I am Ralph Woehrmann, no longer rostered, living with my wife, Cindy, in Taylorville, Illinois. We are members of Trinity Lutheran Church.
I grew up in the Cleveland, Ohio area, having attended and graduated from St. Paul Lutheran School in Westlake, Ohio. My pastor in those years was the Rev. William John Single, a St. Louis Graduate who was scouted by major league baseball. In the Fourth grade I promised along with some other boys to become pastors. Phillip Hempke and I were two—there may have been others. After St. Paul, I went to Bay Village, Ohio High School and after that went into the Air Force as a musician. While stationed in Denver, I was an “associate Member” as I was called, at Grace Lutheran Church, now closed. As the enlistment was drawing to a close, the ministerial call was reawakened as I considered going to Springfield, Illinois to visit Concordia Theological Seminary. Why that Sem as opposed to St Louis, I could not be sure at the time but somehow was aware that the LCMS convention had met in Cleveland three years before and I heard that there were problems at the St Louis Sem. I had considered reenlisting but declined to do so because my mother had died three years before and I was needed at home.
Fast forward to April 1968, while a junior at Cleveland (Ohio) State University. I had been led to believe that the ministry was to be my life’s work. It was not a clear choice due to my heavy involvement in Cleveland Professional music but felt that the Lord would make use of it somehow—and He did and still does. I had been attending local Lutheran gatherings and became aware through them, as well as through Herman Otten’s Christian News, that was not all was well in the State of Denmark. Two of Cleveland’s more liberal pastors had thought of me as a good fit for Concordia, St Louis and were willing to write letters on my behalf. I declined their offer and headed for Springfield, not knowing a lot about the LCMS.
My years there were challenging trying to keep up, but I still was able to graduate with above average grades. When a local radio station, WTAX AM interrupted its programming saying that Concordia Seminary President John Tietjen had been suspended, I was at home waiting to go to class. Over all, the problem there did not affect us too much at Springfield. We simply went about our business. I recall Dr. Henry Eggold used the word ELIM in a sermon once but that was about the only reference I heard about that movement. Dr. Surburg wrote volumes on the chalkboard, Dr Scaer continued his jabbing at the Iowa West District, Drs. Stahlke and Naumann could discuss opera by the hour and Dean of the Chapel Reuning labored over his up-coming St. John Passion—the performance is still mentioned favorably in Springfield music circles.
Upon graduation in August 1974, I was placed in two locations in New Mexico, both the result of dissolving of several non-LCMS congregations. They were all renamed “Immanuel” after the Mother church of LCMS Lutheranism in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was then that I began to pay more attention to the by-now Synodical Crisis through Christian News and other publications and by attending Colorado District activities, which were for the most part liberal. That District allowed Seminex students to vote on whether they had a vote or not. They lost by one vote. It was in that district that I heard an LCA Professor, Lee Jordahl say that the theology being taught at St Louis was not the theology of Walther and Pieper. Hence the Mess.
How we got into this mess has several roots. Herman Otten’s Christian News admittedly was a source of trouble. He had come to the St. Louis Sem determined not to have Christian Dogmatics shoved down his throat. Thankfully, he was drawn to accept it. He then began with Kurt Marquart and others to sound the alarm. This led to many hours of meetings with several faculty members and Synod administrators, some of whom were sympathetic; but more were offended that a mere seminarian was questioning their authority He was denied certification but on appeal to a Board of Appeals won his case in that the 5 – 5 decision proved that the Sem lost its case. The Board of Appeals was later put out of business. I’ve read Christian News off and on for over Fifty Years and am convinced that Otten told the truth and that Synod should have somehow honored him. It still can—for Christian News is still operating
Another factor is the times in which Christian News was founded. The early 1950s was a period supposedly designed to bring some peace to the post WW II and post Korean War eras. “Don’t Rock the Boat” was the catch phrase of the day. Intolerance for different ideas were not welcomed. But it was that very thinking which allowed East Coast Lutheranism to enter our system, in which familiar terms were given new meanings. The Lutheran Witness added to the confusion by making no distinction between the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions. A familiar phrase of that era was “Holy Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions say …” as if they had separate and equal origins, the truth being that the latter was given birth by the former.
Also, we must consider the greatest contributor to the confusion, the strong adverse reaction to the Stephan/Walther controversy. Walther’s efforts at Altenburg helped to establish the movement as a Christian Congregtion with the authority to issue and terminate calls. But still this series of events caused many to go on the offensive and attend un-Lutheran Seminaries, getting involved in unionistic mission efforts — all in the name of trying to look better in the eyes of the public. At least, that is what I believe happened.
Further, with the two LCMS seminaries using diametrically-opposing views of how the Scriptures are to be interpreted, the LCMS in that period of time gave the world the appearance of being a state university school of religion rather than a denomination with a definite confessional character. The Springfield Seminary was faithful to Synod and in my judgement was never adequately thanked for it.
All the above are my views only and not necessarily anyone else’s, but are from the viewpoint of one who is at least a third generation member of the LCMS who is still serving it.
The Rev Ralph Woehrmann
Taylorville Illinois
Christian News 