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Barker, Eileen. Barker, Eileen. "Denominationalization or Death? Comparing Processes of Change within the Jesus Fellowship Church and the Children of God aka The Family International." The Demise of Religion: How Religions End, Die, or Dissipate. By Michael Stausberg, Stuart A. Wright and Carole M. Cusack. London,: Bloomsbury Academic, 2020. 99–118. Bloomsbury Collections. Web. 2 Oct. 2021. <http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781350162945.ch-006>. Downloaded from Bloomsbury Collections, www.bloomsburycollections.com, 2 October 2021, 18:58 UTC. Copyright © Michael Stausberg, Stuart A. Wright, Carole M. Cusack, and contributors 2020. You may share this work for non-commercial purposes only, provided you give attribution to the copyright holder and the publisher, and provide a link to the Creative Commons licence. 6 Denominationalization or Death? Comparing Processes of Change within the Jesus Fellowship Church and the Children of God aka The Family International Eileen Barker This is an account of the apparently impending demise of two new religious movements (NRMs) which were part of the Jesus movement that was spreading across North America and western Europe in the late 1960s. Both movements were evangelical in nature; both had a charismatic preacher as its founder; and both believed from their inception in following the lifestyle of the early Christians as described in the Acts of the Apostles.1 One of the movements began in the small village of Bugbrooke, a few miles southwest of Northampton in the English Midlands; the other began in Huntington Beach, California. The first was to become known, variously, as the Jesus Fellowship Church (JF), the New Creation Christian Community, and the Jesus Army;2 the second became known, sequentially, as the Children of God (CoG), The Family of Love, The Family, and then, from 2004, The Family International (TFI).3 The Jesus Fellowship Noel Stanton (1926–2009), who had been pastor of the Bugbrooke Baptist Chapel since 1957, had a dramatic spiritual experience in 1969, when “a tide of love broke over him and the Spirit came in power” (Cooper and Farrant 1997: 30). Following this experience, Stanton started to attract a growing number of young people who became “baptised in the Holy Spirit” and found 100 The Demise of Religion themselves “with fire in their hearts.” Although the converts included several young professionals such as doctors and teachers, by 1972 the outreach was focusing in large part on bikers, hippies, Hell’s Angels, and acid heads (Kay 2007: 152). As the movement grew, it acquired several properties in the area for communal living, including a nearby farm. It also built up a number of businesses, including wholesale foods, building supplies, and a vehicle repair firm. Some of the members worked outside the community, giving their earnings to the community; others were employed in one or other of the businesses, working on the farm or renovating the movement’s properties, where everyone received the same wages, most of which were then donated to “the common purse.” Publications included the Jesus Army Newspaper and the magazines Jesus Lifestyle and Heartcry. The Fellowship’s House of Goodness Group, selling farm products, health foods, and building supplies, reportedly had an annual turnover of around £15 million and employed about 250 members in the mid-1990s (MacDonald-Smith 1995). By 2003, the Fellowship was reported as having a turnover of about £35 million per annum (Kay 2007: 155). From its early beginnings, the movement’s growth gave rise to a number of criticisms. The local mainstream churches regarded the charismatic movement in general with suspicion. Complaints included the separation of members from their non-member relatives and the social isolation of children within the movement (although the children did attend state schools). Others complained of the noise from the Bugbrooke chapel, and the cars and motorbikes that filled the village, especially on a Sunday evening. Some local firms resented the Fellowship-owned businesses, which were undercutting any competitors by paying low wages, and some local residents resented the Fellowship’s rapid purchase of properties in the area (Cooper and Farrant 1997; Hunt 1998). Then, in 1986, the JF was expelled from the Baptist Union of Great Britain on the grounds that the Fellowship’s now nation-wide organization and its form of governance could no longer be recognized as a local Baptist church. That same year, the JF was asked to resign from the Evangelical Alliance (which it had joined in 1982) following adverse publicity and what the Fellowship perceived as persecution instigated in large part by a critical letter written by former members and circulated to the press, new members, relatives of members, and other Christians (Cooper and Farrant 1997: 227–9). Denominationalization or Death? 101 Following these attacks, the Fellowship had a period of becoming more defensive, introverted, and withdrawn from the wider society, and there was a continuing loss of membership. However, with the creation in 1987 of the Jesus Army as the campaigning arm of the JF, the movement became more visible. Brightly colored Jesus Army buses and multi-colored camouflage jackets worn by Jesus Army evangelists became a familiar sight in Northampton, London, and elsewhere, declaring war on homelessness, alcoholism, racism, abortion, hate, drug addiction, violence, and crime (Kay 2007: 156). The unemployed and homeless, including those with drug and/or alcohol problems, were offered work and a roof over their heads, thereby making up a substantial proportion of the movement’s work force. At the same time, the JF started seeking greater collaboration and acceptance within other new charismatic and evangelical churches, and by the end of the century it had rejoined the Evangelical Alliance. In 2001 the Jesus Army Charitable Trust (JACT) was registered.4 This became responsible for running Jesus Centres, described as “places where the love of Jesus is expressed daily through worship, friendship and help for every kind of person.”5 The first Centre opened in 2002 in Coventry; six more were to follow in Northampton, London and other cities. While open to the general public, the Centres were primarily targeted toward the socially and economically disadvantaged, offering a range of services including: information and help for refugees and asylum seekers; information technology and skills training; medical advice; washing and haircutting facilities; counseling; parent and toddler groups; cafes, meetings, and worship groups. The Centres have also acted as gateways to other agencies and other service providers. Not all converts have been equally committed to the JF, but they could join at (and move between) different levels. Congregational members would attend Sunday meetings; cell group members would attend cell group meetings. Baptized members, having been baptized by total immersion, were considered full members but had not made the “Sevenfold Covenant Commitment” to the Church. Those who made the Covenant Commitment were received as members through the “right hand of fellowship.” Style 1 Covenant members attended regular worship services but maintained their own residences; Style 2 Covenant members, in addition to regular attendance, made a regular financial contribution; Style 3 Covenant members belonged to the New Creation 102 The Demise of Religion Christian Community, living communally and sharing all resources; while Style 4 members were those who, living some distance from a congregation, were unable to attend regular events. Life in the communal houses, especially in the early days, has been described as “a Spartan existence” and a “simple lifestyle,” with members having few personal possessions (Hunt 2003: 114). In 1991, a list of forty-eight “Precepts” was circulated to Style 3 household leaders by Stanton and Mike Haines (to whom Stanton handed over the leadership prior to his death). Many of the precepts began “We do not ….” They included: We do not listen to secular music, watch secular TV/video or read secular books; We take no part in the celebration of Christmas, Easter or other worldly festivals; We do not have hobbies or amusements; We maintain a holy separation between the sexes and do not allow flirtation; Wives in the community are subject to their believing husbands. (Haines and Stanton 1991) Not all members were married. Indeed, those who were most committed took a vow of celibacy. In the words of Stanton, who is said to have frequently preached about the sins of the flesh, “Now we give our genitals to Jesus” (Ironmonger 2019:@4.55/8.07). Less bluntly, a young woman ended a short article on her decision to become celibate and her thoughts during her year’s probation before taking her final vow, with the words, God! The day has finally arrived—when all will be consecrated to You. I feel a deep peace as I begin this day (still can’t believe it’s me!—that You have chosen me!) It’s your miracle Lord—let Your spirit rise within me, draw me ever close. (Stockley 2007: 11) By the beginning of the twenty-first century, the JF seemed to be gathering strength despite complaints from former members and attacks from “anti-cultists.” It was proving a growing attraction to a wider spread of the population than most NRMs. Its businesses appeared to be prospering and in 2003 the sociologist Stephen Hunt (2003: 114) was to remark that the Denominationalization or Death? 103 Fellowship’s flexible membership, allowing differing levels of commitment, “probably largely explains why the Jesus Fellowship has endured while other similar movements have not survived” (Hunt 2003: 114). By 2007 there were approximately 3,500 members in about twenty-four congregations in various cities and towns of the UK (Kay 2007: 157). But gradually the numbers started dwindling. In 2012 the JF reported having 2,500 members, and, by 2019, the Fellowship had about 1,000 members, 200 of whom were living in communal houses (Lynch 2019b).
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