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Bender lived his life within the framework of conventional Mennonite tradition and piety. However, successful leaders not only reenact the tradition: they guide the symbols and institutions which maintain it. Almost all of Harold Bender's life and energy was devoted to the care and direction of Mennonite institutions.

Successful leaders must possess ideas powerful enough to shape the identity of their followers. Among the most powerful ideas are those which link a meaningful past to a purposeful future. Bender's influential 1942 essay, "The Anabaptist Vision," did just that. It forged Mennonites into a community of memory rooted in the 16th century, a community with strong religious impulses embodied in nonviolent service, devout discipleship, and a primary identity with the people of God, the church.