Thread #8 By Casey Hayes
A Series of Articles on the CULTure of NTCC
This thread is designed to be my thoughts on New Testament Christian Church.
I was in ntcc for 24 years (1982-2006), (with 18 of those as an ordained minister in good standing), and have an insider’s view of what life is like inside ntcc. We left ntcc in 2006, and I will describe my reasons later in this series of articles. I will state at the outset that I believe ntcc is a seriously flawed church that routinely practices cult tactics, that they have harmed many people, and that they are not practicing true Christianity as laid out in the Bible.
Part 1
Intro
To fully understand the character of NTCC you have to understand narcissism. Narcissism is at the very heart of all of their decisions, policies, manipulation and abusive ways. R. W. Davis is a textbook narcissist. I recommend you read these 2 articles on narcissism first (if you have the guts)—and ask yourself if it reminds you of anybody you know.
http://www.narcissisticabuse.com/characteristics.html
http://www.halcyon.com/jmashmun/npd/traits.html
Now, I personally do not believe ntcc is a textbook cult. I know some of you will disagree with me over this. I DO believe that ntcc is a church that uses “cult tactics”. In my research I found out that they have a new group of churches called, “Christian cults”, which is what ntcc is. The reason is easy to understand-- Narcissistic leadership has to ALWAYS control and manipulate people to get things done. What better way to control people than to use cult tactics. That is why ntcc has so many rules and regs. Why you can’t do anything in ntcc without PERMISSION. Yes, the dreaded permission. And you all know what I am talking about. I stopped inviting people over for fellowship, because I got tired of waiting in long lines after every church service or class, to get permission. They say it is to protect you, but really it is to Control you. Below is a quick article about cult tactics—it is very good and describes ntcc perfectly.
http://www.factnet.org/rancho5.htm
Once you understand WHY ntcc acts the way it does, and HOW they do it, you begin to see the bigger picture of just how destructive they really are. Because they are so subtle in the way they go about to control and manipulate people, most people in ntcc do not see the problem until they are separated from ntcc and able to look back and see the big picture. When I first left ntcc my main motive was I was tired of never having any money, or if I got some having to spend it on moving AGAIN. [Ntcc ministers move every few years or so. Think about it. How can you get a decent job or have any money to provide for your family, when you have to pack up everything you have and move to a new state every 3-5 years? Plus, be in every conference? (I’ll deal with this in detail later)]. I was miserable and unhappy with ntcc, but couldn’t quite pinpoint the problem. I knew if I stayed in ntcc NOTHING would ever change—I would be on an endless loop of poverty and moving, and I would die an old man with nothing. I was also tired of not being able to do what I thought God wanted me to do. In ntcc, YOU don’t get to choose what you want to do for God, but Davis gets to choose for you. If you don’t like it then you have a problem with “God”.
After I left I began to research things out and stumbled upon Factnet. There I read some incredibly disturbing stories from people I was friends with or knew—stories I knew to be true. I called some of them. I read Curt Waltemeyers story and was dumbfounded that I could have been reading my OWN story! So I wasn’t the only one to go through these things. On and on…. Cult tactics, abusive church systems, marriages split up… everything I read and researched confirmed to me that ntcc is guilty of being an abusive church that uses cult tactics. But, these things didn’t become clear to me in full until after I left and had some time to contemplate everything that we had went through. It probably took me 6 months to see the whole ugly picture.
It’s a common human trait that we learn to adapt to our surroundings, despite how hard they may be. We see this in communist states and third world countries. After a while a controlling, damaging atmosphere appears “normal”. We may not like it, it may even be hurting us, but we learn to “deal with it”. I believe that many people in ntcc, including good ministers, have learned to “deal” with the strange way ntcc does their church business, instead of thinking it out and realizing that they are in a bad situation. But eventually, most ministers and members come to the conclusion that ntcc is harmful, and that the only way to survive spiritually and emotionally is to leave ntcc. Unfortunately, most decide to leave only after they have suffered for years, having lost a wife or husband, all their money, or the best years of their lives. People don’t leave ntcc because they are “crossed up with God”, they leave because they want God (or just want a better life), and realize that ntcc’s version of God is NOT the Bible’s version of God, and their version of Christianity is NOT the Bible’s version of Christianity.
Coming up: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
*****************
