In recent posts, I have referred to The Cost of Moral Leadership: The Spirituality of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Geffrey B. Kelly and F. Burton Nelson. Larry L. Rasmussen gives a good review of that work…

The Cost of Moral Leadership: The Spirituality of Dietrich Bonhoeffer

By Geffrey B. Kelly and F. Burton Nelson

This volume is a deeply informed treatment of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s life and writings, mined so as to illumine his spirituality and moral leadership and the vital connections between them. After an engaging forward by Renate Bethge, Bonhoeffer’s niece, and a preface about the book’s focus and its place in the array of Bonhoeffer studies, a compact biographical chapter is offered (“The Life and Martyrdom of Dietrich Bonhoeffer”). Then follow nine chapters that draw widely from Bonhoeffer’s actions in the Nazi era and from his writings, both well known and little known. Since the twelve years of “The Thousand Year Reich” and his own mature years coincide (he was hanged in 1945 at the age of thirty-nine), Bonhoeffer’s words and deeds are tightly interwoven with the drama of Germany and the world during this period. Each of the book’s nine chapters is topical, ordered around a key theme in Bonhoeffer’s spirituality and moral leadership. Chapter titles and subheadings guide the reader: “Compassion and Action for Justice: Bonhoeffer’s Christocentric Spirituality”; “The Holy Spirit and Christian Discipleship: The Prophetic Dimension of Moral Leadership”; “Bonhoeffer’s Spirituality of Liberation: Solidarity with the Oppressed”; “The Spirituality That Dares Peace: The Great Venture in Moral Leadership”; “Discipleship and the Cross: Following Christ in Bonhoeffer’s Spirituality”; “Christian Community: Strength for Moral Leadership”; “Bonhoeffer’s Spirituality and God’s Vulnerability: Compassion for Those in Suffering and Sorrow”; “Preaching the Spiritual Life: Bonhoeffer’s Sermons and Insights on Moral Leadership”; “Glimpses into the Soul of a Moral Leader: Bonhoeffer’s Prayers and Poems.” Discussion questions are provided in an appended section for those who wish to use this to study together. The audience itself is the college-level reader in a variety of settings: the classroom, the church study group, the individual drawn to Bonhoeffer’s witness and wisdom. Endnotes, bibliography, and an index of names and subjects facilitate scholarly use and quick reference.

The authors, well-known in Bonhoeffer studies, are in full command of their materials. The prose is clear and smooth, despite the complicated story and a full well of sources. The result works on two levels. It is a very fine introduction to Bonhoeffer’s life and thought for the novice or near-novice. It is also an integration of sources and resources that deepens and extends the knowledge of those already familiar with Bonhoeffer’s major works. It can thus stand on its own as a good read, just as it can serve as a key text in a course that includes close study of Bonhoeffer’s writings.

The chief criticism will come from those who ask the book to do more than it promises. It promises to show the vital interplay of Bonhoeffer’s piety and his costly moral leadership. That it has done, convincingly, even movingly. It doesn’t, however, give us what we, as readers, would now have: a theory of moral leadership, its sources and development, as exemplified in this compelling figure. That awaits a further, yet unwritten, chapter.

LARRY L. RASMUSSEN

Union Theological Seminary

New York, NY

Copyright Theology Today Jul 2003
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