We welcome back 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. (See TLHP 39)

You can contact him here: [email protected]

Today he offers further thoughts and research after studying Walther's Pastoral Theology.

"While C. F. W. Walther needs no introduction for conservative American Lutherans, his Pastoral Theology does. Originally published in 1872, it was not translated into English in its entirety until 2017. (An abridged version, found under various titles, was published in 1995.) In it, Walther condenses a tradition of over 300 years of Lutheran pastoral practice. In a purely historical sense, it is a contribution of great interest, without which the non-specialist would be cut off from centuries of his heritage. Walther’s project, however, goes beyond remembrance, or even repristination. The “American” in the book’s original title (Americanisch-Lutherische Pastoraltheologie) was no accident (3). His intent was to help pastors apply that heritage, mined from God’s Word and initially expressed in the state churches of Europe, to their own time and place. To that end especially, this book is a gift to the Lutheran pastor." -S.H.

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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 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 from the Concordia Historical Institute.
    Ben is currently a doctoral student in historical theology through Concordia Seminary's reduced residency program in St. Louis.

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