Gilbert Ricter - The Forum Newspaper in Fargo, North Dakota

in

Two by Two's in the News #2

A CRITIQUE of the way of the 'two by two' preachers

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- Friday, November 14, 1986 -

Religion

– The Forum --

Theology of “No-Name Church” is Conservative

By Carol Mahnke

STAFF WRITER

These modern-day Christians who style their worship after the practices of Jesus' early followers are, as they say, a people of a quiet spirit.

Silently they file into the living room of the Selmer J. Aarestad residence in north Fargo and find their places around the circle of couches and chairs.

Even the little children are silent as they nestle into parents' laps. Some of the adults are quietly studying worn Bibles or thumbing through a slim volume of hymns; others sit with heads bowed - - alone with their thoughts as they prepare for Sunday morning worship.

The silence ends abruptly as Gilbert Richter asks the group to select an opening hymn. Without hesitation, a woman calls out the number of the hymn. Richter finds it and begins singing.

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Gilbert Ricter

Immediately the room is filled with a rich and rousing four-part harmony. Although Maxine Aarestad is a music teacher and there is an organ in the living room, the singing is without accompaniment.

The group's practices are characterized by simplicity and modesty.

Women wear no makeup and roll their long hair up on their heads. They wear modest dresses or skirts and jewelry is limited to a watch or a barrette.

A second hymn follows the first and, again, it is so familiar that the group easily falls into four-part harmony. When it ends, Richter leads the group in prayer.

Next, he asks the 16 adults to share the Scripture they have read in the past week and to witness to its meaning in their lives.

In random order, people stand to tell their stories. They speak quietly, with sincerity, without reluctance.

Much of the testimony expresses desire to be receptive to Scripture, to be open to Jesus' teaching. As each testimony is completed, heads around the room nod in assent.

Before long, the final hymn is sung and the room is filled with friendly greetings and lively conversation - - a cheery contrast to the silence in which the meeting began.

These meetings of Jesus' followers, who have no other name, have been held in the Aarestad household for 37 years.

Richter is amused by attempts to find a verbal handle for the group.

“They're always pawing the air for a name,” he says. “We have a name - - the Lord's name.”

The close-knit fellowship is variously known as the Jesus Way, the Two-by-Two's or the No-Name Church. Members are more likely to call themselves simply Christians.

Their theology is conservative, exclusively guided by the King James version of the Bible. Members are born-again, baptized Christians.

Richter said Jesus Christ does not “take up responsibility” for an individual's salvation unless the individual “owns” Christ.

Women are expected to be submissive to their husbands.

Maxine Aarestad, who joined the group when she married, values the kind of involvement members have in worship.

It's not the passive experience that members of other denominations have in listening to a sermon. Each person contributes to the Sunday meeting.

The use of alcohol or tobacco is prohibited and members are discouraged from having television in their homes or engaging in gambling.

“I call it clean living,” commented Selmer Aarestad.

Although a number of articles and a book titled “The Secret Sect” by Doug and Helen Parker say that the group was founded in Ireland in the early 1900's.

Richter dismisses questions about origins as so much “endless genealogy.”

Richter, 60, is “overseer” for the Fargo area. He and his associate, LeRoy Sandford, 26, are “workers” who lead Sunday meetings and Wednesday Bible study. They also organize meetings for newcomers interested in the group.

Workers travel in pairs - - two men or two women - - and they receive no salary. They live in the homes of the group's members, accepting hospitality and gifts of money to cover their needs.

They base their itinerant ministry after Matthew 10 in which Jesus directs his disciples to go out and preach, trusting to God to provide for their needs.

Richter says that the Gospel should be given freely - - that there should be no charge for a minister's services.

“I am giving my life for this,” he said. “I am dedicated to Christ.”

Matthew 10 caught the attention of William Irvine who was associated with the Faith Mission in southern Ireland in 1897, according to the Parker book.

Irvine concluded that because the clergy were paid salaries and provided with homes and churches, they had strayed from Jesus' teaching.

He urged converts to his teaching to give up all their possessions and to travel from town to town, preaching the Gospel.

He directed followers to rely on the Bible exclusively and a prejudice against education became a part of the movement, according to the Parkers.

Irvine's movement coincided with a wave of revivalism and with the tension between labor unions and business which the Industrial Revolution brought to large cities. In at least one instance, it was described as Christian communism.

In its early years, the Parkers report, some followers suffered illness and severe malnutrition because of the strict rule of poverty.

Workers were known as “tramp preachers” because, with only one set of clothes and infrequent bathing, they were smelly and dirty.

In 1908, Irvine permitted workers to lead home meetings of people who believed in the movement but were not willing to give up their jobs, their homes and their possessions to become workers.

Both Irvine and another early leader, Edward Cooney, were removed from leadership positions in the movement. Irvine was deposed in 1914 after his text shifted from Matthew to Revelations and he associated the approaching world war with Armageddon.

Cooney was dismissed in 1928 when he objected to a trend within the movement to become more organized and more like established churches.

In an introduction to his book, Doug Parker, who grew up in the movement, explains that he wrote the book because he discovered that the group's claim that it was descended from the early Christian church was not true.

He said that the group's “closed nature” shields its history from members and outsiders alike.

There are no official publications or records for the creedless sect. It has been called a cult by some who object to its exclusivity and differ with its theology.

The fact that early leaders were rejected from the group also tends to obscure its history since the founders are not the focus of any celebration.

In any case, members feel themselves connected with the early Christian church and reject the trappings of contemporary Christianity.

Christmas is simply an occasion for a family gathering, according to Selmer and Maxine Aarestad. Their children are now grown but Christmas in past years did not include Santa Claus, a tree and presents.

The Aarestads say their home is conspicuous for its lack of decoration through the Christmas season.

Easter is celebrated “in the Biblical way,” Richter said, "commemorating Passover."

Marriages are conducted by civil authorities and are followed by a family celebration. Richter said he conducts funerals in chapels of funeral homes.

Members are expected to obey government authority. Richter said nothing in the church's teaching prohibits military service but adherents still may be conscientious objectors or seek non-combat positions in the military.

Members are more likely to pray about the outcome of an election than they are to campaign or vote. But, Richter said, political matters are left to members' discretion.

Each October, about 1,200 eastern North Dakota followers of the Jesus way gather at the Richtsmeier farm near Hunter, N.D., for their annual convention.

According to Mark Richtsmeier, conventions have been held at the farm for 50 years.

Three meetings are held each of the four convention days in a large machinery quonset filled with rows of folding chairs. Participants, who often come from other states, can camp on the farmstead or sleep in dormitories equipped similarly to Bible camps.

Meals are served, family-style, in another quonset which features a large, well-equipped kitchen. Men and women take turns preparing and serving vast amounts of food contributed by convention participants.

The meals are hearty, with locally grown potatoes and other vegetables, beef raised in the region, and cakes, cookies and bars from nearby kitchens.

As each meal ends, the dish washing process begins in the center of the quonset. Dishes are brought to a crew of men standing over vats of soapy water, the dishes are washed and then set out for the next meal. The entire operation is a monument to the cooperation and goodwill of the religious community.

Children's games follow the noon meal since there is a break until the next meeting begins at 2 p.m.

Conventions are a grand-scale version of the home meetings. Congregates sit in a semi-circle around a platform where the speaker witnesses to his faith.

Convention Tent in Australia

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Testimony is given simply and earnestly. Dramatic oratory would be considered ostentatious.

Because of its simple, quiet style, it can be difficult to follow the speaker. But it doesn't matter. The message will be repeated several times in the testimony.

Estimates of the number of adherents in the United States range from 50,000 to 450,000. Since membership is neither counted nor recorded, it is impossible to get an accurate number.

The chances are good that many people in the Fargo-Moorhead area are acquainted with members of the “No-Name Church” but have never known much about their religious community.