Cult Exit: Problems, Detention, and How-Tos by Pastor David Cox. In this article, I explain how to identify a cult through the difficulty in leaving it.
Excerpt: One of the clearest elements identifying a cult is simply what happens when somebody wants "out." A biblical church will see a person leaving because the group doesn't meet their needs, doesn't serve them, or doesn't meet their biblical expectations as a tragedy and failure on the GROUP'S PART. Their attitude is first sadness in losing the person, but they want to correct what they have done wrong. (Note: This attitude will never appear without first accepting that they, the church, have somehow failed. Cults will rarely admit this of themselves, or never will they admit it. It takes a spiritually mature person to admit this.)
A biblical church will simply ask questions like Where? How? Why? Where did we go wrong? How can we keep this from happening again? Why did we lose this person? A biblical church is more concerned about their own error in dealing with this member that retention.
Read the Article: Cult Exit: Problems, Detention, and How-Tos.