Otto Funcke

Otto Funcke

Otto Funcke (born March 9, 1836 in Wülfrath ; † December 26, 1910 in Bremen ) was a Protestant pastor and one of the most successful Christian folk tellers of the 19th century. He received an honorary doctorate in theology from the University of Halle .

biography

childhood

Funcke was the son of a country doctor. At the age of 7-11 he was very sickly, so that he was not allowed to go to school and often not allowed to play outside with the other children. In return he spent a lot of time with his mother, who instructed him mainly in spiritual matters. From her he learned the biblical stories, the spiritual songs of Tersteegen and the love of mission to the Gentiles. So their influence was formative for his later life. At times he also received private lessons. He gained his knowledge of human nature by coming into contact with a wide variety of people in his father's waiting room.

He wanted to study medicine to succeed his father. So he attended the Evangelisch Stiftische Gymnasium in Gütersloh . Johann Hinrich Wichern , who gave a prayer during a visit, made him want to follow Jesus. During a visit to Bremen in 1855, the preacher Mallet made such an impression on him that he decided to study theology . This decision was consolidated when he was supposed to assist his father with a leg amputation and passed out. His decision to pursue a career in theology met with a general lack of understanding, except from his mother, as he had a weak chest and also stuttered .

Theology student

After graduating from high school , he began studying theology in Halle in 1857. The denominational disputes that repelled him and the reading of the critic David Friedrich Strauss fueled his doubts about the truth of the Bible. When he got very sick at the end of the second semester, he wanted to give up studying. His mother persuaded him to study at least one more semester in Tübingen with Johann Tobias Beck after the illness and before a final decision was made . Beck, to whom he confided at the first meeting that he was looking for the truth, was able to help him with pastoral care. As a student he also came into contact with Johann Christoph Blumhardt , of whom he writes: “There was a power emanating from him.” In 1859 he gave his first sermon. Because he did not stutter, he was finally convinced that God had confirmed his path. He spent the last two semesters in Bonn. The candidate exams he was just barely.

Assistant preacher

He began his work as an assistant preacher in his home town of Wülfrath in 1860 to support his grandfather, who was a pastor there. After his abdication , he became assistant preacher in Elberfeld , where he finally enjoyed great popularity after some initial difficulties. There he lived in the house of a member of the Free Evangelical Congregation and also got to know its founder Hermann Heinrich Grafe . In 1862 Funcke passed his final exam.

pastor

Funcke had decided to become a country pastor. He was drawn to Holpe by drawing lots . Since the community advised him to marry before taking office, he got engaged to 18-year-old Maria Jäger from Elberfeld. On October 8, 1862, he was ceremoniously received in Holpe. He was ordained two days later . The pastor Jakob Engels from Nümbrecht offered him his collaboration. He married on November 23, 1862. The marriage did not last long, as his wife died giving birth to their first child on August 18, 1863. Jakob Engels, who feared that Funcke would become melancholy after this shocking experience , took him on a recovery trip to Switzerland at the end of September . On this trip, Funcke began his writing activity by writing down his travel experiences. Emil Frommel , to whom he submitted his stories for assessment, was enthusiastic.

On July 26, 1865, he married Maria Rehmann, the sister of a friend. But only a few months later his father told him in confidence that he could see signs of consumption in her . The child she gave birth did not survive long. She herself died of her illness on August 14, 1867.

In order not to become melancholy , Funcke made a trip to the Evangelical Alliance in Amsterdam a few days after the death of his second wife . It was here that the speeches by August Tholuck and Jan van Oosterzee built it up. On his return trip he paid a visit to Pastor Minck in Frücht . The latter saw an answer to his prayers in the visit, as he was looking for an inspector for the Inner Mission in Bremen and now said that God had sent him Funcke for it. Funcke was convinced by Minck and accepted this appointment.

On February 9, 1868, Otto Funcke began his service with the Inner Mission in Bremen. In 1869 he built the "Friedenskirche" in a growing suburb. After a short time in Bremen, his son from his first marriage died. In his third marriage he married Gebecka Meier (1842–1929), the daughter of the Bremen mayor Johann Daniel Meier . He had seven children with her. In addition to his work in Bremen, he worked as a writer. Out of his fame grew a flood of letters seeking advice and consolation, to which he answered pastorally. In view of the heavy workload, he suggested with a sigh as his burial motto: "The correspondence killed him!"

He was buried - without this saying - in the Bremen-Riensberg cemetery .

Works (in selection)

Travel pictures and sounds of home (book cover)

• Christian question marks or how one can find out in difficult questions and decisions in life what the will of God is. A contribution to spiritual health care . Roemke, Cöln 1868. ( Digitized 2nd edition )
• The school of life, or: Christian life pictures in the light of the book of Jonas . Müller, Bremen 1871. ( digitized version )
• Daily devotions. 1st part. Festive half , C. Ed. Müller, Bremen 1875. ( digitized version )
• Daily devotions. 2nd part. Festivalless half , C. Ed. Müller, Bremen 1875. ( digitized version )
• English pictures in German lighting , C. Ed. Müller, Bremen 1883.
• Travel pictures and sounds of home , 3 vols., C. Ed. Müller, Bremen 1870–1873.
• Transformations, or: How a sighted person becomes blind and a blind man sees. Müller, Bremen 1890.
• New travel pictures and sounds of home , C. Ed. Müller, Bremen 1892.
• Walking before God. Set out in the footsteps of Patriarch Joseph , C. Ed. Müller, Bremen, 1890.
• New travel pictures and sounds of home , C. Ed. Müller, Bremen 1892.
• St. Paul by Sea and Land , C. Ed. Müller, Bremen 1894.
• The world of faith and the everyday world. Set out in the footsteps of Abraham , Cranston & Stowe, Cincinnati 1894.
• The footsteps of the living God in my life (abridged new edition under the title: In der Schmiede Gottes , Brunnen Verlag, Gießen and Basel 1938)
• How the deer screams. Sermons and Reflections , C. Ed. Müller, Bremen undated
• Do you want to get well? Contributions to Christian Soul Care , C. Ed. Müller, Bremen undated
• Serious Questions , Tract Society, Barmen o.J.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Otto Funcke: In the forge of God . Brunnen Verlag, Gießen and Basel 1938, p. 131.
2. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 57.
3. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , S. 46ff.
4. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 59.
5. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 106.
6. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , S. 114f.
7. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , pp. 123-124.
8. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , pp. 124–125.
9. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 125.
10. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 127.
11. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , pp. 136-137.
12. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 138.
13. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 140.
14. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 151.
15. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 161.
16. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 165.
17. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 166.
18. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 168.
19. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 182.
20. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 188.
21. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 183.
22. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 191.
23. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , pp. 192–193.
24. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 194.
25. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 199.
26. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 200.
27. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 201.
28. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , pp. 210–211.
29. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 216.
30. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 219.
31. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , pp. 224–225.
32. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 225.
33. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 231.
34. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 234.
35. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 235 (It is probably about the international conference of the Evangelical Alliance held there.)
36. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 236.
37. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 238.
38. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 243.
39. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 244.
40. ↑ Otto Funcke: In der Schmiede Gottes , p. 246.

Web links

Commons : Otto Funcke  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Otto Funcke in the catalog of the German National Library
• Hermann Strathmann :  Funcke, Otto. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 5, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1961, ISBN 3-428-00186-9 , p. 729 f. ( Digitized version ).