Last week Lula and I attended the birthday party of one of our grandsons who turned five. Many parents were there as well. I chit-chatted with one dad about business, and he shared that he is self-employed. I told him that long ago I had been in the business world myself, but that after about fifteen years, I started looking for something ‘bigger.’ “My boss today is in heaven and all my customers are from Iran…” I remarked. “Huh? I don’t get it.” “I’m a pastor and missionary,” I explained “and I work with Iranian immigrants.” At that point, his expression hardened, and he said, “I have nothing to do with the Church…” Then he added something that made my jaw drop: “Both of my grandfathers were pastors. One of them was with the German Christians [“Deutsche Christen”—pastors in the Third Reich who viewed the Nazis favorably], and the other was a student of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s [a famous Protestant pastor who resisted the Nazis and was hanged in a concentration camp only weeks before Nazi Germany’s collapse]. “You’re kidding… that’s amazing…You know, your family history is a bit like mine. I’m German-American and my ancestors were on both sides of the War too…But…why don’t you want anything to do with the Church?” I asked him. “Because it’s full of hypocrites. There are so many so-called “Christians”—especially among church leaders—who are actually swine…” “Unfortunately, you’re right. But especially in those horrible cases, as tough as it is, we need to try to look not at Christians, but at *Christ*. Because every Christian is “simul iustus et peccator,” as the Reformation taught us: ‘at the same time justified and a sinner.’ Pointing to the birthday party, I said, “Look at these kids. It’s your job and mine to make sure that we don’t alienate them from Christ because of any bad behavior on our part. Do you think your Bonhoeffer grandfather would agree?” Looking into the distance, he responded, “Actually, I think he would…”
The Tiews in Germany 