A Cult Challenged

WHAT A DAY! There are two young families who have left  a “Mennonite” cult in the last two months. This group is called the “Holdemans.”

The Lord has truly set them free from bondage and has given them joy and boldness in the Lord!

This Holdemans they left have two major heretical doctrines: 1. They believe that they are the One True Church and 2. They don’t believe that Jesus had the same flesh as us.

Any believers outside of their “church” are only in the kingdom and won’t be a part of the Bride of Christ till Jesus returns.

Because these men (Tim and Isaac) and their families have renounced those false teachings, they have been in serious trouble with that “church.”

I hope I can get all the facts straight here…

Yesterday we had a suspicion that the ministers were coming to visit them and then the church would pass judgment on them this weekend. If a member of the One True Church leaves that church, they will be considered hell bound people. If you leave the church you have left Jesus.

So, Naomi and I and the kids went over to one of the men’s houses to split wood and wait for the expected visit. Three of the ministers showed up that afternoon, and I won’t get into details.
It’s enough to say that they were being unbiblical in the way that they carried out discipline and were wiggling out of responsibility. It was somewhat of a circus.

They ended up saying that the two families were lifted up with pride to the point of being deceived and they also accused them Tim and Isaac and their wives of holding their “light” (truth) above the light of the brotherhood.

Last night they had a council meeting to vote about what to do with them. Tim and Isaac were invited to go, and we decided that they should go and seek for an opportunity to speak the truth.

A while before we left, Tim, Isaac and I went to a side room in Tim’s house and knelt together to pray for strength. How can one describe the presence of the Lord coming down and filling a room!?! Right away when we began to pray I sensed that the Lord was with us. And then one of the men began praying that all remaining ties to evil spirits from the church would be broken. When he prayed that, I sensed the presence of the Lord descend on us in a strong way. I lifted my hands and began praising the Lord. Later Isaac said that he didn’t hear the “rushing mighty wind” but he felt it’s effects. He also said later that he didn’t know exactly what he saw in the prayer time, but he saw something in the Spirit, something that was so wonderful he wanted to keep gazing at it! The Lord was there!

It reminded me of the apostles in Acts 4 coming back to the assembly and praying together that “with all boldness” they might speak the word and that signs and wonders might be done in Jesus Name and the place was shaken where they were assembled.

The council was a members only meeting so I sat in the car and walked around on the property and prayed for them. The Holy Spirit helped me to pray in such a way that I felt that a gush of words and examples from Scripture were coming out of me. Hallelujah! I told the Lord that this was mount Carmel and may that God who is God answer by fire.
I boldly told the Lord that this was His opportunity to show Himself strong on the behalf of two men whose hearts were perfect toward Him.

Anyway, I ended up just praising the Lord toward the end.

After a while I saw my two brothers coming out of the church alone. With raised hands they sang part of “I’ve found a friend in Jesus, he’s everything to me, he’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.”

They were pretty shook up but they were encouraged as well. Almost all of them were put “on repentance” which one could call purgatory because you are not quite relegated to Hell fire, you just go through the ringer-washer till you are excommunicated or till you repent. It would actually be easier to just be excommunicated rather than to be on repentance.

One of the ministers named the sins before the congregation and they voted on each of them. Sarah was the only one who was not put “on repentance.” They lied about her saying that they didn’t believe that she really stood 100% with her husband Tim, EVEN THOUGH she clearly said that she did.

Then they gave Isaac and Tim the opportunity to speak. Isaac got up and spoke for a few minutes about how weak he was and then talked about false doctrine and the fear of man in the church.

Tim talked for maybe 10-15 min and boldly layed out the heresy and idolatry of the church. The church people basically put the church at the same level as Jesus and the church was started by a man who didn’t believe that Jesus came in the flesh, which means that the foundation of the church is antichrist not Jesus Christ! Tim said afterward that he didn’t remember really what all he said, but I believe that because he didn’t premeditate what he was going to say, God was faithful to His promise to give him a “mouth and wisdom.”

While Tim spoke, Isaac observed men bowed over in their seats and heard women saying things like “there are evil spirits in here, there’s an evil spirit here.”  After Tim sat down one of the ministers stood up and said “This is the kind spirit we are dealing with here” and some of the men in the congregation spoke up together saying things like “We’re with you minister” or “that’s true.” I don’t know if the Holdemans have ever given such a reaction before. They are so quiet and peaceful, too peaceful. There is a certain slumbering peace that has gripped many modern-day Anabaptists, it isn’t of the Lord!

I think that by the Spirit of Truth, the foundation of that church was shaken which is why there were such strong responses.
Tim shared with beaming face afterward and said “I feel so free!”

We rejoiced together!

Both men need prayer for protection and strength during this time. Thank you to those in Kokomo who prayed last night!

Psalm 85:6-13 says:

⁶ Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee? ⁷ Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation.

⁸I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly. ⁹ Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land. ¹⁰ Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. ¹¹ Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven. ¹² Yea, the LORD shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase. ¹³ Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps.

Hallelujah! There is so much more that has happened up till yesterday that I don’t have time to share, these men are ON FIRE for Jesus! The Lamb is receiving the reward of His suffering in the lives of these families!

Jake