Authority Vested: A Story of Identity and Change in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod

By Mary Todd

Book Overview

Martin E. Marty, from the Foreword
"One does not have to be a Missouri Synod Lutheran, a Lutheran at all, a Christian or a religious person at all, to become engaged by these pages. They deal with basic human themes. . . I think most will be impressed by Mary Todd's] fair-mindedness, her calm tone of voice, her patient story-telling, and her invitation to readers to find more angles than before on the sex-and-authority combination that will mark both resistant and bold church bodies and individuals alike."

Calvin Theological Journal
"Well worth reading by anyone interested in churches caught between tradition and modernity."

The Lutheran
"This is not a dry history. The descriptions of specific people, places and occasions reveal the dramatic tensions and energies shaping modern American Lutheranism."

Choice
"Todd has written a history of the Missouri Synod that attempts to capture the unique theological and sociological nuances of this denomination; she focuses on the issue of authority as a key interpretative idea. . . Although a complete history of the LCMS is yet to be written, this study provides the basic framework of the Synod's history, along with an insightful interpretative understanding."

Journal of American History
"Mary Todd recounts the history of the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod in a direct and compelling style that makes one eager to read the next stage of the story. She makes theological and doctrinal issues clear and defines terms for those of us not familiar with the denomination. . . The personalities in this story and their internal struggles over the identity of the Missouri Lutheran Synod, using the case study of woman's role, make this an interesting study of an American denomination. The methodology, as well as the author's writing skills, is commendable."

American Historical Review
"Todd has produced a superb book, one that suggests a larger story while telling a particular story."

Trinity Seminary Review
"In this well-crafted volume, Mary Todd walks her readers through the basics of LC-MS history, beginning with the religious situation in Germany that precipitated the Saxon emigration of 1838-39. Even students of American Lutheran history who are familiar with the story will learn some new things by reading Todd's account. . . Todd is consistently insightful as she lays out both the Missouri ideal of an unchanging biblical authority that was intended to give the synod its identity, and the reality of the often subtle but nonetheless real changes in the exercise of authority that have actually emerged over the last century and a half. . . This is a 'must read' book not only for those interested in the history and present situation of the Missouri Synod, but of American Lutheranism generally."

Journal of Ecclesiastical History
"An intelligent analysis of the problem of authority -- pastoral, theological, scriptural and gender -- in a sect preoccupied with authority. . . Mary Todd, a lifelong member of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, has written a dispassionate and useful account."

The Christian Century
"A well-written and well-documented case study of authoritarianism in a church body by a gifted historian."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 080284457X
• ISBN13: 9780802844576
• Release Date: December 1999
• Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.09 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.9" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Excellent insider history of the Synod

Todd's brilliant exploration of the shifting locus of authority in the LCMS reveals the causes of many of the Synod's troubling features -- inluding its separatism, its triumphalism, and its refusal to honor the calls and contributions of women. Her grasp on the Synod's history is firm, but her book is particularly valuable for getting at the heart of LCMS life in a way only a perceptive insider can. Authority Vested is feminist history at its best -- seeking to tell authentically the stories of all people, especially the marginalized. She speaks strong words against the Synod's "conformity to the fundamentalist Americanizing of Christianity." But like most good insider accounts, Todd also reveals what is worthwhile and unique in the Synod's history. Though I find her continued struggle for the rights of women in the LCMS inspiring and courageous, I am no longer surprised at her tenacity. She is a loyal daughter of the Synod, and deeply critical of it precisely for that reason. I only wish the book had been published a bit later -- I'm curious to know how she believes the election of moderate Gerald Kieschnick to the presidency of the Synod in 2001 (and again in 2004) fits into her narrative of LCMS authority. Certainly 2007's convention will reveal just how significant any shifts toward a moderate position really are. Highly recommended, but especially so for those with a connection to "our beloved Synod" (even those who, like me, have left it).

For a much clearer understanding of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod

Mary Todd has written the history of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod that I never knew (despite being born and raised in a Missouri Synod church). She is an engaging storyteller and an exhaustive researcher, which is a rare combination, and her book sheds much light on issues of authority within the LCMS institution. The current struggles of the synod, for example those between the "Conservative" and the "Confessionalist" clergy factions (there are not really any moderates in the synod clergy -- only conservative and more-conservative-than-conservative), could have been taken out of the synod's history of a hundred or a hundred and fifty years ago. (This book was published in 2000, well before those debacles, which shows Dr. Todd's considerable insight.) A few reviewers have criticized Todd's theology, which is odd, since this is a history book, not a theology book, and Todd never claims otherwise. I found her to be fair-minded, even-handed, and generous in her treatment of all sides of the issues she explores.

Overview of a Needed Debate

If you are in the LCMS and interested in your synod's history and current mindest, you will find this a great read, even if you disagree with some of the author's premises or conclusions.It will be all the more worthwhile to read if you are curious about the role of women and men as leaders in the synod.As the question of women's ordination in any denomination is typically a milemarker as to where the group is heading doctrinally, socially (ethically and politically), and liturgically, it is no big shock to see the issue causing such torment among both "conservatives" and "liberals" in the LCMS.While I do not quite agree with the author's understanding of the priesthood, the very fact that she has wrestled with the issues and can present a reasoned defense laeds me to give the book four stars.A final plus about the book: it has an incredible bibliography, which is used exhaustively throughout the text.Other books that may be of interest on the question of authority and ministry are: "Priestesses in the Church" by C.S. Lewis found in his "God in the Dock"; of course Manfred Hauke's monumental "Women in the Priesthood?" is essential reading. WHile he is Roman Catholic, much of his theology could be used in the LCMS context (and is); "The Church and Women" with contributions by Von Balthasar, Kasper, Ratzinger; "God or Goddess" by Hauke; "Deaconesses" by Martimort; "Women in the Early Church" by Clark; "Women in the Church" by Louis Bouyer; "What Paul really Said About Women" by Bristow; "Women and the Priesthood" by Peter Kreeft and Alice von Hildebrand. These books are almost all oppossed to the ordination of women to the priesthood, but they are both scholarly, often rather neutral (not always!), and charitable. For an Eastern Orthodox response to the question: "The Female Diaconate:An Historical Perspective" by Gvosdev; "Feminism in Christianity: An Orthodox Response" by Belonick; "Women in the Priesthood" ed. by Thomas Hopko; "Discerning the Signs of the Times" by Behr-Sigel.For some thoughtful arguments that support "theologies of women's ordination" see: "Discerning the Signs of the Times" by Elizabeth Behr-Sigel; "Women at the Altar" by Lavina Bryne; Bristow's aforementioned book has an interesting chapter on the leadership of women in the New Testament. In my opinion he is sloppy in some of his exegesis (or should I say isogesis?) but it is worth the read if for nothing else but to understnad his approach, which is representative of the priestess position.Enjoy!

Good overview historically, thematically

Mary Todd has done a good job of giving a basic historical overview of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod with details hard to find elsewhere. Granted, the historical analysis is designed toward her personal objectives (as she clearly states in the beginning of the book) with editorial comments along the way leaning toward a more negative bias in reference to C.F.W. Walther & friends than other historians have written. Even though her conclusions are a hotbed of debate, her clear comments are engaging and extremely informative, putting forth a very good analysis of the subject historically.As Mary Todd suggests right from the get go, if you tie verbal inerrant inspiration of scripture with authority in the church then this book will be a challenge to your view on the subject doctrinally and historically as it was for me. If not, then this book will be foundational for you.

Mary Tells The Real LC-MS Story

The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod has undergone much upheaveal in the last 16 years. Much of the upheaval has either dealt with the interpretation of the Scriptures and practical applications of the interpretation or on the structure and use of authority in the church body. Mary Todd, a professor at Concordia University, River Forest, IL, offers needed insight into the personalities and the historical events shaping the current discussion and controversy. She begins with trouble within the Saxon immigrants immigrating in 1839. Their bishop, Rev. Martin Stephen, was deposed for financial and power abuse of the immigrants. The resulting synodical polity has never really come to grips with the issue of church and minsitry or with the issue of ecclesiastical authority. While scholoary in approach, Todd clearly protrays the history of the synod up to the present debates over auhtority and gender roles. Her style is easily readable by anyone. The issues remain contentious. Todd has framed the debate with historical perspective so as to call for a sober and dispassionate solution, based in Scritpure without misusing the holy sritings. Rev. Paul M. Dobberstein Intentional Interim Pastor Elmhurst, IL