Learn from Cults?

Cults.
What makes them not good?
Wrong Theology. Usually also legalism and an aspect of rigidity/controlling-ness.

The good parts. What draws people in?
The love, obviously. Or, should I say the initial love or love-showering? The friendship, the attention, the warmth, the openness. They live together; they are passionate; they are missional.
They believe in what they do, and they do what they say they beieve in. No one in a cult is lukewearm, unless they are 2nd generations. (the kids/teens)

It's been a while since I first (unknowingly) encountered /got slightly involved with a Church that was borderline cult. I wouldn't call them a cult, because they aren't really. But I remember really loving it, before I realized they were a cult. I remember thinking that it was so awesome that they are actually taking the bible literally! They live together, just like in Acts. Every morning, they pray together. Everything was the same as Acts, except that they didn't care for the spiritual gifts.

Anyway, I was just reminded of this, because a sister told me that she just visited a home fellowship and had the same experience I had when I visited one last Sunday. People in the fellowship asked us very directly "are you a believer?" We were both taken aback by this directness, but felt that it was very good. --very good, as in it is a good thing to do, and very good in the sense that it also felt very good. For me, it was the attention and the caring tone in which they asked whether I was a believer or not. The girl who asked me, practically stopped me in mid-conversation to ask me. It was the kind of tone in which you reach your hand out and touch the other person's shoulder and look in their eyes as you ask them in a concerned yet caring voice, 'are you a believer?'

Because that is what really matters.