TMRobinson

THE CULT LEADER IN A BAPTIST CHURCH

A Dividing Rift

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. (Acts 17:11)

The Apostle Paul preached the gospel to the people of Berea.  These people did not accept the word of Paul the distinguished Pharisee; nor did they repent under the intense sermon from Paul the Apostle. Casting doubt upon the veracity of Paul's word, they gathered around the infallibility of God's Word before they would accept the preacher's testimony of revelation.  This was not a one-time event with the Bereans: it was a daily confrontation of “what saith the Lord” concerning what saith the Apostle.  However, this noble attitude that the Bereans expressed by their inquiries regarding doctrine is speedily becoming a ridiculed and prohibited practice amongst many of our independent Baptist churches.

A rift creating a dividing class of clergy and layman has torn at the very fabric of the Lord's church while the unprepared are falling into its sinister crevice.  What is it that makes a man feel that he and his ministry are above the censure of God's Word and above the earnest interrogation of the church?   What is the driving appeal that attracts individuals towards such a ministry?  How does he make something so bad look so good?  Why won’t people protest or come out from under such leadership?

Cults vs. Churches

The Greek work ekklesia has been translated as church in modern English New Testaments, and it literally means a called out assembly.  The apostles understood the term historically referred to a Greek town meeting which was sovereign and had a purpose, a meeting place, a membership, and guidelines governing the meetings and membership.  However, in Mark 15:15, Jesus differentiated between the Greek churches and His Church.  His church was founded upon Him, bought by Him, espoused to Him, and given a special purpose from Him.  A unique approach for the functioning of Jesus’ Church is signified by its special title: the Bride of Christ.

The church of Jesus is not merely an organization, but an organism.  The members are to be in one mind and in one accord.   Though there is already unity in Christ via regeneration, each member is to function in a complimentary fashion to others so that the whole body (corpus) functions as one in Christ  (christi):  without schism or fear from members. 

From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.  (Eph 4:16)

There is no fear in love. (I John 4:18a)

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear:  but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.   (II Timothy 1:7)

A bishop is to reflect the corresponding spirit that is in the bosom of each member, which is love and kindness toward the brethren. The bishop is designed not to be an overlord.  The church is not to have a mere veneer of union: it must have unity. Unity cannot be present where one usurps the God-given authority placed into the membership of the church.  Therefore, a bishop cannot be an overlord of a church because a church is comprised of the members, and one person cannot be the final authority that places into subjection all the members if he is part of the all.  When a man in the pastoral office generates a dictatorial atmosphere, he does this by stepping outside the boundaries of the church.  When a man steps outside the boundaries of a church, he must set up his own boundaries which in turn create an artificially controlled condition.

Members who go astray in a church are to be dealt with according to policy set down by the scriptures.  Church discipline is exactly that: church discipline.  Not individual discipline, not board discipline, and not pastoral discipline: it must be church discipline.   Much of today's church discipline is, in reality, pastoral discipline.  This is not to say a preacher should not rebuke and exhort, but that there is an abuse of incorrect methodology and certainly incorrect grounds in many discipline cases.

Adultery is grounds for discipline while buying shag carpet instead of the preacher-recommended flat carpet is not scriptural grounds for discipline.  The example of adultery requires church discipline, while the second example is definitely pastoral discipline.  Dealing with this subject of pastoral discipline, a famed evangelist, one to whom credit is given for being the chief propagator of what is now known as revival meetings, wrote this letter during the same year the Southern Baptist Convention began:

May 21, 1845.   Dear Brethren, While upon this subject of excitement I wish to make a few suggestions on the danger that highly excited feeling will take a wrong direction and result in fanaticism.  Everyone is aware that when the feelings are strongly excited, they are capable of being turned in various directions and of assuming various types according to the circumstances of the excited individual.  Few persons who have witnessed revivals of religion have not had occasion to remark this tendency of the human mind, and the efforts of Satan to use it for his own advantage, by mingling in the spirit of fanaticism with the spirit of religious revival.  Fanaticism results from what a certain writer calls 'loveless light.'  When ever the mind is enlightened in regard to what men ought to be and do and say, and is not at the same time in the exercise of benevolence, a spirit of fanaticism, indignation, rebuke, and denouncement is the almost inevitable result.  By fanaticism I mean a state of mind in which the malign emotions take control of the will and hurry the individual away into an outrageous and vindictive effort to sustain what he calls right and truth.  He contends for what he regards as truth or right with a malign spirit.... It is well known that almost all the reforms of this and of every age have been cursed by this sort of fanaticism.  Temperance, Moral Reform, Philosophical and Dietetic Reform, Anti‑Slavery ‑ all have felt the blight; almost nothing has escaped.  When lecturers or others take up these questions and discuss them, pouring light upon the public mind, it often seems to disturb a cockatrice's den.   The deep and perhaps hitherto hidden tendencies to fanaticism are blown up into flame, and often burst forth as from the molten heart of a volcano.  Their indignation is aroused:  their censorious and vituperative tongues are let loose; those unruly members that set on fire the course of nature and are set on fire of hell, seem to pour forth a stream of burning lava to scorch and desolate society.   Their prayers, their exhortations, everything they say or do, are but a stream of scolding, fault‑finding, and recrimination.  They insist upon it, they do well to be angry ‑ that to manifest anything less than the utmost indignation is profane, and suited neither to the subject nor the occasion.  Now it is remarkable to what an extent this class of minds has been brought forward by the different reforms of the day and even by revivals of religion.  No matter what the subject is ‑ if it be the promotion of peace, they will contend for peace with the spirit of outrageous war.  With their tongues they will make war upon everything that opposes them; pouring forth unmeasured abuse upon all who disagree with them, and make no compromise nor hold any communion with those who cannot at once subscribe to their peculiar views. If the subject be Anti‑slavery, they contend for it with the spirit of slaveholders; and while they insist that all men are free, they will allow freedom of opinion to none but themselves.  They would enslave the views and sentiments of all who differ from them, and soon castigate them into acquiescence with their own opinions. In revivals of religion this spirit generally manifests itself in a kind of scolding and denunciatory way of praying for all classes of people.....Now this spirit often springs up in revivals so stealthily and insidiously that its true character is not at first detected.  Perhaps the church is cold, the minister and leading influences are out of the way, and it seems no more than just, nay even necessary that some severity should be used towards those who are so far out of the way....Now when this spirit first appears it grates across the tender minds of those who are in a spirit of love.  At first it distresses and agonizes them, but by and by there seems to be so much truth in what is said; their prayers and exhortations are so exciting; their own attention being directed to the faults that are so sternly rebuked, they begin to drink in the same spirit and partake of that boisterous and fiery zeal which was at first so inconsistent with the sweetness of their spirit....More of this at another time. Your brother, Charles G. Finney[i]

In contrast to a church, the term cult is a contraction of the word culture.  A culture, or cult for short, is something cultivated under controlled conditions.  An orderly church is not necessarily a cult.  However, whenever there is a sustained usurpation of a God-given order of things that brings members into unbiblical forms of control, a cult structure can be found to be actively present.

Revving up the Preacher

The church should center itself on Jesus and lift up His Word as its only absolute standard.  No one will be “Reverend” except God and none will be master or Rabbi except the Lord (Psalms 111:9, Mt 23:7).   The atmosphere of the church is to be governed by scripture and thus the atmosphere is not restrictive toward the members to the point that they are not allowed to exercise their God-sanctioned abilities within the church.   Each person should be allowed to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and to witness on a consistent basis.  Yet, many independent Baptist preachers have ingrained in their congregations a practice foreign to the early Church of God: the Popish Roman philosophy of “clergy”' and “laity.”  The consensus of the clergy is that the laity are far too ignorant to be able to choose correctly for themselves; therefore, the laity must follow the clergy on all aspects. The laity becomes the pawns played by the chess master.  The pawns do door knocking, tithe giving, pew filling and other checkmates giving the preacher the recognition of being a first class chess player among his peers. Such concepts of slave membership are mere perversions of the New Testament pattern.

Since cult leaders are placed above the scripture, they place themselves as a god and thus they are above criticism.  For example, Keith Hunter was director of computer processing for the Worldwide Church of God for twelve years.  Mr. Hunter spoke of his time under Herbert W. Armstrong, stating, "No church member was ever allowed to question his use of funds, his doctrines, his abuse of power, or anything else.”[ii]  Mr. Armstrong believed nobody should question him because he believed he reported directly to God, and his attitude has gained acceptance among numerous Baptist preachers.

Keith Hunter stated, “On one occasion, I ran a tithe check on the computers on a Thursday for Mr. Armstrong, and the very next Saturday during the church service he vehemently denied ever running tithe checks.  Out and out lies like that became increasingly more difficult for me to rationalize.”[iii]  Sadly, independent Baptist preaches have emulated Armstrong’s madness.  For example, a pastor in East Texas cut all missionary support without consulting the church and he had all available church bonds to be signed over in his name.  Members who questioned such abuses were subsequently slandered from the pulpit.  When that Baptist pastor was subsequently asked the meaning of II Peter 5:3, “Neither as being lords of God's heritage,” he retorted that the II Peter 5:3 passage had been written for the period of England which had lords and squires!

The cult leader in a Baptist church is not interested in molding a person's will so that they will want to yield it to Christ.  The cult leader wants to break the will of his listener.  This act comes straight from bewitching sorcery in which a person is made more accessible not only to the leader but also to demonic oppression.  At the very least, one’s sense of judgment goes awry after being broken under cult leadership, tending to make one more malleable, gullible, and leadable. 

R.A. Torrey preached that one of the gravest mistakes that anyone can make in his Christian life is that of being so anxious for spirit guidance that he is willing to open his soul to any spirit who may come along and try to lead him.[iv]  It is true that a man of God is to warn of the impending ruin caused by disobedience to scripture; yet on the other hand we have churches where the pastor and staff take liberty to play God upon matters such as what color car you should buy, whether or not to go on vacation, and of course you may have heard that if you leave this church then you aren't right with God; you will be out of God's will; you're going to cause something drastic to happen because of leaving; et cetera, ad nausea.  Jim Jones, the infamous cultist who orchestrated the death of 900 church members in November, 1978, kept his followers in constant fear by announcing the horrible things that would happen to them if they disobeyed him or left the People's Temple, and his henchmen made his prophecies come true whenever they could.  Such men take advantage of those amply willing to be led.

When a cult leader has made himself to be without error and without question in the mind of the follower, then turmoil can arise in the follower when he perceives error or unethical behavior.  On one side, the follower may think to himself, “If I leave I will be out of God's will.”  Growing on the other side is the cry, “If I don’t leave I will be out of God's will.” Such conflict of the mind arises out of an implanted notion regarding the preacher making him a great power or man of God (Act 8:9).

Christian Science stands or falls, not upon the authority and infallibility of God's Word, but upon the alleged authority and infallibility of its founder, Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy, and such a foundation is one of the surest marks of a cult.  The followers of Jim Jones had no authority to guide them other than Jones himself.  So it is with the followers of Herbett W. Armstrong.  Hindu gurus teach that it is impossible to reach moksah (nirvana) without their guidance. Joseph Smith held a similar position with his Mormon followers and so do many Baptist preachers in practice if not in doctrine.

In Mormonism, the goal is to get to heaven as a god.  Mormon doctrine declares: “Every man and woman must have the certificate of Joseph Smith as a passport to their entrance into the mansion where God and Jesus are.. [and] cannot go there without his consent.”  No cult leader in the fundamental Baptist ranks has slipped this far into the open, but he has created a similar situation.  As Baptists, we believe that we can know that we are going to heaven but we have to be in God's will and under His daily approval of our Christian walk.  When a preacher says that to transfer your membership and household to another part of the country or that not giving one‑hundred percent of your income on a particular day will cause you to not be right with God, he has stepped outside the boundaries that God set up and thus holds the ticket that you must have in order to fulfill your Christian walk.  Hence, once in a cult, you are programmed to believe you have no choice but to follow the leader or be under the wrath of God.  To those who see the inconstancy of the cult, the cult is a spiritual black hole, but to those who are completely sold out to the cult, it is a blinding light.

Those who try to check things said by the leaders to what the scriptures say are immediately condemned as having a critical spirit.  This attitude of “Don't think ‑ just obey” is one sure mark of a cult.   Few cults display this characteristic more clearly than the Mormons, as seen in the following quotes of an official Mormon publication:

Lucifer wins a great victory when he can get members of the Church to do their own thinking... When our leaders speak, the thinking has been done. When they propose a plan, it is God's plan.  When they point the way, there is no other which is safe.  When they give direction, it should mark the end of controversy... learn to do as you are told… if you are told by your leader to do a thing, do it, none of your business whether it is right or wrong.  God…will make me [Joseph Smith] to be god to you in His stead, and the Elders to be mouth for me; and if you don't like it, you must lump it![v]

The call to throw reason out the door and simply follow is often weaved into a cult leader’s sermons.  Consider the following quote: “Follow me down the alley and if we find out it's a dead end, just follow me back out … God will work it all out in the end.” Although that quote may be a cute saying in a pretty package, the ramifications are deadly.  We suffer from our actions when they are misguided.  The idea that God will sort it out in the end follows the philosophy of the end justifies the means.  Of course, the end justifies the means attitude is an antithesis to what the Spirit teaches, unless the spirit happens to be Satan.

Masons hold eight specific elements that permeate Masonic Lodges.  (1) There are mysteries involved; (2) These are passed on to only a select few; (3) To receive these mysteries one must be personally worthy; (4) A process of initiation is required; (5) The initiation involves secret rituals; (6) This takes place under controlled conditions, usually a temple; (7) In the process, the initiates are sworn to secrecy; (8) The penalty for revealing this secret knowledge to the non-initiated is death.[vi]  Cult leaders in Baptist churches use most if not all the above Masonic principles during either staff meeting or in college classrooms.  For example, 1) The insinuation of a clergy and a laity class; the clergy are the illumined ones who must make the decisions for the uniformed laity. 2) Only those members who show themselves to be loyal beyond reason (blind obedience) are allowed to advance in “My church.”  Pastoral candidates are told that they will be accountable only to God in their future churches. 3) The average member never sees the by‑laws of the church or some of the deep subjects of a church. 4) Starvation for Bible college students and their families while giving tithes and paying tuition or excessive compulsive attention to the church are looked upon as the initiation dues that one must endure before advancing.  5) Secrecy of scandals: what was said in the classroom, sermon tape cutting, reports being altered or glossed over before making them available to the church in that money expenditures are grouped under various names so that tracing them to find out the exact purpose and deposition is impossible.  6) Of course, ostracizing and character assassination usually results when you reveal a lack of dedication in blind loyalty.

A Driving Appeal

But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.  (Acts 8:9) 

People are attracted to things from which they feel they can reap benefits.  The cult they become involved with has something to offer, but it is usually too late before they realize, if they ever do, that it has cost them more than they were willing to pay.  Most people who join a cult do not realize it is a cult.  For example, many who turn from drugs while continuing to experience the effects of drugs, have often used yoga or transcendental meditation because they can get the high or spirit visitations from such without taking drugs.  What the person does not realize is that yoga, transcendental meditation, and other related teachings are aspects of Hinduism under different names.  Thus, they become a member of a Hindu cult: practicing the rituals and experiencing the results without being cognizant that they are converts of Hinduism.

“They zealously affect you, but not well.” (Gal 4:17)

Paul dealt with how the alluring aspects of bad doctrine can bedazzle the eyes of the unsuspecting:  Zeal and action draw the fish to the hook.  Among the bait often luring fundamental Christians into a church led by a cult leader are a plethora of baptisms, myriad decisions for Christ, colossal enthusiasm in the youth, tremendous church growth, and outward shows of religion.  Size and numbers do not necessarily mean that a church has received spiritual blessing, yet the modern-day Baptist following the competitive business world of today has been lulled into a false security that if it gets results it must be right.  Any casual observer of the Charismatic movement will readily admit that action and zeal are infectious, but not always well.

In Germany during the 1930's, Hitler fooled even the evangelical Christians for a long time.  His publicly stated goals included a restoration of “Positive Christianity” to Germany.  He took a strong stand against homosexuality, pornography, and prostitution, encouraged prayer in schools, enforced dress codes upon women, and brought peace and prosperity to a nation that had been trembling on the brink of disaster.[vii]    In fact, the sister to Ferdl Weiss, a Munich comedian of whom Hitler patterned his oratorical gestures, stated after a meeting with Hitler that he struck her more as a spiritual than a political leader.[viii]  Even American journalist H.R. Knickerbocker compared Adolf Hitler to Billy Sunday.[ix]  Adolf only seemed like a candidate for Anti-Christ when his ministry of war came to fruition.  Hitler’s stand and early policies mirror the present-day cult leader in a Baptist church: especially those who claim to have standards.

But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing (Gal 4:18a).

Because of our recognition that zeal can be good, it becomes Satan's target to get us to mistake a bad thing for the good thing.  Young preachers who want to see revival and yearn for a ministry of conviction and discipline naturally gravitate toward a church and bible college where there is zeal and seeming success.  Unfortunately, the pastoral students tend to pick up the bad habits of their masters, leaving their training ground to spread the seeds of bitter doctrine in other churches.

Often, members of under cult leadership will point to success stories to validate their church’s ministry, instead of examining it closely from doctrinal issues.  For example, saturating a community with large numbers of proselytizers by any religious sect will eventually gain converts.  Once those converts are made, they are then heralded as proof that God is working in their midst, which in turns raises the level of zeal among the membership.  If such were not the case, Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons would be considered dismal failures.  The membership can glibly rattle a list of decisions, baptisms, commitments, and such, feeling confident that such is proof of their movement being God sanctioned.   Though the membership may refuse to admit it, closer examination may reveal that the pure physical brawn of knocking on doors coupled with a well-greased presentation and worship service may be the real source of the so-called success and subsequent zeal.

To illustrate how physical brawn can be at the base of a ministry, consider the famous old-fashioned preacher J. Frank Norris.  Norris pastored two large churches at the same time from 1934 to 1947: First Baptist Church of Fort Worth, Texas, and Temple Baptist Church of Detroit, Michigan. Through the efforts of Norris and his co-worker, Dr. Louis Entzminger, the Sunday Schools of these two congregations became the largest in the world at that time: 15,000 and 10,000 respectively.  They discarded quarterlies and used only the Bible as the textbook in the Sunday Schools. Norris developed a very aggressive house-to-house visitation program.  By Norri’s death in 1952, both churches had established a total of 40 thriving churches in and around their cities.  In his memoirs, Entzminger wrote, "From the human standpoint the secret of the growth of these churches may be summed up in one word ‘Visitation’."[x]  To his credit, Norris believed in plowing the ground of sinners’ hearts with the law of God to prepare the soul for genuine conviction and repentance.  If such men dedicated to careful evangelism are willing to admit that pure physical activity can create growth in numbers, then we should not rush to proclaim less careful ministries - ministries who would rather hurry people through prayers or baptistery pools - as being truly blessed by God. 

Slight of Hand

A cult leader in a Baptist church changes many things, but which of the changes cause the illusions of good results?  Paul answers this question, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:4).  The ingredient added to the church by a cult leader to give his ministry the illusion of goodness is usually the perversion of the gospel.  The perversion of the gospel may be apparent in the extreme or it may be an almost undetectable subtle shift.

Those who pushed legalism, salvation according to the law, troubled the Galatians but the shift of perversion can take other directions.  Mind games and mental gymnastics, along with prosperity plans have flooded the teaching scene of the ministry.  Also, compromises upon the repent and believe preaching has led to “just believe.”  In a rush to produce action, conviction of sin has become an outcast doctrine in order to make way for new techniques coupled with psychological manipulation producing a myriad of decisions, multiple baptisms or outstanding membership growth.  Our generation has seen a new twist to the half‑way covenant that prevailed prior to Jonathan Edwards's day in the 1700’s.  We have converts without conviction and professors that aren't possessors.  Yes, there are those whom the Holy Spirit has been convicting and to whom a simple “trust Jesus” would result in a new creature, but many have become guilty of sorcery common to the Roman priest by mechanically quoting, “pray this special sinners prayer.”  Regrettably, it may be twenty years or more before one can look back in proper perspective upon the harvest  and see that many more tares were prayed into the church’s statistics than wheat.

Whether subtly or drastically, there will be a drift from the ancient landmarks of the faith.  A church in East Texas boasted of much zeal and action, but scenes such as Wednesday prayer where the whole church would get down on their knees and plead before a mighty God for conviction to fall on sinners were slowly but effectively dropped.  Satan hates it when God's church folk gather together in prayer, but flashy armor and statistical competition whose main thrust is to get somebody to chant a familiar prayer or to make allegiance to a particular program is no major concern of his.

The 19th century evangelist Charles Finney wrote a letter concerning the new type of converts and what we now label decisions for Christ:

They have been urged to repent before they have really understood the nature and desert of sin; to believe before they have understood their need of Christ; to resolve to serve God before they have at all understood their what the service of God is.  They have been pressed to make up their minds to enter immediately upon the service of God, and have been taught that they needed only to make a resolution to obey the Lord.  Hence their religion, after all, has been only a religion of resolutions instead of a religion of faith, and love, and of a broken heart.  In short it appears to me, that in many instances the true idea of what constitutes pure religion has not been developed in the mind, and that consequently spurious conversions have been distressingly numerous.[xi]

Believing that the end justifies the means, cult leaders put on a show for others regardless of how hypocritical the show.  Their actions are reminiscent of Satan transforming himself to appear as an angel of light.   For example, consider a cult leader who places the number of baptisms as his number one goal.  He may state, “preachers lacking in baptisms just don't have it,” yet turn around and speak from the other side of his mouth and invite an entertaining and crowd gathering guest speaker to co-host his soul-winning clinic though the guest speaker’s church doesn’t have many baptisms.  Others may preach against the Charismatic movement and liberalism yet invite a Charismatic or liberal preacher who carries clout. 

Running for Victory

Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? (Galatians 5:7)

O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you. (Galatians 3:1)

Ye did run well: the Galatians had been doing fine yet someone hindered them.  Paul did not say, “Why do you stop yourselves?” but rather, “Who did hinder you?”  Paul recognized that an outside person had used some type of force to hinder or to hold back the Galatians.  It would appear that Satan, who is a liar and disobeys truth, had constructed vain imaginations in the Galatians’ minds: a bulwark that both hindered and hypnotized them.  Notice that Paul asked, “Who hath bewitched you?”  Cult leaders often use a polished form of the age-old practice of sorcery.

Sorcery. American music propagates it, television graphically portrays it, newspaper tabloids indoctrinate us into it, and religious leaders of the day are practicing it.  Sorcery takes many forms such as mind over matter or using selected phrases to get results from God.  Such sorcery can be seen not only in the Charismatic meeting but in many Baptist meetings as well.  Bewitching as it is, multitudes of pastors are experts in psychology and many use it in the most unscriptural means possible.

Positive or possibility thinking falls under the category of sorcery, because it follows eastern mystical beliefs in that one can influence the world by willing it to happen.  Many sermons bearing titles “If you will you will” or “What dream hast thou dreamed” push young energetic Christians into forgetting God is in control.  “In the name of Jesus” thereby becomes the magic ritual supposed to activate God into obedience to our heart's desires.  To the sorcerer, faith is not something placed in God, it is a power directed at God.  Those who fall prey to such deception are victims of their own zeal.  The famous preacher Reuben A. Torrey commented years ago upon this heresy by saying,

 “If we think of the Holy Spirit, as so many do, as merely a power of influence, our constant thought will, be, ‘How can I get more of the Holy Spirit?’  But if we think of Him in the Biblical way as a Divine Person our thought will rather be, ‘How can the Holy Spirit have more of me?’”[xii]

A Dedication to Immorality

A tendency towards immorality is built into cultism, due in part to conscience being overruled by the cultic demand of unqualified obedience to the leader's revelation.  Consider the authority of Jim Jones who desensitized his followers to the repulsive horror of suicide and murder.  How could his religious followers sink so low?  The answer is that the strange appeal of blind submission to a cult leader lies in its false offer of escape from individual moral responsibility.  It is for this reason that so many in the church can sit idly by while their friends are being slandered by false and defamatory oral statements from the pulpit.  They do not feel morally obligated to set matters straight concerning their friend’s innocence, even when they know the truth.  They reason that they are not in charge and that the pastor has to have had a good reason for the verbal attack.  It is true that members should have a sense of security in the integrity of the pastor, but not to the degree of abandoning all reason and sense of propriety.

Since it is reasoned that one is not morally responsible for his actions, it is not uncommon to find the leading soul‑winner deeply entrapped in adultery.  There is also the matter of a self-destructive nature.  Some people enact a living suicide by committing deep sin in order to disqualify themselves from the church.  They would rather experience the rebuke of sin that they feel they can be forgiven than to endure the censor of the entire church and have a cloud of gloom hanging over them for the rest of their life as a result of leaving the church against the pastor's so-called command from God.

It is not surprising that Paul included the works of the flesh in his address to the Galatians: Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness... these run rampant in church staffs led by a cult leader in a Baptist church.  Such vileness is kept neatly swept under the carpet.  Sister churches may not hear of the wickedness because the membership stifles it.  One brilliant use of sorcery used when staff members walk into sin utilizes the Jewish law of accountability.  Biblically, the closest city to the corpse of a murdered person is held as responsible for that death (Deuteronomy 21:1-9).  In the cult leaders’ sermon, the text is read and the theme of accountability is carried throughout the message.  At the close of the sermon you find out that the closest city to the poor victimized staff member is the church member. Such guilt inducement is successful in that any blame that might result from the scandal would be shifted from the pastor and his staff to YOU!  Satan may start out with scripture and shadows of truth, only to  leave us in darkness, wallowing in our own blood.

Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresy, Envying, murders, drunkenness, reveling, and such like... these can be seen taking shape in fundamental Baptist churches that are led by cult leaders. Idolatry of images takes many forms.  We may wish to ponder why many preachers insist on putting their images on the front of tracts when we are to show sinners the image of Jesus Christ instead.  Of course, we have no portrait of Jesus other than our scripture, but it seems that the Hollywood promotion and deification of self has taken precedent over the scriptures.

Self Worship

Preacherhood is fast becoming the deified priesthood in many independent Baptist churches. Mormons deify man and his priesthood.  Take the following example that shows the dedication involved in a cult church:

I met and fell in love with a wonderful Mormon man, convinced he was a Christian.  I didn't know Mormon beliefs... but my new Mormon friends accepted me and literally loved me into their Church.  After we were married and I was in the Church, I began to realize that Mormonism was entirely different from Christianity.  They have a different God, a different Jesus... in fact, almost every Mormon belief is very different from what the Bible teaches.  I was shocked! We did have a wonderful marriage.  In fact, everyone thought we had the perfect marriage.  My husband and I were very compatible.  We had the same interests and we had a wonderful life together.  Wanting to be obedient and respect his religious beliefs, I continued to go with him to the Mormon Church, even though I felt an uneasiness there and an emptiness.  I even went to the Temple with my husband to prepare for our sealing for eternity.  That was too much.  I couldn't believe what went on in there.  I hadn't thought that Christians would do such things.  I was so horrified that I told my husband I would never go back in there again.  As I began to understand things better, I realized that I was standing in the way of his becoming a god.  This made me feel so sorry for him that I could hardly bear it. Finally he asked me, 'Why don't you leave the Mormon Church?'  'Do you really mean it?'  I replied, surprised that he would even suggest it.  'Yes, I wish you would!' he insisted. So I had my name removed from the Church roles.  As soon as I did that, he divorced me so he could pursue his goal of godhood.[xiii]

Baptist Churches may reflect the Mormon dedication to the priesthood of preachers while under cult leadership.  Several students of one independent Baptist college when counseled upon their marital problems were told, “It would be best to divorce the heifer and find a woman that will follow you.”  Such counseling is not only given but is being practiced without reprimand (Hordes of such wrongfully divorced students are being trained to become pastors of Baptist churches at this present time).  Staff members whose spouses are reluctant to fall in line are given the okay to divorce: divorce his spouse so that he can then marry a faithful member who most likely has divorced her reluctant husband.  The reasoning for such conversation taking place in independent Baptist churches is congruous to that of Mormonism: the office of preacher or the title of faithful member becomes such an obsession that it will not let anything stand in its way of filling one's destiny.

A Damning Persuasion

Hitler focused the Germans against the Jews and then pitted the Jews against each other.  Similarly, ministries led by cultic leaders are ministries riddled with contention and fear between their members.  Staff workers may be pitted to compete against one another on a regular basis.  To place members on a suspicious level against each other, slander may be namelessly hurled from the pulpit.  Suspicion and animosity even between spouses may be stirred into action: since the man is to be the head of the home, the principle is twisted to the point that the wife is ridiculed and belittled from the pulpit to the point that the her voice of caution cannot be heard, and the husband may wrongly be taught that his wife’s views on spiritual matters are unimportant.  When such conflict ends in divorce, either one or both partners may be told that the situation would not have arisen had they spent more time aggressively involved in additional church programs.

Cult leaders often train their group to automatically ostracize anyone who may become awakened to sin taking place behind closed doors.  In a cult, you become your own enemy in the fear that if you quit, you will be fulfilling the preacher’s prophecy of being a failure, and if that is true then maybe all the evil things that he said would happen will happen.  The entire church membership may be kept in the hellish turmoil of plotting and distrust while the masterminds sit back and scheme how to get rid of rebellious trouble makers who dare stand against sins of church leaders.  The constant pitting against one another yet keeping solid group cohesion is the work of a psychological mastermind.  The leaders troubling the Galatians also employed the tactic of ostracizing dissenters to maintain group cohesion.   Paul had to combat such tactics by asserting his call as an apostle (Galations chapter 1 and 2), followed by a poignant question to the church, “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?” (Gal 4:16).  As New Testament believers, we can assert our call as the LORD’s anointed and perhaps ask the question, “Are we therefore become your enemy, because we tell you the truth?”

Added to the fear of being ostracized, fatigue often accompanies those who are active in cults.  Followers who regularly attend preaching services while they are involved in full-time college, various outreach ministries, or having worked long night hours often become even more fatigued.  Due to stress, it is not uncommon to find an exhausted cult follower listening to their leader’s sermon in an almost trance-like state; a state furthering mental suggestion and paranoia.

One young woman whose husband attended an independent Texas Baptist college stated the anxiety she had built up within herself during her stay at the Temple had driven her to attempt suicide.  She does not want to live anymore facing the memory of having been under a cult leader in a Baptist church... her will IS broken!  The fear generated under such an atmosphere is expressed in the following quote:

In 1973 the mental torment of being in the organization finally got to me.  The conflict, contradictions and hypocrisy became more than I could bear any longer.  With considerable fear... I left the Worldwide Church of God.[xiv]

 Patterns of Thought

The aura of judgmentalism invades every facet of a cult leaders’ philosophy.  What he feels impressed upon him as his requirements will soon become the requirement for all believers.  One such area concerns itself with the tithe. It has been taught in more than one church that consistently giving above the ten‑percent level is an indication of spiritual growth. This may be true for some individuals since God is a diversified sovereign able to set personal goals on an individual basis; yet to set up such a standard of spiritual growth for an entire church would be heresy.  Sadly, some churches have enacted a program called “Give it ALL Sunday” in which those who do not participate by giving their entire pay check are then deemed by the pastor as being not right with God.  Other churches invoke a “Faith Promise Offering,” promising an offering based on something you do not presently possess in hopes to commit God to provide it: an example of faith directed at God, not in God.  In contrast, Scripture teaches all offerings are based upon what you know and have, not on what you don’t have.  When Jephthah made a faith promise offering, it resulted in a severe tragedy (Judges 11:30-40).  In addition, Abraham gave ten percent as a norm, and he used his talents to increase the remainder to become even more financially independent.  A cult leader, however, would not have the patience to allow a modern day Abraham to grow a financial empire: he wants more money in the offering plate today!

Breaking the Mindset

The call to a good cause, a patriotic venture, or a golden opportunity can be heard sermon after sermon. Commitment to a cause underscores the entire ministry of the cult leader.  Regardless of how golden the opportunity to serve may be, our commitment is not to be laid at the base of a program but rather at the feet of Christ.  In John chapter two, verse twenty‑four, we read that Jesus did not commit himself unto them.  You can give your obedience to only one master at a time.  You can place your full commitment into only one direction at a time.  Jesus was committed unto his Heavenly Father; He was obedient to the Father unto death.  Likewise, the faithful disciple of Christ is to be committed unto none other than Christ Himself. In contrast, the cult leader may have a one-tract mind, being committed to decisions for Christ, baptisms, church growth, or committed to financial gain, building programs, or to rules of separation.    The ramification of being committed to any aspect of the ministry, though it may be a noble cause, is that the ministry of God is thereby placed above the God of the ministry.  The end result is that you would then have religion for religion's sake.  Did not the Pharisees toss biblical rules of judgment aside to crucify Christ because they were committed to their place in their nation? (John 11;48)

Righteous Judgment

Prejudice is pre‑judging a question.  Pre‑judgment is what Christ intended to prohibit and forbid, especially from one who is guilty of the same crime (A hypocrite: one who is indignant upon the sins of others yet is indulgent upon his own sin).  Christ did not teach that we shouldn’t decide things, but that we should not judge without a candid investigation and when we are also part of the infraction, we should repent before condemning someone else committing the infraction.

It is judgmental to cast judgment without taking the care to research a matter or without scriptural warrant.  However, God does command us to judge.  The Lord Jesus Christ commanded, “Judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24).  He told a man, “Thou hast rightly judged” (Luke 7:43).  To others, our Lord asked, “Why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?”(Luke 12:57).  The Apostle Paul wrote, “I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say” (I Cor. 10:15).  Again, Paul declared, “He that is spiritual judgeth all things” (I Cor. 2:15).  Judging right from wrong, using God's word as the rule, is not abusive so long as we exercise righteous judgment and not judgmentalism. 

Conclusion

The cult leader in a Baptist church does three things: (1) He removes the Bible as the only supreme authority and replaces it with his authority regardless of any claims tot he contrary  (2) He controls the group by sorcery (3) He changes the gospel either subtly or drastically in either the direction of Legalism or Easy-believism.  Though the cult leader in a Baptist church matches the old‑fashioned independent Baptist in many ways, the three principles that mark him can be found.  As long as people won’t judge rightly and risk the consequences, he will remain in power and influence. 

Unlike believers in the Old Testament, we as New Testament believers are all the Lord’s anointed (2^nd Corinthians 1:21).  The cult leader in a Baptist church should exercise care that he touch not the Lord’s anointed, because he will be held accountable for the damage he creates.  Therefore, be bold in the LORD and stand against wickedness in high places so that you won’t be under a cult leader in a Baptist church.

Note:  Be very careful if confronting a cult leader in a Baptist church, because he may not hesitate in trying to frame you, either on a church matter or even a criminal matter, in an effort to blackmail you into silence or for pure retaliation.  Be bold, but be wise.  Be very wise.