There’s a wonderfully written Bible called the Apologetics Study Bible by Holman CSB. In it, Leonard G Goss wrote the following article;

 “What Are Common Characteristics of the New Religious Movements?”

The article was beautifully written as are many of the “info” articles. Here is a list of “red flags” one should look for when choosing a place of worship. I keep 2 more things in mind as I look for places to worship; the church should LOVE the Lord God with all their being and should promote at all times Christ’s second commandment, “Love your neighbor.” The Bible gives us the Biblical (God’s definition of Love) definition of love; if the church doesn't follow these commandments leave them as these are Christ’s words they’re choosing to ignore. No one said walking with Christ would be easy; it’s not about picking and choosing who will come to glory-that’s God’s job not ours.

1.       The group is almost always outside the mainstream of dominant religious forms and culture and displays an oppositional style and substance, meaning it is elitist and exclusionist.

2.       Often there is a “new authority” or new revelation besides the Bible from which adherents to the group must find ultimate truths.

3.       On the other hand, some groups do not claim to have a new, extra-biblical revelation; instead, a group may claim “all we use is the Bible.” But the Bible is reinterpreted to justify and defend false teachings.

4.       The group is comprised of lay people; there are no paid clergy or professional religious functionaries.

5.       The group is focused around a central figure who is a prophet-founder “chosen” by God to deliver a special message to the modern world that is not found in the Bible, has not been known to genuine Christians throughout all church history, or to recover the teaching of the ancient church that has been lost through the centuries.

6.       The leader is usually a charismatic figure, and often the style of his or her leadership is authoritarian.

7.       Often the group teaches that the Bible foretold the coming of its particular group or leader.

8.       The group thinks of its belief system as he last bastion of God’s work on the earth. The adherents are God’s “final and last group” and they play a central role I the last things. The truth of all things spiritual is exclusive with them and the world is doomed without them.

9.       The group believes its adherents are being persecuted.

10.   The group might engage in some form of predatory and destructive recruitment of new members with vigor, zeal and high pressure, often deceiving recruits or not revealing their whole theology.

11.   The group sanctions wayward and rebellious members.

12.   The group believes that God is a force or power, not a person who relates to the creation.

13.   The group is fixated on eschatology (end times) and is usually apocalyptic in its teaching.

14.   The lifestyle of the group’s members is highly legalistic.

15.   Sometimes the group has a notion that a communal organization is necessary to fulfill the human calling. Therefore, there is usually a tightly maintained autocratic organization which governs both spiritual and everyday life. Some dictate modes of dress, length of hair, the type of personal adornment that is permitted, and sometimes even marriage partners.

16.   The group engages in strange rituals and mindless chanting.

17.   The group emphasizes secondary issues and minor points of theology.

18.   The group members are very often taught that they can have direct revelations and visions from God.

19.   The group claims that it is compatible or in harmony with the Bible and traditional Christianity, but the fact it reduces and discounts the Bible or otherwise adds to the revelation of Scripture.

20.   The group has usurped traditional Christian vocabulary, but has redefined and reinterpreted terms and concepts from the Bible-making its words do “double-duty in order to defend aberrant doctrines. Their language is pliable and has no fixed meaning.

21.   The group denies as least on central truth of Christianity-such as the work of Christ on the cross, the authority of the Scriptures, salvation by grace through faith, the bodily resurrection, the doctrine of eternal punishment, etc.

22.   The group denies both the doctrine of the Trinity and the Incarnation.

23.   The group recognizes Jesus as a great teacher and leader, an avatar, a wise man, even as the most important of God’s created beings-but does not believe that Jesus is both fully human and fully divine.

24.   The group teaches “salvation through works” system whereby members must ultimately save themselves.

25.   The group emphasizes experiences over basic Christian doctrine.

26.   The group is mystical and individualistically oriented.

27.   The group dabbles in the occult and spiritualism.

Please keep this in mind. Worshiping our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is not about gimmicks, it's not exclusive to any church and the spiritual leadership of the church should be true to God's word not something they've conjured up to give themselves glory as all glory is God's.

God bless you,