History of the Sabre of Boldness

During the 1996 Symposia on the Lutheran Confessions, held at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, there was a meeting of the editors of Gottesdienst to decide who should be the first recipient of a new award, the Sabre of Boldness, an award to recognize the many unsung heroes of Christ's Holy Church, those confessional banner-bearers who for the sake of the Holy Gospel and the Church's Confession of Faith have shown a steady faithfulness without regard for personal consequences.  We hear of so many in these days of liturgical and confessional malaise who have held their ground and refused to cave in to the pressures of an increasingly anti-Christian culture making alarming headway among the churches.  Their first concern is for faithfulness to Christ and His Holy Gospel, and they often find themselves among so many whose first concerns lie elsewhere, even when in the name of Jesus those concerns might be promoted—concerns for money, or growth, or popularity.  Too often therefore the confessional standard must be borne alone, in the midst of  adverse or hostile company.  This is why the editors of Gottesdienst deemed it fitting to pursue the idea of presenting an award to one of these soldiers of the cross, one miles Christi, who would hold the award for a year on behalf of all the unsung.
 

Sabre of Boldness Inscription

The Sabre of Boldness is a genuine full-length sword, whose inscription is found on the plaque on which it is mounted:
 

Email your Sabre of Boldness nomination to Gottesdienst