bonhoeffer said that in new york and america, he did not hear the gospel pro claimed. think of this. he visited many, many churches. he did not hear the gospel proclaimed except in his words, in the negro churches. that was the only place he saw the true gospel, he saw true faith, living faith, people living it, preaching the gospel of jesus, living the gospel of jesus, he saw this among the suffering in harlem. and it changed his life. when he got back to germany, people could see that he was different. he wasn't intellectually different, but his heart had been changed. he began to speak publicly about the bible, about the living word of god through which god, if he was alive, was to speak to us. so in the black church in harlem, god was alive and wishes to speak to you. of course, it had a political component because now it's 1932. the nazis are rising. bonhoeffer begins to say things you would not hear in germany, even in the churches in those days. he spoke of jesus as the man for others. he said, whoever does not stand up for the jews does not have the right to si

this is bonhoeffer moment. if we will humble ourselves. ask god, cried out from the heart, lord, lead us. will you ask him to help you? the amazing grace of god. the amazing grace of god is there for everyone. jesus is not just for so-called christian. jesus is for every one. for everyone and the grace of god is for everyone. i hope you know that. when i was 21 years old i worked at the boston opera house and garrison keeler showed up and gave a talk and at the end of his talk he asked the audience if the audience wanted to sing. they didn't. but he made them anyway. he led them in a song called amazing grace. that are capella rendition have stuck with me my whole life and i thought maybe someday people will do that. not to they of course. but then i thought if the president can sing our green's -- [laughter] [laughter and applause] maybe you can sing with him. we are going to try this and if it goes well i will leave with my head up. are you ready? you don't know the lyrics, pretend that you do. i want to hear harmony. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> god bless

back to bonhoeffer. i try to. bonhoeffer was born into an amazing family.rist in germany. this was a big important amazing family. at 14 he announced he wanted to be at theologian. got his doctorate at age 21. anyone else get a doctorate at age 21? me either. i began work a week ago. just started work on my honorary ct

and dietrich bonhoeffer says that christ is always stronger in our brother's heart than in our own.now you don't have to be a christian for that, to understand what that means. you've got to have other people. and you need other people to sustain yourself and to sustain your faith. >> you wrote this poem that is particularly -- i think seems particularly pertinent right there in "every riven thing." >> i wrote this poem, after the diagnosis, after we had gone back to church. "god goes, belonging to every riven thing he's made sing his being simply by being the thing it is: stone and tree and sky, man who sees and sings and wonders why god goes. belonging, to every riven thing he's made, means a storm of peace. think of the atoms inside the stone. think of the man who sits alone trying to will himself into a stillness where god goes belonging. to every riven thing he's made there is given one shade shaped exactly to the thing itself: under the tree, a darker tree; under the man the only man to see. god goes belonging to every riven thing. he's made the things that bring him near, mad

amazing speaker, the author of a book on "amazing grace: the william wilber force story" as well as bonhoeffer from germany, he was funny, he was inspirational, he was touching. one of the things that's been such a blessing over the seven years i have been in congress has been on thursday mornings, 8:00 to 9:00, members of congress from both sides of the aisle come together for an hour of sharing breakfast, but sharing our christian faith and listening -- listing prayer requests and praying, singing hymns of faith and hearing on an alternating basis from republican and democrat. i know people hear what goes on on the foor and assume that members on one side of the aisle must absolutely hate members of the other side of the aisle and actually there are many of us that get along quite well other than talking politics. and that's why we protect that hour. we don't talk about politics during that time. because those that gather together have something in common, our christian faith, as well as a heart wanting to do what's best nor country. to ensure that we pass on a better country than we receive