UthLeader.com: The Family Cult

The Family Cult

This is a special article by Jim Krohn, Youth Pastor of Southeast Bible Baptist Church and author of the book "Biblical Youth Work", from which this article is an adaptation. Keep an eye on Uthleader.com within the next week and you will be able to order "Biblical Youth Work" at a UthLeader special price.

“The Family Cult” Part 1 of 3
Don’t chuck your Youth Ministry

What is the family cult? If you don’t know the answer to that question, consider yourself blessed. The family cult is a name that I have given to a movement that is gaining ground in fundamental churches. It emphasizes the family above all things. While I agree that the family is extremely important, they take things to absurd proportions. For example, according to this movement, Sunday school is bad because it divides the family. Sunday evening services are bad because it takes the family out of the home. Instead, they encourage a Sunday evening family worship time with the father as the patriarch of the home leading the proceeding. Of course, I call that family devotions and I think that is something that should be done during the week. It is not something that you do instead of church. In addition, while public school is obviously bad, this movement paints all Christian schools with the same brush as public schools since they take children away from the family. Youth groups as well as all other age specific activities should be stopped. They also use terms such as “family centered church” instead of “program centered church”.

Before you dismiss this movement out of hand, let me remind you that there are many youth ministries that are flawed. Some are downright satanic. Some usurp the role of the parents or encourage dating or have an entertainment focus. Others bring in worldly music or other bad influences. These criticisms are obvious to anyone who has done a study of youth ministries. While there are many great youth ministries, some people have only been exposed to the dysfunctional ones. Unfortunately, this has spawned a group of people that have disdained fixing the problems with youth ministries and have instead jumped on the pendulum and swung over to what I believe is an equally unbiblical position. Some may object to the use of the term “cult”. That word normally conjures up images of Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, but that is not my intent. The Webster’s definition of a cult is, “obsessive devotion or veneration for a person, principle, or ideal” and that is how I am using that word. I call this movement a “cult” because in some instances I feel that the family is lifted up above Christ, not because the movement is populated by bad people. In fact, I would say that many of the people involved in the movement are great people. Many are sincere Christians who have been burned by bad ministries. Many are hurting and are merely seeking a place of refuge, but none of that changes the fact that I believe the movement is flawed and overly obsessed with one principle. Let me warn you. I also call this movement a cult because it is very deceptive and it is attractive to the best people in your church. You go to less church services, you rarely if ever go out soul winning, and you have to do very little in terms of service because you are taught to stay home with your family all the time. Tell me that doesn’t sound appealing? Go soul winning or stay home and play with my kids? I would love nothing more than to do stuff with my family every night of the week and this movement appeals to that desire. The movement also plays to the pride and ego of a church member. It tells the father that HE is the agent through whom God wants to work and not the pastor. So many churches and pastors are “bad” because they have robbed the father of his God given responsibilities. All of this is nonsense (in most cases), but it is still very appealing. It is a very insidious movement that often spreads by tapes and books. One family cultist was advertising a set of tapes on what to do if you are caught in a “program-centered” church that won’t change. He said that he gave everyone permission to copy his tapes and spread them around to other church members! How wicked can you get?! He did not say to talk to the pastor or give his tapes to the pastor of the “program-centered” church, but told them to pass the tapes around to all the church members. Of course, to the undiscerning the tapes sound good and the dissension is sown. I can tell you of a number of churches, including my own, that have had problems within their membership and have lost families because of this movement. This movement rarely wins people to Christ and disciples them. The movement adds families by raiding good churches.

The Straw Man

In reading family cult literature and listening to its tapes, they attempt to prove their point by defeating a straw man. Instead of using Scripture to prove their position, they instead direct the Bible at the errors of the “program centered church”. This would be fine except that they really don’t show the errors of the “program centered church”, but of a straw man set up in its place. They skillfully use verses to absolutely destroy that straw man. They grind that poor thing into dust, but that doesn’t change the fact that it is a straw man that they defeated and not the real thing. For example, the family cult will level the argument that dating is wrong and that youth groups encourage dating. They then demolish the dating position with the Bible. However, they are only attacking a straw man because youth groups do not have to encourage dating. Mine doesn’t. In fact we have 60 churches that participate in our summer camp ministry and most, if not all, of those churches strongly discourage dating. Another argument used by the family cult literature is that Christian schools over emphasize sports. Scripture is used to demonstrate how it is wrong to over emphasize sports and therefore children should not go to Christian schools. Again, a straw man is being attacked. The Christian school that we have at our church does not over emphasize sports. What family cult apologists have done is set up a straw man that is made up of all the worst elements of youth ministries and Christian schools from around the country. These elements are then soundly defeated with Scripture, but none of those elements have to be part of youth ministries and Christian schools. They are present in some because of ignorance, tradition, or mistakes, but they shouldn’t be there. The youth ministry that does not have those flawed elements is never addressed in their attacks. Scripture is never used to prove that it is wrong for youth ministries or Christian schools to exist because no Scripture like that can be found in the Bible. The irony of this situation is that I find myself agreeing with 90% of what is written in family cult literature. I almost feel a kinship with them because I have seen some of the same flaws within youth ministries. We have shared a similar spiritual journey, as it were. The difference is that where I have run to the Bible for my answers, they have run to the Mennonites. Lest you think that is a harsh criticism, I have seen that admission in their own literature. Instead of being careful not to duplicate the errors of other ministries, they have chucked all children’s ministries. Most family cultists claim that it is unbiblical to have any children’s ministries and some claim that those who do have children’s ministries are destroying Christianity. This is a position that is unsupported by Scripture.

Covenant Theology

A subtle force behind the family cult movement is covenant theology. Fathers involved in the movement think of themselves as modern day Abrahams. They think of themselves as patriarchs and they talk about “preserving their generations.” Most do not know it, but this is just fancy talk for a brand of covenant theology and it is very dangerous. The Bible does not call us patriarchs. The New Testament calls us believers, priests, soldiers, etc. Abraham was a patriarch, but he was not expected to reach the world. We have been given the great commission. The church is the vehicle by which God intends us to serve and it has been given the mandate to reach the world. Those that consider themselves patriarchs are only concerned about their own children because their children are the children of the covenant. I used to say that this position was just one step from infant baptism, but a pastor of a family centered church corrected me and said that it was only half a step away. Apparently, some family cult material and resources are already “sprinkled” with that theology. Do you sense the inward nature of this movement? In a very subtle way, people in family cult churches have gone from serving Christ to serving themselves. The family revolves around the kids and not the Lord. The children don’t learn to serve God and sacrifice. “Programs” are bashed in family cult churches, but programs are really only an avenue for serving the Lord in the church.

This is continued in part 2 of 3 “A Biblical Response”

Posted by uthleader on Sunday 15 February 2009 - 13:58:43 | Read/Post Comment: 0 |