Welcome!

Thanks for stopping by.

If you’re new here, you may be here for one of two reasons.

One: you suspect a group you know of may be a cult. In which case, you can find out more about cults here.

Two: you want to know more about the crazy girl who’s writing about Master’s Commission and Our Savior’s Church. Is it true? Are they a cult? What’s her problem? Yes, that’s me. I’m actually quite a lovely person, dichotomous as I may be. If you want to see that I really exist beyond this blog, you can add me on Facebook or you can find my real writing  here.

The truth about our pasts must be told and organizations must be held accountable to ethical standards. For me, silence was never an option. The discipleship group I was involved fits into the category of what many experts classify as a cult (or the politically correct term: new religious group, also: coercive or destructive group). After years of being gone from Master’s Commission, I realized they violated Federal labor laws and internship guidelines. Many critics say, “Who cares? You were there voluntarily.” Herein lies a problem. Groups like these often recruit in public high schools, violating laws or getting around laws by posing as secular groups although they are actually ministry recruitment groups. Deceptive recruitment, followed by emotionally and psychological abuse compounds year after year making it nearly impossible for some people to leave.

I left seven years later.

And yes, I’m a girl on a mission but not with a vengeance. My mission is to help others who’ve experienced spiritual abuse recover, find legal help and medical resources, and help break their silence when they’re ready. My goal is to see people wiping off the dirt, picking up their lives again and moving on–free from fundamentalism.

Although not all Christianity is destructive, I believe patriarchal pastoring, spiritual authority, and the word “accountability” are signs of a highly destructive church and I think they should be avoided at all costs. I also believe that we survivors need to move away from what we were taught–completely–and discard it. I see very little benefit from keeping mentally abusive teachings and I encourage survivors to have an intellectual overhaul–reading philosophers, historical studies, and essentially start from the beginning with their beliefs. The good ones will hold up the test of time and critique, in my opinion.

If you’re looking for more cult information, feel free to search the categories above for some information. I recently started The Cult Foundation to share the stories I’ve investigated. I hope this serves as an educational resource for you.

My story starts here in a piece I wrote for Salon.com called Breaking My Silence: My Story of Abuse and in a radio interview I did for North Carolina Public Radio, Examining Cult Culture.

The details of my story are scattered within the older blog posts and are often carefully categorized (and sometimes not). Feel free to peruse the site and if you can’t find something specific, drop me a line at mycultlife [at] gmail [dot] com and I can probably point you in the right direction or send  you to someone who can. If you’re looking to get media attention to your cult or abusive pastor, I can help guide you in the right direction or direct you to people who can.

A note for readers: There’s a lot of heart-felt, very serious content on this page and there’s also a lot of anger, discussion about sex, and sometimes overall bitchiness. Sometimes I get political, sometimes personal. If you can handle complexity and emotion, please join me and read on.

My very best wishes as we get to know each other, and I look forward to connecting with you soon!

xo,

Lisa Kerr