Johannes Bugenhagen

Some people are good at organizing. I’m not one of those people. God bestows on some people the gift of administration. Those among us who are organizationally challenged rely on people who have administrative gifts. Johannes Bugenhagen (1485-1558) was good at organizing. While reformer Martin Luther had many sterling qualities, he was disorganized and swamped with competing requests.  He relied on other talented people to exercise their management gifts to reform the church. Bugenhagen functioned much like Luther’s press secretary. He became Luther’s trusted spokesman and kept detailed notes of Luther’s dinner conversations with students that was later published as Table Talk. He served as Luther’s pastor and chief spiritual advisor. He conducted Luther’s wedding to Katharina von Bora and preached at his funeral through tears. We credit Bugenhagen for organizing this grassroots, fledgling movement called the Reformation in Germany and Denmark into a lasting force for needed change in the church. One of the by-products of the Reformation was a counter reformation within Catholic churches.  While he was a caring pastor and capable theologian, Bugenhagen is principally remembered as one who used his administrative gifts to spread the gospel. I admire Bugenhagen’s prayer for confession that follows here. He was under no illusion about his need for a Savior: