DANNY : DE HEKWelcome to The Crypto Ponzi Scheme Avenger channel, hosted by Danny de Hek, aka The Crypto Ponzi Scheme Avenger. My mission is to expose Ponzi schemes and scams, protecting everyday investors from losing their money to fraudulent schemes.

Today’s episode takes a different direction as I join DECULT 2024, New Zealand’s first cult conference, held in Christchurch and organized by Anke Richter. This event features international speakers discussing the harmful impacts of high-control religious groups and cults.

In this special interview, I sit down with Lindy Jacomb, a former member of the Exclusive Brethren Church (Plymouth Brethren) and founder of the Olive Leaf Network, a support group for people leaving high-demand religious organizations. Lindy’s journey began when, at 19, she was excommunicated from the Exclusive Brethren for questioning their leadership. Cut off from her family and community overnight, Lindy had to face the world alone—thrust into an environment she had been taught to fear. The emotional toll was severe, and the trauma of losing her loved ones led to a difficult adjustment to life outside the Brethren.

Fortunately, Lindy found kindness in a Christian family who took her in and helped her start a new life. But she knew many others leaving high-control groups weren’t as fortunate. Inspired by her experience, Lindy founded the Olive Leaf Network 15 years later to support those navigating similar circumstances. The network provides practical help, such as assistance with housing, accessing benefits, legal advice, and emotional support, to individuals who have left closed sects.

The Olive Leaf Network helps former members of high-demand religious groups rebuild their lives, offering resources to navigate the challenges of reintegration into society. The group’s name comes from the biblical story of Noah’s Ark, where a dove returns with an olive leaf, symbolizing hope and new beginnings after chaos. Lindy and her team are extending this olive leaf to those who have experienced religious trauma, helping them rebuild their lives with guidance and support.

In this interview, Lindy shares her personal story of resilience and healing, detailing how the Exclusive Brethren’s practice of ex-communication left her isolated from her entire community. She explains how the Olive Leaf Network not only provides practical resources but also serves as a community of support for those who have lost their family and friends due to shunning or social ostracism.

Lindy, now a Baptist pastor in Wellington, has dedicated her life to helping others who, like her, have faced the devastation of leaving a high-control religious environment. She speaks about the importance of raising awareness around the emotional and psychological toll that leaving such groups can have on individuals. The Olive Leaf Network welcomes people from all backgrounds and walks of life, uniting them in their shared experience of rebuilding their lives after leaving restrictive and isolating religious organizations.

Through DECULT 2024 and this interview, we aim to raise awareness about the struggles faced by survivors of religious control. Whether you’ve experienced religious trauma yourself, know someone who has, or are simply interested in learning more, this conversation will give you valuable insights into the life-altering challenges people face after leaving high-demand religious groups like the Exclusive Brethren.

For more information on the Olive Leaf Network and how you can support their efforts, visit their website at https://www.decult.net. Let’s work together to spread awareness and help those who need it most.

Key Takeaways:

  • Lindy Jacomb’s journey from excommunication to founding the Olive Leaf Network
  • The challenges faced by ex-members of the Exclusive Brethren and other high-demand religious groups
  • How the Olive Leaf Network provides practical and emotional support to those leaving closed sects
  • The role of DECULT 2024 in bringing awareness to cult-like groups and their harmful practices

Join me in this insightful interview with Lindy Jacomb and learn how the Olive Leaf Network is making a difference for those recovering from high-control religious groups.

QUESTIONS

Here are 15 interview questions for your conversation with Lindy Jacomb. These questions are designed to be thought-provoking yet light enough to keep the tone engaging:

  1. So, Lindy, we both grew up in pretty strict religious groups—Exclusive Brethren for you and Jehovah’s Witnesses for me. What’s one thing from those days you never thought you’d miss, but kind of do now?
  2. When you were 19 and suddenly out in the “evil and dangerous” world, what was the first thing that surprised you about it? Anything that turned out to be way less scary than you imagined?
  3. Did you ever get a chance to rebel in small ways before leaving the Brethren, like sneaking in some “forbidden” music or watching a movie you weren’t supposed to?
  4. I’ve always found that people outside the cult-like groups don’t really get the weird rules we had to live by. What’s the most ridiculous rule you had to follow in the Brethren?
  5. I think we both know that leaving a high-control group can feel like landing on a different planet. What was the hardest adjustment for you after leaving, and what’s something that actually turned out to be easier than you expected?
  6. As a Baptist pastor now, how do you view the concept of faith differently from your time in the Brethren? Has your relationship with religion changed a lot?
  7. Starting the Olive Leaf Network is such an incredible initiative. What’s been the most rewarding moment so far in helping others leave high-demand religious groups?
  8. I imagine there are some funny, awkward moments when you meet people who know nothing about the Brethren or other closed groups. What’s one of the funniest misconceptions someone’s had about your past?
  9. What’s something about the outside world that totally blew your mind when you left? For me, it was realizing I could just… *not* go to meetings.
  10. There’s a lot of talk about deconstructing our beliefs after leaving. What’s one belief or idea you’ve completely let go of, and what’s one you’ve surprisingly held onto?
  11. Looking back, what’s one thing you wish you could tell 19-year-old Lindy the day you left the Brethren?
  12. If you could only pick one thing, what’s the most important piece of advice you’d give to someone just leaving a high-demand religious group today?
  13. We’ve both seen how hard it can be to leave a high-control environment and lose everything you know. How do you think families and communities outside these groups can better support people who’ve left?
  14. What’s the most random or unexpected skill or hobby you’ve picked up since leaving the Brethren?
  15. Finally, if you could plan the perfect day of freedom now, something you could’ve never done while in the Brethren, what would it look like?

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