Maturity Doesn’t Come in Three Days: Cursillo and Evangelical Christians

By: J. Alan Branch, Ph.D. Vice President for Student Development and Assistant Professor of Christian Ethics, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

While on staff at a church in Georgia in 1990, an energetic couple in our congregation asked me to attend a Cursillo weekend. I had never heard of Cursillo, but several people who had recently joined our church talked very highly the movement. Cursillo was described to me as a “spiritual retreat.” Beyond that, I was not told much. These folks were insistent that my wife and I both attend the retreat, with me going on one weekend to a men’s Cursillo and my wife attending the ladies event on the subsequent weekend. Since I was in college, time was at a premium and declined the offer to attend. My fellow church members kept asking, so my wife and I finally attended a Cursillo at Indian Springs, Georgia.

The retreat itself was an intensely emotional experience and I was a bit exuberant upon leaving. However, as I reflected on the event itself, I did not know quite what to think of Cursillo. I did have a lot of reservations as time went by and I became more familiar with the movement. Eventually, my wife and I became uncomfortable with the whole experience, but we really did not know why. After about a year of reflection, we identified several problems we had with the whole movement. Thirteen years later, we still feel our initial conclusions are correct. I would like to share four problems I see with the Cursillo movement.

1. Cursillo is heavily influenced by Catholicism. The weekend that I attended was sponsored by the Atlanta Christian Cursillo Council, a group comprised of evangelicals and which has a statement of faith affirming orthodox doctrine. However, the entire Cursillo movement itself originated as an effort to bring spiritual renewal within the Catholic Church in Spain during the 1930’s and 1940’s. This period was one of the most painful in Spanish history, punctuated by the violent and bloody Spanish Civil War from 1936-1939. Communists ruled Spain for a period until they were overthrown by the pro-Catholic forces of Franco. The violence of the era combined with the anti-Christian policies of the communists led many sincere Catholics to look for a way to revitalize their faith. Cursillo was the fruit of this desire, originating on the Island of Mallorca and culminating with a pilgrimage by thousands of young people to Compostella in 1948.

While the Cursillo I attended was sponsored by a protestant Cursillo council, the Roman Catholic imagery remained strong. On the first evening we recited Catholic liturgy under a crucifix. It was the first time in my life that I had ever heard of Veronica.

2. The Cursillo I attended was influenced by a defective view of sanctification. Many people involved in the Cursillo movement seem to think that three days at a Cursillo retreat means someone is instantly mature and ready for service. The whole concept reminds me of the charismatic concept of a “second blessing” whereby one becomes instantly sanctified and free from sin. In response, the traditional view is that sanctification is both instant and continuing. When someone is saved, they are sanctified in that God now sees them through the holiness of Jesus Christ. We stand holy in God’s sight because Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us. Sanctification is continuing in that we continue to be set free from the power of sin. Sanctification will be complete when we die and are free from the presence of sin in Heaven (glorification).

This is my primary objection to Cursillo. Maturity does not come in three days and it is misleading to teach someone that it does. Instead, maturity comes from a consistent, daily walk with Christ. There are no short-cuts to Christian growth.

3. Cursillo undermines the local church. While I believe in the universal Church, I am equally convinced that the local church is God’s organization for the spread of the Gospel. Regrettably, many people in the Cursillo movement are more dedicated to Cursillo than their local church. I realize that this is an ad hominem argument. Nonetheless, I contend that it is true. Overall, my experience with Cursillo folks in a local church has not been positive.

After I attended the Cursillo retreat, my senior pastor asked me what went on. He had not attended and the same people who urged me to go were urging him to attend as well. After discussing the matter with me and with other pastors, he decided not to attend or to encourage further involvement with Cursillo among our membership. This frustrated the Cursillo contingent in our church because a pastor is supposed to sign a recommendation form for someone to attend a Cursillo weekend. When the pastor did not want to sign these forms, the Cursillo people came to me, a staff member, and asked me to sign the recommendation form. Essentially, they were asking me as a staff member to reject the leadership of the senior pastor.

Cursillo can also cultivate trouble in a local church because of a super-spiritual attitude among many people active in the movement. In the church I attended, the Cursillo-friendly members implied that a pastor who does not support Cursillo is not led by the Holy Spirit.

4. Finally, while I do not believe Cursillo is a cult, it does have some tendencies which bother me. One such tendency is secrecy. Christianity has no hidden agenda. Our Gospel message is open for all the world to see. Yet, in my experience, the folks who attended Cursillo wanted to veil the weekend from outsiders. Those who attended were urged not to tell others what happened. I was even encouraged not to tell my wife what she would experience on the Cursillo weekend. Cursillo also utilizes long hours of indoctrination. I sat for three days listening to short talks. At a very practical level, these folks need to learn that the mind cannot absorb more than the seat can endure!

I do not recommend the Cursillo movement for anyone who is serious about spiritual growth. Doctrinally, the concept has a flawed concept of sanctification. Practically, it creates a super-spiritual attitude that is divisive to the local church.

I went to a Cursillo weekend. I wish I had not gone to a Cursillo weekend. I do not encourage anyone else to attend a Cursillo weekend. If one wants a good spiritual retreat, why not contact the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove? Ridgecrest and Glorietta Baptist Assemblies also have a full slate of retreats for anytime of the year. If either of these options will not work, why not take your Bible and camp out at a state park?

Retreats are a good idea. However, they are only tools to help us grow in Christ. Maturity does not come in three days, even three days at Cursillo.

Alan Branch