Melancthon, Luther, and Radical Courage

A team from NCC is in Berlin exploring new ways of doing church, ministry, and reaching a generation that has pushed the church to the edges of cultural relevance. What better place to find inspiration than the home of Reformation?

As Ryan pointed out, it's ironic that I embarked on a pilgrimage to Reformation country with a St. Christopher medallion hanging around my neck. Chalk it up to being a Christ follower in a post-modern world.

There is so much to process from today that I have no idea where to start. For now, I'll just share some pictures and quick thoughts.

First stop- a small cafe for some caffeine and sugar. From left to right, new friends Brian and Mike, then awesome NCCers Kate and Jen, and my Discipleship Team partner in crime John. And that's the Castle Church in the background. Yes, THE Castle Church.


The Main Street of Reformation- a walk down this street is an exploration of the radical courage of Luther, Melancthon, and others who fueled change in the 1500s. We saw the Castle Church, Melancthon's house, Luther's house, and the University of Wittenberg where radical courage took root.


The Doors. Well, not exactly. The original doors are no longer with us. But it was on the doors at this spot where Luther posted his 95 Theses in 1517. Above the doors we see the image of Luther and Melancthon holding the Augsburg Confession.


A view of Wittenberg from the top of the Castle Church tower-- 289 steps up.


Inside the Castle Church.


The grave of Philipp Melancthon.


The home of Philipp Melancthon.

The tired crew-- finding a place to rest as Heather completely nerded out in the home of Philipp Melancthon. Seriously-- I was way more excited about this than Luther's home. For whatever its worth, my fascination with Melancthon wormed it's way into my upcoming small group study, Sacred Roads.


This was seriously one of the best days ever. Feeling inspired and challenged to live out the faith that has been passed down to us by the pens of the theologians, the sweat of the evangelists, the words of the prophets, the passion of the preachers, and the blood of the martyrs.

I might get around to blogging on and showing pictures from our other adventures, but for now I will leave you with a quote from Luther:

"Let the minds clash-- but keep the fists down."

I'm sure he wasn't referring to the fist bump. :)