Inside the Cult of the Jesus Army TV review — a story of abuse and oppression
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https://www.ft.com/content/44b53f09-a995-49cf-b9fa-3b4089128f60
This excellent two-part documentary follows the rise of the Jesus Fellowship, the evangelical Christian church which began as a small group of worshippers in Bugbrooke, Northamptonshire, in 1969. Over 50 years, it amassed thousands of converts across Britain, but by the late 2010s, revelations of sexual and physical abuse by church elders had come to light, shattering the movement’s reputation.
Inside the Cult of the Jesus Army takes a sober and sensitive approach to the story. The first instalment explains how its founder Noel Stanton, who died in 2009, was inspired to form the church, following the lead of evangelical and baptist movements in the US. He was particularly successful at recruiting young members, and after a few years, its followers collectively bought farms and local properties, establishing a largely self-sufficient and socially isolated community.
The Jesus Fellowship attracted media interest from its early days, and there is a trove of fascinating archive material for the filmmakers to call upon. A documentary from the early 1970s, The Lord Took Hold of Bugbrooke, shows villagers complaining about congregants singing too loudly; there is footage of followers speaking in tongues and convulsing. Stanton was known for his “charisma”, but as the years went by his beliefs calcified into strict dogma. The idyllic vision of collective living, of distributing goods according to need, and of giving up all Earthly aspirations, darkened into a more oppressive regime, in which arbitrary actions and items — in one case, a packed lunch — were deemed “worldly” and accused of inviting the devil in.
We know this because of the many courageous ex-congregants willing to speak on camera in this film. The history of the movement is broken up with filmed therapeutic sessions with former members conducted by Gillie Jenkinson, a psychotherapist who specialises in cults and was once in a cult herself. These segments invite considerable empathy as Jenkinson gently examines how cults take hold, and how difficult it is for people to notice that they are being indoctrinated. There is an equal sensitivity when looking at the charitable work done by what would be rebranded as the Jesus Army, camouflage-wearing and more militant, launched in the late 1980s. Recognisable in their brightly coloured buses and vans, the Army would go out on to the streets to help those in need, to “move in peace and love” as they evangelised their message.
The first episode ends with revelations that have been hinted at throughout, of violence and sexual abuse, of children raising the alarm and not being believed, of those who questioned Stanton’s authority being excommunicated and cut off. The final episode reveals its hand more explicitly. This is a sad tale, but a powerful one, told with skill and grace.
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