Editing The Brethren (Jim Roberts group)

{{Short description|American itinerant Christian group}}
{{for|other religious groups known as Brethren|Brethren (religious group)}}
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{{Infobox Christian denomination
| name                = Brethren <br> Body of Christ <br> Brothers and Sisters
| image               = 
| imagewidth          = 
| caption             = 
| main_classification = [[Evangelical]] [[new religious movement]]
| theology              = [[Millenarianism]] <br> [[Apocalypticism]]
| polity              = 
| founder             = [[Jimmie T. Roberts|Jimmie T. "Jim" Roberts]]
| founded_date        = ~1971
| founded_place       = 
| separated_from      = [[Jesus movement]]
| leader              = Jerry Williams 
| parent              = 
| merger              = 
| separations         = 
| fellowships         = 
| associations        = 
| area                = 
| hospitals           = 
| nursing_homes       = 
| aid                 = 
| congregations       = 
| members             = 
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| temples             = 
| primary_schools     = 
| secondary_schools   = 
| tertiary            = 
| footnotes           = 
}}

'''The Brethren''' is one of several informal names for a nameless, itinerant Christian new religious movement (NRM) founded by [[Jimmie T. Roberts|Jimmie T. "Jim" Roberts]] around 1971. The group is also referred to as The Travellers, The Road Ministry, Body of Christ, and the Brothers and Sisters.<ref>[[#Melton2003|Melton (2003)]]</ref> Emerging from the Jesus Movement, the group's members practice an extreme form of anti-materialism, shunning possessions and family ties to live as full-time wandering disciples.

The group's controversial practices—particularly its requirement for members to abandon family—have led anti-cult and Christian counter-cult organizations to classify it as a destructive cult. <ref name="Snow2003p190" /> However, some scholars classify it as a fundamentalist, millenarian NRM <ref name="Melton2003p1131" />.

==Origins==
Jimmie T. Roberts (also known as Brother Evangelist Roberts<ref name="Walker2007p74">[[#Walker2007|Walker (2007)]], p. 74.</ref>), son of a former [[Pentecostalist|Pentecostal]] minister, created the movement around 1971, drawing together followers of the [[Jesus Movement]] across the United States. Roberts had become convinced that mainstream churches were too worldly and wished to create a wandering discipleship patterned on the New Testament apostles. He began recruiting a core of followers in Colorado and California.<ref name="Melton2003p1131">[[#Melton2003|Melton (2003)]], p. 1131.</ref> At first they adopted a [[Commune (intentional community)|communal]] lifestyle.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}

Jim Roberts died on December 6, 2015, in Denver, Colorado at the age of 76.  His cause of death is listed as "metastatic adenocarcinoma of unclear primary." Upon Jim Roberts’ death, the leadership role of the organization was passed to Jerry Williams, who is commonly known as "Brother Hatsair," and three other elders.

==Beliefs==
Beliefs are prominently [[Millenarianism|millenarian]] and [[Apocalypticism|apocalyptic]], centered on the teaching that humanity is in the [[Eschatology|end times]] and that members must purify themselves in preparation for the end of the world.<ref name="Snow2003p190">[[#Snow2003|Snow (2003)]], p. 190.</ref>   The movement directs new members to sell their possessions and break ties with their families as a necessary part of discipleship.<ref name="Walker2007p74"/> Any finances generated are distributed according to need.  For instance, money might be used for material to sew clothing, traveling expenses, or cooking spices. In some cases new members' money was given to older members, but in other cases it was kept by the individual to do what they would with it.

The main Scriptures used in support of the group's anti-materialistic lifestyle are:
* Luke 14:33 "So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple."
* Matthew 19:29 "And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my names's sake, shall receive an hundredfold and shall inherit everlasting life."
* Acts 4:32 "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and one soul; neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common."
* Matthew 6:25 "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.  Is not the life more than meat, and the body more than raiment?"
* Mark 8:35 "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it."
* 2 Timothy 6:7-8 "For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content." 
 
The Brethren live as itinerants. They acquired the nickname "the Garbage Eaters" after being observed collecting discarded food from dumpsters.<ref name="Walker2007p74"/><ref name="Melton2003p1132">[[#Melton2003|Melton (2003)]], p. 1132.</ref>  Although some members may at times not bathe frequently, especially when camping out, the group has no laws or rules against bathing or using soap, shampoo, deodorant, etc. Although some members refuse medical treatment, other members have accepted medical treatment or dental work.  During the 1970s, members wore monk-like habits.<ref name="Melton2003p1131"/> Men wear long beards and tunics, and women dress modestly in long dresses and long hair.  Women and men eat separately and have clearly defined roles. Immediately on joining the group, women begin sewing their own clothing. Graven images are not allowed, and any image on products found are covered to protect the members from seeing them. Coloring is allowed, but not creating images. Singing is a part of nightly gatherings. {{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}

The Brethren also maintain that there is no actual sacrament of the [[Eucharist]], and that the bread and wine should be understood only as a metaphor for fellowship.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} Members are divided into pairs (or occasionally three) and sent off to preach. The teams regather periodically for fellowship and to be assigned new companions and their next destination. The hierarchy is minimal.  After the death of Roberts, four Elders were ordained as leaders. Some members are designated as "Older brothers" or "Middle brothers" according to time served in the group.<ref name="Melton2003p1131"/>

==Secrecy==
A highly publicized case of [[deprogramming]] in Arkansas during 1975 brought unwelcome attention to the Brethren. Beginning in the late 1970s, stories written by members, such as Rachel Martin,<ref>[[#Martin1980|Martin (1980)]]</ref> also began appearing. Coverage, often negative, continued to surface in the media. The group dropped out of sight around 1980.<ref name="Melton2003p1131"/>

After several police raids and arrests in the 1970s, Roberts ordered members to keep their locations secret and not to communicate with their families. The members fear being arrested or [[Kidnapping|kidnapped]] at the request of distraught families, with instances reported as recently as 1998.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}

Families of members have asserted that their relatives are moved about to keep them from reestablishing familial contact.<ref name="Walker2007p74"/> Parents whose children have disappeared into the movement have formed a group called "The Roberts Group Parents Network" for mutual support and to aid in locating missing members.<ref name="Snow2003p190"/> In 2011, Evangeline Griego's [[documentary film]] ''God Willing''<ref name=GWHuffPost>{{cite web|last1=Griego|first1=Evangaline|title=What I Learned About Cults While Making God Willing|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/evangeline-griego/god-willing_b_851258.html|work=The Huffington Post|date=28 April 2011 |access-date=22 May 2015}}</ref> explored the experiences of parents trying to reestablish contact with children who had joined the Brethren and disappeared. The film has since aired on [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] stations in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|title=God Willing – A Film by Evangeline Griegio|url=http://godwillingmovie.com/|publisher=About Time Productions|access-date=11 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118170945/http://godwillingmovie.com/|archive-date=18 January 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Faith mission]]
* [[Jesus Christians]]

==Bibliography==

===Footnotes===
{{Reflist|2}}

===References===
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book | first = Rachel | last = Martin |author2=Bonnie Palmer Young | title = Escape | publisher = Pickering and Inglis | year = 1980 | place = London | isbn = 0-7208-0459-0 |ref=Martin1980}}
*{{cite book | first = J. Gordon | last = Melton | author-link = J. Gordon Melton | title = Encyclopedia of American Religions | publisher = The Gale Group, Inc. | year = 2003 | place = Farmington Hills, Michigan | isbn = 0-7876-6384-0 |ref=Melton2003| edition = Seventh }}
*{{cite book | first = Robert L. | last = Snow | title = Deadly Cults: The Crimes of True Believers | publisher = Praeger Publishers | year = 2003 | place = Westport Connecticut | isbn = 978-0-275-98052-8 | ref = Snow2003 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/deadlycultscrime00snow }}
*{{cite book | first = James K. | last = Walker | title = The Concise Guide to Today's Religions and Spirituality | publisher = Harvest House Publishers | year = 2007 | place = Eugene, Oregon | isbn = 978-0-7369-2011-7 | ref = Walker2007 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/conciseguidetoto0000walk }}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==

===Books===
* Cult Sister by Lesley Smailes ISBN 978-0-624-08040-9
* {{cite book | last=Darnell | first=S.E. | title=Agents of Discord: Deprogramming, Pseudo-Science, and the American Anticult Movement | publisher=Taylor & Francis | year=2017 | orig-year=2011 |isbn=978-1-351-53322-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=miRBDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT87}}
*{{cite book | first = Rachel Martin | last = Dugger |author2=Bonnie Palmer Young | title = Escape | publisher = Pickering and Inglis | year = 1980 | place = London | isbn = 0-7208-0459-0 }}
*{{cite book|last=Guerra|first=Jim|title=From Dean's List to Dumpsters: Why I Left Harvard to Join a Cult |publisher=Dorrance Publishing Co.|year=2000|isbn=978-0-8059-4850-9}}
* {{cite book | last=Walker | first=J.K. | title=The Concise Guide to Today's Religions and Spirituality | publisher=Harvest House Publishers | year=2007 | isbn=978-0-7369-2011-7 | url=https://archive.org/details/conciseguidetoto0000walk| url-access=registration | page=[https://archive.org/details/conciseguidetoto0000walk/page/74 74] }}

===News reports===
*{{cite news|author=Staff writer|date=2006-02-10|title=Father receives letter from missing daughter|work=Lawrence Journal-World|url=https://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/feb/10/father_receives_letter_missing_daughter/}}
*{{cite news|first=Emmy|last=Kondo|date=1998-03-25|title=The Clandestine Brotherhood|work=ABCNEWS.com|url=http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/garbage0324.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010928230616/http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/garbage0324.html|archive-date=2001-09-28}}
*{{cite news|first=Rebecca|last=Lopez|date=2000-11-28|title=Cult Targets College Students|work=WFAA.com|publisher=WFAA-TV|url=http://www.wfaa.com/wfaa/articledisplay/0,1002,16849,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010208133652/http://www.wfaa.com/wfaa/articledisplay/0,1002,16849,00.html|archive-date=2001-02-08}}
*{{cite news|first=Dave|last=Raney|date=2006-02-08|title=Family believes cult lured daughter|work=Lawrence Journal-World|url=https://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/feb/08/family_believes_cult_lured_daughter/?city_local}}
*{{cite news|first=Deanna|last=Richards|date=2006-02-07|title=Missing daughter believed to be with cult|work=6 News Lawrence|url=http://www.6newslawrence.com/news/2006/feb/07/missing_daughter_believed_be_cult/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080620170814/http://www.6newslawrence.com/news/2006/feb/07/missing_daughter_believed_be_cult/|archive-date=2008-06-20}}
*{{cite news|first=Bill|last=Sheill|date=1998-05-11|title=Held Captive By A Cult|work=NewsNet5.com|url=http://www.newsnet5.com/news/321137/detail.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208090352/http://www.newsnet5.com/news/321137/detail.html|archive-date=2012-02-08}}
*{{cite news|first=Bill|last=Sheill|date=1998-05-11|title=Kidnapped From A Cult|work=NewsNet5.com|url=http://www.newsnet5.com/news/321079/detail.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208090358/http://www.newsnet5.com/news/321079/detail.html|archive-date=2012-02-08}}
*{{cite news|first=Bill|last=Sheill|date=1998-05-11|title=Cult Con Men|work=NewsNet5.com|url=http://www.newsnet5.com/news/321233/detail.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208090402/http://www.newsnet5.com/news/321233/detail.html|archive-date=2012-02-08}}
*{{cite news|first=Allison|last=Sherry|date=1998-09-08|title=Students warned about cults|work=Rocky Mountain Collegian|url=http://media.www.collegian.com/media/storage/paper864/news/1998/09/08/UndefinedSection/Students.Warned.About.Cults-1692844.shtml}}{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

==External links==
* [https://members.tripod.com/~nfishel/index.html The Roberts Group Parents Network]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100116205631/http://www.icsahome.com/infoserv_bookreviews/bkrev_fromdeanslist.htm ICSA review for ''From Dean’s List to Dumpsters: Why I Left Harvard to Join a Cult'']

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brethren}}
[[Category:Jesus movement]]
[[Category:Religious organizations established in the 1970s]]
[[Category:Apocalyptic groups]]
[[Category:Restorationism (Christianity)]]
[[Category:Non-denominational Christianity]]
[[Category:Christian denominations founded in the United States]]
[[Category:Christian denominations established in the 20th century]]