One positive that has come out of our involvement with a GC church is that I have learned that being a Christian--an evangelical Christian (and one who homeschools, always votes pro-life, and doesn't believe women should be pastors!) doesn't involve throwing away critical thinking or never questioning anything. Because I had put my brain on hold for a few years, when we left, I had to process a lot of topics (church loyalty & commitment, leadership and how leaders are chosen and what limits their authority, stuff like that). A retired, evangelical pastor was very helpful to me. I remember talking to him about some of the communications we had from a couple pastors and how they were "hurt" by our leaving and felt that commenting on the theology of the church was a personal offense to the pastor. In other words, disagreeing with the theology of the church/GC WAS THE SAME AS criticizing the pastor.
Very gently, this pastor looked at me and said, "Identification with the group is one of the signs of a cult, isn't it?" I was totally taken aback. I had never thought of it that way. He, of course, wasn't saying that we can't be part of a group, or say we go to a specific church and really identify with the people there, but he was saying that when the individual identity is diminished and the group identity becomes the focus, one had better watch out.
After that discussion, I found the warning signs on the Rick Ross site. Sure enough, number 2 in the middle section was eye opening for me.
Individual identity, the group, the leader and/or God as distinct and separate categories of existence become increasingly blurred. Instead, in the follower's mind these identities become substantially and increasingly fused--as that person's involvement with the group/leader continues and deepens.
Here is the link:
http://www.rickross.com/warningsigns.htmlWhat I am not saying is that GC is a cult. What I am saying is that GC is on some dangerous ground and it might behoove a wise elder to look over these lists and ask himself some hard questions.
