Christina and I had lunch with John Warwick Montgomery, at the 1982 Chicago Inerrancy Conference. Robert Preus spoke and Kurt Marquart was also there. The last time I looked, Montgomery still promoted Objective Faithless Justification. However, Robert Preus taught Justification by Faith in his last book, Justification and Rome, in spite of its feeble editing by two of the Preus' sons.
Someone will have to produce a book, essay, or jeremiad about Montgomery. He was prolific in earning degrees and writing books. We kept in touch for a period of time, and he bought a bunch of my books, postage free. He said, "You did mean postage free." Yes, I did.
He fostered my exit from apostate Lutherdom. I served an LCA church where one member asked me if I could use some books. He did the cleaning at a Missouri Synod church where the pastor quit the ministry and left a truckload of books and journals behind. They filled the tables in the donuts and coffee area of my congregation. Christina suggested we give them away to members and anyone else, so we spread them out over the tables. I kept a few.
One book was about the weakness of current denominations, and Montgomery repudiated the errors of Lutherdom. Another author in that book was a missionary to Africa, and I knew him from his preaching at my home church in Moline. The missionary taught faith in Christ, and Montgomery pointed out the errors of modernism.
John Lawrenz
In other news, John Lawrenz, - WELS high school principal, temporary college president, and overseas missionary - died at the age of 81. He was one of the very few Wisconsin clergy who had a legitimate, academic PhD. However, he did not venture far from the cookie-cutter style of his synod.
 |
| John Lawrenz |
