Reliving our Big Summer Read
Reflect with us on the wisdom that Kristin Du Mez and Bruce Berglund shared on Thursday
Re-watch the On Tyranny Big Read & Continue Learning with Bruce Berglund this Fall
Last week more than 1,000 people registered—including an in‑person church watch‑party of 200—to join historian Bruce Berglund and author Kristin Du Mez to explore what Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny has to offer Christians in this troubling time.
Over the course of their conversation, Bruce and Kristin traced how the book’s twenty lessons map onto our current democratic stresses: why anticipatory obedience paves the way for abuse of power, how small acts of public courage can puncture a culture of fear, and what Eastern‑European dissident history teaches about safeguarding truth when lies become policy. Bruce illustrated the stakes with stories from Czechoslovakia’s Velvet Revolution and Poland’s Solidarity movement; Kristin drew parallels to present‑day voter suppression, paramilitary rhetoric, and the churches’ vocation to stand between state power and the vulnerable.
The conversation closed with practical take‑aways—support independent local journalism, practice "corporeal politics" by showing up in person, form broad coalitions across ideological lines—and an invitation to press deeper this fall.
Missed the livestream? You can watch the recording embedded below!
Ready for the next step?
Twentieth-Century Authoritarianism: Lessons in Resistance and Complicity
Instructor: Dr. Bruce Berglund
Format: Live on Zoom · 8 weeks · Thursdays, 6:30 pm ET · Sept 11 – Nov 6
What drives ordinary people to resist authoritarian rule?
Drawing on case studies from Nazi Germany, Communist Eastern Europe, and the Soviet Union, Bruce guides participants through the stories of pastors, poets, factory workers, and dissidents who had to choose between safety and solidarity. Expect close readings (think Bonhoeffer, Havel, Klemperer), lively discussion, and concrete take-aways for our own democratic fragility.
How to take the course:
Cost (CAD)
Audit (non‑credit) || $400 for first-time auditors (approximately $292 USD)
For credit || $1,500 (approximately $1096 USD)
Auditors participate fully in the weekly conversation—no papers, no exams.
Course description & registration: https://f2bf.icscanada.edu/#page-1
Direct registration form: https://f2bf.icscanada.edu/#page-4
Mark your calendar – Fall Big Read
For Such a Time as This: An Emergency Devotional
with Hanna Reichel & Kristin Du Mez
Wednesday, Sept 17 · 8 pm ET (live on Zoom)
Fresh off our On Tyranny conversation, we’ll gather again in September to discuss theologian Hanna Reichel’s forthcoming book, which is a punchy, historically informed field‑guide for Christian faithfulness amid democratic backsliding. Kristin will join Hanna to spark a conversation on Hanna's timely book. We encourage you to join along and to submit questions. We won't be able to address them all individually, but we should be able to distill them to major themes, keeping your questions in mind!
Info & free registration: https://f2bf.icscanada.edu/#fall-big-read
Eerdmans is offering a special pre-order discount code for Free to be Faithful participants; click here and enter FALLREAD40.
Thank you for helping us launch the Free to be Faithful series with such energy. We can’t wait to explore these histories—and their urgent lessons—alongside you this fall.
—The ICS Free to Be Faithful team