An Adventure to Ignite Further Ones
Do you like rags to riches novels? So do I. They’re even better when they’re true. In A Corner for Christ Bruno Daube (1932-2011) chronicles his odyssey as:
- an orphaned boy hustling to stay alive in 1940s Chicago;
- a teen blossoming under a good mentor, only to be cast adrift again;
- a young man searching for a career, family, and purpose; and
- a grown man who finds his true calling in service to others.
Bruno recounts his inspiring saga with pathos, humor, honesty, and compassion. You’ll rejoice over how God draws him to faith in the Gospel. You’ll marvel at how Christ uses Bruno’s early trials to prepare him for the adventure of serving “the least of these My brethren” (Mt. 25:40).
Your life is an adventure too. So that A Corner for Christ will not be just a “good read” soon forgotten, the Group Discussion Guide is designed to launch you and friends on your own journeys of effective compassion and disciple making.
Available for free in eBook formats at: www.faithtrekker.org/store.
A Friendship Grows
I met Bruno in 1986, shortly after I became the Pastor of Evangelism at a church in Chicago. Bruno’s wife Ruth was the efficient and sociable church secretary. She invited us to dinner to meet her family.
I met Bruno in 1986, shortly after I became the Pastor of Evangelism at a church in Chicago. Bruno’s wife Ruth was the efficient and sociable church secretary. She invited us to dinner to meet her family.
The Sunday afternoon Bruno asked several questions about our previous ministry in Venezuela. Then I asked him how he was serving the Lord. Bruno grinned and said, “Recently I was commissioned to serve as an Ecumenical Night Minister.”
“Wow! Please tell me what that entails.”
“Every Friday night from 9 to 2 AM, I’m on the streets of an urban neighborhood on Chicago’s North Side. It includes bars, night clubs, brothels, and crowds of people young and old who come in from the suburbs to get in on the action. Add in runaway teens, drug dealers, addicts, gang members, homeless vagrants, and the local residents. Every Friday is a new adventure of bringing God’s light and love to whoever approaches me.”
“How do they know you are willing to listen or help?”
“I’m not a clergyman, but I wear the uniform: a black shirt with a white clerical collar. It serves as a signal that I’m not a drug dealer, a John, or an undercover cop. I’ve made a wide variety of friends. They call me Father Bruno.”
“Tell me more!” I begged.
Bruno did. And I listened. For an hour.
Then he said, “Phil, you’re the first person to show so much interest in my after-hours “occupation.” That was the beginning of our friendship.
Four years later, I received a call to teach at Concordia College in St. Paul, MN. Despite the distance, our friendship never ended. Bruno and Ruth phoned us every two of three months, for Julie and I to share the latest news about our lives and ministries.
A Book Grows in Chicago
Around 1999, Bruno wrote the first draft of his memoir, and hired me to devote 40-hours to edit it and advise him what was working and what needed improvement. I did so gladly and then handed the project back to him.
In January 2011, I flew to Chicago to fulfill a vow I’d made to Bruno years earlier–to preach at his funeral. Afterward, the family told me Bruno had written more memories and episodes, but the piles of pages needed lots of organizing and editing.
In 2022-23, Dan Daube and I finally completed the text and illustrations. We proudly distributed PDF copies to Bruno’s relatives and friends. Mission accomplished!
But… I still sensed that God might have a wider purpose in mind for Bruno’s amazing autobiography. So, this year I decided to take two steps. First, I added the Group Discussion Guide. Second, I transferred the entire work to eBook formats and made them available online.
The next stage of growth lies with you. I invite you to download A Corner for Christ at www.faithtrekker.org/store and read it. If you deem it worthy, tell others about it. Invite friends to ruminate on Bruno’s adventure together as you follow the Group Discussion Guide.