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Unbenanntes Dokument
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Living A Life That Counts
My Dad's Journey of Faith
To Becoming A Pastor Behind The Berlin Wall
by Michael Furchert
"Please, do not let him die, Heavenly Father, please..!" She knelt at his death bed pleading to God as she squeezed the tiny little hands of her 6 years old son. "If you spare my little boy he shall dedicate his life to your service!" she prayed to God in anguish.
My Dad was born during the frightening years of World War 2. His family fled with their 4 children from the Russian front when he was just 3 years old. And now undernourished and weakened from the after-years of war and starvation, and suffering from incurable heart disease, severe pneumonia and high fever, he was given no chance of survival. The doctor had given up on him. "Your son will not make it through the night" he had said trying to comfort his mother "There is nothing I can do for him anymore. I am sorry!" Then he had left the house leaving behind the praying mother with her dying boy.
But my grandmother would not give up on her son, yet. She believed in the power of prayer and she believed in the power of God. "If you spare the life of my son, oh Lord, he shall live his life for your glory!" she prayed with fervor, kneeling next to his bed all night long. The next morning the little boy opened his eyes, climbed out of his bed and went to Sunday school in the little church building rebuilt from the rubbles of WW2.
Twenty years later my father, Jürgen Furchert, was the pastor of an East German church. Boldly he brought his congregation an unwavering message of hope and faith, the Resurrection and the Life as he led them through the struggles of the persecuted church behind the Berlin Wall of Communist East Germany. Finally his mother told him about the prayer she had spoken at his death bed when he was a little boy. He had never known.
It was as if God himself had brought him to this place. As if He had taken his life and on a path along heights and depths, joys and struggles awoken the desire in his heart to dedicate his life to His service. And while it was a road of challenges and difficulties to get there it was a time that prepared and equipped him to grow strong in spirit, bold in his proclamation and firm in his faith for the call and ministry God was about to lay on his life.
After graduation from the Financial College he had first become a Financial Economist working at the City Hall. Being a professing Christian within a Government Institution, challenges and difficulties were inevitable and confrontation just a matter of time. But God equipped him with the wisdom and serenity he needed. When during the times of persecution Communist officials demanded he had to take off the cross pin on his jacket since the profession of personal beliefs and ideologies was unacceptable in a public place, he answered with a friendly smile: "If that is your policy I shall comply to it. I will take off my cross pin as soon as you take off your Communist Party pin!" That was the end of the story and each kept their pins.
But as his profession of his Christian faith continued, officials started to conspire against him behind closed doors to set him up, frame him and falsely accuse him to justify his dismissal from the City Hall. His profession of faith was a thorn in the flesh to the communist leadership, his Christian beliefs an offense to their world views and teachings. Yet God continued to strengthen him to stand his ground, to confess his Redeemer and defend his Christian faith.
In a final conspiracy, in which his colleges were intimidated and threatened, the City Hall forced about a vote of confidence. They established the accusation that his political and Christian views as well as his church membership were unacceptable for someone working in a public institution. They asked his colleagues to speak up if they opposed the charges brought against him. No one dared to raise their hands. No one who spoke out.
With tears in their eyes they confessed to him later, "We were scared, if we had spoken out they would have come after us and our families" This was the end of his career as Financial Economist at the City Hall and the Communists believed another Christian voice in public would finally be silenced. But they were mistaken. His voice was just about to become heard.
Holding tight to the faith that had cost him his career, he walked the streets of Berlin to apply for work with the Center of Domestic and Foreign Trade. They were looking for young economists. But to his surprise he had to realize that the building he was looking for had disappeared. The Center of Domestic and Foreign Trade had moved and the their building was torn down. There at the end of the road only stood one historic building. In front of it a sign: "Preachers Seminary."
Something urged him to go inside. "It was as if an invisible hand had led me there." he remembered later. As he entered the principles office, another young man was just applying to enroll. They looked at each other.. ''Achim" my Dad shouted "I don't believe it! Is that you?" It was his old friend from youth group in his home town. He had quit Trade College because he had grown tired of the Communist propaganda filling every class and felt a calling to become a pastor. And there, at the end of the road and at the beginning of new life the two men met again.
The building of the Center of DFT had been torn down and instead the sign of a Preachers Seminary stood right before him. His old friend from youth group was standing inside to enroll to become a pastor as well. This could not be coincidence. It had always been my Dad's desire to build an oasis of tranquility and peace in a challenging time and to reach people with a message of hope and faith. And there at this moment and this place God spoke to him.
Three years later Rev. Jürgen Furchert gave his first sermon at the Church of Gethsemane in Berlin, which later became famous for starting the peaceful revolution that brought down the Berlin Wall and demonstrated to the world the power and potential within the Christian church and the message of Jesus Christ. His first sermon was "Jesus Overcomes Our Fears" as he preached about the word of Christ calming the storm no matter how challenging our lives may be. In this service he preached his first evangelistic message with the well known words "Go tell it on the mountain that JESUS CHRIST IS BORN!"
In 1970 he had his own parish leading a rural congregation, along with his wife as Sunday school teacher and organist at his side. Throughout the years of Communist rule they continued to stand strong on the word of God, bringing a message of hope, comfort, faith and the Gospel of Christ and His Salvation. It was challenging to be a pastor under Communism and confrontation with the government and the STASI Secret Service could fill books of faith against the odds. It was a life and ministry of difficulties and sacrifices on the one side, but God's love, grace and faithfulness on the other.
As my Dad stood his ground as pastor behind the Berlin Wall, satan once again attacked and doctors told him that with such an irreversible heart condition he was suffering from, he would not become older than 30. Taking the bad news with composure he replied to them "My life is in Gods hands". And God remained faithful! Today at the age of 60, he has 5 children and a grandson and is still serving his congregation faithfully. His proclamation of faith has not yet ceased. Instead, his testimony now encourages many in different places of the world.
It was in this little church and this Christian home that I found my faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior as I listened to the words my father preached and watched the life my parents lived. And as he prepares for his impending retirement I know deep in my heart he will end his last sermon as he started his first: "Go tell it on the mountain, that JESUS CHRIST IS BORN!"
© 2003 Michael Furchert
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