10 Warning Signs your Church is Turning into a Cult
Table of Contents
Last Updated on Tue December 20, 2022 @ 12:48 am
This may be the most important thing anyone associated with Brother Stair could hear.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:12 Paul says, “And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish (exhort and warn you).”
“A person who is deceived does not know he is deceived. A wolf can come in among sheep and not know he is a wolf. That is why we must be careful that those who minister to us have the character of Jesus, not just His words!” (Seductions Exposed (p. 67), by Glen Greenwald, 1988, Eagles Nest Publications).
10 Warning Signs your Church is turning into a Cult
- An authoritarian style of leadership with no accountability
- No tolerance for questions or criticism
- Judging and blame-shifting.
- You’re against them.
- An atmosphere of shame, blame, & punishment.
- Always finding fault.
- Not transparent about their finances
- Communicates in a generally ambiguous way about finances.
- No oversight or accountability.
- The leader has a persecution or enemy complex
- The leader has a victim mindset. Those outside are the enemy.
- Believes they are very special and greater than all other ministries/churches.
- People are shamed and shunned for leaving
- Excommunicated for leaving. Treated as a betrayal.
- Limited understanding of the size and ways of God’s Kingdom.
- Building their own empire.
- Forbid members from associating with those that leave.
- A pattern of abuse and grievances
- The same issues keep coming up against the leader.
- [These are turned into persecution and wrongs against them. They claim Matthew 5:11 to say they are reviled and persecuted, and all manner of evil is being said against them falsely – for Christ’s sake.]
- Followers feel they can never be good enough
- Critical of their followers.
- Always want more from them. All is never enough.
- Demanding the utmost obedience/allegiance/submission.
- A culture of shame and instability
- Leader insidiously creates this by comparing and exposing their faults in the name of helping them to grow spiritually.
- They preach unity but create shame and strife between people. They sow discord (Pr 6:19, 14).
- The leader is always right
- All knowledge and revelation reside with them
- Knows followers better than they know themselves.
- No one else is credible.
- Followers are made to not trust their own thoughts and judgments.
- They take on the role of the Holy Spirit for their followers.
How the Overcomer Ministry Turned Into a Cult
From someone with no knowledge of Brother Stair, Shaneen Megji as a shockingly perfectly detailed description of Brother Stair’s spiritual character and the precise way he operated his Overcomer Ministry and Farm.
Having one of these signs doesn’t make it a cult – the Overcomer Ministry has them all. The potential to be an environment that should be life-giving turned into something toxic.
Two more Signs
Two of the surest signs that you’re church is a cult are that they preach another gospel and that they preach another Jesus. Take a look at those links for more information on both of those issues in regard to the teachings of Brother Stair.
What may start out as a good Christian ministry can turn into an authoritarian cult by means of the leaders’ direction and teachings.
Whosoever transgresseth, and
abideth not in the doctrine of Christ,
hath not God.
He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ,
he hath both the Father and the Son.
(2 John 1:9)
For some help with leaving your Church that is turning into a cult, see the 8 Steps to Leaving Toxic Relationships.
Warning Signs!
If you’re here out of the blue by hearing Brother Stair on the radio then you probably don’t know that he fulfills all these traits. He is a dangerous deceiver, and if you think differently then you are a witness to how well he deceives people. Take a long look around this site to see all the evidence of his fruit (Matt 7:15-18) that is on display as we warn the Church of what we too fell into. This is not a matter of a few signs of bad apples, this is a corrupt tree that cannot bring forth good fruit (Matt 7:18). Your soul is worth the time and effort to investigate. After all, you were told to test the spirits of the prophets (1Jn 4:1).
Cursed is the man who puts his trust in mortal man and turns his heart away from God
(Jer 17:5 TLB)
8 Steps to Leaving Toxic Relationships
Some of the satellite communities under Stair operated in the same way. I was invited to live in Kentucky at my 3’rd community in order to marry a worker who would have left had he not married a woman who would be used to tether him permanently to the farm- or so they thought. Previous to the 3’rd community I was at a community number 2 where I had been so beaten down I had been given the name of Stupid for a period of time which ranges for weeks to a few months and was expected to sit with compliance as my dignity was stripped away. With no one to protect me, I got the full barrage most women who had husbands or families were spared. I got used to the indignity and degradation and learned how to maintain a straight face. The first step was tears, the second was trying to look pleasant in order to somehow appease the rage. The third and final step I had to learn was how to maintain an unreadable countenance. I was there for 2 full years. They wanted certain people (like me) so degraded they were incapable of a normal response from the daily assailing of God’s word used to control and take advantage of us. I only left community 3 because the pastor there stated my unborn daughter was conceived in lust although I was married in front of the congregation by him. He said she didn’t have a place in God’s heart or Kingdom. There is a Scripture that says the marriage bed is undefiled and all children born in this union are sanctified. I can’t think of a Scripture to validate the claim made against my daughter. I was 2 months pregnant which meant I carried this oppression for 7 months and throughout my home birth. My husband watched our year old son while I struggled alone. When she was born I looked at her face to see the moment of truth. I saw a beautiful precious baby that I have considered an honour and a blessing to raise into the young woman she is today. Some would have me remain silent to spare the pastor as he is a man and led a flock as an authority figure. However, I must speak for my daughter as I was the vessel used as she was being formed to enter this life and I must defend her against any attacks against the eternal life Jesus Christ promised to all who will come to Him. “Suffer the little children to come unto Me and forbid them not for of such is the Kingdom of God.” This man also stated he and Stair were the 2 witnesses (which didn’t occur) and that he will be the Governor of Kentucky in the thousand year reign. This is the truth and the truth should be permitted to be shared before all within a Christian forum that is used to warn others to flee or avoid a cult.