Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 5, No. 1 1988 Page 57
Blame and uncertainty are focused upon basic human interactions: talking, listening, thinking,
wondering, seeing, as well as on the actual objects and events that are perceived. The sect
employs a series of reductionist techniques that impoverishes members from seeing that there
may be other possible explanations for events and observations. The sect‘s classification
procedures are operationalized through a standardized set of procedures that are assumed to be
objective and unbiased. The idea that there are multiple ways for something to become known or
verified without going through this standardization system is condemned and those who
circumvent the system are punished.
[Elders] Men that were elders in this church, would do this [become traitors]. You
need to recognize that Satan is at work, and he is deceptive and is crafty... it's real,
it's God's word, and the picture is one of the arch enemy of God and of the saints.
His work is deceptive and ifs crafty. That's why we have to bring about this
situation. You know the first response of what this does is, it'll happen in your
heart, it happened in my heart, was, what is it they're [the ex-elders] sharing?
What is it they're saying? You know, your ear kinda perks up ―I'd like to know that
I want to find that out. You know, maybe there is something goin' on that's not
right and I ought to know about that so I can evaluate it.‖ And, and that's our first
response, and that's not the response we should have.
The Mechanics of Expulsion: Selecting the Core Participants
If the crisis situation has the potential to do immediate damage to either the local church or the
national movement, mainly due to the status of the individuals and/or their militance in sharing
the information, the sect sets in motion a furious set of responses. Often, core participants in the
excommunication process are selected from among the most loyal leaders from around the
nation. They are called and asked to drop everything and fly to an undisclosed destination for an
initial emergency meeting. More often, the situation is handled by the local leadership, and
sometimes this definitional meeting is guided by frequent phone conversations with leaders who
have engaged in their own excommunication processes.
The initial meeting is somewhat light-hearted at first, and those who see no humor in the
discussions and/or purpose are clearly identified. In one preliminary meeting, 25 participants,
both male and female, were present. Out of these, only ten survived to the second and more
secret caucus, all male.
The first discussion justifies both the meeting and the subsequent decisions that they hope to
reach. A statement of the leadership's intentions and a general description of the target's
behavior is put forward. At the outset the focus of the meeting is clearly on the target, which,
because of the sin-potential and non-falsifiability factors, predisposes the participants to view
favorably the leadership in all subsequent discussions.
This meeting is also intended as a training film for new leadership, a purpose that is rarely
communicated. During one excommunication meeting, participants in earlier definitional meetings
were informed of this training function:
[Elders] Oh, we already decided what we were going to do with the woman before
we called that meeting with you men. We just called it to see if you men were
ready to become leaders by coming to the same conclusions as we did. Since none
of you did, we'll just have to wait until you men mature more. The meeting was
solely for your benefit.
Those allowed participation in the initial meeting who do happen to agree, have passed the first of
a series of loyalty and betrayal tests. If this is a second or third time around for some members,
and if they remember what disagreeing in times past entails, they may be more likely to
acquiesce especially if agreeing is one of the more important criteria for becoming an elder in the
movement
Blame and uncertainty are focused upon basic human interactions: talking, listening, thinking,
wondering, seeing, as well as on the actual objects and events that are perceived. The sect
employs a series of reductionist techniques that impoverishes members from seeing that there
may be other possible explanations for events and observations. The sect‘s classification
procedures are operationalized through a standardized set of procedures that are assumed to be
objective and unbiased. The idea that there are multiple ways for something to become known or
verified without going through this standardization system is condemned and those who
circumvent the system are punished.
[Elders] Men that were elders in this church, would do this [become traitors]. You
need to recognize that Satan is at work, and he is deceptive and is crafty... it's real,
it's God's word, and the picture is one of the arch enemy of God and of the saints.
His work is deceptive and ifs crafty. That's why we have to bring about this
situation. You know the first response of what this does is, it'll happen in your
heart, it happened in my heart, was, what is it they're [the ex-elders] sharing?
What is it they're saying? You know, your ear kinda perks up ―I'd like to know that
I want to find that out. You know, maybe there is something goin' on that's not
right and I ought to know about that so I can evaluate it.‖ And, and that's our first
response, and that's not the response we should have.
The Mechanics of Expulsion: Selecting the Core Participants
If the crisis situation has the potential to do immediate damage to either the local church or the
national movement, mainly due to the status of the individuals and/or their militance in sharing
the information, the sect sets in motion a furious set of responses. Often, core participants in the
excommunication process are selected from among the most loyal leaders from around the
nation. They are called and asked to drop everything and fly to an undisclosed destination for an
initial emergency meeting. More often, the situation is handled by the local leadership, and
sometimes this definitional meeting is guided by frequent phone conversations with leaders who
have engaged in their own excommunication processes.
The initial meeting is somewhat light-hearted at first, and those who see no humor in the
discussions and/or purpose are clearly identified. In one preliminary meeting, 25 participants,
both male and female, were present. Out of these, only ten survived to the second and more
secret caucus, all male.
The first discussion justifies both the meeting and the subsequent decisions that they hope to
reach. A statement of the leadership's intentions and a general description of the target's
behavior is put forward. At the outset the focus of the meeting is clearly on the target, which,
because of the sin-potential and non-falsifiability factors, predisposes the participants to view
favorably the leadership in all subsequent discussions.
This meeting is also intended as a training film for new leadership, a purpose that is rarely
communicated. During one excommunication meeting, participants in earlier definitional meetings
were informed of this training function:
[Elders] Oh, we already decided what we were going to do with the woman before
we called that meeting with you men. We just called it to see if you men were
ready to become leaders by coming to the same conclusions as we did. Since none
of you did, we'll just have to wait until you men mature more. The meeting was
solely for your benefit.
Those allowed participation in the initial meeting who do happen to agree, have passed the first of
a series of loyalty and betrayal tests. If this is a second or third time around for some members,
and if they remember what disagreeing in times past entails, they may be more likely to
acquiesce especially if agreeing is one of the more important criteria for becoming an elder in the
movement
