Akin to any Baptist upbringing are the words "missions" and "missionary". Undoubtedly, most have filled plastic rice bowls, watched numerous slide shows of foreign lands and listened to stories of great Baptist women who impacted the world. Therefore, with such a heritage, one's mind doesn't often consider a time in which there were not such faithful witnesses to the "heathen". The fact remains that for most of the history of the world, the idea and practice of missions as the Western Protestant mind knows it, simply did not exist. Instead, there arose certain events and shifts in the world (probably too many to even realize) which shaped the theology, worship and manifestation of the faith of Christians in such a way as to compel them to leave home and family in order to share the gospel of Christ with people who had never heard before.
Keywords: Christians, Church, Count Zinzendorf,Roman Church
[...] He was sent, by his anti-Pietist uncle to Wittenberg, a Lutheran stronghold, in order to “drive the nonsense out of him”.[10] Rather than changing his mind, over the course of three years at Wittenberg Zinzendorf was formulated a theology and viewpoint which was able to reconcile the differences between Halle and Wittenberg, Pietism and Lutheranism. Even though his grandmother was a pious and religious woman, she did not condone any desire within Zinzendorf to pursue a life in the clergy; this was beneath his status as a nobleman. [...]
[...] Although a tiny gathering of people, it soon became a prominent group, known for its complete independence and unity under the systematic teachings of Peter Chelcicky.[3] They were interested, because they viewed themselves as the “true church”, in tracing their lineage back to the time of Christ, and traveled extensively in their research.[4] When Martin Luther came to the forefront in the 16th century, “they worked to bring about a union of the brethren with the Lutherans—so sure were they of the identity of Luther's teaching with the doctrine they had professed for more than half a century”.[5] This union never came to fruition, though, as leadership of the brethren deemed some of Lutheran doctrine and practice incorrect and thus “insisted on the preservation of the independence of the Unity.”[6] Around 1620, the church was forced to split and move to different European countries due to the Counter Reformation and the 30 years war. [...]
[...] There was a growing group of opponents to the work Zinzendorf was doing, calling it heretical against the Lutheran church and labeling him a “religious freak”.[16] In order to repair relations with those people, he began by educating the public concerning who the Moravians were, mainly by showing that they were valid and historically orthodox Christians, who Luther himself had supported and seen as brothers and sisters in Christ. Missions So convinced of the Brethren and their message was Zinzendorf, and so zealous to see the joyous religion and community of the Brethren shared with others around the world, that he was compelled to missionary action. [...]
[...] Moravians and Their Missionaries a Problem in Americanization”. The Mississippi Valley Historical Review 19 (1932): 348- 361. Odlozilik, Otakar. “Bohemian Protestants and the Calvinist Churches.” Church History 8 (1939): 342-355. Schaff, David. Spurious Account of Huss' Journey to Constance, Trial and Death.” The American Journal of Theology 9 (1915): 276-282. Stoudt, John Joseph. “Count Zinzendorf and the Pennsylvania Congregation of God in the Spirit: The First American Oecumenical Movement”. Church History (1940): 366-380. David Schaff, Spurious Account of Huss' Journey to Constance, Trial and [...]
[...] Conclusion Armed with a message of strict Christian discipline, communal living and personal faith, the Moravian church, which found its renewal in the countryside of Saxony under the direction and care of Count Zinzendorf, started a unique movement of Christians. They were not sent nor funded by the massive institutions of religion or government, but instead left compelled by love and a desperation to share an inward and transforming faith with individuals around the world. One could not highlight enough the impact which this dedicated people had on the movement of Christianity around the world. [...]
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