Reply to : Anonymous
Why did all the splits in the GRC occur? (eg 1972)What are the main differences between the breakaway groups and the GRC? Is either group more right?
I was saved in the Adelaide Revival Centre in 1979. I met Tony Addison in 1980. At the time I was zealous but legalistic. I heard a talk given in the ARC in 1979 where John Kuhlmann was talking about backslidden churches. He said there was only one other group in Adelaide that was right and that was a little breakaway group at Marino. He was referring to Tony Addison as the AALC was then holding its meetings at the Marino Community Hall. Anyway I was troubled by the number of cases of fornication I was hearing about in the ARC. John Kuhlmann seemed too leniant for me. (I said I was very legalistic) so I was looking for a strict pastor. I got more than I bargained for in Addison. The first thing I noticed in the AALC was the first talk I heard was being given by Kevin W. It wasn't very good. I felt really deflated. John Kuhlmann gave quite good talks (I thought - in 1979 a big bunch of my friends got saved there - there were always baptisms every week and a real zeal and joy among the youngies. Hypocrisy among the leaders was evident, though, especially at camps. A group of us youngies were scolded one night for sharing testimonies after 11 pm - we were all over 21. Later I found out the pastor who scolded us was playing cards in his caravan. Incidents like this eroded my confidence in the ministry there.
I never heard John Kuhlmann mention Noel's churches except for that one time, but I was only there for 6 months. After I was in the AALC I was troubled. It was exactly the same as the ARC only Tony Addison always insisted the ARC was backslidden and the AALC was the only true church in Adelaide. However, in practice everything was the same. EXACTLY the same format of the meetings, talk, communion, gifts. Same yellow chorus book and even many of the songs in the blue book were the same, same hymns. The ARC had house meetings though on Friday nights. In the early days of my walk I was so excited about everything I couldn't get enough. I went to two meetings on Sunday at the Vogue, Tuesday night at the Vogue, sometimes on Thursday (I think) I would travel out to Elizabeth to attend the meeting there, Friday night house meeting and Saturday night youngies.
When I was in the AALC in the early 80s I never saw Addison deal with any fornicators - mainly because there wasn't any during the time I was there (80-83). One day someone from the ARC started working at the same place I was at and I was troubled. At that time I really hadn't seen any difference between them and I had been there about a year. Except Tony told me I must never talk to them again. My heart ached for that because they were spirit filled just like I was and had the same love I'd had. Some people were pretty lukewarm though and that troubled me. I was pretty full on. I always hoped someday there would be a reconciliation between the groups.
Tony Addison gave me the usual spiel that Noel made a stand and they were carnal. I tried to see it and thought maybe because John Kuhlmann was pretty leniant towards people who had fornicated that it must have been proof. The people I'd met from Melbourne seemed a pretty raucous bunch. The guys even had shoulder length hair! and were quite unreserved when talking to girls. Shock. I was a hippie before but some of the eastern groups I was involved are just as legalistic, if not more, in some cases, than the GRC.
In 1984 we went to Perth and Pastor Jack had a signed document from all the RCA guys that Noel was right in '72. I saw John Kuhlmann's signature on it and recognised it. Now I gather that document must have ben signed after they saw Noel and before they saw Lloyd.
In 2000 after we got kicked out we heard that Noel said we were worse than Lloyd. That got us curious. Because we knew we were dealt with totally unjustly by Noel and that he refused to allow anyone to hear us. So we went on the cult-web site to try and find out more about the 72 split. We read all the documents that were posted there about the various splits and visited the RF website. In all of those documents Fred Needham's reasons for getting the boot closely matched ours so we contacted him. If you check out that document you can see that he challenged Lloyd about the fornication doctrine and said there was too much emphasis on BI there. So we contacted Fred and have had a close working relationship with him and people in his church ever since.
Anyway Fred gave us some information on the 72 split that not many are privy to. He was in Australia at the time and was staying with Lloyd. He said it began over the question of house meetings. Lloyd had started the Friday night house meetings in order (I may be mistaken here) to provide extra fellowship and give more brothers an opportunity to be used. Some of the brothers in Geelong (Allan and Normie Warren - no relation) were excited about the possibilities and approached Noel. Noel refused. The brothers went to Lloyd apparently and complained. Lloyd sympathized. Noel was up in arms when he heard and broke fellowship with Lloyd. This sent shock waves through the RCA and many of the pastors came to Melbourne and Geelong to find out what had happened. They saw Noel first and got his side of things. They agreed Lloyd shouldn't stick his nose in Geelong affairs and drove down to Melbourne to see Lloyd.
At this point Noel says that Lloyd bewitched all the other pastors except Jack Vicary. According to Fred that was not what went down. Lloyd was told by the pastors that he was wrong. Lloyd accepted it and tried to patch things up with Noel. Noel refused to accept Lloyd's apology. Fred Needham told us this. He said he was in the room with Lloyd when Lloyd was told by the pastors he should apologise. Lloyd called Noel, in tears, begging forgiveness. He said he would make a public apology if Noel wanted. He could discipline the brothers involved but don't split. Noel refused to forgive Lloyd. It was because of Noel's refusal to forgive Lloyd that the RCA pastors stuck with Lloyd.
Having personally experienced Noel's refusal to discuss problems and having been thrown out as heretics by Noel rather than that he would admit he was wrong about anything we felt what we had heard from Fred was in keeping with Noel's M.O. It seems he wanted things done his way way back then and this was a convenient way of unloading anyone who might make him accountable. The RCA were better off without him and in the 80s had massive growth. Unfortunately they hadn't dealt with certain false doctrines like BI and legalism which have increased like a cancer. More splits are inevitable.
