71 hoeffer, a leader could not disentangle leadership and a responsibility to obey God. Obedience to YHWH, then, is an essential characteristic of a prophetic leader. Bonhoeffer explained, “[f]or faith is only real when there is obedience, never without it, and faith only becomes faith in the act of obedience.”12 True faith cannot be divorced from obedience to YHWH, nor can faith be seen solely through the lens of pedantic intellectualism, but by willful submission of worshipful obedience to the ultimate authority in one’s life.13 When Nazism took hold of Germany, Bonhoeffer kept his eyes firmly focused upon Christ. He taught the pastors at the underground Finkenwalde Seminary, “let us look to the cross of Christ: for there is judgment, there reprieve.”14 This does not mean that the prophetic leader is exempt from political battles, but that all political battles remain under the purview and sovereignty of God. The cross of Christ, the death, burial, and resurrection, His suffering, and victory reveal “God’s lordship over all the world.”15 Thus, the German theologian sought to obey God above all else and to look to Him, not Germany’s Führer, for reprieve. In fact, Bonhoeffer warned against a misleader who would lead through a cult of personality, benefiting only himself at the cost of Germany’s citizenry.16 He knew that mankind would be susceptible to a verführer, a misleader, and warned against such abusive power. Bonhoeffer and the Second Characteristic Bonhoeffer held strong theological convictions regarding the importance of the Church. He proclaimed, “Jesus Christ is the breadth of our life and of our community.”17 He maintained a Christocentric ecclesiology which set the Church apart from the world, explaining, “the hall-mark of Christianity is our separation from the world, our transcendence of its standards, and our extraordinariness.”18 From this perspective, the Church is the unique presence of Christ in the world, and while accomplishing God’s work in the world, the Church is often misunderstood and maligned, just as Jesus’ earthly ministry was often misunderstood and maligned. The Church is not a gathering place, a social club, nor a political body, but the exclusive group of believers whom God empowers to serve the world. The Church, through service, establishes its divine authority, not within its own right, but through God’s appointment and deputization.19 In Sanctorum Communio, BonBONHOEFFER AND PROPHETIC LEADERSHIP
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