Protes'tant Conference

Protes'tant Conference
Classification	Lutheran
Orientation	Confessional Lutheran
Polity	Congregational
Region	United States
Origin	1927 Wisconsin
Separated from	Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
Congregations	6
Members	about 1,000 baptized

Lutheranism in the United States
Mainline Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Evangelical Mekane Yesus Fellowship in North America Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Lithuanian Evangelical Lutheran Church in Diaspora Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ North American Lutheran Church
Heritage of the Synodical Conference of North America Association of Confessional Lutheran Churches Church of the Lutheran Confession Concordia Lutheran Conference Evangelical Lutheran Synod Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod Lutheran Churches of the Reformation Orthodox Lutheran Confessional Conference Protes'tant Conference United Lutheran Mission Association Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
Heritage of the LFC or ALC American Association of Lutheran Churches Association of Free Lutheran Congregations Evangelical Lutheran Conference & Ministerium of North America Conservative Lutheran Association Lutheran Ministerium and Synod - USA
Heritage of the Awakening Apostolic Lutheran Church of America Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America Laestadian Lutheran Church
High Church Revival Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church Evangelical Catholic Church Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America International Lutheran Fellowship
Charismatic Revival Alliance of Renewal Churches

The Protes'tant Conference is a loose association of Lutheran churches and churchworkers in the United States. It was organized in 1927 by suspended former members of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) following an intrasynodical controversy. It currently consists of six churches and their churchworkers in Wisconsin, Michigan, and California.

It is a conservative, confessional Lutheran Christian group with German immigrant roots. It publishes the periodical Faith-Life as a conference, and operates the Prostes'tant Conference website. It does not consider itself as a denomination or a church body, but a loose association of churchworkers and independent congregations.

The organization's name includes a single typewriter quotation mark after the second syllable of the word “Protestant,” indicating an accent thereon.

The Protes'tant Conference arose out of a controversy over a document known as the Beitz Paper (written by then WELS pastor W.F. Beitz) inside the WELS in 1926-1927. In his paper, Pastor Beitz discussed the current doctrinal philosophy then prevalent in the synod. Debate arose over the theological nature of the document and about 40 supporters of Pastor Beitz were subsequently suspended from the WELS as a result. These pastors, teachers, and some congregations organized into the non-centralized Protes'tant Conference. It has undergone three schisms, in 1930, 1952, and 1964.

Internally, the Protes'tant Conference sometimes refers to itself as The Protes'tant Conference of the Wisconsin Synod. The name "Protes'tant" was adopted in 1929, on the 400 year anniversary of the Second Diet of Speyer. (The Second Diet of Speyer resulted in the adoption of the name "Protestant" against this Holy Roman Imperial decision to outlaw the Lutherans.) The name "Protes'tant" was chosen to signify their protest against "synodicalism" on the part of both the Wisconsin and Missouri Synods. While the Missouri Synod did not expel the Protes'tants, it synodically ratified the expulsions in 1927.

...
Wikipedia