• Fear-Based Control: Members are taught doctrines that create fear of leaving - losing eternal reward or God’s favor.

• False Theology of “Payment”: The founder taught that believers must keep making spiritual “payments” to maintain good standing, undermining grace.

• Mental Imprisonment: A closed system of thought, reinforced by false commitments and authority claims, keeps members from true freedom in Christ.

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Most members at Wellspring Church have considered leaving at least once over the years. But they are in a closed loop systems of thinking that prevents them from acting on their gut level concerns. These concepts are taught to members over the years and serve as prison bars to the mind that prevent the member from pushing beyond those borders into true freedom in Christ. Some of these concepts are sourced in the Shepherding Movement of the 1970’s.

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The founder of Wellspring Church would compare walking out the Christian faith to a lifelong mortgage payment. He would teach his followers they had to keep making 'payments' to keep their spiritual house and inheritance in the next life. Those who stopped making 'payments' would lose their spiritual inheritance. Needless to say, this frightened his followers. It kept people in place making financial, relational and spiritual payments to his church.

 

His teaching is the absolute opposite of Christian theology. It totally undermines the concept of God's grace and provision. In Christian theology, Christ made the payment in full on the Christian's behalf. This is the good news of the gospel.

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Inside the prison walls there is fear of leaving a familiar system, fear of losing family and friends, fear of being divorced, fear of leaving God's kingdom and fear of losing one's spiritual inheritance. This anxiety of life on the outside keeps thoughts of leaving fleeting, yet the thoughts continue to come, because deep down inside they know something is wrong with the system.

 

It doesn’t smell right. It doesn’t seem like what the Lord Jesus Christ would do. It doesn’t feel like an easy yoke. It doesn’t seem to be producing the fruits of the spirit of peace, joy, kindness, and gentleness in their lives. That questioning voice may get softer at times, but deep in their minds, it's always there and gets stronger when things seem 'off' in a particular situation.

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The self-imprisoning thoughts usually are along the lines of the following narratives:
 

1)      I made a commitment and a commitment is for life.

 

- God only asks you to make a commitment to Him, never to a pastor or local church.

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2)      God placed me under the leadership's authority, I must submit to them.

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​ - We are only under the authority of God and His word and to conscience.

 
 

3)      If I remove myself from my covering, then I am prone to the enemy and deception.

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- There is no reference to covering theology in the Word. It was an outgrowth of the Shepherding Movement. Our covering is Jesus and His Spirit that indwells us. We are covered.
 

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4)      There are no other churches out there that preach the “true gospel”.

- Paul corrected the Galatians, who added ceremonial rites to simple faith in Christ. They also added legalistic requirements to those who were gentiles. 
 

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5)      God cares for His sheep and will take care of any leadership problems.

- God has entrusted with you the dignity of choice, and the wisdom to recognize when something is harming your soul. Just as anyone would step out of a burning house, He invites you to move toward safety and His peace when danger becomes clear.
 

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6)      Just because we aren’t growing, that doesn’t mean God isn’t pleased. God doesn’t care about numbers. After all, “straight is the gate and narrow is the way and few there be that find it.”

 

- The byproduct of a healthy faith is growth. Jesus said, “If I be lifted up…I will draw all men unto Me.” The reason for no growth is that a legalistic system is lifted up, not Christ.

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