Two-by-twos: The sect with 2 many names and just as many problems (Part 2)

Bronwyn Rideout - 7 August 2023

In part 2 of this study into the secretive group most commonly known as the Two-by-Twos (TBT), I’ll give an overview of the current state of the sect and the numerous controversies it has faced in recent years.

The exodus of members since the 1990s has led to an explosion of interviews, books, and websites detailing the operations and practices of the secretive group. For the most part, ex-Australian members (often called Cooneyites) have had the most attention, in the aftermath of several group leaders being accused and sentenced for sex crimes.

The TBT are a highly conservative, fundamentalist Christian group which prohibits its members from drinking, gambling, dancing, reading christian books, following fashion trends, women wearing trousers or nail polish, reading christian books or literature, owning TV or radios, or watching movies. Outside of their hymnal and adherence to the King James Version of the bible, there are no documents or materials which formalise their doctrines. The teachings/beliefs of the sect are transmitted by itinerant celibate preachers or Workers who, having given up their property and money to the sect, travel in same-sex pairs to preach in an assigned district and stay for weeks or months at a time in the homes of followers. A 2022 Stuff article profiling ex-member Carson Drain focuses on the TBT’s anti LGBTIQ+ stance, which taught that “homosexuality was a disease of the mind and a perversion”. The same article revealed that Drain’s younger brother came out as gay, and committed suicide at 18 years old.

I have been able to find a couple of accusations surrounding TBT members in New Zealand, although the connection between the accused with the TBT is made by victim/survivor network WINGS for Truth, and not by mainstream media:

• Douglas Haora Martin, former elder in the Christchurch Fellowship, received home detention and was struck off the Teachers’ register for upskirt filming of students at Lincoln High School (where he was Assistant Principal), a shopping mall, and other locations.

• Eric Walter Smith, a member from Nelson, was sentenced to 10 years and six months for sexual offending against his niece.

There are no listings for TBT on the companies or charities register. However, a July 2023 letter attributed to the TBT overseers of Australia and New Zealand admits that persons accused of child sexual abuse and sexual misconduct overseas have attended TBT events in Australia and New Zealand. What the letter neglects to admit is that the accusations and persecutions in Australia began at least a decade prior to the bombshells currently being leveled in the TBT in the USA and Canada. Alan Richardson, who is listed in the 2023 letter, allegedly wrote a letter to NZ workers in August 2012 claiming that there were child sexual abuse cases in NZ; he mentioned being aware of 11-12 cases, but does not specify if those where the number he knew were exclusively for NZ. Richardson is acknowledged by at least one commenter on the WINGS for Truth site for preventing a worker who was known for sexual misconduct from attending a convention meeting in NZ.

While Australian survivors have established a confidential support hotline, New Zealand survivors are left slightly in the dust with regards to counseling and support specific to being an ex-cult member. The extent of abuse amongst the TBT in New Zealand is as much of a mystery as the number of members it has in general, but as more ex-members like Carson Drain come forward, this no-name church may need to once and for all lift the veil of secrecy it has hidden under for over a century.