The Lutheran History Podcast

In celebration of the commencement of plans to publish my biography of FCD Wyneken with the help of the Concordia Historical Institute, I am releasing an audio version of a presentation I prepared four years ago, covering the main points of my research as it stood then.  While I would change a few things today and add a lot more, it will hopefully serve to peak your interest in this topic before t...

Today we welcome back Pastor Beibert to discuss his research and presentation on Luther at Worms in 1521, one of the most iconic and significant events in the history of the Church. 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 I...

Image: Kenneth Wyatt – Circuit Rider. Today's guest author is pastor Justin Dauk. A native of northeastern Wisconsin, he is a 2011 graduate of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary.  He has served a dual parish in northcentral South Dakota for 7-1/2 years.  Since January 2021, he has been serving as associate pastor at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Plymouth, NE, and Christ Lutheran Church in Beatr...

Stephen Gurgel is a 2011 graduate from Martin Luther College: Bachelor of Science in Education and a 2012 graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee: Master of Arts in History.  His 2012 thesis, a War to End All Germans, Wisconsin Synod Lutherans and the First World War, offers a detailed account and analysis of the social and political forces that persecuted the German Lutherans of the W...

Image: Haugianere by Adolph Tidemand (1852) Thomas Jacobson currently serves part-time as pastor of Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lindy, Nebraska, and as an adjunct instructor of historical theology at the Institute of Lutheran theology in Brookings, South Dakota. He completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at Augustana University (SD) in 2002, his Master of Divinity degree at Luther S...

Image: Hans Nielsen Hauge Thomas Jacobson currently serves part-time as pastor of Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lindy, Nebraska, and as an adjunct instructor of historical theology at the Institute of Lutheran theology in Brookings, South Dakota. He completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at Augustana University (SD) in 2002, his Master of Divinity degree at Luther Seminary in 2006, a...

Image FCD Wyneken in old age Wielding the Sword of the Spirit   recounts the history surrounding the doctrine and practice of church fellowship in the Missouri Synod, especially under the leadership of Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm Walther. Volume One of this two-part history covers the years from the Saxon immigration to Missouri in 1838-1839 until 1867, just before the founding of the General Council....

Wielding the Sword of the Spirit   recounts the history surrounding the doctrine and practice of church fellowship in the Missouri Synod, especially under the leadership of Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm Walther (shown in episode thumbnail) Volume One of this two-part history covers the years from the Saxon immigration to Missouri in 1838-1839 until 1867, just before the founding of the General Council. N...

Anna Hoppe was born on May 7, 1889 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She left school after the eighth grade and worked as a stenographer. She began writing patriotic verses when she was very young and by the age of 25 she was writing spiritual poetry. After some of her poems appeared in the Northwestern Lutheran, a periodical of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, they came to the attention of Dr. Ad...

Anna Hoppe was born on May 7, 1889 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She left school after the eighth grade and worked as a stenographer. She began writing patriotic verses when she was very young and by the age of 25 she was writing spiritual poetry. After some of her poems appeared in the Northwestern Lutheran, a periodical of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, they came to the attention of Dr. Ad...

Tim Grundmeier and I talk about the purpose, arguments, and significance of this work in Lutheran history. Lutheran History Shop 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: thelutheranhistorypodca...

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

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 Lutheranis...

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 Beth...

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 Beth...

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 Miss...

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...

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 Tex...

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 publishe...

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 L...

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 L...

Pastor Ben Schaefer's master's thesis discusses a collision of two important historic entities.  One, a Lutheran church body called the Synodical Conference, the other the 19th amendment, a piece of legislation that is still part of the US Constitution.  Pastor Schaefer presented his reasearch  in 2019 to the WELS Historical Institute.  His paper is titled: Avoiding the Hornet's Nes...

Check out the Lutheran Historical Conference, where I first presented this material.  My article will soon appear in the conference's journal.  German Lutheran immigrant Friedrich Schmidt began a German-language Lutheran newspaper in August 1838.  Initially, Schmidt and his Lutherische Kirchenzeitung got along quite well with Benjamin Kurtz and the well-established Lutheran Observer .  Indeed...

Music has always been a big part of Christianity, and especially Lutheranism ever since the Reformation.  If I were to ask Lutherans to name Lutheran composers, Martin Luther would probably be on that list.  In the intro to The Lutheran Podcast, I remarked how Lutheran composers like J.S. Bach are still popular centuries after their deaths.  Did you know that Bach still gets over 7 million monthly...

My statistics report for the podcast tells me that 89% of my listeners are in North America, so that likely means that many listeners may not be aware of parallel developments of Lutheranism in other parts of the world, especially Australia.  I was surprised to see how many origins, divisions, and developments within Australian Lutheranism were so similar to many American Lutheran groups.  While w...