Continuing down my list of the members of my "cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1), I call to mind a certain Heinrich Melchior Muhlenberg, better known by the Anglicized form of his name, “Henry.” Growing up in Germany, educated in Göttingen and the Lutheran Pietist training school in Halle, Muhlenberg had no idea he would end up in North America and be recognized as “The Father of American Lutheranism.” For a time, Muhlenberg envisioned himself as a missionary in India. But other plans were in the works, and the mission field of North America was in need of the kinds of gifts that Muhlenberg had to offer.
When most people think of colonial America, they think of Paul Revere, Thomas Jefferson, and the Revolutionary War. But what high school textbooks fail to mention is that a good number of Lutherans from various countries also lived in colonial America, mostly German, but also Dutch and Swedish. What they lacked was oversight and organization. In the days before background checks, these congregations were vulnerable to charlatan pastors. As early as the 1730s, a group of congregations in Pennsylvania communicated with Muhlenberg’s former school in Halle, requesting a quality pastor. In 1742, they got their wish.
Muhlenberg was called to serve three congregations in Pennsylvania, but his influence soon broadened. Other pastors looked to him as a source of wisdom and guidance, and he helped congregations not only in Pennsylvania, but also in New York, Georgia, and everywhere in between, not hesitating to preach in his native German, but also in English and occasionally Dutch. At a time when Lutheran immigrants from Europe were used to the church structure of their home countries, Muhlenberg assisted American Lutheran congregations in developing their own organization and governing documents. His suggested order of worship became influential for later Lutheran developments in liturgy. In 1748, the first Lutheran denominational body in North America came into being as a result of his leadership, the Ministerium of Pennsylvania. Organizational structures are not themselves the gospel of Jesus Christ, but Muhlenberg understood that organization can be an important tool for the proclamation of that good news. His passion for organization was an outgrowth of his primary concern, which was mission and service.
Muhlenberg's ministry meant and continues to mean a great deal to many Lutherans today, and he is widely respected for his personal sacrifices and accomplishments. One of his sons served as a general in the Revolutionary War, and another became the first Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. But Muhlenberg himself, when reflecting on his accomplishments, chose to emphasize things less grandiose by the standards of the world. He wrote the following in his notebook, his very last entry before his death, in 1787: “Baptized Anna, infant daughter of John Frey and his wife Hanna. The child was fifteen months old. The parents were sponsors.”
When most people think of colonial America, they think of Paul Revere, Thomas Jefferson, and the Revolutionary War. But what high school textbooks fail to mention is that a good number of Lutherans from various countries also lived in colonial America, mostly German, but also Dutch and Swedish. What they lacked was oversight and organization. In the days before background checks, these congregations were vulnerable to charlatan pastors. As early as the 1730s, a group of congregations in Pennsylvania communicated with Muhlenberg’s former school in Halle, requesting a quality pastor. In 1742, they got their wish.
Muhlenberg was called to serve three congregations in Pennsylvania, but his influence soon broadened. Other pastors looked to him as a source of wisdom and guidance, and he helped congregations not only in Pennsylvania, but also in New York, Georgia, and everywhere in between, not hesitating to preach in his native German, but also in English and occasionally Dutch. At a time when Lutheran immigrants from Europe were used to the church structure of their home countries, Muhlenberg assisted American Lutheran congregations in developing their own organization and governing documents. His suggested order of worship became influential for later Lutheran developments in liturgy. In 1748, the first Lutheran denominational body in North America came into being as a result of his leadership, the Ministerium of Pennsylvania. Organizational structures are not themselves the gospel of Jesus Christ, but Muhlenberg understood that organization can be an important tool for the proclamation of that good news. His passion for organization was an outgrowth of his primary concern, which was mission and service.
Muhlenberg's ministry meant and continues to mean a great deal to many Lutherans today, and he is widely respected for his personal sacrifices and accomplishments. One of his sons served as a general in the Revolutionary War, and another became the first Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. But Muhlenberg himself, when reflecting on his accomplishments, chose to emphasize things less grandiose by the standards of the world. He wrote the following in his notebook, his very last entry before his death, in 1787: “Baptized Anna, infant daughter of John Frey and his wife Hanna. The child was fifteen months old. The parents were sponsors.”