The Local Church Cult

My parents lived in Santa Ana for 10 years when I was a kid, where they got involved in "the local church," which was inspired by the teachings of Watchmen Nee and Witness Lee.  My mom regrets her time in that church, as it was a cult actually. :( 
 
The main thing that made it a cult was that they focused on mostly forgetting your mind and following your emotions.  They discouraged any contact with biological family members because your church family was your only family that mattered, in their eyes, even though my mom's family was Christian.  They saw themselves as more elite Christians than other Christians.  They called themselves "the saints."  They regulated what the women could wear.  They emphasized a works based salvation rather than saved by grace.  There was a also high degree of spiritual competition in that church.
 
This was the church, the cult, my dad was heavily involved in when he fell in the way that he did. 
 
It was overly religious and legalistic, so he struggled with his sin in secret, which is the worst thing you can do with your sin.  Sin needs to come out into the light in order to be healed.  But because the culture of this church was so judgmental, he probably felt that he couldn't talk about it with anyone.  He struggled with a sexual addiction, which no doubt began with just pornography, and escalated to possibly child porn and then child molestation.  Sin is a very slippery slope.  Be mindful to bring your sins into the light so that they do not fester and get worse.  May God give you wisdom in this and boldness to share with others and stay in community.  "Confess your sins to one another and pray for each other that you may be healed."  Amen!  God bless :)