Beyond Concordia - Biltz's Service to the Synod

Pictured above is the call document issued to Rev. F.J. Biltz to serve as the pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran St. Paul's Congregation of Freedom Towsnship, Missouri, signed October 2, 1859.  

                The story of the life and ministry of Franz Julius Biltz was intimately tied to the early years of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.  In fact, as one of the immigrants from Saxony in Germany who settled in Perry County, Missouri, Biltz was present for significant milestone that would lead to the formation of the Synod.  As previously noted, he was one of the original students in the Log Cabin schoolhouse in Altenburg when it opened in December 1839.  He would continue his studies as he prepared for the ministry for nearly nine years in the one room school that would be eventually become Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.  Franz completed his studies in his 1848, a year after the formation of the Missouri Synod becoming the second “graduate” of the log cabin seminary.  However, Biltz and fellow student, Wilhelm Mueller, were present at the formation of the Synod in Chicago in 1847 and were presented to the convention as candidates for the Office of the Holy Ministry.

                After his arrival in Concordia, Pastor Biltz would be frequently called on to serve the Synod in numerous capacities.  Such service meant that Biltz was once again present for what W. Gustav Polack described as a “historic” milestone in the Synod’s early years.  He was appointed to serve as one of the Missouri Synod’s delegates to the first regular convention of the Synodical Conference in Milwaukee in 1872.  The Synodical Conference was a federation of Lutheran churchbodies  primarily from the Midwest that came about as a result of a series of free conferences.   At its first convention, the Synodical Conference included the Missouri, Wisconsin, Ohio, Norwegian, Illinois and Minnesota Synods. 

                In 1875, Biltz was elected to serve as the president of the Western District of the Missouri Synod, in addition to his parish responsibilities.  The Western District encompassed everything west of the Mississippi River at the time of Biltz’s election.  As the Synod grew and continued to expand westward, the Western District would have several new districts break off to form their own districts.  Dennis Kastens wrote of his election as district president, “To a large extent, it was Julius Biltz’s fatherly advice, Christian counsel and exemplary churchmanship that inspired clergy, teachers and laity throughout these immense territories to cooperate in becoming one of America’s greatest and most influential forces during the nation’s westward expansion.”  Due in large part to Biltz’s leadership, the Western District Convention was held at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Concordia in 1875 and 1880, where Dr. C.F.W. Walther continued his essay, “The Teachings of the Lutheran Church Give All Glory to God Alone, Therefore Its Teachings Are Right.”  This essay was delivered over the course of eleven district conventions from 1873 to 1886.  Additional district conventions were held in Concordia during Biltz’s active ministry in 1889, 1895, and 1900 and subsequently in 1905, 1910, and 1922. 

                Biltz would serve on the Board of Control of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis in his role as district president.  This meant that Biltz was a member of the Board following the death of the seminary’s only president, C.F.W. Walther in 1887.  When the seminary celebrated its sixtieth anniversary in 1899, a celebration was planned that included speakers from each decade of the seminary’s existence.  Biltz was chosen to be one of the seven speakers and he wrote an address for the occasion though he was unable to attend. 

                The intersection between Biltz’s life and the history of the Synod even extended to his personal life.  Two of Biltz’s daughters would go on to marry sons of presidents of the Missouri Synod.  Bertha Biltz would marry Rev. Ferdinand Walther, the son of C.F.W. Walther, the first president of the Synod and Concordia Seminary.  Ferdinand Walther served his entire active ministry as a pastor in Brunswick, Missouri.  An snapshot into the close family relationships of the Biltz and Walther families is revealed in  an 1884 letter from C.F.W. Walther to his son Ferdinand.  He writes of the upcoming Synod Convention in St. Louis.  He informs Ferdinand that Pastor Biltz would be a guest in the Walther’s home and that Ferdinand should bring his wife, Bertha.  Walther then writes that if Bertha were to travel with him, “Naturally, then you will have to bring your children…We have plenty of room.  And half of the travel expenses I will bear with great joy.”    For all of the commitment and service that Walther and Biltz offered to the Synod, it is easy to imagine the eagerness of these two men have to see their grandchildren.  Another daughter Clara married Martin Luther Wyneken, the son of F.C.D. Wyneken, who served as president of the Missouri Synod from 1850-1864.  Clara’s husband was a Lutheran pastor in Los Angeles, but died at the age of 39 and she remained there after his death.

                Pastor Biltz was honored posthumously when St. Paul’s College dedicated its new dormitory in 1925 as Biltz Hall.  The dormitory cost $125,000 at the time and could house 96 students.  Hundreds of future pastors and teachers would reside in this boys dormitory over the years commemorating this long time pastor and founder of the college.  In 2005, Biltz Hall was completely renovated to provide conference and classroom space and guest housing for the campus.  One of the treasures that is housed in Biltz Hall on campus at Saint Paul Lutheran High School today is the original handwritten call document issued to Rev. F.J. Biltz in October 1859.  His compensation included $300 annual salary, 10 acres of good grazing land, free lodging and firewood. 

                The life and ministry of Pastor Franz Julius Biltz provides a window into the religious climate of Germany in the early part of the 19^th Century, the perils of German immigrants in America, the tragedies brought on by a country at war with itself, the first fifty years of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, and finally a fledgling Lutheran congregation and its countless struggles and hardships.  Throughout it all, the life and ministry of Pastor Franz Julius Biltz is a testimony of a man who sought to bring comfort to troubled souls by proclaiming God’s Word.  However, most of all it is a testimony of a faithful and loving God who shepherded His flock through the humble service of one of his undershepherds.  Historian Carl S. Meyer wrote of Biltz, “His leadership, his varied services, and his reputation for a strong faith, and unselfish love, by the grace of God, made…Biltz an illustration and testimony of a teacher’s impact on a man of God.” 

 

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church will present a series of historical lectures this summer as part of its 175^th Anniversary.  Historian and author Robert Frizell will speak on June 15 at 2 p.m.  Rev. Lee Hagan will lead a presentation on the life and ministry of Pastor Franz Julius Biltz on Sunday, July 21 at 2 p.m..