Church books outrageous preacher

Now, Harald Glööckler (52), Germany's eccentric fashion designer, takes the kingdom of God. And fills up churches.

With his business partner and life partner.

On Wednesday, "**** ***, Brain", the new book by Harald Glööckler (Plassen Verlag) appears. It lists the success tips of the fashion creator. On the last pages, Harald Glööckler tells how he came to his new vocation - as a preacher!

"After I designed a  covering for a new Luther Bible on behalf of the German Bible Society on the occasion of the 500th anniversary, there was a preaching request from the Protestant church community of Niederhöchstadt," says Harald Glööckler.

Cathcon:incredibly this featured a picture not of Our Lord and Saviour but the artist!

"I was booked as a preacher for a 'GoSpecial' service. I preached in a cinema in front of 700 people. "The" Go Special "services are actually aimed at church critics, but Harald Glööckler fascinated them all.

(Cathcon: GoSpecial services are billed as "somewhat different" church services.  Some take place in Catholic Churches and are often Masses.)

Before his first appearance the fashion designer had a lot of jitters. "I just thought, 'What have you done to me now?'" Glööckler smirks, remembering his first visit to the church in his first sermon.

Glööckler: "I looked at the ceiling and thought: 'A chandelier would be nice in itself, and a few pretty pictures would have been used in other places.' I thought the whole thing had already been redesigned, a bit of pomp on display is already nice. '

He does not think much of church regalia, which is somehow uncool. Glööckler: "I was told that this Luther removed the pomp from the churches, and I thought, 'What nonsense!' And then that Jesus always hung on the cross. And I thought, 'This is terrible! Why not show Jesus as He blesses someone or with a halo? You do not even have a picture of a dead man in the coffin at home. '"

The fashion designer finished his first sermon with a flaming appeal: "We do not need a church that makes us small and tells us what we can not do," preached Harald Glööckler. "We need a church that supports us when we stumble, which catches us when we fall!"

The attending 700 spectators were enthusiastic, a few weeks later Glööckler preached in a cinema hall in Mannheim in front of 400 people.

"His sermon was good and deep. For the church and the kingdom of God, people like Harald Glööckler are a benefit, "praises Pastor Carsten Böhm (41) from the Protestant church community of Niederhöchstadt.

He sees, as a result of a campaign with celebrities such as Harald Glööckler with his brisk special worship services, a wave of church entry. Böhm: "Through our 'Go Special' worship services, countless people have come to faith and to our church."

In the meantime, the requests for Harald Glööckler, who now does not have to stop his sermons in the cinema, are increasingly coming from churches. In November, he reads the Christmas story in churches in Frankfurt and Saarbrücken and interprets them with his words. There is even a preaching request from Catholic Regensburg.

His new mission fascinates the fashion designer and releases new energies. "I will expand my preaching activity", says Harald Glööckler. "If the ARD (a national broadcaster) agrees, I also could takeover the Word for Sunday!

Source