Cult Ignition: How Cults Start

Much has been written about destructive cults, but relatively little about where they come from and how they emerge in the first place. Former members of the International Churches of Christ (ICC/ICOC) may find themselves wondering how the ICC evolved, and how a group that seemed to start with noble intentions could develop such harmful dynamics over time.

We can gain insight by comparing the cultic system with an explosion or internal combustion engine.

Explosion!

Some explosions, we know, happen by design, such as when engineers explode dynamite in the ground to clear the way for new roads and bridges. Other explosions happen accidentally under just the right conditions, like when dust explodes suddenly in grain elevators (to read about the surprising destructive power of grain dust explosions, click here).

Certain conditions need to be present in order for an explosion to occur: there must be a fuel source, air, (usually) a spark and a confined space. Explosions in tightly confined spaces will be especially destructive.

Cults are known to be similarly explosive, sometimes forming almost instantly, but in other cases gradually as the right conditions develop over time. By analogy, we can say that cults also need a few basic things to "ignite":

members (air)
hierarchical authority (fuel source)
ideology (spark)
a closed system (pressure)

Of course, many groups have these ingredients, which is why cults often form out of existing groups. However, the stronger the hierarchical authority (fuel) is in a group, the more focused the ideology (spark), and the more tightly the system is closed from the outside (pressure), the more likely we are to get an explosive result: cult ignition (1). Groups showing all of these dynamics at one time are the most likely to ignite.

The Cult Engine

Mature cults harness their explosive power much like the internal combustion engines that run today's cars. (We won't get too technical about how engines work -- if you're like the author, the only time you open the hood of a car is to change the wiper fluid!)

An internal combustion engine controls the variables of air, fuel, pressure, and spark to create thousands of small explosions that produce energy to power the car. A cult with efficient leadership will be able similarly to control all the variables that maintain constant ignition in the group, producing energy to meet the goals set by leadership.

things that make the "cult engine" even more powerful:

(note: to see what makes real engines more powerful, click here)

more air (the more members, the better)

efficient exhaust to get rid of bad air (former members are bad air and must be discarded without mixing with the good air)

more pressure on the air (close the system even more tightly to exert more and more pressure on members)

carefully fine-tune the use of fuel (adjust the use of hierarchical control for maximum efficiency, using just the right amount at the right time)

things that make the cult engine less effective:

(to see what impairs real engines, click here)

not enough air (members are the air that cults breathe, the cult engine won't run without them)

poor exhaust of bad air (former members). It's interesting that a potato in the exhaust pipe of a car will stop the engine from running entirely.

not enough fuel (weakening hierarchical control)

leaks in the closed system (e.g. members leave, information control breaks down, members start to believe there is "salvation" outside the system, members get too much free time)

no spark or weak spark (the group's ideology needs to be constantly reinforced with proper timing or the engine will not perform properly)

What to Do with All this Power

An efficient cult engine releases tremendous power, and leadership decides how to harness it. Typically, much of the group's energy is consumed to pursue the ideology of the group. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as the group may have certain noble goals. However, too often, leadership uses the power to benefit itself (after all, a car engine does not exist for the benefit of the air it consumes).

The very traits that make the cult engine run so effectively also create the potential for abuse:

a cult's hierarchical, top-down use of authority can be used to keep members from knowing what's going on

its closed system can prevent leadership from being scrutinized from the outside

the group's ideology can be presented by leaders as the end that always justifies the means

Leaders may or may not have started the group with a will to exploit, but they will inevitably have opportunity to do so. As Lord Acton said in his famous quote, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

How Do We Stop this Thing?

Sometimes a few sincere leaders will recognize the damage being created and try to reduce it, only to find that it is difficult even for them to control the self-perpetuating energy of the "cult engine."

In fact, attempts at reform can be self-defeating: when leaders try to soften the control on members or relax the closed system, it will likely decrease the engine's power. Leaders are then tempted to tighten the controls again to keep the "engine" running efficiently. This illustrates why efforts at reform in cults are often short-lived.

One Powerful Engine

As we look at the ICC's history, we see the refinement of an unusually powerful engine.

The ICC's ancestor, the Crossroads movement, ignited with the a novel mixture of mainline Church of Christ doctrine (ideology/spark) and "discipling" (hierarchical control/fuel).

In Boston starting with the Boston Church of Christ, Kip McKean took the Crossroads design and modified it -- making discipling even more hierarchical than it had been in Crossroads by assigning all "discipling partners." He refined the working parts of the ICC to make a more efficient and lasting "engine."

Today the ICC faces some of the problems of a high-mileage car, consuming more air (members) while creating more exhaust (former members) and arguably, not running as efficiently as it once did.

Notes:

(1) Our analogy is not perfect, and is somewhat arbitrary. Hierarchical authority is not "consumed" in the way that most fuels are consumed in an explosion. We could say instead that ideology is really the "fuel" in cults, and hierarchical authority is the "spark," etc. But the general lesson is the same: certain specific conditions must be present for a cult to form and thrive.