In 1982, the Jesus Fellowship had joined the Evangelical Alliance, one of whose membership requirements was that the church remain in close fellowship with other local evangelical churches. Earlier in 1986, the Evangelical Alliance had launched an inquiry into the beliefs and practices of the Jesus Fellowship Church and found that it no longer qualified for membership, citing much the same problems as did the Baptist Union later that year. But at least as relevant in both cases was the fact that the rise of the JA came at a time when an international welter of anti-cult activity was under way. Allegations that the JA had too authoritarian a style of leadership and that members were under pressure to commit to lifelong celibacy, together with the corporal punishment of children ('rodding') was practised, and that community members were required to hand over their material possessions, left them vulnerable to accusations of cultic practices. Their intense style and requirement of totalitarian commitment led to some allegations of abuse from disillusioned former members, and some hostility from more conventional churchgoers. A number of churches within the Evangelical Alliance threatened to leave if the Jesus Fellowship Church was allowed to remain a member.