Georg Müller (orphanage manager)

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Georg Müller

Johann Georg Ferdinand Müller (later George Müller ; born September 27, 1805 in Kroppenstedt ; † March 10, 1898 in Bristol , England ) was a German Protestant theologian and evangelist . He became known as the "orphan father of Bristol".

Life

Georg Müller was the son of a tax collector. In 1810 the family moved to Hadmersleben , where Müller spent his youth. After attending grammar school in Halberstadt and Nordhausen , he first studied theology in Halle , but led a rather dissolute life. Through a Bible discussion group in the house of the simple Veit Wagner, he came to a new relationship to the Christian faith and then became involved in missionary work. He was influenced by the Protestant theology professor August Tholuck (1799–1877).

In 1829 he went to England as a missionary . His special commitment was the mission to the Jews . Here he met the dentist Anthony Norris Groves , who only worked by faith and had given up his secure income. Georg Müller decided to conduct his service according to the same rules.

Ashley Down Orphanage

In 1830 the small congregation in Teignmouth called him a preacher. In the same year he married Groves' sister Mary. In 1832 he went to Bristol as a preacher with his friend Henry Craik . Here in 1836, after reading the biography of August Hermann Francke , the founder of the Halle Orphanages, he began to set up an orphan work in Ashley Down for over 1000 orphans , most of whose parents had died in the cholera epidemic of 1832. The work lived on donations, without ever having published an appeal for donations, because Georg Müller trusted that God would provide all necessary donations.

In addition to Francke, Müller was strongly influenced by the Methodist revival preacher George Whitefield .

Müller's church in Bristol, the Bethesda Chapel, was part of the Brethren movement . In 1848, John Nelson Darby separated from this congregation because it was too reluctant to investigate and condemn alleged heresies of the biblical interpreter Benjamin Wills Newton . This separation resulted in the “Open Brethren” (“open brothers”), to which Müller remained connected throughout his life.

From 1875 Müller undertook evangelistic trips through Europe , America , Asia and Australia . As a result, he came back to Germany and Switzerland . In addition to Friedrich Wilhelm Baedeker , Carl Heinrich Rappard , Otto Stockmayer , Hudson Taylor , Dwight Lyman Moody and others. a. he was one of the leading men in the sanctification movement and the evangelism movement.

“'Mr Miller,' wrote the Bristol Evening News , 'was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence among philanthropists in the 19th century. In an age of unbelief and materialism, he practically tried out theories that many people consider to be just unworldly theological bickering. '"

- Roger Steer : Georg Müller

Fonts (selection)

  • A Narrative of some of the Lord's Dealings with George Muller. 6 volumes. Nisbet, London 1837-86 et al.
  • German selection edition: And yet Heavenly Father feeds you. Diaries. R. Brockhaus, Wuppertal 1985 u.ö. New edition: Hänssler, Holzgerlingen 2009.

A directory of Müller's writings can be found in the catalog of the Christian Brethren Archive ( Manchester University Library ).

Movie

  • Georg Müller - A man who changed the world (hänssler DVD)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ This is his full name according to the student directory of the Domgymnasium Halberstadt, year 1815, sheet 255 (cf. Holthaus 2010, p. 68, footnote 18; Lenz 2010, p. 81, footnote 1; Langmead 2010, p. 11).
  2. ↑ When he accepted British citizenship on December 18, 1861, he was officially registered as George Müller (cf. Lenz 2010, p. 81, footnote 1).
  3. ↑ By his own account, Newton never represented it, but only expressed himself imprecisely. William Blair Neatby, A History of the Plymouth Brethren (PDF; 833 kB), pp. 66–68.
  4. ↑ According to Neatby (PDF; 833 kB), p. 86 f. the teachings were examined as requested by Darby, and a reconciliation between Darby and Müller failed because of Müller's refusal to forgive Darby's behavior without further discussion (which never came to be).
  5. ↑ Roger Steer: Georg Müller. Trust in God. CLV, Bielefeld 2009, ISBN 978-3-89397-351-4 , p. 232.
personal data
SURNAME Müller, Georg
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Müller, Johann Georg Ferdinand; Müller, George
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German theologian, evangelist and orphanage director
DATE OF BIRTH September 27, 1805
PLACE OF BIRTH Kroppenstedt
DATE OF DEATH March 10, 1898
Place of death Bristol