I personally know THREE people - all Australians - who were caught up in this "religious group".
Let's be blunt: it's a cult.
Two are out, thank God ... one is still in, sadly.
If you look up A Voice in the Desert on Google or YouTube, you will find a host of comments that reveal just how easily average, everyday Christians can be attracted by the message, and think, "Oh! This is REAL Christianity!"
Well. If you're one of the people who listens to the videos, thinking, actually this isn't bad at all - this sound like genuine Christianity to me ... then consider this.
429 people in Kenya are now DEAD because of this cult.
Then I want you to go back, watch the videos again, read the comments again, and ask yourself:
Why didn't I pick up on the red flags?
Why didn't I notice the characteristics of cults and high-demand groups?
Why didn't I identify the hooks and feel their strong pull?
If you can answer those questions, it will help you resist false doctrines, disinformation, charlatans, grifters and radicalizing ideology in general ... not just cults.
So where did "Jesus Christians" come from ... and what are they doing in our fair city of Melbourne??
First, they're not Christians. They follow a leader who used to be part of the infamous Children of God cult and was an associate of David Berg. Although David McKay isn't into David Berg’s weird sex teachings, and parted ways with Berg, he retained many aspects of narcissistic coercive control common to both groups, and to many other cults. One common cult characteristic is the use of comic book style graphics, as a form of propaganda, which you can see in the Jesus Christians videos they post under the name, “A Ship In The Desert”.
McKay is responsible for decades of preying upon impressionable, vulnerable young people, isolating them from their family & friends, alienating their parents and then vitriolically attacking any who confront him, oppose him, or try to get their loved ones back.
McKay sent a couple of his group members (Simon Smith, and E) to Kenya - where his teachings were used to further radicalize an already extremist preacher called Paul McKenzie. Simon (who goes by the cult name "Jude") was welcomed as a "man of God". Jude encouraged the church members to watch the videos and accept the teachings of David McKay
This resulted in the deaths of over 400 people.
The parliamentary Congress of Kenya has now banned David and Cherry McKay from entering Kenya.
Unmasked: The foreign hand in Shakahola cult
My association with the three young Australian I know who ended up in this cult is close.
Daniel & Mel were once volunteer co-workers who worked beside us at the mission organization we founded in China. (Yeah. We were evangelical missionaries.) Not only did Daniel & Mel work with us, but so did Daniels' younger brother Tim - who married our next door neighbour, who we had cared for after the tragic death of her mother. So, we were tight. We became good friend with their parents through all this. We have the perspective of Daniel's parents on how they felt when Daniel & Mel got sucked into McKay's group.
A good decade after this, E joined the local church where I was now serving as an "elder" and worship leader. I became a kind of mentor for E, After church, she would often come over to my house for lunch and we would practice worship songs and talk about theological things. In Christianity, this is often called "discipling".
But then, I became aware that E was trawling the internet, hopping from sermon to sermon and preacher to preacher looking for something 'real', that seemed to demonstrate true authentic Christianity with no compromise and no 'ear-tickling'.
I gently warned her to watch out for bombastic 'power' preachers who tended to be legalistic and have a vibe of "we have all the answers".
At first, I just thought E was your typical youthful seeker, but this was about the time I first started to feel concerned about just what she was finding on the internet ... especially YouTube.
I didn't know it yet, but something similar was going on with Daniel. He'd already parted ways with various evangelical groups that he thought were too cult-y; and others he thought were too tame or mediocre; and was looking for something REAL.
They are examples of how YouTube (& other social media) can radicalize people.
The NYT podcast “Rabbit Hole” explains in depth how this can happen.
I tried hard to warn E about the dogmatic, black/white thinking and legalism evident in those videos, but she was already in the mindset that less extreme versions of Christianity were "compromising with the world".
What's moderate & balanced seems luke-warm and mediocre to people seeking something "real".
There's a type of religious pride or self-righteousness that makes us susceptible to these kinds of "we have all the answers" groups.
Plus, it's partly developmental - we are all more black & white and fundamentalist in our thinking in our youth.
Also those of us who are neuro-diverse are more susceptible too, because we are drawn to certainty and order.
In 2023, I sat in court with E's mother, Renee, and listened to McKay attempt to represent himself in a case where Renee, as a mother of a young person drawn into the Jesus Christians, sued McKay for defamation after he accused her of being a “Luciferian Satanist” in one of his videos, as part of his usual tactics of parental alienation, and demonization of "outsiders".
Daniel, who I mentioned earlier, testified against McKay at this trial.
I'm more than familiar with religious fundamentalism, but even I was amazed to see McKay had two huge tomes, like books you'd see on the set of Harry Potter, next to him on the solicitor's bench.
One was “Satanic Feminism”; the other was “Children of Lucifer”.
I think he expected to hold forth & school the court at length, imagining the judge would hang on his every word as if he were preaching a sermon or conducting one of his "grievance sessions".
He was given no such satisfaction.
McKay doesn't know me. He doesn't know that I am (or was) friends with:
• E, the young woman who got sucked into cult - who previously, I mentored, when she attended my church.
• that young woman's mother, Renee - who is my neighbour in the small town where I live.
• a former cult member, Daniel, who testified at the trial, who previously was a member of the overseas missions organisation I founded by myself and my husband.
• Daniel's wife, Mel
• Daniel's parents, who are also the parents of Daniel's younger brother Tim, who also worked with us as our co-worker during our years 'on the mission field'.
• I have 70 pages of notes from that trial. I witnessed first-hand his manipulative, disingenuous and narcissistic tactics while he tried to bamboozle the judge, flip the narrative and attempt to put Renee on trial, and play the victim by claiming that he was merely being "persecuted for being a Christian group".
McKay presents as a kindly old man who is merely exercising his right to freedom of religion.
400 people in Kenya are dead, in part because of McKay and his self-serving religious delusions.
McKay is not harmlessly and innocently practicing his religion. He has innocent blood on his hands.
You can read the Judge Julie Clayton's ruling here:
https://www.countycourt.vic.gov.au/.../2023-12-18...
The sentence, "I am satisfied that the defendant was motivated by malice" stands out.
In the case of my friend Daniel, who testified against McKay, he saw McKay's dodgy financial dealings, because he is very astute financially himself. He described the way that McKay also physically assaulted one of their children; then attempted to abduct two of their teenage children away, in secret, without their parents' knowledge or consent. As a result of Daniel's courage in showing up and giving his testimony, this is now a matter of court record.
Here is a letter I wrote to E, the young woman still in the cult:
Hi E, I really hope you will see this. I love you & care about you. What I am about to say will not be easy for you. But it comes from a heart of love.
Let me start & finish with this thought: there is a beautiful life waiting for you, beyond all this. You CAN have that, and you do deserve it.
I have sat with your Mum during the court case, during her conferences with her lawyers, and while she watched the Spotlight episode.
From my heart, here are some important truths as I observe them:
1. You are in a cult.
2. McKay is a malignant narcissist
3. Your mother deeply loves you, she and your brother miss you desperately
4. Your mother is not a witch, devil worshipper, Satanist or "Luciferian". She has zero interest in any such thing. All she talks about is you, and her grief over losing you to the undue influence of this cult.
5. McKay has a decades-long history of tormenting other parents & causing families deep distress by alienating their teen & young adult children from them
6. Daniel & Melissa worked closely with Doug & I in our outreach work in Hong Kong, as did Daniel's brother & his wife. The fact that McKay sought to influence two of their children to leave their family & go with the McKays, without the knowledge or consent of their parents, should have been a light bulb moment.
7. Your Mum is not the only parent McKay has demonized as part of his parental alienation tactics.
8. The accusations against your Mum (& other parents) are deflection away from the wrong-doing of McKay, which is a typical spiritual abuse/narcissistic DARVO tactic.
9. This has had a terrible toll on your Mum - because she loves you so dearly. You can be very proud of her, that due to her courage & tenacity, she is the first of a long line of traumatised parents who has successfully brought McKay to face justice.
10. One of your deepest resentments against your Mum is that she stayed too long in the thrall of an abusive, manipulative man. Dear E, can you see that you are stuck just as you were once so furious at your Mum for being stuck? Narcissists get in your head. Legalism creates black/white thinking. I am sad to see you speak so judgementally & dogmatically, with the light I remember gone from your eyes. But this is so, so common among members of rigid, high-demand groups & women in abusive/coercive relationships.
11. It was not only your Mum who was cut off from you after you joined this cult. Did you ever even receive the email I sent you, pleading with you & trying to warn you. All your friends in your former church community were desperately worried about you & constantly asking after you, trying without success to contact you. You cut us all off, not just your Mum. This isolating of group members and alienating of their friends and family - and then the demonizing of anyone, like your Mum, who refuses to shut up, give up, go away and just accept the estrangement, is a typical cult dynamic.
I know right now that it feels that the doctrine of the cult is the 'Only One Right Way'. Doug & I remember that mentality from our own fundamentalist days. I'm sure Mel & Daniel could say the same.
There was a time where WE would have looked askance at your Mum for reading you Harry Potter or taking you to "witchy-poo" stores or letting you celebrate Halloween. Now, we all deeply regret that we were ever so self-righteous, spiritually prideful, judgemental and legalistic.
I want to encourage you that there is life & freedom after exiting high demand religion. You can still love God. You can still walk with Jesus. You can still hold onto your faith, your ethics, your values. And - you *can* get out and there are are host of people who will gather round you, and love you, and NOT JUDGE YOU, when you do.
I know you are hurt & offended at the feisty way your Mum has tackled dealing with a man and a system that she views as toxic and abusive, that has swallowed her precious, beloved daughter. I am sorry for that pain that your understandably feel.
But please understand that there is no right way to oppose controlling groups that swallow up one's loved ones. Whatever one does or doesn't do - it's always, always "wrong" in the eyes of such groups.
As lovingly as I can, I want to tell you very plainly: McKay is a wicked man, with innocent blood on his hands. Your mother & brother are ordinary, flawed and precious people, who sincerely love you and miss you desperately. That is my honest opinion.
If you leave, everything is going to feel boring & frustrating and empty and pointless. It feels like an addict getting off their substance. It doesn't feel good ... at first. But with the healing, comes freedom, and eventually ... peace.
If you have a look at Steven Hassan's Freedom of Mind website, you'll be able to find resources that teach about the continuum of influence and what undue influence and coercive control are.
I know you are extremely intelligent and a conscientious person of integrity & conviction. You have that in common with so many people who have been drawn into cults (as Daniel, Mel, Daniel's brother, me, Doug and many others could tell you.)
But McKay has weaponized that against you.
We remember what that is like.
I see you, E. You are a wonderful young person. I know you can follow the example of Daniel & Mel and make your way out.
You have a loving tribe of caring, understanding friends & family waiting for you when you do."
INFORMATION AND RESOURCES
1. Cult Information and Family Support - an Australian information support network of families, friends, former members and concerned individuals working together towards a common goal, to provide support and develop awareness for those affected by high demand groups or cultic relationships.
2. Let's Talk About Sects with Sarah Steel is podcast show-casing conversations with people who have lived in all sorts on religious & non-religious groups, organizations & communities.
Listening to people's stories of why they stayed, and why they eventually left, it is extremely interesting to note the common threads.
These were GOOD people, and SMART people. There's a watchword, "nobody joins a cult. They join a good thing." They were sincere people who wanted to help make the world a better place. I have sympathy for that, and I can identify.
It is exactly these kinds of salt-of-the-earth true believers who are most susceptible to the manipulations of narcissistic abusers.
Sarah wrote a book called "Do As I Say - How cults control, why we join them, and what they teach us about bullying, abuse and coercion" - which I haven't read yet, but the episodes are riveting, in which she interviews people (mostly Australians) who have eventually exited compelling, all-consuming, high-demand groups with charismatic leaders, and systems of conformity & cohesion.
3. Freedom of Mind Resource Center by Steven Hassan - who exited the Moonies cult.
4. A Little Bit Cult-y - by former members of the NXIVM cult. "As whistleblowers documented in the critically-acclaimed HBO series “The Vow,” Sarah and Nippy have a lot to say about their experience, and burning questions to ask people with similar stories."
5. Cults to Consciousness with Shelise Ann Sola, in which she interviews people from all kinds of high demand groups, both secular and religious., and helps them to share their stories.
6. I Was a Teenage Fundamentalist podcast - by former members of Hillsong Church. "Brian and Troy used to be loyal Christian megachurch leaders. They’re not anymore. This podcast explores life after fundamentalism."
7. Feet of Clay - Confessions of the Cult Sisters podcast - former members of Last Days Ministries with Keith Green. "What's it like to live in a Christian cult compound? How the hell do smart people get brainwashed into crazy beliefs and behaviours?"
8. The Rise & Fall of Mars Hill podcast - exploring sexist preacher Mark Driscoll and the power dynamics he used to keep people hooked in; and his eventual and inevitable demise.
9. Hillsong - a megachurch shattered podcast
10. Uncultured by Daniela Mestyanek Young - a former member of The Family cult
11. Shiny Happy People - Duggar Family Secrets. Abut the intense misogyny of Christian patriarchy as tuaght by Bill Gothard and the IBLP (Institute of Basic Life Principles) and how it led to the arrest of Josh Duggar, the eldest son of the TV reality family "19 Kids & Counting", for SA & CSAM.
The story of my personal run-in with Gothardism. A good little evangelical girl, except that I hated the sexism.
Part 2 of my "Shiny Happy People" (not) story - in which I am shunned for speaking up about Christian patriarchy. Read to the end though - Roxanne GOT OUT!
Insubordinate Women - What I witnessed "on the mission field". So many oppressed wives, pompous over-bearing husbands and bewildered, brain-washed children.
Roxanne's experience of Growing Up Gothard - Roxanne & I butted heads back when I was rebelling against Christian patriarchy, but she was still "in" and trying to be an example of 'godly womanhood'. Here, Roxanne describes her background in fundamentalism and intense religious legalism, and the long shadow it casts.
12. Born in Zion - faith, or death cult? As well as Gothard's IBLP and the Quiverful "Biblical Womanhood" movement more generally, as a young midwife, Roxanne was also immersed in Carol Balizet's "Born in Zion" - extreme teachings which resulted in the deaths of several babies and mothers. Listen to Roxanne's story of what set her up to be drawn to cults, how the light got in, how she got out and how she regained her life, health and personal sovereignty.
More coverage of & random bits of info concerning the Jesus Christians cult:
The group was founded in Australia in 1981 by Dave and wife Cherry McKay, and have a three-decade-long history of controversy documented extensively by the media.
Their core beliefs are supposedly based on the teachings of Jesus with special emphasis on his decree from the Sermon on the Mount, that his followers "cannot serve both God and money".
While they are often involved in volunteering and political activism their principal activity is evangelism, which they accomplish through the distribution of self-produced comics, books, pamphlets, and DVDs, and via videos published on YouTube and other social media. The majority of their publications are written by their co-founder, Dave McKay. The videos on their YouTube channel, A Voice in the Desert, were originally narrated by Dave McKay, but have since been narrated by other members of the community.
HISTORY AND CONTROVERSY
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_Christians
March 26, 2024 - Kenyan authorities on began releasing the bodies of victims of a doomsday starvation cult to distraught relatives, almost a year since the discovery of mass graves in a grisly case that shocked the 🌐world.
https://www.ndtv.com/.../bodies-of-kenya-cult-massacre...
Inside the Kenyan cult that starved itself to death.
During covid-19 a preacher lured thousands of people into a remote forest. Then he told them to stop eating.
https://www.economist.com/.../inside-the-kenyan-cult-that...
https://makingitreal.wixsite.com/jes.../why-did-we-leave-...
28 November 2023: Kenyan parliamentary committee report finds Paul Mackenzie, held responsible for more than 400 deaths, was ‘influenced’ by Australians Dave and his (wife) Cherry McKay, which they vehemently denied.
A Christian doomsday cult responsible for the deaths of more than 400 people from starvation and beatings in Kenya was influenced by an Australian religious group, a parliamentary committee report in the east African nation has found.
The report into the Shakahola massacre, tabled in the Kenyan Senate on 19 October, found that the accused leader of the group, Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, “was influenced by Dave McKay and Sherry McKay from Australia who are founders of a cult movement known as "Jesus Christians" or the "Voice in the Desert”.
https://www.theguardian.com/.../australian-christian...
