Ludwig Nommensen Missionary To The Bataks
Worship
What Grace They Received
Worship Commemorations For 12 Ancient And Modern Saints
Reader 1: In the Pacific Ocean of southeastern Asia lies the country known as Indonesia. You may remember some of the Indonesian islands from your geography class back in grade school: Borneo, Java, Sumatra.
It is on the island of Sumatra, specifically the northern part, where the Batak people live. For centuries the Bataks lived in isolation from the world; not too many foreigners wanted to penetrate that mountainous tropical jungle region. As far back as Marco Polo, the Batak people were characterized as fierce and cannibalistic. Even the Dutch colonialists were only able to dominate the coastal areas. Nor had Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims made any inroads among the Batak people.
With that kind of isolation from the world, the Bataks had their own very well developed society: a system of laws, social customs and religion. According to the Batak worldview, all existence was divided into three realms: first, the Upper World which was the domain of the High God and the spirits of the departed ancestors; second the Middle World, or the earth, where humans lived; third the Under World which was the home of ghosts and demons.
The Bataks were not afraid of their gods; once they even declared war on them! According to another religious tradition, one of their gods came down to earth but decided that the problems of the middle world were too difficult and so he left, never to return!
A very different kind of morality resulted from this religious worldview. To enter the kingdom of the dead, a Batak would be asked how many heads he had taken; the more, the better. Thus a murderer could enter the kingdom of the dead, but not his victim.
They believed that each person possessed a tondi, a life force, the essential power of a person. They further believed that one could absorb the power of another person's tondi by eating him; thus they practiced cannibalism.
So how would you go about introducing Christianity to the Batak people? On the one hand, you wouldn't want to weaken the very strong society they had developed; but on the other hand, you wouldn't want Christianity to be totally transformed by their culture.
In 1834, two American missionaries, Henry Lyman and Samuel Munson, made the first attempt to travel into the interior of Sumatra to the Batak people. They were surrounded by 200 armed men, killed and supposedly eaten.
In that same year, 1834, Ludwig Nommensen was born on one of the islands off the coast of the Netherlands. When he was 12 years old, he was run over by a farm wagon, injuring his legs so severely that it was thought he would never walk again. Lying in bed for a year, young Ludwig prayed for healing. Then a new doctor prescribed a different treatment and soon Nommensen was walking again. This healing, Nommensen believed, was God leading him to become a missionary. As a young adult he sought admission to a missionary training school in Barmen. At first glance his application was rejected, but Nommensen's persistence finally gained him entrance. He graduated in 1861, was ordained and sailed for Sumatra. He spent the first two years living on the coast and learning the Batak language, because he intended to begin his ministry among them.
Finally, accompanied by two Batak guides, he journeyed into the interior. His arrival in a Batak village caused quite a stir; no one there had ever seen a white man before. He was taken to the radja, the leader of the village, where he made his request:
Reader 2: "I would like very much to come and live with you here in order to teach all who wish to, how to become clever and happy."
Reader 1: The men of the village debated his request for a whole day. Unable to reach a decision, the radjas from the nearby villages were invited for a conference. The arguing went on for five days. Finally, the radjas allowed him to stay. But his attempts to establish himself there were continually frustrated. He lived in a rice barn because the people did not allow him to erect a building. He tried to start a school, but no children would attend.
Once, at a feast, to honor one of their ancestors, a medium had incited the crowd to demand Nommensen's death. Nommensen boldly stood in their midst. The medium fell silent at his feet as soon as he began to speak.
Reader 2: "Men of Sitahoeri, you have been deceived because the spirit which spoke through the medium just now was a lying spirit, Satan himself, and not the spirit of Siatasbaritas, your ancestor. Would he have asked you for human blood as an offering? No, this is Satan, the great deceiver who makes people murder each other. But God, the Creator, has sent me here to you in order to show you the deception of the Evil One and to lead you in the way of salvation."
Reader 1: Nommensen's speech calmed the crowd, and he was allowed to leave unharmed. There were many such difficulties in the early days. The mission work went slowly; after two years he had baptized only 13 Batak people.
Yet increasingly, Nommensen came to understand the unique Batak logic and began winning their confidence. He lived as simply as the Bataks did: he slept on a mat on the floor, used a box for his chair and a sack of rice for his table. His daily food was the same as theirs: a bowl of rice, a piece of dried fish and maybe a vegetable.
The first converts to Christianity found themselves banished from their villages, so Nommensen established a Christian community on a piece of swampland. He called it Huta Dame, or Village of Peace. During a smallpox epidemic many of the surrounding villages brought their children to Nommensen for treatment.
In spite of the initial slow progress of the mission, Nommensen patiently continued sharing the gospel. His watchword was "tole," which in the Batak language means, "onward."
One of his early converts was a radja, Pontas Lumbantobing. One day this radja led Nommensen to the top of a small hill, took his hand in his and said to him:
Reader 3: "When you first came to us you could hardly find a place to build a house, for we did not welcome you and you had to settle at Huta Dame. You know it is not healthy there because of the frequent floods and the dampness. You, sir, have been sick unto deathÉ Not long ago you told us the story of the great King who said, 'Friend, go up higher.' Now the little radja says to you, 'Sir, go up higher.' Break down your house at Huta Dame and rebuild it here. Radja Pontas gives you this place."
Reader 1: Radja Pontas' gift was a major step forward for the Christian mission among the Batak. Nommensen continued to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, weaving it into the very fabric of their social customs. He established medical centers and introduced better agricultural techniques. Nommensen believed that gospel ministry and social ministry were equally important.
Reader 2: "For when the spiritual message has been accepted, the people become more conscious of the social misery in which they have been living."
Reader 1: Nommensen's greatest accomplishment was his insistence upon training the Batak people to become pastors. In 1882 he established a seminary and soon Bataks were preaching the gospel to Bataks. Nommensen had a dream of what the Batak church could become. He wrote this in a letter to the mission center at Barmen:
Reader 2: "In spirit I see scattered everywhere Christian congregations, schools and churches, groups of Bataks old land young, making their way to these churches; on every side I hear the sound of church bells calling the believers to the house of God. I see everywhere cultivated fields and gardens, green pastures and forests, tidy villages and dwellings in which are found properly dressed descendants of this people. Still more, I see preachers and teachers, natives of Sumatra, standing on the platforms and behind the pulpits, pointing out the way of the Christian life to both young and old. You will say that I am a dreamer, but I say, No! I am not dreaming. My faith visions all this; it shall come to pass for all kingdoms shall be his and every tongue confess that Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, I am encouraged, though the people may oppose me and make all sorts of plans to resist God's word, they can just as easily keep the ocean back from its shores as to keep God's word from their hearts. A stream of blessing shall certainly flow over them. Already the day begins to appear. Soon the clear light will break forth and then shall the Sun of Righteousness in all his glory shine over the horizon of Batakland from the South even to the shores of the Toba Sea."
Reader 1: Nommensen was able to see his dream come true. Once the Batak people themselves had been trained to be pastors and teachers, the church grew by leaps and bounds. When Nommensen had begun his work among the Bataks, it was their strong family ties and sense of corporate identity that made those earlier conversions so difficult. Now it was those same solid family ties which converted whole villages to Christianity. Recalling Jesus' words about making his disciples "fishers of men," Nommensen remarked:
Reader 2: "Now it was their task not to fish with a hook, but with a net."
Reader 1: When Nommensen died in 1918, the Batak Protestant Church had 180,000 baptized members. In 1970 there were 2,000,000 Batak Christians.
Much of the fantastic growth of the Batak Christian church is due to the patient faithfulness and courage of Ludwig Nommensen and especially his emphasis upon a Batak church for a Batak people. The Batak church now has missionaries of its own, all over Indonesia, and even in other parts of the world:
Reader 3: "It is commonly said that where you find one Christian Batak there is a man who talks about his faith; where there are two there is a prayer meeting; where there are three you find a church -- and with four a choir. The little congregation of 20 Bataks in New York City supports this saying."
Bibliography
Nellie DeWaard, Pioneer in Sumatra, London: China Inland Mission, 1962.
Paul
B. Pedersen, Batak Blood and Protestant Soul, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Win. Berdinans, 1970.
Ph. Lumban Tobig, The Structure of the Toba-Batak Belief in the High God, Translated by C. A. Eijken and J. Twigt, Amsterdam: Jacob Van Campen, 1956.
Hymn Of The Day: "Before You, Lord, We Bow"
Prayer Of The Day:
God of grace and might, we praise you for your servant, Ludwig Nommensen, to whom you gave gifts to make the good news known. Raise up, we pray, in every county, heralds and evangelists of your kingdom, so that the world may know the immeasurable riches of our Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (LBW 139, p. 37)
Prayers:
In thanksgiving for the life and ministry of Ludwig Nommensen, missionary to the Bataks, that his patience and courage in sharing the good news may inspire our witness in this day.
It is on the island of Sumatra, specifically the northern part, where the Batak people live. For centuries the Bataks lived in isolation from the world; not too many foreigners wanted to penetrate that mountainous tropical jungle region. As far back as Marco Polo, the Batak people were characterized as fierce and cannibalistic. Even the Dutch colonialists were only able to dominate the coastal areas. Nor had Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims made any inroads among the Batak people.
With that kind of isolation from the world, the Bataks had their own very well developed society: a system of laws, social customs and religion. According to the Batak worldview, all existence was divided into three realms: first, the Upper World which was the domain of the High God and the spirits of the departed ancestors; second the Middle World, or the earth, where humans lived; third the Under World which was the home of ghosts and demons.
The Bataks were not afraid of their gods; once they even declared war on them! According to another religious tradition, one of their gods came down to earth but decided that the problems of the middle world were too difficult and so he left, never to return!
A very different kind of morality resulted from this religious worldview. To enter the kingdom of the dead, a Batak would be asked how many heads he had taken; the more, the better. Thus a murderer could enter the kingdom of the dead, but not his victim.
They believed that each person possessed a tondi, a life force, the essential power of a person. They further believed that one could absorb the power of another person's tondi by eating him; thus they practiced cannibalism.
So how would you go about introducing Christianity to the Batak people? On the one hand, you wouldn't want to weaken the very strong society they had developed; but on the other hand, you wouldn't want Christianity to be totally transformed by their culture.
In 1834, two American missionaries, Henry Lyman and Samuel Munson, made the first attempt to travel into the interior of Sumatra to the Batak people. They were surrounded by 200 armed men, killed and supposedly eaten.
In that same year, 1834, Ludwig Nommensen was born on one of the islands off the coast of the Netherlands. When he was 12 years old, he was run over by a farm wagon, injuring his legs so severely that it was thought he would never walk again. Lying in bed for a year, young Ludwig prayed for healing. Then a new doctor prescribed a different treatment and soon Nommensen was walking again. This healing, Nommensen believed, was God leading him to become a missionary. As a young adult he sought admission to a missionary training school in Barmen. At first glance his application was rejected, but Nommensen's persistence finally gained him entrance. He graduated in 1861, was ordained and sailed for Sumatra. He spent the first two years living on the coast and learning the Batak language, because he intended to begin his ministry among them.
Finally, accompanied by two Batak guides, he journeyed into the interior. His arrival in a Batak village caused quite a stir; no one there had ever seen a white man before. He was taken to the radja, the leader of the village, where he made his request:
Reader 2: "I would like very much to come and live with you here in order to teach all who wish to, how to become clever and happy."
Reader 1: The men of the village debated his request for a whole day. Unable to reach a decision, the radjas from the nearby villages were invited for a conference. The arguing went on for five days. Finally, the radjas allowed him to stay. But his attempts to establish himself there were continually frustrated. He lived in a rice barn because the people did not allow him to erect a building. He tried to start a school, but no children would attend.
Once, at a feast, to honor one of their ancestors, a medium had incited the crowd to demand Nommensen's death. Nommensen boldly stood in their midst. The medium fell silent at his feet as soon as he began to speak.
Reader 2: "Men of Sitahoeri, you have been deceived because the spirit which spoke through the medium just now was a lying spirit, Satan himself, and not the spirit of Siatasbaritas, your ancestor. Would he have asked you for human blood as an offering? No, this is Satan, the great deceiver who makes people murder each other. But God, the Creator, has sent me here to you in order to show you the deception of the Evil One and to lead you in the way of salvation."
Reader 1: Nommensen's speech calmed the crowd, and he was allowed to leave unharmed. There were many such difficulties in the early days. The mission work went slowly; after two years he had baptized only 13 Batak people.
Yet increasingly, Nommensen came to understand the unique Batak logic and began winning their confidence. He lived as simply as the Bataks did: he slept on a mat on the floor, used a box for his chair and a sack of rice for his table. His daily food was the same as theirs: a bowl of rice, a piece of dried fish and maybe a vegetable.
The first converts to Christianity found themselves banished from their villages, so Nommensen established a Christian community on a piece of swampland. He called it Huta Dame, or Village of Peace. During a smallpox epidemic many of the surrounding villages brought their children to Nommensen for treatment.
In spite of the initial slow progress of the mission, Nommensen patiently continued sharing the gospel. His watchword was "tole," which in the Batak language means, "onward."
One of his early converts was a radja, Pontas Lumbantobing. One day this radja led Nommensen to the top of a small hill, took his hand in his and said to him:
Reader 3: "When you first came to us you could hardly find a place to build a house, for we did not welcome you and you had to settle at Huta Dame. You know it is not healthy there because of the frequent floods and the dampness. You, sir, have been sick unto deathÉ Not long ago you told us the story of the great King who said, 'Friend, go up higher.' Now the little radja says to you, 'Sir, go up higher.' Break down your house at Huta Dame and rebuild it here. Radja Pontas gives you this place."
Reader 1: Radja Pontas' gift was a major step forward for the Christian mission among the Batak. Nommensen continued to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, weaving it into the very fabric of their social customs. He established medical centers and introduced better agricultural techniques. Nommensen believed that gospel ministry and social ministry were equally important.
Reader 2: "For when the spiritual message has been accepted, the people become more conscious of the social misery in which they have been living."
Reader 1: Nommensen's greatest accomplishment was his insistence upon training the Batak people to become pastors. In 1882 he established a seminary and soon Bataks were preaching the gospel to Bataks. Nommensen had a dream of what the Batak church could become. He wrote this in a letter to the mission center at Barmen:
Reader 2: "In spirit I see scattered everywhere Christian congregations, schools and churches, groups of Bataks old land young, making their way to these churches; on every side I hear the sound of church bells calling the believers to the house of God. I see everywhere cultivated fields and gardens, green pastures and forests, tidy villages and dwellings in which are found properly dressed descendants of this people. Still more, I see preachers and teachers, natives of Sumatra, standing on the platforms and behind the pulpits, pointing out the way of the Christian life to both young and old. You will say that I am a dreamer, but I say, No! I am not dreaming. My faith visions all this; it shall come to pass for all kingdoms shall be his and every tongue confess that Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, I am encouraged, though the people may oppose me and make all sorts of plans to resist God's word, they can just as easily keep the ocean back from its shores as to keep God's word from their hearts. A stream of blessing shall certainly flow over them. Already the day begins to appear. Soon the clear light will break forth and then shall the Sun of Righteousness in all his glory shine over the horizon of Batakland from the South even to the shores of the Toba Sea."
Reader 1: Nommensen was able to see his dream come true. Once the Batak people themselves had been trained to be pastors and teachers, the church grew by leaps and bounds. When Nommensen had begun his work among the Bataks, it was their strong family ties and sense of corporate identity that made those earlier conversions so difficult. Now it was those same solid family ties which converted whole villages to Christianity. Recalling Jesus' words about making his disciples "fishers of men," Nommensen remarked:
Reader 2: "Now it was their task not to fish with a hook, but with a net."
Reader 1: When Nommensen died in 1918, the Batak Protestant Church had 180,000 baptized members. In 1970 there were 2,000,000 Batak Christians.
Much of the fantastic growth of the Batak Christian church is due to the patient faithfulness and courage of Ludwig Nommensen and especially his emphasis upon a Batak church for a Batak people. The Batak church now has missionaries of its own, all over Indonesia, and even in other parts of the world:
Reader 3: "It is commonly said that where you find one Christian Batak there is a man who talks about his faith; where there are two there is a prayer meeting; where there are three you find a church -- and with four a choir. The little congregation of 20 Bataks in New York City supports this saying."
Bibliography
Nellie DeWaard, Pioneer in Sumatra, London: China Inland Mission, 1962.
Paul
B. Pedersen, Batak Blood and Protestant Soul, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Win. Berdinans, 1970.
Ph. Lumban Tobig, The Structure of the Toba-Batak Belief in the High God, Translated by C. A. Eijken and J. Twigt, Amsterdam: Jacob Van Campen, 1956.
Hymn Of The Day: "Before You, Lord, We Bow"
Prayer Of The Day:
God of grace and might, we praise you for your servant, Ludwig Nommensen, to whom you gave gifts to make the good news known. Raise up, we pray, in every county, heralds and evangelists of your kingdom, so that the world may know the immeasurable riches of our Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (LBW 139, p. 37)
Prayers:
In thanksgiving for the life and ministry of Ludwig Nommensen, missionary to the Bataks, that his patience and courage in sharing the good news may inspire our witness in this day.
