Pastor Johann Caauwe has served St. John’s Lutheran Church in Wood Lake, Minnesota since October 2017. He previously served congregations in Modesto, CA and El Paso, TX. After growing up in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, he received his undergraduate pre-seminary studies at Martin Luther College in New Ulm, MN before attending Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in Mequon, MN. He was ordained into the Holy Ministry in 2005. He and his wife Sara have been blessed with nine children, whom they homeschool using a classical education model. Pastor Caauwe also serves as circuit pastor for the Redwood Falls West Circuit of the WELS Minnesota District.

You can also check out his blog linked below.

Andrew Kloes is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a historian in Washington, D.C. He is the author of The German Awakening: Protestant Renewal after the Enlightenment, 1815-1848 (Oxford, 2019) and has contributed articles to the Bavinck Review, Harvard Theological Review, Studies in Church History and Wesley and Methodist Studies. Laura M. Mair is the Mary R. S. Creese Lecturer in Modern Scottish History at the University of Aberdeen and an Honorary Fellow of the University of Edinburgh's School of Divinity. Her seminal book, Religion and Relationships in Ragged Schools: An Intimate History of Educating the Poor (Routledge, 2019) was the first book-length study of the ragged school movement. She has authored a number of articles in journals including Church History, Family & Community, Scottish Church History and the Journal of Victorian Culture.

Andrew Soule is a ELS pastor at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Mankato, Minnesota.  He is currently in the PhD program at CSL.

Today's guest is Dr. Beth Kreitzer was raised in California and has degrees from Stanford and Duke Universities.  Her graduate study in the Program of Religion at Duke focused upon the history of the Church from the patristic era through the early modern period.  Her dissertation, upon the images of Mary in Lutheran sermons of the 16th century, was also her first book, "Reforming Mary."

Kreitzer's work looks at Lutheran sermons between 1520 and 1580 and the various occasions on the church calendar where Mary is the main or at least a major focus. 

Pastor Craig A. Ferkenstad has served as the secretary of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod since 1996.  Ferkenstad is an Adjunct Faculty in the Religion department.

After graduating from Bethany Lutheran College, where she studied church music and religion, Elisabeth received her Master of Arts in Lutheran Theological Studies from Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary in 2016. Her recent publication Anna B. Hoppe: Her Life and Hymnody draws upon her thesis for this program. In  2016, she earned her Master of Church Music in organ from Concordia University Wisconsin. Currently, she is a PhD candidate in Historical Theology at Concordia Seminary 
Articles she has authored have been published in LOGIA and Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology, and she has been a guest lecturer at several Lutheran institutions and conferences.

Elisabeth J. Urtel  is an Adjunct Faculty in the History department at Bethany Lutheran College and an Adjunct Instructor at Martin Luther College.

Heather R. Darsie lives in the United States. She has a Bachelor of Arts in German Languages and Literature, and a Juris Doctorate. During her time at university, she had the privilege of studying in Costa Rica and France, with visits to Germany and other countries.

Ms. Darsie has spent the last ten years researching the history of the Holy Roman Empire. This has helped her gain perspective as to the political world stage during the Renaissance.

You can read more about her many projects at her website linked below.

Isaac Johnson graduated from Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, MI with a degree in Latin in 2011 and attended Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, IN. During his time at seminary he spent two years studying at the Lutheran theological seminary (Evangelisch-Lutherische Hochschule) in Oberursel, Germany. He was ordained in 2016 and was called to serve Risen Christ Lutheran Church in Davenport, Iowa. He now serves New Hope Lutheran Church, a mission congregation in Charles City, Iowa. Isaac has a strong interest in homiletics and the German language and is currently engaged in translating Reinhold Pieper's Homiletics textbook (Evangelish-Lutherische Homiletik)

James Ambrose Lee II has earned his BA - Concordia University Chicago; River Forest, IL, MDiv - Concordia Theology Seminary; Fort Wayne, IN, STM, Liturgical Theology - Yale Divinity School & Yale Institute of Sacred Music; New Haven, CT, PhD, Historical Theology - Saint Louis University; Saint Louis, MO Dr. Lee currently teaches classes at Concordia University Chicago on various topics in Church History, including, Christianity and the Modern World, Women in the History of Christianity, and Martin Luther. He also teaches Encountering Religion In America and Introduction to Christianity.

Pastor James Huenink
I began my work at First Lutheran Church in November 2021, having served churches in the Chicago area for my first 13 years of ministry. After graduating from Concordia University Wisconsin, I married my wife Kristan in 2003. We both moved to St. Louis where I attended Concordia Seminary before being placed in Chicago. I am excited about the opportunity to serve both the congregation and the El Cajon community. I love to help others see the beauty and grace of Jesus Christ as seen through the teachings of the Lutheran Church to give them the comfort and peace only Jesus can give. In my free time, I enjoy photography, researching Lutheran history, writing, and cooking.

Jason Oakland
Education:
B.A. Martin Luther College, New Ulm, MN, 2000
M. Div. Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, WI, 2004
S.T.M. Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, WI, 2018

Teaching:
Introduction to Scripture
Genesis
Old Testament Prophets
Pauline Epistles
History of Christianity

Research Interests:
I enjoy studying all aspects of church history, but my main area of interest is the Reformation era, especially in Germany. I also have an interest in translating German theological and devotional writings, which have often been from German Lutherans in America. Other areas of interest include:

Theology as habitus practicus
Hermeneutics
Hymnody
History of the Early Church 
American and European Lutheranism

Joel Otto served in the pastoral ministry for 16 years before accepting the call to Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2011 to teach church history and education. Since 2016, he has been the dean of students. He served parishes in Midland, MI; Manitowoc, WI; San Diego; and Minocqua WI. He has been a regular contributor to Meditations and Forward in Christ and served on the WELS Commission on Lutheran Schools, WELS Commission on Worship, the hymnody committee for the new WELS hymnal, and the new catechism project. Currently, he serves on the WELS Commission on Inter-Church Relations and chairs the board of the WELS Historical Institute. He has also been serving as chairman for the committee planning the WELS 175h anniversary.

Dr. John Maxfield is a professor of history and religious studies at Concordia University of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada.  He is the author of numerous articles and edited Defending Luther's Reformation and wrote Luther's Lectures on Genesis and the Formation of Evangelical Identity.

After 7½ years of serving in South Dakota, Justin Dauck accepted the call to serve as associate pastor at St. Paul’s in Plymouth and Christ Lutheran in Beatrice, Nebraska.
 
Dauck is a private pilot and, although he doesn’t fly too much these days, tries to keep up with what’s happening in the world of general aviation.  He enjoys hunting and other outdoor activities as well as learning more about history—especially the history of the Lutheran church.  He serves on the board of the WELS Historical Institute.

Karin Maag is the Director of the H. Henry Meeter Center for Calvin Studies 

• B.A., Western Society and Culture/Religion, Concordia University, Montreal
• M.Phil., Renaissance and Reformation History, University of Saint Andrews, Scotland
• Ph.D., Reformation History, University of Saint Andrews, Scotland

Karin Maag is currently serving as adjunct faculty at Calvin Theological Seminary, teaching classes in church history and research methods, and serving as co-director of the ThM program. She is also the editor and book review editor of the Calvin Theological Journal.
Her recent publications include a chapter on education and the Genevan Academy in Ward Holder, ed. Calvin in Context  (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020). Her most recent book, Worshiping with the Reformers, was published by IVP Academic in February 2021. 

Dr. Mark Brown is a graduate of Northwestern College, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, and Concordia Seminary.  In 1987, Wisconsin Lutheran College called him to be the director of spiritual life programming and an instructor of theology. During his 34 years at WLC, Braun taught introductory courses in Scripture and Lutheran doctrine, the Christian Faith and Life, ten Biblical Studies courses on the Old and New Testaments, and courses on Religion in America and World Religions. 

Braun is the author of The People's Bible volume on Deuteronomy, A Tale of Two Synods: Events That Led to the Split Between Wisconsin and Missouri, and Time Between the Testaments, all published by Northwestern Publishing House. He is the author of the Concordia Commentary volume on Judges, to be published by Concordia Publishing House.

Rev. Michael Holmen
I grew up on a family farm in Albert Lea, MN. I graduated from Bethany Lutheran College, Mankato, MN in 2003. I attended seminary at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN. From 2010 until 2023 I was pastor of Peace Lutheran Church and Our Redeemer Lutheran Church (Oelwein and Independence, IA).
​I was installed as pastor at St. Paul's March 26, 2023.

Pastor Nathaniel Biebert was born and baptized in California and attended Lutheran grade schools in Wisconsin. He graduated from Martin Luther College (BA with a minor in confessional languages, 2005), and Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary (MDiv, 2009). After serving in Wisconsin and Texas, in February of 2022, he accepted the call to serve the members of Trinity in Winner, South Dakota.

Nathaniel is the author of Luther at the Manger (Milwaukee: Northwestern, 2017)—a translation of a 1531 sermon series—and the translator and editor of Heaven Is My Fatherland: The Life and Work of Michael Praetorius (Eugene, OR: Resource Publications, 2020). He has authored articles and translations for the Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly and Forward in Christ. He is a 2018 recipient of the Concordia Historical Institute’s Award of Commendation for his serial in the WELS Historical Institute Journal, “Johannes Strieter: Raconteur of Past Reminiscences.”

I was born and raised in Janesville, Wis.,  After graduating from Northwestern College in Watertown, Wis. I graduated with a Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wis., in 1998. Since then I have served congregations in Jacksonville, Fla., Morton Grove, Ill., Johnson City, Tenn., and Kenosha. I have served as the school pastor at Kenosha Lutheran Academy since 2021.

I met my wife, Tarren, while serving in Jacksonville, where we were married in 2003. We have two children. I enjoy time with family, theological reading, all kinds of music. My special interest is family and church history, especially the history of the Lutheran Church and Wisconsin Synod. I have authored a number of essays and books on the subject. Besides my parish service, I also served the synod as a circuit pastor, a member of the Commission on Inter-Church Relations (CICR), and on the committee that produced Christian Worship: Supplement.

Dr. Robert A. Kolb is a professor emeritus of Systematic Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.
He received his M.Div. and S.T.M. from Concordia Seminary (1967, 1968). He also earned a M.A. and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison (1969, 1973). He has also received several honorary degrees as well.
Kolb retired in 2009 after 16 years of distinguished service as a professor of Systematic Theology at Concordia Lutheran Seminary in St. Louis. Before joining the Seminary, he served as director of the Center for Reformation Research, and in various teaching roles in the religion and history departments at Concordia College in St. Paul, Minn.  He has taken much time over many years to teach abroad. He is the author of many books; perhaps where his name is on most Lutheran bookshelves is in the Book of Concord—as editor and translator of the most used English edition today. He also has written more than 100 articles and a collection of essays.  

Today's guest is Pastor Scott Henrich, a WELS pastor serving in Knoxville, Tennessee.  His experiences reading historic Lutheran sermons inspired him to research Lutheranism's homiletical heritage in a way that may challenge some contemporary assumptions about the historic perception of Lutheran preaching.

You can contact him here: scottwhenrich@gmail.com

Stephen Gurgel is a 2011 graduate from Martin Luther College: Bachelor of Science in Education and a 2012 graduate from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee: Master of Arts in History.  Since 2021 he has been aHistory and Religion teacher at West Lutheran High School.

B.A. Augustana College (2002)

M.Div. Luther Seminary (2006)

Ph.D. Luther Seminary (2018)

Jacobson teaches history at the Institute of Lutheran Theology and serves on the board of the Lutheran Historical Conference.

PhD Baylor University
MDiv Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary
MA Minnesota State University—Mankato
BA Martin Luther College

Timothy Grundmeier joined the faculty of Martin Luther College in 2017. He teaches in the areas of American History and Modern World History. He also serves as one of the coaches of the men’s soccer team.

Dr. Grundmeier’s research focuses on the intersection of religion, politics, and ethnicity in the nineteenth-century United States. He has published articles and reviews in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Religion in America, Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly, Minnesota History, Civil War History, Journal of Church and State, and other outlets. His dissertation, “Making Their Own Faith: Lutheranism and American Culture in the Civil War Era,” examines the conservative transformation of Lutheranism in the context of the era’s debates over liberty, slavery, and politics.