In September 1930, a young Dietrich Bonhoeffer came to America. At 23, the young German theologian had already earned a doctorate in theology from Berlin University, published his first book (his doctoral thesis, “Sanctorum Communio: A Theological Study of the Sociology of the Church”), and spent a year as an associate pastor at a church in Barcelona.
What Bonhoeffer found in the United States was a church that seemingly had little interest in the Jesus of the Bible, and had a complete lack of intellectual rigor. The ‘progressive’ church was essentially owned by wealthy industrialists, and had become little better than a social club. A club to which one must join to be a member of polite society, and advance one’s fortunes; what Bonhoeffer christened “a social corporation.” There was open disdain for quaint traditional precepts of Christianity, such as the resurrection, and an ongoing war with the fundamentalists who hung on to church orthodoxy.
Bonhoeffer noted the lack of any true gospel being preached, stating in a letter, “In New York they preach about virtually everything; only one thing is not addressed, or is addressed so rarely that I have as yet been unable to hear it, namely, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the cross, sin and forgiveness, death and life.”
What he also found alarming was the lack of any substantiating thought to back up their progressive beliefs. Bonhoeffer had certainly encountered progressive theology in Berlin, but there was open discussion and debate. Even though he disagreed with some of his professors and peers, he respected their thoughts and the intellectual rigor that went into the development of their belief system. In America, there was no such discussion, even amongst theology students, who just blithely accepted and advocated their progressive beliefs, and openly disdained those who differed, but could offer no explanations for why they believed what they did.
In another letter he stated, “There is no theology here.” Expressing his frustrations further; “They talk a blue streak without the slightest substantive foundation and with no evidence of any criteria. The students – on the average twenty-five to thirty years old – are completely clueless with respect to what dogmatics is really about. They are unfamiliar with even the most basic questions. They become intoxicated with liberal and humanistic phrases, laugh at the fundamentalists, and yet basically are not even up to their level.”
Bonhoffer hadn’t known what to expect when he came to study at Union Theological Seminary, but it likely wasn’t a theological academy bereft of coherent thought, and lacking in theology. His opinion of the American church at large, however, was changed when he was introduced to the Abyssinian Baptist Church.
Albert Franklin (Frank) Fisher was one of Dietrich’s small circle of friends at Union. Fisher was a black man from Alabama, a graduate of Howard University, who had come to New York to continue his studies at Union Theological Seminary. He invited Bonhoeffer to attend services with him at Abyssinian, an invitation that changed the course of Bonhoeffer’s life.
Abyssinian Baptist Church was founded in 1808 by a small (but mighty) group of fifteen African Americans who refused to accede to segregated seating in the First Baptist Church in New York City. The church purchased its first property in lower Manhattan in 1811, where it remained until 1854. A series of moves followed over the next 65 years, as the church continued to grow, and as the black population in New York began to migrate uptown. In 1920, a plot of land along West 138th Street, between Lenox and Seventh Avenues, was purchased for the construction of a church building and community house. Construction was completed in 14 months, and the building dedicated in 1923.
There was no John D. Rockefeller involved with the construction of the Abyssinian Church. The property, design, and construction were fully funded by the tithes of church members. Pastor Powell later said, “Not a ticket or a dish of ice cream was sold to pay for the erection of Abyssinian Baptist Church and Community House.” The 12-year, $60,000 mortgage on the building was retired in less than five years. At the mortgage burning ceremony, Pastor Powell said, “Every dollar of the money was brought in through tithes and offerings, and God fulfilled His promise by pouring out a blessing upon us that our souls were not able to contain.”
When Bonhoeffer came to Abyssinian Baptist in 1930, it was likely the largest protestant church in the United States. It was led by Pastor Adam Clayton Powell Sr. Powell was the son of slaves, born three weeks after Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House in 1865. His father was African, his mother Cherokee. Powell’s early years were spent wandering, drinking, and gambling. His life was changed at a series of revival meetings in Ohio, where he came to Christ. In 1892 he graduated from Wayland Seminary and was ordained.
Powell was a powerful figure, and an intense preacher. After months of progressive preaching, Bonhoeffer was mesmerized. As Bonhoeffer biographer Eric Metaxas put it, “Starving from the skim milk at Union, Bonhoeffer found a theological feast that spared nothing. Powell combined the fire of a revivalist preacher with great intellect and social vision. He was active in combating racism, and minced no words about the saving power of Jesus Christ. He didn’t fall for the Hobson’s choice of one or the other; he believed that without both, one had neither, but with both, one had everything and more. When the two were combined, and only then, God came into the equation. Then and only then was life poured out. For the first time Bonhoeffer saw the gospel preached and lived out in obedience to God’s command.”
For the duration of his stay in New York, Dietrich was a fixture at Abyssinian Church. He taught a Sunday school class for boys, and became active in a number of groups. Many of the church members, including some who had been born at a time when slavery was legal in the United States, welcomed him into their homes. Among other things, Bonhoeffer, who was a classically trained and very proficient pianist, became fascinated with American Gospel music.
Fisher and Bonhoeffer also traveled outside the city together, including a visit to Fisher’s alma mater in Washington, D.C. Bonhoeffer witnessed firsthand the racism issue in America. In traveling with black friends, he encountered segregated railway cars, tramways, and buses. On at least one occasion, he and Fisher were refused service at a restaurant. At the time, he wrote his brother that “we don’t really have an analogous situation in Germany.” However, his experiences in the US certainly gave him insight into the coming oppression of Jews in Europe.
By all accounts, including memories from his friends and family, as well as his own writing, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a different person when he returned to Germany in 1931. His time at Abyssinian Baptist, traveling with his friends, the preaching of Adam Clayton Powell Sr., all served to solidify the Truth of the Gospel, and provide an example of a faith that called one to action. It could be said that Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s faith had moved from his head to his heart. And it was this Spirit-led transformation that called to him in the future, in his opposition to the Nazis.
It is tempting to draw parallels between the state of the church in 1930s America, and our current situation, scarcely one hundred years later. Society at large has rejected the church in total, replacing the early 20th century social club model with a disassociated (and no contact required) social media. In what church remains, the progressives have continued progressing away from orthodoxy, effectively inventing a new cuddly, non-judgmental, Jesus, who just wants you to be happy and rich.
Deitrich Bonhoeffer understood something that we would do well to remember; how much we hunger for the Truth. We allow ourselves to be temporarily satisfied with skim milk, but it is insufficient to fully satiate our desire, our need, for Truth. What Bonhoeffer found at Abyssinian Baptist was the transformative power of the Gospel when the Gospel is preached true to the Word. The transformative power to change lives, and grow a faith strong enough to lay down one’s life for their friends, like Bonhoeffer did.
The world is different than it was 95 years ago. And yet, there is much that is the same. Governments rise and fall. Old evils resurface under new glossy packaging. The Truth never changes, though. May we, like Bonhoeffer, transform rather than conform. May we find the will to oppose real evil, no matter how vogue, shiny, or popular it may be. May we set aside the skim milk and oatmeal, and ready ourselves for the banquet feast that awaits.
P.A. Tennant – Summer, 2025
Soli Deo Gloria
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Photo: Abyssinian Baptist Church Website
Copyright 2026 Paul A. Tennant
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