Using reliable published sources, the author chronicles in some detail the unfolding history of what came to be "The Discipleship/Shepherdship Movement," how it began and progressed, as well as the part it played in and undermining impact it ultimately had upon the Charismatic Movement. He also recounts who the prominent players of the Discipleship/Shepherdship Movement were and where they are today, the organizations they formed, and their dubious agenda.

For various reasons, many believers have little or no awareness of the history of these movements and the role they played in shaping the spiritual and structural status quo of the present-day Church. This chapter is written to present a historical perspective of these movements as a backdrop for understanding how these hyper-authoritarian doctrines and practices became such an integral part of the fabric and foundation of the Neo-Pentecostal Church.

The well-publicized international maelstrom of controversy as well as the disrepute in which the principals and participants of the movement became embroiled is recounted in this chapter. So also is the account of how the movement subsequently “went underground” in an attempt to defuse the controversy and assuage the havoc it had wreaked upon the entities and individuals involved. Entailed in this concerted attempt at image-reparation were certain cosmetic modifications, including the fashioning of a new parlance consisting of less ominous-sounding, euphemistic terminology, recession into a more secretive, esoteric posture, and the formation of alternate organizations as well as a secret polity composed of a number of prominent Charismatic leaders, the latent aim of which was to exert a de facto governance over "Charismatic-dom."