Book Description

The Nine O'Clock Service and its 'rave priest' Chris Brain hit the headlines amid allegations of widespread sexual abuse, stories of wild techno-rave services and rumours of a cult at the heart of the Anglican Church. In this book, based on extensive personal interviews with people involved in the Service and research over a period of several months, Roland Howard has covered both sides of the many allegations and heard the Church's official point of view. His investigations have uncovered a leader who lived in luxury and travelled the world while his congregation pledged themselves to a simple lifestyle; a leader who abused his position and manipulated dozens of women followers; a committed and creative congregation who stood in awe of their leader, believing him to be a prophet sent from God to renew the Church; unwitting support and endorsement by senior theologians, professors and industrialists, for a group which became increasingly 'cult-like' in its systems of manipulation and mind control; and a group with a vision that nevertheless has integrity and relevance for the Church as it enters the twenty-first century. This is the story behind the headlines - the story of congregation's move from charismatic Christianity to what many see as a Christianised form of neo-paganism; the story of the world's first 'post-modern church' and of a cult within the Church of England.