The Lutheran History Podcast

In this episode, we explore the story behind The Lutheran Hymnal (1941) and the remarkable collaboration that brought it into existence. Drawing on Elisabeth J. Urtel’s recent dissertation, the conversation traces how the Missouri, Wisconsin, Norwegian, and Slovak synods of the Synodical Conference worked together to produce a shared English-language hymnal during a time of profound cultural chang...

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Ronald Rittgers about his book The Reformation of Suffering: Pastoral Theology and Lay Piety in Late Medieval and Early Modern Germany .   Join us for a fascinating discussion of what was retained from the Late-Medieval focus on human suffering in the Reformation, and what was incompatible with the renewed focus on the biblical doctrine of salvation. Finally, we d...

Image: Mythic depiction of PETER MUHLENBERG AT WOODSTOCK, VIRGINIA Note: the guest wishes to clarify that he meant a $10 bill, not $100, in reference to Hamilton. In God on Three Sides , Jonathan M. Wilson explores how German Pietist communities experienced and interpreted the American Revolution, a war that forced believers to wrestle with loyalty, violence, and obedience to God in a time of poli...

Image: German and British officers with a chaplain in 1777.  In God on Three Sides , Jonathan M. Wilson explores how German Pietist communities experienced and interpreted the American Revolution, a war that forced believers to wrestle with loyalty, violence, and obedience to God in a time of political upheaval. Drawing on sermons, letters, and personal writings, Wilson shows how Pietists on all s...

In today's episode, we welcome back Dr. Tim Grundmeier from MLC to talk about his newly published book. Lutheranism and American Culture examines the transformation of the nation’s third-largest Protestant denomination over the course of the nineteenth century. In the antebellum era, leading voices within the church believed that the best way to become American was by modifying certain histor...

The most important WELS history resource might not sit on a shelf — it’s already in your browser. In this episode, we sit down with Professor Nathan Ericson, Library Director at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and Editor of the Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly , to explore the quiet engine behind much of modern WELS scholarship: Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Digital Library. We discuss how thousands of digi...

What was it like to witness Martin Luther’s wedding—and even his bridal chamber? In this episode, we explore Justus Jonas’s vivid letter announcing Luther’s marriage to Katharina von Bora, complete with tears, friends, and ancient wedding customs that may shock modern ears. Along the way, we’ll uncover the surprising role of the best man, the significance of Luther’s marriage for Reformation theol...

In this episode of The Lutheran History Podcast, Dr. John M. Brenner joins to share insights from his recent article on Professor Siegbert W. Becker, a major voice in confessional Lutheran theology during the 20th century. Listeners will be introduced to Becker’s life, teaching, and legacy, and gain a better understanding of the challenges he faced—and the convictions he held—in a time of great th...

In this episode of The Lutheran History Podcast, we talk with Dr. Timothy D. Grundmeier about his recent article, “Pennsylvania’s ‘Youthful Daughter’: Reexamining the Early History of the Wisconsin Synod,” featured in the Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly (Spring 2025). While many are familiar with the Wisconsin Synod’s early ties to German mission societies and eventual fellowship with the Missouri Sy...

In this special episode, guest host Tim Grundmeier interviews historian and author Benjamin T. Phelps about his recent Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly article on Dr. Henry A. Koch—a pastor, professor, and editor who left a profound mark on confessional Lutheranism in both Germany and America. Phelps shares personal insights drawn from years of research, including access to Koch’s letters, diary, and...

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

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. Many thanks to my wonderful supporters! Support the show Confessional Languages Scholarship The Wauwatosa Diary (book) Youtube ( even more behind-the-scenes videos available for certain patron tiers) Facebook Website Inte...

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. Many thanks to my wonderful supporters! Support the show Confessional Languages Scholarship The Wauwatosa Diary (book) Youtube ( even more behind-the-scenes videos available for certain patron tiers) Facebook Website Interview Request F...

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....

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. Many thanks to my wonderful supporters! Support the show Confessional Languages Scholarship The Wauwatosa Diary (book) Youtube ( even more behind-the-scenes vi...

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 fea...

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. Many thanks to my wonderful supporters! Support the show Confessional Languages Scholarship The Wauwatosa Diary (book) Youtube ( even more behind-the-scenes videos available...

In this WELS 175th episode, Tim Grundmeier and I talk about who Johannes Muehlhaeuser was, Christmas trees, and the founding of the Wisconsin Synod. Many thanks to my wonderful supporters! Support the show Confessional Languages Scholarship The Wauwatosa Diary (book) Youtube ( even more behind-the-scenes videos available for certain patron tiers) Facebook Website Interview Request Form  email: the...

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, t...

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 L...

Timothy Plichta is a WELS homeschooled high school student living in Germantown, WI. He loves Lutheran history in general and is especially enthralled with anything related to the CELC. Many thanks to my wonderful supporters! Support the show Confessional Languages Scholarship The Wauwatosa Diary (book) Youtube ( even more behind-the-scenes videos available for certain patron tiers) Facebook Websi...

This episode is a fuller version of my presentation given at the 2024 Lutheran Historical Conference in Baltimore. Link to the full video of this episode . One church historian observed that “ It would require pages and pages to report Wyneken's work during his pastorate [in Baltimore].”   This episode will examine one specific topic- how Wyneken contested for a genuine Lutheran identity and...

Image: Johannes Bugenhagen During the Reformation Martin Luther restored many Christian teachings to its proper biblical understanding. One of the men who worked with Luther in communicating those teachings was Johannes Bugenhagen. This episode explores one specific way Bugenhagen communicated the doctrine of the Two Kingdoms in The Christian Order of the Honorable City of Braunschweig . His answe...

Image U.V. Koren  “How is our America doing?” That is the poignant question that C.F.W. Walther (1811 1887), the President of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, asks in his Synod’s theological journal, “Lehre und Wehre” in 1863. In a series of articles written in the Spring of that year, on the eve of the Civil War, Walther addressed topics such as slavery, abolitionism, the nature of America as havin...

Image: city of Brunswick (Braunschweig) in the 16th century In Becoming Lutheran , Dr. John Maxfield discusses several key aspects of Lutheran culture that shape the identity and practice of Lutherans as the Reformation grew and developed outside of the center of Wittenberg.  The story of Brunswick engages with Reformation historiography in a way that takes genuine religious convictions seriously...