The Congress of the Lutheran Confessions: Worth the Trip

I attended the Congress of the Lutheran Confessions last week in Minneapolis, with my wife joining me on the last day (don’t tell Pastor Fehrmann – I wouldn’t want to get busted). The Congress is jointly held by the Association for Confessional Lutherans and the Luther Academy, and was really nothing short of spectacular. They had great speakers, snacks (although no chocolate), lots of displays and books to buy – even a book signing by a guy named Pastor Matt Harrison.

It was encouraging to see so many laymen at the conference, comprising nearly half of the 200 total attendees.

Fellow blogger Norman Teigen introduced himself. He’s a former LCMS member who’s now in the ELS. Now there’s a dedicated blogger! He was on tour, attending the events of several synods to get an idea of what’s going on across Lutheranism. This was his second stop (with a couple more to go), after first attending the Word Alone convention. His blog, Lutheran Colportage, has a liturgical emphasis, including a wealth of wonderful music.

I bumped into a few Stand Firm readers, including Mary, who though she checks in to see what’s going on once in a while, says she hasn’t left any comments yet. That’s probably wise. I also met up with Kari Anderson, who I’ve been corresponding with for years, although this is the first time we’ve met in person.

If you’re into Preus sightings, there were plenty of those to go around, with Pastors Daniel, Klemet, Rolf, and Peter Preus in attendance, as well as brother Christian, mom Donna, Klemet’s very sweet wife Janet, and probably a couple of others I missed since I don’t know all of them.

Sitting at my table the first day was another fellow blogger (although in a state of semi-retirement at the moment), Pastor Christopher Esget. He’s taking a sabbatical from his blog Esgetology. He also happens to be the pastor of my friend Mollie Ziegler Hemingway. Oddly enough, later on that night I met Mollie’s dad, Pastor Larry Ziegler. Pastor Ziegler had the singular honor of being awarded the 2010 Neo-Methodist Award the next evening at the banquet, a memory I’m sure he will cherish for years to come. If Zieglers keep winning awards, I might begin to think this thing is rigged, since Mollie won the 2009 Confessional Lutheran of the Year Award.

Pastor Klemet Preus and his wife Janet hosted a fun party at their house the first night. Lots of people and delicious food. Pastor Preus definitely knows how to fix up salmon the correct way – tasty and moist. We hung out by the fire outside. It got a little chilly in the late evening Minnesota darkness, and so I borrowed one of Pastor Preus’s jackets. Being downwind from the fire, I’m not sure that jacket is ever going to recover from the smell of smoke. I sheepishly hung it back up in the closet before I left. They may have to fumigate the closet as well.

Pastor Burnell Eckardt and his seminarian son Peter were also at the party, so I got to say “hi” to them. Pastor Eckardt informed me that he’s quoting something I wrote in the next issue of Gottesdienst. Fortunately I was able to dispel his notion that I’m a pastor, or I would have been elevated to the ministry without a rightly ordered call, right there in the sacred pages of Gottesdienst. I wonder if that wouldn’t work out okay though, sort of like an honorary doctorate. Rt. Rev. Scott Diekmann has a nice ring to it, although it should probably say the Less-than-Reverend Scott Diekmann. My copies of Gottesdienst have been arriving in the mailbox addressed to “Rev. Scott Diekmann.” I told my wife our postman must be the most confused guy around, since I get mail addressed to Mr., Rev., Capt., and Dr. He asked me one day what I “do,” and all I told him was that I’m a pilot, not admitting to also being a dentist. Now he probably thinks I’m some kind of impersonator, like Frank Abagnale Jr. in the movie “Catch Me if You Can.”

Though we stayed with friends, the hotel is decent, although a little dated. It’s very close to the airport, and only a block away from the Mall of America, in case you’re in the mood for a roller coaster ride and some shopping on your lunch break. They plan to have the conference there again next year.

Receiving the layman Confessional Lutheran of the Year Award was Robert Van Gundy, and the pastor’s version of the award was given to Pastor Matt Harrison. The banquet featured Dr. David Scaer as the speaker. While I’ve heard Dr. Scaer speak before, this was the first time it’s been on a non-theological topic. I figured if the speech headed south I had an alternative form of entertainment in the person of Pastor Charlie Henrickson, who was seated at my table and is always good for a laugh or two. Fortunately, I didn’t have to resort to my backup plan. Dr. Scaer’s assigned topic was “Witnessing: the Power of Personal Testimony,” but let’s just say he strayed from the assignment a bit. His speech was certainly humorous, and could best be described as a rambling stroll down memory lane as he examined the accuracy of a printed media report in which he was described during a Paris(?) dinner with Robert Preus and John Warwick Montgomery as an ugly American dressed like a lumberjack.

If my memory lasts that long, next week I’ll give you a rundown on the presentations of the speakers. If not, I give the Congress of the Lutheran Confessions a big thumbs up. It’s definitely worth the trip.


photo credit: woodleywonderworks