Bruderhof

[Wayne in Maine]

Like it or not, being part of Bruderhof means absolute allegiance to people who do stuff like this:

http://articles.courant.com/1995-11-12/ ... mennonites

The Bruderhof also owns a Gulfstream jet...

Antagonism between those critics and the people in the Bruderhofs has become vehement. Last summer, former members banded together into a support group called Children of the Bruderhof and publicized a toll-free telephone number. It was flooded with 1,700 harassing calls. After an investigation traced many of the calls to pay phones in the vicinity of the various Bruderhofs, the calls tapered off.

These don't look like things that sincere Christians do, although I think these are things the leadership is instigating, not the rank and file. Regardless, anyone looking to join them needs to seriously consider what they will be joining and supporting.

Note this is a 1995 article. My question is whether the talk of them changing is correct.

They no longer own the jet, they lease one from another company instead.

They filed several slap suits against Children of the Bruderhof and other critics and ex-members (I was involved in one of them). The children of the Bruderhof disbanded as they could not afford to defend themselves. The other major suit was dropped (after a lot of us had to spend a lot of money on lawyers) quite possibly because several of those being sued discovered that their insurance policies would cover their legal expenses or because the defendants were likely to have subpoenaed the records of meetings and correspondence from the Bruderhof.

The man who ended up paying for those 1700 harassing phone calls (it was an 800 number) never received a penny from the Bruderhof. The Bruderhof mysteriously sent checks out to many ex-members about 10 years ago, some of them substantial. There was no explanation sent with the checks. The elder visited some of the prominent ex-members asking for forgiveness, but never admitting to any wrong or specifying forgiveness for what. At least one of ex-members most in the know about abuses there has been mysteriously silent (and seemingly in good financial condition) since then.

They had been receiving too much bad press for a while and some of their critics were effective on the internet in calling attention to their abuse, so they pulled down their web sites and went silent for many years. There had also been a lot of internal turmoil with many people leaving, young people being corrupted by some of the Bruderhof's strange bedfellows and failed attempts to win favor with some of the Hutterites. Now they are back on line and making a good impression with everyone, but I know from recent leavers and recent incidents involving ex-members that nothing has really changed, the Bruderhof communities and the leaders won't admit to their abuses or repent of them or reconcile to the families they have hurt.

I should add too in response to Dan's comments. There are sincere and dedicated Christians there, but I was reminded recently that they, like myself, have assented to what they know is wrong. They put the elder in the position of absolute power. They have supported the abuse by not being brave enough to say no to it. I was not blameless when I was a member there, and when I finally did speak up I was made to be no longer a member. One has to take the risk of actually taking one's vows and the Jesus' words seriously, and few members at the Bruderhof do.

[Dan Z]

I should add too in response to Dan's comments. There are sincere and dedicated Christians there, but I was reminded recently that they, like myself, have assented to what they know is wrong. They put the elder in the position of absolute power. They have supported the abuse by not being brave enough to say no to it.

This is a good point Wayne...in any brotherhood, leaders are enabled and empowered by the members. Although I think that leders carry the burden of responsibility - "of whom much is given, much is required."

Back in its beginning the Bruderhof, under Eberhard Arnold, took on a leadership structure (borrowed in part from the Hutterites - and later reinforced by Catholic hierarchical models) that centralized authority in the hands of one venerated lead elder. This is a bit ironic in light of Arnold's communitarian/egalitarian teachings on servant leadership, brotherhood, and unanimity of decision-making. Nevertheless, in many ways, this model has been the Achilles Heal of the movement throughout its first century, as the Eldership has passed down through the Arnold family. In my opinion, this centralized leadership model has directly contributed to most of the significant grievances held against the Bruderhof over the years (many listed in this thread). I believe that had a more pluralistic leadership structure been in place from the beginning (like that which exists in most other Anabaptist groups) perhaps many of leadership missteps of the past decades could have been avoided.

Recently, as the group has grown (I think it is pushing 3000 members) and matured, and as the most recent Arnold elder (Christoph) has stepped back due to age and health, I believe they are moving in a more pluralistic direction leadership-wise. Their various communities are becoming a bit more autonomous as well, and I think this is a good thing. Time will tell - but this juncture might be a real opportunity for the Bruderhof to correct its polity going forward.

All that being said, we remain open-eyed supporters of the Bruderhof communities. While recognizing the validity of many of the hurts and grievances mentioned (including Wayne's first-hand account), we also have seen first-hand significant good in the group over the decades. As some of you know, after years of short visits back in the 90s, we seriously considered joining - selling our possessions and living among them for a number of months. We continue in regular contact with the group to this day (with family members on the inside), and we are still nurtured and shaped by the relationship.

By the way, their quarterly magazine, The Plough is excellent, and their statement of belief, Foundations, is one of the best written expression of Anabaptist faith that I have ever read.

[MaxPC]

Back in its beginning the Bruderhof, under Eberhard Arnold, took on a leadership structure (borrowed in part from the Hutterites - and later reinforced by Catholic hierarchical models) that centralized authority in the hands of one venerated lead elder.

Random observation: it's interesting to me how the various faith groups will adopt leadership models and then try to modify/improve them as problems arise. During the early era of Christianity, Catholic leadership structures reflected the Roman political system and kingdoms. As democracy and republic models emerged so too the Catholic leadership structure moved to a collegial model that monitored practices while maintaining a single leader who advised and set the direction of policy. I would even go so far as to say that our hierarchy more closely resembles the British relationship between their parliament and their monarchy.