When acculturation has become a byword in how a church looks to the future, it can be overlooked that pastors in the then-German-speaking Missouri Synod (then Die Deutsche Evangelisch-Lutherische Synode von Missouri, Ohio und an-dern Staaten) gave attention to preaching the gospel and establishing confessional congregations among the overwhelmingly English-speaking population in the United States. What was established as the English Evangelical Lutheran Conference of Missouri and Other States in 1872 would become the English District, a non-geographical district of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). Retired president-bishop David P. Stechholz provides a fascinating and fully documented account of a district that has taken the lead in ushering the LCMS into becoming an American church without compromising its confessional stance. Readers will want to give attention to the role that English District leadership and pastors had in the February 1974 faculty walkout of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. Stechholz’s account will provide researchers with a wealth of materials for years to come.
David P. Scaer
David P. Scaer Professor Emeritus of Biblical and Systematic Theology
Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana