The difference, according to former church members and observers, is the emotional dependence on the church that the International Churches of Christ promotes. Lois Svoboda, a Wichita physician and member of the Kansas chapter of the Cult Awareness Network who has counseled former members of the Wichita Church of Christ Jesus, said the church pressures people to join, to stay in, to submit to authority, to confess their sins and to expose their innermost selves in public. But I also know that that's conditional, because as long as they are interested in joining there is a tremendous amount of warmth and acceptance demonstrated to the person that makes them feel wonderful, that makes them feel like they've finally found family. But this doesn't last. The group doesn't mind cutting off a friendship that is very powerful if they want to transfer a person to another place.
Some former members say the control over people's lives has become the church's ultimate goal.
He eventually left the church because of what he described as problems with the church's theology and methods. Church leaders are so used to criticism that a booklet prepared by the national office anticipates questions about church practices. Jesus himself was tortured and executed because those in power considered him to be dangerous or crazy or both.