My Review: Strange Glory - A life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I have only known bits and pieces about the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, so I really enjoyed the book from the very beginning. I also liked the way that the author, Marsh, shared about the life of Bonhoeffer making me feel like I was there with him on a personal level.

I have known about Bonhoeffer for years, but this is the first biography I have read on him. The author filled in a lot of unknowns for me about him from childhood to his death. Some of the minute details, while not necessary, did give a more complete picture of Bonhoeffer. I did find the beginning of the book a little slow because of these details, but I am still pleased that the author shared them to give a complete picture of who Bonhoeffer was.

The book also gave some historical insight into the German church in the 1930s and 1940s, as well as some insight into Hitler and the Nazis. The only thing I did not like about the book was the author's possible insinuation of Bonhoeffer's sexuality. I am not going to get into that in this review; see other reviews if you are curious or read the book for yourself. I did not think it necessary to mention in the book, especially since it is speculation.  I feel you will enjoy this read, especially to become familiar with Bonhoeffer's very unique character.

This book has peaked my interest in reading another biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  The other biography is: "Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy."

I received this book for free from the publisher’s Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.

The following are some famous Bonhoeffer quotes:

Review of "Creating Community" (a book on doing small groups as a main part of your church)

I given this book 3.5 stars out of 5. I read this book at the recommendation of our pastor for the new and small church I attend.  For the vision of the church it definitely had a lot of practical advice that I believe our church will use some of it.  I especially like that the book deals a lot with keeping it simple.  There are easy guidelines to follow. If your church is considering small groups, which I personally believe every church should consider, then this book will be a good addition to your library, especially for those in ANY form of leadership in the church.

What I didn't like about the book:
1. I found it misleading that Andy is listed as the co-author, as he only wrote the introduction. The book is written by Bill Willits (he did a good job).
2. About 11 mentions of scripture, otherwise, not a strong scripture-based book. Some Biblical principles used, but that's about it.
3. A lot of comparisons to "corporate America" and successful business men, which I'm not a fan of as I believe the church is NOT to be compared or modeled as a corporation.
4. It is not a highly spiritual book, so it didn't change my spiritual life, but it did excite me about future community, which does effect our spiritual life.
5. This book is 10 year old, it is time they put out an updated and revised edition.  I would be very interested in a new revised edition.

I would recommend getting the book. You will surely get some great nuggets of truth and some great guidelines for small groups.  It's a short book, so it is a really small investment of your time.  If you even get one thing from this book that will help your church grow into a stronger spiritual community (through small groups), it will have been well worth your time.