by Andy Pettman
In the New Testament, a
young man seeks out Jesus to learn from
him the path to eternal life. Jesus’ reply
was a personal invitation – “Go, sell what
you have and give to the poor … and come,
follow me” (Mark 10:21). That invitation
has been taken up by Christians through
the centuries; the Servants of the Word
began with a similar call.
In the early 1970s, a group
of young men, inspired by the Holy Spirit,
came together in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
with a common vision for a life of total
consecration to God, lived in community
and in simplicity, for the sake of more
fruitful and effective service to the
Christian people. What follows is a brief
description of the most important aspects
of our call and life together as a
brotherhood of men living single for the
Lord.
Single for the Lord
There are many ways of following the Lord,
and most Christians are called to the
blessing of marriage, family life, and
fruitful careers. But by choosing to stay
single, we in the Servants of the Word are
free to devote our time, energy, and
resources to more direct and concerted
service of the Lord and his people (1
Corinthians 7:25-33). Jesus himself is our
best model of a man whose perfect freedom
and single-minded dedication to his Father
enabled him to accomplish his mission on
earth (Matthew 19:10-12).
Brothers pray with Noel at
the life-long commitment ceremony -
August 2014Servanthood
Our name, The Servants of the Word,
expresses our fundamental identity: we are
servants of Jesus Christ, servants of his
Gospel which we wish to proclaim to
others, and servants of the local
communities of which we are a part and of
the larger Sword of the Spirit, an
international and ecumenical association
of Christian communities. As servants, we
believe that our lives are “not our own”
(1 Corinthians 6:19), and we wish to place
all our time and every aspect of our lives
at the disposal of the Lord and of his
people.
Discipleship
We firmly believe that God has called each
brother to make a personal decision to be
his disciple. Like the man who stumbled
upon hidden, buried treasure, and like the
merchant who chanced upon a pearl of
exceeding value, we have renounced all
else in order to follow the Lord and have
the “one thing necessary” (Luke 10:42). To
be a disciple of Jesus Christ is to belong
to him. We are his men, going with him
wherever he goes, trying to do his work,
and living as he would. Our desire is to
imitate him as well as we can, as we await
the coming of his kingdom.
A life of prayer
The Servants of the Word aspire to be men
of prayer. The worship of God punctuates
our waking hours, from morning praise
together, to communal evening and night
prayers. Following a longstanding
Christian tradition, we chant the psalms,
and together intercede for various needs.
Appreciative of the Lord’s gift of
charismatic prayer and worship “in the
Spirit,” we also spontaneously “sing
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” with
thankfulness in our hearts (Colossians
3:16).
In addition to corporate
worship, each brother also spends time
individually in prayer and
meditation. The reading and study of
Scripture is a high priority, as well as
growing in understanding of our Christian
faith through other teaching resources.
Several times a year, the
brothers go on weekend retreats together.
These are special times for more extended
prayer and meditation, and for building up
our brotherly relationships.
Servants of the Word
members enjoy a celebrative meal in
honor of the brothers who recently
made their
commitments to the Servants of the
Word - August 2014
A shared life
Our relationships of brotherhood and
friendship are an integral element of
Servant of the Word life. We wish, not
just to be co-workers or fellow servants
of one another, but brothers, friends in
Christ. To this end, we regularly meet
in smaller groups to talk about our
lives and to be accountable to one
another. We normally share the morning
and evening meal together, and we make
time for other common activities,
recreation, and fellowship to strengthen
and build up one another.
Sharing a common life also
means respecting the order and structures
which make a corporate existence possible.
Some brothers have pastoral responsibility
for governing our life and caring for
brothers. Some are entrusted with
handling legal and financial matters on
behalf of the brotherhood. And some are
concerned that the daily, ordinary life of
our various households goes well.
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See related article by Andy Pettman on
Household
Life in Servants of the Word
