Lutheran Free Church
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The Lutheran Free Church (LFC) was a Lutheran denomination that existed in the United States from 1897 to 1963 mainly in Minnesota and North Dakota. However the church history predates its official start and a breakaway group of congregations continues today under the LFC legacy.
Georg Sverdrup and Sven Oftedal were two professors at Augsburg Seminary in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the 1870s. They had been concerned with hierarchy within the Christian church and study of the Bible. They believed that, according to the New Testament, the local congregation was the correct form of God's kingdom on earth. Their vision was for a church that:
- Promoted a "living" Christianity,
- Emphasized an evangelism that would result in changed lives,
- Enabled the church member to exercise their spiritual gifts.
They called their group the "Friends of Augsburg."
In 1890 the United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America was formed. By 1896 Sverdrup and others felt their beliefs were being compromised and broke away from the UNLC, forming the LFC in 1897.
By the 1950s, however there was a growing sense and desire by many Lutherans throughout the United States to join their many small Lutheran bodies into larger body. The Lutheran Free Church joined the American Lutheran Church on February 1, 1963 after three votes. The ALC in time also joined with other Lutheran churches and, in 1988, formed the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
About 40 Lutheran Free Churches however did not join the ALC, instead forming the Association of Free Lutheran Congregations in October of 1962. Today the AFLC has more than 250 congregations.
The LFC's publishing house was Messenger Press and its official English language magazine was the Lutheran Messenger started in 1918. The church also had for most of its earlier history a Norwegian language publication Folkebladet (the People's Paper).
[edit] Presidents of the LFC
| Name | Term |
|---|---|
| Elias P. Harbo | 1897-1899 |
| Endre E. Gynild | 1899-1901 |
| Elias P. Harbo | 1901-1903 |
| Christopher K. Ytrehus | 1903-1905 |
| Endre E. Gynild | 1905-1907 |
| Elias P. Harbo | 1907-1909 |
| Endre E. Gynild | 1909-1910 |
| Paul Winter | 1910-1912 |
| Endre E. Gynild | 1912-1914 |
| Johan Mattson | 1914-1916 |
| Endre E. Gynild | 1916-1918 |
| Johan Mattson | 1918-1920 |
| Olai H. Sletten | 1920-1923 |
| Endre E. Gynild | 1923-1928 |
| Hans J. Urdahl | 1928-1930 |
| Thorvald O. Burntvedt | 1930-1958 |
| John Stensvaag | 1958-1963 |
[edit] References
- Eugene L. Fevold, The Lutheran Free Church: A Fellowship of American Lutheran Congregations 1897-1963 (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1969)
- Loiell Dyrud, The Quest for Freedom: The Lutheran Free Church to The Association of Free Lutheran Congregations (Minneapolis: Ambassador Publications, 2000)
- Clarence J. Carlsen, The Years of Our Church (Minneapolis: The Lutheran Free Church Publishing Company, 1942) (pdf link below)
