"Shining Lights" #4

The secret to Zinzendorf’s leadership power was his passionate love for Jesus. This passion produced a profound Christology that was to characterize the Moravian movement for generations to come. Their theological emphasis, worship, and life were so Christocentric that it both shocked and attracted (Is. 52: 15). Like the 1^st century Christians, their passion for Jesus wrought boldness, humility and an aroma of life (Acts 4: 13, 2 Cor. 2: 14-17). The Moravians were able “to maintain at all times the freshness of their “first love” toward the Savior; to have, like Count Zinzendorf, ‘one passion – Jesus, Jesus only’, to cultivate His continual presence and live always in the sunshine of His smile” (Ps. 37: 4, 91: 14-15). ³²

This incredible passion and love for Jesus was the result of Zinzendorf’s godly heritage and a personal experience he had while traveling after graduation. At an art museum in Dusseldorf, the young Count had observed Domencio Feti’s “Ecce Homo” (Behold the Man). The vivid painting of Jesus crowned with thorns bore an inscription… “I have done this for you. What have you done for Me?”³³ Gripped with conviction, he committed his heart to God, and proclaimed, “I will do whatever He leads me to do.”³⁴ There the Count yielded to the Captain of our salvation and embraced the call of God. As the rich young ruler who said “yes”, Zinzendorf forsook all to follow Jesus and crown Him King.

This commitment flame was later fueled with prophetic hope at Herrnhut as Zinzendorf translated Jon Amos Comenius’ constitution for the “United Brethren”. There he discovered a prophecy by Comenius that Hus’ prophesied “hidden seed” would sprout in 100 years – literally right then for those at Herrnhut. Ignited with a new sense of destiny, Count Zinzendorf and the Moravians immersed themselves in passionate prayer, worship and fellowship that resulted in the “Moravian Pentecost” – Wednesday, August 13, 1727.

When the Holy Spirit came upon them, they became witnesses unto King Jesus (Acts 1: 8)… clothed with power to exalt Christ alone (Jn. 16: 14). “Their theology became Christology and their creed – the Cross”³⁵ as they determined “to know nothing among men save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. (1 Cor. 2: 2). “Witnesses for Jesus and of Jesus was what every Moravian was in those great revival decades.”³⁶

The “calling of the Moravian Church was truly set forth by Count Zinzendorf: ‘I am destined by the Lord to proclaim the message of the death and blood of Jesus, not with human wisdom, but with divine power, unmindful of personal consequences to myself’.”³⁷ This profound Christology was clearly seen in all Moravian preaching, prayer and hymnody. With overflowing hearts and single eyes, they sought to honor Jesus in all they said and did. Their rediscovery of Gospel truth and prioritizing of redemptive reality fueled renewal and expansion for decades to come.

The great Moravian Evangelists and Missionaries preached the gospel with remarkable simplicity, clarity and power. “Praise to Christ, adoration of Him as God, proclamation of His virtues and work were their constant theme.”³⁸ They were God’s ambassadors, preaching Christ and the message of reconciliation. Practiced in personal devotion and piety, they were trained to empty self and overflow with compassion for their fellowmen, by: 1) looking at their own sinfulness, 2) discerning the depth of human wretchedness around them, and 3) grasping the love of God in Jesus Christ.³⁹ They possessed a peculiar revelation of God’s love and the precious blood of the lamb. The united cry of their hearts was, “May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering” (Is. 53: 10-11).

The Moravians were also known for addressing their prayers directly to the Savior. Their prayer life, power and importunity set them apart as few in history. They were truly a “House of Prayer for all nations”. “Count Zinzendorf had early learned the secret of prevailing prayer. So active had he been in establishing circles for prayer, that on leaving the college at Halle, sixteen years of age, he handed the famous Professor Francke a list of seven praying societies.”⁴⁰ This passion and commitment to prayer, a sign of love for and dependence upon God; made intercession, fasting, and all night prayer as natural as the air they breathed. “In short, the blessing of the 13^th of August, 1727, was diligently and earnestly prepared for.”⁴¹ These men and women met daily in each other’s homes for prayer and praise – prompted by love for the Savior, they birthed a 24-hour prayer chain that lasted over a century.⁴²

“The Moravians have always been famous for their church music, which owes its original inspiration to Zinzendorf, who himself wrote many hymns (over 2,000).”⁴³ They were a people “filled with the Spirit… singing and making melody in their hearts to the Lord” (Eph. 5: 18-19). God had put a new song in their mouth, even praise to their God… many would see it and fear and put their trust in the Lord” (Ps. 40: 1-3). One who saw it and was changed was John Wesley. During a severe storm at sea en route to a Georgia orphanage, the Wesley’s marveled at the faith and love of the Moravians – as they sang and worshipped amidst the fearful passenger’s screams and vows. This experience opened the door that later led to Wesley’s conversion.

The profound Christology of the Herrnhut Brethren empowered their witness and singularly defined their preaching, prayer and praise. Their passionate love for Jesus set them apart in a day of theological disputes and dead orthodoxy. John Cennick, the best know English Moravian hymn writer, known as a “Revived Paul and second Bunyan”, expressed it this way: “Christ is our Master, Lord and God, the fullness of the Three in One; His life, death, righteousness and blood, Our faith’s foundation are alone, His Godhead and His Death shall be Our theme to all eternity.”⁴⁴

On the foundation of Zinzendorf’s Apostolic leadership and their profound Christology, the Moravians came to live in a unity that “commanded God’s blessing” (Ps. 133: 3). When Zinzendorf had invited the “Brethren” onto his estate in 1722, he was “especially concerned with establishing an international fellowship of true believers belonging to various religious bodies.”⁴⁵ His desire for unity soon inspired an ecumenical harvest. “Lutheran Pietists, former Catholics, Separatists, Reformed and Anabaptists all joined the community, seeking the fellowship of others who were looking for a heavenly city.”⁴⁶ Like Fuller Seminary today, Herrnhut had become “the most ecumenical place on earth”.

In the midst of subsequent problems, strife and threatened divisions, Zinzendorf set out to meet with every family, house to house. This home/family visitation was a time of fellowship and scriptural counsel. As a result, the Moravian community became united by “the mission in this man’s heart”. These covenant relationships governed by the love and purpose of God produced a unity like the upper room (Acts 2) and led to the signing of a formal “Brotherly Agreement”. As is characteristic of most renewal movements, they became “conscious of being a distinct, covenant based community”⁴⁷ more than ever before. They lived, worked and worshipped together, and serve as a model of community life and possibilities. Their Christian unity, covenant fellowship and unique ecumenism increased over time and became a channel for divine blessing.

The genuine unity of the Moravians was both generated and propagated by their incessant use of home-cell groups. Zinzendorf was “a disciple of Spener’s idea of a ‘church within the Church’.”⁴⁸ In 1670, Spener began searching for a practical way to engender the “sincere faith” of the Bible. Under the influence of the writings of Richard Baxter and Johann Arndt’s “True Christianity”, he began gathering a small group of dedicated believers in his home twice a week. These meetings were to serve a dual purpose of discipling committed Christians and providing a vehicle for church renewal. Although Spener’s infantile innovation contained structural, philosophical and reproductive flaws, it served as an oasis in the desert of dead orthodoxy and cultural corruption. By emphasizing the reality of the new birth and the application of scriptural truth in daily life, these Christians discovered, “believers are not (to be) passive in spiritual matters, but have a responsibility for building one another up in the faith.”⁴⁹

Raised to experience the presence of God and receive truth from God in regular home gatherings of family and friends, Count Zinzendorf readily adopted Spener’s model. “He established little cell groups in his school (University of Halle) for practical devotion, which he named “The Order of the Mustard Seed”.”⁵⁰ The experience and fruit of these gatherings served to solidify Zinzendorf’s conviction that the way to renewal and revival for Christian institutions was the proliferation of cells. These cells were not to be the Bible study, prayer, sharing, sensitivity, therapy rap sessions of modern American Christianity. They had “apostolic goals… seeking no less than the recovery of truth, life, and power of earliest Christianity, and the expansion of that kind of Christianity.”⁵¹

In May of 1727, following the signing of the “Brotherly Covenant” at Herrnhut, Count Zinzendorf instituted a network of small groups. A synthesis of Spener’s “collegia pietatis”, Francke’s charitable missions and the Count’s apostolic passion; these cells spawned a Biblical devotion, koinonea-fellowship, and acceleration in maturity that became the catalyst for the “Moravian Pentecost”. By emphasizing “personal character and charitable community involvement,”⁵² the Moravian cells “established an optimum environment for the development of personal devotion and the cultivation of a radical lifestyle.”⁵³ Each group had an appointed leader, and every man and woman in the community became a part of one.

With total participation in small groups, Zinzendorf instinctively spread the leadership responsibilities broadly across the whole community. The use of unordained, untrained lay men and women in worship, instruction and cell meetings proved to be one of the most significant leadership innovations of the 18^th century. Among the Moravians, the universal priesthood of believers was no mere mental theology, it was a living reality. “All members were expected to carry their part of the priestly role, and the entire community was mobilized in a ministerial corps.”⁵⁴

After his conversion, under the influence of Peter Bohler at a Moravian small group on Aldersgate Street, London, John Wesley took a pilgrimage to Herrnhut in 1738. Upon arriving, the majority of his observations and notations were related to their cell ministry structure and operations. The Moravian’s organizational plan, pastoral care and dual cell structure would soon be adopted and proliferated in the Methodist Movement. Wesley specifically noted the Moravian distinctive of separating instruction and edification. At Herrnhut, everyone participated in two small groups per week; a heterogeneous “choir” entirely for instruction, and a homogenous “band” for intimate sharing, personal encouragement and prayer. This example served as the pattern Wesley was to refine in his “class, society” cell ministry system, the net that was to catch a generational harvest.

It serves us well to remember the Great Awakenings were “grassroots movements, arising out of small cell groups and spreading spontaneously to the masses… We also should remember that the leaders in past Awakenings came to leadership out of a cell group where they learned spiritual discipline and mutual accountability.”⁵⁵ Count Zinzendorf and the Herrnhut Moravians were the pioneers of the cell ministry movement. Their use of small groups sparked renewal by combining “grassroots initiative with Episcopal leadership to maintain a vigorous balance between spontaneity and order, enthusiasm and established authority.”⁵⁶ They inspired apostolic devotion, a “gathered” church mentality, and growth in holiness. Finally, by utilizing lay men and woman leaders in cells, they provided a context for new methods of ministry and leadership training.⁵⁷ This proved to be revolutionary, tapping an almost unlimited reservoir of laborers and releasing an army of leaders into the harvest fields of the world.