Unity through Repentance: The Journey to Wittenberg 2017
Ebook
Can a 500-Year-Old Conflict Be Healed?
Most Christians will agree that God has a desire to reconcile all peoples to himself—but few are willing to explore God’s fierce resolve to reconcile us to each other. In fact, we often find ourselves affirming deeply rooted hostility in the body of Christ. The legendary image of Martin Luther defiantly nailing his 95 Theses to the Wittenberg church door in 1517 exemplifies our urge to celebrate the split between Protestants and Catholics. But even this conflict can be transformed and healed by the power of God and the partnership of friends.
Unity through Repentance is the story of God interrupting the lives and plans of an ordinary couple to invite them into the adventure of a lifetime—gathering all the major streams of Jesus-followers in Wittenberg on the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. God gave the vision; tested and confirmed the calling; formed an international leadership team; and inspired a series of gatherings dedicated to joining with Jesus through repentance, forgiveness, and praying John 17.
As he tells his story, Cogdell emphasizes spiritual formation and conflict resolution, underscoring the importance of unity in the body of Christ for world evangelism. Unity through Repentance provides fresh inspiration for the global church to fulfill Jesus’s prayer for missions: Make them one ... so that the world will believe.
Cast of Characters
Foreword by Father Peter Hocken
Preface
Part I: Background and Vision, 1980s–2000
Chapter 1- Hope Chapel
Chapter 2- Born Again, Again
Chapter 3- Power Plant of Prayer
Chapter 4- God’s Landmine by Amy Cogdell
Chapter 5- Switzerland
Chapter 6- “The Guts to Go Through with It”
Part II: Testing, 2001–2010
Chapter 7- Waiting
Chapter 8- Compulsions
Chapter 9- “Let Me Do It”
Chapter 10- Herrnhut
Chapter 11- God Does It
Chapter 12- “Seven Years from Today”
Midword by John Dawson
Part III: A Journey into Repentance, 2010–2015
Chapter 13- “Where Are the Jews?”
Chapter 14- Antakya and Berlin
Chapter 15- Ottmaring, 2012
Chapter 16- Volkenroda, 2013
Chapter 17- Trento, 2014
Chapter 18- Rome, 2015
Part IV: The 500th Anniversary, 2016–2017
Chapter 19- 500 Days Before, 2016
Chapter 20- Death of a Father
Chapter 21- Death of a Mother
Chapter 22- Searching for Anabaptists
Chapter 23- A Prayer Meeting Occasionally Interrupted by Teachings
Chapter 24- The Joy of Repentance
Part V: Sabbath and New Life
Chapter 25- The Beauty of Completability
Chapter 26- “Unless a Seed Falls into the Ground”
Afterword by Hanna Zack Miley
Appendix 1: The Wittenberg 2017 Principles
Appendix 2: Historical Conclusions about the Reformation
Appendix 3: Biographical Sketches by Amy Cogdell
Appendix 4: Wittenberg 2017 as One Pattern for Leadership of a Reconciliation Initiative
Appendix 5: Identificational Repentance
Appendix 6: A Lutheran Pastor Reflects on Rome by Hans Scholz
Appendix 7: Judensau Lament by Richard Harvey
Acknowledgments
"An inspiring story of reconciliation in a wounded world."
John Dawson
International Director of Youth with a Mission, New Zealand / USA
It was one of the unique experiences in my life ... The healing power of God was noticeably present in Wittenberg.
Archpriest Drtad Uzunyan
Ecumenical Representative of Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey (Eastern Orthodox), Istanbul, Turkey
By faith and through countless impossibilities, Thomas and Amy obeyed when God called them. After 500 years, wounds were healed in the body of Christ. No one would have ever dared to believe this.
Sister Joela Krüger
Marienschwestern (Evangelical Sisters of Mary–Lutheran), Darmstadt, Germany
- Title: Unity through Repentance: The Journey to Wittenberg 2017
- Authors: Thomas Cogdell, Amy Cogdell
- Publisher: William Carey Publishing
- Print Publication Date: 2022
- Logos Release Date: 2023
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781645083139, 9781645083115, 164508311X, 1645083136
- Resource ID: LLS:9781645083139
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-16T09:13:07Z
Thomas and Amy Cogdell live in central Texas. They have five children and five grandchildren (so far). Amy is Catholic, and Thomas is Protestant. Together, they founded Christ the Reconciler, a community of Jesus-followers striving to live out John 17. Thomas also co-founded Day & Night Waters, a social venture/public benefit company that serves as the economic engine of Christ the Reconciler. He also works in the private sector and serves on the boards of Christ the Reconciler, Day & Night Waters, Antioch Network, and Help for All Nations.