“Love Him For Us”

A fine book for light reading has just been written by Barbara Marquart Johnson, who had been married to the late Lutheran confessional professor Dr. Kurt Marquart until his passing in 2006. It’s an autobiography of sorts, running quickly through the early stages of her life, but it spends the lion’s share of the pages giving the reader a personal glimpse into the life and times of Kurt Marquart her faithful husband. The title is in quotes, because it was something said privately to Barbara by a pastor to encourage her to support him in the midst of some severe confessional battles as only a wife could do. His allies could pray for him and encourage him, but only she could “love him in the way that is needed” (3). This book is not by any means a theological treatise, though it gives clear evidence of sound theological moorings. For instance,  there’s a helpful confession of the reason for Christian funerals (160-162), among other indications of the clarity of thinking we would expect from the wife of Kurt Marquart. But its stated intent is to provide for other pastors’ wives the perspective of a woman whose dedication to her Lord was played out in her own life as a devoted Christian, mother, and helper suitable for her pastor husband.

This particular husband was known to many of us, which is one of the things that makes this book a piece of special interest for a wider audience.

While as students we never had the opportunity to get got to know Barbara, we all knew her husband well. He was one of the brightest confessional lights at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne. His fearlessness was accompanied by a delightfully amiable, approachable demeanor, which endeared us to him all the more. And he was unquestionably apt to teach, a quality that left an indelible impression on young theological minds. I learned from him even before I attended the seminary, as I remember reading during my college years his confessional blockbuster exposé Anatomy of an Explosion: A Theological Analysis of the Missouri Synod Conflict, published in 1978. Anatomy is book that details and brilliantly explains the Missouri Synod’s splintering that had commenced in earnest at the St. Louis seminary only a few years earlier. This was all well before he received any doctorate; in fact he didn’t receive one until late in his career, because he didn’t care much about such things. Everyone knew that he could easily match wits with anyone who had a PhD or ThD. In 2001 someone thought it fitting to slap the letters at last after his name: Concordia University Wisconsin gave him an honorary doctorate; if ever there was one who deserved the honor! Professor Marquart was voluminous in his reading, prolific in his writing, and fearless in his confessional scholarship, teaching, and defense of the truth. And all this regardless of the perils he faced from a myriad of theological enemies. We knew him well that way; we knew him from what we witnessed in the classroom, in the lecture hall, in the pulpit.

But we never quite knew the personal side of the story.

Until now. “Love Him For Us” is filled with vignettes about the Marquart household, the courtship, marriage and early years, the 14-year sojourn of a pastor and his wife in Australia, the move back to America and transition to seminary life, and the world-traveling of Barbara and her husband for some of his various lectures.

The book is meant for pastors’ wives in particular, and it contains some good sisterly advice and comfort for them. But it’s a pleasant read for anyone who’s at all interested in the fascinating history of confessional Lutheranism in the late 20th century, because it gives a bird’s-eye-view.

When Kurt Marquart died in 2006, there was much grieving among confessional Lutherans. Even here in Kewanee, we arranged for our annual Oktoberfest to include a memorial mass in his honor. A courageous voice for the truth had gone silent. But now, thanks to this little book, his legacy is re-kindled a bit in our hearts.

“Love Him For Us.” New Haven, Missouri: Lutheran News, 2020. 242 pages, paperback. Available at Amazon for $16.95.