The Cult of Praise
One Student's Experience in a Religious Cult on Campus
May 8th, 2008
By Eric Stone
Recently, a writer named Eric Stone submitted an article to The Wake titled “Cult of Praise” regarding his experience as a member of People of Praise, an on-campus religious group that Mr. Stone considers to be a cult. The article’s loaded take on the politics of religion and campus life was the impetus for much debate among members of the Wake staff about whether or not the article should be published. In order to illuminate the kind of issues and concerns that go into both publishing a magazine and discussing religion in the modern world, we have decided to post the article on our website and publish the ideological stances of three different staff members in this issue. We encourage readers to read the article and join in on the debate.
Ali Jaafar
The word “publication” has the word “public” embedded in it for a reason: publishing is a statement to the general population about what sorts of issues are important and relevant. It is precisely that concept, relevancy, which has led me take a very strong stand against Mr. Stone’s article. To put it bluntly, I do not believe that publishing an article as self-involved as “Cult of Praise” would benefit the Wake’s readership.
True, it is only natural for people to write about their lives and experiences, but there has to be a point. For example, Deniz Rudin’s article “An Elegy for ‘Art Porn’” started as a funny anecdote but blossomed into an article about guilty pleasures and ironic detachment, issues that resonate with the self-hating hipsters who write/read the Wake.
I was looking for something similar in “Cult of Praise” but found nothing. The point of the article is, “I got suckered into joining a cult.” It contains no real moral or message for the wider, non-cult-joining population. People of Praise may be weird, but they pose no threat to 99.99% of the population. They do not engage in prostitution, the production of meth, illegal gambling rings, slave labor cartels, etc. They don’t even have a funny sign.
Furthermore, joining a religious group is such an incredibly personal thing that one article really won’t dissuade anyone from joining. You either possess the specific combination of belief and naiveté to find the idea appealing or you don’t.
In this light, Mr. Stone’s article reads as the airing of one man’s personal grievances. This is where social responsibility comes into play. In the wake of another recent article on religion (“Religion and the U” by Carl Carpenter) whose false accusations angered many, it would be insensitive and misguided to publish another article that denounces religion without any clear or noble purpose.
This is the difference between a magazine and a personal blog: we are representative of a wide variety of people and opinions and must carefully consider the statements we make. I’m all for publishing controversial articles, but if they lack relevancy and purpose, they can only serve to spread hatred and division rather than peace and knowledge.
Alice Vislova
I believe that Eric Stone’s article, “Cult of Praise,” should be published in an upcoming issue of The Wake.
Stone’s article is a first hand account of his experience with People of Praise: a religious group that operates out of a house on frat row. Stone shamelessly tells his story – from his initial encounter to, well, I don’t want to spoil all the surprises. The important thing is that his story is worth telling.
Firstly, the article is well written. In my opinion, editorial writing, by nature, often lacks color. Stone’s article is full of concrete anecdotes, as opposed to the floating abstractions that often comprise editorial pages (see: this column).
Stone’s article is also interesting because it tells a story you don’t hear everyday, in a heartfelt manner. One of the missions of The Wake is to provide a forum for students to express their ideas. As a magazine by students, for students, we do not have the right to stand in the way of somebody’s story.
In addition to not having the right to stand in the way of stories, I feel that - in a way - we are obligated to publish some of them. The quality of the writing may be a boundary to publication – but a boundary that can be overcome. The opinion held by the writer should never be a boundary.
I had never heard of the People of Praise before reading Stone’s article and I couldn’t believe what I read. I think that people have a right to know about wacky religious cults operating in their neighborhood. I realize that Stone’s article is an opinion piece and therefore may or may not be an accurate description of the People of Praise, but, as usual, I encourage people with dissenting opinions about the subject matter to write an article as well.
We must continue to give voice to those who wish to speak regardless of whether or not we agree with their opinion. We must remember that The Wake would be nothing without people like Stone who take the initiative to tell their stories. Keep the dream alive!
Alex Amend
First off, three cheers for Mr. Stone’s own personal-spiritual liberation, and his effort to put into words the machinations of a local bed-bunking religious co-op otherwise known as People of Praise (POP). His story should be told, if only to avoid shying away from controversy, and for purposes of giving this collective the attention it deserves–which is very little.
I am of the opinion that the actions of such fantastic student groups with utopian and/or religious-derived goals and criticisms are of little consequence within the broader student community. The demonstration last week outside of Coffman was such an instance where a group made explicit their irrelevance by showcasing a unique perversity of historical perspective. That these people offered gleeful smiles from in front of their useless statement only condemned them further in their own ignorance.
A concern must be raised if a group like POP conducted unlawful or abusive behavior within its collective, akin in some shape to the pending case involving a Mormon compound in Texas. However, to assume that POP’s silly practices call for alarm or a singular account of the group by an ex-member facilitated by a college magazine would be granting them too much legitimacy. To my mind, this is simply a collective of unimaginative and harmless human beings in a modern and cultureless college town.
While it is unfortunate, fundamental religious movements are part of our country’s DNA. In short, it’s not such a surprise.
Though Mr. Stone’s account could be considered necessary by those who like to analyze and re-analyze religion’s role on campus, I’m rather unmoved. An interesting read? Slightly. Revelatory insight? I think not. Instead, I believe it is morally imperative that we turn our investigative lens on a rampant and much more horrifying phenomenon around campus: that fucking bean bag game.
Introducing the People of Praise
I never thought I could fall victim to a religious cult on the campus of the University of Minnesota. I like to think of myself as intelligent, knowledgeable and critically minded. These traits echo the values of our campus. Some have called the U of M the dustbowl of empiricism because of its heavy reliance on the scientific method and evidence based practices. So how is it that one can fall into the traps of superstition and dogmatism in such a seemingly enlightened environment? About two years ago, shortly after moving to Minneapolis to attend the U of M, I fell right into a trap.
There are many Christian groups and fellowships on campus. The major ones that we all have heard of include: Campus Crusade for Christ, or CRU for short; Maranatha, with their sign proclaiming “Jesus Christ is Lord of the University of Minnesota” and Mars Hill. But my guess is that very few of you have heard of the People of Praise. Because the group is actively engaged in evangelizing and recruiting members of the U of M community, I think it is important to inform people about the side of the POP that they probably will not share with you upfront. Hindsight is 20/20, and looking back I wish I would have had the resources available to help me make an informed decision concerning the group I was about to commit most of my time and energy to.
The POP is an “ecumenical charismatic Christian community” that was founded in 1971 in South Bend, IN. The formation of the group followed the Catholic Church renewal of the early 60’s known as Vatican II. The POP is ecumenical in the sense that they accept members from all Christian faiths; although over 90% of the current members attend Roman Catholic Church’s. They are charismatic in the sense that they believe in, and employ, such things as speaking in tongues, prophecy and faith healing. The POP has had some trouble with growth – while being in existence for over thirty years they currently only have approximately 2,900 adult members. Some of you may be familiar with Trinity Schools. The POP owns and administers three private Christian High Schools, one of which is located in Eagan, MN. A few years ago, the POP received word from God to set-up shop in Dinkytown and create there own city here.
Life in the People of Praise
I first heard of the POP while working as a parking attendant for the wicked witch of Dinkytown. Anyone who has ever tried to park momentarily in, by or near the parking lot behind the Dinkydome – without paying or having correct change has encountered the explosive rage of this seemingly innocent and lovely old women. I once saw her demand a quarter from some poor student who accidentally made a wrong turn into the parking lot. There are no free u-turns at this lot. It was here I met T.J., who told me about the revolutionary life he was living with Jesus Christ and the POP. He invited me over to one of the POP houses on frat row for a Lord’s Day supper.
I soon found out that the Lord’s Day supper was a weekly dinner gathering of about twenty to fifty POP members and guests that takes place every Saturday night in Dinkytown. The dinner begins with everyone gathering in a circle while the leader prays and passes some bread and juice – representing the body and blood of Christ. After this is finished, the group begins praying. Most pray in plain everyday sensical English, but some pray by making weird noises and strange utterances. For the first time, I heard someone speak in tongues – which are recognized by Pentecostal Christians as a secret prayer language. I remember thinking this was different from the way I learned how to pray and I made a point to talk with T.J. about this experience after dinner. He graciously showed me in the Bible where the apostles spoke in the same tongues the POP members spoke in. If it’s in the Bible, it must be ok, I thought.
That Lord’s Day night I met a young guy named Mike. He was the leader of what the POP calls the campus division. Mike is an intelligent Notre Dame Alumnus in his late 20’s who teaches math and scripture at Trinity High School in Eagan, MN. Mike shook my hand and we shared casual conversation throughout the social gathering that followed the dinner. During this time I inquired to find out as much as I could about the campus division. One member shared with me that sexual temptation was rather easy to deny because no women were allowed on the second and third floors where their study area and sleeping room was located. Yes, that’s right – sleeping room. All sixteen male members of the campus division slept in one room containing six or seven triple bunk beds hand crafted by members of the community. This seemed odd to me at first. A few hours later I noticed the women were all starting to leave. I found out that all the female members lived in a separate house just down the street. Before I left, Mike asked if I would be willing to meet for coffee sometime. I said sure. We agreed to meet the next day and talk more about the POP.
At this time in my spiritual journey I was a young and very naïve Christian – I had just recently undergone a ‘born-again’ experience shortly after moving to Minneapolis. The next day I met Mike at a coffee house in Dinkytown. I ordered my favorite espresso, but Mike curiously sat down without ordering anything. I soon found out that some members of the POP had made a commitment to only spend forty dollars a month on personal expenses, and being that it was towards the end of the month Mike was getting close to his cutoff. I shared with Mike my personal story and how I had just recently moved to Minneapolis to attend the U of M. After exchanging some small talk Mike leaned over to me and stated matter-of-factly, “You are having a conversation with Christ right now.” At first I was taken back. Obviously he couldn’t be implying that he was Christ. That is ridiculous! I didn’t say anything about the comment, I assumed he was referring to the Holy Spirit that dwells within each Christian and figured he was referring to the Spirit within himself. Upon reflection, I wonder if Mike really does believe he is Christ. Is it possible that the second coming of Christ has taken human form and is hanging out at the U?
Over the next couple weeks Mike and I met up for coffee and spent time walking around campus talking about life and all the wonder it contains. I was really curious about the POP and the more I talked to Mike the more interested I became. One time, when Mike and I met up, I remarked to him that he probably has an agenda with me. Mike replied that he just wanted friendship, just friendship. He told me that the POP was all about living out the call in chapter two of the Book of Acts, which proclaims that the early Christians lived in common – sharing everything and owning nothing for themselves. Further, he spoke about revolution, city building and prophecy. He said that a few years ago the POP received a prophecy from God that they were to build 200 cities and recruit 200,000 members within 40 years. I told him that this seemed outrageous and he replied adamantly that they would succeed. He went on to tell me they had begun their city building work and that the U of M is one of the sights that God recently sent them to. Here, they will build a city of one people, united under Christ. Mike spoke passionately, eloquently and fervently about the revolution that God had called the members of the POP to undergo. At the time, this all seemed really exciting to me. I was looking to be part of something greater than myself and to do something radical and charitable with my life. It seemed the POP offered me just this opportunity to make a difference and fulfill my calling.
For whatever reason, maybe it was my intrinsic zeal for leading a Christian life or my curiosity about living on frat row, I joined the POP, went ‘underway’ and moved into the old Zeta Psi fraternity house with my fellow revolutionaries in Christ. The POP is what is called a covenant community, in which members make a decision, similar to a wedding vow, to remain with the community forever. When members first join they undergo a five to seven year period called ‘underway’, in which the young member prays and attempts to discern their path in life. At the end of this period, members make a commitment, either to join the community permanently – in what is called ‘making the covenant’ or leave. Once this covenant is made within the POP, one cannot decide to leave on their own – they ultimately have to be released by the community leaders.
Some of you reading this, who may have been familiar to campus in 2006, might recall the old Zeta Psi fraternity house located at the East end of frat row. There were no fraternity brothers in the house at this time, the Zeta Psi boys had been kicked out long ago for partying too hard and attempting to burn the house down – which they almost succeeded at. During the fall and spring semesters of 2006 the POP moved in and placed two big off-green signs in front of the house, proclaiming: “The World’s a Mess, Join the Solution. A People, A Place, A Revolution”. Meet the campus division of the POP. It was in this house that I lived and prayed, worshiped and sang as an ‘underway’ member of the POP.
After some time in the POP I started to realize that the revolution of Jesus Christ that was prophesied by the group was actually a revolution of oppression and control. The POP is comprised almost entirely of white upper-middle class Americans. Of the hundreds of members I met during my time with the POP, I met only one that was black. I later found out that he was merely a guest at one of the community meetings and not affiliated with the POP. Furthermore, no active homosexuals are allowed, and if they ‘come out’ they are encouraged to undergo conversion therapy or are forced to leave. Thankfully conversion therapy is currently outlawed by the American Psychological Association, although this doesn’t keep faith-based programs from practicing this therapy. Women are restricted from carrying any leadership position. The decision to elect community leaders is not based on qualifications or prior experience; when the decision concerns women, it is based entirely on gender and you’re out of luck if God happened to create you with an extra X chromosome.
Once I joined the POP everything started to change. Before moving in to the house I was given a sheet of paper that listed eight or nine commitments I had to make before joining. I have since lost the list and cannot recall all of the commitments I made. I tried to contact some current members, but was denied access to the sheet of paper. The commitments included: give a monthly 10% tithe, attend all community meetings and lectures, refrain from dating for two years, do not engage in gossip, share all money and possessions and maintain a headship relationship. All new members are assigned what is called a ‘head’. A head is a spiritual advisor/life coach who helps guide you in your journey. Members typically meet one-on-one with their head once a week. Members are not allowed to choose their heads; they are assigned by the community leaders. Upon entering the POP, Mike was assigned to be my head. Once I began headship with Mike he loosened his empathetic and caring attitude and started to become more controlling and directive. I remember during one of our headship meetings he told me that I shouldn’t tell him what I was going to do with my life; rather, I should ask for his permission.
Maybe it was the hammer and sickle poster that hung above our chore list or the strong Russian heritage of one of the leaders, but I began to realize I was a part of what some have called Christian communism – a form of Christianity that seeks a possession-less, separatist and selfless form of community and worship. In the POP, personal possessions were owned and shared by everyone and the money that each member makes is placed in a common community fund to help support the group.
After a few weeks in the POP, Mike became more and more interested in my financial situation. During one of our headship meetings Mike told me that the POP deals with money differently than other people normally do. He then asked if he could view my bank account records. I remember sitting down with him and logging in to my online bank account, feeling nervous and unsure – the consequences of a relationship marked by power differential. I didn’t know how to express my concern about him viewing my bank account, this man was my spiritual advisor – my head, and he was also my landlord – giving me a place to live. I was afraid that if I expressed myself all my connections could be lost. I had nowhere else to go; I was new to Minneapolis and in the middle of a semester of college. I remember thinking that if I voiced my opinion he might kick me out and leave me without a place to stay. I was also under a spiritual spell or ‘spiritual covering’ as some critics have called it. I believed the POP represented my connection with the Almighty. What would happen to me if I was kicked out? Would I be damned forever? What if I chose to leave on my own, would they come after me or just ignore me?
After just one semester in the POP it all became too much for me and I fostered the courage to tell Mike how I was feeling. The semester with the POP represents my lowest GPA and productivity while studying at the U of M. My life had become filled with meetings, lectures, dinners and other social gatherings that demanded my time. My schedule was flooded with the POP, I no longer had time for old friends and hobbies and many of my prior relationships and community services suffered due to my involvement in the group. I slowly realized I was no longer me, but merely a by-product of the POP. I approached Mike one day and told him that I no longer felt free. He cringed at hearing this because he had always taught in lectures of the freeing life in Christ that members experience. A freeing life was far from what I experienced in the POP. I was repeatedly controlled and manipulated in the name of Christ.
Mike advised me to pray more and put some more time and effort into my involvement with the community. I had had enough and wanted out. One day, I mustered the nerve to tell Mike that I had decided to leave the POP. He grabbed his Bible and read from the Book of Acts 2:44-47. He then asked me assertively, “Do you want this?” I replied that I did, but not here in the POP. Mike closed his Bible and saying nothing walked away. I was allowed to move into my own room in the house and was told not to attend any of the community functions or dinners. I felt alone, scared, confused and unsure of what to do next. I committed my life and everything I know to this group and now I was banished. What I didn’t realize at this time was that this was the beginning of my true freedom.
How could my loving God lead me astray?
After leaving the POP I found myself in a crisis of Faith. How could my loving God lead me to such a controlling and manipulative group? I came to the conclusion that I needed to study the foundations of Christianity in order to protect myself from being mislead again. At this point, I made a critically important decision in my life and I decided to be open-minded. I committed to reading both sides of the argument – pro-Christian and anti-Christian. Very few Christians agree to do this because it would involve reading the ‘Devil’s’ works. I enrolled in a New Testament course and planned to read twelve books the following summer in an attempt to settle the battle raging within me concerning the claims of Christianity. I’m not sure why I decided on the number twelve, but I committed to reading six books by well known Christian apologists and six books by well known skeptics. I believe this is one of the best methods of settling ones personal views on religious matters, or any other matter – read both sides and make an informed educated decision. Since the summer of 06’, which I like to refer to as my summer of isolation and study, I have read well over twenty books related to Christianity. I would highly recommend that anyone interested in Christianity take world renowned biblical scholar Calvin Roetzel’s course on the New Testament, which is offered here at the U of M. Roetzel offers his students a rare opportunity to study the documents of Christianity free from the evangelical fundamentalism found in many Churchs. In the end, the very thing that led me to Christianity – the search for Truth, ultimately motivated me to leave Christianity and all its cultic sects, dogmas and superstitions.
Since leaving the POP I have banded with other former members from around the country and started an on-line support community called, “The Freedom Forum”. We are available to offer support and guidance for those seeking freedom from religious cults. We currently have over fifty members and are open to anyone who has had negative experiences with religious groups. My personal experience shows that leaving a religious cult can be as difficult and life-altering as breaking the cycle of addiction. Both phenomena contain elements of a battle with the mind.
I would like to thank Christian philosopher, Dr. Adrian Reimers, for his support in helping me leave the group I recognize today as The Cult of Praise. Dr. Reimers and his family were removed from the community, along with many others in the mid 80’s. Reimers was told by the community when he left that his “life would bear no fruit” if he did not submit himself to the POP. Upon leaving he published articles in The Cultic Studies Journal, started a foundation called, “Free Again in Christ” – which helps support individuals leaving covenant communities who have maintained their Faith, and authored an unpublished book that philosophically and theologically dissects the POP’s various ideologies and workings. Dr. Reimers life has since ‘bore much fruit’; he currently teaches philosophy at Notre Dame.
Recently, the POP began a “missionary school” and started training members in various evangelism techniques. On the weekends, members go out in groups of two and hit the streets of Dinkytown and other areas around campus seeking new recruits. The POP currently resides in various homes in the neighborhood of University AVE and 11th ST. If unorthodox Christianity – bound with grandiose claims and prophecies, narrow minded and shallow ideologies and restricted living are your thing, I encourage you to check them out. Maybe stop by for one of their Lord’s Day celebrations that occur every Saturday night in Dinkytown. I’m sure they would be overjoyed to have you in attendance, and submission.
Millions have been killed in the name of specific religious and political dogmas. The Middle East, which represents the foundational geography of the world’s three major monotheistic religions, has been the sight of the bloodiest and most ravage wars in human history. As far as I am aware, no death or killing has ever been caused by anyone’s lack of belief in something. Yet, a recent study conducted at the University of Minnesota found that atheists were the least trusted minority in the US – more so than homosexuals and Hispanics. It is time for a new Enlightenment. One of the biggest dangers facing society today is religious certainty. If there is one message I could send out to the world, it would be this: There is no God, there is no consciousness after death – all we have is each other, our families, our communities and this one life here on Earth. So let’s embrace one another, strive to do the next right thing and endeavor to make the world a better place for those lives that will follow. Can I get a amen from the congregation?
Comments & Discussion
I think this article could have been published, even though I don’t think such an obviously repressive group poses a danger to most U students. It’s at least interesting, and I find parts of it hilarious.
The main problem I do have with it is that I don’t think it differentiates enough between a ridiculous cult like POP and mainstream religion. Obviously, a lot of people practice religion and believe in God and aren’t discriminatory and controlling like this (although I do agree that religion is the excuse for a lot of prejudice and injustice).
I can understand why this guy would become an atheist after his experience, but I don’t think he should push his certainty that there is no God on the rest of us as he does in his last few sentences. I thought the idea was that people shouldn’t be forced to believe anything…so why is his “one message to the world” that there is (he’s sure) no God?
I’ll give ya an Amen. I was also a “member” of this group years ago, and found them to be obsessively kind to begin with, followed up with controlling metaphorical speak, which entered my mind as confusing and mysterious enough to grab me. In the end, I found that it was just controlling.
Though I wouldn’t claim atheism as my belief system, I applaud the writer for speaking out.
I read the editors’ arguments both for and against printing this article in the paper version of the Wake. I think the Wake made the right call in putting it online.
I have a large amount of personal interest in this article due to the fact that I attended Trinity School at River Ridge during my high school years. I was never a member of POP, although there was no shortage of attempts to get me to join. I have sat through several of the initiation meetings, been to several of the worship ceremonies, eaten of the Lord’s Day dinners. Heck, I even went to the POP summer camp for 3 years. (They call it “Servant Camp”. I had a blast there, and don’t regret the experience in the least. I think I was too young at the time to realize that speaking in tongues, running around in crazy circles around campfires singing praise songs, and knocking people unconscious with the power of the holy spirit was a little bit, er… abnormal?!)
I think that Mr. Eric Stone represents the POP honestly, if not perfectly accurately. They do have the sorts of policies that he describes. And I do think that it is unfortunate when someone gets “sucked” in before being ready for a POPish commitment. However, I think this presents an interesting dilemma. POPers choose their lifestyle. And when that particular ideological shoe fits a potential POPer, they become very happy. Personally, I believe that POP is more dedicated to spreading POP than to spreading the kingdom of God. But at the same time, they still do accomplish some positive goods in the world…
Regardless of any good that they accomplish, I think that POP is a life of delusion. They close their eyes to any other possibility of truth, but they KNOW that they are closing their eyes and they choose it. Is that a legitimate choice? Or is anyone willing to make the claim that it is an illegitimate choice exactly because of the self-blinding and closing of the mind?
I know that I’ll never, never be a part of POP, and that if any of the POP people that I went to high school with read this, they will shake their heads and bemoan the fact that I simply didn’t see their light. I bemoan the fact that they simply refuse to acknowledge anyone else’s light.
Also, I agree with Colleen Powers that the last paragraph of Mr. Stone’s article is taking things too far. Pushing atheism on the readers is just as bad as pushing Christ on a potential POPer.
Wait, so let me get this straight - you told them you no longer wanted to be a member of the People of Praise but were nervous about where you would live, and in response, they gave you your own room and told you that you no longer needed to attend any POP meetings? That’s what you mean by “banished”?
I’m curious to know what more you could have hoped for, Eric. What would have been a happy ending for you in this situation? It sounds to me like they were very accomodating to you, not only releasing you from any POP obligations, but giving you a place to live for the rest of the year as well. I have a hunch that if they had done anything else - if you didn’t perceive yourself as “banished,” you would claim the opposite track - that they wouldn’t let you leave, that they tried to force you to stay.
It sounds to me like you want to be angry at these people no matter what, and you’re spinning your story to throw whatever pot shots you can muster at them. Give it a rest.
I completely agree with Fact Checker. How did these people do anything but give you exactly what you asked for? For a group you claim is a cult, the People of Praise seems remarkably easy to leave; all you had to do was say that you didn’t want to be a member anymore - AND they offered you a place to live nonetheless. So what exactly are you whining about, Eric?
Man, you really need to verify your facts before you start slinging mud at people. An essential part of being a good journalist is doing adequate research, and you just don’t have it here. It’s almost comical the way both you and Ms. Smith so casually dismiss the People of Praise as nothing more than a “delusional cult,” as if hanging around it for a little while and attending a week long children’s camp makes you some sort of qualified expert on the subject.
You have publicly defamed and slandered a whole lot of people you used to call your friends. All I know is, if I were your friend currently, I would be very nervous right about now. Who knows when you’re going to turn on them in the same way that you turned on your friends in the People of Praise?
Best of luck to you, Eric, and have an great time with your “there is no God, there is no consciousness after death” shpeal. It sounds exhilirating.
Fact Checkers:
I can concede that the use of the word “banished” may not be the best choice of words in describing my experience of leaving the POP. Thank you for your comment. As I have said elsewhere though, only one who has never left the POP can say that it is easy. Unfortunately, I did not have enough space to describe in detail my various sordid experiences in the POP. I could significantly add details and stories to the present work. Furthermore, if people have a right to express their religious views in the public square, others have an equal right to criticize those beliefs and practices. Religion has been believed by many to be above and beyond criticism. My article challenges this view.
I’m very interested and pleased by this turn of comment-events. I appreciate Fact Checker 1 & 2’s critiques of this article because it forces additional careful thought on the topic.
I personally did not claim that POP was a cult or that I was dismissing it. I said that Mr. Stone was representing it honestly, which means that he was not telling lies about his experience. That doesn’t mean that I think his words are stuff of capital-T-Truth. In fact, I said that I believe POP can bring great happiness to some people and that it accomplishes some good in the world.
While I have no doctorate in POP, I was surrounded by it for 6 years in 7-12 grade and I believe that this qualifies me at the very least to have an opinion about the organization. POP founded, framed, and fostered my high school, and a majority of the students in attendance there were members. I am not claiming to be a “qualified expert”, but I think that my question of legitimacy is still a valid one.
Colleen, thanks for your comments. Your experiences at Trinity and with the POP definitely qualify you to carry a valid opinion.
There has been a lot of debate on whether or not the People of Praise is a cult. Members of the board at the ICSA (International Cultic Studies Association) offer the following definition of a cult:
“A group or movement exhibiting a great or excessive devotion or dedication to some person, idea, or thing and employing unethically manipulative techniques of persuasion and control (e.g., isolation from former friends and family, debilitation, use of special methods to heighten suggestibility and subservience, powerful group pressures, information management, suspension of individuality or critical judgment, promotion of total dependency on the group and fear of leaving it, etc.), designed to advance the goals of the group’s leaders, to the actual or possible detriment of members, their families, or the community.”
Although there is currently no widely accepted, valid and reliable scientific tool used to definitively identify cults, while differentiating them from mainstream religions, I think that if we accept the above definition we are left with the following conclusion about the POP: for certain individuals and at certain times, the POP has been a cult. At the same time or at other times, for certain individuals, the POP has not been a cult.
I think it logically follows that People of Praise is a cult and the argument below is my reasoning for this conclusion.
The POP board of governors is a charismatic unit that maintains excessive authority and control over the community, tactics of manipulation such as, guilt and fear arousal, excessive persuasion, induced compliance, pressure against dissent etc. have been consistently employed by lay leaders within the community and this has caused unnecessary psychological distress and has spiritually mislead members of the community. Therefore, although mostly benign, People of Praise is a cult.
“The Wake strives to be a voice for students as well as a source of information on the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities Campus. By providing a forum for the reporting, opinions, and creativity of students for students, we hope to foster diversity in discussion and to strengthen the sense of a campus community”
That is word for word the mission statement of the Wake Magazine. To be a voice of STUDENTS and to provide a forum for OPINIONS by STUDENTS for students. Mr. Stone’s article, his opinions, have been swept under the rug, for what reason, because it’s provocative or maybe because it attacks a group on campus? Yeah I can see where you guys are worried about getting your facts wrong again, as you did publish a horrible article titled “Religion and the U”. While this previous article by Carl Carpenter was full of errors and problems you still published it, without checking its validity. And now you’re worried that because you pissed off one group you need to make this article go away. I think you need to edit your mission statement to say: “By providing a forum to publish reporting, opinions, and creativity of editors for students” as in the paper, I see none of Mr. Stone’s opinions, only yours.
I wonder, have you checked any of the facts in Mr. Stone’s article on the People of Praise? Have any of his facts and opinions not checked out? No I don’t think this has anything to do with getting your facts wrong again, I think this has to do with your editors opinions of this article, more specifically the opinions of Ali Jaafar. You say that this article has no social value? Neither does a majority of your magazines articles. I don’t see how this doesn’t have relevance to the campus population, as I bet a large majority of students WOULD care about this going on right next door. I could see this not having relevance if it was just confined to a high school in the suburbs, but this is going on right in dinky town, right where WE live.
As for the last few lines of the article, I can see where many would be upset by it. While I can’t agree with the whole statement I don’t see what’s wrong with it being there. People have been preaching the existence of god, or Gods since the beginning of time. I don’t see why someone can’t have the opposite argument. I guess someone needs to repress atheistic opinions, might as well be a job for the wakes editors.
Hey, Put that in your mission statement!
I think Mr. Stone is just sorry he was BEYOND stupid to join something so obviously dysfunctional and now he wants pity. I would also like to say that he most likely has other major issues to deal with that mess him up. It’s not our fault he was a complete idiot and makes lousy choices. I am glad this never got published!!!
ps- i like how he tries to come off as intelligent writing here but FAILS.
I’m in People of Praise and I just want to clear up a few things. THe People of Praise has nothing aganist black people or women. I highly doubt if a non white male or a women were to want to have some more say in the really big desicions ( not that there are alot that not everyone has a say in already) they would not be able to. The people of Praise are kind of a retreat in away. It’s basically more time then just mass to be supported in your christian beliefs by other christians. There is nothing bad about that. It is also not needeed for someone to make a life long commitment. They can go to the community meetings (a hour and half or so on alternate weakends were we praise the lord) without making a life long commitment. The action division is just a small part of the people of praise. If you don’t want to be apart of that you can just go to the community meetings. There is also nothing wrong with makeing certain perspnal non mandatory sacrifices such as not spending a certain amount of money or have sexual relations with women in order to be a better christian. If you personnaly feel the need through prayer then go ahead. Also when he was
taking to Mike(what was his last name by the way) and Mike said that he was talking to Jesus, Mike was reffering to how we are all one body in christ. He was not claiming to be Jesus or any thing else. Also the speacking of tounges is mearlya gift of the holy spirit like the apostals had, there is nothing bad about it. The people of praise, and manily my friends that are in the POP have helped me grow in faith and helped me through times when I was not sure about God for whatever it was that was going on in my life. The people of Praise is anything but a cult. It is just a group of christians who praise and worship God.
Eric, I’m sorry you have decided to reject this opportunity to change the world for the better. The People of Praise will move forward, and there is no doubt in my mind that we will comfortably exceed the 200,000 members in 40 years goal.
I grew up in the POP for 18 years. Currently I am not a member, and there is absolutely no chance I would ever become one now. With that said, there is no way anyone even loosely familiar with the POP could ever describe it as a “cult.” That’s just a misapplication of words– a bit like calling McCain a “Nazi” or Obama a “Muslim.” Here are some considerations:
(1) The POP has started several award-winning schools around the country (one of which I attended grades 7-12), where the students read the likes of Aristotle, John Stuart Mill, and Friedrich Nietzsche. Now if you yourself are personally thinking about starting a cult, my advice would be not to include study of the above figures as part of the education of its future members.
(2) The activities the POP engages in incude running the aforementioned educational institutions (open to the public), building new houses for the poorest people in the poorest neighborhoods of the poorest cities in the country, offering college students an alternative environment to all of the usual horrors associated with living in the dorms, and other things of that sort. Again, things I wouldn’t recommend as necessarily the easiest paths to developing your cult.
(3) Growing up I never felt any pressure to join the POP. My own mother told me she didn’t care if I did or not, as long as I had some sort of relationship with God. Probably Unitarian children feel more pressure to become Unitarians than POP childred do to join the POP.
(4) There’s no single figure or group of figures around which the POP is organized. To my knowledge, they have a group of leaders who are elected and who serve three-year terms. And while their leadership could and should be more inclusive of women, this personal failure on the part of the POP is not at all unique–it extends to Catholics, most Protestants, Muslims, and many others. (The same could be said about membership diversity.)
The article is poor journalism, and the author definitely has an axe to gring. But I still think it should have been printed, perhaps in the opinion section. A free society rests on the open exchange of criticisms and the airing of diverse points of view–something I learned from reading “On Liberty” at a POP school.
Dear-Staff:
I dont’ know if I sent this or not. Also, I am sorry to use this e-mail, but it was the one I saw on your website.
I just got through reading your article on the Internet about the people who predict and fail concerning the end of the world and the Lord’s coming. I agree with you totally in that these false prophets are constantly wrong and leading the people away from the Lord.
I know, because I was in such a cult in the 70′ s and early 80′ s in Tucson , Arizona .
They were heavily into the end-times and the leader (”the Prophet”) had set a date for the Lord’s coming for June 1981 and the end of the world for 1988. He based it on the 40 year generation starting with the restoration of Israel as a nation. They had other strange doctrines of devils such as to have nothing to do with your family if they don’t believe like they do and that everything is a demon. This put you in a demonic sort of consciousness.
But, primarily, they had you living for a day in the future that would never come and you were left with nothing after forsaking all and the Lord didn’t show up. You were always being driven to “get in the word”, “get in the word”, which was only their interpretation. And they wanted you to be full time in the ministry to get prepared for the Lord’s coming. So, it was all new to me and I didn’t know it was a cult, but that really what these groups are. And they carry a heavy demon of religion, etc. with them.
You can see more about what I am talking about under the heading “220 dates for the end of the world!Datesetters!” and-in-the-Arizona-Daily-Star(June-1981).
Thank-you-for-your-time.
Sincerely,
Todd-DeFrank
I also grew up in the PoP (my parents joined when I was a young toddler), attended a Trinity school, was “baptized in the spirit” while in high school at a retreat, and for a while entertained joining the PoP community as an adult. I’ve since seen a broader world and am working to deal with the spiritual scars left
by my PoP upbringing.
I’ve come to report that my conclusions on the group are more in line with Ms. Stone and Ms. Smith than those of current members. I knew some of you young men who have decided to join PoP, and you would know me, so I must apologize for not identifying myself. My parents and siblings still need their privacy.
The PoP is not a cult in the common sense of the word like you see on TV where featured fringe groups employ strong arm tactics to make leaving physically impossible and inspection by outsiders equally difficult. However, I’ve observed the same group-think at work and witnessed the emotional pain and scarring inflicted when long-covenanted members (note: Not “underway” members) are made to leave because they actively or passively disagree with the direction the group is taking, or choose to leave when taught that the PoP is their “true family in Christ” and later realize that they’ve truly been segregated from their blood family. Underway members may experience severe disapproval - Mr. Stone’s category fits this type of experience - members in this status have not yet made the “Covenant” and are considered to be in a discernment phase. No doubt it is painful for those who choose not to truly join. For those who were full-fledged members, the shunning is all the more real. Some of my parents’ best friends (PoP or not… or so they thought) found themselves needing to leave once the PoP began their late ideological shift to supporting radical street evangelism and “city building.” Best friends? Not hardly. The PoP will never call what it does to ex-members “shunning”, but the practice exists, and my parents are actively engaged. I’ve personally witnessed it and asked my parents about it, who confirmed it by their evasion of the question.
To Sean’s comment about the PoP being non-discriminatory: Although the group tends to be white middle-class in some areas, branches in others can be predominately black or dominated by other races. Leadership positions are by no means out of reach for ethnically different men. However, women are not allowed to serve in a leadership capacity over the men in the community. I know this. My dad is a “head”, my mom has served as a “handmaid”, and she is also a “women’s head”. There is a hierarchy within both sexes, but women are never allowed to have a leadership role that sets policy for the whole, unless it’s from behind closed doors at home and/or via passive-aggressive techniques (my mom is a master at this)… members will refer you to Paul’s letters telling wives to submit to their husbands and for husbands to love their wives.
To “a former member”: I’m glad for you - your parents were certainly tolerant beyond the teachings of the PoP. Mine followed them to the letter. There was constant pressure to join and I had to attend all meetings. Now, my parents regard me as “lost” because I’ve made an overt move to distance myself from their cult and made career choices that will prevent me from being sedentary enough to ever get wrapped up in such a group. (I have to move a lot, and as such don’t end up making very close ties to many friends.) My folks refuse to see that my career itself is self-sacrifice of service to all, and that choice in itself can be a calling. They wanted me to stay near home and marry a certain woman they’d picked who was from an influential PoP family… that brings me to another point of contention.
There is a core of leadership behind this whole thing… they may have fancy titles, but isn’t it a wonder how they keep being elected to the board of governors or other positions of much influence? I’m talking about Ranaghan, DeCelles & co. They were part of the founding core, and remain so, only taking on like-minded proteges to hopefully continue their work. Sadly, my pops, for all his righteous zeal in following the PoP way, even as it’s been experimented with at the whims of leadership all these years, has never had “the knack” for dealing with other men to bend them silently to his will, so has never risen to be a coordinator or man of great influence as he would like. He’s more of a follower… and according to his siblings (not in PoP) has always needed some sort of crutch to fall back on to make him feel that he’s somehow superior. He’s found it in the PoP… but at the cost of maintaining (with siblings & parents) and raising (with us kids) a cohesive family of his own.
Re: Sabbath - one of my siblings is dating someone who is truly Catholic, and refuses to bring them to my parents house, lest they witness the perceived heresy of my dad blessing a loaf and wine. Though the PoP does not claim that transubstantiation takes place, the ceremony used is too reminiscent of a mass for anyone to deny. For a true Catholic, it’s akin to playing at being a priest, and hits too close to the bone for comfort.
Personally, I feel Eric’s pain. I know I have true spiritual gifts, and do not deny that they exist - they just don’t exist in everyone as readily as the PoP expects. But conversely, thanks to my experiences growing up in the PoP, I’ve developed a Pavlovian aversion to any form of fanaticism and practice of things I learned about first back then… religion included. It’s my personal demon that I carry. To any PoPer reading… I don’t need it cast out. The PoP experience is the demon.
This blog is too limited to convey the breadth and depth of misplaced good intentions that the PoP is, and the explanations of how ex-members and many PoP kids who didn’t join ranks are shunned and hurting are many.
What Dr. Reimers has documented is worth everyone’s reading, and is much less biased than I have time to accomplish. I’ve also found Thomas Csordas’ “Language, Charisma, and Creativity: Ritual Life in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal” an excellent factual resource about the beginning and growth of the PoP and its sister groups.
This information comes directly from the People of Praise website.
The People of Praise community is part of a global movement that has brought powerful new experiences of the Holy Spirit to more than 500 million people since the beginning of the 20th century — a movement called the Pentecostal movement or the charismatic renewal. Our moment in this larger story began in the late 1960s, when students and faculty at the University of Notre Dame began to experience a renewal of Christian enthusiasm and fervor, together with charismatic gifts like speaking in tongues and physical healing, as described in the New Testament book of Acts. In 1971, building on this experience, 29 people formed the People of Praise community, taking on the spread of baptism in the Holy Spirit as their special mission.
The People of Praise has had particular responsibility for growth of charismatic renewal in the Catholic Church, a renewal that has reached millions, including more than 30 percent of U.S. Catholics, according to a 2006 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. In the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, the People of Praise ran international charismatic conferences in South Bend, Rome, Dublin and several major U.S. cities which a total of more than 250,000 people attended, from dozens of denominations and countries. Pope Paul VI addressed the Rome Catholic charismatic conference in 1975, while other prominent Christians, including Pentecostal leaders Derek Prince and Dr. Ern Baxter, Mennonite bishop Nelson Litwiller, and Catholics Kevin Ranaghan, Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa and Cardinal Leon Joseph Suenens, spoke at other charismatic conferences.
Today, the People of Praise continues to spread baptism in the Holy Spirit through local seminars and outreaches to college students and to the poor.
The People of Praise is a community where Christians from diverse denominational backgrounds can share life, work, prayer and mission, while still maintaining active membership in their local congregations. We are Methodists and Lutherans, Roman Catholics and Pentecostals, Baptists and Episcopalians. The vast majority of us are lay Christians—married couples, children and single people, but a few of us are ordained Roman Catholic and Lutheran clergy. Several of our single men, including four Catholic priests, are members of the Brotherhood of the People of Praise, an organization with official status in the Catholic Church as a Private Association of the Christian Faithful.
After a long period of prayer and participation in community life, many members of the People of Praise choose to make a lifelong commitment to the community called a covenant. This covenant is a pledge of love and service to fellow community members and to the Lord, resembling permanent commitments made in Christian religious orders and in many other covenant and intentional communities around the world. Community members make this pledge freely after a formation and instruction period that lasts three to six years. We cherish personal initiative and personal freedom and are open to the possibility that some covenanted members should choose to leave the People of Praise.
Community members agree to contribute five percent of their gross income to the community, creating a fund that supports community outreaches, staff and charitable service to the poor.
Our community life is always evolving, with changes often fueled by the ideas and insights of community members. The highest authority in the community is its board of governors. When making decisions about important matters, the board of governors seeks input and opinions from all community members through a formal consultation process.
Community life provides a natural support for marriages and families. Many community children grow up as close friends while their mothers and fathers find friendship, encouragement and insight from other community members. Marriages in the community have a very low divorce rate.
Community members agree to serve one another, no matter the type of need—spiritual, material or financial. We work together, pray for one another, visit one another, share meals and offer one another gifts of money and material items in times of need. Through daily acts of kindness and by constantly forgiving one another’s faults, we hope to live up to the simple call of the Lord Jesus, “Love one another.”
Another member wrote:
The POP has started several award-winning schools around the country (one of which I attended grades 7-12), where the students read the likes of Aristotle, John Stuart Mill, and Friedrich Nietzsche. Now if you yourself are personally thinking about starting a cult, my advice would be not to include study of the above figures as part of the education of its future members.
I attended Trinity School and my parents were in PoP. Rather ironically, the education provided at Trinity is the the fatal flaw of PoP. Amazingly, Trinity essentially showed me the absurdity of PoP. PoP tends to prey on the weak minded or the downtrodden. Although I am not exactly sure of PoP’s growth over the years, I am willing to bet that it has decreased. In fact, if my memory serves me right, PoP was having ourble recruting members while I was attending high school and, in turn, the higher beings within the community decided that it was time for a revival and began holding “public meetings.” My guess is that the current “prophecy” relating to the 200,000 in 40 years is another ploy to beef up their membership. Of course, there is always the possibility that the PoP hierarchy has good intentions. I just think they are miss-guided,
An interesting discussion that has evolved from the appropriateness of publishing one person’s story to a broader (and to those of us with close personal ties to the PoP, more important) discourse on a collective.
By way of background: I was raised in the PoP after my family relocated to the PoP epicenter, South Bend, IN, and attended one of the Trinity Schools. I was intimately involved with the PoP for 17 years and have maintained close relationships with many PoPers, including dear family members. Both of my parents have served as leaders within the PoP.
I too debate whether the PoP is a “cult.” So many good people . . . who may be so very wrong/misguided. But I’m not here to bash or badmouth. I’m here to pose two questions to any PoPer who may stumble across this comment: Who had the 200,000 members, 200 cities, in 40 years prophecy; and when was this prophecy revealed to that individual? And, indirectly responding to the comment of Rich Preuss above, I was told by multiple sources within the PoP immediately after the prophecy was shared with the collective that it was just that, a “prophecy” - God speaking to his people - not merely a “goal” to which the PoP should aspire. It would be convenient for the leadership of the PoP to re-characterize the prophecy in an effort to hedge. To do so is (or would be) disingenuous and discrediting.
I’ve asked these two questions many, many times of many, many PoPers. No one knows (which, given the gravity of the prophecy, is shocking and/or telling in and of itself). When pressed, some have offered vague responses such as “in 2003 by one of the coordinators” and “in the early 2000s by one of the young men” and (a non-response) “it doesn’t matter.” Yes, yes it does. I’m no doubting Thomas; I’m not seeking verification of words spoken from the mouth of Our Lord. I want to know the who and when of a purported prophecy that (in large part) serves as a catalyst for what the PoP has become and what it does. The PoP has evolved from a prayerful, support group which sought to compliment and accentuate the faithful lives of its members to a corporate religion, bent on aggressively spreading its charism. Growth is no longer a byproduct of “witnessing” – it is now the goal. But, I digress. Back to the prophesy . . .
In short, I, for one among many on the outside of (and, dear Lord, I hope - within) the PoP, am prayerfully watching. I honestly (truly, honestly) hope that my suspicion is unfounded. I hope the prophecy was/is true. But, in the year 2043, if the PoP does not have 200,000 members in 200 cities, I will be profoundly saddened and mighty angry that someone(s) pulled the wool over the eyes of so many good people (some of whom I love) and then proceeded to rob them of time, talent, and treasure.
May God bless us all, within and outside the PoP.
Dear Staff:
I don’t know if I sent this or not
I just got through reading your article on the Internet about the people who predict and fail concerning the end of the world and the Lord’s coming. I agree with you totally in that these false prophets are constantly wrong and leading the people away from the Lord.
I know, because I was in such a cult in the 70′ s and early 80′ s in Tucson, Arizona.
They were heavily into the end-times and the leader (”the Prophet”) had set a date for the Lord’s coming for June 1981 and the end of the world for 1988. He based it on the 40 year generation starting with the restoration of Israel as a nation. They had other strange doctrines of devils such as to have nothing to do with your family if they don’t believe like they do and that everything is a demon. This put you in a demonic sort of consciousness.
But, primarily, they had you living for a day in the future that would never come and you were left with nothing after forsaking all and the Lord didn’t show up. You were always being driven to “get in the word”, “get in the word”, which was only their interpretation. And they wanted you to be full time in the ministry to get prepared for the Lord’s coming. So, it was all new to me and I didn’t know it was a cult, but that really what these groups are. And they carry a heavy demon of religion, etc. with them. They are strong believers in the one-world government conspiracy and about the Big Mid East War that is supposed to happen.
You can see more about what I am talking about under the heading “220 dates for the end of the world!Datesetters!” and-in-the-Arizona-Daily-Star(June-1981).
Thank-you-for-your-time.
Sincerely,
Todd-DeFrank
My husband and I have been members of the People of Praise for 34 years. We have raised our children in the People of Praise and all of them graduated from Trinity School. Because of their academic training at Trinity, they have all excelled in college and various types of graduate programs. I had been involved in other charismatic groups as a young adult. The leaders in those groups were what you might call controlling. The leaders in the People of Praise are definitely not controlling. If that were the case, I would have left the community years ago. In other groups I had experienced sharp criticism and condemnation if I did not believe as the group encouraged. I have only felt love from my brothers and sisters in the People of Praise. I have disagreed with ideas over the years, but have never been criticized or made to feel condemned for my disagreement. In fact, my input was welcomed.
The People of Praise Community is something that you choose to be a part of. You can also choose not to be part of it. The Community has been supportive of my husband and me in numerous areas: raising our children, educating our children (our children learned to think and discuss ideas at Trinity School), praying with us for our needs, providing meals for us during difficult times, encouraging growth in my relationship with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, providing wise input for important decisions.
Some of our adult children are part of the People of Praise and some of them are not. This is something they were free to choose or not choose. We did not recruit our children to be members of the People of Praise. God has others plans for their lives besides being part of the Community and that is just fine.
The Lord’s Day meal that is discussed in this blog actually has its roots in the Jewish Sabbath ceremony. It has absolutely nothing to do with the Mass or Eucharist. My son and his wife, who are not members of the People of Praise, celebrate Lord’s Day meals with other families that have no affiliation with the People of Praise
Wow! I was completely set on my child attending one of the Trinity schools when I received word from a Catholic friend advising me that there are some serious issues that within the teachings of POP that are being looked at closely by Catholic leaders. Why? I’m still a bit confused by it all. As a child I attending POP meetings with my family as my parents belonged. I still know many families who still belong & believe they have wonderful hearts & do many good things for people. I’m still upset & confused about what teachings are anti-Catholic. Is POP really an outlet for “new Catholics?”.
I thought I knew & now I know that I know nothing.
Here is the list of commandments that Eric was probably referring to.
People of Praise Community Underway Agreements
A person who comes underway agrees to live the life of the community and to be formed in its ways. An underway member makes the following commitments:
1. To attend regularly the weekly meeting of the community.
2. To attend the basic teaching courses of the community: CFS I, CFS II, Authority and Obedience Talks, Servant School, Covenant Talks and others as may be added.
3. To contribute at least 5% of your gross income to support the life and work of the community.
4. To participate in a men’s or women’s group.
5. If you are single and have not made a good state in life decision, to pray through your state in life, with the community’s guidance, and to refrain from dating until you do so.
6. To participate in a community service - normally four hours a week.
7. To have your children participate in youth activities.
8. To be headed, at least in the above seven areas. The coordinators assign a person his or her head. In the case of a married couple the husband is the head of his wife.
These commitments represent some basic elements of our life together. In response to the Lord, we are endeavoring to freely put our lives in common more and more.
Any one care to comment on this?
First I would like to make a few rebuttals to Mr. Stone’s experiences. I never attended a people of praise school, but in the school that I did attend I still learned about the gift of tongues. It is an uncommon gift, but people even outside this organization have received the gift of tongues. I have many friends in the People of praise and they all range in different ethnicity. If you didn’t like your head, you could have always changed.
I would also like to state my experiences with the People of Praise. My family had joined the People of Praise when I was really little. We left a few years later. They caused us no trouble in leaving, and they still remained our friends. Several years later, my friends from the POP offered a chance to go to one of their branches in Louisiana and help the neighborhood there. I gladly agreed and spent two weeks down there. My older sister who had rejoined POP came down with me. Words escape me for my experience down in Louisiana. What these people are doing is seriously the work of God. They live in this extremely rundown neighborhood, where all the houses look like they are going to cave in at any second. People are afraid of their neighbors thinking that they were convicts (for convicts did live in their neighborhood), and they would never leave the house. The People of Praise gives them comfort. They go around the neighborhood doing all sorts of things like fixing ceilings for old woman who can’t do it themselves, setting up ramps for the handicap, being there when something terrible happens to someone’s family, helping people get back on their feet after a terrible mishap, and just giving assistance wherever it is needed. I’ve never seen anything like it. They visit nursing homes and prisons. Who does that??!!! The old people in the nursing homes cherish every moment with them, because they never get visitors or anything. Even people in prison are glad to see them. It reminds me of when Jesus said “for I was in prison and you visited me.” Those are the kind of people we need in our society, people who care for one another.
After the trip I went up to Dinkytown because that is where my sister is living. There were eight people living in her house. There were two rooms to sleep in and two bunk beds in each room. I thought it was nice having so many people in one room, it felt comforting. I met all my sister’s roommates and I got to feel what it was like to be in the people of praise. I attended the meetings, the woman’s groups, Lord’s day, and morning prayer. I learned that they do so many things together, because it strengthens their friendship with each other. There is always time to do other things besides POP work. I’ve had so much fun with the POP group, and I now have an immensely stronger connection to God then I’ve ever had before. These people should not be downgraded for the work that they are doing. They do not seek to control, but to bring compassion into the world. They are helping the world show love, and they do it by showing love themselves. That’s why they are so happy. They are full of God’s pure love.
I have one last thing I would like to address, and that is toward “raised in POP”. The People of Praise does have a goal of 200,000 people in 20 cities by 2043, but if the date comes and goes and they are behind on their number, it won’t matter because they tried their best and they’ve touched many lives (mine included.)
As far as I know the PoP is in excellent standing with the Catholic Church. In fact, though they are not officially affiliated, 4-5 priests are members. If your friend could give you any particular concerns you may be able to find out more about what Trinity’s standing is on those issues and then check with a local Catholic institution. I’m glad to hear from someone so invested in their childrens’ education! There’s a lot of invective in these comments and between you, “Former POP member” and a couple others there’s some refreshing maturity.
Here are some interesting quotes to think about in light of the discussion here.
This was taken off of the former website of the POP’s City Builders. It is no longer there.
“About us
God wants a revolution. He’s outraged by the way the world works–sickness, poverty, every type of oppression, isolation and alienation among peoples, even suburban American people. His revolution looks like new cities, places where the poor have their needs met, where friendship is a way of life, where the buildings and streets are designed to foster community, where everyone works together in profitable businesses that produce healthy, honest products, and where the whole of society–women, children, the elderly and those normally ostracized–participates in shaping social, political and economic life. This is the blueprint: “God has moved into the neighborhood, making his home with men and women! They’re his people, he’s their God. He’ll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good–tears gone, crying gone, pain gone–all the first order of things gone” (Rev 21:3-4 The Message).
In the People of Praise we are building new cities–200 of them in the next 40 years. We call ourselves city-builders.”
Here are some quotes taken off the internet from articles about Jim Jones and the People’s Temple.
From “What Was the Lure?” by Jennifer Garza
“When the group arrived in San Francisco in the early ’70s, Jones was preaching a message that was “a combination of socialist/revolutionary message with sprinkles of Christianity.”
“He never abandoned the Christian message because that’s what he used to bring people to the church,” McGhee says. “But he became more revolutionary.”
“On the surface, Jones also practiced what many churches preached. He started soup kitchens, he helped the homeless. When someone was sick, members from the temple visited to see if they could help. “He became their family,” Harrison said.”
From “Cult Classic” by Jim Emereson
“Jones got his start on the Pentacostal revival circuit, but based his ministry on breaking down racial and economic barriers between people. His focus, as one former congregationalist explains it, “was taken from the Bible, where Jesus in his earliest days, told people to sell all things and have all things in common.”"
Jones said: “Jesus Christ had the most revolutionary teachings…” — involving feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, taking in strangers, ministering to the poor, the elderly and the ill in their suffering — “and we feel nobody has really tried Christianity too effectively, or the Judeo-Christian tradition.”
I end with this famous quote. A warning to all.
“Everyone Is So Loving And Caring!”
When you meet the friendliest people you have ever known, who introduce you to the most loving group of people you’ve ever encountered, and you find the leader to be the most inspired, caring, compassionate and understanding person you’ve ever met, and then you learn that the cause of the group is something you never dared hope could be accomplished, and
All of this sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true! Don’t give up your education, your hope and ambitions to follow a rainbow.
- Jeanne Mills, former member of the People’s Temple and subsequent victim of assassination a year following the Nov. 18, 1978 Jonestown suicides/murders of 911 adults and children.
To former pop member, who is so enthralled with the POP, and her comment “Who does that??!!!” Many, many people have done such good deeds and better. Is your world so small that you have never seen or heard of people, other than POP, who show charity to others? There are many churches and para church organizations that have ministries of helping the poor, visiting the sick and people in prison and aiding the elderly. “These people,” the POP, are not being downgraded for their good works but for a myriad of other serious problems. The belief system behind the good works needs to be examined. How many people knew that the Jim Jones People’s Temple was a champion of the poor and down trodden before things got crazy? Many of his followers were good people who wanted to make a difference in the world. There are many good people in the POP but the underway agreement posted above should raise a few eyebrows. The communal living and the requirement “to be formed in its ways,” being assigned a “head,” 4 hours of community service, and their control over dating should also raise a red flag. People who are being controlled don’t know that they are.
email me if you want the true story about People of Praise. I was a member for too long before I escaped.
bigndfan175@yahoo.com
first of all People of Praise is full of misogynists. Women are a second class by the very nature of PoP’s teaching that follow the antiquated scriptures that women should submit to men. How many times was I talked to in CFS I , II and III about submission. Men being the head of the house. PoP fosters this behavior by the very fact that Coordinators must be men as well as every other post with authority.
Hey Rich - wanna put a wager on that 200,00/200 number?
Like I said if you want the unvarnished truth about PoP drop me an email. bigndfan175@yahoo.com
I found this article very interesting due to the fact that my parents have been in POP for over 20 years. I must say that I agreed a lot with what Eric wrote. It’s definitely a strange culture. I also realized that POP is a little different based on where you are located. I grew up in the Northwest. The POP branch there is a lot smaller than the one in Minnesota and Indiana. We are still associated with those branches, and I have met many people from them, but the west side POP seems a lot more chill. I have never gone “underway” so I don’t know the specifics of how to become part of the community, but I have heard about the “praying before you can date” and “praying before you make any decisions”. I know about the heads and leaders, and have experienced countless meetings and dinners. All of which I particularly hated going to, but was forced to by my parents. I think that the purpose of the group used to be just about praising God, which is fine, but over the years I have seen that it’s evolved into this idea of “city building” which to me sounded CRAZY. I don’t like being evangelized to and find that excessive pressure to join someone else’s beliefs turns me off completely to such a group.
When I went to Louisiana for some volunteer service thing, I experienced the other branches of community. These were just the kids of those branches and some of them were WEIRDLY into this Christian Group. My friend and I were always pressured to consider “becoming underway”, but I know too much about the group to know I would never be happy joining such a group. The other branches were way more extreme in evangelizing and sharing things in common than that in the Northwest branch. The rules, time consumption, and money requirements are a complete turn-off to joining such a group though. I think it’s fine if Christians want to get together and pray to God together, but why place all these rules and regulations?
Although the POP seems WAY out-there in their rituals and beliefs, here’s what I have to say (at least of our branch).
1. MOST of the people are REALLY REALLY good people. They care a lot for each other and consider each other to be family. They support each other and help each other whenever they need it. For example, if someone needs help moving houses, there’s a large group of community members ready with trucks and hands to help move someone. If someone gets laid off, they are there to support and help that person, maybe even employing them to do small jobs or have a real job. If someone has a baby in community, you’ll for sure see women, other moms and families, bringing dinners over and offering to babysit their other children. These are the good things about belonging to such a group. It’s like a large support system. Good for people that have a hard time making friends or just need more people in their lives.
2. The community, although a majority are white, does expand to other cultures. At least in the Northwest I have known several hispanic families that have joined and I have known one black person :)
All I have to say is that the POP is definitely not a group for everyone, it’s especially hard for a young person to join and for someone who’s never experienced any of the POP should not just up and join it. You have to slowly integrate into it, and it will only work if you have similar beliefs. Also another thing to note-not there are the POP “extremes” like “Mike” it sounds like and there are the less extremes. My parents are in between. They believe in the things the POP teach, but they are not hardcore enforcing the beliefs on others. They never made me pray for two years before I dated. I like to think of them as the “old generation POP” which were a lot better. They initially joined the POP after a tragic event in the family (losing a daughter), and the support and love they got from the POP helped them get through the event and helped them make friends. So obviously this group isn’t for everyone.
PS-my friends and siblings and I used to call this group a “cult” too, but at least they aren’t worshiping the devil and whatnot
Matthew 7:16
“By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.”
I grew up in community and now am a member of the people of praise and no where else have I seen so many lives truly transformed. I have seen a man full of anger and hurt be totally transformed from the love by others in POP, I have seen alcholoics become sober because of prayer and encouragement, I have seen marriages on the brink of divorce stay together, I have seen people who were odd balls and lonley come and be loved, I have seen people healed from sickness, I seen people being taken care of when no one else was there, I have seen people helped in times of financial need. My husband is a christian because of the POP, I have a friendship with Jesus because of encouragement in POP. Any of you who grew up in POP, or have come across POP, even you Eric Stone, if you opened your eyes would also see that God is working here. You have stories just like mine of lives transformed. We are also human and not perfect, POP is not perfect but the love of God is here. We are constantly praying, seeking God, reading scripture, asking questions, we truly desire a friendship with Jesus.
I think it is awsome that there are young people that are living purposeful lives, working together, living together, to bring christ to others.
i always participate in youth activities because it is good for socializing with other people.,;;
I don’t claim to be an expert on POP. I am not a member of the group, though I seem to be surrounded by the group’s members in my home neighborhood. I wanted my daughter to attend Trinity ten years ago and she refused, feeling it was too small and restrictive. Now she regrets that she did not go! Dr. Walker, the school head, at the time said that the school did not have accreditation…..but he was quick to read a partial list of colleges that the current senior class would be attending: Yale, Harvard, Notre Dame, Columbia, etc.. Young POPer’s have made presentations at my former church, showing how they have given time and money and effort at building homes for poor black people in Mississippi and so on. I have attended neighborhood parties where many POP folks have gathered. They seemed friendly, but some might find them “clichish”; they really stick together. Many of the group do home schooling, prior to sending their kids to Trinity. My experience is that the group seems to be doing a lot of good, and their children seem to be well on their way to becoming serious, thoughtful, successful, charitable, and responsible people. My only criticism would be that the group seems to be way too conservative for me; I don’t know if a Democrat/POPer exists; does anyone know??
Eric Stone strikes me as someone who had an axe to grind, and tried to create a mountain out of a molehill. He wants us to associate POP with the more repressive and frightening cults out there, but according to the facts he himself reported, there isn’t enough evidence to do so. Much of the objectivity and credibility of his piece completely went out the window when he got in his little point there at the end about atheism.
And Eric, the plural form of “church” is “churches”. Not “church’s”, which is the singular possessive.
youth activities are always centered on enjoying the day and socializing with other teens`’,