Ever tried to get a big group to agree on anything? Now imagine doing it for an entire American church in the 1800s, with end-times theology, secret societies, and who’s allowed at the altar on the line.

In this pplpod deep dive, we unpack the rise, fracture, and transformation of the General Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in North America (founded in 1867)—a body created to defend “true Lutheranism” against Americanization, but quickly torn apart by four explosive controversies known as the Four Points: chiliasm (millennialism), mixed (open) communion, exchange of pulpits, and membership in secret societies like the Freemasons. ...