But it's less Bonhoeffer's books than the witness of his life that has shaped me. I've read more Bonhoeffer biographies, and have re-read many of those biographies, than I've read Bonhoeffer himself. (Though I've read the Bonhoeffer books I've mentioned above multiple times.)
As I wrote about last summer when visiting Germany, it's many of the smaller, lesser known choices made by Bonhoeffer that so captivate me. We all know his stance against the Nazis during the church struggle, but my mind always goes to the images of Bonhoeffer teaching a Sunday school class in Harlem and taking the poor, working class boys in this confirmation class camping. It's the image of one of the greatest theological minds in history pouring himself out in small, intimate, unseen, and pastoral ministries.
That is the witness that has so profoundly influenced me.
