It is by no means a matter of indifference how I myself or my hand, just as other selves and other hands, are being used. The greatness that fills and surrounds my smallnesses and other smallnesses wants to use everything, even the most insignificant, for its service, if only it is ready to be used in the right proportion.
- Eberhard Arnold
Selected Reading
The Root of Grace
Eberhard Arnold
On his fiftieth birthday on July 26, 1933, when Eberhard Arnold gave a talk to members of the Bruderhof community, he surprised his listeners. Instead of looking back at what he had accomplished, he saw only his own human weakness and pointed his audience to One who is truly great.
The Jesus of the Four Gospels
Eberhard Arnold
We live in an age where it seems Jesus has become almost unknown or his words distorted and disfigured, his work weakened. All the more, we must rediscover this Jesus and hold him up before all the world. We must place the Jesus of the four Gospels in the center of our faith and our life.
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Why We Live in Community
Eberhard Arnold
Everyone’s talking about community these days. In this time-honored manifesto, Eberhard Arnold adds his voice to the vital discussion of what real intentional community is all about: love, joy, unity, and the great “adventure of faith” shared with others along the way.
The Economy of the Early Church
Eberhard Arnold
In an age when Christianity is comfortably entwined with consumer capitalism, the early Christians’ passion for social and economic justice can come as a shock. So why did the first Christians abandon private property? Eberhard Arnold addresses this question in an excerpt from the introduction to The Early Christians (1926).
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Quick Quotes
We have, each in a different way, a gift and a service to perform for the body of the Church; and we need the services and gifts of others, as they need ours. We must go forward. The word of the Spirit must become ever more clear and sharp, the expression of love more pure and tender.
- Eberhard Arnold
Your life will have a kind of perfection, although you will not be a saint. The perfection will consist in this: you will be very weak and you will make many mistakes; you will be awkward, for you will be poor in spirit and hunger and thirst for justice. You will not be perfect, but you will love. This is the gate and the way. Whatever you desire for yourself, wish the same for others. If you expect something from people, give the same to them. There is nothing greater than love. There is nothing more holy than love. There is nothing more true than love, nothing more real. So let us hand our lives over to love and seal the bond of love.
- Eberhard Arnold