ICSA 2016 in Dallas on Recovery From Cultism: Hope To See You There!

It is an honor to have been accepted as a speaker at the 2016 International Cultic Studies Association. I've not been at a conference in quite a good while outside those Spiritwatch Ministries has helped facilitate so some great friends have encouraged me to consider providing my own input there for a while and so I applied, and was accepted.

I've spoken in evangelism conferences (like the one above) about cultism for my movement, the Church of God (Cleveland) as well as in those operated by the Midwest Christian Outreach and EMNR coalition over the years.  Speaking at conferences has always been challenging and yet profoundly encouraging. I hope to someday get more of our conference audio and video online this year. So when this opportunity came, I felt I should offer my own interaction. I appreciate the recognition of the work and plan to be there.

The ICSA was at one time called the American Family Foundation and I have watched it from afar off and have been too absorbed in too many other things to go the next step up to be involved there. It has done a tremendous job in being one of the major resources on cultism and cultic abuses that victims and survivors can look to. I have been working to help people in cults in one way or another since 1983 and have been aware that people of like minds have been doing the same all over the world. The ICSA is a band of professionals, survivors, ministers, lawyers, therapists and genuinely caring people - although diverse and global in populace, it is dedicated to pretty much the same thing I have tried to address in the one small segment of the Cultworld I've tried to work with.

The topic of the conference deals with recovery from cultic groups and I will be giving a talk on the development of a Christian model of cult recovery that is non-coercive and yet faithful to Christian principles. I don't believe recovery from the abusive manipulation of cultism and compassionate Christian ministry to those who have experienced it are mutually exclusive whatsoever. That is what I will be sharing with, in a 30 minute paper presentation (with of course, the obligatory PowerPoint) and 15 minutes of questioning.

I'm not sure what the date for that will be but it will occur during the conference in Dallas, Texas from June 30 through July 2, 2016. We hope to see some of you then. More information will follow ... the latest conference into can be read here at the ICSA website.