"I Have Made You Watchmen" - How the Northwestern Lutheran Prepared the Wisconsin Synod for the Break in Fellowship with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod

Abstract

Joseph M. Wright’s essay examines how the Northwestern Lutheran magazine prepared members of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) for the 1961 suspension of fellowship with the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). Covering the years 1938–1963, Wright details how the magazine educated laypeople on doctrinal issues, unionism, and the theological implications of Missouri’s growing ties with the American Lutheran Church. Through editorials, doctrinal essays, and historical analysis, Northwestern Lutheran emphasized scriptural fidelity and warned against compromising fellowship without doctrinal unity. Wright highlights key series by E. Reim and others, the role of the “Common Confession,” and the gradual shift from cautious optimism to firm separation. The essay concludes that the magazine served as a theological watchman, guiding WELS members through a complex and painful ecclesiastical transition with clarity and conviction. —Abstract created by Microsoft Copilot (GPT-4)