Breakfast with Bonhoeffer

by Jon Walker

Reading like a non-fiction novel with a story both heart-breaking and heart-warming, Walker reveals how God used the writings of Bonhoeffer to push him past the incorrect beliefs and religious thinking that had come to represent his faith.

While Jon Walker was encountering Bonhoeffer every day as he wrote the books Costly Grace and In Visible Fellowship, he found his world collapsing and his faith faltering. After almost twenty years in ministry, Walker was laid off twice, lost his home and savings, was diagnosed with bipolar II disorder, and then his wife filed for divorce just a few days before their twenty-fourth anniversary.

Bonhoeffer saw the storms of political upheaval and pressure on Christians coming at warp speed, and he called believers to meet it head on by following Jesus, who bids believers to come and die.

In BREAKFAST WITH BONHOEFFER, Walker brings to a new generation the timeless teachings of Bonhoeffer, especially the teaching that calls Jesus' followers to break free from the tyranny of popular culture and religious thinking. It also offers hope for those who face loss or have been hurt by the economic downturn.

Genres: Faith, Christian, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Religion

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Jon Walker is the author of Costly Grace: A Contemporary View of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s ‘The Cost of Discipleship’ and Growing with Purpose: Connecting with God Everyday. He is the editor of Rick Warren’s Daily Hope devotionals.

Jon Walker has worked closely with Rick Warren for many years, first as a writer/editor, later as vice president of communications at Purpose Driven Ministries, and then as a pastor at Saddleback Church. He’s also served as editor-in-chief of LifeWay’s HomeLife magazine and founding editor of Rick Warren’s Ministry Toolbox. He is the author of Costly Grace: A Contemporary View of Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship. His articles have appeared in publications and websites around the world. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

You can sign up for Jon’s devotionals or join him on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/GraceCreates.

Reviews

[Brent Soderstrum · Rating 2 out of 5]

We covered this book in my men's Bible study. Walker is all over the place going from one subject to the next. There is no clear flow. He attempts to weave in Dietrich Bonheffer's teachings into what happened in his own life which included health issues, job loss, divorce, financial ruin and depression.

This book was like trying to follow a super bouncy ball which is thrown to the ground as hard as you can. Some good teachings but no organization.

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are many little nuggets in this book that feels like you are walking through some of the depression, bipolar, divorce, etc issues that the author is writing about in his life. I truly think these reflections are an honest look at how God impacted his life through writing about Bonhoeffer. Seeing that and capturing the nuggets makes it s worthwhile read, I think. However, because it is a personal reflection, it feels very jumbled. There is a truth in that because very few personal trials are neatly segmented into one passage of scripture that spoke to you...or that the same issue doesn't come up over and over for many of us as we struggle through things in life...but I was left feeling like I knew Jon Walker more and that I both pray for him and appreciate his heart...but not that I learned a lot about Bonhoeffer or Jesus in the book.

[Robert Durough, Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paul wrote, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1, ESV). For a long time I took this to be nothing more than Paul’s arrogance. Why imitate Paul when I can just imitate Christ? It wasn’t until I heard a brother mention how helpful it was for him to have someone in his life to whom he could look up, watch his life, and see what living like Christ looked like—someone, at least in some respects, he could imitate. But if all I have are recorded words of Paul and Jesus, why wouldn’t I just follow the words of Jesus? Well, Paul wrote a lot and expounded upon the words of Christ to help Christ’s disciples better understand them in a practical sense. Somehow, probably lost in translation, we sometimes lose the “better understanding,” in a practical sense, of Paul’s writings because we become too focused on words, archaic phrases, and getting that legalism down pat. So, we read what others have written on those words, or we listen to preachers tell us what they think they mean, and still we cling to thinking we’re “just following the Bible” and no man. But we are. We pick and choose to whom we listen and whose interpretations, however “plain” and “obvious” they may tell us they are, we choose to follow. We all imitate someone somehow. Paul just thought he was the better example over others.

Although Bonhoeffer is no longer around to “see,” he left behind many writings, many quite practical, and a legacy of which others had witnessed and written for many to imitate. For Jon Walker, Bonhoeffer is one to imitate, one whose writings has helped him better understand his life and carry it forward. Walker brings his reader on a not-so-chronological, bi-polar swaying, progressively topical journey peppered with Bonhoefferific gleanings that have helped him along the way and/or have aided in hindsight, all with the perspectival mix of student, teacher, and narrator. This is for the reader who is interested in a lifetime of change, not just a life-changing moment, in being brought closer to leaning on Jesus and following the Spirit. My suggestion is that one initially approach Breakfast with Bonhoeffer as embarking on a journey with Walker, keeping theological and practical judgments at bay until the journey’s end, at which point one may wish to revisit a time, place, or conversation for further mulling. If nothing else, it may interest the reader in picking up a copy of Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship!

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from ACU Press/Leafwood Publishers as part of their ACU Press Bookclub Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

[Hilary "Fox" · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book through the GoodReads first reads program.

I wanted to enjoy this book far more than I actually did. I had not read anything on Bonhoeffer prior, beyond a brief reference to him in a book on philosophy that I read years ago. Jon Walker did a decent job of explaining his most basic beliefs throughout the book, but never went in depth in regards to it without it being directly related to horrible events within the authors life.

The basis of the book is admirable - essentially explaining that the hard times we go through are meant to define us and help us fully develop our character and faith. The trouble I had with the book was that I never fully felt that any change occurred. Jon Walker went through tragedy, and says he has come to terms with it but still, the tone was altogether rather bitter. Rather than feeling as if the book had helped me or enlightened me in terms of philosophy and theology, I came away from the book downright depressed and confused.

The book would be better served by framing the stories around Bonhoeffer, rather than tragedies within the author's life. By framing it with the philosophy it would have enhanced the events; by framing it with the events, the philosophy was lost in what seemed like self pity. I understand that others thoroughly loved the book, and took a great deal from it. Unfortunately, I simply wasn't one of them.

[Joni Hannigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Breakfast with Bonhoeffer: How I Learned to Stop Being Religious to I Could Follow Jesus" is a breathtakingly honest account of a man who has faced challenges in life head on in the style of Bonhoeffer, drawing from his teachings to show how even in the darkest of times God is Sovereign and it is in Him we are to place trust for everything.

This is not a traditional Bible Study and as the full title indicates, but a subjective and compelling self-written narrative of Walker's own struggles with bipolar II disorder. The reader is drawn by the fact he applied Bonhoeffer's truths while writing the more traditional studies "Costly Grace" and "In Visible Fellowship" which he references in the book.

Beyond sympathy, I was challenged by Walker's clear understanding of God's grace in relation to man's condition. We have such broad expectations, and yet Walker reminds us what we might hear if we were to sit down and have, if you will, "Breakfast with Bonhoeffer."

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure how to write a review for this, and it doesn't help that I haven't written a review in a while! I was expecting this book to be a believer's take on walking out some of Bonhoeffer's basic teachings or a devotional of some type that used Bonhoeffer's material. I suppose it was more the former, but not nearly what I hoped it would be. What I found was a very real, very raw look at a very difficult time in a man's life and how he thought of Bonhoeffer's teachings during that time. To be honest, I found it a little depressing. Walker holds nothing back as he describes his bipolar disorder, his failed marriage, the loss of children, and his financial difficulties. I appreciated his openness to a degree, but most of the time I felt that the circumstances and the feelings accompanying them overshadowed the lessons that he learned through them.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books of the year, “Breakfast with Bonhoeffer” is the story of one man’s struggle to navigate family, financial and emotional hardship in the face of economic downturn, job loss, divorce and mental illness. Honest and often heart-wrenching his stories may leave those desiring simplistic answers to life’s most difficult questions feeling uncomfortable. But through his journey, Walker has learned that life is uncomfortable, complicated and challenging. Even our most strongly held commitments sometimes crash against the painful realities of life and relationships. In the face of these challenges, Walker doesn’t make excuses or provide pat answers. Instead, he learns and graciously shares with us the counsel of Bonhoeffer’s timeless lessons — that somehow a loving God remains faithful and in Him we find strength, purpose and hope.

[Toby · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were parts of this book that I really enjoyed and other parts not so much. There were a lot of good spiritual insights, but many of them were harvested from the author's own stories, many of which were painful and tragic. Of course faith is not grown out of the happy, Disney parts of life, but out of those difficult parts. But man, sometimes I really squirmed at how difficult some parts were, and how close to home they came. We aren't really used to our spiritual leaders being so transparent with their own failures. We want them to be 'experts' and a 'success' at all they do. That's not true with Walker, the book is sort of a slow slide downward that you wish had a happy ending, but does not. However, as Solomon said of himself, Walker takes his faith along with him the whole way and there are some very interesting and difficult things to learn along the way.

[Melanie Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy-read. Overall enjoyed, but some parts seem very confusing or choppy. I didn't realize the final outcome of his son Jeremy's birth until the very end, and even then we're left with vague details when closure would have been nice. About 3/4 into the book (around chapter 14?) I found it to be quite depressing and perhaps a bit melodramatic sounding, but by the last 3 chapters he ties it all up nicely and I did like the last chapter. Finally felt some closure and I loved his scripture & Bonhoeffer quotes throughout. Very applicable for anyone, not just persons going through depression or divorce.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

The painful, raw honestly of the writing is effective and will help us in our honesty with God and with discipleship. Walker won't let us off the hook anymore than he lets himself off. As others have said, I did have trouble with the lack of organization/plan here. I kind of wanted it to go somewhere, and it's intent is more to journal a journey than it is to have a plan. Also, I felt like I had come in somewhere in the middle and didn't know the whole story. That, too, is part of the the journal feel, I suppose.

[Jacob Travis]

Very good read. Jon Walker captures the struggle of living a life for Christ through the retelling of his own experiences. Drawing on the words of Bonhoeffer, Walker identifies how ones life can be redefined once Jesus becomes the central point of it, instead of just as an "add-on". I highly recommend this book for anyone who is struggling to figure out why their life is going in the direction that it is. It may just bring that clarity you were looking for.

[Cassandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dropped this book after 89 pages. I thought this was going to be a more intimate look at Bonhoeffer's writings and how they impacted the author. But it was a very loosely organized memoir with random Bonhoeffer quotes scattered throughout. The quotes didn't seem to have much relevance to the story and were formatted into block quotes very awkwardly. It was an all around disappointment so I thought it would be better to move on to something else.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty lightweight approach to Bonhoeffer. The biographical part of the book skips around in no particular order. All in all, his writing style is easy to follow and his theology is solid enough.

[Brad Coleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lot's of good nuggets. Not what I expected but a good 'real' read none the less.

[Jeanne Modisett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very inspiring, spiritually challenging book. He makes you see the bare bones of faith and how simple obedience makes us like Christ.

[Albert Chan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book I read after my major Brain Bleed (stroke). If you’re expecting a commentary or deeper look into Bonhoeffer’s life or theology, you will be disappointed. This is a memoir of a rough stretch in Pastor Jon Walker’s own journey while researching Bonhoeffer’s writings for his personal project.

As a faculty member, I held up Bonhoeffer‘s biography by Eric Metaxas for a READ poster at St. Ambrose University, but this writing project is the current reflection I would recommend as an accessible companion for daily life activities, pain, and delusion. You won’t learn more about Bonhoeffer, but you will see an ordinary person authentically grapple with the challenges, pain, and heartbreak of real life.

Pastor Walker allows you into his soul as he struggles through divorce, depression, financial ruin, and despair.It is a guide for the road less traveled, and will help heal broken hearts.