Party Vibe

A cult within the Church?

By Roland Howard

1996

ISBN 0-264-67419-7

Softback price approximately 7 pounds Sterling -Mobray (Great Britain)

From the introduction

Before the Nine O’clock Service (NOS) hit the headlines the story was a radical night-club style Church of England, raving in the isles. Then in the media frenzy the story was a Randy Vicar . . .on an unprecedented scale . . The real story is more disturbing . . . Underneath the carefully manicured exterior, the real story is of a man who seemed, according to many, to have a megalomaniac desire to control other people, of a complex, secretive organisation, where unknown to many, abuse existed; of a leadership convinced that their leader was God’s mouth piece who was going to save western civilisation. Yet it is also clear that the Revd C B was no mere pantomime villain. The ‘vision’ that he held out to his congregation was intelligent and relevant, and although most members I interviewed believe that he behaved cynically and cruelly, others point to a struggle within him between his passion for justice and his desire for power. Some are convinced that his mission was genuine, while others suggest that he lost his way. Many are convinced that he was a skilful and ruthless power seeker.

The real story is of a congregation’s sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of pounds, of careers, and of their minds, bodies, souls and dress sense. The real story is of lawyers, doctors, professors, psychiatrists, theologians, football fans and clubbers convinced that their leader was a prophet who could change the world.

The real story is of betrayal and abuse, of a leader living in luxury and travelling the world in designer clothes whilst his congregation largely lived in the ‘simple lifestyle’. It is of a minister, according to some ,sexually involved with some 40 female members of his congregation. More over, it is of a priest manipulating, controlling and dominating the minds of several hundred members who thought he was ministering to them. The power was power to damn, power to humiliate, power to enter peoples minds and power to control them. The real story is of a cult in the Church of England (Anglican or Episcopalian – ED) . . . . . . . This is the story of C B and of his disciples, whose commitment and idealism were awesome and whose betrayal was devastating. This is the story of pioneering and relevant theology, corrupted into systematic abuse. But the Nine o’clock Service is not only a story concerning abuse; it is also a story of integrity and idealism, of wrestling with the complexities and addictions of contemporary life as Christians . . For most it was the importance and relevance of the church’s vision that held their loyalty, and that made it harder to recognise the abuse. The corruption of the best they say is the worst”.

Introduction to this article.

Roland Howard interviewed an unknown number of NOSERS and NOSers following the fall of the church in August 1995. The following extracts are from an article he wrote to publicise his book (advertised above).

When reading the accounts in his book, and more particularly in the article that follows, it is important to remember the self selecting nature of his subjects, and the kind of agendas that different groups of NOSERS may have had. Sensibly Roland merely reports the differing accounts, however this can lead to an over emphasis on the ‘CB evil hypnotic genius hypothesis’.

When trying to comprehend how people could end up in this trap I would suggest that the following points be remembered

1. Most people joining the church were psychological refugees from the emotional abuse that often characterises charismatic churches, or from the intellectual desert of fundametalist evangelicalism. Both these faiths have a powerful experience at their hearts, which many would be members were desperate to make sense of.

2. After 10 years only the most easily manipulated were at the heart of NOS. Anyone who could have stood against the church’s culture were marginalised until they left (usually deeply embittered), or lurked around the fringes. Roland’s book suffers greatly from its journalistic style, and its disgused mixing of primary and secondary sources (ie: unreferenced quotes). In other words the spin of August 95 is often mixed with the spin of ex leaders. Never the less it is a thought provoking read, if read in a wider context of NOS knowledge, and must surely prove of value to people in similar circumstances.

THE SUNDAY TIMES Magazine 25 August 1996

Page 28

BLURB: “The Raving Reverend”

Young worshippers flocked to Chris Brain’s ecstatic Nine o’clock Services. His charisma mesmerised his followers1. Even the Church of England seemed spellbound: when this woman (not shown-ED) reported Brain to his Bishop, her evidence was ignored. Then all hell broke loose. Rowland Howard reports.

The young Sheffield vicar was the golden boy of the Anglican Church. Not only was B’s rave style Nine O’Clock Service (NOS) bringing hundreds of new worshippers into the fold, but his dynamic leadership was to be studied and emulated. The Archbishop of C, Dr G C, praised the ministry. Hundreds of clergy visited his parish (NOS WAS NOT A PARISH and CB was not a parish priest!–ED) each year to learn from his success.

NOS used rave [dance -ED] music, theatrical ritual, and multimedia effects to create a form of Christianity that grew out of their own milieu: urban club culture. B’s magnetism drew hundreds of young people to the church2, including many professionals who donated thousands of pounds, signed away their houses and committed their lives to him. In less that 2 years NOS was 400 strong, eventually growing to 600 (not COE figures -ED). At a time when other congregations were dwindling, this was a modern miracle. A lay leader (frounted a house group- ED) in 1986, when he set up NOS at St Thomas’s, in Crookes, Sheffield , Brain was given a special ‘fast track’ ordination to allow him to minister to his congregation (i.e His period as a decon was very short- ED).

Respect for him was so great that he was invited to write a chapter in the prestigious book “Treasures of the Field”, of which the Archbishop of Canterbury was co-editor [ Treasures in the Field edited by Gillet and Scott-Joynt, 1993, has 46 contributors, CB’s semi literate effort runs to 12 pages out of 336 pages -ED]. Hundreds [surely some mistake- ED] of copy cat services sprang up; Carey went out of his way to encourage them. One internationally known theologian described NOS as a “proto type mass culture church” whose impact “is to bring into question what is done in the wider church”

But Brain was soon to fall from grace. A year ago he was suspended following revelations that he had been involved with a “score” of women in his congregation, and allegations that his church was abusive and cult like. Hundreds of traumatised Nine O’clock Service members told their own stories of abuse as they realised how far they had been sucked into a dangerous, insular world. Tales emerged of . . . . .ludicrous spending sprees and of a secretive team of “handmaidens” who served Brain.

Many [some and not publicly-ED] in Brain’s congregation considered him a prophet sent to save the western world by reinventing Christianity for the 21st century. Yet his teaching were distinctly unorthodox. He encouraged his “inner circle” to be unfaithful to their spouses and to raise “spiritual energy” by masturbating, and offered women healing through an exploration of sexual intimacy with him. Brain . . . was a genius at manipulating and exploiting his congregation while at the same time duping theologians, academics and the Anglican authorities.

One year on, NOS is no more. Some of its members are receiving counselling. Some still swear that they now see the whole of Christianity as a cult, while others point to the things they believe NOS got right and are keen to rebuild on them. . . . .CB who is now 39, was suspended from his ministry last November and is still in hiding. He has not been charged in any criminal or ecclesiastical court. A handful of members claim he has been made a scape goat.

In the course of researching a book on the subject, I heard disturbing tales that reveal the depth and complexity of abuse that people experienced. What makes this sadder was that members had such a deep commitment to their vision of Christianity. If this was a cult, the fact was harder to recognise because it apparently had so much to offer. The idealism and intelligence of those close to B were subtly skewed and compromised as they were sucked into a damaging parallel universe from which their was no easy way back

S.C, . . . joined NOS in her early 20’s. She was . . idealistic and was attracted by NOS’s programme (never realised) for helping the poor. C rose to become one of B’s deputies. She says he gained control of people by using his acute powers of perception to nurture neuroses. His ability to open people up and control them was astonishing. In April 1989 C watched the news images of the Hillsborough disaster, in which scores of [Soccer] fans were crushed to death. She went down to help the over stretched emergency services ,and organised for other NOS volunteers to help relatives seeking their loved ones . She returned home at 6 am, numbed after seeing corpses and distraught families, and told her partner that she was going to bed. After 2 hours sleep she was woken by B, who started stroking her hair and telling her how heroic she had been, how proud he was of her. A couple of weeks later he told a different story. He told her and other NOS leaders that they were evil, that God’s judgement was hovering over them, and that their death was a real possibility. He singled out C; he never wanted to see her acting in such a selfish egocentric way as she had at Hillsborough, he said.

J.I had been converted to the faith by Brain as a teenager. He was manager of the organisation. . . He used to dread the weekly 20 minute meetings, called ‘see me’ sessions, at which he had to B’s agreement for the tinniest decisions. He would get up at 3 am to rehearse his lines and observe his own body language. If he was too assertive, he risked being attacked as an egomaniac masquerading behind false modesty.

In the office, Brain sat with 3 black clad secretaries. One with a stop watch said “Go” and allowed the agreed number of seconds for his question. Another took minutes, and the third held up “yes”, “No” or “See me” answer boards. B sat mute and inscrutable. When B felt ‘I’ was being obsequious, he picked up a plastic backside from beneath his desk and held it in I’s face.

C. . . a leading light behind NOS’s musical extravaganza, was, like most of the others, in her early 20’s when she joined . . . She was disturbed by B’s sexual manipulation. In the early days B made advances and excused him self by saying he was receiving counselling in relation to his sexuality. Subsequent visits to the ‘vicarage’ renewed her concern. ‘B’ had a hand picked group of young women called the homebase team to help him and his wife . . .in their domestic duties. When C arrived one day, the team were dressed provcatively, some in underclothes, as they went about their chores. One morning she arrived to find B discussing his sexuality with a team member. The young woman looked completely humiliated. On another occasion C had found a member of Homebase deeply distressed and in tears after B had verbally attacked her. But to speak out to outsiders about Homebase was considered an intrusion into B’s privacy, so C let the matter drop.

M, now 31, . . . was the first member of NOS to do something about her misgivings. . .She was bowled over by what she saw inside [the worship services] but thought that here was a church taking Christ’s injunctions about housing . . . the homeless and feeding the poor seriously. . . .she became convinced that [NOS] . was dangerous. . . She hated the way he dominated the leaders, who idolised him and acquiesced to his abuse of power. When she complained of the complete absence of democracy in NOS, she was shunned and told to sort out her own psychological problems. She left in late 1992 and wrote to David Lunn, Bishop of Sheffield. But the NOS machine got there first, and warned them that M was unstable, urging him to discount her letter. Lunn met her but appeared to disregard what she had to say.
The NOS community was trying to create a new model for healthy spirituality, rejecting dogma, abusive power structures and personality cults that lead to dependence. Unknown to many members, NOS it’s self was the very opposite. . . . It had screening procedures to ensure that those who joined were 100% committed. About 70% of those seeking to join were turned down or dropped out [not COE figures, and this only relates to dropping out of the induction process, not out of NOS once inducted -ED].

New members were put into training groups for Bible study and prayer. But leaders were instructed to focus on personal problems. “in playing off married couples against each other time, “the quieter one I had to affirm and encourage. The idea was to wind up the dominant partner. We were told loving aggressively was good and Christianity wasn’t about being nice but about the “passionate fruits”, the hard edged aspects of the holy sprit”

. . . . required makeover affecting lifestyle, attitude, and most noticeably, clothes. Members had to wear black.P that , to be really part of the culture of NOS she had to be “of the culture”

F waited nearly a year. ” . . . . .he sent me out shopping with the NOS stylist . . . .For two days I bought a lot of clothes. I was told by C that if I wore them I could never wear the old clothes again. She lost weight, and dyed her hair black, stopped reading novels and knitting and stared listening to dance music and clubbing. Christian classics were recommended, as well as trendy magazines like ‘The face’ and ‘i_D’. F felt false reinventing her self in a weekend.

Nobody’s integrity was undermined as greatly as those of the key leaders . . had the ability to create slavish dependence even with the most intelligent people. When he started a relationship , he always had the advantage of being an enigmatic figure whom had created a phenomenal church and was spoken of in hushed whispers by the leaders. He oozed charisma, and his jaw dropping service conferred an aura of mystery and power. His first approach was usually to flatter and create a sense of worth in the person. This could last weeks or months as he drew them in and encouraged them to discuss their weaknesses or sexual fantasies. He would hint at a greater involvement . . . .or a deeper relationship with him. He might tell a woman that he was lonely, that he’d been starved of affection and that she was helping him grow emotionally as she kissed and cuddled him.

4-Part of the church’s recruitment problem is one of ‘local culture, therefore the NOSers had to enculture themselves in what was meant to be the evangelism target: ‘club culture’