Plymouth Brethren - Influence

Influence

The influence of the Plymouth Brethren upon evangelical Christianity exceeds their relatively small numerical proportion. The movement today has many congregations around the world.

Christian Missions in Many Lands (CMML), in the United States, Missionary Service Committee (MSC), in Canada, and Echoes of Service, in the United Kingdom, serve as support agencies for Brethren missionaries, helping with logistics and material support. These agencies help to equip and support those sent from local churches. Hudson Taylor, the founder of the China Inland Mission, kept strong ties with the Open Brethren, even though he was raised a Methodist and later was a member of a Baptist Church. The concept of "Faith Missions" can be traced back through Hudson Taylor, to the example of the early Brethren missionary, Anthony Norris Groves.

J.N. Darby, one of the original members and perhaps the most well known of the movement, wrote over 50 books including a translation of the New Testament and is often credited with the development of the theology of "dispensationalism" and "pretribulationism" which have been widely adopted in evangelical churches outside of the brethren movement. In the early twentieth century, Darby's writings have the greatest influence on the Little Flock of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee.

Many leaders of the contemporary evangelical movement came from Brethren backgrounds. These include England-born 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 Brookfield, Wisconsin; Dr. Geoff Tunnicliffe, CEO of the World Evangelical Alliance; the late British scholar F.F. Bruce; 1956 Auca missionary martyrs Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Peter Fleming; Walter Liefeld, NT professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School; 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.

Since 2004 the separatist Raven–Taylor–Hales Exclusive Brethren have become politically active. Formerly, they embraced non-involvement "in the things of the world", because they are "citizens of heaven". These heterodox Taylor Exclusive Brethren have been responsible for the production and distribution of political literature in the Australian, American, Swedish, Canadian and New Zealand national elections. For more details, see Exclusive Brethren. These Taylor Brethren are atypical of other streams of Plymouth Brethren, which distance themselves from the "Taylorites".

Many mainstream assemblies discourage political involvement, sometimes to the extent of judging anyone in fellowship who opts to exercise their voting rights in democratic, free elections. This teaching is based on the premise that the Bible teaches that Christians are citizens of heaven, only sojourners here on earth, and therefore ought not to become involved in activities which could be deemed as being too worldly. A criticism could be leveled that the movement, with its upper-class roots, lacks compassion for the plight of the underprivileged. For example, it was left to William Wilberforce, Lord Shaftesbury, and other politically active Christians to work toward the abolishment of slavery and toward improving the welfare of factory children in the 19th century. This can be viewed as unfair criticism when reflecting on George Müller's ministry caring for homeless orphans and also on some of the sacrifices of its missionaries such as Anthony Norris Groves. It is more reasonable to state that the Brethren are more concerned with people's spiritual rather than their physical condition. However, where physical help is given, it is tended to be given directly and not through secular organisations.