Charles Manson, Jim Jones, And Me

I was a cult leader
Don’t worry. I’m embarrassed about it now. (Actually, repentant.)
But I was a leader in a cult, at least a culty church Network.
How was it a cult?
Any group that expects you to let it do the thinking for you is a cult.
Any group that claims to hear from God for you is a cult.
I bought a T-shirt recently from Steve Hassan’s ministry. (Steve is a former Mooniewho fights cults now as a deprogrammer.)
It says, “It’s your mind, only you should control it.”
I know that Christians will see it and think, “What? You mean God should control it?”
Yes, sure, but on the plane where He has assigned an identity, life, and mind to us as stewards, we should control our own minds.
Because thinking that we can’t—that it should be God—leaves a door open to those “representatives” of God who will do the thinking for us.
This is where we get taken over by someone. This is where someone may claim pastoral authority and steal our agency for their own purposes.
They will say these are Jesus’ purposes, but that is because they claim to have special, prophetic knowledge about what God wants for you.
You are too sinful to make choices; you need to be told.
B…..S…..
I was a cult leader, because I bought into that illogical, evil nonsense.
Sadly, there were many hundreds of people who were happy to let someone else think for them.
Why?
It felt good to be approved of by the leader.
It felt nice to give over judgment to someone else.
It was easier.
Very few people truly trust themselves. They have not learned to be honest. They’ve not learned to stand by their choices. They have not learned to speak the truth. They have not learned to live in a straightforward values-driven way.
So, someone will come along with all the answers, with approval that feels like God’s approval, and you will let them have your mind. Your agency.
You will feel humble doing this, and if you don’t, they will call you proud. They will say you think you know better than God. They will lie.
But cult leaders are terrified of thinkers. They are as dependent on you as you are on them. It’s very threatening to a cult leader to disagree with them. That’s why they make everyone shun you if you do.
Decide today to take responsibility for your life, your mind, your judgments, your choices, and your actions.
You will go from weak to strong.
From faithless to faithful.
From powerless to powerful.
Only in this way can you actually hear God’s voice. It won’t come through the commands and dictates of a leader, but from His Word to your spirit. You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.
I know that not everyone reading this is in a cultish church. But ask yourself if your shepherd believes he or she has the right to tell you what to do, what to think. By what means do they get you to obey?
Do they command in Jesus’ name?
Do they preach you lots of sermons from Hebrews 13?
Do they simply belittle you, forgetting you are awesome, because you were made in the image of God?
Do they groom you to crave their approval?
How do you feel around them? Do you feel like a child? It’s because you are. You are not a grown up until you take responsibility for your mind, God’s gift to you to steward your life—also His gift to you.
God controls my mind through His steward—me. He controls my mind through His Word, and by His Spirit if I choose to yield to Him.
Romans 8:14: “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” (NIV)
God bless the pastors who don’t rule, but equip the saints to steward their lives.
 
And God bless you.