Discipleship means adherence to Christ and, because Christ is the object of that adherence, it must take the form of discipleship. An abstract theology, a doctrinal system, a general religious knowledge of the subject of grace or the forgiveness of sins, render discipleship superfluous, and in fact exclude any idea of discipleship whatsoever, and are essentially inimical to the whole conception of following Christ....Christianity without the living Christ is inevitably Christianity without discipleship, and Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.
Dietrich BonhoefferIn the gospels the very first step a man must take is an act which radically affects his whole existence.
Dietrich BonhoefferLet him who cannot be alone beware of community... Let him who is not in community beware of being alone... Each by itself has profound perils and pitfalls. One who wants fellowship without solitude plunges into the void of words and feelings, and the one who seeks solitude without fellowship perishes in the abyss of vanity, self-infatuation and despair.
Dietrich BonhoefferCostly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.
Dietrich BonhoefferIt is the task of youth not to reshape the church, but rather to listen to the word of God.
Dietrich BonhoefferWhen one person is struck by the Word, he speaks it to others. God has willed that we should seek and find His living Word in the witness of a brother, in the mouth of man. Therefore, the Christian needs another Christian who speaks Godโs Word to him. The Christ in his own heart is weaker than the Christ in the word of his brother; his own heart is uncertain, his brotherโs is sure.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer