Work of the Church in Germany

Work of the Church in Germany Work of the Church In Germany
Lecture by Dieter Alten, February 22, 1950, at Abilene
Christian College (2:30 p.m.)

I am very grateful for this opportunity to be here and to talk with you about some things that I have on my heart: to let you know some things that you may not know, in order that you may appreciate more Christ and his gospel. I am especially thankful to the college, to Brother Morris and to all the men who have made it possible for me to be here. I am aware of the great responsibility that is mine seeing that so many abler speakers have occupied this place in the days gone by. I am humbled to stand before you here this afternoon, but nevertheless I shall try to do my best to give you some information that might be helpful to you in the years ahead. Before I begin with a discussion of some of the things that have happened in Germany, I should like to express to you the love and appreciation of more than 800 Christians beyond the great waters that have been made acquainted with the gospel of Jesus Christ through your efforts, through your care, and through your sacrifices. And thus in their behalf I raise my voice today to tell you of them, of how much they love you, and of how much they appreciate you, because you not only have sent to them material things and have given back to them a trust and confidence in humanity, but that you have provided them with something that nothing can outweigh in this world: the gospel of Jesus Christ. And if you want to go to the people in Germany, and if you want to reach more of them with the gospel, it is good for you to know something of their background, in order to understand the situation in which these people live, to understand the lines of their thinking.

Before giving you a report of some of the things that have recently been accomplished, I shall endeavor to briefly sketch for you a religious history of Germany. We shall go back 3,000 or more years and find there the ancestors of what are now called German people living in heathenism with pagan cults similar to that of the Scandinavians. These old Germanic tribes worshipped in the surroundings of nature, and until the gospel came to them they bowed before a multiplicity of deities. But then we have a record —I do not know exactly where that information comes from—that direct disciples of the apostles of our Lord went into Germany to proclaim Jesus Christ and him crucified to the people there. Some of them rejected their teaching, some of them even with violence, but others accepted it. And as we pass through the centuries and see the development of Christianity, we find that until about 700 A. D., there was a considerable number of people accepting Christianity, at least the form of Christianity which was presented to them“ at that time. However, the pope of Rome did not like the independency of these Germanic Christians and consequently about 800 A. D., or a little later, he sent Boniface to be the general bishop of Germany: And thus we have the record how the papacy went over to Germany and took hold of those believers in Christ. We find then through the next seven centuries a constant struggle of the German followers of Christ with the pope of Rome, fighting the authority and the supervision of a foreigner whom they did not like. The struggle went on, and you know the story of the Reformation, how Luther raised his voice and carried with him hundreds, thousands, even millions of people in an attempt to go back to the “evangelical” principles of the gospel. We have them hundreds of years passing by with a permanent split between the two groups, on the one side the protestants or the evangelicals as they are called over there, and on the other hand the Roman Catholic groups. We even possess the record of the violent outbreak of a war, the thirty-years-war, when religious convictions brought people to fight each other with the sword. Another enemy besides the enemy of division raised its ugly head over there: the enemy of higher criticism and rationalism, trying to destroy the fundamentals of the faith, and that is one of the reasons why today many of the people are on the church rolls only nominally. This fact, together with the doctrine of infant baptism and the procedure to support the church by state taxabon accounts for the fact that there are many people today who are members of the state churches on the paper only. It would be misleading to believe the statistics as they are set up now, that there are 50% Protestants and 46% Catholics, 1% members of other religions and 3% without religion.' Many more people do not believe anything or belong to some religious group only by name. This is the condition which we find over there today and it is well for us to keep it in mind as we approach these people with the everlasting gospel of the cross in its purity and simplicity. And here is something else: Germany is a country about half the size of Texas with ten times its population, which means in other words that where one Texan lives, twenty Germans have to exist. This is something that you have to remember if you want to understand the Germans. They are crowded, they live together, and they are dependent on each other being so close to each other, and thus, beginning now with, a report of the work, I should like for you to think of these facts and try to understand some of what I shall now tell you about the work of the church in Germany. For my report I have chosen a scriptural illustration of Jesus who once likened the kingdom of God unto a vineyard. This picture beautifully illustrates what is going on over there. As we know that in a vineyard there must be workers, too, we know also that in a vineyard there must exist a particular kind of soil, that there also methods have to be employed to produce fruits and then lastly that there ought to be results if this vineyard should be of any value to its owner. Consequently, when we look to the work of the church 'in Germany with this illustration in mind, we find it easy to understand the importance of the worker problem over there. Twenty-four of our American brethren and sisters are busily engaged in the attempt of preaching and teaching the gospel of Christ to these people. They are assisted by seven Germans who give full time for the work in the office and for our relief program. There also are twenty-four more German brethren giving part of their time to the teaching program of the church, fourteen of whom are the young men of the Preacher’s Training School of which I shall tell you in just a minute. In talking about these workers you need to know that these your brethren, our brethren, are some of the most wonderful men and women in this world, and I still believe that Brother Gatewood is the best preacher I have ever heard—he converted me. But when we look now at the soil, and see what these brethren work at, we shall keep in mind three important facts. Three important factors are working together to make the people ready to receive the seed of the kingdom. First of all there is the educational background which is a very thorough one enabling the brethren to assume a knowledge of a certain intellectual standard on the part of the Germans who will be able to comprehend the teachings that are presented to them. Also the religious background that we have just referred to is a great aid in the preaching of the gospel in Germany since these people are in some ways acquainted with the Scriptures, at least they have some copies at home and some of the fundamental principles are well known to many of them. Furthermore, there is something else that needs to be mentioned and that is the immediate preparation of the soil. If you have a field, you will plough it up and turn it all over 'in order to preserve its fertility so that you may be able to sow again to produce more fruit. Likewise the last war, like a big machine has ploughed the field over there and has turned upside down much of the people’s thinking. They have been waked up, they have been shaken together and have been brought to the realization that they were following the wrong ways, and that they needed to do something to change their condition. Something else which also will aid us in the preaching of the gospel over there is the fact that due to the destruction of so many of the people’s property, due to the bad experiences that people had when their property was either burned or else blown up in a very short time they are less interested in material things and are more concerned about spiritual matters. And so you look over there at the soil, the people, and you will find them to some degree ready to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ, if we would just give it to them.

Now as I mentioned a while ago, if we want to achieve results we must employ methods to produce fruits. Unless our brethren employ several methods in teaching the Germans the truth, there will not be many responses. First and most frequently the method is chosen of preaching to the assembled people who will come to hear the gospel on the Lord’s days. More than nine services are held every first day of the week to bring to the people Christ’s message to a world dying in sin. But this is not sufficient, although many of us show by their actions that they think it is enough to come to church services only once a week. Thus the brethren have put up a system of teaching in Bible classes with an average of about four classes every night which are being conducted in Germany to the instruction of the people that they might walk more perfectly in the ways of the Lord. But some of them will never turn out to the services as is true here also. They will never come to hear the gospel preached, and so you have to take the message of the cross to them. This is most effectively done by personal work. Every Wednesday afternoon is now the time when every male missionary in Germany takes one or more of the boys of the school to go out and to do personal work, to visit both those who have obeyed the gospel and who need spiritual nourishment and growth as well as those also who have not yet accepted Jesus, in order to instruct them in the fundamentals of Christianity. Personal work is one of the most important methods to teach people Christianity. But someone has said, I would rather see a sermon than hear one; and since this is true, some people over there will never be impressed with only the teaching of the gospel unless action will precede it. And thus our brethren began what is called the relief program, to help the great need of the people in a material way. I should like to read to you a letter that has been sent to Brother Gatewood by one of the refugees from the Eastern zone of Germany who had been driven out of her former home; and she, being a widow with three or four children was not able to provide sufficiently for a living. She heard about the gospel by corresponding with some church over here by a Bible correspondence course, and thereby she got a remarkable understanding of some of the principles of New Testament Christianity. Let me read to you this lettei that you may get an understanding of her situation.

“When some time ago I talked to my children that after we knewT the Bible well enough we should be baptized, they said to me, But mother, we have been baptized before, we are no heathens, we hear the word of God, read and learn it from the Bible. Would we not go to God in case we now died? I told my children that, according to the Bible, we were not baptized, that we had only been sprinkled, but that God’s love and kindness is so great that he would accept us even though w'e have only been sprinkled so far, however on the understanding that wre .had tried every day to do our best. My children were glad when I told them this for they do not want to be heathens but want to be Christians. I do not know however, whether I did right to give them that comfort. The evangelical minister would have been terrified if he had heard me saying, We people, sprinkled according to the Evangelical Creed are no true Christians. There are so many deficiencies in the Evangelical State Church. You cannot imagine how happy I became by reading the following lines in one of your tracts: The ^ork of the congregation is the preaching of the gospel, the visitation of the sick and those in prison, and the providing for widows and orphans.”

. . . And now something about her own condition . . .
“When in 1946 we arrived here, completely robbed, undernourished and brokenhearted, no one had a good word for us, no one helped us. A two year old dear, blonde boy of mine died in Stettin, perished of starvation. My girl Barbara was so underfed that she hardly could walk. The undernourishment was so considerable that she was in danger to get bbnd. My two big boys were very miserable too. Since 1939 I am having a closed tuberculosis of the lungs in spite of plain bread—Barbara ate all the fats and drank all the milk which we received —I kept up I am most of the time feeling very poorly and am often sick, but I am still able to be with my children.” And now this remarkable sentence :
“Is this not a token of kindness of ovr Father in heaven? My three children have developed all well now, and Barbara is still having her eyesight. I am much better off now, thanks to the love and the great help and the kindness of my friends in the States. My life has become much lighter. The same, love that I experienced from the States also the relief work of the Evangelical Church here could have shown. A kind word only or the visit of that preacher might have worked wonders. Two years ago I was very sick, I thought I was going to die. My children had to prepare their food and had to clean the room as well, and they would also attend to me. No relief work was concerned about me. I suffered from the cold and suffered hunger in bed, and yet I kept alive. This was another wonder and God gave me a cheerful heart.” And then she goes on to describe more of her condition, but we do not have time enough to read this all. This example is typical for many of the families in Germany that are now without the necessities of life, still living under conditions that you cannot even imagine, and whom our brethren decided to help to remedy the situation. They have aided thcrusands of these people with food and clothing through your kindness and through your interest because these packages came from you; and many times I have helped in the distribution of these things that people might know that Christianity is not a set-up of theories but a very practical way of living, of how to get along with other people, and especially of how to be pleasing in the sight of God.

Another way of preaching the gospel and a very important one which I shall briefly mention is seen from the fact that our brethren have started training leaders for the church for the future. It is very necessary that we supply these newly established congregations with a trained leadership that they may carry on the work in the years to come. More and more responsibility has been given to the German brethren and they have taken it gladly. Some of them have started to build their own meeting house, a church building for themselves, on their own initiative. And thus we see, that this is done, not only to bring people to Christ, but also to keep them with Jesus unto the saving of their souls. Moreover, the brethren have started training native boys and young men in the fundamentals of Christianity. Our Frankfurt Bible School has about fourteen young men who attend daily and on the faculty we have the Brethren Palmer, Bunn, Bennett, and Brother Artist who is to arrive shortly from Switzerland. These brethren are busily engaged with teaching these boys the practical aspects of the ministry. Most of them have received already a very good general education so that they now need only the necessities for the ministry. Bible, and again Bible, Greek and church history, English and song leading, and others of the principal fields of learning which are useful for the preparation to preach the gospel. These young men are not only useful now in the school and promise to be very capable workers in the 'future, but they are useful right now in helping to conduct services all over the country, in helping to teach their fellow men and also in doing the personal work which I have just mentioned. And thus we see some of these methods that are employed. Wc do not have time to look over all of them, but we should be assured that our brethren employ every possible effort to preach to the people in Germany the gospel which is so urgently needed.

Now let us look at some of the results and to introduce this part of the report let me make this statement. According to our Scripture example I should like to say that Brother Palmer and Brother Gatewood planted, the other workers now are watering, but God gave the increase. It is by the grace of God Almighty that this work has progressed, and it is only through him that the door of faith has been opened to the people in Germany. Therefore we cannot boast of ourselves but should give the glory to the Lord who is for ever and ever. When we see that there have been about 825 persons baptized into Christ, that there have been established nine congregations where people meet on every Lord’s day to worship according to the New Testament pattern, we are glad to hear this report and our hearts are made to rejoice. We also rejoice when we hear that 83,000 people have been helped through our relief program with food and clothing, thus giving the glory to Christ and glorifying the church in the eyes of the world. Not only this, but we have rendered service to Christ himself since he said, according to Matthew 25:40, “Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me.” And thus, several things have been accomplished with this work but we need to keep it up, because still there is need, because still there is suffering from lack of the daily necessities. When we look over to the invisible results we find that the gospel has been proclaimed to the people, and even though many have not accepted it, there are hundreds, even thousands of them that have heard the restoration plea. How interested they are in it can be seen from this little incident: One of our German brethren over there, Brother Pamin, a very old man, made over 500 personal calls for one of the meetings of the church that was going on at that time. He appreciated the gospel of Christ so much that he could not keep from telling other people the story and invited them to share this great knowledge with him that they also might rejoice in their souls’ salvation and come to the obedience of the truth.

Many things' have been accomplished that we cannot see today; probably some day we shall see the results. But it is not as important to look at the results as it is to go on with our work and plans for the future. It is planned to erect a church building in Frankfurt, combining several purposes with this undertaking. This building shall be constructed close to the University there where we have the opportunity to reach many of the thousands of students who will pass by this building every day. It will also serve as location for our training school of the native preachers-to-be thus giving them an opportunity to conveniently get some of their secular education at the Uni versity while studying the Bible at the school. It would also be advantageous for some of you who would want to go to Frankfurt to complete your education. You could attend the University and, at the same time, take some courses by the brethren in the Bible School. From this you may see that so many things can be accomplished by this building but above everything else I want to mention the moral support that it will give to the cause of Christ in Germany since people will then be able to realize that we are permanently interested to preach the gospel according to the New Testament, that we want to be there and stay there and that our brethren do not just want to preach for a few years and then go home. Therefore the moral support will be very great and will be helpful to encourage others who have not yet taken the decisive step to obey their Lord in baptism.

Another of the proposed future plans is to spread out the same work that has been done in Frankfurt and Munich and 'in three other localities to other communities using the experiences of the Frankfurt work to establish the cause in other places. Many more places need the gospel and calls are being made daily for the brethren to come over to Macedonia and help. A group of people have sent a message to Brother Gatewood to come over and preach to them the everlasting story of the cross in its simplicity. He had to turn it down because there are not enough workers yet in Germany. Is this not a pitiful thing that whereas in America you almost have to drag people into the church buildings over there they will ask for the gospel and we cannot give it to them? We need more workers for this field, since it is truly white unto the .harvest. Remarkable also is the fact that one of the con-gregations of the Lutheran church has broken away from the state church desiring to go back to the New Testament pattern. Thus we are not alone in our plea; other people feel this great need of going and restoring the word of God to its original and proper place.

Lastly, another aspect of the work is that we want to spread the gospel to other European places through the work of the church in Germany. There is quite an international membership now in Frankfurt. People of some of the European countries are being led to the truth, and some day if God permits them to return home, they can take with them the plea for New Testament Christianity. Recently, two of the boys of the Preacher Training School of which I have told you, went home into the Russian zone and there they taught some people the truth; one of the boys baptized his mother under the most difficult circumstances, since the Russians are opposed to any “unusual” religious ceremony. But now we have made the first convert in the Russian zone already. Others are taught and gathered to learn more of the truth, and more instructing will be done as time passes by. We just do not know how great the opportunity is now to spread the gospel, not only in Germany, but also throughout the European continent, that other people may be taking hold of this great plea for Christian unity according to the word of God. The work has come to a period now where we do not have as many visible results every month, but it has reached the stage of a leveling off where more substantial work 'is done as these young Christians are educated in the ways of the Lord more perfectly, that they may stick to what they have once recognized as the truth. Probably you will not read of so many baptisms now, but you may read in the papers of a great teaching program that is carried on in order that these people—constituting the nucleus of a greater work in the future—may be prepared to carry the gospel to their fellow countrymen. And thus we look over to the work in Germany, we see them struggling along, and to some of us would come this question: Do these brethren teach the truth? Is it worthwhile that we are pouring our efforts into that undertaking and upholding their hands? Do they not teach a different gospel which is not according to the truth? Do they not proclaim a different gospel than that which Paul preached because they have a different Bible? ... I want to say most emphatically. No, we preach the same gospel, having the same Bible, and the word of God means the same thing although put into a different language. I should like to quote to you the 23rd Psalm as it sounds to the ears of the German Christians, as they appreciate its great thought that God is our shepherd, the shepherd of all who have called on his name and have obeyed his holy will. I want you to take this, as evidence that we are preaching the same gospel of Christ which you are proclaiming over here. You may follow it line by line and recognize that it is the same teaching, and that we are not digressing from the words of the living god. And now here it is, the 23rd Psalm in German:

Der Herr ist mein Hirte; mir wird nichts mangeln.
Er weidet mich auf einer grunen Aue and fuhret mich zum frischen Wasser.
Er erquicket meine Seele; er fuhret mich auf rechter Strasse um seines Namens willen.
Uud ob ich schon wanderte in finstern Tal, furchte
ich kein Ungluck; denn du bist bei mir, dein Stecken und Stab trosten mich.
Du bereitest vor mir einen Tisch in Angesicht meiner Feinde. Du salbest mein Haupt mit 01 und schenkest mir voll ein.
Gutes und Barmherzigkeit werden mir folgen mein Leben lang, und ich werde bleiben im Hause des Herrn immerdar. And I shall live in the house of the Lord for ever. The same gospel is bringing forth the same results, thus establishing the same church over yonder in Germany. These brethren are your brethren, members of the same spiritual family of which we all are members. And thus we see the development of Christianity in Germany, in a mixed and altered form in the beginning, but now being established and replaced in its former purity and simplicity. And as we see these people struggling along their way, taking hold of this great goal of eternal life which is through the name of Christ, we must give to them the necessary means of carrying on this work, we must preach to them the gospel by the various methods that are necessary in order to make them understand the principles of our Master that they in turn may be able to go forward with boldness and with courage to preach to their fellow men also. Many things have swept the German nation, many ideas have taken hold of the minds of the German people, why should we not let Christ take a hold of them! Why should we not give Germany for Christ and let them become a nation according to God’s holy will?

Arise! the Master calls for thee,
The harvest days are here,
No longer sit with folded hands But gather far and near.
The noble ranks of volunteers Are daily growing everywhere,
But still there’s work for millions more!
Then, for the fields prepare!
The message bear to distant lands Beyond the rolling sea:
Go, tell them of a Saviour’s love: The Lamb of Calvary.
Arise! the Master calls for thee! Salvation full and free proclaim,
Till every kindred, tribe, and tongue Exalts the Saviour’s name!