Against the Wind: Eberhard Arnold and the Bruderhof - Plough

Against the Wind
unity and peace is something that still lies far ahead…Whether there are few or
many who are moved to leave the old life and seek the new, we are determined to
unite with them in the expectation of the kingdom of God, which is not limited
to only one hundred thousand people.” 14 The brotherhood, then numbering just
about fifty adult members, listened in disbelief. Many of them experienced later
how the brotherhood, after periods of crisis and revival, grew to a thousand and
more members. Some of those who heard Eberhard seak with such undaunted
vision are still alive today and give a vivid account of it.
Else von Hollander would have had no trouble with this picture of the great
“city of peace.” Whereas Emmy was a realist, Else was a visionary. Else was a
strong pillar of the community life. She shared Eberhard’s most daring ideas and
foresaw, perhaps even sooner than he did, what would develop over the following
years – the growth, the struggles, the menace of an anti-Christian state. Next to
Emmy, Else was Eberhard’s most loyal friend. Of all the brotherhood members she
was certainly the one most at home in his spiritual and intellectual world. Else was
a theologian without a diploma – and a fiery fighter, just like him. Their common
way ended on January 11, 1932. Else von Hollander died after a long, difficult
illness; even in death she still gave a powerful witness. Her bequest to Eberhard
and the brotherhood was a steadfast and boundless confidence in the course that
they had pioneered.
burdEnS of authority
Eberhard and Emmy’s natural authority had long been recognized. Both of them
had shouldered spiritual authority before Eberhard’s appointment in America as
servant of the Word and Emmy’s confirmation as housemother. And yet Eberhard,
by his own recognition, seems to have been infused with an added power through
the laying on of hands by the Hutterian elders. His words gained greater authority.
His manner grew firmer, his judgment more decisive, his watchfulness keener.
The brotherhood noticed this first. One of his former foster children recalls that
“his great concern was for us to have an understanding of all the movements of our
time. But he always said we must not be infected by these movements.” Another
Bruderhof sister recounts, “If Emmy said, ‘Oh, he didn’t mean it like that,’ Eberhard
could get quite worked up. It was crucial for him that the Holy Spirit came to
expression clearly and that we did not get lost in human feelings. That was why he
could be so pointed.”
170