Cliques and Cults

​“Trembling before man brings a snare, But he who trusts in Yahweh will be set securely on high.”--Proverbs 29:25
 
Most of us here in America grew up in a public-school setting—and we remember well that one table during lunch where only the cool kids sat. It was an exclusive group. It was difficult to get into, but much easier to get kicked out of. This group consisted mostly of pretty girls and jocks—and was led by two or three dominant personalities. They lived by a code that included everything from their dress, to their cars, to their lifestyles. If you happened to be friends with one of these people, they could only acknowledge you in certain settings for fear of being shunned. These folks were legends in their own minds—absolutely certain, deep-down in their souls, that they were simply better than everybody else. In high school, we called this group a clique.
 
Cliques are a natural product of a fallen world. And with the growth of communication like we’ve seen in the last 50 years or so, cliques have gotten anything but better. They’ve gotten worse. And perhaps the scariest thing is when a church (or group of churches) forms a clique—because there is a very fine line between a clique and a religious cult. And while people in the popular clique at school were well-aware they had made it, those involved in a cult normally do not realize they are in a such a movement until it’s far too late.
 
Now, when we hear the word “cult”, our minds may immediately go to the Jehovah’s Witnesses or the Mormons or the Branch Davidians or the like. In the 1970’s, a cult leader by the name of Jim Jones led nearly 1000 of his followers from California to a compound he had built in Guyana, which he named Jonestown. To make a long story short, after the community came under much scrutiny from those outside, on November 18, 1978, Jones had his followers drink poisoned fruit juice—leaving over 900 dead from what could (and should) be labeled a “murder-suicide”. That’s the type of crazy we often think of when we hear the word “cult”.
 
However, the death of cult members is often much slower and less painful—albeit just as tragic. In a society where schisms come more natural than breathing, we probably should not be surprised when a church (or group of churches) begins to view themselves as the cream of the crop—and everybody else below them. And as children grow up in such an environment, they are not only left with scars and skepticism of most other blood-bought children of God, but usually a deep-rooted misunderstanding of precisely how and why God accepts sinners. Understand me now—such a mindset can occur in a large multi-church movement like the Bill Gothard cult of the previous generation or much smaller, lesser-known groups that often fly under the radar. And because it is just so natural for us to want to latch on to somebody with all the answers to life and the hereafter, we may find ourselves in a cult-like situation before we even realize it.
 
I want to offer a few quick bullet-point warning signs here to help guard against a cult-like mentality. These are my own ideas. Certainly, more could be added by someone else. YMMV.

• In a cult-like environment, the cult leader pushes back against the charge. He (or she, in our day) may even admit that while his principles may sound cult-like—in his particular case, he is not a cult leader because he just so happens to have the exclusive truth.
• In a cult-like environment, the leader will restrict activity with those outside—even threatening religious shunning. He may even forbid any type of fellowship with another brother or sister in Christ (no matter how limited)—referring to it as spiritual adultery. All other believers are viewed with skepticism even if they happen to align rather closely, but do not adhere to every single requirement of the movement.
• In a cult-like environment, the leader (or group of leaders) is always right by default. He is unquestionable no matter what looniness he may say. Despite any heresies he may preach, he will continue to be supported and promoted as long as he preaches the system. He will likely use the Bible as a prop while reading his own cultic ideas into the text. The best teachers in such an environment are so good at this that you can almost see the words appear in the white spaces between the verses.
• In a cult-like environment, there is absolute exclusivity. Anybody and everybody outside is illegitimate. Any interaction with such illegitimate outsiders will bring swift punishment up to and including excommunication—not only from one’s own church, but from the entire movement. Once that occurs, the excluded person becomes a flashing neon warning sign for others still trapped in the movement. One’s friends within the movement cannot and will not publicly acknowledge this person any longer for fear of being shunned or excommunicated themselves. This likely means they cannot even “like” a post on social media from a shunned individual. The only possible way for the excluded person to get back in is to recant any and all previous outside fellowship and promise to refrain from it in the future.
• In a cult-like environment, the fear of those in the movement (particularly the leader or leaders) is often greater than one’s fear of God. The cult follower is more concerned with crossing a leader or a group now than they are standing before the judgment bar of God one day.
• In a cult-like environment, the requirements to remain inside the group will continue to become more and more strict—adding more rules on top of rules. This means a cult-like movement can only become more and more exclusive—meaning that even those who have sacrificed decades in service to the system will be kicked out if they do not comply with even the most recent trends among the leadership.
• In a cult-like environment, other orthodox, blood-bought, believers outside are treated as “lesser-thans”—even as the enemy. Sometimes faithful, Bible-teaching congregations are even labeled as “synagogues of Satan” (exegeted improperly from Revelation 2:9 & 3:9) because they refuse to acknowledge man-made regulations.  
• In a cult-like environment, the expectations of the group are more important than the actual demands of Scripture. A good cult leader will convince his followers that there is no difference between those two things. The members are expected to follow man-made traditions as a test of orthodoxy. And the traditional requirements of the group are preached so often with great passion that those in the pews are convinced they are Biblical.
• In a cult-like environment, the leader (or leaders) will always—ALWAYS—promise something greater to their followers than what other groups have or will have. This may be a present experience of some type or some type of greatness in eternity. But it will always be there. It is the only reason why cult members will willingly remain in a system that actually oppresses them.

 
As you can see, cultic thinking does not only exist in a religious compound like Jonestown—and it’s often much more difficult to discern.

As I said earlier, this type of behavior exists in our day in the largest of religious groups—from the multi-site superstar preacher—all the way down to the most unknown group that operates almost underground.  

If you have made it this far, you’ve likely begun asking the question, “Is this article aimed at me?” It’s unlikely that any church across the denominational spectrum has not been influenced by such a mindset at times. So yes—this article is aimed at you.

Preacher—make dead-level certain you have not created a personality cult built around you and/or any system you may be propping up. Even if you do not intend to, you may very well be preparing the church you pastor to fall into this trap in the future. Make certain that the worship of God in truth and the accurate preaching of His Word is your focus. And whatever you do, do not ever take for granted that the congregation realizes that. Make it clear.
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Layperson—make absolutely sure that you have not been drawn in by the personality of a man behind a podium. Do not be hoodwinked by promises of greatness beyond that of other blood-bought children of God. Seek a church where the Gospel is at the forefront and God’s Word is proclaimed with accuracy, clarity and boldness.

If you happen to find yourself in a group like this, you must ask if you’re committed to a cult or to Christ and His Word. The only church environment that can possibly mature you and help you to be faithful to our Lord is one where the Bible is accurately taught to the people, because that is how the Holy Spirit speaks to us today.

With perfect clarity, the apostle Paul wrote to young Timothy saying, “All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be equipped, having been thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). If you are in a religious environment where “the system” is on par with (or even greater than) the “God-breathed” words of Scripture—where your fear of the brethren is on par with or perhaps even greater than your fear of God—you may very well be in a cult. And if you are, one day you may be greatly disappointed that the bill of goods you were sold promising eternal greatness actually results in precisely the opposite (Mark 10:31). Like many of the cool kids from high school have come to realize, there’s nothing great about ourselves. The only great One is God alone.