How can you know if your church is turning
into a cult? Maybe you've asked yourself this question or wondered about it
in this video, I'm going to give you 10 warning signs that your church may be
going off track and becoming a cult rather than a house for God.
Now, before we get into it,
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Now let's dive into it.
Sometimes churches and ministries can start off very well following Jesus,
but then somewhere along the way, they go off track.
Paul even said to the Galatian Church,
"You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? After beginning
by means of the spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?"
Now, before I get into the ten warning
signs, I just want to say that there is no perfect church or ministry.
Proverbs 14:4 says, "Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty."
In other words, where God is moving and there is activity,
there will always, always be messes to clean up.
So don't confuse an imperfect church or
a church that is lacking in maturity with a cult.
Secondly, having one of these things or one of these signs that I'm about to tell
you in the list doesn't necessarily make a church a cult.
It would take many of these signs.
And even if a church has just one of these signs, it still is a serious issue.
And it does have the potential to make an environment that should be life-giving
and full of God's presence into something toxic.
So let's dive into it.
The first warning sign, the ministry or church has
an authoritarian style of leadership with no accountability.
When you have a leader in authority who is
very hierarchical and places a huge distance between himself and his followers
and even between himself and his staff, it can be dangerous.
These types of leaders may have an inner circle of people who are
yes, men, who acquiesce to them, and carry out their orders.
They don't challenge anything.
Authoritarian leaders who are not
accountable to anyone inadvertently create a team or a following that is no longer
focused on being aligned with God, but on being aligned with the leader.
And the unspoken expectation is that to be
aligned with the leader is to be aligned with God.
So the leader becomes another synonym for God.
If you're not aligned with the leader, it means you're not aligned with God.
And this can be very dangerous because it
puts the leader on a pedestal and causes members and staff to fall into idolatry.
So that is the flavor of an unhealthy
and abusive church or ministry or workplace in a healthy church.
On the other hand, the leader does not assume
an authoritarian rule, even if he or she still is in a position of authority.
When they are with their core team or
their parishioners, they view themselves as first among equals.
They are not lording over their people or over their staff.
They place around themselves trustworthy, mature and godly people who are gifted,
intelligent, independent thinkers, leaders in their own right.
And those team members are invited
to battle it out, to speak truth to the leader so
that in the end, everybody gets all the pieces of what God
is saying, and they arrive at the best God-given outcome. In this setting,
every person on that team is a valuable player who hears from God.
It isn't just about the leader as being
the only one who hears and everybody else acquiesces.
Warning sign number #2:
there is no tolerance for questions or criticism.
Questioning is viewed as a threat or a challenge to the leader.
Toxic leaders interpret questions to mean you're just not on board or you're out
against them or you're just really not in touch and you're not getting it.
Has that ever happened to you in toxic or unsafe communities?
Questioning or criticizing can result in judging and blame-shifting.
These issues foster an atmosphere of shame, blame and punishment.
Also, a leader who has zero tolerance
for questions, dissent and criticism is forever finding fault with the
way message was delivered to them or
with the person who delivered it. They may say, "Oh,
that person is spiritually immature, they lack character.
Their message was not delivered in the right spirit."
These leaders are always finding fault
with how the message was delivered in order to disqualify any person
that would question or try to speak into their life.
They are more preoccupied with pointing out the flaws than understanding what is
at the heart of the message and finding out the truth.
In contrast, a healthy leader is humble, teachable and aware of their issues.
They do not get their back up.
When you ask them questions, questions do not pose a threat to them.
Instead, healthy leaders get curious
and they want to find out the answer just as much as you do.
They are lovers of truth, lovers of understanding.
They are wise people.
Proverbs 9:8 says, "A wise person loves correction and instruction."
Therefore, questions help them find
answers to get to the truth, to grow and to gain a fuller perspective,
even if it means facing part of themselves.
That could be painful for them to face.
Their love for truth bypasses any fear of experiencing shame.
Warning sign #3:
a leader of a toxic church or a cult is not transparent about their finances.
Such leaders will not be up front about
their spending of church finances or allocation of money.
Finances are never a topic of discussion.
And if they are, the leader may communicate in a general
and ambiguous way to pacify people's concerns.
Usually, the top leader knows how all the money is spent,
but that information is not disclosed to his or her leadership team.
The leadership team may just trust
that the leader is managing the money with integrity,
but there is little accountability or oversight with that leader.
A healthy leader has no problem
to disclose documents on budget and spending and to ensure with his team
that everything is above board, they will make things public and transparent.
The 4th warning sign: the leader has a persecution or enemy complex.
They feel people on the outside are against them or out to get them.
I believe the root of this complex is because the leader has a victim mindset.
By making the enemy out there, they can avoid having to face their demons within.
And that is how leaders can become self- deceived and fall into pride and denial.
Where this can get dangerous for a church or a ministry is when an enemy complex is
combined with an over-the-top sense of elitism.
And that is when the church or ministry
believes that it is very special and called to do something much greater
and much higher than any other church or ministry.
And this kind of thinking can foster an arrogance where members believe
that everybody else on the outside just doesn't get it and everybody else
on the outside is not chosen to be part of this special high-profile work.
But, you know, at the end of the day,
we all are just one part of a larger body and a healthy church.
Everybody sees and knows their weaknesses.
There is a level of humility there.
They know their strengths and their weakness.
It isn't just about having this shame
complex, but they really understand that they are there by God's grace.
They are not judging other ministries or denominations or Christians.
They understand that maybe they have only one piece of the whole puzzle because,
you know, the scriptures say that we know in part and we prophesy in part.
In other words, there is no church or ministry that has the whole picture.
We are all part of a larger body.
Every part has its unique function
and purpose, and each of us needs the other parts.
There is no stand-alone person,
church or ministry that has it all in the body of Christ.
If there is any ministry, or
church that thinks they can get by solo without being connected to the larger
body, it is dangerous and it is also a form of arrogance.
The 5th warning sign:
people are shamed and shunned for leaving. In a toxic church or ministry,
leaving is treated like a betrayal to the church, to the ministry and to God.
There is shame and guilt inflicted by leaders and members for leaving.
In the end, people can be shunned, excommunicated and vilified for leaving.
This is probably the most devastating
consequence of being part of a community like that and the reason why many people
don't ever get the courage to leave, I just want to encourage you right now
that if you are in an environment like that, you did not convert into a church or
a ministry, you converted into the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of God can be anywhere and everywhere.
And you are of Christ.
So wherever God may call you in His kingdom, there are many vineyards.
There is not one church or ministry that is the kingdom of God.
God's kingdom is so huge and goes on for all of eternity.
What you are a part of may feel like it's everything, but it's not.
It is just a tiny little speck on the map.
Don't forget that the world is so big out there and there is way more for you.
So any church that takes offense at your departure is likely toxic.
That is a sure sign that you may have a leader who is not building for Christ.
That leader is building for their own selfish gain.
They're building their own empire
by making a franchise out of Jesus Christ and the Bible.
But they're not building God's kingdom.
Maybe they started off building God's
kingdom, but they got lured into temptations along the way.
So what they're building might look like God, but God is not part of it.
They're building their own empires,
which has a form of godliness but denies God's power.
In healthy churches and ministries,
the leaders are more kingdom-focused than focused on their own silos.
They understand that advancing the kingdom of God is beyond their own ministry
and their hearts are focused on pleasing Jesus, their King.
They are more delighted to see people
fulfilling their God-given purpose than joining their church.
They celebrate their members and send them off with blessings when they leave.
They don't forbid their members
from associating with people who have left the church.
The bridges are never burned when people
leave, but relationships are still maintained afterwards.
Warning sign #6:
There is a pattern of abuse and grievances.
There is a pattern of people in the church
or ministry experiencing the same negative issues with the same leader.
or ministry. The leadership or ministry somehow leave
many broken or blown-up relationships in their wake. In a healthy church
you might have a disgruntled or critical
person or immature person who is acting out.
So there may be these one-off negative
issues with a leader or a ministry, but it is not the norm.
It is quite the exception.
Warning sign #7: followers feel they can never be good enough.
In order for the leader to feel secure in his or her position of authority,
they are often critical of their followers.
It may not show at first, but it does come out eventually.
Leaders might do amazing things to make
their followers feel special and want to be part of the work.
But later on, the leader may come down
hard on followers demanding greater performance, more allegiance,
more compliance, more of their resources for the work.
It is never enough.
It can feel like sucking your lifeblood.
Pretty soon you are burning out.
It is like a big black bottomless pit
that you are sacrificing your soul for without any kind of life of your own.
And even when you give your all, even that is not enough.
All this service to the leader, of course,
is in the name of being a slave to Jesus Christ.
These leaders are always looking for the highest performers or the ones
who will support them with the utmost allegiance. In a healthy environment
though, people are given work that is
aligned with their gifts and their talents. Every person is made to feel
loved and valued, and that every job is valuable.
It is a culture of honor and celebration
and thanksgiving, rather than a culture of shame, blame, and punishment.
That brings me to the 8th warning sign: a culture of shame and instability.
The leader insidiously creates a culture of shame and instability by causing
members to compare themselves with each other and to expose one another's faults
in the name of helping them to grow spiritually, of course.
But there is no way to motivate someone to change, since it creates shame
and causes feelings of betrayal and strife between people.
Leaders like this preach about unity in Christ and family of Christ,
but the unstable environments they create are actually what cause the deepest
divides between people, which is something God absolutely hates.
In an environment like that,
instead of your inner emotional and spiritual resources being channeled
into creative work for God, they're actually being taken up
with contending with the mental warfare in that ministry or workplace.
Warning sign #9: the leader is always right.
If there is an issue or conflict between
you and the leader, it is always you that is at fault,
and the leader is always right.
The leader is God's delegated authority and His representative.
Therefore, to question him or challenge him is to challenge God.
That means if you have an issue with your leader, you have an issue with God.
That is the inherent manipulation
and gaslighting that occurs in a toxic church that starts to become like a cult.
The leader makes it absolutely impossible
to challenge him because after all, how can you challenge God?
A healthy leader, on the other hand,
makes space for healthy conversation and debate instead of getting defensive
when being asked questions. They get curious to understand more.
As I talked about earlier, they're more interested in gaining
understanding and finding truth than preserving their own honor.
They view themselves as a human and are more down-to-earth rather than behaving
like a God-entity that can never be challenged.
Warning sign #10:
the church or leader think that all the knowledge and revelation resides with themselves and their ministry.
They are the guru and any sources out there are not credible.
When you have a leader who calls himself or herself a prophet,
but has a ministry that is more like a cult, this can be very dangerous.
It can be dangerous
when the leader thinks that he or she knows his followers better than they know
themselves, like he can see into them or discern things about them.
If they disagree with him,
then they are the ones who are proud or who are in denial or who are blind.
Followers are made to feel like they cannot trust their own judgment or
discernment when it conflicts with the leader's judgments.
And
this is probably one of the most dangerous signs.
This type of deception is what can lead people to do crazy things for a leader,
like drink the Kool-Aid or donate large sums of money, or cut off all their
friends and family members out of their life, all in the name of serving God or
serving the leader who they believe is a man of God and who knows best.
A healthy leader, on the other hand, knows they're human and would be concerned
about anyone revering them like they are God. Healthy leaders are humble enough
to know that they do not know it all, and that even if he or she is highly
gifted or intelligent, that they could get it wrong.
They're willing to direct followers and people to other sources for help
and guidance, and not be threatened by outside sources.
They trust that the Holy Spirit that is in them is also in their people.
They don't need to take the role
of Holy Spirit in people's lives, but only help people to hear and discern
the voice of the Holy Spirit for themselves.
So, friend, these are the 10 signs
that your church or ministry might be turning into a cult.
If you believe you are in a cult or a toxic church and don't know what to do.
I would encourage you to watch my last
video on seven steps to leaving a toxic church unscathed.
If someone you know might be in a toxic
church or a cult, share this video with them.
Also, if you're thinking of leaving or you
are already in a season of transition, I have a gift for you.
It is a training on three key ways to navigate the difficult transition.
Transitions are never easy.
These are things that brought a massive
breakthrough in my life when I was going through a difficult transition.
So I have included the link for you below.
So this brings me to the end of my video.
I hope the tips I shared were helpful.
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I appreciate you so much.
Thank you for watching.
I will see you in the next video.