Another means of control is isolation. Abusive churches may cut off contact between a new member and his family, friends, and anyone else not associated with the church. How different this style of leadership is from the leadership of Jesus, the Good Shepherd who lovingly, gently, humbly, and sacrificially leads His sheep. The third characteristic of abusive churches is the rigid, legalistic lifestyle of their members. This rigidity is a natural result of the leadership style.
Abusive churches require unwavering devotion to the church from their followers.
Allegiance to the church has priority over allegiance to God, family, or anything else. Often members are required or pressured to attend Bible studies five, six, or seven days a week. Members of such churches frequently drop out of school, quit working, or even neglect their families to do the work required by the church. There are also guidelines for dress, dating, finances, and so on. Such details are held to be of major importance in these churches.