VOLUME 3 |NUMBER 2 |2012 13
T
onight, I am thinking about the sisters, women
friends, whom I left behind in the church. Twenty-five years
have passed, and I still can see their faces and hear their
voices. I remember meals, life events, and laughter. Yet, at
the same time, I also reexperience pain, fear, and sadness.
These memories and feelings are especially intensified when
I think about the people whom I personally recruited. A few
entered the mission field, married, and had children, known
as “Kingdom Kids.”These young people, instead of enjoying
a simple life of music concerts, scholarship, and young love,
are now recruiting others. Some of the people whom I met,
thankfully, have left this oppressive, Bible-based group,
which I will simply call “True Church.”
In Judaism, one does teshuva when a chet (mistake) is
made. Teshuva literally means “to return.” In short, it is
possible to make things right. This knowledge comforts me
when I think that there is no possible way to retract those
many solicitations to True Church events and attempts to
indoctrinate others. I realize that I still have the opportunity
to educate others about high-demand groups.
Therefore, I’m not writing about the church in anger,
resentment, or therapeutic release. I’m using my pen to
help you—and even myself—understand the culture in
which real, normal people, who are in pursuit of friends,
faith, and community, end up.
To help you appreciate the context of how your daughter
or friend got involved, I will summarize my story.
In the early 1980s, I moved thousands of miles away from
my home to study in a large city, where my boyfriend
attended college. The first week of the semester, he ended
the relationship. At 19, I found myself in an apartment about
one mile away from my vast campus. I was completely
removed from college life. By nature, I’m somewhat shy.
The city overwhelmed me with its enormity and fast pace.
I couldn’t concentrate on my studies, and depression
quickly ensued. During this time, my parents were focused
on their marital conflicts that would result in a divorce in
a few short years. The perfect storm had begun.
At that time, a classmate invited me to an innocuous Bible
study. Suddenly, I had instant friends, who called me several
times a week to do numerous activities. They invited me to a
country weekend retreat and waived my registration fee.
While I had always held a sense of spirituality, I did not
believe in the infallibility of the Bible. I would, and still do,
classify myself as a spiritual seeker. I had, and still have, a
deep respect for all religious traditions.
During the retreat, I met a handsome fellow visitor, who
expressed interest in the church—and in me. Between
passionate parking-lot kisses, he told me that he felt this
group had the truth. I started going to church to see him,
although leaders had advised him to disregard me because
I was not as “advanced” in faith matters as he was.
Immediately, two women invited me to go through a select
series of Bible studies to prove to myself that I wasn’t saved.
Moreover, they indicated, using scriptures, that I needed
to be baptized by immersion. The aforementioned man
entered the baptistery fairly early. I wanted to have a
relationship with him, and it was obvious that the only way
to do so would be to pursue the church.
“Crucify your nervous self and surrender to God,” the young
man told me on several occasions.
The women, finally exasperated at my lack of progress,
decided to bring the campus minister into our studies. He
personified a successful True Church leader in that he exuded
a lot of charm and charisma. I fell under the spell as he spoke
of beautiful families and true, everlasting marital love. Like
any young college student, I wanted all of that in my future.
The church promised so much compared to the “world.” I
began to read the New International Version Bible, the only
“acceptable” translation. During sermons and studies, we
were expected to have an open Bible and notebook. We
filled these journals with the leadership’s wisdom.
After four sessions, the evangelist broke me down through
his intense reasoning and interrogations. He made me realize
that I was a sinful creature who needed a relationship with
God. Upset by this revelation, I decided to be baptized.
My world changed forever. The lives of your daughters,
sisters, friends changed forever when they stepped into that
water. A therapist called membership with groups such as
the True Church a “marriage.”If that is the case, the baptism
serves as a wedding. It is the initiation. The initiate steps into
a baptistery, lake, ocean, or bathtub, and a True Church
member dunks them. This act is followed by boisterous
singing and joyful shouts from other congregants. The initiate
is now a “baby” Christian and part of God’s select family.
True Church leaders will tell you that this church family has
changed since its inception. They will reference the dismissal
of its founders. One has moved on to create yet another
group. It is reasonable to say that True Church made
restructuring changes.
It had to, in light of the intense criticism of the leadership
and its financial mishandlings. They apologized for heavy-
handed tactics and said they would make modifications. Yet,
many of their actual belief systems haven’t changed.
T
onight, I am thinking about the sisters, women
friends, whom I left behind in the church. Twenty-five years
have passed, and I still can see their faces and hear their
voices. I remember meals, life events, and laughter. Yet, at
the same time, I also reexperience pain, fear, and sadness.
These memories and feelings are especially intensified when
I think about the people whom I personally recruited. A few
entered the mission field, married, and had children, known
as “Kingdom Kids.”These young people, instead of enjoying
a simple life of music concerts, scholarship, and young love,
are now recruiting others. Some of the people whom I met,
thankfully, have left this oppressive, Bible-based group,
which I will simply call “True Church.”
In Judaism, one does teshuva when a chet (mistake) is
made. Teshuva literally means “to return.” In short, it is
possible to make things right. This knowledge comforts me
when I think that there is no possible way to retract those
many solicitations to True Church events and attempts to
indoctrinate others. I realize that I still have the opportunity
to educate others about high-demand groups.
Therefore, I’m not writing about the church in anger,
resentment, or therapeutic release. I’m using my pen to
help you—and even myself—understand the culture in
which real, normal people, who are in pursuit of friends,
faith, and community, end up.
To help you appreciate the context of how your daughter
or friend got involved, I will summarize my story.
In the early 1980s, I moved thousands of miles away from
my home to study in a large city, where my boyfriend
attended college. The first week of the semester, he ended
the relationship. At 19, I found myself in an apartment about
one mile away from my vast campus. I was completely
removed from college life. By nature, I’m somewhat shy.
The city overwhelmed me with its enormity and fast pace.
I couldn’t concentrate on my studies, and depression
quickly ensued. During this time, my parents were focused
on their marital conflicts that would result in a divorce in
a few short years. The perfect storm had begun.
At that time, a classmate invited me to an innocuous Bible
study. Suddenly, I had instant friends, who called me several
times a week to do numerous activities. They invited me to a
country weekend retreat and waived my registration fee.
While I had always held a sense of spirituality, I did not
believe in the infallibility of the Bible. I would, and still do,
classify myself as a spiritual seeker. I had, and still have, a
deep respect for all religious traditions.
During the retreat, I met a handsome fellow visitor, who
expressed interest in the church—and in me. Between
passionate parking-lot kisses, he told me that he felt this
group had the truth. I started going to church to see him,
although leaders had advised him to disregard me because
I was not as “advanced” in faith matters as he was.
Immediately, two women invited me to go through a select
series of Bible studies to prove to myself that I wasn’t saved.
Moreover, they indicated, using scriptures, that I needed
to be baptized by immersion. The aforementioned man
entered the baptistery fairly early. I wanted to have a
relationship with him, and it was obvious that the only way
to do so would be to pursue the church.
“Crucify your nervous self and surrender to God,” the young
man told me on several occasions.
The women, finally exasperated at my lack of progress,
decided to bring the campus minister into our studies. He
personified a successful True Church leader in that he exuded
a lot of charm and charisma. I fell under the spell as he spoke
of beautiful families and true, everlasting marital love. Like
any young college student, I wanted all of that in my future.
The church promised so much compared to the “world.” I
began to read the New International Version Bible, the only
“acceptable” translation. During sermons and studies, we
were expected to have an open Bible and notebook. We
filled these journals with the leadership’s wisdom.
After four sessions, the evangelist broke me down through
his intense reasoning and interrogations. He made me realize
that I was a sinful creature who needed a relationship with
God. Upset by this revelation, I decided to be baptized.
My world changed forever. The lives of your daughters,
sisters, friends changed forever when they stepped into that
water. A therapist called membership with groups such as
the True Church a “marriage.”If that is the case, the baptism
serves as a wedding. It is the initiation. The initiate steps into
a baptistery, lake, ocean, or bathtub, and a True Church
member dunks them. This act is followed by boisterous
singing and joyful shouts from other congregants. The initiate
is now a “baby” Christian and part of God’s select family.
True Church leaders will tell you that this church family has
changed since its inception. They will reference the dismissal
of its founders. One has moved on to create yet another
group. It is reasonable to say that True Church made
restructuring changes.
It had to, in light of the intense criticism of the leadership
and its financial mishandlings. They apologized for heavy-
handed tactics and said they would make modifications. Yet,
many of their actual belief systems haven’t changed.
