2x2s/Friends and Workers/The Truth

[Baconandapples]

I was born and raised in a secretive, world-wide evangelical fundamentalist church that is similar to many discussed on here but completely different in other ways. Here is a little bit about it. Sorry this is so long.

It was started in the late 1800s by a man named William Irvine, although most members do not know this and believe that the church goes back to "the beginning", the time of Christ. The church claims not to have an official name, for a number of reasons. There is the belief that "taking a name" is somehow sinful. Having a name would also give the organization some accountability with the outside world, which would disrupt the entire operation.

The church operates on the premise that it is non-denominational, without a name, without organization, without church building, collecting no money, and directed entirely by God. Ministers "give up everything" to "go in the work", which means agreeing to become celibate, sell all belongings, and go 2x2 from house to house and town to town having "gospel meetings". These "workers" are supposed to be a direct continuation of the apostles of the new testament, and are also called "servants". Regular members are called "friends" and meet in homes bi weekly to discuss the bible.

A line I learned as a child is that the doctrine of the group is "meetings in the home, ministry without a home."

The reality is that the church is highly organized.

It does have a name. Members call it "the Truth" among themselves, and in order to register members as conscientious objectors during WWII, the church registered with the government as "Christian conventions". Most members don't know this.  

The "workers" or "servants" are not actually servants, but control all aspects of the group. The most hearty members consider their word to be the law. They will withdraw favor from people who do not abide by the unwritten laws of the group. There are many laws, but none are written down. They are memorized by group members, but if someone tries to pin them down on it, the workers will say that there aren't any "rules".

Workers don't take collections and money is never mentioned, but "friends", are expected to donate when writing to workers and when workers visit in the home. This is done secretly, in an envelope, even sometimes in a handshake! Some friends leave their life savings to individual workers. In spite of their professed poverty and homelessness, some workers control vast amounts of money. They use this for maintaining themselves and the convention grounds and sending workers overseas, occasionally to countries where their operations are illegal. Some allegedly use it for their own gain, and to wield influence over other workers who may question their power.

There is a hierarchy of workers ranging from brand new recruits to high ranking "overseers". Worker territories are clearly defined.

Many workers are likely celibate, but some are definitely not. Rumors abound and problem workers are moved from territory to territory (called "fields" within a larger region) or from one "staff" (all workers in a region) to another. Some workers have been discovered to have committed CSA. These cases were not prosecuted until very recently. Many friends believe that any crimes committed by the workers should be forgiven, and that it would be a much greater crime against God to bring the issue to someone outside of the group. Usually the victim would be blamed. Recently a few cases were publicly prosecuted and the offenders spent time in jail. The victims and those who reported were blamed and shunned within the group.

Meetings in the home are placed there by workers. Friends are discouraged from meeting to discuss the bible outside of a worker sanctioned home.

The group claims to have no church buildings. But yearly "conventions" take place at the properties of high ranking friends, all over the US and the world. Conventions are held in buildings specially made for the purpose, usually highly modified "sheds" or "barns." These are obviously church buildings, but no one talks about this contradiction. 1000 people might attend a convention at one time.

Unlike many groups discussed on here, the friends and workers do not fetishize marriage and child-bearing. In fact, marriage is often seen as a failure of the flesh. It would be better for everyone to remain celibate. Birth control is not discussed at all. Possibly workers would reject it, but it's just not on the radar. Many would choose to believe that the married couple with only a few children just aren't having sex anymore. Some younger workers are more savvy about this.

The beliefs of the friends and workers are hard to pin down because they claim to have no rules, although this is patently false if you talk with anyone who has been in the group. Here are some of the rules, not in any particular order:

Only members of the group are god's chosen people. If you leave the group or don't join the group, you are not saved. End of story.

For the most part, pants are not allowed on women, although standards are relaxing about this. Women never wear pants in meeting.

Women's hair should not be cut, and it should be up in a bun. Standards are also relaxing on this front, but most will wear hair up in meeting and try to hide that it has been cut.

Women can be in the ministry, teaching and preaching and enforcing. But they can never be overseers and can never sit on the platform at convention.

Divorce and remarriage results in shunning and removal of speaking privileges in meeting for at least a year.

Friends are strongly encouraged not to google the group or learn anything about its origins. Members are hesitant to ask any questions about origins because then the workers will know they have looked at material from ex members who have written stuff on the internet, also known as "anti-truthers".

Having close friends outside the group is highly discouraged.

Leaving "the work" is a major issue, even worse to some people than having an affair while in the work.

An older rule, at least in the eastern united states, is not celebrating Christian holidays. To members of the group, Christians outside of the group rank worse than non believers. No Christmas trees. No piercings. No dying hair unless you can hide it. No jewelry.

 

The group has no literature other than a hymn book that they compiled and printed. Workers lists are printed, but carefully distributed for fear they will "fall into the wrong hands." All decisions for and about the group are done behind closed doors with zero transparency. Nothing is traceable, nothing is acknowledged. Gas-lighting is rampant. Double speak is the work of the holy spirit. You tell someone to do something without really saying it and you can convince them it was the holy spirit moving them.

 

I was part of the group for 27 years, married into a 4th generation family, and have close family members who are workers and ex workers.

 

Feel free to ask any questions.

[JermajestyDuggar]

What was your experience with leaving? Were you shunned? Are you still married and is he still in it? Are your children still in it? What caused you to leave? Are you trying to help others trying to leave? What part of the US has the most people in this cult?

[Lisafer]

Thanks for this detailed description! I definitely noticed the hair in bun/dresses/lack of jewelry with the 2x2 workers I encountered. In the area where I live, they'd probably fly under the radar because they look very much like old-school Pentecostals.

I second the question about what part of the US has the most numbers in this religion. How big is the organization, if you had to estimate?

Secrecy in a religious group is always about control; when I first heard of this organization, the lack of a name and the lack of documents made me immediately suspicious. Of course, that's partly due to past experiences with religion. 

What brought you into the group in the first place? Were you a child? 

[Baconandapples]

12 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

What was your experience with leaving? Were you shunned? Are you still married and is he still in it? Are your children still in it? What caused you to leave? Are you trying to help others trying to leave? What part of the US has the most people in this cult?

I wanted to leave for about 5 years before I actually did, but the brainwashing was so strong I just couldn’t bring myself to. What ended up happening was that problems in my extended family caused some of the workers and the “elder” of our meeting to shun some of my family. That made it easier to leave. By that time I had worked up the courage to talk to outside friends about it, so I had  some support after leaving. Still it was the hardest thing I ever did. We got 3 cards but no calls and no other contact after leaving. From a group of people who had been our entire world.

All of my immediate family left after I did, which I knew they would. That was part of the conflict, thinking I would lead them all to hell.

my husband left too and we are still together. My kids were born in the group, but only my oldest can remember a tiny bit of it.

 

1 minute ago, Lisafer said:

Thanks for this detailed description! I definitely noticed the hair in bun/dresses/lack of jewelry with the 2x2 workers I encountered. In the area where I live, they'd probably fly under the radar because they look very much like old-school Pentecostals.

I second the question about what part of the US has the most numbers in this religion. How big is the organization, if you had to estimate?

Secrecy in a religious group is always about control; when I first heard of this organization, the lack of a name and the lack of documents made me immediately suspicious. Of course, that's partly due to past experiences with religion. 

What brought you into the group in the first place? Were you a child? 

I am not sure what area has the most members. I know Texas has a lot as well as states further west. Numbers are dwindling in the east. Australia and NZ have lots of members. 

No census is kept, but exes have made estimates that there are maybe 200,000 worldwide. 

I was born into the group. 

[Lisafer]

I'm so sorry for the loss of people you thought were friends. That is always such a hurtful thing. But I'm glad you came out of the group with your immediate family! 

Do you still consider yourself a Christian, or no?

 

[Baconandapples]

25 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

What was your experience with leaving? Were you shunned? Are you still married and is he still in it? Are your children still in it? What caused you to leave? Are you trying to help others trying to leave? What part of the US has the most people in this cult?

It’s hard to help others trying to leave. Workers and friends warn against exes who will try to poison you against the truth. If you reach out about your experience, people recoil with fear. That’s what I did when I was in too. 

 

1 minute ago, Lisafer said:

I'm so sorry for the loss of people you thought were friends. That is always such a hurtful thing. But I'm glad you came out of the group with your immediate family! 

Do you still consider yourself a Christian, or no?

 

I tried to be a Christian for a few years during my exit process. In spite of being a Bible believing group, the 2x2s know very little about Christian doctrine and the focus is mainly on the ministry (workers). So while I was exiting I read a lot of stuff about christian theology and grace and all that. I tried a couple of churches but just couldn’t shake my distaste for religion. I now consider myself a secular humanist.

 

[JermajestyDuggar]

I just want to say that the founders of this cult were brilliant in the way they put it together. No name, no assigned church, no list of members is the way to go if you want to start a cult that no one tries to impose on. However now that the internet is commonplace and easily accessable, this cult will have a much harder time staying hidden. 

It also makes me wonder if any other big cults followed this method and we just haven’t heard about them yet.

Edited December 5, 2018 by JermajestyDuggar

[Baconandapples]

2 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I just want to say that the founders of this cult were brilliant in the way they put it together. No name, no assigned church, no list of members is the way to go if you want to start a cult that no one tries to impose on. However now that the internet is commonplace and eadily accessable, this cult will have a much harder time staying hidden. 

It also makes me wonder if any other big cults followed this method and we just haven’t heard about them yet.

I have wondered that too. There were a couple of groups that splintered off from the 2x2s in the early 1900s. They didn’t last long, and most of the friends don’t know about or talk about them.

I think it will be hard for the 2x2s to survive the information age. It’s easy to look up information without anyone knowing. The workers were adamantly against TV, but for some reason they allowed the internet and that may be their downfall!

still, most 2x2s see exes, especially those who write or speak against the group, as evil. Unless they are already questioning, I can see them disregarding all available info as automatically false.

[Lisafer]

Do the 2x2s evangelize or seek converts? 

[Baconandapples]

19 minutes ago, Lisafer said:

Do the 2x2s evangelize or seek converts? 

They have “gospel meetings” in their fields if one of the friends has an acquaintance who expresses interest. It’s usually pretty slow going, and impressive if a pair of workers can make even one convert in a year. More people are born into the group than convert to it.

The workers don’t actively seek converts. They just drive around their fields and stay with the friends, eat food, write emails, surf the web. Every mission I have sat through has been for a contact one of the friends made.

And it doesn’t matter if the person was already a Christian, if they join the group they eventually have to be baptized into the group.

lisafer, were you ever invited to a meeting?

just realized you might not be the same person from another thread who had the 2x2 boss. Please disregard this question if you aren’t!

Edited December 5, 2018 by Baconandapples

[JermajestyDuggar]

So I’m trying to understand their views on sex. Even sex inside of marriage is taboo? They think being celibate even inside marriage is a good thing? What’s the most children you’ve seen in a family and is that couple shamed?

[Baconandapples]

2 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

So I’m trying to understand their views on sex. Even sex inside of marriage is taboo? They think being celibate even inside marriage is a good thing? What’s the most children you’ve seen in a family and is that couple shamed?

No, sex inside of marriage is not considered bad. Sex outside of marriage definitely is.

Celibacy is glorified by the workers. They quote 1 Corinthians 7 where Paul waffles around about marriage and then says something like, “I would prefer if you were like me”, celibate.

So marriage is not seen as a joyous thing by many of the workers, just a necessary institution to prevent fornication. Workers do not officiate weddings, although they do attend if they approve the match. Most friends use a JP. And while many friends have big weddings, the truely faithful will just have a handful of witnesses in the living room.

large families are not all that common nowadays, although I do know of some with 10-12 kids a few generations ago and some with at least 8 today. Very rare though. It’s not lack of sex; people just use birth control. BC is a non issue with this group. I don’t think anyone’s asked the workers whether it’s OK, and no direction has been given that I am aware of.

[JermajestyDuggar]

9 hours ago, Baconandapples said:

No, sex inside of marriage is not considered bad. Sex outside of marriage definitely is.

Celibacy is glorified by the workers. They quote 1 Corinthians 7 where Paul waffles around about marriage and then says something like, “I would prefer if you were like me”, celibate.

So marriage is not seen as a joyous thing by many of the workers, just a necessary institution to prevent fornication. Workers do not officiate weddings, although they do attend if they approve the match. Most friends use a JP. And while many friends have big weddings, the truely faithful will just have a handful of witnesses in the living room.

large families are not all that common nowadays, although I do know of some with 10-12 kids a few generations ago and some with at least 8 today. Very rare though. It’s not lack of sex; people just use birth control. BC is a non issue with this group. I don’t think anyone’s asked the workers whether it’s OK, and no direction has been given that I am aware of.

So are families average US sized? Like 2-3? Or are they bigger like 4-6 kids on average? I only ask because their growth must be very slow if they only have 2-3 kids each and aren’t constantly recruiting new families. 

[Lisafer]

10 hours ago, Baconandapples said:

They have “gospel meetings” in their fields if one of the friends has an acquaintance who expresses interest. It’s usually pretty slow going, and impressive if a pair of workers can make even one convert in a year. More people are born into the group than convert to it.

The workers don’t actively seek converts. They just drive around their fields and stay with the friends, eat food, write emails, surf the web. Every mission I have sat through has been for a contact one of the friends made.

And it doesn’t matter if the person was already a Christian, if they join the group they eventually have to be baptized into the group.

lisafer, were you ever invited to a meeting?

just realized you might not be the same person from another thread who had the 2x2 boss. Please disregard this question if you aren’t!

I was the one with the 2x2 boss! I had the weirdest feeling that I was disliked on account of not being part of their "group." He didn't tell me about the group, but his employee, who was also 2x2, explained some of it to me.

I think I got fired because I didn't fit in with their lifestyle, frankly. It was no great loss. Like I said, the guy creeped me out.

[JermajestyDuggar]

What’s a good way to “spot” a 2x2 member? What’s an easy tell?

[Baconandapples]

26 minutes ago, Lisafer said:

I was the one with the 2x2 boss! I had the weirdest feeling that I was disliked on account of not being part of their "group." He didn't tell me about the group, but his employee, who was also 2x2, explained some of it to me.

I think I got fired because I didn't fit in with their lifestyle, frankly. It was no great loss. Like I said, the guy creeped me out.

It is not surprising that he didn't invite you. The 2x2s are paralyzed when it comes to explaining the religion because they have no terminology. The people brave enough to tackle it just end up sounding like they are hiding something. 

I remember one woman asking me about the religion in a college class I was taking. I was so paralyzed I barely knew what to say. I stammered something about the workers and meeting in the home. When I went home I told my dad about it and he was angry because I hadn't used exactly the right terminology. I ended up writing her a long letter about what I believed, and (surprise, surprise!) she never spoke to me again!

There are many tearful testimonies at convention about failure to "be a light" in the world. I think a lot of it has to do with this confusion about what the 2x2s believe and how to explain it.

What was so creepy about your boss? I have known many creepy 2x2s. The elder (usually a married man who runs the meeting) used to rub my back after meeting and tell me how nice my legs looked. I was a young teen. 

[Lisafer]

I'm trying to think of how to explain it without doxxing myself. He was in an allied health field and was way too interested in touching areas of my body for "health" reasons...areas that other professionals like him would never touch. It was all wrapped up in semi-medical explanations, but left me feeling violated.

I'm sorry about the guy touching you. He was a creeper! 

And thanks for the explanation about being "paralyzed" trying to tell people about the religion. That is sad.

[Baconandapples]

30 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

What’s a good way to “spot” a 2x2 member? What’s an easy tell?

You can't always tell by appearance anymore, although the hardcore members believe that styles should follow the world "afar off", sort of like Jill Rodriguez except without the makeup and jewelry. Buns and skirts only in meeting, but you probably won't encounter 2x2s in that setting anyway. 

The biggest tell is that if you ask them what they believe/what their church is called, they will look like deer in the headlights and will not be able to answer you very well. They may ask if you want to meet their ministers as a fall back answer. They will not give you a church name or any points of doctrine other than "ministry without a home, meetings in the home."

2x2s do not usually understand much christian theology and most do not feel they have assurance of being saved. Most will not use the term "saved" because it is a mainstream christian term. They live in fear and guilt every day that they may do something to take away their salvation. 

1 minute ago, Lisafer said:

I'm trying to think of how to explain it without doxxing myself. He was in an allied health field and was way too interested in touching areas of my body for "health" reasons...areas that other professionals like him would never touch. It was all wrapped up in semi-medical explanations, but left me feeling violated.

I'm sorry about the guy touching you. He was a creeper! 

And thanks for the explanation about being "paralyzed" trying to tell people about the religion. That is sad.

Ugh! That is super creepy. 

Like many of the fundies discussed here, 2x2s believe that all sin is basically the same and all sin can be forgiven. 2x2s believe that sin should be forgiven immediately and totally forgotten if it is committed by a person in a position of power. So you can easily end up with people in power who are abusers. Some are even considered super holy because they are always being forgiven and humble and repentant in the meetings. It's pretty disgusting. 

Actually, there is a lot of bias against "good" people. I remember hearing someone talk about my totally amazing, church going, but non-2x2 grandmother and saying that all her goodness would not save her because she didn't go to meetings. 

[Baconandapples]

1 hour ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

So are families average US sized? Like 2-3? Or are they bigger like 4-6 kids on average? I only ask because their growth must be very slow if they only have 2-3 kids each and aren’t constantly recruiting new families. 

Yes, families are average sized. Growth is slow because although most children profess (commit to the group), not all continue (like me!)

In this part of the country, outsiders who are invited and come to meetings are usually very troubled people who like to join things in hopes of satisfying some personal need. They usually don't last much past when the love bombing stops and the pressure to fit in begins. 

Most of the growth is happening in the developing countries where workers are sent. It is like colonialism. Workers from the US and Canada go to an impoverished country, make contacts, get lots of people to profess. They usually impose stricter regulation on those folks than they are able to enforce in the US. Many of the natives will profess and go in the work, but they don't attain positions of power. Overseers in those countries will always be white workers from the US, Canada, or Australia/NZ. Not all these big white workers agree with each other, but they usually agree to keep out of each other's territories. 

[Palimpsest]

@Baconandapples, thanks for starting this thread and for tagging it as a cult.  I don't think we have discussed the 2x2s here before.  I hope @Ex 2x2 also joins in.  I'm glad you are both out and recovering.

I have heard of them before as "the Truth" and "the Testimony of Jesus" (I think that is the name they use in the UK) but wasn't familiar with all their beliefs - just that they were secretive, non-trinitarian, and have had child sexual abuse scandals. 

They come up on cult watchers sites quite often.  There's also a fair amount about them on the internet.  Here's one fact sheet that is consistent with what you have already said:   http://www.tellingthetruth.info/home/factsheet.php

There is also a very detailed entry on them on Wikipedia.  I can't vouch for the accuracy of either source, obviously, but the Wiki entry looks very well documented.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_by_Twos

Edited December 5, 2018 by Palimpsest

[sallysays]

Thank you for sharing!  This is the topic that's finally causing me to delurk, because my great-grandmother was a member of this religion/cult and my father was effectively raised in it.  I only vaguely understood it until recently and was alarmed by what I learned.  Your information has helped me to understand my family's story better!

Edited December 5, 2018 by sallysays
Grammar matters!

[Baconandapples]

10 minutes ago, Palimpsest said:

@Baconandapples, thanks for starting this thread and for tagging it as a cult.  I don't think we have discussed the 2x2s here before.  I hope @Ex 2x2 also joins in.  I'm glad you are both out and recovering.

I have heard of them before as "the Truth" and "the Testimony of Jesus" (I think that is the name they use in the UK) but wasn't familiar with all their beliefs - just that they were secretive, non-trinitarian, and have had child sexual abuse scandals. 

They come up on cult watchers sites quite often.  There's also a fair amount about them on the internet.  Here's one fact sheet that is consistent with what you have already said:   http://www.tellingthetruth.info/home/factsheet.php

There is also a very detailed entry on them on Wikipedia.  I can't vouch for the accuracy of either source, obviously, but the Wiki entry looks very well documented.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_by_Twos

Thanks Palimpsest. When I made my first few shameful clicks into the internet realm of ex 2x2s, I found the first website you linked very helpful. It seemed research oriented and unbiased, unlike many other ex 2x2 sites where the tone is (rightfully) angry. The calmer more reasoned tone appeals to questioning friends who want info but are afraid of blaspheming against the holy spirit.

I am recovering, although it's very slow. Many exes boomerang and make a lot of big decisions immediately after leaving. I couldn't do that because I had small children and wanted to keep their life as stable as possible. My own childhood was not stable, due to abusive family dynamics. So there was no cathartic release, and sometimes I feel like although I got out of the 2x2s, I can't get them out of me.

I feel like I will never really fit in in "the world". Growing up 2x2 we were taught that we could not trust ourselves at all. One line of a hymn said, "silence all your thoughts and reasonings/in subjection to His will." Which of course, was the will of the group/workers. We were taught to have blind trust in members of the group, and to always be guarding ourselves from those outside. Now it's hard to know who to trust and how to use judgement.

It was a pivotal  moment when I first told my best friend (an outsider) the truth about "the Truth." She had recently left one of those reformed churches that was heavily into Vision Forum materials and misogyny, so she was really understanding. I felt like I was walking out on a limb and at any moment I could fall and there would be nothing to catch me, not even god. I had turned my back on god. 

6 minutes ago, sallysays said:

Thank you for sharing!  This is the topic that's finally causing me to delurk, because my great-grandmother was a member of this religion/cult and my father was effectively raised in it.  I only vaguely understood it until recently and was alarmed by what I learned.  Your information has helped me to understood my family's story better!

Wow! It's amazing how many people on here are aware of or have been affected by this group!

[Lisafer]

6 minutes ago, Baconandapples said:

Thanks Palimpsest. When I made my first few shameful clicks into the internet realm of ex 2x2s, I found the first website you linked very helpful. It seemed research oriented and unbiased, unlike many other ex 2x2 sites where the tone is (rightfully) angry. The calmer more reasoned tone appeals to questioning friends who want info but are afraid of blaspheming against the holy spirit.

I am recovering, although it's very slow. Many exes boomerang and make a lot of big decisions immediately after leaving. I couldn't do that because I had small children and wanted to keep their life as stable as possible. My own childhood was not stable, due to abusive family dynamics. So there was no cathartic release, and sometimes I feel like although I got out of the 2x2s, I can't get them out of me.

I feel like I will never really fit in in "the world". Growing up 2x2 we were taught that we could not trust ourselves at all. One line of a hymn said, "silence all your thoughts and reasonings/in subjection to His will." Which of course, was the will of the group/workers. We were taught to have blind trust in members of the group, and to always be guarding ourselves from those outside. Now it's hard to know who to trust and how to use judgement.

It was a pivotal  moment when I first told my best friend (an outsider) the truth about "the Truth." She had recently left one of those reformed churches that was heavily into Vision Forum materials and misogyny, so she was really understanding. I felt like I was walking out on a limb and at any moment I could fall and there would be nothing to catch me, not even god. I had turned my back on god. 

Oh goodness, I remember the first time I went to an amusement park on Sunday (the holy Sabbath). I almost thought I would get struck by lightning on the roller coaster. I can empathize with the struggle, and I think a lot of others here on FJ can too. Time has made it much easier for me. 

[Baconandapples]

37 minutes ago, Lisafer said:

Oh goodness, I remember the first time I went to an amusement park on Sunday (the holy Sabbath). I almost thought I would get struck by lightning on the roller coaster. I can empathize with the struggle, and I think a lot of others here on FJ can too. Time has made it much easier for me. 

Yes. We have put up a Christmas tree four years in a row now. This is the first year I have not felt a hollow, guilty feeling when I look at it. The friends and workers would say that’s because I have hardened my heart to the holy spirit.

[formergothardite]

1 hour ago, Baconandapples said:

I feel like I will never really fit in in "the world".

You might not, but things do get easier! I still feel shame about things most people don't even have a second thought about, but with time these things do start to fade a bit. The impact a cult can have on your mindset is astounding. 

3 hours ago, Baconandapples said:

hey will look like deer in the headlights and will not be able to answer you very well. They may ask if you want to meet their ministers as a fall back answer.

This reminds me of when the Remnant Fellowship folks showed up here and had a total meltdown when asked about their beliefs. They could only say come visit us.

I think having people who follow without really understanding is a big plus for most cults. 

14 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

However now that the internet is commonplace and easily accessable, this cult will have a much harder time staying hidden. 

It is getting harder and harder for them to hide. Without the internet I think Vision Forum and IBLP would be in much better shape.