75 rabble-rousers. While the Nazis were unrelenting, the memorandum made its way through ecumenical circles and was even published by the New York Herald Tribune.34 Bonhoeffer and Divergence from Prophetic Leadership Bonhoeffer’s conspiratorial work with the Abwehr, a German Military Intelligence organization, is exciting and often times promoted as the height of his historical importance. It was through the Abwehr that he was able to maneuver so easily later in the war, where he entered into a group conspiracy to subvert, and then to kill, Hitler, and where he found himself facing a Nazi noose because of this conspiracy. This study does not chastise his conspiratorial work, nor does it suggest Bonhoeffer should have reconsidered his work with the Abwehr. Yet, it must be noted that these activities lay beyond the scope of prophetic leadership. There certainly appears to be biblical support for faithful leadership within the Judeo-Christian tradition that subverts leadership, and even takes the life of errant leaders, but those activities are extreme and seem more inline with the biblical judges rather than the prophets. Situations like Samuel and the king of Agag or Elijah and the prophets of Baal should be considered as outliers to prophetic leadership, not emblematic of the biblical prophetic leadership tradition (1 Kings 18:40; 1 Samuel 15:32-33). While Bonhoeffer’s leadership practice reveals a faithful commitment to prophetic leadership consistent with the biblical prophets, he also understood there was a time when direct action was required which would place a believer directly in the line of persecution unto death.35 His work in the Abwehr began when his prophetic leadership was shut down time and time again by the Nazi government, leaving him little option left. Furthermore, he understood that this activity would most likely preclude him from future ministry opportunities, revealing he understood this as his last resort in confronting Hitler’s evils.36 So, his most visible and exciting activities remain outside the paradigm of prophetic leadership. An interesting note is how Bonhoeffer moved outside of the prophetic leadership paradigm that he was so committed to when he recognized the need to do so. BONHOEFFER AND PROPHETIC LEADERSHIP
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