The Brethren are Christian people who hold to a strong position and principle that the Bible is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice for the Church and its members. There are two main groups within the movement they are commonly called Open Brethren and Exclusive Brethren. The terms “open” and “exclusive” are attributed to the groups with respect to communion. In this paper, I will only speak from the point of view of Open Brethren.

The Open Brethren have no central organisation. There is no headquarters of the movement like there is with the Baptists, Methodists and Presbyterians. The Brethren belong to local churches or assemblies and often call their meeting places “Hall” or “Gospel Hall”. Each local assembly of believers are fully independent. Even though each assembly is independent of the other they do fellowship with other assemblies. The Brethren have a strong spiritual bond with each other. The Brethren do not call themselves “Brethren” rather they prefer to call themselves Christians. The Brethren are not a denomination within Christianity. They are like-minded people who meet for fellowship each Sunday.

Notable Brethren

There are many well-known Brethren people that many today are not aware of the fact that they were members of Brethren assemblies. Some well-known Christian people are as follows. W. E. Vine, the author of the famous Vine’s Dictionary. George Muller, the well-known evangelist and the director of the Ashley Down orphanage in Bristol, England. John Nelson Darby is considered to be the father of modern Dispensationalism and was also a leading figure in the Brethren movement. The Canadian Bible teacher Harry A. Ironside was also in fellowship with Brethren assemblies.

Thomas Newberry, the English Bible scholar and writer, who is best known for his interlinear Englishman’s Bible was also in fellowship with the Brethren. Some well-known writers and figures of the movement are William Kelly, Sir Robert Anderson, Anthony Norris Groves, Robert Chapman, Charles Henry Mackintosh, Joseph M. Scriven (author of the hymn, What a friend we have in Jesus), Hudson Taylor (Founder of the China Inland Mission), George Vicesimus Wigram and F.F. Bruce. Jim Elliot the American Christian missionary and one of five people killed during Operation Auca, an attempt to evangelize the Huaorani people of Ecuador was also part of the Brethren movement.

Beginnings

The Brethren themselves would say that their origins began in the apostolic age. The movement as we know it today originated in about 1825. The founders of the movement were men associated with Trinity College, Dublin. They had no idea or intention of starting a movement as they were just believers meeting together with other like-minded people. One of the early leaders of the movement was a Church of Ireland clergyman by the name of John Nelson Darby. However, his views and teachings were adopted more by the Exclusive Brethren rather than the Open Brethren.

From Ireland, the movement spread to England and other parts of the world. In England, the first established assembly was in Plymouth in 1831. The term “Plymouth Brethren” rose from this first gathering and Brethren within England are sometimes called, Plymouth Brethren although this can be misleading as there were other meetings of the Brethren across England.

Doctrines & Practices

There are no peculiarities or defining doctrines of the Brethren. They hold to the historic Christian faith as it is in Scripture. They are evangelical and conservative in their view of Scripture. They believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He alone is the only way of salvation. They hold to a firm belief in Biblical prophecy especially the Second Coming of Christ. No precise prophetic interpretation is held or imposed by the Brethren. They hold to a position of spiritual liberty and brotherly love in this regard. However, clear false doctrines and views are not tolerated by the Brethren and members are encouraged to search the Scriptures and to seek the truth as it is in Christ Jesus.

The Brethren believe in baptism by immersion and observe the Lord’s Supper every Sunday morning. They typically have no presiding minister. Members of the local assembly contribute to the worship by suggesting hymns, leading in prayer and reading from the Bible. The elders are the overseers of the assembly and have the responsibility to lead by example.

This is a brief explanation of who we commonly known as, “The Brethren”. In closing I would like to say this. There is of course a lot more to be said about the Open Brethren movement. The Open Brethren are generally dispensational, pre-tribulation, and premillennial in their theology. So if you are a believer who holds a strong view that these three doctrinal positions are false then the Open Brethren may not be for you. Although the Brethren are very welcoming you may find it difficult to “fit in”. Many Brethren pioneers such as Darby and Muller were Calvinists. However, there are people within the Brethren that hold to an Arminian position. So you will find people within the Brethren that hold a Calvinistic and an Arminian viewpoint. The Brethren are a friendly, welcoming and encouraging group of believers. Why not visit a Gospel Hall assembly and see for yourself the richness of the preaching and fellowship among God’s people.