Believers in Christ is a

Plain In geography, a plain, commonly known as flatland, is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and ...

Anabaptist Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

community at Cane Creek, Lobelville, Tennessee, that is rather intentional than traditional. They are sometimes seen as either

Amish The Amish (, also or ; ; ), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, church fellowships with Swiss people, Swiss and Alsace, Alsatian origins. As they ...

Old Order Mennonite Old Order Mennonites (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania German: ) form a branch of the Mennonite tradition. Old Order Movement, Old Order are those Mennonite groups of Swiss people, Swiss German and south Germans, German heritage who prac ...

. G. C. Waldrep classifies them as " para-Amish". Among Anabaptists the community is often simply called "Lobelville".

History

The Plain community in Lobelville has a complicated history because they did not just separate from one other Old Order group but emerged from a series of splits and mergers of different Old Order groups. In addition to that, several families and individuals joined them while others left them. They share a common history with the Noah Hoover Mennonites in the early 1950s. In 1952 most of the members of the Reformed Amish Christian Church in Tennessee, (stemming from the Church that was founded in 1895 by David Schwartz in Indiana) joined the Titus Hoover Mennonites, a subgroup of the Stauffer Mennonites. In 1954 deacon Jonas Nolt left the Titus Hoover Mennonites with followers from different backgrounds and established a Plain, Old Order Community in Mammoth Spring, Arkansas. In the early 1970s the Mammoth Spring community disbanded, but in 1973 a new community was founded at Lobelville by families under the leadership of minister Paul Lavy who all came from the Old Order Church in Mammoth Spring, Arkansas. The intention was to create a heartfelt primitive Christianity like in the beginning of the Anabaptist movement. The community attracted many people from

, Old German Baptist backgrounds as well as people from non-plain churches, so-called seekers. The group struggled to hold together until Simon Beachy, a charismatic personality of Old Order Amish background, arrived. Beachy's central theme was "true brokenness". Beachy also rejected the idea of having an

Ordnung In the Anabaptist tradition, an Ordnung is a set of rules describing the way of life of church members. The term is mostly used by Amish and Old Order Mennonites. '' Ordnung'' () is the German word for order, discipline, rule, arrangement, o ...

(set of rules) like almost all other Old Order communities. In 1996 Beachy left the community at Lobelville to create a new one at

Vernon Community, Hestand Vernon Community in Hestand, Kentucky, is home to an Anabaptist Christian community, that was founded in 1996 by Simon Beachy, former leader of the "Believers in Christ" in Lobelville, Tennessee. The Christian community is classified as " para-Am ...

, Kentucky, with hand-picked followers. After Simon Beachy left, his brother Lewis became bishop. In 2011 some 7 or 8 families from the Pearisburg, Virginia, Amish settlement split from their community and affiliated with Lobelville.

Custom and belief

The community at Lobelville is a

Plain dress Plain dress is a practice among some religious groups, primarily some Christianity, Christian churches in which people dress in clothes of traditional modest design, sturdy fabric, and conservative cut. It is intended to show acceptance of trad ...

, horse-and-buggy community, that is different from most other

and

communities in being rather intentional than traditional. They do not have an

(set of rules) and they are not organized as a strict church with all people in the community as members. Some of their practices are considered unorthodox and outside the Old Order fold. For example, they own a van they use for long distance travel instead of hiring drivers. They dress similar to the Noah Hoover Mennonites but men mostly do not wear hats. A

born again To be born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelical Christianity, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is d ...

experience is expected to become a member. The Believers in Christ consider spiritual renewal and a life in the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

to be very important. They are more open to seekers than traditional Old Order groups. They are in some way similar to communities like the Caneyville Christian Community, the Noah Hoover Mennonites, the Michigan Amish Churches and the disbanded "Christian Communities" of Elmo Stoll.

Demographics and settlements

In the 1990s, before Beachy and his followers left, there were almost 100 families in the community, in 2005 there were 57 families. Besides Lobelville there are communities affiliated with Lobelville in Pearisburg, Virginia, and near Danville, Ohio.''Lobelville Amish'' at amish365.com
/ref> The community near Lobelville actually is located between Lobelville, Pleasantville and Centerville.

References

{{Reflist

Literature

* George Calvin Waldrep: ''The New Order Amish And Para-Amish Groups: Spiritual Renewal Within Tradition'', in The Mennonite Quarterly Review 82 (2008), pages 395-426.
Joseph Donnermeyer and Cory Anderson: ''The Growth of Amish and Plain Anabaptists in Kentuck'', in Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies 2(2):215, pages 215-244, 2014.
* Ira Wagler: ''The Life of Elmo Stoll: The Shepherd at Dusk: His Vision & Legacy''. Anabaptism in the United States Anabaptist organizations established in the 20th century Christian communities Perry County, Tennessee