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Pentecost group for for faint-hearted

The Globalheart Leadership College - an offshoot of the charismatic Globalheart Church in Perth's northern suburbs - has some non-negotiable conditions for its students.

They must talk to the principal before dating a fellow student, abstain from homosexuality and accept that Pentecostal glossolalia - the ancient practice of speaking in tongues - will be a part of any baptism.

According to Globalheart's "resolute" leaders, speaking in tongues is evidence that the Holy Spirit has been received during the immersion ritual and the college will not process any application from a prospective student "who is not clear about this".

Sections of the student handbook refer to the "punishment of the wicked through eternal torment", the "personality" of the devil and the "imminent and personal return of Lord Jesus Christ".

Globalheart, the place of worship for WA's latest Environment Minister Albert Jacob and Jan Norberger, the Liberal MP who stole the prized seat of Joondalup from Labor in March, is not for the faint-hearted.

The two MPs have thrived at the Church, which also embraces the idea of supernatural healing, for at least a decade.

But some people, who claim to have been members of the Joondalup congregation, formerly known as Sunset Coast Christian Life Centre, have criticised some aspects of the Church.

"When I did decide to leave, friends whom I had shared every facet of my life with no longer wanted to continue sharing life with me," wrote one on a religious discussion blog site.

Another said they had to write reports, which included details of any relationships between church members, for the leaders of Globalheart. "I wrote hundreds of those reports and it never sat right with me," they said.

Globalheart's roots are in the Pentecostal Christian movement in Australia, which is believed to have more than 200,000 worshippers throughout its hundreds of charismatic churches.

Like Globalheart in Joondalup and Bentley, these Pentecostal Churches are part of Australian Christian Churches, the modern name for Assemblies of God, and trades under the name Influencers Church.

"The Assemblies have very much an American model of leadership where everything is left up to the pastor," Adrian van Leen, a WA-based expert in counter-cult Christianity, said.

"Rather than shared leadership you have a CEO-type model and that can end up being very destructive in churches."

Mr van Leen said his Concerned Christians Growth Ministries organisation was aware of Globalheart but had never put it in the category of a cult or had evidence of people being blatantly manipulated or abused. He said the biggest concern was the entrepreneurial way many of the Pentecostals were run.

Globalheart's leaders and founders are the husband and wife team of Gerard and Sue Keehan, who began their work with the Hillsong churches in Sydney and London before setting up in Perth in 1998.

Pastor Keehan wasn't available to discuss a range of questions in person or by phone, but answered some by email.

He described the criticism of the Church as hearsay and played down suggestions it was closely aligned to the Liberal Party through the two MPs and other connections.

"Like many people in the community who attend church, both those people attend church from time to time," he said.

In 2011, Pastor Keehan interviewed Albert Jacob about becoming the Ocean Reef MP three years earlier at the age of 28, and the role the Church played in him pursuing a political career. "I am just so thankful for the people that God put around us in our local church," Pastor Keehan said.

Some of those people, including the pastor's son Nathan Keehan, work for Mr Jacob and Mr Norberger.

According to website profiles of four Globalheart members, they are or have been employed in the electorate offices of the two MPs.

In May, Government records listed another Globalheart member as being employed as a receptionist and administration assistant in Mr Jacob's ministerial office. Of the five, one is also president of the Young Liberals in the party's Moore division and another is the division's treasurer.

But it is the Moore division's vice-president David Harding who provides a common thread between the politicians' staff, the Liberal Party, Globalheart and another arm of the Church - a networking organisation called Kingdom First.

Mr Harding, who declined to be interviewed, is also part of the Church's leadership group and, together with his wife Cindy, received a special mention in the maiden parliamentary speeches of Mr Norberger and Mr Jacob.

"I thank David and Cindy Harding, who first believed in (his wife) Cecylia and me for this path and followed through with their support all the way," Mr Jacob said in 2008.

Between 2010 and last year, Mr Harding worked in Mr Jacob's electorate office.

Mr Harding is a point of contact for Kingdom First events.

"Kingdom First is a group of kingdom-minded people involved in running businesses, politics, or developing themselves to make a big impact in the community for the Kingdom of God," the group's website reads.

_The Weekend West _asked Pastor Keehan and Mr Jacob about Kingdom First's role given its strong links to the Liberal Party but didn't get a response.