Foundations of Our Faith and Calling

I congratulate the members of the Bruderhof on their community’s new constitution, Foundations of our Faith and Calling. Since my appointment as Archbishop of New York, it has been a joy for me to visit the Bruderhof communities and to work together with them in proclaiming the gospel message, especially in regard to marriage, the family, and the sanctity of life. I treasure the Bruderhof’s Christian witness as a significant contribution to the wider church today. The Bruderhof, as a religious community that includes families, seems part of the great and venerable tradition of Christian monasticism. Foundations thus is similar to the Rule of St. Benedict: visionary yet practical, theologically profound yet always down to earth. Deeply anchored in Scripture, Foundations calls the church to renewal and testifies to the world what it means to live as brothers and sisters in Christ. (October 2012) Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York
In Foundations, the Bruderhof gives a clear and engaging account of its faith and calling as a church community. Nothing is included that I would want to see omitted, or omitted that I would want to see included. Like other Bruderhof publications that I have applauded over the years, this book seems to me to be a very worth-while effort to challenge worldliness and superficiality in the Christian world. I trust that God will continue to bless the Bruderhof communities, both in the living out of their own defined identity and in stimulating the rest of us to be really real with God. (April 2013) J.I. Packer, Board of Governors and Professor of Theology, Regents College
One group who has attempted to form a faith rooted in fellowship is the Bruderhof….I received a copy of their new and beautiful Foundations of our Faith and Calling. It was a delightful read, the kind of book that slows you down because you sense a text drawn from decades of experience and wisdom and discussion. What I learned most from this book is what faith looks like when it emerges, not from theological discussions and debates and settled conclusions, but from a community and a fellowship….I’ve not seen any statement like this that had a better emphasis on love for one another and the neighbor. (January 2013) Scot McKnight, Professor of New Testament, Northern Baptist Theological Seminary
I’ve read and re-read Foundations, and each time I am impressed and thrilled. What’s especially powerful is the way that this document is so clearly shaped by the Bible. The chapter on your “Heritage” is helpful in describing your roots and your place among other Christian churches. I was also grateful for the wise discussion of the calling of pastoral leadership – those entrusted with leadership work together as a team with others, not making single-handed decisions, and every member is able to speak up if there is a problem.… Foundations is a book that triggers important questions about what it means to follow Jesus. (February 2013) Regina Claas, Vice President of the Baptist World Alliance