Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 178:710 (Apr 2021)
Article: Carl Henry’s “Shatzie”: The Importance Of Helga Henry As Wife, Scholar, And Friend
Author: Jesse M. Payne

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Carl Henry’s “Shatzie”: The Importance Of Helga Henry As Wife, Scholar, And Friend

Jesse M. Payne

Jesse M. Payne is senior pastor, First Baptist Church, Burkburnett, Texas. An earlier version of this article was presented at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society in San Diego, California.

Abstract

This article reflects upon the life and ministry of Helga Henry, the wife of Carl F. H. Henry, neo-evangelicalism’s premier theologian. While Carl Henry receives the vast majority of attention among scholars, it is also important to highlight the significant contributions and giftings of his wife. As a critical partner in her husband’s kingdom work, Helga Henry held a valuable, yet underappreciated and at times unseen, place in the story of mid-twentieth-century American evangelicalism.

In June of 1968, Carl F. H. Henry returned to his alma mater, Wheaton College, to give a commencement address and receive an honorary doctorate. In the issue of Christianity Today leading up to the event, Henry, the magazine’s editor-in-chief, who would unfortunately be attending the ceremonies alone, wrote: “There’ll be an uneasy feeling, however, that someone, somewhere, is a far more meritorious reaper in the harvest of faith. My literarian wife, Helga, who has had the last word more often than readers know, ought actually to share these colorful hoods.”1 Helga was his lifelong co-laborer, and Carl thought she deserved recognition alongside him. For decades both before and after this event, she remained his “very present help in time of literary trouble.”2 Her spirituality, savvy, and support were key ingredients in Carl’s distinguished career as neo-evangelicalism’s chief theologian. History

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quickly recalls Henry, but his wife has for too long remained hidden behind her towering husband. In no way was this his goal; he regularly referenced her achievements and service to the kingdom. However, over time, Helga has been relegated to a few snapshots in most accounts of her husband.

This article offers a reflection upon the life and ministry of Helga Henry and provides a brief account of the bedrock support (familial, professional, and social) she supplied to her husband, one of American evangelicalism’s central characters. Utilizing published works from both Carl and Helga Henry, as well as unpublished data from Carl Henry’s archives, the article argues that Helga Henry deserves deeper appreciation in her roles as wife, scholar, and friend. While Carl Henry understandably recei...