Jakob Spener (1635-1705) was a German theologian concerned for the renewal of the Lutheran Church of his day. He inaugurated a movement that came to be known as Pietism. Pietism in Lutheranism is one strand of what we might call Evangelicalism. Reaching back to our roots gives us food for thought about renewal of Evangelicalism itself in our day.
In Pia Desideria, Spener begins with three characteristics that should be pursued by the Church. First, he says that the Church and individuals should pursue perfection, even if it is not attainable in this life. The Reformation's focus on salvation by God's grace through faith left the question Paul Himself asked in Romans 6.1: 'Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?' Pietism sought to raise the standard. Our Christian life is a call to perfection. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 7.1: 'Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.' One wing of contemporary Evangelicalism has made peace with sin in the issue of the day, homosexuality, saying that only actions and not desires ('orientations') are a matter for Christian ethics. Paul speaks of a cleansing from every defilement not only of the body but also of the spirit.
Second, Spener says that the Church should be free of offenses—it must reprove and, if necessary, remove those who are so afflicted by sin. Western mainline denominations--all declining in membership for sixty years--were once orthodox. Evangelicals have been leaving over this time, sometimes remaining independent churches and sometimes forming new denominations. These changes have left challenges on Spener's second point. Of course, the mainline denominations declined to reprove its clergy because they welcomed certain sins. Evangelicals still hanging onto these denominations are in the situation of suffering from their sinful afflictions. They are reduced to hospice ministry to a dying 'Church'. Evangelicals who leave these denominations and become independent churches lack an adequate relationship to the Church in many ways--theologically, historically, communally, missionally, and, to the point, judicially. How many stories have we heard of an independent, large church formed around a popular orator in the pulpit that falls apart when he sins or the church sins against him? The Church fails when it fails to have systems in place to keep it free from offenses. Soft ordination requirements, low standards for clergy, and insufficient procedures for removing clergy contribute to the afflictions of the Church. Oversized churches reduce pastoral oversight and care to almost nil.
Third, Spener says, the Church should be full of many fruits of the faith. Spener's concern 100 years after the Reformation was a Church of dead orthodoxy. He wanted to see a living faith, a faith in practice, fruits of righteousness. One might think of Paul's sin lists and lists of virtues (the fruit of the Spirit, e.g.) or of Jesus' ethic of the heart, not just works of the Law. However, one of the fruits of faith is evangelism and mission, and this, too, is a challenge for Evangelicalism in our day. After Spener, Evangelicalism came to be further defined as a missionary movement. Not only did they have the faith, but they took the faith to foreign lands. This outward movement is not the focus of many Evangelicals today. Churches may have a mission fund, even a mission committee, but mission is sidelined from the core identity of the church and denomination. One reason for this is that mission has become for many simply foreign service, not necessarily connected to the witness of who Jesus is and what He has done for us. So-called 'holistic' mission makes mission more about us and what we are doing. Another reason for this is that foreign mission has been seen by some as a form of colonialism: how dare we go abroad and challenge others about their beliefs and practices?, goes the thinking. A third factor is that 'missions' has come to mean a two-week stint in a foreign country on some project for anyone who wants to sign up. Short-term missions may be productive, but this new development since the 1980s has undermined career mission funding and an organised and coordinated plan for fulfilling the mission of the Church.
Spener then offers
six suggestions for improving conditions in the Church. These are most relevant in our day as well.
1.
Have a knowledge of the
Scriptures. ‘Where the Word of
God is neglected, real and true religion collapses. Where this collapses, no one can or will be
saved.’ Preaching based on the reading
of a passage of Scripture is inadequate for believers to know the Scriptures. The Bible should be in every home. The father should read it every day, people
should read it privately, it should be read to one another without commentary,
and meetings should be held where Scripture is read, taught, and
discussed. Colossians 3.16 says, ‘Let
the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, as you teach and admonish one another
in all wisdom....’ The Scriptures should
be read, meditated on, and discussed (Psalm 1.2). Papal politics kept people in ignorance of
the Scriptures and controlled their consciences, and one of the ‘major purposes
of the Reformation was to restore to the people the Word of God’. Not much further comment is needed for reflection on Spener's point for our day. Our visual culture is increasingly not a literary culture--literate, yes, but not literary. A Bible on a cell phone for quick reference does not encourage proper reading of the Scriptures like a book does. For whatever reasons, the fact is that the Church in many parts of the world is a Biblically illiterate Church. This is also partly from the damage to the faith in mainline denominations, where Scripture is disparaged, and partly from preaching that is topical and experiential rather than expository. So much work needs to be done to turn the Church and believers back to being a people constituted and defined by the Word of God.
2.
Practice the priesthood of all
believers. All believers should ‘occupy
themselves with the Word of God, pray, study, teach, admonish, comfort,
chastise,’ etc. The people should also
admonish the minister when he neglects something and support him in his
efforts. As is evident from Spener's other comments, he was not undermining the role of pastors and ministers in the Church. The 'priesthood of all believers' is, as noted, a call to every believer to know the Scripture and be involved in ministries of the Church. In my view, the debate over ordaining women is mistaken to a certain and important degree. We should only have that conversation once we have identified not just 'gifts' but actual ministries in which people might serve. Paul had an 'order of widows', criteria for membership entailing various ministries the women had already been involved in over the years. I would suggest ordination to all sorts of ministries, and if we wish to limit ordination of priests to men only, that would not undermine a host of other ministries supported by the Church for men and women. I even think that monasteries in an updated, Protestant way--ministering communities of discipleship for single men or for single women--would be a great idea for a world without community and without purpose in life.
3. The Church is a people that both believes and practices the faith in life together. Instruct people in the faith and in practice. Not just a knowledge of Christian faith but also its practice is necessary. People should fervently love one another, for from love flows all the other commandments (Romans 13.9). What comes to mind for our day with this admonition from Spener is the need for community and the need for Christian community. The shutting down of churches congregating during Covid highlighted a problem already growing from online social media, the overgrowth of churches shifting 'church' from community to a 'service', and reducing the service to three songs led by a rock band and a sermon. We might think we love one another, but that is because we do not really live in community with one another. Spener's plea for us is first for actual community so that we can practice the faith, then we can talk about love.
4. The Church should demonstrate Christian piety in the midst of worldly controversy--before unbelievers and false believers. Note that Spener wrote after the religious controversies of the Thirty Years War in Europe. The problem today, at least in the West, might be the opposite. Theology is relegated to reflection; activism is the focus. As a case in point, N. T. Wright recently and infamously suggested that belief in the bodily resurrection of Jesus is not essential for Christians. He did see it as an error, but not a core belief. He also floated a soft view on abortion. Our problem in a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion (wokism) is that we are under great pressure to hold our views loosely and affirm people for their choices. This is the opposite context in which Spener wrote after the wars of the early 17th century. (The Peace of Westphalia came in 1648.)
5. The Church should have pastors who are devoted Christians and who are capable of teaching others the way of the Lord. Since faults in pastors cause so much harm, we must have pastors who are themselves actually Christians and who are capable of guiding others in the way of the Lord. This point seems so obvious, but it needs further reflection. While leaving judgement to God, I do believe that many ministers in especially mainline denominations (and not just Protestant, of course) are not even Christians themselves. Such persons are, of course, incapable of instructing others in the faith, but some who are Christians have an inadequate grasp of the faith. One rectification of this is to have solid training for ministry, but seminaries today are themselves infected by heresies, false teaching, wokism, and so broad a curriculum that students are inadequately formed in the faith. Churches that think that teaching in the faith is sufficient from a 20 minute sermon will never train people in the faith. Churches that try to deepen Christian discipleship through cell or small groups led by laity run the problem of turning over the ministry of guiding others in the way of the Lord to those with no training themselves.
6. The Church should train its ministers not only in theology but also in ministerial practices. While training for ministry, students should gain some experience in it, such as in instructing others and visiting the sick.
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