Weekly Top 5 (7.7.19)
Coming up now, the top five posts from the past week on StealingFaith.com! (Thanks for reading and sharing, friends!)
1.Ministry and Money. “With homeschooling – or really anything we identify as a ministry – the savvy consumer isn’t looking quite so hard to find the deception in the spin. This is why it hurts so badly to learn that the motivations of others might be different than our own.”
2.Social Proofs. ““In destructive sects, the principle of social proof is used extensively. For example, current members are encouraged to repeat courses for a reduced fee or even free. Then if the group begins to do anything strange, or different, or a bit weird, and the new people are having second doubts, when they look around and see the members acting as if all is normal, they are reassured and will even join in. This often means that they will carry out behaviors that previously they would not have done.”
3.You Want the Reasons We Have Left CC. “Our family has made the decision to leave Classical Conversations permanently. Illogical accusations and unlawful expectations from our state leadership are the straw that has broken the camels back, but, to be honest, the business practices and philosophy changes have caused me heartburn for quite awhile. We have been praying that God would be extremely clear if He wanted us to change anything and He’s been so faithful! It’s become quite obvious that He’s ready to move us in a new direction.”
4.Gaslighting – What Is It? “When an organization changes its practices regularly, it lends itself to situations where gaslighting can occur easily. When an organization preaches humility to it’s leadership – which is a good thing – it lends itself to difficulty thinking a differing opinion is allowed to exist. When leaders speak down to you, or tell you that you just don’t understand from the correct perspective – without giving you the tools to see it from “the right perspective” – it sets up an unhealthy, abusive relationship.”
5.Riding Fences. “I had no issue with talking the Biblical talk because the people around me also spoke the Christian-ese and it was a valuable way to communicate. We genuinely believed our efforts were making a difference in redeeming a corrupt culture. But now that I’ve had a little time out of the rank and file of the organization, I’ve been convicted that I was wrong, really wrong, to mix ministry and business the way I did. I just didn’t know any better. That’s what all of us did.”