Plymouth Brethren Christian Church

Critics of the PBCC have accused it of controlling all aspects of its members' lives. The group's influence over its members is such that many who have left the group have had trouble adjusting to life outside.

According to the PBCC, discipline in the Brethren is referred to as 'shutting up' or 'withdrawing from'. Such a measure is infrequent and comes about after long periods of pastoral care. When this pastoral care is totally refused and a course is persisted in which is against principles set out in the Holy Bible such discipline becomes a necessary painful process exercised by the consensus of their area congregation and not as punishment. It is a requirement to protect their community from reproach as to consorting with and condoning immoral practices. A person who is 'withdrawn from' is excommunicated, cut off from the family's social contacts. In actual practice, discipline is the Brethren's ultimate means of control over it's members. It is used to quell any dissent or questioning of the church leader or his cohorts.

Members who leave these days are carefully followed up,and made sure they are not living in destitution although this has not always been the case in the past.[9] Leavers are seen as having chosen the world and the devil against God, and separation is required because they could bring members into contact with their unsavoury behaviour. [9] When someone chooses to leave the Brethren or is excommunicated by the fellowship, their parents, siblings, spouse and even children 'withdraw' or disassociate themselves from them. This allows for no socializing from church members. . Since virtually all members work in other members' companies, to leave the group may mean also that they have to give up their jobs, in addition to their family and their home.

Typically Brethren either own their own business or work for a business run by another Brethren member. Their businesses include manufacturing, distribution and sales, including in the fields of clothing, architecture, rehabilitation aids and food and the import and resale of industrial hardware including welding equipment and consumables.[10] Trade unions are not permitted and the Brethren have even successfully fought regulations which permit unions to visit workplaces to talk to employees.[11]

Brethren companies use computers, fax machines and mobile phones but there is guidance so that perverse and morally degrading sites are totally blocked.

Brethren run private schools for their children between the ages of 8 and 18. Members are strongly discouraged from attending university because of the campus environment. However, many undertake tertiary studies through distance learning, completing diplomas or degrees, typically focusing on accountancy or business studies rather than the arts. In 2005 David Bell, the Chief Inspector of Schools in England, praised the Brethren schools for their standard of teaching and said in his report that "the quality of teaching, most of which is done by experienced practitioners, is generally good."[12] Because of the lack of tertiary education, the teachers are not Brethren. Their schools do use computers and other modern technology and their advanced use of zoom technology and Self Directed Learning has enabled them to cope with Covid-19 virus superbly. Brethren schools have computer banks and students have restricted access to the internet. They now embrace a wide range of technology, possibly some of the best equipped schools in the world - most students are supplied with a laptop and all schools have equipment for video conferencing which is used extensively to offer a wide range of courses for even the smallest and most remote campuses.

There are 38 Brethren private schools throughout Australia[13] and 43 in the United Kingdom,[12] 36 in the United States and Canada[14] as well as others throughout the world.

As with many private schools in Australia, Brethren schools qualify to receive Australian Federal government funding.[15] In 2007, the Victorian State Government provided $1.08 million in funding to the Glenvale Exclusive Brethren School, which has a dozen campuses in Victoria. This was a significant increase from $370,419 in 2002–03.[16] In the United States and Canada, private schools are operated by Stirling Education, Inc., which is closely affiliated with the PBCC.[17]

The Rapid Relief Team (RRT) was established in Australia in 2013 by the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (PBCC).

The RRT offers quality catering assistance to charitable and government organisations confronting some of humankind’s greatest challenges, including natural disasters, heart disease, cancer research and the plight of the homeless.

The teams are composed of volunteers from the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church.

RRT teams are ready for the unexpected. When natural disasters strike, RRT are at the behest of government emergency services to offer support to those affected by adversity.

RRT actively supports many honourable charitable organisations across the globe through fundraising events of our own, or via catering support at government or charity events.

The Rapid Relief Team has expanded into a global charitable organisation with teams in the United Kingdom, North and South America, the Caribbean, Canada, New Zealand and Europe. The organisational chart has been replicated in every region globally to ensure uniformity across the operations. The teams are generally of a similar size and work to a consistent standard with established protocol

To date, the RRT in Australia has held 1813 events across the country, with the support of 22,712 Plymouth Brethren volunteers, putting in over 105,000 hours to produce 482,312 meals.

The most recent project of the RRT – Operation Drought Relief, saw the charity make three stops along the New South Wales Central coast to distribute 150 tonnes of cattle and sheep feed.

In the 2004 Australian federal election the Brethren were linked to political advertisements campaigning for the re-election of the Australian Prime Minister John Howard.[25][27] The advertisements were funded by Willmac Enterprises Pty Ltd, a company wholly owned by Mark William Mackenzie who is a member of the Brethren.[28] Willmac's contribution to John Howard's election campaign, of $370,000, was later investigated by the Australian Electoral Commission and is currently the source of an ongoing criminal investigation by the Australian Federal Police.[29][30]

In September 2006, Prime Minister John Howard confirmed that he met with the Brethren, stating he has no problem with the group and that they are "entitled to put their views to the Government".[31] In December 2006, The Age reported that Brethren representatives met with the Australian Attorney-General Philip Ruddock lobbying for family law changes to "ensure that a child is not subject to a radical lifestyle change without compelling reason".[32]

Then Prime Minister John Howard met with Brethren representatives in his parliamentary office on short notice early August 2007.[33] The Brethren also approached the then Federal Opposition Leader, Kevin Rudd who refused to meet with them saying that he believes they are "an extremist cult and sect" that "breaks up families".[30][34][35]

The media attention on the Brethren has been particularly active in Australia. In 2007, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation current affairs television program 'Four Corners' aired an investigation into a claim of secret campaigning by the Exclusive Brethren alleging that church elders had met with both the then Australian Prime Minister John Howard and the Treasurer Peter Costello[36] and had allegedly provided them with their support.[37] The programme revealed that the Brethren had a vigorous and largely untold political history going back at least to 1993, and provided evidence of a trail spelling out how its members have spent millions in state and federal elections and overseas, including the USA.

In the state of Tasmania, tens of thousands of dollars was given in a campaign against the Greens in the 2006 state election claiming the Greens policies regarding transgender and inter-sex people would "ruin our families and society".[38] [39] This led to a complaint to the Anti-discrimination Tribunal and some private individuals issued an apology to partly settle that complaint. Further legal action regarding this complaint is ongoing. The published apology however was paid for by an agency acting for the Liberal Party which has led to calls by former Senator Bob Brown for politicians to declare their relationships with the group and called for an anti-corruption inquiry into their influence.[40][41]

In December 2007, the Brethren were accused of infiltrating local councils and bankrolling legal challenges to halt the spread of adult stores.[42]

In 2005 the Brethren attempted to influence a gay-marriage parliamentary vote by waging an aggressive but anonymous campaign (identifying themselves only as CCP or Concerned Canadian Parents) using direct-mail and advertising with a full page ad in the Hill Times newspaper, a Parliament Hill weekly directed at Senators studying Bill C-38.[43]

In 2000, as a result of their avowed lack of interest and lack of involvement in the political process, Brethren-owned businesses were granted an exemption from legal requirements under the Employment Relations Act 2000 to allow union representatives onto the premises to talk with employees. As a result of the lobbying and other campaigning, there have been threats from MPs to change the relationship between Brethren-owned businesses and labour unions.[44]

In the 18 months leading up to the 2005 New Zealand General Election, a group of Brethren met with and lobbied many members of Parliament, particularly MPs of the centre-right National Party but also including the parliamentary leaders of the centre-right New Zealand First and United Future parties and the neo-liberal ACT party with no success.[45] Late in the election campaign they spent approximately NZ$1.2 million[46] producing and distributing to letter boxes at least eight pamphlets attacking the policies of both the socially liberal and centre-left Labour party and the Green party. Though not mentioning the National Party, the wording and colour of the pamphlets hinted at support for National. The leaflets appealed for the election of a "government that would prosper the country economically and govern in a morally upright way". The pamphlets caused some controversy and seven Brethren held a press conference in front of television cameras to explain themselves.[47] This strategy backfired and contributed to Prime Minister Helen Clark's second re-election.[48] The outing of the Brethren's activities were a major catalyst for the drafting of the Electoral Finance Bill.

Deputy Leader of the Opposition Gerry Brownlee expressed concerns about the Brethren's lack of political sophistication and loss of female voters for the New Zealand National Party at the 2005 general election.[49] Some National MPs have declared that they will not accept help from the Brethren in the future.[50]

In September 2006, Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party and Prime Minister, Helen Clark alleged that the Brethren had been involved in spreading "baseless rumour, slander and lies" after accusations that her husband, Peter Davis, might be homosexual appeared in The Sunday Star-Times newspaper.[51] She also alleged that the Brethren had hired a private investigator to follow Davis to dig up dirt. It was later confirmed that private investigators had been hired by members of the group to investigate Labour MPs.[52]

In October 2006, Helen Clark mentioned the Exclusive Brethren in "mirth" during her opening speech at the Labour Party's annual conference. She also said that it was time to move on. Deputy Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen further attacked the group in his closing comments to the conference.

In November 2006 Nicky Hager published the book The Hollow Men alleging, among other issues, the involvement of the Brethren with the National Party. This was seen as one of the reasons for the resignation of party leader Don Brash, though that was denied strongly by Brash.

In April 2007 senior members of the Brethren considered setting up a group that would be politically active.[53]

Critics asserted that the Exclusive Brethren's canvassing campaign was such that at one stage it had threatened the government of that country. Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark accused the sect of hiring a private detective to gather dirt on her and husband Peter Davis, who was photographed kissing one of the couple's oldest friends, Ian Scott, who is gay.[54] Due to the ensuing public backlash against the Exclusive Brethren's canvassing efforts, Brash's successor, Prime Minister John Key, explicitly rejected any assistance from the Exclusive Brethren during the 2008 election.[55]

In January 2015, it was reported by various international media houses that a New Zealand man whose Armenian wife abandoned their child at birth because the child had Down's Syndrome, had previously been excommunicated from the Exclusive Brethren Church in New Zealand and all his family members including his ex-wife and their four children banned from having any contact with him because he had divorced his wife.

The Swedish tabloid newspaper Aftonbladet alleged that the Brethren funded an advertising campaign supporting the centre-right Alliance for Sweden in the Swedish 2006 elections. The advertisements and fliers were distributed by 'Nordas Sverige', an agency set up by Swedish business-owners who, while members of the Brethren, acted on their own initiative. Aftonbladet traced it to a company named 'Nordas Ltd' operating from Liverpool, UK, run by business-owners, also members of the Brethren.[56]

Controversy over the Brethren in Britain revolves around the practice of "shutting up", where families or persons are confined to their homes, and is used to punish members who break rules. In May and July 2012, six girls from the independent Wilton Park School were allegedly confined for 37 days after making a Facebook page. This claim was denied by the school trust, who subsequently invited the local authority to investigate.[57][58] Investigation later found the complaint groundless.[59]

In 2004 the Exclusive Brethren held prayer meetings and took out newspaper ads supporting the re-election of George W. Bush as President of the United States. A committee, called the Thanksgiving 2004 Committee, formed by Brethren in Florida raised $530,000 for the ads supporting the re-election of Bush and of United States Senator Mel Martinez of Florida. $377,262 of this amount came from a single donor, Bruce K Hazell of London, England.[60] The committee raised none of the money in Florida, according to a report filed with the Federal Elections Commission. A White House spokesman later described the group as "shadowy".[43]

Scandals began to appear in newspapers around 1961, but little concrete information came to light until after the so-called Aberdeen incident of 1970. In that year James Taylor Jr exhibited increasingly erratic behaviour which came to a head in meetings at Aberdeen in Scotland on 25 July, at which he appeared to be drunk, spoke abusively, and was found in bed with a woman who was a member of the community and the wife of another member. Very few based near the scene of the events stayed in fellowship with James Taylor Jr − including just two families in Aberdeen and 200 out of 3,000 in Scotland.[71] Others, especially those overseas, believed Taylor's supporters' line that he was a pure man and that this incident was used by God to expose his enemies.[72] James Taylor Jr died shortly afterwards the same year. 'The Taylor Brethren interpretation of events is rooted in the conviction that God had a vessel whom he would not allow to fail; Taylor spoke and acted as he did to bring out what was in others by provoking reaction, being willing to draw reproach on himself to do so.'[73]

This account of the Aberdeen incident is disputed by some researchers. The Italian Center for Studies of New Religions (CESNUR) has this to say about it:[74]

(Translation from French) "The first episode relates to the previously mentioned Aberdeen conference in 1970, where a Taylor Jr., old and exhausted (he died the same year) was accused not only of criticising some opponents but also of a moral fault. There is convincing evidence showing that these accusations are false and that they were launched as part of a campaign to destroy and usurp his authority. Some nevertheless believed these implausible accusations and thus there arose the "post-Aberdeen" Brethren 10 dissidents."[75]

Following this incident, those who separated from James Taylor Jr continued to hold the doctrine and teaching of Taylor Sr but "rolled back" the directives that had been introduced during James Taylor Jr's leadership. This fellowship further fragmented in 1972, and the party which broke away has since further sub-divided.

After Taylor Jr's death there were four contenders for leadership: James H. Symington was a pig farmer in Neche, North Dakota, George Maynard, a doctor in Barbados, Taylor's youngest son, James Taylor III and two brothers from Australia, John S. and W. Bruce Hales. The Hales brothers had become pre-eminent in Australia with their "System" which proclaimed that "inefficiency equals unholiness" but had been "withdrawn from" by Jim Taylor for bringing commerce to the meeting.[76] "Symington, declaring that there was an unbroken line of succession in the Recovery and that the seat of Paul was never vacant, reached out and grasped the prize."[77] He supported Taylor Jr at Aberdeen and became known as the "Paul of our day". Symington also centralized control of all the trusts which held the property portfolio of meeting places around the world.

Symington, died in 1987 and shortly after, the leadership passed to Australian businessman John S Hales. Hales had been trained as an accountant and encouraged the faithful to make substantial donations to the sect out of their estates when they died. He used some of this to establish Brethren-only high schools around the world, starting with one in the Sydney suburb of Meadowbank. In 2002, John S Hales died, and his son Bruce David Hales, another Australian businessman, succeeded to the leadership. For the second time in Exclusive history the position of universal leader was transferred to a son from his father.

In 2004, Hales reversed a long-standing Brethren tradition on political involvement and encouraged the church to support conservative political causes: in the USA, large donations were given to the George W. Bush campaign, in Australia support was given to John Howard, and in New Zealand to the National Party. Internal rules are being relaxed, the dress code is breaking down and access to technology is widely allowed. Hales travels the world in a chartered Cessna Citation executive jet at a cost of up to $5,000/hour.[70]

Under Bruce Hales's leadership, meetings continue to take place once a day from Monday to Saturday, and four or five times on Sunday. Sunday meetings include the Lord's Supper (Holy Communion at 6am Sunday), a scripture reading/discussion meeting, and several preachings. The church encourages participation at meetings by all adult males ('brothers'); women ('sisters') may only choose and announce ('give out') hymns, and apart from joining with group singing, are otherwise silent in church meetings as required by the Brethren's interpretation of 1 Corinthians 14:34.

In 2012, the Preston Downs Trust (a Plymouth meeting room in England) attracted considerable media attention when the Charity Commission rejected an application for charitable status on the grounds that it could not be sure that it met the criterion for public benefit. In January 2014, they announced that, following legally binding changes to its trust documents, they would accept its application.[78]