The Rev Dr Fritz Haus

The 19th century German Baptist leader, Johan Oncken, sent a number of men to minister to the German-speaking community in this country. The first "Oncken Pastor", who arrived here in 1867, was the revered Carl Hugo Gutsche.  The last was Fritz Haus who came, with his wife Lisa, in 1950.   

The Gutsches spoke German and English but taught their people through the German medium. When the Haus' came, over 80 years later, they were required to do all their work in English, with an occasional German service for the old people.  Some wondered if his German accent would be a problem, but one leader said, "Don't worry; his English wife will put him right". Lisa's English was almost perfect.  Certainly, Fritz battled with English in the early days  -  "I preached on the ten leopards; only one leopard came back to say 'thank you'  -  I prayed in one service that the Lord would give us tender hearts, clean hearts, sweethearts".       

The young Fritz went to a village school near Hanover , Germany , up to Grade 8.  Lisa completed Grad 10 at a secondary school.  "I liked all subjects, including music and history.  Lisa liked swimming; I was good at athletics."  Lisa says "maths was my worst subject. I still can't do square roots".    

Fritz' earliest memories are of refugee camps with "dusty roads and crowded barracks. A little handcart carried all our possessions, with a goat tied to it, supplying the daily milk to keep me from starving".  A middle-aged "hawker-woman" talked to Fritz' mother and gave her some Baptist tracts from the Oncken Press. Soon his mother, and later his father and all four children, were born again and baptised.  When Fritz was 12, he had a dream in which a railway-station loudspeaker announced " Du sollst mein Prediger sein" (You will be My preacher) and he never again wondered what he would do with his life !    

Then, and subsequently, the Haus' lives have been directed in remarkable ways by the controlling hand of God.  Their movements have been divinely "tailor-made and hand-crafted". The story is fascinating, but too long for this article.  It was in reaction to Hitler's anti-semitic and anti-Christian teachings that "we were inspired to stand upon the Word as Luther, Zwingli and others had done centuries before". Their confidence was "If God is for us, who can be against us ?"   

He was ready to go the  Baptist College in 1938, when Hitler decided otherwise. Fritz was called up for military service and posted to the radar section of the Luftwaffe (air force). "My eight years in uniform were a constant string of miracles and a much better preparation for life and ministry than any college could have given me, at that stage". The war itself  -  believers meeting daily for Bible reading, prayer and fellowship behind desert dunes and sandbags  -  time spent in a prisoner-of-war camp where he served as a chaplain to the other prisoners  -  "I had preached to boys and girls, to soldiers on the battlefield, and now to distressed prisoners of war". 

When the Baptist Union asked for another "Oncken Pastor" for ministry and mission work in Stutterheim and East London , Fritz and Lisa were the obvious choice.   "I dared not refuse. Unknown to me, my Lord had worked towards this end for years".  Thus began a long and faithful ministry in our churches, coupled with the research, writing and studying that have occupied much of his time. Lisa has been his "co-pastor", and also taught music, which she continues to do when opportunities arise.   She was elected President of the S A Baptist Women's Association in 1971-72.  

The Haus' have three children and six grandchildren, all professional or business people, and one great-grandson.  Fritz himself, denied the opportunity to complete his high schooling as a teenager, has completed his Senior Certificate and worked his way through  Bachelors, Honours and Masters degrees, and finally received his doctorate at the age of 80 with a thesis on "Carl Hugo Gutsche (1843-1926): The Significance of His Life and Ministry for the Baptist Churches and Missions in Southern Africa".    

Fritz and Lisa live a life of joy and deep love for each other, in the beautiful surroundings of Stellenbosch.   Years ago he climbed Table Mountain by every route and  he still walks several kilometres a day, but has given up cycling because of a stiff knee !  He preaches (usually with someone driving him to and fro), loves gardening and continues to write.       

To quote the closing words of an article he wrote some time ago:  "Hallelujah, what a joy to be called to the pastoral ministry !"    

 

Dr Terence McGee. Published in BAPTISTS TODAY No2/2007 Ordinary Heroes-Fervent in Spirit Serving the Lord May 2007