Wielding the Sword of the Spirit: Volume Two: The Doctrine and Practice of Church Fellowship in the Synodical Conference (1868-1877) by Peter M. Prange. Published by Joh. Ph. Koehler Press, Wauwatosa, Wis., 2022. Hardcover, 296 pages. $ 34.99. ISBN: 978-1794748125

The practice of the doctrine of church fellowship is governed by two principles that seem to be in tension. Those two principles are to separate from and to avoid religious fellowship with people who impenitently persist in sin or false teaching and to patiently instruct Christians who have fallen into error through weakness or lack of knowledge. Knowing how to evangelically apply these two principles is one of the most difficult problems in pastoral theology. These two principles are unchanging, but the specific applications of the principles may vary with circumstances.

Wielding the Sword of the Spirit attempts to help Christians wrestle with this practical dilemma by using the fellowship practices of C. F. W Walther, the early Missouri Synod, and the early Synodical Conference as an example. Volume One of Wielding the Sword of the Spirit covered the formative years of the Missouri Synod between 1838 and 1867. The chief events of this period include the internal struggles among the Saxon immigrants in Missouri which followed the need to depose their bishop Martin Stephan for sexual and financial misconduct; their attempts to establish fellowship with Johannes Graubau and the Buffalo Synod; relations with the Ohio Synod and other Eastern Lutherans; and the creation and dissolution of relationships with Wilhelm Loehe and the pastors he sent from Germany to aid the Missouri Synod.

Volume Two covers the years from 1868-1877, during which time the Missouri Synod established formal church fellowship with the Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Ohio Synods and helped found the Synodical Conference. Though 1868 is listed as the starting date for these key events, as background to this history, this volume refers to many events that happened before 1868.

The four chief topics in this volume are the failure of the General Council to provide an adequate response to the unionist approach of the General Synod; the establishment of fellowship between the Missouri and Wisconsin Synods after a rocky initial relationship between the two groups; the establishment of the Synodical Conference of North America in 1872; and disturbances within the Synodical Conference concerning practical issues such as a joint educational system and the establishment of state synods and geographic parish boundaries.

Since an evaluation of specific practices cannot be divorced from the context and circumstances that provoked them, this book provides a thorough survey of inter-Lutheran relationships (and, all too often, inter-Lutheran battles) during this period which was so pivotal for confessional Lutheranism in America. Interspersed between the historical episodes are reflections on how successful Walther was in balancing his two concerns of strongly confronting the perpetrators of false teaching and patiently trying to win the victims caught in errors that were due to weakness or lack of knowledge. As with every sinful Christian, at times Walther faltered, but his constant recourse to the Word of God equipped him to fight the inevitable confessional battles he and his fellow Lutherans would face in the new circumstances the Lutheran church faced in a new land which had no established territorial churches.

A key factor in each struggle was the hard task of distinguishing the larger group consisting of all people whom we can recognize as fellow believers on the basis of their clear confession of the Christian faith (members of the universal church, the fellowship of faith) from the smaller group with whom we may share public acts of worship (particularly pulpit and altar fellowship) on the basis of a fundamental agreement in all doctrines of Scripture (church fellowship).

A valuable part of the extensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources are the letters exchanged between various participants in the events of this period. These letters often reveal personal feelings and frustrations of the participants that were not expressed on the public stage.

Chapter One, Fleeing a Faulty Foundation, deals with the battle against the unionistic, anti-sacramental stance of the old, eastern General Synod and with the failure of the newly founded, more confessional General Council to provide a strong, uncompromising alternative to the General Synod. Although more confessional men from the General Synod like Charles Porterfield Krauth resisted the “American Lutheranism” of General Synod leaders such as Samuel Schmucker and Benjamin Kurtz, to the extent that they even established a new group, namely the General Council, in the end, the new group proved to be a disappointing compromise, not a clear confessional answer. Walther and the Missouri Synod counseled and encouraged the founding of a new confessional alliance on the basis of clear unambiguous agreement in doctrine. The Ohio, Wisconsin, and Minnesota Synods all briefly flirted with membership in the Council. But the new council was formed too quickly without working through the remaining unclarity in doctrine and practice in their midst. The result was that the midwestern synods would have to look elsewhere for a true confessional alliance. But first there had to be an intermediate step.

Chapter Two, Winning Over Wisconsin, deals with the rather speedy declaration of fellowship between the Missouri and Wisconsin Synods after a period of tension between the two groups. Missouri was properly critical of unionistic tendencies in the Wisconsin Synod and of its reluctance to cut its financial ties with unionistic mission societies in Germany, but it sometimes did this in a harsh way which created resentment. There were also local tensions between neighboring congregations of the two synods in Wisconsin. After Wisconsin moved to a stronger confessional position and ended its ties with the societies in Germany under the influence of leaders like Johannes Bading, Philipp Koehler, and Adolf Hoenecke, the establishment of fellowship with Missouri moved very quickly, with the key meetings happening within a two-year period between 1867 and 1869. During this period Wisconsin had also turned away from the General Council and the Open Questions views of the Iowa Synod.

Chapter Three, Founded on Fundamental Unity, deals with the founding of the Synodical Conference in 1872 with Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin among the founding synods. The union talks also raised the issue of not merely forming a joint conference but merging into one synod. Another issue raised was the respective roles of German and English within the group. They recognized that the complete doctrinal agreement needed for church fellowship did not mean that every member of each group had a complete and clear understanding of all doctrines, but that the synods would deal with doctrinal aberrations which arose in their midst. A side issue was whether Walther’s belief that all taking and paying of interest was a sin was a doctrine divisive of fellowship or a personal exegetical opinion. Friedrich August Schmidt, who was emerging on the scene as a leader, contributed important papers to the process, especially on justification.

Chapter Four, The Elusive Lutheran Zion, shows that though the group had reached fundamental agreement in doctrine, there were still practical issues that created tension. One issue was whether parishes should have strict geographical boundaries, with only one congregation permitted within a given area, and with all members who resided in that area expected to attend that church. Walther strongly supported the idea; many in Wisconsin and Ohio opposed the idea. Walther also supported the idea that all the Synodical Conference congregations within a state should form one state synod which would in turn be a member of the Synodical Conference. Neither of these ideas ever reached fruition. The location of the group’s worker training schools was also an issue. To some degree, protecting one’s turf and loyalty to the past played a role in these disputes.

Volume Three will deal with the events surrounding the Election Controversy, which led to a tragic division in confessional Lutheranism in America.

Together, these three volumes will commemorate and celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Synodical Conference's founding and, Lord willing, will assist present-day Lutherans in thinking through the biblical doctrine of fellowship and its evangelical application in a world in desperate need of a clear confession of the gospel of forgiveness and eternal life in Christ. This book is a very helpful resource to help Christians wrestle with these questions.

John F. Brug