Pastoral authority can be attained only by the servant of Jesus who seeks no power of his own, who himself is a brother among brothers submitted to the authority of the Word. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Pastoral authority can be attained only by the servant of Jesus who seeks no power of his own, who himself is a brother among brothers submitted to the authority of the Word. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Genuine spiritual authority is to be found only where the ministry of hearing, helping, bearing, and proclaiming is carried out. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Nothing can be more compassionate than the severe rebuke that calls a brother back from the path of sin. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Reproof is unavoidable. God’s Word demands it when a brother falls into open sin. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The weak must not judge the strong, the strong must not despise the weak. The weak must guard against pride, the strong against indifference. None must seek his own rights. If the strong person falls, the weak one must guard his heart against malicious joy at his downfall. If the weak one falls, the strong one must help him rise again in all kindness. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Christians, especially ministers, so often think they must always contribute something when they are in the company of others, that this is the one service they have to render. They forget that listening can be a greater service than speaking. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The sin of resentment that flares up so quickly in the fellowship indicates again and again how much false desire for honour, how much unbelief, still smoulders in the community. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Every Christian community must realize that not only do the weak need the strong, but also that the strong cannot exist without the weak. The elimination of the weak is the death of the fellowship. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Silence is nothing else but waiting for God’s Word and coming from God’s Word with a blessing. Dietrich Bonhoeffer