It can be a thin line between a successful charismatic church leader and a charismatic cult leader. Both are blessed by followers and the focus can morph into a perverse fidelity to the leader. The cult leader will often ask a man to show his fidelity by sending him his wife or daughters. Joseph Smith (LDS founder) is a prime example. The usual mores melt away with success and extra curricular activities become perks. Even spouses that are not so enamored by the shining star are asked to endorse bad behavior; show some forgiveness. The congregation is cautioned against the dreadful sin of murmuring.
Some parishioners can exhibit predatory behavior towards clergy in order to enter the inner sanctum of church decision making. The shadow council. The long ago TV soap opera, Soap, had it about right in the episodes where the young woman would drive the young priest nuts with her hot confessions until he was seduced. I know of two examples that started with women sitting on the laps of the pastor for counseling and ended in something much more. In one example, the indiscretion was the pastor’s wife’s fault. She had been postponing a hysterectomy. It turned out it was also partly my friend Dave’s fault because to support his family he was gone a month at a time to the oil patch in Indonesia and wasn’t there to take care of his wife’s needs. He actually said as much in the church’s forgiveness, reconciliation, healing, and fidelity to the Baptist pastor meeting. Yeah, they are long divorced.
It can be a thin line between a successful charismatic church leader and a charismatic cult leader. Both are blessed by followers and the focus can morph into a perverse fidelity to the leader. The cult leader will often ask a man to show his fidelity by sending him his wife or daughters. Joseph Smith (LDS founder) is a prime example. The usual mores melt away with success and extra curricular activities become perks. Even spouses that are not so enamored by the shining star are asked to endorse bad behavior; show some forgiveness. The congregation is cautioned against the dreadful sin of murmuring.
Some parishioners can exhibit predatory behavior towards clergy in order to enter the inner sanctum of church decision making. The shadow council. The long ago TV soap opera, Soap, had it about right in the episodes where the young woman would drive the young priest nuts with her hot confessions until he was seduced. I know of two examples that started with women sitting on the laps of the pastor for counseling and ended in something much more. In one example, the indiscretion was the pastor’s wife’s fault. She had been postponing a hysterectomy. It turned out it was also partly my friend Dave’s fault because to support his family he was gone a month at a time to the oil patch in Indonesia and wasn’t there to take care of his wife’s needs. He actually said as much in the church’s forgiveness, reconciliation, healing, and fidelity to the Baptist pastor meeting. Yeah, they are long divorced.