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The Lord of The Ring
  The Lord of the Ring
A major new biography of Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf
Count Nikolaus von Zinzendorf is undoubtedly one of the most influential and controversial spiritual leaders in Western history.
The 18th century Moravian renewal which he led were pioneers of prayer, mission, unity, and community. From the tiny village of Herrnhut in the far east of Germany they prayed without ceasing for a hundred years, they established radical and challenging models of discipleship and relationship, and they launched the first great missions thrust of the reformation. These often flawed but always faithful men and women have shaped the world in which we live, and were the example which many who came after them would follow.
 In 1999, Zinzendorf and the Moravians became the accidental inspiration for the birth of the remarkable, international movement known as 24-7 prayer. Five years later, Phil Anderson and Justin Blake climbed into a tiny 4-seat aeroplane and set off across Europe for Herrnhut, on a remarkable journey to uncover the history of Zinzendorf and the movement which he led.
This book is Zinzendorf’s story, told through the eyes of a pair of twenty-first century pilgrims seeking to rediscover it afresh. Part biography and part road-trip, it brings the history into vibrant life, while raising deeply prophetic challenges about life and faith today. In addition, the book represents the most rigorous study of the origins of the original 'Order of the Mustard Seed' ever published in the English language.
Published by Kingsway in the UK (October 2006) and Regal in the USA (April 2007), this book is a must-read for anyone who recognises the inspiration and challenge that Zinzendorf and those who shared his calling represent.
For those who fancy a brief taster, the following short extract are taken from the book:
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It was the early hours of the 24th July 1731, and Leonard Dober the potter was having a bad night. He lay awake in the dormitory of the Single Brethren’s house, his heart pounding, his mind still full of images from a dream so vivid that it seemed more than real. Even as his emotions began to settle, his mind raced faster and faster with the implications of what he had just experienced. In his dream Dober had witnessed images of the Negro slaves in the Caribbean islands, and had repeatedly heard the voice of God calling him to go and preach freedom to the captives.
The subject of Dober’s dream was a talk given by the count earlier that evening. Zinzendorf had just returned from Copenhagen, where he had been on semi-official business attending the coronation of King Christian VI of Denmark. However, the tale which he chose to relate to the single brothers was not one of crown jewels or royal audiences, but concerned his conversations with a slave named Antony Ulrich.
Antony came from the Danish-owned island of St Thomas in the Caribbean. He was a bright and confident speaker, but more importantly he had heard the message of Jesus Christ and had been baptised as a believer. He had told Zinzendorf in detail about the situation of the slaves on St Thomas, especially their spiritual condition. ‘If only some missionaries would come,’ he said, ‘they would certainly be heartily welcomed. Many an evening have I sat on the shore and sighed my soul toward Christian Europe; and I have a brother and sister in bondage who long to know the living God.’
Zinzendorf’s personal commitment to the almost unknown idea of overseas mission dated back to the development of the Order of the Mustard Seed, and Antony made a powerful impression on him. He knew that the story would also fall on receptive ears at Herrnhut. Since their initial commitment to pray and prepare for missions work in 1728, a group of the Single Brethren had disciplined themselves to study the Bible, languages, geography and medicine, in the hope that these skills would equip them when the day arrived. The count had been active in encouraging and training this group. Now, for Leonard Dober at least, the waiting appeared to be over.
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Approaching from the west, we obtain our first glipmpse of Möhne dam. It is a stained, grey concrete monolith crowned by two low towers, once filled with murderous flak guns. Beyond it the two ‘arms’ of the lake are separated by a wooded peninsula, across which the bombers came. Even to be here in an aeroplane feels like a violation of memories. Of 133 young men who set out from England along a route very similar to our own, only 77 came back. We are here thanks to radio and satellite navigation and the gratefully received assistance of Dortmund air traffic control. Those men flew at night with primitive navigation equipment and people shooting at them the whole way.
A descending turn brings us low over the woods. Throttle wide, hold the nose down, speed builds to 115 knots, and Alpha Mike races across the surface of the lake towards the dam. Crossing the wall between the towers, there is a moment of vertigo as we soar out over the valley below. Its peaceful villages have probably changed little in 60 years. In the village of Himmelpforten (which means ‘heaven’s gates’) on that May night in 1943, Father Berkenkopf had been awakened by the first explosion and knew instantly what it meant. He ran to his small grey stone church and began to ring the bell, the signal he had arranged with the villagers. The bell rang out for 20 minutes as four successive explosions weakened the dam. It rang for several minutes more as the wall of water thundered down the valley, and was only silenced as the village of Himmelpforten and the body of Father Berkenkopf were swept away. No one knows exactly how many lives he was able to save, but 1,300 died as the floods from the two breached dams swept on for 50 miles.
Our destination at Herrnhut is powerfully symbolic of the spiritual closeness that existed between Britain and Germany in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It dramatically impacted John Wesley and it inspired the great British missions movements which were to follow. For 200 years these two nations were in the forefront of sacrificially taking the love and message of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. This puts into even sharper relief the demonic forces which caused us to spend the first half of the twentieth century systematically slaughtering each other in the battlefields and cities and peaceful mountain villages of Europe. I suppose I knew this in my head, but here above the valley I sense God speaking it directly into my heart. << Go back |
