Seminex In Print: A Comprehensive Bibliography by David O. Berger

Abstract

Reviewed by: Seminex In Print: A Comprehensive Bibliography by David O. Berger Mark Granquist Seminex In Print: A Comprehensive Bibliography. Compiled by David O. Berger with Daniel Harmelink. Concordia Historical Society Monograph Series. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2021. xiv + 221 pp. The 1974 walkout of students and faculty from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis was a major event, specifically in the history of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS), but also for American Lutheranism in general. This walkout led to an exodus of congregations and pastors from the LCMS and the formation of a new [End Page 221] Lutheran denomination, and eventually was a major impetus to the formation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 1988. Unfortunately, the comprehensive study of the walkout and its aftermath has yet to be written, although important works like James C. Burkee's Power, Politics, and the Missouri Synod (2011) have moved in that direction. This volume, a comprehensive bibliography of the events, is another vital step in that direction. David Berger is professor of Practical Theology and director of Library Services at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis; with the help of Daniel Harmelink, Director of the Concordia Historical Institute, he has gathered a remarkably complete bibliography of printed sources on the history of the Seminex (Seminary-in-Exile) controversy as it unfolded in the 1970s. The sources include a nearly complete listing of the primary print sources from the 1970s, mainly periodical and official church documents, as well as selected journal articles and editorials from that time. Also included are a list of major books on the topic (with lists of book reviews of them), a list of the manuscript collections at the Concordia Historical Institute and other major Lutheran archives, and a helpful digest of actions in the LCMS conventions from 1962 to 1975 that show the course of events leading up to the walkout. The index is extremely helpful, as it lists chronologically all the publications of major figures in the controversy. The trouble with trying to work with major events such as the Seminex walkout is the vast number of primary and secondary sources that must be consulted. This volume is a remarkably useful roadmap for future researchers, so that historians will be able effectively to tell the story of this event. Mark Granquist Luther Seminary Saint Paul, Minnesota Copyright © 2023 Johns Hopkins University Press and Lutheran Quarterly, Inc.