Eric Metaxas’ most recent book, Letter to the American Church, gives hope for a true revival in America. Drawing from the rich resources of research for his 2011 biography, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, Metaxas chronicles the attempts of the young pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who spoke truth to the German Church, warning them of the impending dangers of being compliant while a rogue government took shape under their watch. Their failure cost the loss of over 70 million people who died in WWII, including the lives of 6 million Jews. Metaxas makes it clear; the church of this nation holds the key to whether America survives as a nation or succumbs to cultural and political defeat.

Mataxas’s purpose for writing Letter to the American Church was because he was convinced the American Church is at an impossibly – and almost unbearably – important inflection point that parallels where the German Church was in the 1930s.

To encourage believers, Metaxas gives us some definitive actions:

• Be the Church – A true church will act against injustice at every level of society.
• Listen to the Prophets – Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s prophetic voice compels American churches to come forward and speak against the prevailing evils of our day.
• Speak out while there is a window of time to do so – In 1919, Hitler issued his first paper on the Jewish Question, in which he stated that the ultimate goal must definitely be removing the Jews altogether. By the time the Nazis implemented their Final Solution and began systematically killing Jews in 1941, the window of time when small actions of resistance would have made an enormous difference had closed.
• Overcome being silent in the face of wickedness – Metaxas reminds us cowardice begets cowardice, and courage begets courage. When people fail to speak, fewer and fewer people speak out until the whole nation is silenced.
• Get Political – The German Church shrunk from entering the political fray to resist the Nazis. Bonhoeffer said It is high time we broke with our theologically based restraint towards the state’s actions – which, after all, is only fear. ‘Speak out for those who cannot speak.’ This is the very least the Bible requires of us?
• Realize evangelism is not the only goal of the church – God calls the church to enter every sphere of society to transform the culture to reflect the plans and purposes of God.
• Know our works must support our faith – Bonhoeffer called faith without works Cheap Grace: the kind of grace that costs us nothing and gives no reason for the world around us to change.
• Rally the American churches to speak as one voice against evil, injustice, and government anti-Christian policies – Of the approximate 18,000 German Churches, 6,000 signed an agreement to stand against Hitler. Once persecution began, that number dwindled to about 3,000 who stood firmly against Hitler. Metaxas points out that the group with the strongest voice was the 12,000 churches that remained silent.

Bonhoeffer’s words are an indictment of the American Church today—the only difference between us and the German Church of that time. We have seen what happens when the Church does not do what God calls it to do. We have the example of the German Church in his day as a warning. Therefore, if we do not rise to the occasion now and do what God asks of us, shall we wonder whose sin is the greater?