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Copyright © 2018 Nicholas James Abraham All rights reserved. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has permission to reproduce and disseminate this document in any form by any means for purposes chosen by the Seminary, including, without limitation, preservation or instruction. RETRIEVING A THEOLOGY AND METHODOLOGY FOR COMMUNITY IN THE LOCAL CHURCH FROM DIETRICH BONHOEFFER’S LIFE TOGETHER __________________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary __________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Ministry __________________ by Nicholas James Abraham May 2018 APPROVAL SHEET RETRIEVING A THEOLOGY AND METHODOLOGY FOR COMMUNITY IN THE LOCAL CHURCH FROM DIETRICH BONHOEFFER’S LIFE TOGETHER Nicholas James Abraham Read and Approved by: __________________________________________ Michael A. G. Haykin (Faculty Supervisor) __________________________________________ Joseph C. Harrod __________________________________________ Stephen J. Nichols Date______________________________ For Gidu, who now fully knows the peace of God in Christ Jesus. For Anna, my relentlessly encouraging and loving wife. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................... vii PREFACE ..................................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1 Familiarity with the Literature ........................................................................ 3 Void in the Literature ...................................................................................... 7 Thesis ............................................................................................................. 9 2. A BIOGRAPHY OF DIETRICH BONHOEFFER ........................................... 11 University Studies......................................................................................... 12 Beginning Church Work ............................................................................... 15 In the United States ....................................................................................... 18 New Careers ................................................................................................. 21 Changes for Bonhoeffer and 1933 ................................................................. 22 London ......................................................................................................... 27 Finkenwalde ................................................................................................. 28 Towards the End ........................................................................................... 30 3. THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF LIFE TOGETHER ......................... 34 1933 ............................................................................................................. 38 Barmen ......................................................................................................... 43 Beginning in Zingst ...................................................................................... 46 Conclusion.................................................................................................... 49 4. AN OVERVIEW OF LIFE TOGETHER .......................................................... 51 iv Chapter Page The Structure of the Book ............................................................................. 53 Summary of Chapter 1: Community.............................................................. 54 Analysis of Chapter 1: Community ............................................................... 59 Summary of Chapter 2: The Day Together .................................................... 62 Analysis of Chapter 2: The Day Together ..................................................... 70 Summary of Chapter 3: The Day Alone ........................................................ 73 Analysis of Chapter 3: The Day Alone .......................................................... 77 Summary of Chapter 4: Service .................................................................... 78 Analysis of Chapter 4: Service ...................................................................... 81 Summary of Chapter 5: Confession and the Lord’s Supper ........................... 83 Analysis of Chapter 5: Confession and the Lord’s Supper ............................. 86 Conclusion.................................................................................................... 87 5. BONHOEFFER’S DEVELOPMENT OF THE THEME OF COMMUNITY BEFORE LIFE TOGETHER ................................................... 88 Foundations in Sanctorum Communio ........................................................... 88 Developments in The Nature of the Church Lectures .................................... 94 Further Refinements in the Christology Lectures .......................................... 96 Major Themes in Life Together ..................................................................... 98 Biblical Assessment of Bonhoeffer’s Community ........................................102 Pauline Epistles .................................................................................. 103 General Epistles .................................................................................. 109 The Gospels and Acts ......................................................................... 111 Conclusion...................................................................................................113 6. A CONCLUDING WORD—RETRIEVING BONHOEFFER’S VISION...........................................................................................................114 v Page Christian Community Redefined ..................................................................114 The Task of Retrieval ..................................................................................116 Life Together in The Local Church ..............................................................120 Church Membership ........................................................................... 120 Life Together Without Living Together .............................................. 122 Worship Services ................................................................................ 123 Corporate Prayer/Prayer Services........................................................ 124 Preaching ............................................................................................ 125 Small Group Ministry ......................................................................... 127 Mission ............................................................................................... 127 Conclusion...................................................................................................128 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................... 130 vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AB Act and Being BECNT Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament CD The Cost of Discipleship DBWE Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, English ed. DBWE 1 Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, English ed. Vol. 1, Sanctorum Communio: A Theological Study of the Sociology of the Church. Edited by Clifford J. Green. Translated by Reinhard Krauss and Nancy Lukens. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998. DBWE 2 Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, English ed. Vol. 2, Act and Being. Edited by Wayne Whitson Floyd, Jr. Translated by H. Martin Rumscheidt. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996. DBWE 4 Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, English ed. Vol. 4, Discipleship. Edited by Geffrey B. Kelly and John D. Godsey. Translated by Barbara Green and Reinhard Krauss. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003. DBWE 5 Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, English ed. Vol. 5, Life Together and Prayerbook of the Bible. Edited by Geffrey B. Kelly. Translated by Daniel W. Bloesch and James H. Burtness. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2005 DBWE 9 Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, English ed. Vol. 9, The Young Bonhoeffer, 1918–1927. Edited by Paul Duane Matheny, Clifford J. Green, and Marshall D. Johnson. Translated by Mary C. Nebelsick and Douglas W. Scott. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003. DBWE 10 Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, English ed. Vol. 10, Barcelona, Berlin, New York, 1928–1931. Edited by Clifford J. Green. Translated by Douglas W. Scott. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2008. DBWE 11 Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, English ed. Vol. 11, Ecumenical, Academic, and Pastoral Work: 1931–1932. Edited by Victoria J. Barnett, Mark S. Brocker, and Michael B. Lukens. Translated by Anne Schmidt-Lange, Isabel Best, Nicolas Humphrey, and Marion Pauck. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2012. DBWE 12 Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, English ed. Vol. 12, Berlin: 1932–1933. Edited by Larry L. Rasmussen. Translated by Isabel Best and David Higgins. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2009. vii DBWE 13 Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, English ed. Vol. 13, London, 1933–1935. Edited by Keith Clements. Translated by Isabel Best. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007 DBWE 14 Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, English ed. Vol. 14, Theological Education at Finkenwalde: 1935–1937. Edited by H. Gaylon Barker and Mark S. Brocker. Translated by