If anyone wants some insights on how this develops, get and
read Prophetic Charisma, by Len Oakes.
Oakes lived in and got married in a commune led by a charismatic pastor.
He and his wife eventually had worries about the direction it was taking
and they wisely left. Sometime later, the leader took the community into
a crisis.
Oakes interviewed 20 different charismatic leaders -- those willing to be interviewed.
All of them turned out to have great difficulty enjoying and feeling comfortable
in adult, peer to peer relationships. All of them had to be within a structure
where they and their vision were deferred to.
Being a leader was hard work. They had to micro manage and be in control and
on alert, all the time.
The members of the group could, as a group and in shared enthusiasm accomplish a very great deal. Those who did not get intimate with the leader and who
left the community when they sensed themselves ready (as the Oakes chose to do) -- they fared best.
The leaders all seemed to have some form of injury to self image. All of them
sought self repair by influencing the world outside of themselves.
The first thing they had to do was find some way to believe in themselves as marked for a special mission, and then find ways to persuade others to share
their belief in themselves as special.
And all of the leaders, before becoming leaders, were all 'avid students of
social manipulation'.
Oakes noted all of them had been in occupations or courses of study that
equipped them for public careers.
Many had been teachers. Some had run businessess of varying sizes or been in
sales work. Or the ministry.
Oakes also noted that no one person is universally appealing.
If you want to be in one of the Oriental religions, you have to learn the
manners and literatures useful to a guru.
If you are a charismatic christian, you have to learn church life, scripture
and the dress, manners and preaching style appropriate in those settings.
Prophetic Charisma, by Len Oakes. A very good read.
There are some excerpts from the book on Sustained Action, a website that
examines the methods and damage done by Carlos Castaneda.
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