Pastor Pomeranus: The Life of Johannes Bugenhagen and the Lessons We Can Learn from His Pastoral Relationship with Martin Luther

Abstract

The opportunity to study Lutheran history has revealed that there are many different aspects to the history of Lutheranism that a Lutheran needs to be enlightened on. It has also revealed that there are many more aspects that have yet to receive proper scholarly attention, and thus proper study and discussion amongst all Lutherans. One such area is the life and work of Johannes Bugenhagen, a fellow Reformer and friend of Martin Luther. Despite being highly influential to Luther and his work, most Lutherans do not know who Bugenhagen was. My research uncovered the tumultuous path that brought Johannes Bugenhagen into contact with Martin Luther, and that ultimately cemented his place as Luther’s pastor in Wittenberg. Bugenhagen impacted the Lutheran Reformation in many ways, from his writings to his work as a teacher at the University of Wittenberg; but his most impactful work was his pastoral care of Martin Luther. Bugenhagen helped Luther through cycles of depression, anxiety and illness. Although we might be tempted to regard Bugenhagen’s pastoral approaches as dated and obsolete on their face, a deeper study reveals that Bugenhagen provided comfort from the basis of Scripture, knowing that God’s Word would provide more than Bugenhagen’s own words could. This type of scriptural pastoral approach is something we can still do today.