Historian Uncovers Secret Founding of the 'Two by Twos' Religious Sect

Childhood on Convention Grounds

• 🏡 Sherry Kropp recounts her childhood, which was deeply intertwined with the "Two by Twos" fellowship, living on convention grounds where members gathered annually.
• 📚 Due to restrictions on media like TVs and radios, Sherry and her brother found escape and companionship in books, leading to a love for reading.
• 🤝 Conventions were a highlight for Sherry, offering a sense of belonging and a chance to be her true self among fellow members, unlike the outside world.

Questioning Religious Doctrine

• ⚠️ At age 13, Sherry began questioning the church's rules, particularly those regarding hair, makeup, and clothing, which she found restrictive and unsupported by scripture.
• 👗 A particularly traumatic experience involved being forced to wear a dress for physical education class, highlighting the immodest and embarrassing nature of such rules for young girls.
• 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Observing the "workers" (preachers) up close revealed their humanity and fallibility, shattering the pedestal they were placed on and fostering a critical viewpoint.

Uncovering the Founder's History

• 📜 Historian Sherry Kropp details the sect's efforts to erase founder William Irvine after his expulsion in 1914, cutting him from photos and historical accounts.
• ❓ The mutiny against Irvine stemmed from a desire to escape his control, with various reasons cited, including accusations of him being a womanizer or tyrannical.
• 💔 The discovery of William Irvine's existence and subsequent erasure felt like a betrayal, leading Sherry to question the church's authenticity and the validity of its rules.

Research and Documentation

• 🔍 Researching the sect was challenging due to its lack of a formal name, no headquarters, and no published literature beyond a hymnbook.
• 📚 Sherry's breakthrough came with finding Douglas Parker's 1982 book, "The Secret Sect," which she then independently verified through extensive research in archives in Ireland and England.
• 📰 Early newspaper reports from Ireland documented the sect's activities, including conventions and conflicts with other churches, indicating the history was not always hidden.

Secrecy and Accountability

• ⚠️ The "Two by Twos" church is characterized by secrecy, with an authoritarian pyramid structure, undisclosed leaders, and a lack of financial transparency or formal dispute resolution.
• 🚫 Workers can be dismissed or moved without explanation, and the origin and founder of the church have been deliberately obscured, leading to a complete lack of accountability.
• 💡 Sherry urges listeners within similar groups to critically examine their beliefs, use the "5 W and 1 H" method (What, Who, Where, When, Why, How), and seek scriptural support rather than blindly following men's rules.

Impact and Legacy

• 🌟 Sherry's hope is that her research and book make the founder's history common knowledge and accessible to all associated with the church.
• 🧠 She emphasizes the importance of logic, critical thinking, and fallacies, recommending courses in these subjects to avoid condemnation without investigation.
• ⚖️ Sherry advocates for truth and justice, believing that some people prioritize beliefs over truth, while others prioritize truth over their beliefs.