The service of pastoral leadership was instituted by Christ himself when he made the apostle Peter the shepherd of the first church, asking him, “Do you love me?” and commanding him, “Feed my sheep.” We affirm the shepherd’s task in this sense as a gift of God to the church.

Leadership must be based on trust. Such trust has to be earned; no one can demand it as a right by virtue of office. Pastoral leadership does not depend on fixed offices, natural talents, or seminary training, but on God’s grace and the working of the Spirit. Not even the most gifted person has anything to say in the church community if what he represents is himself.

A person entrusted with leadership must always let himself be guided by the Holy Spirit. He must remain deeply humble and must honor and respect the body of members. Under no circumstances may he force anything on those around him; he is not placed in this task to control or dominate, but to serve. When Jesus entrusted his church to Peter, he did not give him any rights over the other disciples. Instead he taught: “The rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Because pastoral leadership means service, we call those who carry this responsibility “servants of the Word.” According to the New Testament, this task can be given only to a brother who fulfills scriptural requirements as regards his personal conduct and life of faith.

Any brother who is baptized and has taken membership vows can be suggested for the service of the Word by any other member, and if the church community agrees, he may be appointed. If he is married, he does this service together with his wife, who shares and is essential to his particular obligation to care for souls. An appointment to the service of the Word is made on a trial basis. If after a time of testing and preparation a brother’s service is unanimously recognized as given by God, the appointment will be publicly confirmed through the laying on of hands on him and his wife, conferring the authority of the church.

Each Bruderhof usually has several servants of the Word. They work together as a pastoral team among themselves and with the other brothers and sisters who are responsible for the various spiritual and temporal aspects of the common life.

The task of a servant of the Word is to care for all in the church community in body and soul and to witness to the gospel.

A servant of the Word’s main concern should be pastoral care. He and his wife are called to bear the compassion of Christ toward each person, with the goal that each one can flourish with the fullness of life of the gospel. They both must seek to be led by the Spirit in offering counsel and guidance in reverence for any soul who turns to them for advice or to find freedom from sin through confession.

A servant of the Word is charged to express that which is from God and which moves in the hearts of the members. He is authorized to baptize, to serve the Lord’s Supper, to perform weddings, and to pronounce forgiveness of sins. A servant of the Word must be ready at all times to be sent out to proclaim the gospel, wherever the church community may send him.

Ultimately, carrying out the service of the Word simply involves a sharpening and intensification of the responsibilities laid on every member. This also holds true the other way around: every member is called to carry out the shepherd’s task in his or her own family and sphere of life, caring for souls and proclaiming the gospel.

Just as a ship needs a helmsman, so the church community needs clear leadership. For this reason, the body of members unanimously commissions one brother for the shepherd’s task for the church community as a whole, to serve together with his wife for as long as he is able. Known as the elder, he is entrusted to the fullest degree with the care of souls, the spiritual oversight of all communities, the order and authority of the church, and the proclamation of the gospel.

Like every other servant of the Word, the elder must follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit speaking among the members. He must not isolate himself or put his trust in his own abilities. In deep humility and in close cooperation with the body of members and all those it has appointed to various tasks, a clear direction in all matters can be found.

To support the elder in his task, the members may appoint servants of the Word as bishops who care for the communities in a particular geographic region. Bishops are responsible not just to the members of the communities they serve, but to the elder and the worldwide body of members.

If anyone appointed to a service of leadership falls into serious sin or abuses his position, or if his service is ineffective or harmful, he should lay it down, or he will be relieved of his service by the body of members. In accordance with our vows, each member has a duty to intervene if someone is misusing a position of leadership.

If there is a question of relieving the elder of his service, this step, in light of its seriousness, can be taken only by the worldwide body of members after meeting day by day for prayerful consideration and in the fear of God, heedful of Scripture’s warning never to admit a charge against a church leader except on the evidence of two or three witnesses.

In a church united by love, the service of leadership will always point to Christ. Among us we know no difference in rank. We are all brothers and sisters, all members of the one body, each serving the other. Governing this body is its sole head, Jesus Christ.

* This online version of Foundations is for reference only. For the authoritative version, see the print edition.