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Investigator 34 (1994 January) Reprinted courtesy of the Sunday Mail (1993 September 26)
To its victims the Adelaide Church of Christ seems to be the sect which seldom sleeps. In some quarters it is known as the "love-bomb" sect because of its method of winning over recruits – "bombing" them with affection. "They have a
working day
from 5am until two
o'clock the following morning, with a three-hour sleeping pattern only
from 2-5am," the Rev Cyril Muller, chaplain at the Chaplaincy Centre of
the University of Queensland, said.
"Thus, once they
have your
name and telephone
number, they will call you late into the night and in the early hours –
and they'll start again before daybreak."
Mr Muller should
know. The
university has
banned the movement from its campus in the face of extreme harassment.
He's seen
hundreds of
students and their
families torn apart by the sect, also variously known as the Boston
Movement,
the Multiplying Ministries Movement or the Discipling Movement. In
Australia
it usually incorporates the home city's name into its title.
It was
established in
Boston, US, about 20
years ago through roots which linked it tenuously with the orthodox
Churches
of Christ denomination. There the similarity ends.
The spread of
the movement
through Brisbane,
Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and now Adelaide is controlled from
headquarters
in London. It always follows the same pattern – the sect has no
permanent
address and no telephone number. Its meetings in Adelaide are held in
different
halls.
"Their
discipling program
does not allow
for the development of any friendships," Mr Muller said. "A
'discipliner'
or teacher is moved from one student to another before any bond can be
formed."
And yet the usual, initial approach seems innocuous enough. A young man or
woman may
be approached in
the street or on campus by two happy, fresh faced and inviting
youngsters
of around their own age. A persuasive invitation to a Bible study group
may be issued – or perhaps to a social gathering of a Bible group, such
as a football match or a barbecue.
"Once they have
your name
and telephone number,
they will go to any lengths to make sure the arrangements are kept.
They
will ring to confirm the time and date. They will pick you up. From
then
on they will never let go," Mr Muller said.
"Each church
member has a
target of introducing
himself to 30 people a day and getting a positive response from three
of
them.
"The handbook
they use,
Guarding The Gospel,
totally twists the message of the Bible. The text segments are used to
suit themselves. Members are conditioned to believe that everyone
outside
the group is 'lost' – that everything outside is blackness."
Mr Muller said
it was the
harassment aspect
which eventually saw the sect banned from the Queensland campuses.
"The phone calls
which
never stopped, the
physical hounding of individuals on campus...all mounted up until
some
students were breaking under pressure and needing psychiatric
treatment,"
he said.
"We started a
support
group for ex members
at the beginning of this year – and many of them are still finding
things
difficult.
"Many had
problems which
made them turn to
this sect in the first place, so first of all we've had to unwind the
cult
problem and then turn our attention to the original issue."
Mr Brian Phelps,
consultant for church development
and education for the Churches of Christ in SA Inc, said young people
were
particularly vulnerable to the sect's approaches.
"Many young
people are
struggling with a
whole range of issues and uncertainties," he said. "They're often very
confused about life school, university, jobs and families. "Others
might
be quite intellectual and popular people but very attracted by any kind
of idealism.
"Then along
comes this
sect offering simple
solutions to just about everything. Their message is 'Accept what we
tell
you and from then on life will be simple and straightforward'.
"And once young
people
have been indoctrinated
they go to work on others. It's almost a scorecard mentality – the way
to win your place in heaven is based solely on the number of recruits
you
bring in."
The next step,
says the
Rev Paul Harrington,
rector at Holy Trinity Church, is to encourage young recruits to live
in
a community-style household. "Most people aren't equipped to engage in
logical argument with sect members," he said. A representative of the
Sure
Hope Ministries Cult Awareness Advice and Support Group in Adelaide
said
he had received a number of calls from parents whose sons had been
isolated
from their families by the sect. Some were approached in Rundle Mall,
others
while they were studying in Melbourne or Sydney.
"It is a growing
problem
here in Adelaide,
dividing families, separating. parents from children, even breaking up
marriages," he said.
"Like most cults
this one
has a clearcut
picture of where it is going; it seems to answer everyone's problems.
Recruits
are subjected to 'love bombing' – they are made the centre of
attention;
made to feel attractive and important. Suddenly the recruit has 20 new
friends, all loving him or her. How involved the person becomes is
generally
linked to how much has been given up to get into the sect.
"If for
example, a young
man fails to get
his family involved, if he believes they've gone to the Devil and he
must
reject them – if that kind of sacrifice has been made – then it's very
hard for that person to escape. It's very difficult to get of out
something
for which you've given up everything."
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