Two by Twos

This article is about the church commonly known as Two by Two. For other uses, see Two by Two.

Christian Conventions is a name used for official purposes in various countries by a non-denominational Christian church. Distinguishing features of the church are a homeless, itinerant ministry, and fellowship-style worship gatherings in the homes of adherents. The church has no official headquarters or published statement of beliefs. The group also claims to have a small percentage of dissenting members.

Name of church

As a nondenominational church that remains strictly unaffiliated with other religious groups, one of the church's definitional policies is the disclaiming of any denominational title, name, or formal identification. The church is officially nameless. Members often identify themselves as "the friends", "the kingdom", "the saints", or "the bretheren".

In support of the decision to take no official group name, adherents sometimes point to the scriptural passage where Peter and John are asked "... by what name, have ye done this?" and they answer "... by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth ... there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:5-12). In Acts 9:1-2 and other references in the Acts the "disciples of the Lord" are described as being "of the way".

It has not been legally necessary in most countries for the church to be formally registered as a denomination, because the church is not an usually not an incorporated organisation, and therefore is unable legally to own property. The policy of avoiding formal registration, however, has been approached somewhat pragmatically wherever government legislation has compelled the church to be registered, or during exceptional circumstances.

The church has received many nicknames by observers, the most common being "two by two" or "2X2" (in reference to the practice of missionaries working in pairs). Members often refer to the church as "the Truth," or "God's Way."

Dress and social practices

Dress

Although the church has never published an official dress code, workers have taught that Christians should be modest in dress. What has been considered "modest" and to what degree behaviours in dress have been required, has varied. To a certain extent, what has been considered "modest" by society in general, as well as considerations of practicality, have influenced the teachings and practices of the church. The following practices are generally observed in Western countries:

• Women wear their hair long.
• Women do not wear jewellery or make-up.
• Men have short hair.
• Men are clean-shaven, or have well-groomed facial hair.

Member's attire in non-Western countries tends to reflect local customs concerning modesty and dignity.

Terminology

The following are some of the common terms used by the group, and a definition of each in the sense most commonly intended and understood by members of the group.

bishop, elder, deacon - a leader of a church as defined below. Normally the male head of the house in which the church meets.

church - generally, a small, local congregation that meets in a home; can refer to a larger group of believers or to the group as a whole. Not used to refer to a building except when referring to church buildings of other denominations or speaking metaphorically. Used colloquially when talking to strangers to refer to one's Sunday/Wednesday activity, ie "I'll be at church until midday."

field - a geographical region to which a minister or set of ministers has been assigned (similar to "parish").

friend, saint - convert, adherent, member. Collectively "the friends", or "the saints".

meeting - any formal gathering of friends, whether for Sunday morning worship, mid-week bible study (usually Wednesdays), annual special meetings or conventions, or other meetings called for special purposes, such as elders' or workers' meetings.

mission - larger meetings called by workers in a field, usually held at a public venue such as a school or scout hall. Missions are held in series, lasting several months, and local members generally attend them in addition to their regular Sunday morning meeting and the Wednesday night meeting. This is the primary venue for evangelism, to which members are encouraged to invite strangers along. Sometimes these meetings are advertised in local newspapers, and/or with leaflet drops etc. The overseers and workers devise a plan of missions and notify local elders, who in turn notify members.

overseer, head worker - a senior brother worker who has authority over a state, province, territory, or region. The position is normally held until the death or incapacity of the present holder, at which point the senior workers choose his replacement by consensus.

profess, professing - to make or to be making or have made a public declaration of faith in the fellowship. Members are those who "are professing", and vice versa. Members are allowed to "take part" in meetings.

worker, servant - minister, missionary, preacher.

brother workers - male workers.

sister worker, handmaiden - female workers.

the workers - refers to all the workers in the group

Church organization

The group has based its organizational structure generally on the concept that there are two types of divine "call", as noted in the first chapter of Paul the Apostle's Letter to the Romans: the "call to be an apostle," (vs. 1), and the "call to be a saint."(vs. 7). Members commonly refer to these two classes as "workers" or "servants" and "friends" or "saints."

The main purpose of the workers is seen to be evangelical (i.e. extending the fellowship to others). The main purpose of the saints is seen to be "lights" in their individual communities by living a Christian life. Thus, the ministry is seen to be mobile; the laity to be stable. And, thus, much emphasis is placed on the need for the workers to be unencumbered by possessions and relations, in order to be able to travel freely as needed.

Workers travel within their appointed fields, hold public gospel meetings, and from these gospel meetings seek to gain converts. The workers organize such converts into small local communities, called churches; appoint homes in which these churches meet for worship; and appoint elders (also called "bishops") and deacons responsible for leading the church, normally the head of the house in which the church meets. As new converts are most commonly known to one or more members of the church, they ordinarily join the meeting of members to whom they are geographically and socially close. A new convert will be introduced to the leader of his or her nearest local meeting.

Authority within the organization

The workers are supervised by one or more senior brother worker within each region. The workers supervise the elders. The elders supervise the "friends". Everyone is encouraged to "obey those that have the rule over them" as written in Heb 13:7. However the overseers are not accountable to anyone and sometimes are corrected by other overseers as seen in this article regarding overseers that took "liberties" with sister workers. *Letter to overseers who were taking "liberties" with sister workers

Workers

Workers are the church's missionaries and ministers. The option of entering the ministry is theoretically open to every baptised member, although it has been over 40 years since married people were accepted into the ministry. When a church member feels that God has "called" them to enter the work they offer their services to the overseer within their state or territory. If accepted into the work, they are expected to sell everything they have and give the money to the poor (i.e. via charity), or give it to the church, or a combination of both.

The workers point to the example of the Apostles and their immediate response to Jesus' calling them to be "fishers of men"; such as leaving their nets "at once" (Matthew 4:19; Mark 1:18) and abandoning clerical duties (Luke 5:28; Mark 2:14). Because the Apostles "left all to follow Christ", the workers reason that new workers must likewise be willing to leave behind all relationships, possessions, and positions in order to follow Jesus in the ministry.

Novice workers do not engage in any formal religious training (i.e. theological schools or university). Some may have done so before coming to this faith. Workers generally work in pairs, a senior worker with a junior assistant. This arrangement allows the younger workers to learn from the older workers' experience.

The overseer within a locality retains the discretion to allow or disallow a person to enter the ministry. A new worker usually formally begins his or her ministry by speaking at a Convention or Special Meeting.

Workers officiate at the funerals of members. In Australia, Canada and the U.S., the workers are not registered marriage celebrants, but give sermons and prayers at members' weddings if requested to do so.

Head Worker

A head worker is a senior brother worker who is given an overall authority for a geographic region, such as a state or a country. Also, senior brother workers are appointed as general overseers of larger regions, which may include several states or countries.

Friends

Jesus called his followers "friends", in particular John 15:13-15, and John 21:5. Jesus said "You are my friends if you do what I command", and that is why they like to call each other "friends".

Becoming a friend of Jesus is a highly personal and spiritual experience which is indicated to other friends through "professing" one's faith. Occasionally, the workers will 'test' a meeting of the friends and any who have been called to follow Christ are given opportunity to indicate this to the fellowship, generally by standing for a few moments while a hymn is sung. This is a tradition that is followed in the US and varies from country to country.

Elders

An elder is a man who leads an individual congregation.

The role of women in the church

Women are accepted both in the church ministry and also to full participation in church worship. Female workers routinely hold public gospel meetings, and female members take part in prayers, testimonies, singing, and communion. Female workers or friends do not lead meetings when a male worker or friend is present who is qualified for the same role. The verses in I Timothy 2:11 are not thought to be relevant to women workers or women leading meetings.

Meetings (Present order of worship)

Gospel meeting

A gospel meeting is an evangelical service. It is usually held in a rented public hall or school, but may also be held in a private home.

Gospel meetings are usually conducted by two workers. No religious ornamentation is used. Workers do not wear vestments or special garments during these services, and no collection of money is taken. The order of these services is usually as follows:

• One or two hymns is sung, often accompanied by keyboard.
• One of the workers prays.
• Another hymn is sung.
• One of the workers (the youngest usually speaks first) preaches to the congregation until close to the end of the first half hour of the service.
• Another hymn is sung. The audience is often invited to stand while singing, as a rest from sitting.
• The other worker preaches to the congregation until near the end of the meeting.
• Another hymn is sung.
• One of the workers closes the service with a prayer.
• Words of dismissal (in some places benedictions), thanking the audience for attending and inviting them to come again.

In places where the church is well-established, workers may conduct two or more gospel meetings a week in the same public building for an extended period of months. In other areas, workers may conduct gospel meetings for several nights of the week and move to new towns more frequently. This more mobile example of the church's evangelistic practices is the rule in countries like France, Germany, India, and the African and Asian countries.

Sunday fellowship meeting

The Sunday morning meeting, often called a "fellowship meeting," is usually held in the home of the elder, who guides the proceedings and performs sacramental duties.

The number of people in each meeting can be as few as two or as many as will comfortably fit in the meeting area of the house. This varies depending on the number of local members; however, twenty may be an average. The church group often consists of several individuals and families.

The order of the meeting is usually as follows:

• silence is observed before the meeting commences and while the members enter the meeting room
• the congregation sings one or two hymns
• prayer: in turn, all professing members make a short, spontaneous, audible prayer
• another hymn is sung
• testimony: in turn, all professing members speak about a Bible passage of their choosing that they have enjoyed, and its application to their daily living; or they may relate a personal experience, and a lesson they have learned thereby.
• communion: one member (male or female) makes a short prayer of consecration for the bread; the elder passes the bread around the room, and all baptized members partake. The cup is shared in the same manner. The communion meal in performed in silence in order to promote reflection.
• a final hymn is sung, usually with the theme of Christ's death, resurrection, and coming again
• the elder carries the bread and cup out of the room
• greetings: members generally greet each other (in Western countries, usually with a handshake) and brief conversation before departing the meeting house.

New members generally join a church or meeting nearest them, or one at which they know one or more members. Meeting membership is guided by the local workers in consultation with the elders of the meeting(s). The makeup of the fellowship meeting congregation is ordinarily formed on the basis of geographic proximity, although demographic mix is balanced as far as is reasonably attainable. Meetings which have grown too large, or where the elder has had to move house, may be split; meetings which have grown too small, usually due to attrition of older members, may be amalgamated. However the membership of a meeting may remain unchanged for years or decades.

Bible study meeting

Each local church holds Bible study meetings once or twice each week. (In Australia, usually Wednesday nights.) These also take place in private homes and are led by an elder or deacon. The topic of study may be a biblical passage, person, subject, or theme. The topic (also called "subject") may be taken from a scheduled list, or pre-agreed in a previous meeting. The order of the meeting is identical to that of the Sunday morning meeting, with the exception that the Lord's Supper (aka communion) is not kept. In turn, each professing member shares his or her thoughts, findings, and practical insights regarding the subject. Preparing for a meeting is usually preceded with meditation and prayer by each member in his or her private room at home.

Special meeting

Special meetings are larger, day-long worship events. In rural areas, they may include only one church; in urban centres they may include many churches from a large city or region.

Special meetings consist of two two-hour-long services, one held in the morning and the other early in the afternoon, and sometimes a third, hour-long meeting just before supper. These services include public preaching by a number of workers, some of whom are visitors from other regions. Congregants participate in prayer and testimony periods, and in the singing of hymns.

The time of year at which special meetings are held varies around the world and depends on local factors such as climate, public holidays, and availability of suitable facilities.

Convention

Conventions are usually held on rural properties owned by individual members. In some regions, convention centres or other facilities are rented for the purpose. In 2005, over 440 conventions were held in over 100 countries.

Attendance at a Convention gathering may range from twenty to over 2000. In North America, the members stay on location or in nearby hotels. In Europe accommodation may be similar, or may be in schools, church camps and other available boarding places. In Australia, many convention sites have space for dormitory and tent accommodation.

A Convention usually lasts for four days, starting on a Wednesday evening, and continuing through to the following Sunday afternoon. There are usually three scheduled meetings each day. Two-hour-long morning and afternoon meetings include personal prayer and testimony periods. In the first one-hour evening meeting, workers visiting from foreign countries relate their experiences. The remaining evening meetings are gospel services.

Often, a baptism is held during the Convention. Participants and witnesses gather at the nearest suitable river or lake. The baptism ceremony is led by a senior brother worker. A brief sermon is given, a prayer is offered on behalf of the baptismal candidates, and a hymn is sung. One or two workers perform the baptism. Before each candidate is immersed, the baptizer pronounces the baptismal formula from Matt. 28: "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost".

The bread and wine (communion) are taken at Convention in Australia, Congo, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and some other African countries.

In Australia Conventions have a major social component. Members are nominated or volunteer to help prepare and serve communal meals, which are taken together. A short hymn is sung before each meal, then eating commences. There is much conversation over these meals, and usually an hour or two is allowed before the next gospel service commences. Members' children play together, and members who played together as children renew old friendships. Among the young unmarried members, Conventions are very much considered an opportunity to seek out prospective spouses.

Sacraments

Baptism

Baptism is always done by immersion. It is most often held during a Convention but may be performed at any time. A brother worker usually does the baptizing. The formula "I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost" is recited before each candidate is immersed.

The Lord's Supper

The Lord's Supper is held in the Sunday morning worship meeting (in homes) and, in some places, at Conventions on Sunday mornings. In most places ordinary bread (that is, leavened) is used; and grape juice is often used in place of wine.

Hymnal

The first hymnal printed exclusively by and for the church was printed circa 1904 and entitled "The Go-Preacher's Hymn Book." It included 125 hymns, a few of which were written by members of the group, while most were inclusions from the Faith Mission hymnbook, "Songs of Victory." The present hymnal, entitled "Hymns Old and New," was first published in 1919 and has had subsequent editions in 1928, 1951, and 1987. It is published by R.L. Allan & Son, Glasgow, Scotland. R. L. Allen was the original publisher of the Faith Mission hymnal, "Songs of Victory" (original edition, 1898). The most recent edition of "Hymns Old and New" (1987) contains 412 hymns, 110 (26%) of which were written by outsiders. Most of the words were written by Workers or friends, while most of the melodies were written by outsiders. Many of the workers and friends have been prolific hymn writers, some of the most prolific being Sam Jones, Sandy Scott, James Jardine, Elma Wiebe Milton, Gladys Porteous, and Mabel Pryor.

Distinguishing doctrines and practices

The church holds a number of doctrines and practices by which it is distinguished from many other sects and denominations:

• The ministry is homeless, perpetually travelling, and unsalaried. The workers reject the commercialization of organized churches and instead prefer private, voluntary donations from members. They believe that Jesus' instructions to his apostles in Matthew 10 - such as going from village to village, preaching in pairs, taking minimal worldly possessions, and relying on the hospitality and generosity of the villagers - are still the best pattern for Christian ministry today.

• Church buildings are seen as an unnecessary addition to biblical Christianity. The group conducts their fellowship meetings in the homes of believers. Annual national or state-wide conventions (depending on the country) are held on privately-owned property whose owners make their buildings — often a farm - available for this purpose.

• The church, marked by conservative views in other areas of religious conviction and morality, appears among liberal "progressive" Christianity in regards to the role of women in the church. Women workers were first commissioned to preach in 1900, and have equal authority to male workers, including the authority to preach, teach, establish meetings, discipline members and organise gospel meetings. However, they can not rise to the position of overseer, and do not lead meetings when a male worker is present.

Living Witness doctrine

A controversial teaching, not universally held, but predominantly found in North America, was that of the Living Witness Doctrine (first recorded mention being in a convention sermon by Joseph Kerr in 1903). This was derived from a statement by a contemporary of Charles Darwin that "only something that is living can reproduce life". It was concluded that only through accepting the preaching of a preacher (a worker) of the church (a "living witness") could one be saved. As a consequence of this doctrine, there was a significant exodus from the church at this time, and the idea is generally rejected today as heresy.

Doctrinal controversy, apart from the Living Witness doctrine controversy, is rare within the church because a large onus for understanding and interpreting the Bible falls upon the individual believer and his or her personal convictions. There is no syllabus of approved or required beliefs, no printed confession, and no published theological writings. Members say only that they "believe the Bible".

Church finances

The ministry does not advertise a public collection at any meeting. The friends often give money to the workers after meetings by putting it in the palm of their hand and when they shake hands upon leaving. This policy is based on the words of Jesus, "Freely you have received and freely give.." (Mat. 10). Workers do accept voluntary, generally unsolicited offerings from church members. These contributions are used for personal needs, travel expenses, rent and other costs for gospel and special meetings, construction and maintenance of Convention grounds, expenses for Conventions, and other purchases. The general policy is never to ask for money but to depend on God to move people to provide for the various needs of the ministry (see faith missions). The workers receive no fixed salary, but a variable one depending on the people they are among.

Membership and geographic spread

Some areas that have larger concentrations of church members include Northwestern and North Central USA, Western Canada, Northern Ireland, British Islands,Barbados, New Zealand, parts of Australia, Northern Peru, Nuevo León state in Mexico, South Africa and Río Grande do Sul state in Brazil. Some areas where the church has grown rapidly in recent years include the Ukraine and other parts of the former Soviet Union, Romania, Benin (West Africa), Madagascar, southern India, the Philippines, South Korea, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.

One of the interesting aspects of the church is the spread and diversity of the social network. Today, the global congregation can't be easily classified into a socio-economic category, although this may be possible at the regional level, especially earlier in the history of the church. Many of the more wealthy members in Western countries travel frequently and visit members in other countries. As a result, there is a well developed social network amongst the members, which penetrates into some quite obscure (to a Western viewpoint) locations.

There are known to be at least one congregation of practising members residing in more than 100 countries, including the following (incomplete list): Antigua, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Curacao, Czech Rep., Cuba, Cyprus, Denmark, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Falkland Islands, Finland, France, French Guiana, Greece, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Italy, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Latvia, Lebanon, Liberia, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saint Helena, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Since the 1970s (and possibly, long before this), missionaries of the church have been present at some point in many countries where Christianity or Protestantism is not common, even where proselytizing is not allowed. These include but are not limited to: Cambodia, China, Cuba, Taiwan, Ecuador, India, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Mongolia, Pakistan, Peru, Russia, Romania, Ukraine. Underground or clandestine churches are known to operate in Islamic countries.

History

Members of the movement have been fairly explicit in not maintaining an official history, rejecting any form of liturgy, and in many cases, even destroying correspondence and written records. Partly this behaviour is an exigency of an itinerant lifestyle; partly a response to centring the movement on Biblical teaching with a strong bias to oral exposition. These characteristics make it difficult to form a history with any accuracy and certainly there exists no church sanctioned historical archive or records. For the interested reader, Cornelius Jaenen has documented the growth of the movement in Ireland in the late 1890s. The workers' efforts in Ireland are also documented in newspaper articles of the time, occasional written testimonies of early workers, photographs of workers and excerpts from the Bright Words monthly publication.

The present movement coalesced in Ireland in the late 1890s under the leadership of Scottish evangelist William Irvine (1863-1947), John Kelly, John Long and others. Irvine and Kelly had previously been associated with the Faith Mission.

William Irvine left the movement in 1917. His literal views of eschatological prophecy and belief that the world was about to end following the First World War were considered by other leaders to be disruptive to the fellowship. Irvine and a small group of loyal followers become known as the Message People, The Witnesses (not to be confused with the unrelated Jehovah's Witnesses), or Irvinites (not to be confused with the unrelated Irvingites). Irvine declared himself a prophet and continued to urge his followers to prepare for the end of the world.

Another division occurred in 1928 when the worker Edward Cooney (well-known for preaching on Hyde Park Corner) left the movement. Cooney believed strongly in the original itinerant ministry, in reviving the miracle powers of the Apostolic Age, and he rejected the appointment of overseers to geographic regions. A handful of Cooney's loyal supporters separated to join Cooney in his own sect. Because of Cooney's prominence in the early growth of the movement, some onlookers had labeled the entire group as Cooneyites. In later years this came to apply only to the small group that separated along with Cooney.

Historical controversies

Most members believe that the church is the direct descendant of the very first Christians, through an Apostolic Succession outside of all other Christian groups, Catholic or Protestant. History records similar groups such as the Lollards who operated in a similar way prior to the Reformation in England, and also the Waldensians in mainland Europe. The idea of historical succesion is taught in many countries as in the saying "What we have is from the beginning".

The opposing view is that the movement is a singularity beginning with William Irvine in 1897. In The Secret Sect Parker & Parker (1982), photographs and newspaper articles from Ireland in the 1890s are used to confirm their findings of the 1890s beginnings. The lack of any hymnal published or hymn authorship before this date lends weight to this position.

Interested readers may refer to Jaenen's extensive research on purely the historical question.

George Walker's letter of 1942

In 1942, during the Second World War, George Walker, then the overseer in the Eastern United States, was asked by the Office of the Director of Selective Service in Washington, D.C. to submit a statement "outlining... certain facts regarding the foundation, belief and activities of the Church...for the purpose of enabling the Local Draft Boards to correctly classify Ministers of this Church throughout the United States who are subject to the Selective Service Laws." The statement, which was widely circulated among believers in the United States at that time, read in part:

...during the closing years of the last century and the first years of this century a number of people in the British Isles and in America were exercised in heart and mind, through their study of the Scriptures, in regard to the methods of preaching and worship in the several churches of which they were then members. They were deeply concerned about spiritual things, and became fully convinced that there should be a return to the methods and purposes taught and carried out by Christ and His first disciples. This conviction led to frequent earnest conversations and studies on the subject, which in turn led to religious meetings, and in due time a number of these people went forth to devote their lives to the preaching of the Gospel according to the teaching and example of Christ as given in the New Testament, i.e., "two by two" and without salary or making appeals for financial assistance, putting implicit trust in God and His promise that as they "sought first the Kingdom of God" their natural needs of food and raiment "would be added to them".

As a result of this step, many people expressed their desire to be in fellowship with such preachers and this led to regular gatherings together of small assemblies in homes for worship and study of God’s word. The reason for meeting in homes was primarily because it is scriptural, the Christians during the first centuries of the Christian era met regularly for worship in homes, which fact is also borne out and supported by church history. Thus after serious consideration, the leaders were confident that in their efforts to follow the early Christians they should form church gatherings in homes....

In the year 1903 Ministers of this Christian body began their labors in the United States and in the year 1904 in Canada. In these and subsequent years through the preaching of the Gospel, assemblies were formed in homes as already described. In the year 1906 the first annual conventions were held in North America, and from this beginning the number of Ministers in North America has grown to over nine hundred - about equally divided between men and women; the assemblies for regular worship to over three thousand; and the annual conventions to over one hundred.

Complaints and Criticisms Against the Group

The church has been the subject of much controversy from its earliest days. Many posters, pamphlets, books and websites have been published criticizing various aspects of the church. This form of publication began in the earliest years of the movement and continues to this day. Members of the group may receive flyers at home, in the mail or on their vehicles while at meetings. These flyers warn the members of the group of their errancy from the gospel of Jesus Christ and present scripture revealing the deceptions of the workers.

Harassment

When people leave the group and warn others about their tactics, they are often harassed. Harrassment may include phone calls to the people who have left, threatenings to beat them up, spamming of the people's email addresses and telling their friends and families that they are mental. "This is the truth and anyone who rejects it must be mental", Betty Meyers of Oregon City, OR in Fall 2005, about Brad Lewis who was asking why he was being slandered to his friends.

Slander and Libel

Many of the people who leave the group are slandered by leaders as being "unwilling", insinuating that they left because they were not willing for what God asked of them. Some who leave while undergoing divorce from a "professing" spouse may be slandered by family members in an attempt to make people ignore the person who is leaving and damage the person's credibility. For example, on Sat May 26th of 2007, Doug Corcoran, an elder of the group in Gresham, OR has told Christians that Lloyd Matthews of Kennewick, WA that Lloyd was dishonest. When asked by Brad Lewis for proof and reason for Doug to tell people that Lloyd was dishonest, Doug answerd "Well, his honesty is very much in question". Examples like this and many others as found in the book "The Church Without a Name" show how Christians are slandered to control what people in the group know. Recording and note-taking of telephone conversations where legal has been done to great affect to document these instances. Members of the group avoid putting things in writing and limit conversations with people not of the group.

Disassociation of the Real World and the Spiritual World

Member of the group are taught not to pray for "worldly things". They are taught not to pray for takings tests at school, the welfare and health of friends and families. This completely contradicts scripture such as James 5:14 "Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:" KJV People who pray for getting a good job in which to glorify god, for help in their management of finances, for relief from stress and persecution and for saying "Praise God" are rebuked as being "worldy".

Divorce and Remarriage

Doctrines, policies and guidelines on this subject are unclear at best. They are not published and may vary from field to field and from overseer to overseer. Sometimes decisions changes when overseers change and othertimes they remain the same so that fewer people are disturbed as possible. People who don't like the decisions in one state may move to another so that they may marry or divorce as the case may be. For example, in Colorado it is accepted to divorce and remarry while the first spouse is alive. Both are free to take part in meetings if they both "profess". Many of the workers and elders in Texas changed their doctrine also to allow divorce and remarriage. Sometimes they must not take part in meetings for a period of one year if they do this. This seems to be the equivalence the practice of paying penance. Although that is bizarre to pay penance if divorce and remarriage while first spouse is alive is not a sin.

Conflicting Beliefs

The things that members are taught to do conflicts with what the workers do. There are many examples of this. Jack Carroll, an earlier head worker said this, "You can tell whether a church is false or not if it was started by a man or woman. We are the only church on earth that was started by Christ". Jack Carroll knew that William Irvine started the group just before 1900 because he sat in Irvine's meetings. This is prime example of conflicting beliefs.

Forbidding to Marry

The overseers teach that workers must not marry, however the Bible warns against people who forbid others to marry. This does not step "brother" and "sister" workers from having "relations" with each other as can be seen from this letter regarding their problem in Alaska *Letter regarding overseers taking "liberties" with sister workers

Disobedience to Laws and Those in Authority

The overseers teach that workers don't need to pay taxes in the US, but the Bible commands to obey the laws of the land, to "render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's".

Starting of a "New Gospel" and Exclusivity

During the early days in Ireland, most of the criticism was due to the strong preaching of the idea that all of the existing Christian denominations had corrupted Christianity in various ways; that the new sect was the restoration of the original Christian ideal or community; and that thus only those in the new group were spiritually "saved." This teaching was opposed and strongly rebutted by many especially since their teachings were not inline with scriptures. William Irvine claimed to have received a special revelation from God which he called his "Alpha" and "Omega" message.

Secrecy

No public records are kept by the group about their beginnings. Doctrines and beliefs held by different overseers are not explained nor published. There is no published record of the beliefs of the church. Leaders of the group refuse to allow interviews by Christian leaders and many people from the newspapers. Workers may may excuses, say they need to go somewhere soon, suddenly leave or belittle people who ask questions they don't want to answer. How decisions are made to excommunicate people is not clear. They only state that people must agree with them to remain part of the group.

Sex abuse and coverups

Many exmembers of the group have come out and told of being sexually abused. Here is a story of a man in Ireland giving his case *Sex abuse coverup in Ireland

Hypocrisy

Many of the brother workers who claim to be celibate may visit prostitues or have consensual sex with sister workers. Some of them leave the ministry to get married. While workers try to set themselves as examples of how much they give up to remain single, it is hypocritical because of their fornication, adultery and unchaste behaviour.

Failure to Keep Laws of the Land

Most workers in the USA do not pay taxes on their income. They are not provided worker's compensation by the overseer that hires them and has permission to fire them. They are not paid overtime. They do not pay taxes on benefits of their employment such as food, clothing etc. Large sums of money owned by the overseers are given to elders to "manage". The elders are required to pay taxes on the money and must distribute the money as the overseer requests. Some of this money goes overseas bank accounts. There are not public records of where the money goes and for what purpose it was used. Many believe this to be money laundering and will have no part of it.

Coverups and Lies

Today, critics allege that since the founding of the group, the "real story" of the founding and subsequent history of the group has been ignored and misrepresented. It is alleged that the workers have for the most part allowed and encouraged their listeners to believe that the ministry that they represent has existed in a continuous line since the time of Christ. To what extent this "deception" has taken place, to what extent it has been deliberate, and to what extent it is valid is perhaps impossible to measure. The counterargument has been raised that, even were all members of a church that operated "according to the words of Christ" to have died out at a given point in history, if a new church that adhered to the same interpretation of the principles were later created, it could claim to be a successor of the first church, or the first church recreated. Members and workers believe they have little use for their church's history, beyond mere curiosity and yet they have gone to great lengths to cover it up and still many of the followers claim apostolic succession. Regardless of this, the current state of the church and it's organization and common apathy to following the scripture remains unchanged.

Lack of Church Discipline

The church has no orderly way of exercising discipline. There are no published guidelines for what is punishable and what is not. The scripture is not followed when excommunicating people. This has caused many people to leave the group.

Unjustified Excommunication

Some members have been excommunicated as a result of the ministry's reluctance to discuss the disparity between positions on the history of the movement, or entertain any position other than the "official dogma". In these cases, such an experience is often the final motivation for leaving this group. When excommunicated, the group does not follow the teachings of Jesus (Matthew 18:15-21) nor the tradition of the apostles which maintained Jesus teachings (II Cor 13:1-2)/ Questioning of traditions is rather often construed as a lack of faith, often termed "falling out". In many parts of the world, however, there is considerable leeway afforded to differences in personal beliefs regarding all doctrine and practice, and this seems to be a growing trend because there are few consistent doctrines among the group.

A controversy in Alberta, Canada, in the late 1990s resulted in the excommunication of between 25 and 30 members in 1999 alone, according to "The Lying Truth" website. There is growing to be a larger percentage of dissenting people.[1]. The full number of excommunicated members is not known. No list of members excommunicated is kept.

Information Control

Some people – including many ex-members –have shown that the church has continuously and actively silenced opposing or dissenting views in the church. People have shown that those with power within the church have practised excommunication to silence dissenting voices or questions about the church's doctrine and history and that there has been strong denial of any teaching that acknowledges preachers of any other faith or message. The existence of such controlling behaviour in the church is said to be supported by the group's teaching that the workers are the only true servants of God and the professing people are the only true saints. In this way, members are encouraged to believe they alone are the exclusive family of God (Rom 9). Recordings and copies of letters regarding some excommunications have been published for all to see and hear. *Recordings of Excommunication done over the phone by a worker to an elder and his wife)

Sexism and Partiality

The roles of men and women in the church are raised as an issue that troubles many ex-members. Women have restrictions in the way they dress and style their hair. Men are also asked to dress modestly, but have much more freedom in their appearance. Although there are male and female workers former members allege that female workers are not granted equal roles in the leadership at meetings, conventions, and other gatherings.

Avoidance & Shunning

In some areas colloquial terms used for excommunication are put out and stand down. In other areas, these terms would not be recognized at all. The former term means the members is blocked from congregational meetings and may be unwelcome at other services, whereas the latter means the member is temporarily requested to stay silent (not participate) at congregational meetings. These are not the same as lose out, which is attributed to those who no longer profess or attend meetings; they are said to have "lost out" because they have heard the word of God and rejected it.

An excommunicated member who sincerely wished to rejoin the church, having ceased the activity that led to his or her excommunication, may or may not be allowed to do so. Geographical distance and time from the original scandal may affect this. Without an example, the question is uncertain.

Bibliography

• Faith Mission, Bright Words for Pilgrims Heavenwards: A Faith Mission Publication (Edinburgh: Faith Mission, Excerpts from August 15, 1895 to January 1904). [2]
• The Impartial Reporter and Farmers Journal (numerous articles from January 15, 1903 to June 23, 1960). Various authors (Enniskillen, Northern Ireland).[3]
• Atlanta Journal (April 19, 1914). "Like Apostles of Old, Young Girl (Ida Hawkins) is Preaching in North Georgia". By Angus Perkerson (Atlantla Georgia).[4]
• Carroll, F. Notes of sermon given at Santee California, October 1964.[5]
• Carroll, J. Letters dated April 12 & 16, 1919.[6]
• Carroll, J. "The New Testament Ministry" (Notes of a sermon given at Bakersfield California Convention, 1934).[7]
• Eberstein, J. G. (president of the Faith Mission, Edinburgh), "Who Are the Cooneyites?" in Life of Faith (Elm House Christian Communications Volume 88, #3898, April 23 1964).[8]
• Irish Presbyterian (March, 1905). "A New Sect". By "Scrutator".[9]
• Jaenen, C. J., The Apostles' Doctrine and Fellowship: A documentary history of the early church and restorationist movements (Ottawa: Legas Publishing, 2003), IX, 14, The Contemporary [Irish] Restoration Movement, pp. 517-535.
• Jaenen, C. J. (2007). "Christians, Assemblies of", in the Canadian Encyclopedia, Historica Foundation. Online accessed 2 March 2007
• Kilsyth Chronicle (May 5, 1905). "Baptisms in Banton Loch." (Kilsyth, Scotland)[10]
• Kings County Chronicle (April 12, 19, 26, 1900). "Religious Intolerance in North Tipperary." [11]
• Motherwell Times (January 7, 1893). "Sabbath, 8th January Rev John M’Neill Will preach in the Parish Church (Rev D. Scott’s) At 11:30 FORENOON". [12]
• Motherwell Times (January 14, 1893). "Rev. John M’Neill in Motherwell".[13]
• Parker, D. & Parker, H., The Secret Sect (New South Wales: D. Parker, 1982) (ISBN 0-9593398-0-9).
• Pattison, G., Account of the Early Days or The Work of God in Ireland in 1898 (Ireland: Personal Memoir, 1925). [14]
• Pocock & Martin, Hymns Old and New (Glasgow: R. L. Allan & Son Publishers, 1987).
• Robinson, B.A. (2004). "The Church with No Name", Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. Online accessed 20 August 2005
• Walker, G. March 24 1942 Statement to the United Stated Department of Selective Service.[15]

See also

• William Irvine (Scottish evangelist)
• Cooneyites
• Early Christianity
• Edward Cooney
• Great Commission
• House church
• Kilsyth
• Mission (Christian)
• Nontrinitarianism
• The Diamond, Enniskillen

External links

The church has no official website. The following are private sites that are supportive of the church.

• From the Beginning
• Topics in Bible

The following websites appear to be owned and operated by former members of the church, which present opposing viewpoints on various aspects of the church.

• Heavily Documented Sexual abuse coverup in Ireland
• Bradly Lewis' ministry to people hurt by 2x2 group
• Hymns Old & New
• Pillar of Truth Online (PTO)
• Research & Information Services (RIS)
• Telling The Truth (TTT)
• The Church Without a Name by Kathleen Lewis
• The Lying Truth (TLT)
• Thoughts and comments regarding 2x2 doctrines... blog
• VOT (Veterans Of Truth)

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