Jesus freaks

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Jesus Freaks Germany eV
(JFD)
Symbol of the Jesus freaks
purpose Evangelism
Chair: Lydia Bindrich
Establishment date: 1991
Number of members: approx. 2,000
Seat : kassel
Website: jesusfreaks.de

Jesus Freak Germany e. V. ( Jesus Freaks for short ) is an association in Germany that sees itself as a non-church Christian faith movement and uses elements of youth culture . The idea of ​​having a place where “ freaks , punks, hippies and trendy people feel good” goes back to the Jesus People movement from the 1960s - and 1970s - and the Steiger missionary movement from the 1980s . Due to the different origins and characteristics of its followers, who call themselves "Jesus Freaks", the faith movement cannot be clearly assigned to a Christian current. The charter adopted in 2008 is regarded as a kind of creed of values ​​and beliefs. The creed contained therein is based on the Apostolic Creed .

History and structure

Praise at the main seminar on the main stage of Freakstock 2004

The Jesus Freaks were founded on September 20, 1991 in Hamburg by Martin Dreyer . He wanted to create a spiritual home for young people who would not go to other churches. Dreyer completed a free church pastor training in the theological training center of the Anskar Church in the early 1990s and was ordained a pastor there in 1995. The umbrella organization of Jesus Freaks is the German association Jesus Freaks Deutschland e. V. (JFD). JFD has been a non-profit organization since 1994 and is based in Kassel . Until 2012 the association ran under the name Jesus Freaks International e. V.

About 2000 members belong to the movement. They meet in around 60 parishes and groups in Germany, but also visit other parishes. There are also groups in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic and Denmark. The movement direction is based on the so-called “leadership circle”. This is made up of the "Diakonkreis" (board of directors, office and training team), who take on organizational and legal tasks, as well as the representatives of the various regions and areas and elected individuals.

Symbol is an alpha placed in an omega . Alpha and Omega are the first and the last letter of the Greek alphabet and symbolize Jesus accordingly ( Rev 22,13  EU ): "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."

The association has organized the Freakstock Festival once a year since 1995 . Other areas of work include a. the “Willo”, a meeting for Jesus Freaks, the pastoral work, a magazine called “Correct Gang” (until May 2017 “Der kranke Bote”), the drug work and the “Educamp”, the training work of the Jesus Freaks.

In the past it saw itself primarily as a movement of people who were newly converted to Christianity and of young, progressive Christians who did not feel comfortable in the structures of the regional and free churches, the spectrum has now become broader. Attitudes towards other Christian groups have also changed. In some places, Jesus freaks work with the Evangelical Alliance . In Chemnitz , the local Jesus Freaks and the Salvation Army Corps formed a joint congregation from 2000 to 2016.

Characteristics and positions

Jesus Freaks were shaped by different Christian currents, so no clear assignment is possible. Since the Jesus Freaks communities organize themselves, they vary greatly in shape, size and orientation.

According to their self-portrayal, they are convinced that "an uncompromising life with Jesus is the coolest, most violent, most intense and most exciting of all." In doing so, they emphasize "building a personal relationship with God ". The mission is to “win people for Jesus” who, in their opinion, are outside a community of values .

Characteristic for this group is the strong reference to existing youth cultures and scenes . This is expressed, for example, in language that appears emphatically youthful. For example, services were u. a. referred to as Jesus-dependent evenings . The movement cultivates casual manners and rejects traditional, legal rules of worship and clothing styles. Their lifestyle is particularly expressed in music, where popular styles such as rock , punk , electro and singer-songwriter are adapted and given Christian content (see Christian pop music ). For example, sacrament liturgies are raped or praise songs are sung in the style of Thrash Metal .

Sexual morality is considered conservative, but is not prescribed anywhere. The charter adopted by Jesus Freaks Germany in 2008 is the official statement. It says: “We want to stand up for the dignity and equality of all people equally - regardless of education, gender, religion, (ethnic) origin, ((sub-) cultural) character and financial possibilities and much more - in short: across all human borders . ”In the movement magazine“ Der Kranke Bote ”from February 2009 under the title“ When in doubt for love - Why Christians have to repent when it comes to homosexuality ”, the author advocates a more balanced view of homosexuality and recognition of love in long-term same-sex partnerships . This led to a great discussion within the community, a round table at the Willo Freak meeting in May 2009 and a translated version of the article in the English sister magazine "The Sick Messenger" in June 2009. In the meantime, the relationship to homosexuality has changed: Homosexuals preach, teach, shape praise etc. within the Jesus Freaks movement.

Related groups

A German branch of the SPEAK network founded in England has existed since the end of 2006 . The group tries to combine the culture and some of the traditional content of left-wing protest movements with an evangelical-religious background. One focus is migration policy. Most of the founding members are people who belong to the Jesus Freaks or are close to them. There are also connections to similar Christian communities or movements in England and Norway.

Reaction of the churches

Officially there are few reactions from the popular churches . The movement used to be referred to as the “enthusiastic youth movement” and benevolently ignored. Today it is often valued as a supplement and, especially with regard to the youth work of the churches, as a valuable source of inspiration.

Brigitte Hahn, advisor for sect and ideology issues at the Episcopal General Vicariate of the Diocese of Münster, said on the occasion of World Youth Day 2005 “The Jesus Freaks are not a sect. Everyone agrees on that. ”Nevertheless, some observers from the Catholic Church are critical of some aspects of the freaks attitudes. “They seem like a modern bunch, and they have conservative values.” They also tended to set themselves apart from non-believers by calling themselves friends of Jesus. In 2011, the Evangelical Central Office for Weltanschauung questions added "[...] the suspicion of fundamentalism is likely to have been relativized by the new development".

Jörn Möller, representative for ideology issues of the North Elbian Evangelical Church, said: “The Jesus Freaks are a particular church.” Despite their “proximity to conservative Christian circles”, he sees it as unlikely that “the group will one day become a sect ”. On the other hand, he criticizes the fact that the Jesus freaks also baptize people who were already baptized as children: "The sacrament is a gift from God and cannot be repeated at will."

See also

literature

Movie
  • Freakstock 2012 by Himmelsstürmern und Bruchpiloten , in-house production, published on November 27, 2012 on Youtube
  • Freakstock 2012 - The documentary , in-house production, published on August 25, 2012 on Youtube
  • Jesus Freaks , documentary by Anne Pütz (FRG 2008), broadcast on June 6, 2008 on WDR

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Martin Dreyer: Jesus Freak. Life between the neighborhood, coke and church . Pattloch Verlag, 2012, ISBN 978-3-629-02306-3
  2. ↑ Steiger International
  3. ↑ Jesus Freaks Germany eV: Charter. Jesus Freaks Germany. 2008, Chapter 2 Preamble.
  4. ↑ jesus.de: Who believes what (5): The Jesus Freaks June 21, 2013
  5. ↑ Jesus Freaks Germany: Structure paper (PDF; 850 kB) 2009
  6. ↑ https://jesusfreaks.de/vom-kranken-boten-zur-korrekten-bande/ jesusfreaks.de: From the sick messenger to the correct gang
  7. ↑ jesusfreaks.de: Activities 2013
  8. ↑ Jesus freaks want to strengthen their unity . In: Idea of August 2, 2008
  9. ^ History of the Jesus Freaks Chemnitz until 1999
  10. ↑ Jesus Freaks Germany eV: Charter. Jesus Freaks Germany. 2008, Chapter 3 Vision & Values.
  11. ↑ Jesus Freaks Germany eV: Charter. Jesus Freaks Germany. 2008, Chapter 3 Vision & Values.
  12. ↑ Frank Hartkopf: When in doubt for love - Why Christians have to turn back when it comes to homosexuality , Der Kranke Bote 1/2009 (February / March) - short version  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective . Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , P. 14 (PDF)@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / bote.jesusfreaks.de  
  13. ↑ Willow Freak Meeting  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , news.jesusfreak.de, April 2, 2009@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / news.jesusfreak.de  
  14. ↑ Frank Hartkopf: Giving Love the Benefit of Doubt - Why Christians have to convert when it comes to homosexuality , The Sick Messenger 3/2009 (June / July) ( Memento of the original from August 12, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was used automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , P. 16 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / bote.jesusfreaks.de
  15. ↑ Texts ( Memento of the original from April 3, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. and self-portrayal ( memento of the original from April 13, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. of the SPEAK network. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.speak-netzwerk.de @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.speak-netzwerk.de
  16. ↑ From the online news ( memento of the original from October 24, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. the Jesus freaks. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / news.jesusfreak.de
  17. ↑ religio.de: "Jesusfreaks"
  18. ↑ Karina Meyer: 20 Years of Jesus Freaks - The Development of a Youth Movement , p.464 & 465. Material service of the EZW 12/2011