Philip Spener

Philip Jacob Spener was born in Alsace and educated at Strasbourg. He had completed his doctoral dissertation and was prepared to teach, but instead served as a pastor in Frankfurt. The deadness and moral laxity of the congregation moved him to offer a specific program for change, spelled out in Pia Desideria, or "Pious Desires," first published in 1675. This controversial writing marks the birth of Pietism as a renewal movement within Lutheranism and beyond it. Pia Desideria's five proposals were: 1) greater use of Scripture; 2) lay participation in the life of the church through small groups for prayer and Bible study; 3) balance of doing and believing in the Christian life; 4) ministerial training in piety as well as academics; 5) sermons which encourage a living, active faith. Spener prized the theology of Martin Luther; at the same time he charged scholasticism with codifying Lutheran theology and neglecting the Christian life. Among those influenced by Spener was John Wesley (1703-1791), whose Methodist movement also used small groups and lay leadership. Spener was a forerunner of the modern small group movement.