The Sweet Savor of Redemption

Eighty years ago, Germany and America were locked like two mountain goats in a bitter struggle for survival. We referred to this titanic and bitter confrontation as World War ll. If survival proved possible, would mutual civility and even charity ever again be conceivable? Could God ever again warm these bitter hearts with the presence of the Spirit of God?

Lemgo, Germany provided the startling answer to that spiritual enigma. More than a thousand German preachers gathered with their invited guests from America and throughout the world in the Preachers’ Conference (Predigerkonferenz) to study and practice together the noble art of preaching! This biennial conference is the offspring of the fertile minds of a retired great pastor, Nicolai Reimer, and another pastor-educator, the Rector of Bibleseminar Bonn, Dr. Heinrich Derksen. Their team of godly pastors, professors, and members of the church in Lemgo labored like aquatic beavers and prayed like apostolic titans of old to see God perform a Germanic miracle.

If anything, the directors of the conference might have erred in inviting too many American preachers, because the German preachers are once again demonstrating all the skills of Martin Luther, Balthasar Hubmaier, F.W. Krummacher, and a hundred other fabulous Germans of yesteryear! This year was a focus on the 500th anniversary of the beginnings of the Anabaptist movement in Europe.

However, what struck my heart as much as the edification of the preaching was the militant praise of our God in singing! Germans and Americans standing side by side, packed into the spacious sanctuary, singing their lungs out simultaneously in two different languages. It sounded like... like Heaven! The old war was lost to the redemption that was available to all in Christ.

The large, gifted choir and phenomenal orchestra made up largely of German youth reminded me of all Israel singing before the throne. Many songs were new to me. Unlike many of the shake-a-leg repetitive rock concert pieces which can hardly be sung by a congregation at all passed off as worship in America, they were encompassed with the penumbra of holiness. The walls of that Lemgo church shook like Jericho as they sang! Oh, and did I mention the prayers? From the hearts of Germans and Americans alike, the intercessions of preachers thundered like Elijah from Carmel. “Oh, Great God, we seek Your face and Your mighty hand.”

Although I am prepared to admit that I am hardly the sharpest arrow in the quiver, it occurred to me that this can happen anywhere with any grouping of people. And then I realized that this is precisely what God is doing in our world in places too numerous to count and in the face of incredible persecution. I can only say to Reimer, Derksen, and all the Germans, “Thanks for showing all of us once again the redemptive solace of our gracious God!”

Paige Patterson, President

Sandy Creek Foundation