
•  email: [email protected]

About the Host:

Benjamin Phelps is a 2014 graduate from Martin Luther College (BA with a German emphasis) and a graduate from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2018.  Ben has been a regular writer and presenter on various Lutheran history topics.  His 2018 thesis on Wyneken won the John Harrison Ness award and the Abdel Ross Wentz prize. He is also the recipient of several awards and recognitions from the Concordia Historical Institute.  He serves on the board of the Lutheran Historical Conference. Ben is currently a doctoral candidate in historical theology through CSL.

A must-know topic for understanding 19th-century Lutheranism!

Order online at www.oup.com/academic with promotion code AAFLYG6 to save 30%!

Historians of modern German culture and church history refer to "the Awakening movement" (die Erweckungsbewegung) to describe a period in the history of German Protestantism between the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 and the Revolution of 1848. "The Awakening" was the last major nationwide Protestant reform and revival movement to occur in Germany. This book analyzes numerous primary sources from the era of the Awakening and synthesizes the current state of German scholarship for an English-speaking audience. It examines the Awakening as a product of the larger social changes that were re-shaping German society during the early decades of the nineteenth century. Theologically, Awakened Protestants were traditionalists. They affirmed religious doctrines that orthodox Protestants had professed since the confessional statements of the Reformation-era. Awakened Protestants rejected the changes that Enlightenment thought had introduced into Protestant theology and preaching since the mid-eighteenth century. However, Awakened Protestants were also themselves distinctly modern. Their efforts to spread their religious beliefs were successful because of the new political freedoms and economic opportunities that the Enlightenment had introduced. These social conditions gave German Protestants new means and abilities to pursue their religious goals. Awakened Protestants were leaders in the German churches and in the universities. They used their influence to found many voluntary organizations for evangelism, in Germany and abroad. They also established many institutions to ameliorate the living conditions of those in poverty. Adapting Protestantism to modern society in these ways was the most original and innovative aspect of the Awakening movement.

Meet and Greet Registration

Support the show

Podcast Meet and Greet October 8

• Confessional Languages Scholarship
• The Wauwatosa Diary (book)
• YouTube
• Website
•  email: [email protected]

About the Host:

Benjamin Phelps is a 2014 graduate from Martin Luther College (BA with a German emphasis) and a graduate from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2018.  Ben has been a regular writer and presenter on various Lutheran history topics.  His 2018 thesis on Wyneken won the John Harrison Ness award and the Abdel Ross Wentz prize. He is also the recipient of several awards and recognitions from the Concordia Historical Institute.  He serves on the board of the Lutheran Historical Conference. Ben is currently a doctoral candidate in historical theology through CSL.