Tim Grundmeier and I discuss the purpose, arguments, and significance of this work in Lutheran History. 

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  • 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.

Mark Braun returns to talk about the book for which he is most known, A Tale of Two Synods.

The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod can look back on the 1961 split with The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod as a defining moment for its little, conservative church body. From that time on, the Wisconsin Synod has assumed a new profile and distinction in the history of conservative American Lutheranism. The book A Tale of Two Synods is written 40 years removed from the events. The historical background is the result of exhaustive research from written records of both synods and also from interviews and surveys of 82 Wisconsin Synod pastors who lived through the controversy. Their personal reminiscences lend a very human character to the book. This is a good read about the substance of the split between these two Lutheran church bodies.

https://online.nph.net/a-tale-of-two-synods.html

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• 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.

Today's guest is Pastor Craig A. Ferkenstad,  the author of Proclaim his Wonders- a pictorial history has been published in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the reorganization of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod. This 312-page volume includes more than 400 photographs from the history of the synod.
 
These books of Evangelical Lutheran Synod history are available in print from the Bethany Lutheran College bookstore or electronically for Kindle and iBooks:

• Grace for Grace
• Faith of Our Fathers
• Let’s Look at Our Synod
• Our Great Heritage
• A City Set on a Hill
• Built On The Rock
• A Blessing in the Midst of the Land (print edition not available)
• Proclaim His Wonder: A Pictorial History of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod

Lutheran History Shop

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.

Today's guest is Pastor Craig A. Ferkenstad,  the author of Proclaim his Wonders- a pictorial history has been published in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the reorganization of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod. This 312-page volume includes more than 400 photographs from the history of the synod.
 
These books of Evangelical Lutheran Synod history are available in print from the Bethany Lutheran College bookstore or electronically for Kindle and iBooks:

• Grace for Grace
• Faith of Our Fathers
• Let’s Look at Our Synod
• Our Great Heritage
• A City Set on a Hill
• Built On The Rock
• A Blessing in the Midst of the Land (print edition not available)
• Proclaim His Wonder: A Pictorial History of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod

Lutheran History Shop

Support the show

• Confessional Languages Scholarship
• Youtube ( even more behind-the-scenes videos available for certain patron tiers)
• Facebook
• Website
• 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.

The subject of this discussion can be found in the 2021 summer article of the CHIQ.

Image:  Rev. "Colonel" John Jacob Lehmanowsky.  Note the scar on his face supposedly from the battle of Austerlitz.

    The small Lutheran Synod called the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of the West existed for barely more than a decade (1835-1846).    In Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri, isolated Lutheran pastors vainly attempted to rally around an institution intended to be the preeminent Lutheran synod in a large and rapidly populated geographical area.  From its beginning, the synod’s leaders continuously struggled to find enough pastors and to keep up with the region’s population explosion.  In search of solutions to perplexing challenges, ambitious plans to establish a seminary and publishing house were proposed.  Yet the largest challenge proved to be meeting the needs of German immigrants, who began to overtake the number of American-born members.  The Synod of the West did not ultimately have the foresight to anticipate the multitudes of German-speaking Lutherans who moved into their sphere at an ever-increasing rate.
     Friedrich Wyneken, a member of the synod, was troubled by the distress of German Lutherans in the West.  They lacked pastors and leadership, and the Lutheran synods available to them were too weak to minister effectively and struggled with doctrinal error and indifference.  The Synod of the West serves as the backlighting for Wyneken’s famous The Distress of the German Lutherans in North America (the Notruf), which called forth an incredible response from Lutherans in Europe. Understanding this synod’s history is essential to understanding the context and cause for Wyneken’s dissatisfaction with the condition of the Lutheran Church in America. The Synod of the West, more than anything, embodied the distress of the Church.

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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.

In what ways is theology a science?  Should theology be approached the same empirical way as other areas of studies?  August Vilmar had a lot to say about that.  Today’s guest is James Ambrose Lee II.  Dr.  Lee has earned his BA - Concordia University Chicago; River Forest, IL, MDiv - Concordia Theology Seminary; Fort Wayne, IN, STM, Liturgical Theology - Yale Divinity School & Yale Institute of Sacred Music; New Haven, CT, PhD, Historical Theology - Saint Louis University; Saint Louis, MO.   Dr. Lee currently teaches classes at Concordia University Chicago on various topics in Church History, including, Christianity and the Modern World, Women in the History of Christianity, and Martin Luther. He also teaches Encountering Religion In America and Introduction to Christianity.  Today, we’ll discuss his research on August Vilmar and the German Theological Wissenschaft which he presented in an article in the Lutheran Quarterly last year.

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• 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.

David Zersen is president emeritus of Concordia University Texas. He has written 25 articles, chapters, and books on Wendish subjects and is proud to have been designated by the Texas Wendish Heritage Society an “Honorary Wend.” Today, we’ll be discussing one of his articles which was the lead article of the 2018 summer issue of the Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly titled, “An Isolated Texas Lutheran Scholar living in Hope."  This article focuses on Kilian's interpretation of the millennium in Revelation 20 and a discourse on the room allowed for theological disagreement in the Missouri Synod in the mid-1800s.  Dr. Zersen lives with his wife, Julie, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

Lutheran History Shop

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.

Photo: St. Olaf's altar-pulpit in Cranfills Gap, Texas.

Today’s guest is Alex Aakre, a master of divinity student at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN.  He is a graduate of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.  His paper, Lift High the Word of God, received an honorable mention from the 2020 Abdel Ross Wentz prize of the Lutheran Historical Society of the Mid-Atlantic.

Alex's article is published in the Journal of the Lutheran Historical Conference 2019, “Lift High the Word of God: A Social and Theological Examination of Altar-Pulpits in Norwegian-American Lutheran Churches.” Alex focuses on an unusual oddity in church architecture—the altar-pulpit. 

Alex summarizes the pre-existing analysis on Norwegian American altar-pulpits as mainly folk art, but offers his theological analysis and promotes his own five categories of altar-pulpits to help us understand them better.  He writes, “The dominant inspiring force behind the design is the categorical alignment, rather than aesthetic effect.”  Alex argues that altar-pulpits can be understood as a paradox. 

Listen to this podcast and read Alex's article to learn about his 5 categories and the impact of Pietism on Norwegian American church architecture.

Lutheran History Shop

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.

Normally I interview a professional or independent historian, so far all men, who have conducted original research on some aspect of Lutheranism and have presented it in some way, usually a book or an article. Today we’ll talk to a person whose job is to help researchers do their work so they can share their findings with the rest of us.  Today’s guest is Susan Willems, the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod's archivist.  We'll dive deep into a major part of the "HOW" of history-making.

WELS archive page and contact link.

WELS Historical Institute link.

Lutheran History Shop

Support the show

• Confessional Languages Scholarship
• Youtube ( even more behind-the-scenes videos available for certain patron tiers)
• Facebook
• Website
• 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.

Normally I interview a professional or independent historian, so far all men, who have conducted original research on some aspect of Lutheranism and have presented it in some way, usually a book or an article. Today we’ll talk to a person whose job is to help researchers do their work so they can share their findings with the rest of us.  Today’s guest is Susan Willems, the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod's archivist.  We'll dive deep into a major part of the "HOW" of history-making.

WELS archive page and contact link.

WELS Historical Institute link.

Lutheran History Shop

Support the show

• Confessional Languages Scholarship
• Youtube ( even more behind-the-scenes videos available for certain patron tiers)
• Facebook
• Website
• 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.