How Dane Walker Got Out of a Cult

It’s hard to characterize the exact change we discussed in this podcast, but I think that’s how change often works….Everything changes, and yet it’s hard to articulate what has actually changed.

One thing is clear: Dane went from being a fundamentalist Christian who was supposed to become a pastor, to being an open-minded Christian who became a composer.

Dane was homeschooled by fundamentalist, conservative Christians, and – as one does when indoctrinated in that environment – he became a Rush Limbaugh junkie, joined a cult, and went to seminary.

However, unlike many stories from that community, Dane left the cult and got kicked out of seminary for doing the right thing.

As Dane put it, “change is a series of awakenings” and he is unique in his ability to remember, and articulate, those moments of awakening. One time it happened at an orphanage in Russia, another time walking in on his pastor fooling around with his girlfriend, and another time when he moved to Boston and could no longer get Rush Limbaugh on the radio.

And then, there was that time a piece of music spoke directly to Dane’s soul:

“It was the theme from the movie Silverado. There was this big horn call at the beginning of it that just woke my heart up. I was like, ‘That’s me. That’s life for me. And I don’t have that right now.” And that was the beginning of getting out.”