buildings in Windsor in order to lend them to
Pastor X to use as a temple and a rectory. The
official opening of the Evangelical BCW, as an
independent corporation, occcured on July 6,
1978. Despite its coming into existence with the
aid of the Evangelical Baptist Church of
Lennoxville, the new church formed no formal
ties to any religious group or association. The
Evangelical BCW’s success was rapid and,
within 2 years, the church boasted 70 adult
members, of whom 40 had been newly
converted. Its only officer was Pastor X, who
was assisted by four board members.
The First Years
In terms of doctrine, Pastor X subscribed to a
conservative Protestantism in which man is seen,
by divine right, to be the head of the household
and, as such, his wife and children owe him
absolute obedience. Pastor X encouraged
couples to have children and to raise them in
keeping with conservative biblical principles. In
his sermons, he instructed his congregation to
use corporal punishment to discipline their
children and often referred to the necessity of
spanking children, whether with the hand or an
instrument. There were no rules, however,
during the first years of the congregation, and
each family was free to decide which behaviors
were deemed punishable and to what extent
corporal punishment would be used.
The Split
Despite the Evangelical BCW’s success with
recruitment, several disputes arose in 1980
between the pastor and certain church members.
According to sources, Pastor X revealed himself
to be quite rigid as to his interpretation of the
Bible, not allowing any discussion of his word,
nor of his decision to interpret the Bible as
literally as possible, notably about the corporal
punishment of children. A split finally arose in
the late 1980s when the Pastor insisted on
personally training young men to become
pastors. Close to half the congregation left,
including most of those who originally were
from the Evangelical Baptist Church of
Lennoxville. Several Baptist congregations in
the region chose to sever their links to the
Evangelical BCW as a result of the split. Pastor
X was seen as being much too rigid and
intransigent in his biblical interpretations. The
Evangelical BCW thus became alienated
spiritually and socially from other churches in
the region. The influence of Pastor X on his
congregation henceforth was absolute, and all
those who had known him as a fellow member
of the Evangelical Baptist Church of
Lennoxville were now either gone or had been
subdued.
The split with the Evangelical Baptist Church of
Lennoxville left the management of the BCW in
the hands of Pastor X, his brother, an assistant
pastor, and four board members. Maybe because
of the loss of so many members of his church
and of the rift with other Baptist communities in
the region, Pastor X engaged his congregation in
an active campaign of proselytizing, which
energized the BCW, bringing them from a mere
40 members to some 120 to 150 followers in the
course of 2 years. Having so many new
members, however, made it necessary for the
pastor to transform unofficial rules into much
more explicit ones, a process that rendered
regulations and practices much more rigid
within the BCW. Many behaviors and attitudes
that had previously been merely discouraged by
the pastor became clearly prohibited and new
behaviors, such as watching television, buying
decorative or superfluous objects, and eating
sweets, for example were added to the list of
prohibitions. This change had a huge impact on
everyday life, not only by changing peoples’
habits, but also and most importantly by making
members more available for affairs of the
church. Although the pastor did not yet prohibit
members from having contact with people
outside the church, the practice was looked upon
with disapproval except when the contact was
for purposes of proselytizing.
As the congregation grew and the number of
rules multiplied, mechanisms of surveillance
were put in place. The pastor, aided by a small
circle of lieutenants, namely his brother and the
board members, kept a close watch on the
conduct and attitude of the congregation. The
pastor encouraged an atmosphere of distrust and
of denunciation of breaches amongst members.
He diligently followed up on information and
acted upon it, reacting with rage to those who
deviated from his norms, menacing them with
86 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 6, 2015
Pastor X to use as a temple and a rectory. The
official opening of the Evangelical BCW, as an
independent corporation, occcured on July 6,
1978. Despite its coming into existence with the
aid of the Evangelical Baptist Church of
Lennoxville, the new church formed no formal
ties to any religious group or association. The
Evangelical BCW’s success was rapid and,
within 2 years, the church boasted 70 adult
members, of whom 40 had been newly
converted. Its only officer was Pastor X, who
was assisted by four board members.
The First Years
In terms of doctrine, Pastor X subscribed to a
conservative Protestantism in which man is seen,
by divine right, to be the head of the household
and, as such, his wife and children owe him
absolute obedience. Pastor X encouraged
couples to have children and to raise them in
keeping with conservative biblical principles. In
his sermons, he instructed his congregation to
use corporal punishment to discipline their
children and often referred to the necessity of
spanking children, whether with the hand or an
instrument. There were no rules, however,
during the first years of the congregation, and
each family was free to decide which behaviors
were deemed punishable and to what extent
corporal punishment would be used.
The Split
Despite the Evangelical BCW’s success with
recruitment, several disputes arose in 1980
between the pastor and certain church members.
According to sources, Pastor X revealed himself
to be quite rigid as to his interpretation of the
Bible, not allowing any discussion of his word,
nor of his decision to interpret the Bible as
literally as possible, notably about the corporal
punishment of children. A split finally arose in
the late 1980s when the Pastor insisted on
personally training young men to become
pastors. Close to half the congregation left,
including most of those who originally were
from the Evangelical Baptist Church of
Lennoxville. Several Baptist congregations in
the region chose to sever their links to the
Evangelical BCW as a result of the split. Pastor
X was seen as being much too rigid and
intransigent in his biblical interpretations. The
Evangelical BCW thus became alienated
spiritually and socially from other churches in
the region. The influence of Pastor X on his
congregation henceforth was absolute, and all
those who had known him as a fellow member
of the Evangelical Baptist Church of
Lennoxville were now either gone or had been
subdued.
The split with the Evangelical Baptist Church of
Lennoxville left the management of the BCW in
the hands of Pastor X, his brother, an assistant
pastor, and four board members. Maybe because
of the loss of so many members of his church
and of the rift with other Baptist communities in
the region, Pastor X engaged his congregation in
an active campaign of proselytizing, which
energized the BCW, bringing them from a mere
40 members to some 120 to 150 followers in the
course of 2 years. Having so many new
members, however, made it necessary for the
pastor to transform unofficial rules into much
more explicit ones, a process that rendered
regulations and practices much more rigid
within the BCW. Many behaviors and attitudes
that had previously been merely discouraged by
the pastor became clearly prohibited and new
behaviors, such as watching television, buying
decorative or superfluous objects, and eating
sweets, for example were added to the list of
prohibitions. This change had a huge impact on
everyday life, not only by changing peoples’
habits, but also and most importantly by making
members more available for affairs of the
church. Although the pastor did not yet prohibit
members from having contact with people
outside the church, the practice was looked upon
with disapproval except when the contact was
for purposes of proselytizing.
As the congregation grew and the number of
rules multiplied, mechanisms of surveillance
were put in place. The pastor, aided by a small
circle of lieutenants, namely his brother and the
board members, kept a close watch on the
conduct and attitude of the congregation. The
pastor encouraged an atmosphere of distrust and
of denunciation of breaches amongst members.
He diligently followed up on information and
acted upon it, reacting with rage to those who
deviated from his norms, menacing them with
86 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 6, 2015
