Memoirs in Exile: Confessional Hope and Institutional Conflict

By John H. Tietjen

Book Overview

"John Tietjen's close account of the conflict within a Christian body moves with the skill, the drama, and the characterization of a novel. But there is no shred of fiction here. The author stood at... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0800624629
• ISBN13: 9780800624620
• Release Date: January 1990
• Publisher: Fortress Press
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.37 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 5.9" x 1.1"

Customer Reviews

A Lutheran Must-Read

Dr. John Tietjen passed away on February 15, 2004. In his passing, we lost a leader of the Lutheran faith and a strong proponent of open dialogue among all faiths. Anyone wishing to learn how the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America became what it is today must read these memoirs. They are fascinating, insightful, and written in a manner easy for the layperson to understand - much like Dr. Tietjen's sermons. No boring theological memoirs here. He regales the reader with recollections of real-life anguish, tests of faith, and an ultimate resolution worthy of a true disciple of Christ.

Captivating story-telling worthy of fiction

Since this is a non-fiction account of the events surrounding the split of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod from Dr. Tietjen's notes and papers, it could fall into the category of "church history" ... a category known for its dry reading. However, Dr. Tietjen is such a wonderful story teller, I found myself turning page after page thinking "what happens next?" as if I were reading a fictional novel. Being a Lutheran, I already knew the outcome, but the way Dr. Tietjen told the story made it seem competely new. Anyone who is interested in learning the fascinating details of this important event in Lutheran church history will find this a must-read. You'll learn the facts ... but you'll also be completely captivated by the way the facts are presented. Hard to put it down!