The Twelve Tribes and the Yellow Deli Cult

I find it fascinating that people will call an outlier church a cult until they find one they like. I have sat with people over coffee, who will blatantly call the Roman Catholic Church the Whore of Babylon, they will sit in their high castle and cast stones at Mormons and the Jehovah’s Witnesses; but when a CULT settles in a small town near them, just because they serve good food—they won’t research it and call it what it is…a cult! Instead they attempt to pastor bash, guilt and tell folks like myself that "Jesus ate with sinners." Yes, He did--but the sinners Jesus ate with, were seeking something deeper. They weren't just sinners, they were seekers--seeking truth. These people at this deli, think they have already found their truth--and it's sadly a truth that will lead them farther from God, instead of into the arms of Jesus. 

A lot of people have been talking about this place called “The Yellow Deli” in Hiddenite, NC. Evidently they serve amazing sandwiches and are friendly people. Great, nothing wrong with going to get a sandwich at a deli and meeting friendly people—there is however, something wrong with eating and drinking with a cult member who is seeking your soul to join their group. Don’t think that this couldn’t lead to something worse? Ask David Thibodeau. I am sure, the night he spent playing drums with David Koresh, he didn’t expect to be pulled in to the Branch Davidians. After spending time at Mt. Caramel, Thibodeau recounts “I was also attracted to the rigorous learning and the discipline at Mt. Carmel, two elements that had been lacking in his own upbringing. It was refreshing to see a group of people who lived it and wanted to live their lives according to scripture. To me that was an honorable thing," he says. "The way they came off as people who really wanted to know impressed me." You notice, what he’s saying “They came off as people who really wanted to know.” In a documentary on the Yellow Deli one of the guys who is a member says, “We live by Acts 2:44. It says All the believers were together and had everything in common.” Just like the Branch Davidians, the Twelve Tribes don’t have independent income, or independent debt, everything is sold and you live in a commune giving all your income to “the tribe.”

Then today, because I mentioned I would never eat at the Yellow Deli, I was told that as a Christian I shouldn’t judge people who do; and that my job is to go out and make disciples and that I wouldn’t be much of a pastor if I didn’t do those things. So to counter that I am going to say this “so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” (Ephesians 4:14, ESV) 2 Timothy states “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions.” (2 Timothy 4:3, ESV) Romans 16:17 (ESV) says “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.”

By not supporting The Yellow Deli, I am not opening my mind to the crooked beliefs of a cult—someone a group that founds their entire teaching on 2 scriptures. But Rachel, what about the scripture that says “Go forth and make disciples, baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit?” We definitely can’t forget that, however, they aren’t seeking the one true God—they are opening their doors so that those who enter are looking for their god. It would be different if they were looking for the God of the Bible and not a god that they’ve imagined would work for them—their god is of this world. They may not be as bad as the Branch Davidians, but a cult is a cult—equally dangerous no matter the size—and they are a tool of Satan meant to pull people way from God.

I use 15 definitions to identify a cult; and none of them are “Do they wear funny clothes?” Here they are: 

• Over Zealousness ~  Shows displays of excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regard his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.
• Complete Adherence to The Vision ~  No Questioning, doubting, or dissent are discouraged. These actions may lead to punishment.
• Mind Control Techniques ~ Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).
• Supreme Dictatorship ~ The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children,  post on social media, etc.).
• Special Revelation ~ Claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah).
• We Have The Truth, Not Them ~ The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society. Only they hold the truth, and no other group can be in allegiance with them.
• The Unaccountable Leader Syndrome ~ Leader(s) are not accountable to any authorities inside or outside the group (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).
• The Means Justify The End ~ Group will teach or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).
• Shunning ~ Leaders induces feelings of shame and guilt to influence and control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion. (Fasting from outside group activities, friends outside the group).
• Total Adherence ~ Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.
• Growth Obsession ~  There is a preoccupation with bringing in new members.
• You Must Pledge Your Money/Possession To Us ~ The group is preoccupied with making money or having its members adhere to excessive group funding conditions.  Also may want to control wills, bank accounts etc. 
• The Devotion of Time ~ Members will be expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities. Disregarding past relationships and even family relationships from those outside the group.
• Relationship Polarization ~  Members are encouraged or required to live and socialize only with other group members. In other words, if you are not part of the group you cannot be part of the member’s lives.
• True Believer Fallacy ~  The most loyal members  are the “true believers.”  They teach that and feel that there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.

So yes, the Twelve Tribes is a cult—I will personally be treading far from them—but it seems my friends would rather “eat with the sinners” and get caught up in every wind of false doctrine.