Pastor Eissfeldt remembers Walther & Wyneken (1931 CHIQ)

Pastor Eissfeldt († 1935)

     I previously published an excerpt from Pastor Carl Eissfeldt's 1931 essay "Personal Reminiscences of Walther and Wyneken."  The full article was so informative that I want to publish the full essay even though the original essay from the Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly is freely available at CTS-FW Media. Eissfeldt's testimony reveals the greatness of both of his subjects, but especially that of C. F. W. Walther. 

      Further research reveals that Pastor Eissfeldt was a maternal grandfather of Stella Wuerffel, the author of the book Two Rivers to Freedom. This book was praised by CHI Director August Suelflow for its depiction of the early Saxon German Lutheran immigrants. 

Excerpts:

65: "my dear, unforgettable teacher and friend Prof. Dr. C. F. W. Walther"

65: "We children were not afraid of Walther, … we felt drawn towards him. Still a certain feeling of respect prevented intimacy on our part." [Walther did not treat little children with excessive leniency, or indulge them, so that they were left with an impaired disposition (spoiled) for their parents to try to control again. Walther maintained respect for the parents' role in the family.]

70: Walther: “How would you feel if these people would see you there and from your presence draw the conclusion, ‘If a future pastor comes here, then we may visit any show?’ Would that be a matter of indifference to you?” … Eissfeldt:  “Naturally I remained at home.”

70: "…Dr. Walther’s patience in dealing with his opponents. His firmness and tenacity in clinging to the clear doctrine of the Word of God"

71: "Even when one of the opponents publicly charged Walther with being a liar, he remained calm and collected."

71: "those charging us with Calvinism. … Never have I seen Walther so downcast"

72: "…he soon succeeded in instilling in me a real love for the ministry by pointing out to me how precious a work it was to serve the Lord in the vineyard of His Church."

The following is the full essay, minus the pictures which are available in the original publication:

Of particular interest were the differences that Eissfeldt describes between Wyneken and Walther. While Wyneken's showed boldness and forcefulness in certain situations, Walther relied on God's Word to do the work of convincing opponents. — What a wonderful first-hand, heartfelt account of these 2 fathers of the Old Missouri Synod!