Henry Nau

THE pages of the history of Christian mission are filled with the stories and impact of remarkable men and women, heroes with seemingly limitless faith, courage, commitment and fortitude. This is true also in the case of the Lutheran pastor, missionary, educator, writer, publisher, philologist, chaplain, visionary, pioneer, innovator and organizer by the name of Dr. Henry Nau. His biography, Nau-Mission Inspired (Dancing Pen Books: 2016), is an amazing account of a wild young German immigrant who came to the U.S. in 1902 to make his way in the rough and tumble world of professional gambling. Down on his luck and disoriented, he is rescued by two Lutheran missionaries as he is about to throw himself off a bridge into the East River of New York Harbor.

Through something that could be called divine intervention, not unlike that of the Apostle Paul of the New Testament Scriptures, Nau experiences a reversal in his life’s direction and travels to St. Louis, Missouri, to prepare for the pastoral ministry at Concordia Seminary. Fast forward to 1936. By this time Nau had been a missionary to India, soldier in the German Army of WWI, minister to African Americans in the South, and president of Immanuel Lutheran College in Greensboro, North Carolina. Immanuel Lutheran College was established to provide teacher and ministerial training to African Americans within the Lutheran church. His love and concern for the plight of the oppressed and disadvantaged always was a motivating factor in the direction his ministry took. He had served there for eleven years when he and his wife Helen were sent to Nigeria to organize the new mission on behalf of the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America—an association of conservative Lutheran church bodies in the U.S. and Canada.

He was a disciplined and indefatigable man, who must have studied intensively in preparation for his time in Africa. His knowledge of the history and culture of Africa was already deep and wide, even before going. What is more astounding is the grasp of the history, culture, customs and language of the Ibibio people of the Calabar Province in southeastern Nigeria—the people among whom the new mission would be set up—that he would acquire in eighteen short months! As a missions student and practitioner for over thirty-five years, I can say unequivocally that most missionaries do not gain in a lifetime the same depth of understanding as had Nau of the people among whom they are working.

That Nau was able to document and articulate what he observed and learned in an orderly and interesting way, accessible to any reader, only adds to the remarkable qualities of this man. The first line of his preface draws the reader in from the start: “This book is not a book of fiction, although some parts of it may read like fiction.” All right! I’m hooked!

This story was first published in 1945, and Nau wanted to paint a respectful and sympathetic picture of Africa. It is apparent that he was striving to portray his experience with the deepest reverence for the people, with an especial concern for their eternal welfare. Yet, when reading his account, one must realize that he is a product of his time, and so some of the expressions and biases contained therein should not be judged too harshly. In the end, it is obvious that his intention was that his readers would experience something of the same joy of discovery and appreciation for what Africa, and Africans have to offer to the world.

Douglas L. Rutt, Ph.D., Provost, Concordia University--Excerpt from Foreward To We Move Into Africa