The Lutheran History Podcast

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 sides of the conflict—Patriot, Loyalist, and neutral—understood the war through a shared theological vocabulary of providence, suffering, discipline, and faithful endurance.

Wilson treats Pietism broadly, using the term to describe a transatlantic devotional culture rather than a narrowly defined movement. In his account, Lutherans, Reformed, Moravians, and related German-speaking Protestants participate in a common pietist world shaped by intense Scripture use, moral seriousness, and the conviction that God was dwelling within them by faith.

Rather than resolving the moral tensions of war, God on Three Sides highlights how pietist faith absorbed and interpreted political crisis: some read the conflict as divine chastisement, others as a call to reform, and still others as a trial demanding patient submission. For Lutheran listeners, the book is especially illuminating in showing how traditional Lutheran language of vocation, suffering, and obedience functioned within this broader pietist framework—often without sharp confessional self-consciousness, yet still grounded in inherited theological instincts.

God on Three Sides offers a comparative compilation of how early American German Protestants experienced revolution, revealing the temporal costs of war and the complexity of Christian conscience in a divided world.

Many thanks to my wonderful supporters!
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About the HostBenjamin 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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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 historic doctrines deemed too Catholic and cooperating with Anglo-evangelicals in revivalism and social reform. However, by the mid-1870s, most Lutherans had rejected this view. Though they remained proudly American, most embraced a religious identity characterized by a commitment to their church’s confessions, isolation from other Christians, and a conservative outlook on political and social issues.

Grundmeier shows that this transformation did not happen in a vacuum. Throughout the Civil War and early years of Reconstruction, disputes over slavery and politics led to quarrels about theology and church affairs. During the war and immediately after, the Lutheran church in the United States experienced two major schisms, both driven by clashing views on the national conflict. In the postbellum years, Lutherans adopted increasingly conservative positions in theology and politics, mainly in reaction to the perceived “radicalism” of the era. By the final decades of the nineteenth century, Lutherans had established a rigorously conservative and definitively American form of the faith, distinct from their coreligionists in Europe and other Protestants in the United States.

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: [email protected]
About the HostBenjamin 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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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 digitized papers—from convention essays to rare historical documents—form an indispensable record of the synod’s past and a living resource for pastors, teachers, researchers, and congregational historians today. Ericson unpacks how these materials are curated, what hidden gems lie inside, and how a new generation can use them to build a clearer, richer understanding of our church’s story. This is the episode for anyone who loves archives, theology, or the thrill of finding the perfect source—right when you need it most.

WLS online collections
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: [email protected]
About the HostBenjamin 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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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 theology, and why vocation and family life became so central to his legacy.
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: [email protected]
About the HostBenjamin 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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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 theological unrest.

Becker’s story spans some of the most critical decades in American Lutheranism. Raised in the Missouri Synod and later serving in the Wisconsin Synod, he became known for his deep commitment to the inerrancy of Scripture, his courage in confronting theological compromise, and his sharp but accessible writing style. Dr. Brenner discusses Becker’s role during the years leading up to the WELS/LCMS split, particularly his concern over growing liberalism and the erosion of biblical authority in the seminary classroom.

Despite his formidable intellect—fluent in multiple languages, trained in theology and apologetics—Becker was known for his humility, clarity, and pastoral heart. Through stories from former students and colleagues, Dr. Brenner paints a picture of a man who taught the faith not only in lecture halls, but also through his personal example of faithfulness, gentleness, and humor.

Listeners will come away with a renewed appreciation for the importance of doctrinal clarity, the dangers of theological drift, and the enduring need for pastors and teachers who speak the truth in love. Dr. Brenner also shares reflections on what Becker’s legacy can teach us today—and where interested readers can start exploring his work.

Whether you’re familiar with Becker’s writings or discovering him for the first time, this episode offers a thoughtful and inspiring look at one of confessional Lutheranism’s most important 20th-century theologians.
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: [email protected]
About the HostBenjamin 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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