Shepherding Movement Cult

The Shepherding Movement was a destructive cult led by Ern Baxter — the "Baxter" half of the "Baxter-Branham" campaigns. Joining him were Bob Mumford, Derek Prince, Don Basham, and Charles Simpson, and was loosely based upon parts of William Branham's doctrines that pastors are to be authoritative and in full control of their congregations.[1] The year after William Branham's death in 1965, the five men collectively formed a business entity to catch the fallout that would occur from Branham's own cult of personality. It was originally named "the Holy Spirit Teaching Mission".[2] Later, this "mission" transitioned into Christian Growth Ministries.

Building upon Branham's destructive theology, the group formed Christian Growth Ministries in 1974 to promote a combination of Branham's authoritative theology and their own. The group began claiming that all believers should submit to a "shepherd" in order to be discipled (and disciplined) in the Christian life. This theology quickly spread through the charismatic movement, and an authoritative pyramid was formed. New authoritative leaders were recruited in the movement, submitting to the authority of the original five under what they called "covenant relationships". The rank-and-file members were manipulated to believe that a "spiritual covering" was needed from the middle-tier authorities. By the 1980s, as many as 100,000 people were in the Shepherding cult.

The group's official publication, "New Wine" magazine, was created to promote the five-part central figure of the cult as well as the ministries of their enforcers. Ern Baxter, having spent a great deal of time with Branham, strategically created a separation between the Branham cult and the Shepherding cult by claiming that while "God" worked in Branham's ministry, the fruits of Branham's ministry were not what they should be.

You can learn this and more on william-branham.org

Shepherding Movement:
https://william-branham.org/site/research/topics/shepherding_movement

Ern Baxter:
https://william-branham.org/site/research/people/ern_baxter