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While the Open Assemblies do not find it difficult to accommodate the brethren from the Closed fold, the brethren in the Closed assemblies exhibit marked animosity towards those in the Open group. What is more, it is common for brethren in the Closed group to speak contemptuously against the well respected leaders in the Open group. The basic reason is the imposition of separation by brethren who tend to control the strings from outside, mainly through financial incentives, with the aim to carve territories that they can presumably claim as their own in front of their people (the donors) in the West. It would be readily noticed that due to these historical reason the Closed assemblies are a minority in India, and also that they differ much from the Closed assemblies in West. Any kind of reconciliation between these groups seems to be difficult as long as the domination of the brethren from the outside continues.
==Doctrinal Stand==
The brethren in India have been theologically conservative right from the beginning. Thus they found it easy to assimilate the works produced by conservative and fundamentalist scholars in the West. However, having no widely agreed-upon statement of doctrine, and also the standard evangelical creeds not being available in Indian language, the average person finds it difficult to state the exact boundaries of his theological belief. This did create some difficulty from time to time when individuals (mostly from the previously mentioned career-seeking fourth generation) tried to pass erroneous doctrines as part of the "received" doctrines.
The first major confusion arose when Zac Poonen a preacher at that time having some Brethren affiliation tried to spread the Smithist heresies related to the person of Christ. His attempts were soon repulsed by concerned brethren, and eventually he left the Brethren fold to form his own False Cult. Even today he continues to enjoy some links and some sympathizers among the Brethren, but his overall influence upon the movement is negligible.
The second major doctrinal confusion is the Charismatic Confusion, and the chief reason is the large number of intermarriages between Brethren and Pentecostal people, the majority of which took place under the influence of the fourth-generation leaders. The Lord has raised some men who are at present systematically suppressing this error, but it will take much more time to undo the harm that has already been done.
Other confusions arose from time to time about the time of rapture (whether it is Pre or Post Tribulation), doctrine of Trinity, whether there is revelation outside the Bible. Almost all of them were dealt with effectively by brethren burdened for the church, and none of them had an impact wide enough to worry people who love the church of God. At the same time it must be emphasized that the lull that came in teaching during the dominance of the fourth generation has created wide ranging spiritual illiteracy, and it will take quite some time for the present generation teachers to fill in this gap.
==Outreaches==
Evangelism and church planting has always been a hallmark of the Brethren assemblies in India. This is the reason why the number grew from 0 to 2200 in just one century -- a growth probably unparalleled anywhere. Of this, the larger proportion of churches came into existence in the last 30 years when the foreign missionaries made an exit and the local leadership took the control and directing of the entire system into their hands.
Though there is a general resistance to the idea of para church organizations, the Brethren assemblies in India have given formed a large number of church-related movements that aid outreach and evangelism in one way or other. YMEF, or the Young Men's Evangelistic Fellowship is a pioneer in this. Today YMEF units are found throughout India and also in those countries where Indian brethren gather. Then there are regional bodies like Gospel Penetration Campaign, Bastar Evangelistic Fellowship, or Orissa Brethren Movement where the focus is evangelism of a specific region. The number of such regional bodies is now in hundreds, and it is impossible even to catalog them.
Literature ministries, radio ministries, open air preaching, and house to house visitation are quite common. Overall the Brethren in India are a group actively committed to evangelism, and the spirit of sharing the gospel continues to thrive. This is one reason that makes this writer optimistic about future of the Brethren Assemblies in India.