“…we shall be asked how faithfully and with how childlike a heart we sought to further the kingdom of God; with how pure and godly a teaching and how worthy an example we tried to edify our hearers amid the scorn of the world…”
— Philipp Jakob Spener, Pia Desideria
With these words a renewal movement within the Lutheran reformation began. The perceived problems back in the mid-to-late 1600s: Lutheran worship had become too much “head” and not enough “heart”; sermons focused too much on eloquence, flawless arguments, or theological nitpicking; and a lack of Biblical morality (that is, both clergy and laity not living what was being taught).
Sound like any churches we know these days?
Spener’s answer was a renewal program that became known as Pietism. The main ideas can basically summarized in six points:
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Use the Word of God. The Bible must be the beginning of all reformation.
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The priesthood of believers — all Christians need to be active in some form of ministry.
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Christianity must be not just known but practiced.
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Love and pray for those who do not yet believe and for those who have fallen into false beliefs; tone down argumentative attitudes.
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Clergy need to be trained not only in academics but also in piety and devotion — that is, to read scripture and pray in their daily lives.
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Ministers should preach sermons that are understandable and encouraging to the laity, not academic discourses few can understand.
Just think — if the today’s churches rediscovered and implemented these six steps, what might happen?
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