Wilhelm Busch (pastor)

Wilhelm Busch

From the cover of the book Ježiš náš osud (1993 edition)
Born March 27, 1897(1897-03-27)
Elberfeld, present-day Wuppertal
Died June 20, 1966(1966-06-20)
Lübeck, on the way back from Evangelization in Sassnitz auf Rügen
Citizenship Germany
Occupation Protestant pastor, youth evangelist, writer
Known for resistance against totalitarian Nazi regime, Evangelizations for youth, literary works, probably the most famous evangelistic book in German language; Citation: "Half-Christian is a full swindler."[1]
Religion Lutheran
Lutheranism
Luther's Seal
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Wilhelm Busch (27 March 1897 – 20 June 1966) was a German Lutheran pastor, youth evangelist, writer[2] and activist of the Confessing Church during the Nazi period in Germany.

Contents

Life

Wilhelm Busch was born in Elberfeld on 27 March 1897 as son of pastor Wilhelm Busch. His mother, Johanna Busch, (born Kullen), came from the House of Kullen, Hülben (near Urach) which was rooted in Swabian Pietism. Although Wilhelm Busch came from a famous family of pastors, he was in his early years anything but religious. He spent his early life in Frankfurt, where he pursued and finished his secondary school studies. After graduating he served within German army as a young officer-lieutenant in WW I, where on the battle-field at Verdun he came into personal faith in Christ when a comrade was hit by a grenade[3]:

"A bright light, brighter than the atomic bomb struck me: he is now standing before holy God! And the next thought was: if we had sat in different arrangement, then the splinter grenade would have hit me instead, and then I would be standing face-to-face before God right now! My friend was laying dead in front of my eyes. For the first time in many years, I folded my hands and uttered a prayer, which consisted of only one sentence: "Dear God, I beg You, do not let me fall before I'll be sure not go to hell!"" [4]

When WW I was over, he decided to study Lutheran theology in Tübingen. After completing his studies he served six months as a pastor in the Lutheran Church at Gellershagen near Bielefeld where he met his future wife Emilie („Emmi“) Müller. In 1929 he became a youth pastor in the CVJM (German YMCA)'s Weigle Haus in Essen established by his predecessor, pastor Wilhelm Weigle.[5][2] At the same time he was preaching evangelizing sermons all over the country and abroad, as well as continuing with his Christian ministry to local miners. During the time of national socialism he adopted the strong uncompromising position of the German Confessing Church against the influence of the Third Reich on the life of the Church.[7] As an active member of this opposition to government-sponsored efforts to nazify the German protestant church he proclaimed his faith openly and ignored orders to refrain from Bible teachings which earned him several arrests and lengthy jail confinements. Even under the Nazis, pastor Busch managed to attract large attendances of two to three hundred boys at his scripture lessons. He was holding Bible study meetings in private houses, in basements, and in the open air. His son never attended the meetings of the Hitlerjugend though this was a legal duty.[8] On one occasion in 1937, he was arrested right after holding an Evangelization in the church of St.Paul in Darmstadt due to Nazi authorities feeling upset over the capability of the Christian movement to attract the attention of the general public with Biblical messages and counter their own aspirations to control the masses. During the sermon, state officials tried to avoid a public uproar in the crowded Church and let him preach. After being captured, an SS commissioner presented him official orders expelling him from the territory of Hesse. As he refused to accept due to his commitment to perform Biblical work among people as a pastor, he was immediately taken into custody.[9]

During my life, I have passed through periods of various hard trials. Because of my faith I have been thrown into prisons on more than one occasion. Not because I would had been stealing silver spoons or committed some other crime. In the Third Reich Nazis didn't like youth pastors like me, and that's why authorities kept throwing me into these pretty sinister places.[7]

After WW II he renewed his activities as an agile youth pastor and itinerant evangelist with the slogan “Jesus our destiny” becoming the central topic of his ministry going even beyond his official retirement in 1962. Busch's pupils in the post-war era included Ulrich Parzany[10] who said he was strongly affected by Busch's "clear, illustrative and bold proclamation of the gospel".[11]

He died in Hospital in Lübeck on 20. June 1966 whilst on the way back from Evangelization in Sassnitz auf Rügen.[2] The theme of his last sermon a day before was “Is life with God worth it?” („Was Hat Man Denn Von Einem Leben Mit Gott?“). He was buried four days after his death and the funeral was attended by a number of people including the later President of the Federal Republic of Germany Gustav Heinemann who gave in his oration following testimony about the late fellow:

Wherever he emerged, there was always something going on. The essential about him however was that as an ambassador of his Lord he was credible and penetrated all reservations. ("Wo er zugegen war, passierte immer etwas. Das Eigentliche an ihm aber war dieses, dass er ein glaubhafter und aller Vorbehalte durchstoßender Bote seines Herrn war.")[3]

Literary works

References

  1. ^ Busch, Wilhelm (2006) (in German). Bileam - Josaphat - Simson. der Wilhelm Busch Bibliothek. 5 (Band 5). Aussaat. p. 82. http://books.google.com/books/about/Bileam_Josaphat_Simson.html?id=E5vQPgAACAAJ. 
  2. ^ a b c Bautz, Friedrich Wilhelm (1975) (in German). Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). (Aalders–Faustus v. Byzanz). 1(Band I). Hamm: Verlag Traugott Bautz. ISBN 3-88309-013-1. http://www.bbkl.de/b/busch_w2.shtml. "Busch, Wilhelm (1897-1966); ...während einer Evangelisationsreise...und seit 1931 als Jugendpfarrer in Essen" 
  3. ^ a b c d "Wilhelm Busch, Sein Leben, Sein Werk" (in German). Meinerzhagen, Germany: Buchhandlungbühne GmbH. http://www.busch-predigten.de/index.html. Retrieved 2011-11-19. 
  4. ^ БУШ (Busch), ВИЛЬГЕЛЬМ (Wilhelm) (1995) (in Russian). Приди домой (Come home). Bielefeld: CLV, Christliche Literatur -Verbreitung. p. 8. ISBN 3-89397-721-X. http://www.manna.lv/nopirkt/Pridi-domoj/389397721X.html. Retrieved 2011-11-19. 
  5. ^ "BEKANNTE MITGLIEDER DER CVJM/YMCA BEWEGUNG INTERNATIONAL (Famous members of CVJM/YMCA international movement)" (in German). http://www.cvjm-bludenz.at/wasist_allgemein.php?link_name=bekannte. "1929/30 to 1962 youth pastor in CVJM's Weigle Haus in Essen, which had been established by his predecessor, pastor Wilhelm Weigle. (in German: Wilhelm Busch (*1897; † 1966), evangelischer Pfarrer, Prediger, Schriftsteller.1929/30 bis 1962 Jugendpfarrer in dem von seinem Vorgänger, Pfarrer Wilhelm Weigle, 1912 eingerichteten Weigle-Haus (CVJM) in Essen. Während der Zeit des Nationalsozialismus brachte ihn sein Glaube und der Kampf der Bekennenden Kirche mehrfach ins Gefängnis. Nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg war er unter anderem als reisender Evangelist tätig.)" 
  6. ^ "Das Weigle-Haus und seine Geschichte: Das Weigle-Haus – ein Jugendhaus im Zentrum des Ruhrpotts und seine bewegte Geschichte... [Weigle Hause and its history]" (in German). Hohenburgstraße 96, 45128 Essen: Evangelische Jugend Weigle-Haus e.V.. 01.01.2010. http://weigle-haus.de/wer-wir-sind/wh-info-videos/wh-history. Retrieved 06.12.2011. "Ein Haus und seine Geschichte...1929 übernahm Wilhelm Busch die Leitung des Hauses. Am 11. Februar 1934 wurde der Evangelische Jugendverein jedoch aufgelöst und das Jugendhaus geschlossen. Busch widerstand dem Druck, die Jugendarbeit mit der Hitler-Jugend zu vereinigen und konnte sogar kurze Zeit später das Haus wieder eröffnen. Die Arbeit lief weiter unter dem Namen Stadtmission, das Haus selbst erhielt seinen heutigen Namen und wurde zum Weigle-Haus. Während des Zweiten Weltkriegs wurde das Haus teilweise zerstört und konnte erst am 23. Mai 1954 wieder eröffnet werden. Wilhelm Busch leitete die Arbeit noch bis 1962. Das Programm für die Jugendlichen drehte sich weiterhin vor allem um die gemeinsamen Sonntage mit Gottesdiensten, Sport und Spiel und auch Bildungsangebote wie den sogenannten „Intelligenz-Club“. Unter der Woche fanden in vielen Stadtteilen die zum Weigle-Haus gehörenden Jungscharen und Jungenschaftsgruppen statt." 
  7. ^ a b Busch, Wilhelm. Jesus our destiny. inter publishing service. p. 5, 207. ISBN 0-86347-024-6. "Because he adopted the strong uncompromising position of the German Confessing Church against the intrigues of the Third Reich in the life of the Church, and dared to proclaim his faith openly, Busch was imprisoned several times by the Nazis" 
  8. ^ Lindt, Andreas (1988) (in German). Die Zeit nach 1945 als Thema kirchlicher Zeitgeschichte: Referate der ... [The period after 1945 as the topic of Church History]. Göttingen, Germany: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. p. 276. ISBN 3-525-55409-5. "I met two of the youth pastors , …and Pastor Wilhelm Busch of Essen, both recognized specialists in youth work." 
  9. ^ (in Slovak) Spoveď pri Verdune (Confession near Verdun). Kežmarok: ViViT. 2000. p. 103. ISBN 80-88903-10-6. 
  10. ^ Bauschke, Martin (2000) (in German). Jesus: Stein des Anstosses. Böhlau. p. 257. http://books.google.com/books?id=m4QQAQAAIAAJ&ei=PG_jTtfbFYzRsgaw9ITBCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&redir_esc=y. 
  11. ^ "Rozhovor: Ulrich Parzany: Žijeme v jednom velkém supermarketu [Interview: Ulrich Parzany: We are living in one big shopping mall]" (in Czech). Brána (Prague): 6-9. 2009. http://www.i-brana.cz/mzine/index.php?i=0902#/6. Retrieved 2011-12-12. "My personal model was the youth pastor and evangelist Wilhelm Busch from Essen. His clear, illustrative and bold proclamation of the gospel influenced me strongly." 
  12. ^ Busch, Wilhelm (1993). Jesus –our destiny. Collection Ips. pp. 219. ISBN 978-0863470240. 
  13. ^ ""Jesus unser Schicksal" -Klassik-Ausgabe" (in German). Christliche Buchhandlung leseplatz.de. http://www.leseplatz.de/cgi-bin/navigation/rm/chooseDetailItem/itemID/5562/title/Jesus_unser_Schicksal_-_Klassik-Ausgabe/. Retrieved 2011-11-19. ""Jesus is our destiny" is probably the most famous evangelistic book in German language. ("Jesus unser Schicksal" ist wohl das bekannteste evangelistische Buch in deutsche Sprache.)" 
  14. ^ Busch, Wilhelm (2011) (in Slovak). Ježiš náš osud (Jesus our destiny). Bielefeld: CLV. p. 4. ISBN 978-3-89397-717-8. "In 1938 "Jesus our destiny" - was the main topic of preaching by pastor Busch at big Evangelization that took place in Essen. (Introduction by Kahrl-Heinz-Ehring)" 

Bibliography

External links