Epilogue

Since leaving the church, it has come to my attention that many people, past friends and acquaintances of mine, were strongly encouraged not to have contact with me. Meetings were held where people were asked to divulge information about private conversations and essentially people were asked to gossip about all their dealings with me. People were also told various lies about me and there have been a few people, who have since left, who have informed me of these types of meetings that they were subjected to where I was lied about and they were asked to even speculate about my intentions.

The MO hasn’t changed. I was brought into numerous meetings, some more formal than others, while I was attending and employed on staff at my old church where I was asked to divulge personal information about people who had left the church, or even those who were still in attendance at the church but there was a problem with their behavior or attitudes. I was there for five years and the MO never changed, nor did I see any repentance for this type of required informant behavior.
If you are not aware, this type of behavior is indicative of every cult known to man. This is not a healthy type of behavior to have in God’s church.

I am going to list some lies that I have personally heard preached or insinuated, not just in the church where I was employed at, but other abusive churches as well. This list is taken from the book “Toxic Faith” written by Stephen Arterburn and Jack Felton.
Toxic Beliefs:
1.When tragedy strikes, true believers should have a real peace about it.
2.God’s love and favor depend on my behavior and obedience.
3.If I have real faith, God will heal me or someone I am praying for.
4.All ministers are men and women of God and can be trusted.
5.Material blessings are a sign of spiritual strength.
6.The more money I give to God, the more money he will give to me.
7.“Faith without works is dead” I can work my way into heaven. I show my faith by the many volunteer hours that I serve.
8.Problems in my life result from some particular sin.
9.I must not stop meeting other’s needs. (or volunteering in the church)
10.I must always submit to authority and my Pastors are God’s authority and I am to honor and obey them always.