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 We discuss how thousands of digitized papers—from convention essays to rare historical documents—form an indispensable record of the synod’s past and a living resource for pastors, teachers, researchers, and congregational historians today.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

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• Confessional Languages Scholarship
• The Wauwatosa Diary (book)
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• email: thelutheranhistorypodcast@gmail.com
• About the Host
  • Benjamin 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.

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.

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@gmail.com
• About the Host
  • Benjamin 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.

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.

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@gmail.com
• About the Host
  • Benjamin 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.

In this episode of The Lutheran History Podcast, we talk with Dr. Timothy D. Grundmeier about his recent article, “Pennsylvania’s ‘Youthful Daughter’: Reexamining the Early History of the Wisconsin Synod,” featured in the Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly (Spring 2025). While many are familiar with the Wisconsin Synod’s early ties to German mission societies and eventual fellowship with the Missouri Synod, Dr. Grundmeier highlights an often underappreciated chapter in WELS history: its formative partnership with the Pennsylvania Synod. Drawing on rich archival sources, he paints a fuller picture of how eastern Lutherans supported and shaped the growing church in the Midwest through financial aid, pastoral connections, and shared theological commitments. This episode invites listeners to reflect on the blessings of intersynodical cooperation and the broader roots of confessional Lutheranism in America.

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@gmail.com
• About the Host
  • Benjamin 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.

In this special episode, guest host Tim Grundmeier interviews historian and author Benjamin T. Phelps about his recent Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly article on Dr. Henry A. Koch—a pastor, professor, and editor who left a profound mark on confessional Lutheranism in both Germany and America. Phelps shares personal insights drawn from years of research, including access to Koch’s letters, diary, and unpublished materials preserved by his family. Together, they trace Koch’s theological formation in Wauwatosa, his academic work in Leipzig, his resistance to Nazi ideology, and his return to America without a call during the Great Depression. The conversation explores Koch’s role in rebuilding fractured congregations, his deep concern for doctrinal faithfulness, and his controversial but principled opposition to the Missouri Synod’s growing unionism. Through it all, Koch remained committed to the Lutheran confession and the gospel ministry—living out the motto he printed for decades in the Gemeinde-Blatt: Halte, was du hast—Hold fast what you have.

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@gmail.com
• About the Host
  • Benjamin 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.

This is a special episode of a presentation I prepared for the Society of German American Studies symposium in April in Milwaukee.

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The year 2025 marks the 175th anniversary of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Originally established in the Milwaukee area as the Die erste deutsch. evang.-luth. Synode von Wisconsin, this German immigrant ecclesiastical organization, immediately needed printed materials in its native language that would serve the needs of its people in a new geographic and social setting. The Wisconsin Synod primarily sought to preserve and transmit conservative confessional Lutheranism in the first several generations. The motto, “Halte was du hast,” crowned the synod’s first regular publication, the Gemeindeblatt. Its message, “Hold what you have,” reflects the conservative concern of the ministers who encouraged Lutheran immigrants to preserve their faith and pass it on to future generations. Wisconsin Synod leaders also recognized that as the synod faced new challenges and opportunities in its frontier immigrant context, it must also apply theological principles in ways that precluded simplistic repristination of the 16th century Reformation. The resulting “Wauwatosa Theology” came to life in the German publications of the synod.

To meet the needs of its laity, pastors, and scholars, the Wisconsin Synod locally produced various printed materials in the German language to meet its high theological standards. These German American Lutherans required many printed materials: hymnals, service agendas, synodical reports, catechisms, bibles, and devotional literature. Regular publications: the Gemeindeblatt and the Theologische Quartalschrifft not only served to communicate to and inform laity and pastors within the Wisconsin Synod but also spread its news and theology across the nation and back to the German homeland.

The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod required German materials for well over a century—despite the erosion of a German-speaking demographic accelerated by two world wars. In the post-war years, the synod experienced an irreversible transition from needing German materials to holding on to them for personal comfort. Still, the synod continued to print officially in German regularly until 1970.

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@gmail.com
• About the Host
  • Benjamin 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.

In this WELS 175th episode, we talk with Joel Otto, the anniversary committee chairman, about the pictorial history book Christ Through Us, which he co-authored with John Braun.

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@gmail.com
• About the Host
  • Benjamin 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.

In this WELS 175th episode, we talk with Joel Otto, the anniversary committee chairman, about what WELS worship has looked like in the past and how it has changed.

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@gmail.com
• About the Host
  • Benjamin 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.