Lutheran conversion testimonies

Here's Gene Veith plugging a new book by Seattle resident and my friend Jim Pierce.

Some may consider that phrase a contradiction in terms. But a new book contains the stories of various people who converted to Christianity as proclaimed in Lutheranism. It's called Wittenberg Confessions: Testimonies of Converts to Confessional Lutheranism, by Jim Pierce, Edited by Elaine Gavin. I mention it in particular because it includes accounts from some of the readers and commentators on this blog, such as author Jim Pierce (former atheist and just about everything else you could name) and Kelly Klages ... You can buy the book, from the wonderfully-named new publisher Blue Pomegranate Press, by clicking here.

And to whet your appetite a bit more, here is the description of the book from Blue Pomegranate Press' own website...

The institutional church is drifting further and further from the historic liturgy and the proclamation of the pure Gospel. It is devolving into a pop culture version of the faith that emphasizes "feel good" worship over the historic liturgy and tolerance over the truth of the pure Gospel. But all is not lost. Internet blogs like the Brothers of John the Steadfast and radio programs like Issues, Etc. and Pirate Christian Radio are being used by God to raise up a new generation of committed believers.

Wittenberg Confessions presents the testimony of eight of these new converts to Confessional Lutheranism. Reading these testimonies of what God has done in these lives will give you hope that Christ continues to build His Holy, Catholic Church, despite man's foibles in the institutional church.

Jim Pierce is a layman from Seattle, Washington. He wrote the introduction and conclusion and also organized the other essayists. He leads off the collection of essays with his own odyssey of faith. He voyaged away from Pentecostalism into atheism and is now at peace as a Confessional Lutheran at Messiah Lutheran Church in the north Seattle neighborhood. Elaine Gavin edited the collection. She is a lifelong confessional Lutheran. She is a member of Bethany Lutheran Church, Naperville, Illinois.