Historical Guide to Lutheran Church Bodies of North America

Wiederaenders, Robert C. Historical Guide to Lutheran Church Bodies of North America. Second Edition. Lutheran Historical Conference Publication No. 1. St. Louis: Lutheran Historical Conference, 1998.

How does one examine the patchwork of immigrants, merges, splits, and different traditions we call Lutheranism in North America? Does one examine it theologically, sociologically, historically or by some other method? The answer, of course, depends on your intention. There are many reasons for the study of American Lutheranism. Regardless of the intention, a basic understanding of the contours and movements within American Lutheranism is necessary.

To that end, Roland Wiederaenders has given us a valuable resource in his Historical Guide to Lutheran Church Bodies of North America. A revision of The Synods of American Lutheranism (1968), the Historical Guide provides the reader with valuable demographic, historical and ecclesial backgrounds to the maze of American Lutheranism.

The format itself is a reflection of the complicated nature of the task. With each Synod, federation or church body, Wiederanders tries to first list the churches and synods that merged to form the synod at hand. Next he lists all of the significant dates relating to the synod in chronological order. He then lists the periodicals associated with the synod, and finishes with a breakdown of their internal structure. Wiederanders also includes helpful maps, charts and graphs to visually represent the membership and churches of the synod at hand. Unfortunately, the quality of these graphics vary significantly. Some of them were created using a bitmap format that does not reflect the overall quality of the book.

There is also a danger inherent in the work. By emphasizing dates, splits, merges and diagrams, Wiederaenders succeeds in giving the impression that all of these events happen without a theological or historical context. It would be easy read this work as the inevitable flow of Lutheranism into two or three major church bodies, with several splinter groups of little significance. Even if there is some truth to this understanding of American Lutheranism, it does little justice to the long and often convoluted history behind these various synods.

Perhaps one of the most helpful facets of the book is the extensive bibliography. For the student of Lutheranism, this is invaluable, as Wiederanders lists each synod covered in the book, and then gives his resources for the information available.

Given the huge amount of data Wiederaenders has had to work with, it is not surprising that a few factual errors also slipped through. An example of this would be the section on the Fellowship of Lutheran Congregations (p. 117). Wiederaenders describes them as “a group, with roots in the Missouri Synod, disturbed by what they saw as liberal trends in the Missouri Synod…” While this is true in a sense, what Wiederaenders fails to mention is that they were a splinter group off of the Lutheran Churches of the Reformation, and did not directly leave the Missouri Synod.

All in all, Wiederaenders has provided the student of American Lutheranism with an invaluable resource for beginning to unravel our own history. As a reference work it is a must. It does not, however, provide any interpretive key for understanding why we are where we are today.

-Review by the Rev. Todd A. Peperkorn, STM, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

This reveiw orginally appeared in the XX/YY edition of Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly.

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This page was created on 02/08/2007 and last edited on: 02/08/2007

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Main Menu Home Beliefs Parish Education Liturgy and Preaching Articles History Links Contact Pastor * Pastor's Blog Calendar Directions Photobook Recent Sitemap This Section Historical Guide to Lutheran Church Bodies of North America Reinventing American Protestantism: Christianity in the New Millennium The Democratization of American Christianity: A Review Essay	Historical Guide to Lutheran Church Bodies of North America Wiederaenders, Robert C. Historical Guide to Lutheran Church Bodies of North America. Second Edition. Lutheran Historical Conference Publication No. 1. St. Louis: Lutheran Historical Conference, 1998. How does one examine the patchwork of immigrants, merges, splits, and different traditions we call Lutheranism in North America? Does one examine it theologically, sociologically, historically or by some other method? The answer, of course, depends on your intention. There are many reasons for the study of American Lutheranism. Regardless of the intention, a basic understanding of the contours and movements within American Lutheranism is necessary. To that end, Roland Wiederaenders has given us a valuable resource in his Historical Guide to Lutheran Church Bodies of North America. A revision of The Synods of American Lutheranism (1968), the Historical Guide provides the reader with valuable demographic, historical and ecclesial backgrounds to the maze of American Lutheranism. The format itself is a reflection of the complicated nature of the task. With each Synod, federation or church body, Wiederanders tries to first list the churches and synods that merged to form the synod at hand. Next he lists all of the significant dates relating to the synod in chronological order. He then lists the periodicals associated with the synod, and finishes with a breakdown of their internal structure. Wiederanders also includes helpful maps, charts and graphs to visually represent the membership and churches of the synod at hand. Unfortunately, the quality of these graphics vary significantly. Some of them were created using a bitmap format that does not reflect the overall quality of the book. There is also a danger inherent in the work. By emphasizing dates, splits, merges and diagrams, Wiederaenders succeeds in giving the impression that all of these events happen without a theological or historical context. It would be easy read this work as the inevitable flow of Lutheranism into two or three major church bodies, with several splinter groups of little significance. Even if there is some truth to this understanding of American Lutheranism, it does little justice to the long and often convoluted history behind these various synods. Perhaps one of the most helpful facets of the book is the extensive bibliography. For the student of Lutheranism, this is invaluable, as Wiederanders lists each synod covered in the book, and then gives his resources for the information available. Given the huge amount of data Wiederaenders has had to work with, it is not surprising that a few factual errors also slipped through. An example of this would be the section on the Fellowship of Lutheran Congregations (p. 117). Wiederaenders describes them as “a group, with roots in the Missouri Synod, disturbed by what they saw as liberal trends in the Missouri Synod…” While this is true in a sense, what Wiederaenders fails to mention is that they were a splinter group off of the Lutheran Churches of the Reformation, and did not directly leave the Missouri Synod. All in all, Wiederaenders has provided the student of American Lutheranism with an invaluable resource for beginning to unravel our own history. As a reference work it is a must. It does not, however, provide any interpretive key for understanding why we are where we are today. -Review by the Rev. Todd A. Peperkorn, STM, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana. This reveiw orginally appeared in the XX/YY edition of Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly.
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