Our Mission in Action – Finding Common Cause

Dietrich with students at Finkenwalde.

Acting with ethical courage has consequences, an often unfortunate and unintentional one being loneliness. As Jesus alluded to when he preached how the broad, well-traveled road that leads to destruction and the narrow road that leads to life, those who act with ethical courage are the rare exception to the rule. (See Matthew 7:13-14)

The Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute is regularly contacted by pastors, denominational leaders, academics, and others working in the religious arena who have embarked on lonely paths of dissent from their community’s orthodoxy. For some it is dogmatic difference, and for others, cultural, or political. As part of our mission, we work to connect these courageous actors. Sometimes simply connecting them strengthens their resolve, enhances their work through shared knowledge and resources, and comforts them in the wake of often significant loss, including personal relationships, professional standing, and even gainful employment. Other times, mentorship, coaching, and encouragement help support them to take further action in their communities.

Connecting advocates and activists increases the effect of their work and often leads to them joining in a common cause, which multiplies their impact and successes. TDBI helps facilitate connection when we organize or co-sponsor convenings and colloquies. One such gathering this year has resulted in the formation of Faith Leaders for Ending Gun Violence. This fall, we brought together an array of influential religious leaders, private and public sector advocates, and prospective funders to examine the increasing threat of Christian nationalism, many of whom will gather again at our convening at Oxford University in March.

All of our work at TDBI is predicated by and built upon meaningful relationships – friendships, partnerships, and collaboration. Bonhoeffer’s own propensity for connecting people can be seen throughout his life, from his youth through his time in prison, and even along his final path to execution.

While TDBI’s work in bringing people together happens behind the scenes, our podcast, Schenck Talks Bonhoeffer, and our seven-part video series, You Welcomed Me, are other examples of how our mission comes to life when we connect courageous leaders across differences to find concrete solutions to the ethical crises of our time.

Schenck Talks Bonhoeffer

TDBI’s podcast, Schenck Talks Bonhoeffer, offers a discussion about Bonhoeffer–his life, times, and thought–and how they relate today. This podcast regularly features our TDBI Senior Fellows and covers a wide variety of topics.

You Welcomed Me

You Welcomed Me is a seven-part conversation about a Christian response to issues facing immigrants and refugees. This series includes in-depth recorded conversations with top Christian leaders on topics pertaining to immigrants and refugees, as seen through Holy Scripture, the example of Christ, and the very real stories of those who work with the men, women, children, and families at the border and in detention centers.

We hope these resources will help you appreciate, understand, and, most importantly, apply lessons from Bonhoeffer’s life and work in your spheres of influence. 

After Ten Years

Nothing expresses the value Bonhoeffer placed on family and friendship like this letter to his close circle. After Ten Years is a succinct and sober reflection, and remains one of the best descriptions ever written about what happened to the German people under National Socialism. This volume presents his timely and unique essay in a fresh translation and a penetrating introduction and analysis of the importance of this essay—in Bonhoeffer’s time and now in our own.

“The Church and the Peoples of the World,” an address to the Ecumenical Council of Christian Churches meeting in Fanø, Denmark, 1934, published in “Bonhoeffer Works, Vol. 13: London, 1933-1935”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s pastoral sojourn in England from October 1933 to April of 1935 marked a new phase in his intensive participation in the struggle. This enlightening volume provides an almost daily documentation of his deepening engagement against the placid backdrop of his two London pastorates. In this particular prophetic speech calling for Christians to work for peace at a time of imminent global war, Bonhoeffer defines the church as living “in all peoples, beyond all boundaries, whether national, social, or racial.”

A Summary of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Ethics

An excellent summary of Bonhoeffer’s magnum opus, Ethics, with an explication of his approach to the subject, especially its practical implementation.  Framed by a reflection on Bonhoeffer’s life and his acts of resistance, explore Bonhoeffer’s uncompromising opposition to Nazism and his theology in moral ethics.

No Ordinary Men: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Hans von Dohnanyi, Resisters Against Hitler in Church and State

Authors Elizabeth Sifton and Fitz Stern examine Bonhoeffer and his brother-in-law Hans Von Dohnanyi’s ethical courage and their extraordinarily subversive actions against the Nazi state.  No Ordinary Men honors both Bonhoeffer’s human decency and his theological legacy, as well as Dohnanyi’s preservation of the highest standard of civic virtue in an utterly corrupted state.