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.

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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.