Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 5, No. 1 1988 Page 64
At this juncture, the next step varies dramatically from subject to subject. In some cases, another
―gang-up‖ takes place, almost always at the wee hours of the night, and a final appeal for
repentance is proffered. Since most targets do not believe they committed crimes, and reaffirm
their innocence, they are then informed that they are excommunicated. At the earliest
convenience, the entire church is informed of the decision. The following testimony is illustrative.
Charles, a leader in the sect, called a church-wide meeting to discuss how his local church could
become more effective. This was a result of a survey he conducted where members were asked to
list their gravest concerns about the church. This activity caused the other leaders to send for
what ex-members have labeled ―the flying apostolic posse,‖ which began meeting in secret about
Charles.
[Charles] At 9:30, I was called to meet with nine brothers. There I was told to
repent of calling that meeting ...and of not being submissive ...I didn't believe
God was convicting me that that meeting was a sin, or that I was unsubmissive and
therefore I couldn't repent. At 1:30 A.M. they let me go under discipline of the
church.
An example of another tactic occurred when a target was invited into a meeting under the ruse
that several elders from around the country were gathering to discuss the problems the target [in
this case an elder] had about the sect. The target had witnessed what he considered to be
deceitful and underhanded practices that the sect employed with the legal and academic
authorities.
[Noel] When the meeting was called I fully expected that the elders would try and
straighten [the leaders] out on these deceitful practices. The meeting came as an
entire shock to me... The [elders] were silent when I said I could not, with a clear
conscience, go along with some of the practices. On the contrary, the brothers
supported the accusations made on my character pride, as they saw it. One elder
was vocal the others were silent but appeared to assent to the accusation by their
silence. A question that bothered me tremendously about this was -if they wanted
to help me correct a weakness in my life, why didn't they come to me personally
beforehand instead of bringing my wife and me to a ―hung jury‖ [sic] of nine
elders?
Trial by Absentia: Generating Paranoia
There are other examples, however, in which the targets are actually left in the dark through the
whole process: from the initial secret meetings, the inquisition, the defining and labeling, and the
general church-wide meeting where they are officially excommunicated. This deviance-production
track has some interesting variations. Sometimes the first and second warnings to the target are
actually cloaked within meetings with a different stated purpose. Controversial topics are brought
up and requests for input and comments from the target are solicited. The target's responses are
then noted and when the leadership engages in challenging dialogue it is later considered a
―warning‖ by the elders. The target might walk away from the meeting thinking that he has really
seen that the sect is indeed open to frank discussion about controversial issues. This dialogue,
however, pops up as evidence of ―undermining the leadership‖ at the targets trial.
[Thomas] We had an all-church meeting concerning [the sect's publishing
endeavors] where I voiced my objections loud and clear. I really didn't know what I
was doing. I didn't realize that everything I said was going into the little black
books in the elders' minds. I just figured we were really free to express our
opinions ...Boy, was I ever naive!
I wrote a letter to the editors [of the sects magazine], asking them to answer
several questions. Well, I never received a reply, but my elders did. They got a
At this juncture, the next step varies dramatically from subject to subject. In some cases, another
―gang-up‖ takes place, almost always at the wee hours of the night, and a final appeal for
repentance is proffered. Since most targets do not believe they committed crimes, and reaffirm
their innocence, they are then informed that they are excommunicated. At the earliest
convenience, the entire church is informed of the decision. The following testimony is illustrative.
Charles, a leader in the sect, called a church-wide meeting to discuss how his local church could
become more effective. This was a result of a survey he conducted where members were asked to
list their gravest concerns about the church. This activity caused the other leaders to send for
what ex-members have labeled ―the flying apostolic posse,‖ which began meeting in secret about
Charles.
[Charles] At 9:30, I was called to meet with nine brothers. There I was told to
repent of calling that meeting ...and of not being submissive ...I didn't believe
God was convicting me that that meeting was a sin, or that I was unsubmissive and
therefore I couldn't repent. At 1:30 A.M. they let me go under discipline of the
church.
An example of another tactic occurred when a target was invited into a meeting under the ruse
that several elders from around the country were gathering to discuss the problems the target [in
this case an elder] had about the sect. The target had witnessed what he considered to be
deceitful and underhanded practices that the sect employed with the legal and academic
authorities.
[Noel] When the meeting was called I fully expected that the elders would try and
straighten [the leaders] out on these deceitful practices. The meeting came as an
entire shock to me... The [elders] were silent when I said I could not, with a clear
conscience, go along with some of the practices. On the contrary, the brothers
supported the accusations made on my character pride, as they saw it. One elder
was vocal the others were silent but appeared to assent to the accusation by their
silence. A question that bothered me tremendously about this was -if they wanted
to help me correct a weakness in my life, why didn't they come to me personally
beforehand instead of bringing my wife and me to a ―hung jury‖ [sic] of nine
elders?
Trial by Absentia: Generating Paranoia
There are other examples, however, in which the targets are actually left in the dark through the
whole process: from the initial secret meetings, the inquisition, the defining and labeling, and the
general church-wide meeting where they are officially excommunicated. This deviance-production
track has some interesting variations. Sometimes the first and second warnings to the target are
actually cloaked within meetings with a different stated purpose. Controversial topics are brought
up and requests for input and comments from the target are solicited. The target's responses are
then noted and when the leadership engages in challenging dialogue it is later considered a
―warning‖ by the elders. The target might walk away from the meeting thinking that he has really
seen that the sect is indeed open to frank discussion about controversial issues. This dialogue,
however, pops up as evidence of ―undermining the leadership‖ at the targets trial.
[Thomas] We had an all-church meeting concerning [the sect's publishing
endeavors] where I voiced my objections loud and clear. I really didn't know what I
was doing. I didn't realize that everything I said was going into the little black
books in the elders' minds. I just figured we were really free to express our
opinions ...Boy, was I ever naive!
I wrote a letter to the editors [of the sects magazine], asking them to answer
several questions. Well, I never received a reply, but my elders did. They got a
