Harold Bussell

Harold L. Busséll is a pastor and author. He has a B.A. from Bethany College in Biblical Studies, M.A. in Psychology from Santa Clara University and a Doctorate of Divinity from Andover Newton Theological Seminary.[1] Between 1968 and 1970 he served with Teen Challenge Paris, a Christian outreach program that works with drug addicts in Paris, France.[1] His book Unholy Devotion - Why Cults Lure Christians, (later renamed, By Hook or by Crook : How Cults Lure Christians) talks about his experiences while in Europe. Bussell has written, "my wife and I were involved with an Evangelical youth mission based in Switzerland. We were with the group only six weeks, but it was almost seven years before I had overcome the psychological damage caused by their cult-like control and spiritualization....Questioning a leader was considered an act of rebellion against God and His chain of command." Bussell went on to become a pastor in Saratoga, California.[1] He also served as one of the Deans at Gordon College.[1][2] Serving as Senior Pastor from 1984 to 1996 at the First Congregational Church in Hamilton, Massachusetts, a mainline church affiliated with the United Church of Christ.[1][1][2] The New York Times recognizes Bussell as an author who has written books about mind control and religious groups.[3] Christianity Today noted Bussell as a pastor who has "experienced spiritual warfare."[4] Paul R. Martin has noted Bussell's opinion on recovery from what they refer to as cults, that "a clear understanding of the gospel is the single most important issue in a cultist's recovery and future immunity from further cultic involvement."[5]