The Bishop Maker

This is the story of my life. I left this cult a few years ago, after more than 30 years of believing that I was walking in God's truth. Imagine the horror of realizing that you've spent the prime of your life living a lie, and having to start over in your senior years, relearning who God really is.We were "it". Nobody else had the truth that we had, and it wasn't uncommon to look down our noses at those who didn't look the way we did. Dresses or skirts below the knee, long hair, no makeup, minimal jewelry, no TV, no movies, no music except for camp tapes, and relationships with the unsaved were discouraged."Jesus, friend of sinners, the one who’s writing in the sand made the righteous turn away and the stones fall from their hands. Help us to remember we are all the least of these. Let the memory of Your mercy bring Your people to their knees. Nobody knows what we’re for, only what we’re against, when we judge the wounded. What if we put down our signs crossed over the lines and loved like You did."I'm learning to love the way He does. I hope this book falls into the hands of those who are being controlled by religious men who are out of control. My prayer is that this book can spare at least one person from the pain of wasted years.

The challenge with identifying heretical teaching is it generally starts with some Biblical truth. As we experienced with the "group", when you take any verse to an extreme you will inevitably pervert its intended meaning. This coupled with the threat of dividing families if you don't conform creates cult-like followings.The "Group" described in "The Bishop Maker" was very much of our lives. We were deeply involved in it on the opposite coast before James Stark had taken over. The book gives excellent insight to what we experienced. We wish more research would have been done on James, as Rhett would have undoubtedly come to a very different conclusion.The title of the book is interesting as most of the men in their "leadership" have either never been qualified, or are disqualified according to God's word (Timothy & Titus). But then, it would be typical of them to explain that away and you're supposed to accept it (making God's Word of non-effect).Interesting string of posts going on Facebook regarding this publication. A recent one says that Jesus Christ himself would have been marked by this group. He even enumerates what their charges would likely have been. That is an excellent perspective. I'm convinced Jesus would have avoided this "Group" just like he did the Pharisees and Sadducees. After all, they claim to "have a corner on the truth" like no one else. Amazing how we can be so willingly led into deception while thinking we're better than other believers.Recommend reading as a help with understanding as to what some are a part of and continue to support (including many groups of similar persuasion). Even to the dividing of Christians and families. May this effort help those responsible for experiencing the devastation of Godly lives, Godly homes and the Church which is Christ body.

I know most of these people and was raised in thisGroup...I knew, years ago, something was desperately wrong....Well written...A lot of people have left and we Love the Freedom we have in Christ..We are told in the Scriptures..."To Weigh the Spirits"....

Great book! I know these people and my experience with them has been very similar .

It was very informative & brought me more up to date on some assembly history. There is a lot of food for thought.

For anyone who is in or has been involved with or needs to be warned about an aberrant Christian sect, this is a must read. It is a down to earth, honest and forthright portrayal of the author's personal experience in a separatist, cultic sect, dominated by an authoritarian, Pharisaic leadership that, intentionally or not, practices mind-conditioning techniques on its "flock." I know. I was there once, a victim of the mass purging of dissidents, mentioned by the author, that occurred in 1985-86 in California.Religious groups such as this do not blossom overnight. They usually begin under the visionary and well-intentioned leadership of a man (or group of men) who propounds a healthy dose of biblical truth. Of course, the best counterfeits are those that appear to have the most truth, but, characteristically, most such groups have a "kink." Because of its separatist, exclusive attitude, this one came to be known more for who it was against, then who it was for. This militant attitude initially drew in some folks who were dissatisfied with conventional denominations, but by and large, its numerical growth came mainly by procreation.But as the years went by "the leaven of the Pharisees" began rearing its ugly head. A new generation of leaders, who thought they could manage the church better than their predecessors, began the move toward centralization of control of various assemblies across the country. And ominous things began to happen. The rallying cry was "We're the only viable representation of Christ's church on earth today." Church "discipline" and the indiscriminate use of certain Bible passages became tools by which these men controlled the flock. Rhett Stuart fills in the convoluted details of life in this sect as he and his family in Virginia experienced it. Though his appraisal of two or three of the leading figures mentioned in the book, especially James Stark, might differ significantly from my own, overall he provides a keen insight into the many personalities. All the names in the book are pseudonyms. The characters and places, however, are real.

If only the people still caught in this sect would get their hands on this book and give it an honest read! And for that matter, ANYBODY caught in ANY similar sect could probably read this and say, "That is EXACTLY what I am going through". Rhett Stuart does a good job of giving the reader a sense of the atmosphere of intimidation and fear that the "followers" in these types of sects live in.