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"The Lord knows who are His"

"Despite my acceptance of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, I was not of Christ"

October 27, 2000
By a former member of the Geftakys Assembly

The group currently has no name and, apparently, has not been using the name "The Assembly" for some time. After reading the other articles on this group, I concluded that the local fellowship that I was involved with was "George Geftakys' Assembly." As other articles have mentioned, the overall leader of this nameless sect is George Geftakys, who conducts seminars often in Fullerton, California. I was introduced to this group through a friend who invited me to the weekly bible studies. After leaving I have had some contact with members.

When I was a new person, the group was very friendly. At first, I was impressed by their warmth, their enthusiasm in reaching out to nonbelievers for Christ and their serious study of the bible. I was invited to weekend retreats and to the leading couple's house for dinner and fellowship.

But after I disagreed with another member over their scriptural interpretations (i.e. salvation of Christians outside of the fellowship and the role of women in the church), I noticed a change in attitude towards me. Members expressed at times pity for me, cold indifference and even disgust. For no apparent reason (other than my disagreement over their scriptural interpretations) members that were once friendly became short-tempered. Those I considered friends began to distance themselves--with few exceptions.

The leading brother and his wife would say in my presence--"The Lord knows whose who are His," which appeared to mean that they believed, despite my acceptance of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, I was not of Christ. Because I felt judged and condemned by the group, I left during 1999. But when I left I still thought the Geftakys group was a legitimate church with very traditional values.

After I left the group. I started worshiping in a mainline Protestant church. I sought counsel with my pastor because I was traumatized by my involvement with this seemingly nameless group and could not understand why. I continued to have recurring nightmares of the "brothers" from that nameless group and was depressed.

Later on after reading literature about cults and their mind control I recognized that my reactions and feelings were consistent with the behavior of someone recovering from cult involvement. I also came across people related to current members and the friends of current and former members. I was surprised at how similar my experiences were to theirs and the articles on the Rick Ross website.

If you are still making up their mind about this group, I encourage you to "test everything. Hold on to the good" (I Thessalonians 5:21).

Here are some important points you should know about the Geftakys Assembly group. These points are based upon my own first hand observations and/or the direct experiences of other former members, guests at group meetings and/or the relatives or friends of Assembly members.

 

The following quotes are from "Churches That Abuse" by Ronald Enroth (Zondervan Pubishing House, 1992).

In the Preface, the author states that "...[writing this book] one runs the risk of being misunderstood and labeled 'judgmental' or arrogant when you make evaluative statements regarding other Christian believers and organizations outside your own circle... However, when we refuse to pass judgment on any religious phenomenon for fear that such judgments might violate the norm of tolerance so prevalent in our culture, we abdicate our responsibility to the body of Christ to sound a warning when a warning is justified."

Within Chapter 11, pages 209-216, the story of former members are chronicled--here are some quotes:

"...George Geftakys' Assembly demonstrates every aspect of the psychological, emotional, and spiritual abuse that is characteristic of many fringe fundamentalist churches."

"Brother George asserts that he runs a 'prophetic ministry'. He teaches a great deal on how believers are to relate to him as 'The Lord's Servant' in the ministry to whom all are subject and to whom each is loyal."

"Workers are the ones most closely associated with Brother George and constituted his 'inner group'. A list of 28 characteristics was developed to describe the requirements for workers. Set within these guidelines is the key notion that, in effect, Brother George is 'The Lord's Servant' to whom everyone must be subject... and loyal. During the early years, (George) spoke (several times a week). He spent those first years indoctrinating the workers into all 'his thoughts, ideas... until the brothers were 'developed'. Thereafter, some of the more 'mature' brothers were allowed to... preach. However, no one from outside was ever allowed to address The Assembly."

"Supposedly, any Christian is welcome to attend meetings... and to partake of the Lord's Supper with them... However, former members say the principle is not carried out in practice... Although members are taught that it is perfectly legitimate to have differences of opinion between 'godly men', in practice it is not allowed."

"Those who fell from favor with George, particularly the older members who persisted in questioning his teaching and authority, were ostracized and ridiculed... Brother George would save his most extreme indoctrination for the workers' meetings... Although he would reserve such of the verbal and psychological abuse for private sessions, he would ridicule dissenters in these closed workers' meetings, gatherings to which the general congregation was neither invited nor allowed to attend."

"The average members... don't see the underside of the organization. They see the enthusiasm, the tremendous amount of outreach... and the companionship... But they were not privy to the inner details of 'The Work' - leading, discipling, decision-making, problem-solving, and indoctrinating."

"In order to maintain full control...Brother George instituted a reporting system by which he rewards those who inform him of any questionable activities among the membership... It was understood that those who informed on others were 'truly godly', and 'the dedicated ones told all.' "

"Brother George has developed a teaching that refutes all criticism. He encourages members to listen to no criticism of or accusations against that teaching whatsoever, even 'the Enemy' lurking in one's own thoughts. The result of this... is the 'subtle cutting off of any kind of critical thinking, any kind of analytical thinking.' Members therefore listen to nothing but the teachings of Brother George."

"Tremendous psychological chains...were being put upon the people, and...most people who leave...drift away from the Lord. They give up, believing that God himself has laid on them unachievable expectations."

"[One former member] 'repented' and went through a yearlong process of proving his repentance... He was passed up for 4 months during communion, and the condition of repentance was based on how willing he was to do what he was told. Even when his repentance was accepted, he and his wife were still shunned, because members were afraid of associating with a fallen worker. After six months of this treatment, [the member] and his wife left to begin a new life."

Copyright © 2000 Rick Ross

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