Is the Church I attend Cult-LIKE?

By their fruit you will recognize them.  Matthew 7:16

10 Signs of a Cult 

1.    The demand for special treatment, special honor, special recognition.   In other words, there is an active cultivation of being treated differently than others. 

2.   The website is focused on an individual.                                                    A person’s quotes, their picture, their books, their activities, their blog, their … well, you get the picture. It’s pretty clear who, not what, the “church” is about. 

3.    No one is allowed to question the leader without retribution.     There is a “thin skin” evident toward any and all critics, who are often written off as “haters” or simply those who are envious. There is a bubble that prevents constructive criticism. 

4.   If the leader were to leave, die or fall into scandal, there is little doubt in anyone’s mind that the entire enterprise would collapse.   Those who flooded in via transfer growth to be part of the “next, next thing” would flood right back out, because the “next, next thing” was a personality, not a true mission or movement. 

5.  The line between “look at what God is doing” and “look at what our leader is doing” is almost nonexistent.  In other words, God isn’t getting the glory, an individual is. 

6.  The name of the leader and the name of the church are inseparable.  The leader is as much of a brand — or even the brand — as the ministry. 

7.  Image is paramount.  Clothes, camera angles, prepared one-liners, manipulation of media; the leader is presented, handled and then “performs” as a carefully handled celebrity. 

8.  There is no sense of team leadership, team teaching or team mentality.  There is a single person or leader, and then there are implementers. No one is to question the leader’s vision. It is seen as God-given, sacrosanct, and thus anything the leader says or does in pursuit of that vision is never to be questioned. 

9.  The person (leader) travels in an entourage.                                      Often with personal security and is seldom accessible. 

10.  Their speaking/teaching often revolves around themselves.   (There is even a name for it — “narcisgesis” instead of “exegesis”). Guest speakers feel compelled (and sometimes are compelled) to laud the leader as part of their presentation. 

For more information check out the link below;   

▪Signs of a Cult Church, Church Leaders.com

 Characteristics of a Toxic Church/Church Leadership

From Spiritual Abuse Recovery Workbook by David Henke

•  If you challenge, disagree, oppose, or offended in anyway, you cannot leave with your reputation intact. 
• The religious leaders demanded people rise to the level of respectability before they would accept them. Perfectionism is a denial of Grace. God, however, will come and meet you where you are. 
• Spiritual abusers are authoritarian. Because they are also legalists, the system they lead is characterized by a power, structure and accountable to those who follow. 
• The leader may have a governing board, but he, or she hand picks the members. In such a system, the “authority “ is never wrong. Fear and intimidation are used to shame those who voiced disagreement.
• There is excessive loyalty given to the leaders or the group. They are taught that God anointed the leadership and the followers are to submit in anything leadership requires. It is also taught that God will bless the submission, even if the leader is wrong. 
• It’s all a façade. Just like the enabler in the family of an alcoholic that covers the added evidence of addiction, so the high control group will hide the hypocrisy, abuse, immorality, and even illegality. 
• Abusive groups are secretive. Secrets are only legitimate and matters of personal confidentiality. This is an example of one’s personal boundaries that can be only crossed with permission. Secrets are not legitimate when there is something unethical, immoral, illegal, or disrespectful that has been concealed. High-control groups have a lot of secrets since that must not be discussed. 
• Troublemakers are labeled. When someone breaks a rule in the group, they are labeled as a troublemaker, so we’re of discord, under the control of Satan, or demonized. 
• There is no accountability. Anyone who would dare to question beliefs, or bring a charge against a leader, or a favorite person within the group must be ready to endure a firestorm of criticism and discipline. 
• Leaving may be seen as turning one’s back on God and salvation. So rather than forsaking, one's salvation, or leaving the will of God, some accept the pain and endure it. 
• Some of the characteristics common to false prestige include Elitism – set themselves, apart from the common man, preferring the company of other elites Appearance is everything – hypocritical disconnect between reality, and how things appear. Unquestionable – self-important status, place them above question.