Group Think: A Sinister Snare For Elders and Congregations Alike

[Ohio]

Originally Posted by Overflow

"In the absence of biblical conviction people will go in the way of culture. Culture gives us permission to do whatever we want." I think that this applies to whatever culture we are being influenced by. Back in the day, most of us were deeply entangled with the LC culture due to a lacking of personal biblical conviction!

One danger of "culture and groupthink" came about in the LC's when the ministry imposed upon Americans that their culture was inherently "bad," and in its place often imposed a Chinese culture, which to Americans was supposedly "spiritual" because it was foreign to them. One example was the celebration of holidays, another was in the marital relationships, and the treatment of women.

The statement, "Culture gives us permission to do whatever we want," must have a limited scope, don't you think? One horrific example in our culture is abortion. The laws, the government, the media -- our whole culture -- promotes all the "benefits" of abortion. But we Christians are fighting an upward battle for our youth -- within our churches, our families, and our schools -- to provide another "culture" for our youth.

Overflow, your comment about "lacking of personal biblical conviction!," has merit. Another shortage for us was the "lacking of personal family conviction!" It seems the LC was the most damaging to those who lacked both personal biblical conviction and solid family relationships. I definitely qualified for both. All of us who placed the church above our family did indeed suffer much. Groupthink produced a kind of atmosphere where it was somehow "unspiritual" to spend quality time with one's family.

I remember early on, one young brother in his mid-20's, about my age at the time, who had two small kids, and had spent his free nights caring for personal family related things during the past week. On Saturday, when we were together serving, the older brother "interrogated" him and then shamed him in front of several of us other brothers, humiliating him for having a "naked and barren" week. None of us dared to speak up. Fear often gripped us in a "state of consecration." Groupthink in action. I really loved that brother. We had migrated together with others to start a campus church. The dear brother and his family were soon gone.