Wade Johnston

"Most people forgotten by history deserve this collective amnesia. . . Matthias Flacius Illyricus is an exception to this rule." -from the ForewordWho was Matthias Flacius Illyricus? The name might sound familiar to you as he's mentioned in Gerhard's works and was instrumental to the Magdeburg Confessions. Yet, Flacius was considered to be incredibly polarizing, with his works being beneficial to the late Reformation while others were considered detrimental. Further still, each of his contributions helped shape the confessional Lutheranism. In this biography by Dr. Wade Johnston, step back in time to the late Reformation and learn more about this lesser-known figure. A foreword from Aaron Moldenhauer, Vice President for Mission and Church Relations, Concordia University Wisconsin and Ann Arbor is included along with a short bibliography for further research.

It's easy for Christians in our day to become fearful and confused. From doctrinal debates to culture wars, some Christians feel like they move from one crisis to another. Christ didn't die and rise for us to live afraid, however, and our crucified and risen Savior ascended to rule all things for our good. We are not a people without hope. We have Christ. Let the Bird Fly reminds readers that we are a free people, bought with the price of Christ's own blood. We are free to weigh the issues of the day, to engage our neighbor, to live out our callings, and know who we are no matter what: redeemed children of God. At the heart of the Christian life is a spoken word, God's absolution, the declaration that Christ's righteousness is our own through faith. From this our Christian life flows and in this we find our confidence to live, love, and labor for our neighbor. Law and gospel become lenses through which we see our world and others. Together with the two kinds of righteousness, civil and divine, Christians have a sort of diagnostic tool for navigating life in a world given back to us as a penultimate gift. We are graced to live beyond ourselves and the here and now. We are gifted to consider and look forward to more than those live without the optimism and freedom of sins forgiven. We are turned outside of ourselves and grounded, even as we are made new and set loose to dare to live as though there is more to life than this life. In short, precisely when fear seems most tempting, Christ calls us to let the bird fly.

Between 1548 and 1551, controversies over adiaphora, or indifferent matters, erupted in both Germany and England. Matthias Flacius Illyricus in Germany and John Hooper in England both refused to accept, among other things, the same liturgical vestment: the surplice. While Flacius' objections to the imperial liturgical requirements were largely contextual, because the vestments and rites were forced on the church and were part of a recatholicizing agenda, Hooper protested because he was convinced that disputed vestments and rites lacked a biblical basis. The Devil behind the Surplice demonstrates that, while Flacius fought to protect the reformation principle of justification by grace alone through faith alone, Hooper strove to defend the reformation principle that Scripture alone was the source and norm of Christian doctrine and practice. Ultimately, Flacius wanted more Elijahs, prophets to guide a faithful remnant, and Hooper wanted a new Josiah, a young reform king to purify the kingdom and strip it of idolatry. ""Wade Johnston has masterfully traced two trajectories of the reformation reflected through the lens of adiaphora in the figures of Flacius and Hooper. Solid biographical studies of both men are coupled with a careful study of their respective understandings of the goal of the reformation . . . Johnston has done his historical homework giving readers much to ponder in light of the way that the contrasting trajectories of two reformers continue to manifest themselves in the lives of contemporary Protestant churches. The Devil Behind the Surplice is a welcomed contribution."" --John T. Pless, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana ""Johnston provides helpful insight into Flacius' extensive writings, his intrepid spirit as a confessor, and his clear understanding of the doctrinal compromise implicit in accepting the terms of the Leipzig Interim. Perhaps most thought-provoking are the many contrasts he draws between Hooper and Flacius in their approach to clerical vestments. He perceptively observes that Flacius' primary concern was preserving the gospel of salvation by grace alone, while Hooper's was obedience to the law."" --Earle D. Treptow, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wisconsin Wade Johnston serves as assistant professor of theology at Wisconsin Lutheran College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Before that, he served ten years as a parish pastor in Michigan. He is also the author of An Uncompromising Gospel: Lutheranism's First Identity Crisis and Lessons for Today.

Mark doesn't waste words in his Gospel. His Jesus, the Jesus, is a man on a mission, determined, racing. Mark doesn’t waste words, but his words pack a punch and his brief descriptions beg for deep reflection. Like a passenger in a car driving quickly, we can easily miss the details of the landscape if we don’t pay careful attention. Mark sets us on a race, but it’s important to stop along the way. A Path Strewn with Sinners sets us on Jesus’ race to the cross, but it also insists we take time to ponder, to notice what Mark notes, and what he doesn’t. A master storyteller, Mark leaves room for us to ask questions of the text while at the same time giving us enough information to make that profitable. In so doing, He introduces us to Jesus in a most useful and unique way and makes our race well worth the effort, as A Path Strewn with Sinners shows.