A direct letter from Damian Hastie to members of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church. Not written as an opposer. Written by someone who started by following UK government contract money in May 2020 — and found rather more than he expected.
I have been contemplating writing this editorial for a number of months. My reticence revolved around sounding patronising to those who have followed the Brethren doctrine all their lives. The decision to write this message came after establishing the level of profit made by companies owned or heavily linked to the family of your Man of God, Bruce Hales.
I think it would help to give some information around my background. In May 2020, I started looking at the contracts being awarded by the UK government to understand where taxpayer money was being spent. At that point I admit to having never heard of the Plymouth Brethren. I live in an area outside any of your communities. It was only due to a number of contracts being awarded to the companies of brothers in fellowship that my research into your church began.
At first there was some admiration for the community that appeared to have been created and how it operated. Though the further I researched the more obvious it became that the church you belong to is nothing more than a cartel operated by the Hales family and a number of their closest allies for their personal gain. As an outsider or "Worldlie" I found it difficult to understand how those in fellowship did not see the level of coercion that was clearly evident.
It was when I understood that you have been brought up since birth to see people like me as "Opposers", or working for the devil, that the picture became clearer. I also understand why it must be so difficult to escape, to be separated from or to be ex-communicated, to risk losing your home, your job and most importantly to lose your family. I get that for those of you in fellowship there is some comfort in the protection of being part of something.
I find it so sad that you are provided with information that is wrong. The world outside fellowship is not "the world of the devil". It is just the world. Most people outside fellowship are no different from you — they are good people, they want the best for their families, they want to succeed and live good honest lives. Yes, there are some bad people. But no different from inside fellowship. There have been abusers, murderers and drunk drivers coming from within your own communities.
I speak to your family members who have left fellowship. There are many who have built successful, Christian, honest and good lives outside. There are some that struggle to cope with the loss of contact with their families still inside, and there is a mix of views about those of you still in. There is real empathy for you, and there is anger at your treatment by the Hales and their cronies. The people speaking out are not "opposers" of you — but they certainly oppose the Hales coercive control.
A lot of my work is around openness and transparency. It is clear to me that you are not privileged to that basic freedom within the PBCC. I have found that the Hales family made around £500 million — approximately AUS$1 billion — in post-tax profits from the pandemic. I also see that they were using UBT seminars at the same time to try to get you to fund the ecosystem to the tune of £250 million or AUS$500 million. This funding would enable the profits from the investments to fund OneSchool Global and the wider system without the need for constant appeals. It would appear very hypocritical to ask for funds when, as Christians, they could have covered the required amount from their own personal gains.
I think many of you would thrive, that you could live in line with the true doctrine of John Nelson Darby. The Hales doctrine is not in line with God — it is simply a doctrine of commercialism, using coercion and fear to make you toe the line.
I believe that you could flourish, and that many of the rules introduced to exert control during the last sixty years could be ended. There is no need to separate from your families outside of fellowship. You should be able to serve as doctors, nurses, police officers, and even attend university. You do not need to be a servant to the Hales and their acolytes.
I hear that Bruce Hales talks about a testing time, with "opposers" fighting to destroy fellowship. The ATO raids and tax investigation of UBT, the brothers out of fellowship exposing the truth, the Get a Life podcasts — all are challenges for Mr Hales. The biggest thing to understand is that they are not aimed at you, good brothers and sisters. They are aimed purely at the "Man of God", Mr Hales. The man behind the commercialisation of a Christian group.
I hope and pray that for the future of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, you all stand up and remove the devil that has been able to place himself as the "Man of God". Do not be frightened — your family outside of fellowship is willing you to end the reign of the Hales family and to return to the doctrine of John Nelson Darby. One where your religious beliefs can be at the forefront of what the Plymouth Brethren really are, and not one that focuses on big houses and fast cars, or one where schooling, shopping and business has been commercialised, and certainly not one where you feel pressure to volunteer for your PR charity or for Campus & Co.
Remember: "Opposers" is the tool that Mr Bruce will use to convince you that he is the Man of God. A true Man of God would see those out of fellowship as future brothers and sisters who would want to join. No one would knowingly want to join a sect that is coercive in its application of the doctrine of separation.