Overview of the History of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod

The 5 W’s of the LCMS Where are we going?

• So far… • What is it to be Christian? (as communicated in the Liturgy) • What is it to be a Protestant? (as Luther summarized in the Small Catechism) • What is it to be Lutheran? (as collected in the ) • I’ll describe what is it to be Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (as told through the history of the LCMS) • First Class • Lutherans in the New World • Evolution in the Lutheran theology, both in the New World and the Old, and its impact. • How these theologies, and reactions to them prompted the creation of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod • Second Class • Key personalities in early LCMS • Changes in the LCMS • LCMS Today Early Timeline of Lutherans in America • 1580 The Book of Concord is published • 1614 Dutch establish along the Hudson near present day Albany NY. • 1617 English establish their first colony in present day Virginia • 1620 The English “Pilgrims” establish a colony in present day Massachusetts after they fail to reach the mouth of the Hudson River. • 1624 The first Dutch settlers settle along Long Island Sound • 1637 the Swedes settled the western shore of Delaware They brought the official Swedish state religion of with them. • 1655 the Dutch led by Peter Stuyvesant capture “New Sweden”. Since was the predominant church in Holland, Lutherans were generally discriminated against. • 1664 the English capture New Amsterdam and rename it New York. The English King Charles II was a believer in religious tolerance, which resulted in the end of the persecution of the Lutherans. • 1675 Philipp Jakob Spener published Pia desideria or “Earnest Desire for a Reform of the True Evangelical Church”. This challenge to the became the spark of . Recap – What is Lutheran “Orthodoxy”? • The key doctrine, or material principle, of Lutheranism is the doctrine of . Lutherans believe that humans are saved from their sins by… • …God's grace alone (Sola Gratia), • …through faith alone (Sola Fide), • …on the basis of Scripture alone (). What is Pietism? • Summary: 17th–18th c. movement in Ger. ; it regarded prevailing orthodoxy as spiritually unproductive.3 In Pia desideria, Spener made six proposals as the best means of restoring the life of the Church 1. The earnest and thorough study of the in private meetings, ecclesiolae in ecclesia ("little churches within the church") 2. The Christian priesthood being universal, the laity should share in the spiritual government of the Church 3. A knowledge of must be attended by the practice of it as its indispensable sign and supplement 4. Instead of merely didactic, and often bitter, attacks on the heterodox and unbelievers, a sympathetic and kindly treatment of them 5. A reorganization of the theological training of the universities, giving more prominence to the devotional life 6. A different style of preaching, namely, in the place of pleasing rhetoric, the implanting of Christianity in the inner or new man, the soul of which is faith, and its effects on the fruits of life What’s wrong with that? • Theology • Subordination of “dead orthodoxy”; creeds and external factors such as scripture to a person’s inner faith and devotional life. It’s not The Word that matters, but what it does to a person. Mark 16:16 • was not as important as Confirmation or being “Born Again”. Whoever believes People must come to . and is baptized will be • Christ’s sacrifice was not absolutely saved, but whoever sufficient for the forgiveness of does not believe will sins, but rather that a person’s piety be condemned. is also a factor, and so the encouragement of piety is critical Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 -- For what I received I passed on to you (see point 3 above). as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to • Compare this to Paul’s thoughts in the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the his first letter to the Corinthians, third day according to the Scriptures, Chapter 15 verses 1-10. What have others said? • Françoise-Louise de la Tour (responding to her Pietist mentor Francis Magny): "pietist mysticism did less to reinforce the moral law than to take its place...the principle of 'guidance by inner light' was often a signal to follow the most intense of a person’s inner sentiments...the supremacy of feeling over reason". • of the German Confessing Church framed the same characterization in less positive terms when he called Pietism “…the last attempt to save Christianity as a religion”: Given that for him religion was a negative term, more or less an opposite to revelation, this constitutes a rather scathing judgment. Bonhoeffer denounced the basic aim of Pietism, to produce a "desired piety" in a person, as unbiblical. • A more detailed examination of the subject of Pietism requires a separate Bible Study. Outcomes of Pietism

• Pietism was a major influence Congregationalists on many American Protestant denominations.

• Pietism shared aspects with Baptists Deism which also appeared at about the same time. • Pietism is considered the major influence that led to the creation of the "Evangelical Church of the Union" in Prussia in 1817, and other German states soon afterwards. Huh? The Francke Foundation in Halle • 1691, Francke Foundations are created in the city of Halle in the German state -Anhalt by . While Lutheran; he and his foundations were heavily influenced by the Pietist movement. • The Francke Foundations included an institution known as the Orphan School (although most students there were tuition paying). As of 1727 when Francke died), approximately 2200 students (of these 134 were orphans) were in attendance. This was a big institution with 8 “Inspectors” (administrators), 167 male and 8 female teachers. What is Rationalism?4

• Applied to the theol. of H. Zwingli or J. Calvin, the term “rationalistic” often means to say that they interpreted revelation in such a way as to render it harmonious with deductive reasoning, logic, and/or physical phenomena. • Attempts were made in the 17th century to show that Christianity is reasonable. Revelation was not rejected but was regarded as in harmony with reason (rational supernaturalism). • When reason gained the upper hand in the 17th century, the transition to Deism followed. The rationalism of Deism rejected revelation but was tempered by assumption of 5 principles believed common to all religions. What is Deism? • Critical elements of deist thought included: • Rejection of religions that are based on books that claim to contain the revealed word of God. • Rejection of religious dogma and demagogy. • Skepticism of reports of , prophecies and religious "mysteries". • Constructional elements of deist thought included: • God exists and created the universe. • God gave humans the ability to reason. Famous American Deists: Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Ethan Allen and Thomas Paine. Challenges of the British Colonial Lutherans • Language: German? Swedish? Dutch? English? Some combination? • Shortage of clergy, and where to get them? • Sweden? ? • Who trains and vets the clergy? • How about “borrowing” from the Episcopal (Anglican) churches. • In some cases non-Lutherans would take the opportunity adopt congregations. A classic example is Nicolaus Zinzendorf, a Moravian (Brotherhood) who insinuated himself into a position of leadership at a number of Lutheran congregations in Pennsylvania, causing considerable confusion.

Because the Lutheran church was very closely tied to Germans and the German Language, it was said that “it lost incalculably much by the exodus of each successive generation from its borders, and for many years had to fall back again upon the material furnished by new arrivals from abroad. It was always beginning and always behind.”2 Hierarchy of the Church of England during 1st half of the 18th century Mixing things up in England Lutheran Lutheran

• 1714 Georg Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (aka. Hanover) as well as Archbannerbearer and a Prince-Elector of the became King George I of England. • “"George I. remained a Lutheran as long as he King George I King George II lived, and had his own German chaplain; but he conformed on some occasions with the Church of England. George II. was in the same position. Though Lutherans, they exercised acts of supremacy in the Church of England; and the common opinion was, that there was no opposition between the views of the two Churches“1 • Finally -- George II’s Grandson, King George III of England was raised Anglican, and also - by the way - lost the American War of Independence. Enter Henry Muhlenburg – “Patriarch of the Lutheran Church in the ” • Unlike the State churches, the Pietist Francke Foundations of Halle did feel a calling to send to the colonies when asked. Primary among these was Heinrich (Henry) Muhlenburg (1711-1787), who is described in Wikipedia as being “Integral to the founding of the first Lutheran church body in North America, and considered the patriarch of the Lutheran Church in the United States” (Wikipedia). • Muhlenburg eventually settled in Pennsylvania in 1742, from which the Lutheran Church in America started it’s consolidation and growth. • The German immigration to the US through the 19th Century fueled the growth of Lutheran and Protestant churches in the US. By 1900 Germans were the largest ethnic group in the US. 19th Century and New Lutheran Immigrants from Germany

• 1817 Led by Frederick William III, King of Prussia institutes the “Prussian Union of churches”, an administrative and liturgical union of the Calvinist and Lutheran Churches in the Kingdom of Prussia, the largest Protestant kingdom in the Holy Roman Empire. This idea was made possible by the Pietist movement and it’s downplaying of doctrinal differences. • By 1835 many dissenting “Old Lutheran” groups were looking to emigration as a means for finding religious freedom. Some groups emigrated to Australia and the United States in the years leading up to 1840 and following. • Due to the growth of the Lutheran Churches in the US, the different synods grew and merged, eventually forming the . Enter Stephan And Walther

• Martin Stephan (1777 – 1846) was the pastor of St. John’s church in . St. John’s was predominantly a “Bohemian” congregation made up of descendants of protestant refugees from and who had fled to Saxony during the Thirty Year’s war. As a result, this church was outside of the Saxon state church system. • Stephan attended Pietist schools while growing up in Moravia prior to taking the pulpit of St. John’s, but over time his views became increasingly orthodox. This led to him being pressured by “Rationalists” within the State Church organization. Issues in Saxony

• Many Lutherans in Germany did not adopt the Pietist theology, but instead felt that the confessions in the Book of Concord were the correct expression of church doctrine. • There was a group of students at the University in Leipzig who held this opinion. By 1832 the leadership had been assumed by Martin Stephan prior to his call to St. John’s, and continued after he assumed that role. • At this point in his life Stephan held strong confessional beliefs, and had denounced a local Pietist group that he had been associated with. Many of his German followers also started attended St. John’s, creating what in essence was two congregations at St. John’s. • These events and views brought Stephan to the attention of the Saxon State Church officials More Issues In Saxony

• A cult of personality started to develop around Stephan as a result of the his strong confessional views and the resulting inward focus, and the Leipzig group’s “siege mentality”. This left less and less room for others’ views. • Stephan started to act as if he was above public opinion and started to act in a fashion that suggested sexual and other improprieties. • Even as Stephan and his group was becoming more conservative, the Saxon public and government was becoming liberal, which set the two sides against each other. In 1831 the Saxon State under aged King Anton took over the administration of the state church, further adding to the conflict. (Insert pause) When we last left our story… Emigration to the US • Starting in March 1836, the group started plans to emigrate to the U.S. • This was not an easy activity as it was against the law in Saxony to encourage emigration. • In 1837, after the crowning of the new, more liberal Frederick Augustus II of Saxony, the government suspended Stephan from his role in the church, the decision was made to leave for the new world in November 1838. • One of the decisions made was to set-up a hierarchical church structure with a bishop and 9 deacons. • The final decision was made for Missouri due to it’s large German population, in spite of concern with the state’s Slave status. • At this stage, the total group was about 300 people, but was to increase to almost 700 people. • During the passage, one of the 5 ships was lost at sea.

The Johann Georg (oil painting by Rev. George H. Hilmer) The Fall of Stephan and the Rise of Walter

• During the passage, Stephan was “gifted” a large amount from the group’s Credit Fund. He also had himself declared Bishop by the passengers on his ship (The Johann Georg), and also had them pledge filial obedience to him. This was later ratified by the other passengers who arrived earlier. • On arriving in St. Louis (20 years before Adolphus Busch by the way), they discovered the city to be less German than they had hoped, with most of the population being Anglo- Americans. The good news was that the Germans brought a larger number of unmarried young adults, who were welcomed by the relatively high proportion of women in the city. • On the other hand, many of the German- Americans in St. Louis turned out to be non- church goers, rationalist, politically liberal and held anti-cleric feelings. Jacksonian democracy was also at odds with the Saxon’s views. More Issues with Stephan

• Stephan’s autocratic rule, brusque behavior as well as his prerogative to access the Credit Fund began to breed resentment. His lifestyle was significantly better than everyone else’s. • Finally the decision was made by Stephan to purchase 4476 acres in Perry County (more then 100 miles south of St. Louis), rather than 15000 acres closer in. The land was also of poorer quality. • With Stephan and a small group of farmers in Perry County, discontent was brewing in St. Louis. The catalyst was further evidence of sexual impropriety by Stephan. • After the other pastors came to the conclusion that Stephan must go, the job of disposing him fell to Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm (C.F.W.) Walter (right). C.F.W. Walter

• Younger brother, Son, Grandson and Great- grandson of pasters • Didn’t own a bible until he was in University • Struggled with his faith, after studying the bible he explored the different denominations until pointed to Luther’s teachings by Stephan. • “Home-schooled” himself in theology while home-bound with heart problems. • As a pastor he had significant issues with rationalist structure of the state church. Dr. A. Brömel on C.F.W. Walter

“(Walter) is as orthodox as John Gerhard, but as fervent as a Pietist, as correct in form as a university or court preacher, and yet as popular as Luther himself. If the Lutheran Church will bring its doctrines again to the people, it must be as faithful and definite in its doctrine, and as to form as interesting and thoroughly adapted to the times, as is the case in Walther. He is the model preacher in the Lutheran Church. How different it would be with the Lutheran Church in Germany if it had many such pastors.”5 Stephan’s Dismissal • Finally on May 19, 1839 after building support in Perry County, Walter preached on John 3:20 “ For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come into the light lest his works be exposed”. During the sermon he laid out the case for the Stephan’s removal. Stephan was soon removed from office and expelled from the colony. • By 1841 the organization of the group was changed as a result of conflict between the clergy and the laity. Once again C.F.W. Walter lead the way out of the conflict after extensive study of Luther’s writings and the confessions. C.F.W. Walther’s proposal for the colony

• The church was the of all believers. • The church remained extant among them. While sins had been committed, the colonists still consisted of sincere Christians that comprise a church. • The local congregation is important in the structure of the church. • These and other points related to the status of their church, and other churches were debated in what is known as the “Log Cabin Debate”. After the debate the group was largely in agreement with Walther’s proposals. Interactions of the “Missouri Lutherans” with the Lutherans in the US • German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri and other states first formed in 1847. Along with the Missouri “Saxons”, it collected other pastors and congregations across the US with similar doctrinal views. • In the mid-19th century, there was continuous reorganization of the Lutheran Church in America. Yet while there was a drive to create a General Synod of Lutherans, the LCMS (among others) remained on friendly terms, but stood apart. • Other synods felt that the Missouri Lutherans suffered from a “a legalistic misuse of the symbols (Book of Concord)”.6

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Tietjen (accessed September 14, 2013) Growth of the LCMS

• In 1838 the “Saxons” landed with a handful of clergy and about 800 communicants • In 1847 the LCMS started at St. Pauls Church in (right) with a meeting of 12 pastors representing 14 congregations. • By 1893 the LCMS comprised 1237 Ministers, 1724 congregations and 330,000 communicants. • By 1897 as a result of mergers, it had about 687,000 communicants • By 1947, it had grown to more than 1.5M members. • In 1970 the LCMS had approximately 2.8M members.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutheran_Church%E2%80%93Missouri_Synod 1970, Seminex and Schism

• In the 1960’s the faculty at began to use the “the historical- critical method” method of biblical scholarship. Uses 3 basic approaches. • Source Criticism – search for “original sources” (Not , but a retelling of the Mesopotamian “Epic of Ziasudra”) • Form Criticism – Break the bible into stories and forms (prose, verse, letters, laws, etc) and then theorize on the settings in which they were composed and used. • Redaction criticism – Underlying sources. (Q source to the Gospels) • In 1974, the seminary President was suspended as this approach conflicted with the doctrine of the inerrancy of scripture, which led to a student and faculty walk-out and the formation of a “Seminary in Exile” • Soon after this the LCMS split, with the “Modernist” branch (~250 congregations) leaving and joining the ELCA, and the “Evangelical” branch remaining. Individual congregations were often split as the members rearranged themselves. The LCMS on Scripture

• 3.We reject the doctrine which under the name of science has gained wide popularity in the Church of our day that Holy Scripture is not in all its parts the Word of God, but in part the Word of God and in part the word of man and hence does, or at least, might contain error. We reject this erroneous doctrine as horrible and blasphemous, since it flatly contradicts Christ and His holy apostles, set up men as judges over the Word of God, and thus overthrows the foundation of the Christian Church and its faith.

- Rev. Franz August Otto Pieper 4th President of the LCMS LCMS Today

• As of 2015, the LCMS had almost 2.1M members, in 6,105 churches with 6,094 clergy. • Current president is Matthew C. Harrison. • Grace Lutheran Church is a member of the New New England District (~70 congregations) • Current president is Timothy Yeadon. • Oldest congregation in NED is First Lutheran in Boston (1839) • Grace is the 9th largest congregation in the district. What is the LCMS?

•A family of Lutheran Churches that… •Rejects the theological concept of Pietism as being unbiblical, and violating the concept of justification by grace through faith alone. •Rejects Historical-Critical Methods of biblical interpretation as violating the written word of God. Postscript References:

• Early History of the Lutheran Church in America by C.W. Schaeffer Lutheran Board of Publication – 1857, (On-line scan of print edition) • History of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the United States by Henry Eyster Jacobs, The Christian Literature Co – 1893 (On-line scan of print edition) • Forming the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod by A. C. Schwark, Confessional Lutherans for Christ’s Commission – 2016 (Kindle Edition) • Wikipedia pages on Pietism, Deism, Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod • http://issuesetc.org – Lutheran Talk Radio show archives • Pietism on the American Landscape by Martin Conkling, Published by Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary, 2015 http://scholar.csl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1159&context=cj • Zion on the Mississippi by Walter O. Forster - Concordia Publishing • YouTube channel Lutheran Satire - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2- 3Cf7Hw10b3NW05p2Z7IA Footnotes:

1. Lathbury, Thomas (1858). A History of the Book of Common Prayer and Other Books of Authority. Oxford: John Henry and James Parker. p. 430. 2. C. W. Schaeffer (1857). Early History of the Lutheran Church in America. Lutheran Board of Publication. P. 142 3. Christian Cyclopedia. Online edition. http://cyclopedia.lcms.org/display.asp?t1=p&word=PIETISM 4. Christian Cyclopedia. Online edition. http://cyclopedia.lcms.org/display.asp?t1=r&word=RATIONALISM 5. Henry Eyster Jacobs (1893) A History of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the United States. P 403 6. Ibid P. 409