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Twelve Tribes communities

Organisation characterised as a cult and a religious movement

This article is about the Christian communities. For other uses, see Twelve Tribes (disambiguation).

The Twelve Tribes, formerly known as the Vine Christian Community Church,[5] the Northeast Kingdom Community Church,[6] the Messianic Communities,[6] and the Community Apostolic Order,[7] is a movement that is defined as either a cult[14] or a new religious movement.[7]: 155  It was founded by Gene Spriggs and sprang out of the Jesus movement in 1972 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.[2] The group calls itself an attempt to recreate the 1st-century church as it is described in the Book of Acts.[2]

The group's origins in Chattanooga led to planted churches in surrounding areas. In the late seventies, the group began a community in Island Pond, Vermont. As their relationship with the Chattanooga community deteriorated, the group eventually left Tennessee and moved primarily to Vermont. The T

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Fatherand Son

Elbert Eugene Spriggs, Sr. lived in Chattanooga, Ten­nessee. A factory worker and scoutmaster, Mr. Spriggs was well respected by all who knew him. His strong religious be­liefs were reflected in a life of good deeds. In 1937 a son was born to him, Elbert, Jr., whom he called by the nickname “Gene.” Mr. Spriggs was delighted to have a son and hoped that his namesake would grow up to follow in his footsteps.

Gene loved and respected his father and wanted to please him. But as he grew, the pressures of his peers proved too much for him, and by high school he found himself do­ing things he knew were wrong. Though others might have smiled and said, “Kids will be kids,” Gene’s father never approved of the wild parties, smoking, and drinking com­mon to teenagers. And Gene’s popularity as a good football player had put him right in the center of the teenage scene.

Outwardly Gene seemed to prosper, being voted May King by his peers and winning a football scholarship to the university. Because of how he was raised, however, his con­science was troubled. He was fai

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Inside the Twelve Tribes

The Twelve Tribes grew out of a Bible-study group in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In 1972, a former high school teacher and guidance counselor named Gene Spriggs and his fourth wife, Marsha, started a gathering of believers in their home. This was during the heyday of the Jesus Movement, whose adherents viewed Jesus as a counterculture hero. The couple recruited heavily outside of local schools and youth hangouts. Spriggs gave informal Bible lectures in his living room that held audiences rapt for hours, former members say. Many of the young people who turned up seeking enlightenment were runaways and drug addicts, whom the couple invited to move in. To support their growing household, the Spriggses opened a restaurant in 1973 called the Yellow Deli, where members worked for room and board but no paycheck. The restaurant featured booths crafted from reclaimed barn wood, and the menu delivered a subtle come-on. “We serve the fruit of the Spirit,” it read. “Why not ask?”

By 1978, Spriggs had opened six Yellow Delis and unofficially re-branded his Bible study

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