again, the Brethren had a strong belief in direct answers to prayer. it was this that led them to make such use of the 'lot'. as soon as the first 12 elders were elected, the brethren chose from among the 12 a committee of 4 by lot; and in course of time the lot was used for a great variety of purposes. by the lot..the most serious ecclesiastical problems were settled. by the lot a sister determined her answer to an offer of marriage. by the lot a call to service was given, and by the lot it was accepted or rejected. if once the lot had been consulted, the decision was absolute and binding. the prayer had been answered, the Lord had spoken, and the servant must now obey.
(1731) (it had come to Z that the Brethren voluntarily dissolve themselves as a church and become lutherans)...at that moment Zinzendorf was calmly attempting to destroy the moravian church. he did not want to see that church revive. for some reason of his own, which he never explained in print, he had come to the conclusion that the Brethren would serve Christ far better without any special regulations of their own. but the Brethren were not disposed to meek surrender. the question was keenly debated. at length, however, both sides agreed to appeal to a strange tribunal. for the first time in the history of herrnhut a critical question of church policy was submitted to the lot. (it is not clear who suggested the use of the lot. according to zinzendorf's diary it was the brethren; but i suspect that he himself was the first to suggest it. there is no proof that the brethren were already fond of the lot; but there is plenty of proof that the pietists were and Z had probably learned it from them.) the Brethren took 2 slips of paper and put them into a box. on the first were the words, 'to them that are without law, as without law, that i might gain them that are without law' i cor. 9. 21; on the second the words, 'therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught', Ii thess. 2.15. at that moment the fate of the church hung in the balance; the question at issue was one of life and death; and the Brethren spent a long time in anxious prayer. if the first slip of paper was drawn, the church would cease to exist; if the second, she might still live by the blessing of God. young christel, Z's son, now entered the room. he drew the second slip of paper and the moravian church was saved. to Z this was an event of momentous importance. as soon as that second slip of paper was drawn, he felt convinced that God had sanctioned the renewal of the moravian church...
....(1731..Z was introduced to the idea of foreign missions and, in turn, introduced this to the moravian church. his words inspired..especially several young men, but the church as a whole was not convinced.)...for a year the issue hung in the scales of doubt. the young men were resolute..if they had to be slaves to preach the gospel, then slaves they would willingly be! at last dober (one of the men) wrote in person to the congregation and repeated his resolve the Brethren yielded. the count still doubted. for the second time a momentous issue was submitted to the decision of the lot.
'are you willing', he asked dober, 'to consult the saviour by means of the lot?' 'for myself, i am already sure enough; but i will do so for the sake of the brethren'. a meeting was held; a box of mottoes was brought in; and dober drew a slip of paper bearing the words; 'let the lad go, for the Lord is with him'. the voice of the lot was decisive. of all the meetings held in herrnhut, this meeting to hear the voice of the lot was the most momentous in its world-wide importance. the young men were all on fire. if the lot had only given the word they would now have hone to the foreign field in dozens. for the first time in the history of protestant europe a congregation of orthodox christians had deliberately resolved to undertake the task of preaching the gospel to the heathen. as the lot which decided that dober should go had also decided that his friend leupold should stay, he now chose as his traveling companion..david nitschmann...
(1741..at this time the Brethren had a system of church government that essentially ended up having only one man in the top position as chief elder. currently this was leonard dober..) he was supposed to be above all party disputes; he was the friend of all, the intercessor for all, the broad minded ideal brother ; and yet, if an actual dispute arose, he would be expected to give a binding decision. for these manifold duties dober felt unfit; he had no desire to be a protestant pope; and, therefore, being a modest man, he wrote to the conference at marienborn and asked for leave to lay down his office. the question was submitted to the lot. the lot allowed dober to resign. ..for the third time a critical question was submitted to the decision of the lot. Z reports, as we began to think about the eldership it occurred to us to accept the saviour as elder. at the beginning of our deliberations we opened the textbook. on the one page stood the words, let us open the door to Christ'; on the other, 'thus saith the Lord, etc.; your master, etc.; show Me to My children and to the work of My hands'. 'away to Jesus! away! etc. forthwith and with one consent we resolved to have no other than him as our General Elder. He sanctioned it. (Z means, by means of a lot) we looked at the watchword for the day. it ran: 'the glory of the Lord filled the house. we bow before the lamb's face, etc.' we asked permission. (Z again means by means of the lot) we obtained it. we sang with unequaled emotion: 'come, then, for we belong to Thee, and bless us inexpressibly'...
(1743 at this time Z had the idea that they were not only to restore the Brethren church but they were to establish a broader, comprehensive church, to be known as the Church of the Brethren.) 'in the future, he said, we are all the be Brethren and our bishops must be Brethren's bishops; and, therefore, in this Church of the Brethren there will henceforth be, not only moravians, but also lutherans and calvinists, who cannot find peace in their own churches on account of brutal theologians'.
his remedy was worse than the disease. the great fault in Z's character was lack of ballast. for the last few years he had given way to the habit of despising his own common sense; and instead of using his own judgment he now used the lot. he had probably learned this habit from the halle pietists. he carried his lot apparatus in his pocket (it was a little green book, with detachable leaves; each leaf contained some motto or text; and when the count was in a difficulty, he pulled out one of these leaves at random); he consulted it on all sorts of topics; he regarded it as the infallible voice of God. ..he said in a letter to spangenberg..' to me the lot and the will of God are simply one and the same thing. i am not wise enough to seek God's will by my own mental efforts. i would rather trust an innocent piece of paper than my own feelings'. he now endeavoured to teach this faith to the Brethren...
(...1741..at fetter lane (in england)..after john wesley separated from it..james hutton came to the front..a good number of moravians arrived on the scene..hutton introduced moravian literature to the english..spangenberg arrived..the quarreling stopped and the people began to apply themselves to the spead of the gospel and to this end they now established the 'society for the furtherance of the gospel')...the next step was to license the chapel in fetter lane. the need was pressing. as long as the members met without a licence they might be accused, at any time, of breaking the conventicle act. they wished now to have the law on their side. already the windows had been broken by a mob. the services now were open to the public...the members took upon themselves the name 'moravian brethren, formerly of the anglican communion'. but the members at fetter lane were not yet satisfied. for all their loyalty to the church of england, they longed for closer communion with the Church of the Brethren; and william holland openly asked the question, 'can a man join the moravian church and yet remain a member of the anglican church'? 'yes ,was the answer, for they are sister churches'. for this reason, therefore, and without any desire to become dissenters, a number of the members of the fetter lane society applied to spangenberg to establish a congregation of the moravian church in england. the cautious spangenberg paused. for the fourth time a momentous question was put to the decision of the lot. the lot sanctioned the move...
(..1760..concerning how open an account of Z's character should be written concerning him..)..the Brethren commissioned spangenberg to write a 'life of Z'. as the count, however, had been far from perfect, they had to face the serious question whether spangenberg should be allowed to expose his faults to public gaze. they consulted the lot; the lot said 'no';..therefore they solemnly warned spangenberg that, in order to avoid creating a false impression, he was 'to leave out everything that would not edify the public'...
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