The Dawn Treader

Did you see the comment I received on my post entitled : Bob Meehan Drug Rehab Programs: A Lifeline or a Cult?

"What exactly do you mean by a cult?", asked the visitor in the back.

I was in the midst of teaching a class on worldviews and truth.  The question hung in the air.  No one had ever asked me that before.  I just assumed everyone knew what a cult was ... you know it when you see it, sort of thing.  I learned later that my questioner was Mormon, so my passing comment on cults invoked an immediate response from him.

I was reminded of his cult question as I dug into the background of the Insight drug rehab program.  The word "cult" kept showing up.

Drugs.  The very word strikes fear into the heart of parents.  You might think that Christian families don't have to deal with the scourge of drugs.  And you would be wrong.

I know of three families within the PCA who have sent their children to the Insight Program in Atlanta (also  in Greensboro).  The Insight program is a program to get kids off of drugs.  It is not a Christian-based program.  The Insight program boasts of a phenomenal success rate (though I cannot verify their claims).

I respect all of these PCA families.   They are mature, thoughtful folks.  But sometimes, a desperate parent will jump at the first offer for help, and not take the time to do extensive due diligence.  They need help and they need it fast. 

Then to my horror, I saw this about Bob Meehan Drug Rehab Programs.

The program goes by alternate names:

Pathway in Arizona; Cornerstone in Colorado;    Crossroads in St. Louis; Atlanta Insight; Freeway or Good Company in California; PDAP (prior to 1980); SLIC Ranch in California  or Arizona; or Step Two Recovery Center in Georgia or Arizona

I am looking for testimonies from others in the PCA who know of kids who have gone through these programs.  Are these programs cults?  Please help.

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