WMSCOG Indoctrination Program Part 1 – “Spiritual Hospital”
The World Mission Society Church of God claims that it is not a cult and does not control its members. Victor Lozada, current World Mission Society Church of God Missionary, published an article on February 4, 2016, in the WMSCOG’s defense on his blog “The True WMSCOG.” In his article, Mr. Lozada writes:
The label “cult” implies that members cannot think for themselves and that they are manipulated to do things they don’t want to do. It strips members from the basic principle of worshiping God and following Him on the basis of the Bible, because now things that are completely normal to do in Church are seen in a negative light…Although the Bible calls for us to fear God and keep His commands, when you apply the label “cult” this is no longer a principle of Christianity, but it now becomes “systematic psychological techniques” used in order to “manipulate” the members.
Are WMSCOG members being manipulated?
When I was a member of the WMSCOG, I remember something called the “Spiritual Hospital.” A deaconess explained that the church was like a spiritual hospital, explaining that the leaders of the church (team leaders, deacons, etc.) were the nurses and that the pastor was the doctor. Below are the checklists and application for a training program called the spiritual hospital that was implemented for the female members of the east coast WMSCOG locations. A former leader provided the documents. The checklists consist of a checklist that would be given to the member, and another “invisible checklist” for the overseer to complete that was not shown to the member. Here are some highlights:
Stage 1, Level 1 “Invisible Checklist”
- Must understand prayer (coming to Zion and leaving)
- Must Let go of worldly Addictions: smoking, drugs, drinking
- Overcome persecution
Stage 1, Level 2
- Preaching at least 2 times a week
- Must Tithe and Offer correctly
- Perfect attendance, never late for service.
- Must have a job
- No sleeping in service
- Studied Tithe & offerings
“Invisible Checklist”
- Able to communicate with nurse
- Obedient to instruction
- Join Family activities often
- Overcome mind and doubt completely
- Gives fragrance with spiritual realization
- Let go of worldly Customs: Hanging out with friends, clubbing, sex, boyfriend
- Self righteousness
- Can not be involved in any unhealthy relationship or unspiritual people
- Must have revealed something about themselves to an older sister
- Evil Suspicious as described in book of James
- CANNOT BE SOCIALLY WEIRD OR AWKWARD
Stage 1, Level 3
- Must fill out all Zion documents
- Have brought at least 1 good person to study according to the “Who I should preach to training”.
- In this level you must complete the following:
- Who should I not preach to?
- Who should I preach to?
- How should I look as a gospel worker?
- How to preach outside?
- How to teach new people?
- How to act around new people?
“Invisible Checklist”
- Contribution to committee and Sabbath day cooking
- Must not be fake but true feeling
- No alienation
- Must have discernment and wisdom
- Good example- not lazy
- Consistency (not fallen back to requirements of level 2)
- Physical appearance
- Must study in their free time
- Must have brought a good person to study
- Not using empty words of sacrifice to show that they are spiritual
- Must be natural
- Cannot be sensitive, not even a little bit.
- Must be ready to be rebuked
Stage 2
- Bear 1 good fruit
- Must be able to receive a rebuking in public
- Must NOT have an attitude
- Must NOT fake [sic]
- Must come to Zion often
- Must be able to sacrifice
- No excuses
- Must offer using brown envelope
- Must have taken acting classes
“Invisible Checklist”
- Must be able to receive a rebuking WITH understanding
- Must NOT have an attitude
- Must NOT fake [sic]
- No excuses
- Must be able to work with church
- Have to follow the order of Zion NOT ROBOTICALLY
- Reliable and Punctual
- How to deal with Stage 1 sisters acting class. (Case scenarios)
- In this stage directness is the key. If they cannot handle it and they become robotic they have to go back to level 3. You may also let them know that.
- They should take every rebuke as constructive critiquing.
- They should be very natural and the moment they are not they should know.
- They should be rebuked right away if others can learn from it. They should understand in that case that if they are rebuked publically [sic] it is because others around them can learn from it.
- They cannot be a sensitive sally.
- If they cannot handle this stage it is necessary that they go back to stage 1 level 3. It is not a bad thing, they should be ready to give up their own mind.
The Roadmap To Cult Mind Control
These checklists seem to be a cult mind control roadmap. They are riddled with manipulative tactics to get members to conform to the WMSCOG’s system of indoctrination. When reading through the checklists it becomes clear that the member’s time, money, relationships with others, behavior and thoughts are systematically affected. These are the very “systematic psychological techniques” that Mr. Lozada claims the WMSCOG does not subject its members to. Can “members think for themselves” if the last item on the final checklist is that “they should be ready to give up their own mind?”
“Church of God Sister Application”
What is the most insidious part of this cult mind control program? That the member has to apply in order to be a part of it. The member isn’t shown the “invisible checklists,” making it impossible for them to make an informed decision. The application even includes a subtle, but presumably effective, attempt to lower the applicant’s self esteem.
On a scale of 1- 10 rate your appearance ( dress attire, hair, and makeup ) in Zion?
page 10
Why would a member have to rate their own appearance on a scale of 1-10 for the church? What if the member does not wear makeup? If she does not wear makeup, does that mean that she is not pretty enough? What if the member cannot afford the “dress attire” expected by the church? If the member does not consider herself to be a “10,” does that mean that she is not good enough? Does the leader who reviews the application either agree or disagree with the member’s own rating of herself? What happens if the leader thinks that the member’s rating is lower than the member does?
Current and former members, would these checklists have affected your decision to join the World Mission Society Church of God if you had been made aware of them prior to joining? Leave us a comment below.
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