February 2026 Book of the Month

As Christians, true community is one of those things we all long for, but often struggle to describe. We want to be known and loved, to belong without having to pretend, and to walk with others who are actually following Jesus. And yet, if we’re honest, community can also disappoint us, frustrate us, or feel painfully fragile. Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer speaks directly into that tension with honesty, depth, and surprising hope.

If you are unfamiliar, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor, theologian, and disciple of Jesus who lived during the rise of Nazi Germany. As many church leaders of the time compromised or stayed silent to the horrific injustices of the time, Bonhoeffer resisted.  He not only played a significant role in the formation of the “Confessing Church,” he also trained pastors in an underground seminary (training school for pastors). Simply put, his faith was not theoretical. It cost him his freedom and, ultimately, his life. Bonhoeffer was imprisoned and executed in 1945, just weeks before the end of the war. His writing is not only theologically rich, it carries a unique weight because it was forged in suffering, courage, and costly obedience to Christ.

Bonhoeffer wrote this short book while leading that underground seminary for pastors in Nazi Germany. The community he describes was not ideal or easy or protected from the brokenness of the world. It was shaped by prayer, Scripture, confession, forgiveness, and a shared commitment to Jesus. Out of that lived experience, Bonhoeffer offers one of the clearest and most challenging visions of Christian community ever written.  

Before you dive into this book, I want to name something from the jump. Bonhoeffer is not offering an overly romantic picture of church life. The man is deeply realistic. He reminds us that our dreams of “perfect community” often become the very thing that destroys real community. As you read his thoughts on this, don’t be afraid to stop and re-read it multiple times. Instead of chasing an ideal, Bonhoeffer invites us to receive one another as gifts from God, imperfect and redeemed, bound together not by cheap compatibility but by Jesus.

From the very beginning, Bonhoeffer is honest about why community is so difficult. All too often, we want closeness without cost, belonging without disruption, love without being changed.

As Tim Keller once put it,
“We all want intimacy and community, but we also want independence and autonomy. Yet the gospel calls us into a community where we are known, corrected, forgiven, and loved. You cannot have the joy of community without the pain of accountability.”

Life Together takes that tension seriously. Bonhoeffer shows us that Christian community is not built on comfort or control, but on shared submission to Jesus Christ and a willingness to let others speak truth into our lives.

This book is short, but it is weighty. It presses on us in all the right places. It asks whether our life together is built on our preferences or on the Word of God. It challenges individualism without erasing individuality. And it offers a vision of the church as a place where Christ stands in the middle, shaping how we listen, speak, forgive, pray, and love.
One of the main reasons I chose Life Together as our Book of the Month is because it names so clearly the kind of community we are continuing to grow into. We are not a church where everyone agrees or feels the same, but, instead, a church where we are formed by shared core beliefs, shared practices, and a shared (though imperfect) obedience to Jesus. In a diverse community like ours, that vision is both demanding and deeply hopeful.

And I also want to say that if you have ever been hurt by church, this book does not minimize that pain. And if you have ever idealized church, it gently dismantles those illusions. And if you long for something deeper than surface level fellowship, Bonhoeffer offers a path forward that is grounded, Christ-centered, and honest…with the Spirit’s guidance, may He make Redeemer more and more like this!

Christ at the Center
Bonhoeffer insists that Christian community exists only through Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ. We do not come to one another directly, but through Him. That truth reshapes how we see each other, especially when relationships are difficult.  And when we see each other this way, it truly frees us up to love well!

The Ministry of the Word
Community is sustained by Scripture. Bonhoeffer shows how God’s Word anchors us to one another anchors the church in something stronger than personality or preference.

Life Together in Prayer
Prayer is not just personal devotion but a shared discipline. Bonhoeffer highlights how praying together forms us into a people who learn to carry one another before God with patience and love.  At Redeemer, Discipleship Groups are a great way to live into this!

Confession and Forgiveness
Few sections of the book are more challenging or more freeing. Bonhoeffer reminds us that sin thrives in isolation, but healing happens when we step into the light. Confession is not humiliation. It is grace.  Again…at Redeemer, Discipleship Groups are a great way to live into this!

Bearing with One Another
True community requires patience, humility, and restraint. Bonhoeffer teaches us how to serve one another not by controlling or correcting, but by listening, interceding, and bearing burdens in love.  Not to sounds like a broken record, but…at Redeemer, Discipleship Groups are a great way to live into this!

SUMMARY:
Life Together is a slim book with a sharp edge and a tender heart. It does not simply give us techniques for building community. It reorients us toward Christ as the one who creates and sustains our life together. Bonhoeffer reminds us that healthy community is not something we manufacture. It is something we receive and steward with gratitude.

This book is especially meaningful for a church like ours. We are different in background, culture, story, and experience. Life Together gives us language and practices for living faithfully in that difference without losing unity. It calls us to a deeper commitment to one another that is rooted not in sameness (unity, not uniformity!), but in shared life under the Word of God.

If you long for a community that is honest, prayerful, and formed by grace. If you want to understand why Scripture, confession, forgiveness, and accountability matter so much. Or if you simply want to reimagine what Christian community could be. This book will be a gift.
Redeemer, my hope is that we continue to grow as a people who receive one another with gratitude, speak truth in love, and live together as fellow followers of Jesus!

Grace and peace,
Pastor Drew