As the 100th anniversary of the birth of German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer draws nearer – Feb. 4, 2006 – a former South Carolina pastor has written his first book, which recalls the life of the martyred Christian pastor and teacher and suggests the implications of that life today.
Mark DeVine, associate professor of theology at Midwestern Baptist Seminary in Kansas City, Mo., is author of “Bonhoeffer Speaks Today: Following Jesus at All Costs,” published by Broadman and Holman in Nashville.
In a telephone conversation, DeVine, who grew up in the Hayne Baptist Church in Spartanburg and was active in BSU during student days at Clemson University, said the book includes a biographical chapter on the German theologian “recounting the riveting events involving Bonhoeffer’s participation in the conspiracy to assassinate Hitler,” followed by chapters focusing on practical matters related to the Christian life – such as knowing and doing the will of God, witness and relevance, the community of believers, freedom, and suffering and hope.
DeVine, formerly minister to youth at Drayton Baptist Church in Spartanburg, and pastor of Sycamore Baptist Church in Charleston, also has been an IMB missionary to Bangkok, Thailand. He lives in Parkville, Mo., with his wife Jackie, and their sons, Drew and Sam.
Bonhoeffer, who studied in the United States at New York’s Union Seminary, became a leader in Germany’s Confessing Church and its seminary at Zingst, later relocated to Finkenwalde. His two best known books, “The Cost of Discipleship” and “Life Together,” emerged from that experience.
Among the few who openly opposed the Nazi regime, Bonhoeffer was hanged in the concentration camp at Flossenburg in 1945 as one of four members of his immediate family to die at the hands of the Nazi regime for their participation in the Protestant resistance movement against the German dictator.
The book is available through Barnes and Noble, Borders Books, Amazon and other outlets.