#14 - The Drift Into Deception

It's not often that I get to read a book written by someone I personally know. The book takes on a whole new dimension when you know a person's personality and experiences. It definitely takes a deeper level when you've gone through meaningful times together.

I met Agnes Lawless (Elkins) this past year and spent several months talking, praying and weeping with her and Dick as the Lord took her second husband back to Him in heaven. It was truly sorrowful yet rejoicing. During that time, she gave me a couple of her books. I just recently finished The Drift Into Deception.

Agnes shares her personal story of being involved in a church that began as an orthodox evangelical church but slowly turned into a cult. Through her own personal experience with her first husband John, she recounts what happened. She also explains 8 characteristics of cults and heretical movements based upon much research.

The 8 characteristics are:

1. Charisma and pride
2. Anger and intimidation
3. Greed and fraud
4. Immorality
5. Enslaving authoritarian structure
6. Exclusivity
7. Demanding loyalty and honor
8. "New" extrabiblical revelation

It was heartwrenching to hear Agnes and John's story since I knew her. On top of that, this book really hit close to home as I had gone through something similar though not to that degree. I could identify with almost every characteristic with my own past experience. I hold the same scars that have taken years for Christ to bring healing and peace to my soul.

This is a good book first for all who are in a situation or know of someone in a situation where you have questions about the leadership in a church. Maybe you are paranoid and this book will quell your suspicions and help calm you down. But I think this type of thing happens more often than we realize or care to admit.

Second, this is a good book for those of us who are in church leadership. We may not be leading a cult or teaching heresy (we'd better not be!), but as sinful men, we can be exhibiting pride in our leaderhip. We may be more authoritarian than we think and may use anger and intimidation instead of grace and love to lead our people. We may be demanding loyalty to ourselves and our ministries instead of exhorting loyalty to Christ. These are good warnings for us to not tread one step down a path that is heretical.