Otto Schopf

Otto Schopf (born July 2, 1870 in Heilbronn ; † January 25, 1913 in Saint-Louis , Alsace ) was a German theologian of the Federation of Free Evangelical Congregations (FeG) and founder of its Inland Mission and its theological seminar .

Life

During a visit to the English YMCA on the occasion of a professional stay as a young businessman in London, Otto Schopf found a conscious and determined Christianity, which he made sure of by attending the sermons of Charles Haddon Spurgeon . From 1891 to 1896 he attended the Evangelical Preacher's School in Basel , where he got to know the Free Evangelical Congregations through Gustav Friedrich Nagel and made friends with Konrad Bussemer , who later became an important theologian in the Federation of Free Evangelical Congregations. In 1896, through the mediation of the Witten bookseller and editor Friedrich Fries, Schopf became preacher of the Free Evangelical Churches in Wattenscheid and Witten .

theology

Like Fries, Schopf represented an emphatically congregational -independent understanding of the community, but at the same time it was aimed at an effective profiling of the Federal FeG as a purpose and working group and thus resulted in a stronger identity of the federal government as its own free church denomination . By meeting Spurgeon, Schopf was convinced of the necessity of evangelistic preaching. In 1904 he founded the evangelization work of the Free Evangelical Congregations, today's Inland Mission, the direction of which became his life's work. Schopf reacted sensitively and very critically to human methods and jostling in order to induce people to convert. The conversion of people is not an arithmetic, but a work of the sovereign and unfathomable grace of God. During his work in the evangelization work, Schopf found time and again that there was a lack of evangelists and preachers who were both humanly suited and well-trained theologically. Contrary to some internal resistance, his initiative in 1912 succeeded in opening a federal preacher's school , which developed into today's state-recognized Ewersbach Theological University (THE), in which the pastors of the Federal FeG and the missionaries of the Alliance mission are trained. From 1900 Schopf was a member of the FeG federal management, board member of the federal publishing house and the Diakonisches Werk Bethanien in Solingen-Aufderhöhe. Schopf was the first in the series of free churches and ecclesiastical communities to take a critical stance against the " Kassel Movement " and to help them distance themselves well. Schopf theologically acknowledged the center of the Gospel. From his point of view, the FeG strive “in teaching and knowledge a strong emphasis on what God planned for the healing of his community, that is, a mild Calvinism and antinomism. In the presentation of the Gospel the exposition of the plan of salvation, the doctrine of sin and the general depravity of men, the proclamation of justification on the basis of a reconciliation based on atonement should come to the fore; in short, of what God did for the regeneration of the sinner, what he does for our sanctification and what he will do for our consummation. "

In a phase of external and internal uncertainty in the Federal FeG, his lecture What is the decisive factor in our position on the biblical church regulations? , which was published, represented something like an evangelical position description on the ecclesiological justification and the path of the free evangelical congregations. Schopf rejected a blind "obedience to scripture" and instead put the personal "childlike obedience to the father". Under scriptural obedience one should not understand the persecution of the scriptural letter, but the penetration "into the spirit of the scriptures" and also "compare scripture with scripture." often with overzealousness and lack of understanding ”, but engage in“ practical, destructive criticism of the Bible ”. He asked: “What is worse if a liberal theologian to whom the Bible is only a collection of human documents considers certain parts of the Bible to be inauthentic or non-binding, or if those who solemnly declare the Bible to be God's Word make laws and methods that have no reason in the Bible, and clearly taught biblical truths for it, because they threaten to become uncomfortable, or lead more slowly to the goal, push aside, or rather do not want to research and think about it more precisely? Cultivating respect for the conscience of the individual, which allows a certain tolerance and diversity in forms that are not important for salvation, meant for Schopf the optimal conditions for the congregational development of the Gospel. For him, recognizing the truth of the church included not only the consistent and spiritual implementation of God's building plan for his church, as can be seen in the Bible, but also the “glorious freedom of God's children”, which he describes as the basic condition for existence and the way of life of free evangelical congregations. The FeG congregation principle is then practicable and successful when the individual Christian matures into a spiritual and independent personality who is able to independently examine, judge and decide. The unity of the congregation and congregations is not through the power of one or created by several leaders or teachers, but found by researching everyone together in the Bible and paying attention to God's guidance under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Until his early death, Schopf sought the unity and solidarity of all “children of God”, primarily in the Evangelical Alliance. His motto was: “We implore the blessings of God on all endeavors directed to bring together the scattered children of God. But the Lord also wants to bless all dogs that keep Christ's flock together. "

Works

• Our free communities , in: Der Gärtner 10 (1902), pp. 236–381.
• On the Casseler Movement , 3rd edition, Bonn, undated [1907].
• What is a "Free Evangelical Congregation"? , in: Der Gärtner 19 (1911), pp. 308-332.
• John Mark, a triumph of grace (trowel and sword 46). Bonn 1912, Witten 1930.
• Give us, Lord, holy thoroughness (song) at all times , in: Gemeindepsalter , No. 517.Bundes-Verlag, Witten 1930.

literature

• Konrad Bussemer : Otto Schopf. Personality and work, especially in their importance for our communities. In: The gardener . 1923, p. 38 ff.
• Friedrich Fries : Some of the death of Br. Otto Schopf. In: The gardener. 1913, pp. 44-55.
• Friedrich Fries: On the death of Otto Schopf. In: The gardener. 1913, pp. 60-61.
• Friedrich Fries: At the price of grace. Scriptures, sermons, lectures and poems from the estate. Along with a brief outline of life. Witten 1914.
• Thomas Habighorst:  Schopf, Otto. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 9, Bautz, Herzberg 1995, ISBN 3-88309-058-1 , Sp. 801-806.
• Hartmut Weyel: Otto Schopf. The right man at the right time. In: Christianity today . 10/2007, pp. 50-53, and 11/2007, pp. 50-53.
• Hartmut Weyel: Otto Schopf (1870-1913). The right man at the right time. In: Hartmut Weyel: The future needs a past. Lively portraits from the history and prehistory of the Free Evangelical Churches (= history and theology of the Free Evangelical Churches. Vol. 5.5). Vol. 2, Witten 2010, pp. 227-264.

Individual evidence

1. ^ O. Schopf: What we strive for and what we experience in the Free Evangelical Churches. In: At the price of grace. Witten 1914, p. 340.Bundes -Verlag, Witten 1914, p. 340 .
2. ↑ O. Schopf: What is the decisive factor in our position on the biblical church regulations? Bonn 1910.
3. ^ O. Schopf: On the Casseler Movement. P. 34.
4. ↑ O. Schopf: The general Christian church, the "one body" whose head is Christ. In: At the price of grace, p. 375.