They told us that non-members were being controlled by Satan via. Church and business and family life are inextricably intertwined in a way that means all parts of their lives are controlled. 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This relates to the Open Brethren, an entirely different organisation and one which has no connection whatever to the Exclusive Brethren apart from the 1828 founder. The Brethren faith was introduced to New Zealand in 1850, and is now led by Greg Mason. Over the past two years, Thompson and Clark has conducted hundreds of hours of surveillance on former members who have criticised the cult-like church. Picture / Doug Sherring, Dargaville couldn't be further from the Beehive, where revelations of Exclusive Brethren political lobbying and espionage are fuelling Parliament's running dog-fight. [10] The result was a schism not only between different assemblies, but also within many of them. I felt like Alice falling down the rabbit hole. And what if another family member leaves the sect? On Sundays church attendance ramped up to four different services, with the earliest at 6am. Three-day religious conventions were a teen dating ground (that's where Diana, who grew up in Palmerston North, met Cambridge local Adrian). But by the time this final step was taken, on October 31 2009, I faced more pressing issues. BORN into the controversial Exclusive Brethren cult that outlaws birthdays, pop music and women wearing trousers or make-up, Jessie Shedden, 34, needed every ounce of courage to plan her escapeR Christian Community Churches of New Zealand, The Brethren and the Charismatic movement, Christian Community Churches of Australia, "The Significance of J.G. Nothing will ever be as bad as escaping my sect upbringing. This leader is given titles such as The Man of God or The Elect Vessel. Users of UBT's internet security product ("often a Mum or Dad") were able to customise its filters, he said. They told me I was mentally unwell. It's easier to control people when they're addicted. However, he baulked at paying hundreds of dollars a month to join UBT for "business advice" he did not have time to read or services he did not need. He wrote a prescription for Cyprostat, a hormonal suppressant usually reserved for sex offenders and prostate cancer patients. The leaders get the children drinking it. A Blenheim church member in his 80s, who wassentenced totwo years and four months in prison for historic sex offences against his nephew, was withdrawnfrom after he was jailed in July 2017, according to the ex-member. Another ex-member, whom RNZ has agreed not to name, said he managed to hold onto his position in the family business, despite huge pressure from church leaders - but said many others were not so fortunate. Their "exclusiveness" refers to staying away from the world' s evils -- to the extent of having no windows in their meeting halls, the website said. A measure of their influence - and the working tolerance they've won - is the wariness locals show about saying anything bad of them. In addition, it appears that the movements leaders are hypocrites a trait common to cult leaders. I'm happy and independent, and loving it. I wish him well.". He doesn't go to the same church as I do of course.". Russell Stewart, photographed by police, shortly after he left the scene of a fatal crash at Baylys Coast Rd, Northland, in June 2016. He appoints local priests, resolves disputes, approves all marriages and decides on levels of punishment for breaches of discipline. "When I read about some of the conduct the Brethren get up to, it's more like a cult-like organisation than a mainstream religion. Theyneedpeople around. We don't look down on other Christians because they don't live like us. I squirmed with embarrassment watching his fresh inexperience, realising how I myself must have seemed equally wet behind the ears. We went to work in businesses owned by Brethren; we socialised with Brethren; saw them at church every night, and enjoyed the benefits of a life fully provided. Wellington man Rob McLean, who was excommunicated from the church over a decade ago and forced to relinquish his business, said for many older Brethren, this was history repeating itself. It was organised through Universal Business Team (UBT), a business . Craddock told me he was experimenting with helping others change their sexuality, as yet unsuccessfully, and in the meantime at least my sex drive could be significantly reduced. When the Herald on Sunday approached Dargaville Brethren businessmen to set the record straight about their way of life, most politely dismissed us. Like many other movements that came to be regarded as sectarian, the Brethren began with a profound and deeply anti-sectarian sentiment, and they still reject the designation sect. Unity is based on truth not on a presumed total separationfrom what they havebeen inbued with as evil when in fact the Church is composed of wheat and tares and only the LORD KNOWS THOSE WHO ARE HIS-ONLY HE. Like most ex-Brethren - they call themselves ex-peebs (short for people of the Exclusive Brethren) - the hardest thing has been losing family from their lives. The BBC website listed the following rules for Exclusive Brethren: they cannot go to university, have televisions or radios, visit cinemas or the theatre, read newspapers or fiction, use computers, own mobile phones, vote in elections, serve in the armed forces or join any group that includes people outside the Brethren. Instead I felt condemned to struggle against the essence of who I was. The man, who has name suppression, was being considered for parolelast week. Now 53, he's in his second marriage and runs a cartage business in his hometown, Christchurch. Divorce is rare. It's led to some amazing experiences, and a few hair-raising ones to boot. The secretive, cult-like church says its members volunteer their time to contribute to society, but an RNZ investigation has found hundreds of thousands of dollars were sent every year to a Sydney. Members who break rules are required to confess their sin during church meetings and demonstrate their repentance. Tears. "You don't get someone blaming Presbyterians when someone who has a Presbyterian association does something. Within days the Brethren tracked me down in Christchurch and appealed for my return. This week the New Zealand Presbyterian Church voted to ban anyone in a sexual relationship outside marriage from its leadership roles (though 35 per cent voted against the ban). reach out to my brethren who have been damaged, disillusioned or discarded by the legal system which first emerged in 1959, and continues to dominate many to this day, to recall them to their spiritual birthright the rich heritage of former years; to encourage them to take possession of it . "It's a round circle scheme - they are using their businesses to pay 'donations' back to their own church and then they are claiming that back as a tax deductible expense.". The doctrine of separation from iniquity or separation from sin, makes the Exclusive Brethren unique. Once the couple went to the beach with some other young families and took a portable stereo, which got them temporarily banned from church. All members must follow the rigid code of behaviour and rules that govern the contact. Television is a strange thing. My Brethren calls for a return to our spiritual heritage, to the Scriptural principles, practices and teachings of former years and to the acceptance of personal responsibility for the maintenance of the truth in our days. Aformer member believes Stewart hasbeen 'shut up' a Brethren term which is usually the first step towards being excommunicated, andmeans the person is barred from speaking to other members of the church, eating or socialising with them, and from attending the daily church meetings which everyone is expected to attend. An evangelical church based in Christchurch is the latest to be accused of exploiting members for long voluntary hours and huge donations, despite the church owning assets worth millions of dollars. This is based on the Biblical procedure for the treatment of lepers, and involves being isolated from family and friends and only allowed to see specially chosen church members until local church leaders believe that God has forgiven the person. The Exclusive Brethren are now divided into a number of groups, most of which differ on minor points of doctrine or practice. McAlpine and Wallis both returned to the United Kingdom, and subsequently left the Brethren movement to help found the House Church Movement. The Exclusive Brethren churches have a rigid code of behavior and rules governing anything from contact with outsiders to the length of ones hair or the approved colors of the scarves worn by female members. By the time I was born, in the late autumn of 1989, the Exclusive Brethren had morphed into an oppressive sect that tightly managed every aspect of its members' lives. Contra Peebs.net (Contra) This web site deals with the Exclusive Brethren from a critical perspective. See also the articles in our news tracker. I've travelled the world, built a career, fallen in and out of love, and run the gamut of life. I had no plans, and nowhere to go. * Around 800 mainly small private businesses Adrian is cynical about the Brethren culture. This cult-like control is unbiblical, and is one of the reasons why the movement has attracted negative publicity. Baby Craig, left, with his cousin and their grandmother. Women must wear their hair long and down, and headscarves in public. Now 30, the journalist reflects on a decade of laughter and heartache. I had no idea how to eat in restaurants, tune a radio dial, or engage in contemporary discussion about pop culture. They're highly regarded in business circles. ApologeticsIndex.org is published by Anton Hein together with his wife, Janet, and the Apologetics Index team. The board of the Arise Church is promising changes as its founding members resign amid abuse allegations. Photos come down from the wall and you disappear from Brethren lists, never to be spoken of again, except in hushed tones as a warning to others. James Deck brought the religion to New Zealand in 1853. Those who break the rules can be punished by being banned from worship meetings and ostracised by members of their own family and other Exclusives who withdraw from such a person. [5], The history of the Brethren movement in New Zealand is unusual in that the schism between the Exclusive Brethren and the Open Brethren effectively occurred much later than elsewhere. The smell of fresh baking reminds me of Mum in the kitchen, cooking dinner while juggling seven children and still getting us to church on time. We urge you to wait. Charlotte wrote a letter of recommendation for AUT's Bachelor of Communications degree, and I started working at TV3 as a first-year student. Once someone leaves the Brethren, they are forbidden from having contact with anyone still in the church, including their relatives. I went undercover for 60 Minutes to help expose an international fraudster wanted by the FBI, gaining his trust while wired with a hidden camera. Source: The Exclusive Brethren, BBC. He was sympathetic to my plight but made clear there was no place for gay people, warning me "never accept yourself for who you are". This week, former teachers at Brethren-run schools claimed the schools heavily censored reading material, ripping out chapters on reproduction from science texts, and dictated every aspect of the children's lives. My kids don't know their grandparents as grandparents. Brethren run at least 12 firms in Dargaville - mostly in trade and farm supplies - many clustered in an industrial complex on the town's southern edge. 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