The Cult Mentality

I've been spending a lot of time lately with a college age group from the Xenos Church, and I have really learned a lot from them about what true followers of Jesus' words behave and act like. My time spent with them has particularly got me stuck on a train of thought that I've visited many times before.

After attending their Thursday service last week, one of the girls and I got to joking around about cults and talking about how the church wasn't what I expected. In all honesty I was surprised to discover it's a label that's been given to the Xenos Church. Having grown up in the Mormon Church, another branch of Christianity commonly labeled as a cult, I was readily able to sympathize with her on the unfortunate misconception of her church.

Why do we as Christians so often categorize what we consider is truly Christian in such a narrow definition? Why do so many only consider a person or church Christian if it meets an exclusive laundry list of requirements, or follow a precise list of rules, many of which often don't even appear anywhere in the Bible?
I have been guilty of it myself of course, and I understand how tempting it is merely to define yourself by what you are NOT-in reference only to the "other."
But it still puzzles me.

In a world so full of hurts and in need of healing, why do we work so hard to estrange ourselves from each other and make the actual count of who is a Christian so small? Faith in Christ as our Savior should be enough to bring us together, and unite us as a force of love and healing. We could do so much more good in this world if we focused just on that one point and worried less about the details.

Now I don't profess to be a Bible scholar, and I have certainly heard some of the rationale behind stricter requirements than I myself hold backed up with certain verses in the Bible. I realize it all comes down to a matter of interpretation.
But the thing that bothers me about it so much is that whenever we as Christians claim our interpretation of our faith is the truest and best and the only one, we start sounding pretty hypocritical. There was a group of people in the Bible who were fanatical about rules and thought they were the only ones who had the correct ideas about faith. They were called the Pharisees. Jesus rebukes them more than anyone else. The Pharisees got so caught up in the letter of the law, that they no longer practiced the spirit of the law. They looked down on everyone and were condescending instead of helpful, empathetic, or loving.

This is the trap I think it is all too easy for Christians to fall into. We become obsessed with following a set of ideas and fall into the "Holier than thou" mindset. Pretty soon it's very easy to condemn.

Yet Jesus told us to love everyone (even our enemies). He told us that only God had the authority to judge others, and He told us not to worry about the speck in our neighbor's eye while we ignored the beam in our own.

So I guess that's where I'm coming from. I think as Christians we should be much more focused on the beam we all have in our own eyes (in my case I think some days it's a whole redwood tree in there...)

I've been told Mormon's aren't Christian because they have extra scripture, extra rules, and extra beliefs that aren't in the Bible. But I think the true definition of being a Christian is believing Christ is your personal savior who died for your sins. I learned that in the Mormon Church and that's where I got my testimony of Christ. I think a lot of Christians feel I need to be "born again" cause I grew up in the Mormon Church. But I've examined my own life pretty thoroughly and even as my personal walk with Christ led me away from the Mormon Church, I never stopped believing Christ was my savior. I got that from the Mormon Church. So I don't think that's a cult, and I'm not worried for my family's soul. My parents taught me Christ was my personal savior, the Mormon church affirmed it for me, and I am proud to see that fact shining out from my own sisters. It doesn't keep me up at nights wondering if they're saved because I know what they believe, and that one belief in my mind is the most important one in the Christian mentality. That's not my definition of a cult.

I really don't understand how the Xenos Church got the label of a cult. I think it's because they are so frequently engaged in the church (active members have church groups and activities they go to at least 5 times a week) Not sure why that is such a bad thing. The members I know still do things outside of the church and I don't ever get the impression they've sealed themselves off in a bubble. I believe they have a great gift for interacting with everyone they come in contact with, and they seem to live very busy and fulfilling lives.

I'll be honest. When I started going to the Xenos home church, what I saw wasn't a cult. It was a group of people who were so dedicated to Christ and what we Christians call the "good news" (Christ died for your sins, loves you, and is the path to salvation) that they had managed to engage college age kids, one of the demographics most rapidly losing their faith, to grow into the state of believers who get together and care for each other on a very regular basis. They also immerse themselves in the Bible and know it a lot better than I do. And these are people who work very hard to practice what they preach. I find their dedication to their faith, the Word, and each other very admirable. Jesus said that by your fruits you will know them (them being followers of Christ) I see an awful lot of good fruit produced by the Xenos members I know and I find myself wanting to be more like that.

Of course I also saw what a lot of other Christians who have objections against them see. Kids smoke, drink, and sometimes swear. Maybe that is where the cult label comes in? I remember hearing Xenos was a cult long before I ever really even knew anyone who went to the church, and the reason given was that "they let the kids do whatever they want." But that's not what I see when I am with them. What I see is a group of young people with the mentality of "I'm not perfect and have things I struggle with. But instead of waiting until I get my life cleaned up and am doing everything perfect, I'm going to come to Christ now, as is, and worry about the details second. Because accepting Christ is more important than whatever little things are wrong in my life."

See to be in the Xenos Church you don't have to try and convince everyone you are perfect or follow a set of rules. It does matter if you're a smoker or a liberal, or gay (or even a former Mormon.) You only have to show a willingness to turn your life over to a God you believe can do anything. The mentality is Jesus first, everything else in life second. And what is truly wonderful about that is the realization that if you put God first, everything else will fall into place.

I'm not saying they are better than everyone, or that this is the one true philosophy. All I'm saying is I find this personally very inspiring, and particularly helpful to a former Mormon who is on her own personal journey of faith, who is more liberal than what is popularly viewed as the average Christian, and is doing the best she can to live Christ's commands to not judge others, always forgive, care for the poor, and love everyone.

As I continue my search to define what I believe as a Christian I have solidified an awful lot of those beliefs and ideals by being with the Xenos kids.
Yes I'm still a hypocrite and I still have a lot to learn. But I feel like I'm in very good company at the moment.