Our Brethren Legacy
An Explanation for Those Not Familiar With Christian Brethren
What's in a Name?
Brethren? What is that?! Well, “brethren” is an old word that simply means “brothers and sisters” or sometimes it can even mean “brotherhood and sisterhood.” Perhaps the closest equivalent to today's language would render “brethren” to “siblings.”
There are several groups that use this name in their title. We're not historically related to any of them other than the unity we have with all those who are believers in Christ Jesus our Lord. Some of the groups that use this name are: Schwarzenau Brethren, Church of the United Brethren in Christ, Mennonite Brethren, Moravian Brethren, Unity of the Brethren, Social Brethren (are you bored yet?), Polish Brethren, Church of the Lutheran Brethren, United Seventh-Day Brethren, and in the Medieval Ages there was even a Brethren of the Common Life order of the Roman Catholic Church. Several of these groups have sub-groups or break-away groups that also have “brethren”in their name.
The Christian Brethren is a movement within the Body of Christ. It is not a denomination. As matter of fact, most people in the Christian Brethren movement don't like having the name “Christian Brethren” - or any other name – because they dislike anything that creates division within the body of Christ.
In some places, the Christian Brethren are sometimes called “Plymouth Brethren.” This is because in the early days of this movement, there was a church in Plymouth, England that grew very fast and was extremely large. It became well-known and for a while the entire movement was named after that church.
So how did the Christian Brethren get that name if they resist names of groups that divide the universal church? Simple – it was people outside the movement that gave them this name. They were called “brethren” because Christian Brethren often called each other “brother” or “sister.” This common bond and outward expression of familial love impressed the world and so was coined the term “Christian Brethren” (equivalent to modern-day words 'Christian “Siblings”') which survives to this day.
Although Christian Brethren dislike having a name attached to them (often referring to themselves as “the assemblies”), we will consistently use the term “Christian Brethren” on this website to simplify the rhetoric and make it easier reading for our inquiring visitors. (Rather than using long sentences to describe this movement, each time we wish to refer to it, or using “inner-circle” terminology that might be confusing!)
So How Did It All Get Started?
In the early 1800's, there was much dissatisfaction among Christians around the world with the way things were. Many church denominations were very exclusive, forbidding a Christian from a different denomination from taking the Lord's Supper in their church and so on. Also, the Bible was interpreted figuratively in all churches, making the Scriptures difficult to understand. Some denominations even charged a fee for sitting down in church!
So, many groups of people, unaware of each other, began to meet in homes and other locations in Ireland, the United Kingdom and around the world. They offered the Lord's Supper to anyone who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and charged nothing for entrance into their gatherings. As a reaction to denominationalism, they remained without name.
By the teens of the 1800's many of these groups began to become aware of other groups doing the same thing. Before the end of the eighteen twenties, the many groups around the world became recognizable as a single movement. Today, the Christian Brethren are found in almost every country, and in many countries they are the largest Evangelical group.
Distinctives
The Christian Brethren are Evangelical. So they agree with all the basic tenets of the faith as any Evangelical would. The inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture, the triune God, the virgin birth, the death and resurrection of Jesus, His vicarious death, salvation by faith alone, the judgment of all – some to perdition and others to eternal joy with God, and so on. (See our Statement of Faith in the “About Us” page.)
Alongside these essentials of the faith, the Christian Brethren hold to some New Testament principles that have come to distinguish the Christian Brethren from within the Evangelicals. Here they are:
1. Priesthood of All Believers. This is a principle that is believed by almost all Evangelical groups. The difference is how it is put into practice. The Christian Brethren take this New Testament principle seriously. They actively encourage all to discover their gifts and offer opportunities within the church for everyone to exercise their gifts.
One meeting in which this is most visible is the Lord's Supper. At this meeting, the floor is open to any believing man who wishes to share from the Bible, request a song or lead in prayer.
The principle of the “Priesthood of All Believers” has aided the Christian Brethren in fast growth and expansion around the world, especially in missions. Any brother can start a new church or baptize new believers, etc. One does not need to be ordained or rise up through any religious hierarchy.
This has also affected the intensity and duration of teaching and training from the Bible in Christian Brethren circles. Because of the principle of the “Priesthood of All Believers,” among other things, the Christian Brethren are very strong in their teaching and training from a very young age, as any one might be called to exercise their priesthood in Christ in a variety of ways.
2. Autonomy of the Local Church. Since the Christian Brethren began as a reaction to denominationalism, their belief in the autonomy (independence) of each local church is very resolute. Each church is directly responsible to the Lord Jesus Christ. Period. History has shown that denominationalism, and other forms of centralized religious control, has helped spread theological liberalism and other problematic issues. By promoting autonomy – under Christ – one church's issues doesn't become another church's issues.
The New Testament certainly seems to show that each local church was autonomous from all others. Denominationalism is usually tied to man-made hierarchies and human policies that can stifle a church's progress as well as spread extra-biblical concepts faster.
3. Plurality of Leadership.
Early in the the start of the Christian Brethren movement, several truths were rediscovered that had been lost during the Medieval Ages. One of them is plurality of leadership. In the New Testament, it is evident that each church had several leaders, not just one. In the New Testament, the word “pastor” itself always occurs in the plural except when referring to Christ Himself or when used in a collective sense.
It seems that the Early Church had several pastors in each church functioning with complete equality in authority. This concept of a balance of power was important enough that the Apostle John rebukes Diotrephes for wanting to have preeminence in the church (3rd John 9).
This principle of the Christian Brethren, over time, has influenced almost all Evangelical churches and denominations. Today, almost all Evangelicals practice plurality of leadership in some way or other. Usually, the pastor is responsible to a Board of elders, or is considered to be one of the elders -- all of which are equal in authority to him. Although this is the norm today, it was not a common practice before the Christian Brethren rediscovered this principle and modeled it for the world.
The Christian Brethren practice this principle in a manner closer to the Early Church. The elders are equal in authority, and no one elder is over the other. All elders are considered to be pastors (shepherds) even though they may have different functions within the local church.
4. Headship of Christ. With a strong belief in autonomy, it follows that Jesus as the Head of each church is also a very important theme. Christ Jesus is the true Pastor (Shepherd) of each local church. The other pastors/elders are really just sub-shepherds of our Lord Jesus.
To symbolize Christ's Headship over His church, the Christian Brethren take from 1st Corinthians 11 and practice the symbol of headship from that passage. In it, men symbolize Christ and women symbolize the church. To show Christ's headship over His Bride, men wear nothing on their heads since there is no authority above Christ's. To demonstrate that the Bride is gladly under His authority (headship), women wear a head-covering during meetings. These symbols serve to remind all that although they don't answer to a denominational headquarters, they answer to someOne of even greater value and worthy of much more respect.
As with the symbols at the Lord's Supper, the practice of the symbols of Headship is an act of worship and is voluntary and only has meaning to those who understand it and believe in it.
Interestingly, this practice was common in all Evangelical groups until just a few decades ago. It only became a distinctive of the Christian Brethren when other groups abandoned this symbol.
5. Weekly Lord's Supper. Actually, not long ago all Evangelicals practiced this. Over the last few decades, many Evangelicals have abandoned this practice. The Christian Brethren have maintained it. This was not a distinctive (since everybody practiced it) until many of the other groups in the family of Christ ceased to practice this.
For the Christian Brethren, a weekly Lord's Supper is important for several reasons: (a) the Lord commanded us to remember Him often, (b) it is healthy to be reminded of His sacrifice frequently, (c) it renders more efficient self-examination prior to the Lord's Supper when one only needs to review a week in one's heart, (d) the New Testament seems to indicate that the early church practiced the Lord's Supper on a weekly basis, (e) the most important Person in the church is the Lord Jesus; it follows that the only meeting that focuses solely on Him (and not on believers' edification or on evangelism) should be a frequent meeting.
So these are the things that most distinguish the Christian Brethren as Evangelicals in the modern world. Some Christian Brethren churches might have some other slightly different practices -- as one might also find diversity of practice in many Evangelical groups – but for the most part, these five principles are fairly common in all Christian Brethren churches.
Impact
The Christian Brethren have helped shaped the modern Evangelical movement in many ways. Citing the Handbook of Denominations in the United States,
“Brethren have had an influence out of proportion to their number.”
The Wikipedia article about this movement states,
“The influence of the Plymouth Brethren upon evangelical Christianity exceeds their relatively small numerical proportion.”
The Christian Brethren were used by God to re-introduce into the world – after centuries of Dark Ages – many biblical truths believed and practiced by all Evangelicals today. The Great Reformation (1517) re-introduced several essential doctrines such as the sole authority of Scripture, salvation by faith alone, and the Holy Spirit being the vicar of Christ rather than the pope. For the most part, however, Protestant doctrine and practice remained very similar to that of the Roman Catholic Church, and in many ways was identical to it.
Many Separatist movements and “low-church” groups attempted to return to the basics of Scriptures, with varying degrees of success. The Christian Brethren, in the early 1800's attracted believers from many of those groups, but also drew many believers and even clergy from the “high-church.” With a more systematic approach, the Christian Brethren were able to re-discover Scriptural truths and publish them for the benefit of all Christians.
As matter of fact, many of the truths re-discovered by the Christian Brethren are part of what defines Evangelicalism today. Because of their insistence to remain unnamed and anonymous, most Evangelicals are not aware of their indebtedness to the Christian Brethren. Here are a few examples:
The importance of literature and education. Christian Brethren train their children and young people intensely in Scripture and related topics. Many of their leaders were erudite men and women whose impact far outreached their movement. Until recently, the Christian Brethren routinely produced more Christian literature than any other Evangelical group. Below is a list of notable people from the Christian Brethren movement, and within the explanations you will find several books that are rather iconic to the Evangelical movement.
The principle of plurality of leadership. Many churches and denominations had their hierarchies, but within the local church, only one man ruled. Exposure to this principle led to many churches to develope elder boards and similar practices in order that pastors and other leaders could be held accountable.
The emphasis on missions and evangelism. Starting with Anthony N. Groves – one of the very first pioneer missionaries of the Missionary Era – and George Muller, Hudson Taylor (not Brethren, but corresponded with Brethren leaders and held to Brethren principles), the Christian Brethren have always had a high esteem for missions and evangelism. The term “Plymouth Brethren” was coined because of their intense emphasis on evangelism at the church in Plymouth, England – a church which growth to the thousands was mostly the result of evangelism.
Emphasis on expository teaching of the word of God. Rather than sermons on lofty ideas that served mostly to show off the minister's great intellect – which was the norm in most Christian churches before the Christian Brethren movement – the Christian Brethren went back to the Word and shared their study of it, verse by verse and word by word. Today, this is commonly practiced in most Evangelical churches.
The significance of knowing the original languages. Because of linguistic men like John Nelson Darby and Thomas Newberry, among many others, and thanks to their works which made Hebrew and Greek accessible to the common believer., the study of God's Word in its original languages became a universally-accepted thing among Evangelicals to this day.
From a Wikipedia article:
Many leaders of the contemporary evangelical movement came from Brethren backgrounds. These include:
Dr. D. Stuart Briscoe, author, international speaker, and former senior pastor of Elmbrook Church (one of the 50-largest churches in the U.S.) in Milwaukee,
Geoff Tunnicliffe, CEO of the World Evangelical Alliance;
the late British scholar F.F. Bruce;
Brian McLaren of the Emerging Church movement;
1950s Auca missionary martyrs Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Peter Fleming;
Walter Liefeld, NT professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School;
Jim Wallis, American Christian activist and founder of Sojourners Magazine;
and the late preacher Dr. Harry A. Ironside, who wrote the, Historical Sketch of the Brethren Movement.
Radio personality Garrison Keillor was raised among the Plymouth Brethren, whom he sometimes refers to as the, "sanctified brethren," in his News from "Lake Wobegon" monologues.
Peter Maiden, the current leader of Operation Mobilization, also came from the Brethren.
From a Historical Sketch of the Christian Brethren found on <http://pages.prodigy.net/sathi/ourhistory.html>:
Some Well-known Brethren:
Sir Robert Anderson- Scotland Yard detective
and writer Sir Lancelot Brenton- translator of the Greek-English edition
F. F. Bruce- Bible commentator
Jim Elliot- missionary martyred in Ecuador
Trevor S. Francis- composed the hymn, “O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus”
AN. Groves- pioneer missionary in India
H. A. Ironside- well-known Bible commentator; pastor of Moody Memorial Church
William Kelly- authored many Bible commentaries; well recognized by all scholars in the world
William MacDonald- author of the Believers Bible Commentary
C. H. Mackintosh- author of Genesis to Deuteronomy: Notes on the Pentateuch, and other miscellaneous writings
Andrew Miller- author on church history
George Muller- lived in Bristol, England, and ran a chain of orphanages which operated on the principle of faith and prayer
Thomas Newberry- well known for the Newberry Reference Bible, which uses a system of symbols to explain verb tenses
Joseph Scriven- composed the hymn, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”
Samuel Tregelles- noted scholar of Biblical languages
W. E. Vine- author of Vines Expository Dictionary and numerous commentaries
G. V. Wigram- author of Wigram’s Hebrew/Chaldee Concordance and Wigram’s Greek Concordance
Famous people who were of the Brethren at some time in their lives or who agreed with Brethren principles or who were deeply influenced by the Christian Brethren: Lord Congleton, J. G. Bellet, Dr. Edward Cronin, J. L. Harris, R. C. Chapman, Henry Craik, Dr. Thomas Neatby, J. B. Stoney, F. W. Grant, Charles Stanley, Henry Moorhouse, John Ritchie, and Hudson Taylor.
From Wikipedia:
Notable members of the Christian Brethren [excerpts]:
Robert Anderson — Head of Scotland Yard and Christian author.
Thomas John Barnardo — Took in destitute male and female street children; founded Barnardo's.
Patricia Beer — Poet. Born into Brethren, left as adult.
John Gifford Bellet — Prized Classics researcher of Trinity College, Cambridge
Lancelot Brenton — Translator of what is probably the most widely available Greek-English edition of the Septuagint
Stuart Briscoe — author, international speaker and Minister-At-large at Elmbrook Church, was raised Plymouth Brethren, in England
F.F. Bruce — 20th Century Bible scholar and Christian apologist.
Geoffrey Bull — Missionary to Tibet in the early 1950s
Wilson Carlile — British evangelist who founded Church Army and prebendary of St Paul's Cathedral
Robert Chapman — Prominent amongst the Plymouth Brethren in the 19th Century
Dr. Edward Cronin — Pioneer of homeopathy
Anthony Crosland — Foreign Secretary in Britain's Labour Government, raised in Plymouth Brethren
John Nelson Darby — Famous preacher and father of modern Rapture doctrine
James George Deck — Evangelist and missionary to New Zealand
L.C.R. Duncombe-Jewell — raised Plymouth Brethren.
Jim Elliot — Missionary killed by Waodani Indians along the Curaray River, in Ecuador.
Peter Fleming — Missionary killed by the Waodani Indians along the Curaray River, in Equador
Ken Follett — Author of The Pillars of the Earth was raised in a Plymouth Brethren family.
Roger T. Forster — Author, theologian and leader of Ichthus Christian Fellowship
Edmund Gosse — Poet, author and critic. Raised as Plymouth Brethren and wrote the book Father and Son about his upbringing.
Emily Bowes Gosse — painter, illustrator and author of religious tracts
Philip Henry Gosse — Naturalist and marine biologist
Anthony Norris Groves — Missionary to Baghdad and India
John Eliot Howard — Chemist and quinologist
Luke Howard — Chemist and meteorologist, the 'namer of clouds'
Harry A. Ironside — Bible teacher, preacher and author.
Garrison Keillor — Radio personality ("A Prairie Home Companion") and author; raised Plymouth Brethren; No longer associates with them.
William Kelly — Prominent leader of the Exclusive Brethren in the late 19th Century
J. Laurence Kulp — 20th Century geologist. Critic of Young Earth creationism
C.H. Mackintosh — 19th Century author of Christian books
Peter Maiden — Current head of Operation Mobilization
Jim McCotter — Was a part of Brethren in early life. Left and was the founder of Great Commission Churches
Ed McCully — Missionary killed by the Waodani Indians along the Curaray River, in Ecuador
Brian D. McLaren — Prominent and controversial voice in the Emerging Church movement. Raised in a Brethren family.
George Müller — Founder of the Bristol Orphanage and a stated teacher in Bethesda Chapel, Bristol
Thomas Newberry — Translator of the Newberry Reference Bible, which uses a system of symbols to explain verb tenses
Francis William Newman — Younger brother of Cardinal John Henry Newman
Benjamin Wills Newton — Early leader of the assembly in Plymouth. Disagreements with J.N. Darby led to the 1848 division
Frederick Handley Page — Pioneer in the design and manufacture of aircraft
Luis Palau — Argentinian-American evangelist, raised in the Plymouth Brethren.
John Parnell, 2nd Baron Congleton — Missionary to Mesopotamia
Joseph M. Scriven — Writer of the words to the hymn, "What A Friend We Have In Jesus."
Arthur Rendle Short — Professor of surgery at Bristol University and author
William Gibson Sloan — Scottish missionary to the Faroe Islands.
James Taylor, Jr. — Controversial leader of the Exclusive Brethren branch from 1953-1970
Ngaire Thomas — Wrote the book, Behind Closed Doors, about her childhood abuse in the Exclusive Brethren.
Samuel Prideaux Tregelles — English biblical scholar and theologian
Elsie Tu, then Elsie Elliott — A Plymouth Brethren missionary in China before leaving the movement and becoming a prominent political figure in Hong Kong
William Edwy Vine — Author of, Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, and numerous commentaries
Arthur Wallis — Founder of the British New Church Movement, formerly in the Plymouth Brethren
Jim Wallis — Evangelical Christian writer and political activist, founder and editor of Sojourners Magazine, raised in a Brethren family
Charles Gidley Wheeler– Author of The Believer, and A Good Boy Tomorrow: Memoirs of a Fundamentalist Upbringing – Fleet Air Arm pilot, TV dramatist, novelist and philosopher – was raised in the Plymouth Brethren before breaking away at the age of 16.
Smith Wigglesworth — Pentecostal preacher. Testified that he had received his grounding in Bible teaching within the Plymouth Brethren
George Wigram — Wrote a Greek and English Concordance to the New Testament and the Englishman's Hebrew and Chaldee Concordance to the Old Testament.
Dr. Edward Wilson — Founding member of the Brethren
Orde Wingate — British Major General, advisor to Hagana units during the 1930s
Conclusion
So these are our distinctive principles, history and contributions to the body of Christ and to the world. This is our heritage to which we are faithful.