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"...it’s getting dangerous some of the things we tell each other, some of the things that we’ve done. I’m upset and I’m scared about it. ”
-- Lisa Johnson 1990; see full quote
In spite of its goal to follow the Bible, in many areas International Church of Christ (ICC) leadership has its spiritual emphasis “upside down.”
In this section, we examine some upside down ICC teachings and practices.
Although ICC leadership pays lip service to “disputable matters” like alcohol consumption, or use of instrumental music in worship, the church’s overwhelming tendency is to resolve differences in opinion toward the opinions of leaders, all in the name of “unity.” Few matters are truly “disputable” in the ICC, if leadership has opinions about them.
By contrast, the Apostle Paul in the Bible instructed the church at Rome to tolerate differences of opinion among believers and not to pass judgement on “disputable matters” (Romans 14: 1). Paul cited the specific examples of “unclean” food and holy days, asking the Romans, “You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgement seat.” (Romans 14: 10)
Frequency of dating is hardly seen as a “disputable matter” to New York City Church of Christ leader Jim Brown, speaking before a men-only audience:
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“There’s only two reasons you wouldn’t be dating often. Number one, you’re emasculated and have no earthly desire. For those that don’t know that fancy word, ‘emasculated’ – although the Bible does use it, Paul used it – it means castrated. So if you’re not dating often it’s either because you’re castrated and have no earthly desire, or you’re extremely selfish and have no Godly desire. Either way, you’re not going to be effective at making disciples.”
Jim Brown (Geographic Sector Leader), Dating in the Kingdom, DPI, Woburn, MA, 1997, tape 3. (about audio clips)
Regarding another disputable matter, ICC Kingdom Teacher Gordon Ferguson, in his book Discipling, tells a typical story of a smoker being told he needed to quit smoking before being baptized:
“I remember [World Sector Leader] Al Baird telling the story of a man who was studying to become a Christian but had difficulty understanding the need to stop smoking. He was told mainly that he should not do anything to harm his body, which was to be a temple of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 6:19-20). However, he had cut down to one cigarette per day, and his doctor assured him that such usage would not be harmful. The study had reached an impasse until Al entered the scene, and he asked the man one question: ‘Would Jesus smoke one cigarette per day?’”
Gordon Ferguson (Kingdom Teacher), Discipling: God’s Plan to Train and Transform His People, DPI, Woburn, MA, 1997, p. 98.
Smoking is a bad idea for many reasons, but the Bible does not specifically prohibit it, nor does I Corinthians 6: 19-20 prohibit anything which causes harm to the body (e.g. fast food). ICC Rhetorical questions about whether Jesus would have smoked give us no insight – smoking one cigarette a day could be regarded as a disputable matter. The ICC goes beyond the point of giving good advice, to making smoking a salvation issue.
The ICC often fails to recognize disputable matters in other areas, such as members' living situations. The ICC may coax new members to move out of their dorm room/apartment/home and move in with other members, citing the Apostle Paul's words in II Corinthians 6: 14, "do not be yoked together with unbelievers…" However, Paul's instructions leave room for interpretation and opinion - he indicates elsewhere that he didn't want believers to entirely isolate themselves from non-believers (I Corinthians 5:10). Roommates can be considered "disputable matters" over which a church should not "pass judgment."
The ICC’s failure to recognize disputable matters comes from its view that church authority is not limited to areas spelled out in the Bible:
“[The mainline] Church of Christ has said… ‘speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent.’ In other words, you must have authority – you must have it exactly in print to do what they do… I think I believe very different than that. I believe that you should be silent where the Bible speaks – if God's made it clear – and speak where the Bible is silent. In areas of opinion, you're allowed to do anything.”
Kip McKean (ICC founder), The Dream: Super Churches, Part 1, World Missions Leadership Conference, DPI Archive Cassette Series, Tape # 7762, 1992.
When ICC leaders apply “speak where the Bible is silent” to members’ personal lives, interference in disputable matters become inevitable, as the ICC legislates and enforces its opinions on members.
While the Bible says that churches should be free of favoritism, by contrast the ICC puts great emphasis on status. The ICC has taught that influence, appearance, and even clothing play an important role in the success of ICC churches. Members are taught to reach out particularly to “sharp” people, while leaders are taught to reach out to and study with people “who have leadership potential.”(2)
Russ Ewell tells how he targeted Apple research & development employees when he became lead evangelist of the San Francisco Church of Christ:
“And I talked about Apple Computer company and I said, ‘We’re going to get in there one day’ and ‘nobody works there’ and ‘just watch’ and ‘there’s a door you can’t get in, the research department – I’m guaranteeing you, God’s going to get us in, you know.’ …And four weeks later I had gotten into Apple’s R & D [research and development] and I walked on in there, and it was the first time any of us had set foot in their secret headquarters. Six months later there’d be five Christians in there.”
Russ Ewell (World Sector Leader), Walking With God, Developing a Dynamic Relationship, DPI, Woburn, MA, 1997, tape 2.
In the ICC’s pursuit of “sharp” people, a biblical emphasis has been lost:
"My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, 'Here’s a good seat for you,' but say to the poor man, 'You stand there' or 'Sit on the floor by my feet,' have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?" (James 2:1-4)
To contrast James 2:1-4 with one of the more extreme example of ICC favoritism, consider World Sector Leader Marty Fuqua’s words from a leadership conference. Fuqua describes the approach he took with one sector of the Los Angeles International Church of Christ:
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“The West LA area is a tremendous area for upward, mobile type of people, yuppie type of people. Yet as I looked at the West Sector, it was made up of the weak and the weird. And I said, ‘Listen, if you’re a white collar person, don’t you ever bring in another blue collar person. You reach out to white collar people. If you’re a blue collar person, don’t you come in here with someone who doesn’t have a job. You reach out to blue collar or white collar.’ I said, ‘If you don’t have a job, you get your hind end out and get a job. And then you can evangelize and you can make a contribution.’”
Marty Fuqua (World Sector Leader), The Cutting Edge, World Missions Leadership Conference, DPI Archive Cassette Series, Tape # 7777, 1992. (about audio clips)
Fuqua had told Los Angeles members to make class distinctions when evangelizing – in total disregard of Bible passages like James 2:1-4.
Another ICC leader writes of meeting an influential person on a college campus:
“I met him in my Spanish class in college while living in San Diego. He was fit and handsome and to call him a serious person would be an understatement. This guy was intense!
“....one day I saw him at a political rally on campus. I discovered that he was the president of a Mexican-American political organization on campus. I thought, ‘Wow, what an impact this guy could have in the church…’”
Jeff Chacon (Region Leader) in How to Share Your Faith, Eds. Frank & Erica Kim, DPI, Woburn, MA, 1998, p. 33.
The ideal convert to the ICC is someone influential in “the world,” who can join and use that influence for the church. But the First Century church in Corinth sounds much different:
"Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him." (I Corinthians 1: 26-29)
“Lowly,” “despised” and “weak” are certainly not characteristics ICC leadership is looking for.
ICC leadership emphasizes members’ clothing and appearance as tools to make them more effective at evangelism. By contrast, New Testament heroes cared very little about impressing people on society’s terms – even though appearance influenced people in their time also. John the Baptist wore camel's hair clothing (Matthew 3: 4). Paul was “unimpressive” in person (II Corinthians 10: 10). And Jesus himself said not to worry about clothes (Matthew 6: 25). Yet ICC leaders continue to emphasize these things:
“…that’s the only way we’re really going to be effective, in this world, as Christians, is if we’re looking our best. And that’s what we want, we want to win the world. And the world looks at these things… So, we wear suits that are too tight and shoes that kill our feet and, you know, we, that’s what we, that’s the world that we live in. But it helps us to be fruitful and that’s what matters. We’ve got to do whatever it takes…”
Theresa Brown (Geographic Sector Leader - Women), Dating in the Kingdom, DPI, Woburn, MA, 1997, Tape 3.
The ICC’s emphasis on status and appearance would seem more appropriate for a sales organization than for a church.
The ICC’s emphasis on “becoming all things to all men” is upside down. Where as Paul in I Corinthians 9 says he had “become all things” to other by observing their customs, the ICC has used the verse to justify changing oneself to help help in recruiting or evangelizing:
“If our goal is to win as many as possible, we are going to have to relate well to as many as possible. And we are going to have to concentrate on removing anything ‘unrelatable’ from our lives and personalities. Paul summarized his soul quest in these words: ‘I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.’”
Gordon Ferguson, Discipling…, 1997, p. 30.
Members are expected to become what they’re not to attract converts. In one example reported by the Boston Globe, nine Boston Church of Christ leaders consulted an “accent reduction specialist” to help rid them of their southern drawls. (1)
What is Paul the apostle really saying in I Corinthians 9 : 19-22? He begins by saying, “To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews.” (vs. 20) It should not surprise us that Paul knew Jewish customs, since he was raised a Jew (Acts 22: 4-5). He continues, “To those not having the law I became like one not having the law…” (vs. 21). But Paul also knew Gentile customs as a Roman citizen from birth (Acts 22: 25-29). Clearly, Paul was observing the customs of two groups – both extremely familiar to him – depending on circumstance. (Paul also adds that to the “weak,” he became weak – Paul often spoke of being weak [I Corinthians 2:3, II Corinthians 11:29-30, 12:7-10]). Paul then says, “I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.” (vs. 22) Clearly, Paul was not “becoming” anything we was not.
I Corinthians 9 should not be used to press people to change hairstyles, dress, speech, or interests in order to impress people, or to alter personality traits in order to become more “relatable.” Neither can Paul’s example be used to support me too evangelism – mirroring interests with prospective members to create the false impression of holding something in common, as leadership may urge members to do. A man pretending to like basketball to help convert a basketball fan is not “becoming all things to all men” – what he’s becoming is deceptive.
Because ICC leadership believes that people outside the ICC are lost, it has come to assume that God’s first priority is to gain or keep members for the ICC. Consider the following tale of a member who had left:
“However, God’s discipline was awaiting him. His brand new car was smashed by a drunk driver; his father had several strokes and nearly died; and he was in a bar fight that resulted in ten stitches in the neck. All this occurred within the first year of leaving his faith. God was trying hard to get his attention.”
Frank & Erica Kim (World Sector Leaders), How to Share Your Faith, DPI, Woburn, MA, 1998, p. 115.
Another ICC story portrays God answering a prayer that a person be physically harmed to coax him back to membership in the ICC:
“Jim’s submarine was going back out to sea. In the kind of prayer that is filled with tears and humor, the brothers asked God for the only resolution they could see: that God in his power would either break the submarine so that it could not leave the pier, or that he would break Jim’s arm!
“Over the next day or so, as Jim and his fellow shipmates were loading supplies onboard the Pargo, they got a little rough and tumble… Bone met bone and Jim’s wrist broke from the force of impact!
“Jim was placed on desk duty and did not go out with the submarine…shortly thereafter, Jim was restored to his faith and his God.”
Ibid, p. 121-122.
Proposing a divine reason for the terrorist attacks of September 2001 that killed thousands of Americans, ICC Kingdom Teacher Doug Jacoby noted the difficulty of planting churches in Islamic countries and actually speculated, “Could it not be that the Lord is moving in our world to pave the way for his church [the ICC]?”(3)
Such visions of God harming people to pave the way for the ICC become ridiculous (even offensive) without the ICC’s assumption that it is “God’s modern-day movement.” God is not bound by the ICC’s assumptions.
“I believe with all of my heart that I am God’s man.”
Kip McKean, My Glory Means Nothing, audio recording, 1993.
Disturbingly, ICC founder Kip McKean viewed himself to be “God’s man” on earth. Top ICC leadership agreed, making McKean accountable only to himself. McKean described his concept of “God’s man”:
“To initiate his movement, God, in his grace, always works through a man. He puts his message on this man's heart. As God's man preaches God's message, God moves in other men's hearts to collectively come together to follow God through the leadership of his man.”
Kip McKean, "The Movement of God," Revolution Through Restoration, Part II, The Twentieth Century Church, icoc.org, 1994.
God’s man in McKean’s view was to be a singular person leading God’s earthly movement. He describes his own ministry as bearing the direct blessing of God:
“The Lord allowed me to begin the restoration of the New Testament church from a small group of 30 would be disciples in the Gempel's living room in June of 1979 in Boston.”
Ibid.
The line between God’s ideas and McKean’s becomes blurred in McKean’s telling of events. In the same article, he says that “A few months later, the doctrine from God's Word in Acts 11:26, ‘Saved = Christian = Disciple,’ was crystallized and thus restored.” Yet in the very next sentence, McKean says, “I composed this controversial equation to convict and help individuals with a denominational church background to see that they were not true Christians.” (4) Apparently, McKean believed that God worked through him to “restore” God’s correct doctrine.
McKean further claimed that “early in 1982, the Lord put on my heart a revolutionary plan to evangelize the world.” (5) The implication is clear: McKean was saying he was God’s man, executing God’s plan in this generation.
What’s more, the top ICC leaders surrounding McKean, echoed him. Here’s a sampling of statements by several of McKean's World Sector Leaders:
“It is clearer than ever that God has raised up Kip and Elena [McKean] to lead his modern-day Movement.”
Al Baird (World Sector Leader), “Great Expectations,” LA Story, January 1, 1996, p. 2.
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“I must say tonight that living with Kip is like living on the cutting edge. And he is the person that I think of that embodies and describes the cutting edge the most in my physical existence.”
Mary Fuqua,The Cutting Edge, 1992. (about audio clips)
“God works through Kip to lead powerfully in this modern age because he is so clearly focused on letting Jesus be his leader. May we all be so focused.”
Russ Ewell, “Led by the Savior,” in Glory in the Church, Eds. Thomas & Sheila Jones, DPI, Woburn, MA, 1996, p. 28.
“Kip is not our leader because of a puff of smoke from a Vatican balcony or a twisted theology. He’s simply further out front than anyone else I know; so, we follow and God has blessed us.”
Steve Johnson (World Sector Leader), “From the Editor,” Upside Down, Issue 4-5, January 1993, p. 7.
“...I remember when people used to have attitudes that Kip was leading the movement of God – and I believe God has raised him up. I never had those attitudes…”
Frank Kim, In Those Days There Were Few Dreams, 1989 World Missions Seminar, Boston Tape Ministry, Tape # 6352, August 24, 1989.
Reverence for McKean and his teachings led top leaders to imitate and defer to him:
“You know, it would suit me just fine if I could leave this place and say, ‘You know, I just want to be exactly like Kip. I just want to be exactly like Kip.’ That’d be enough.”
Scott Green (World Sector Leader), Discipleship Partners, DPI Archive Cassette Series, Tape # 4007, 1987.
Amidst all this reverence, it was fair to ask who held McKean accountable. Answers from the ICC were inconsistent.
McKean himself had taught that every person needs someone “over them in the Lord”:
“Everybody needs ongoing discipleship. You’re a disciple of God ‘til you die, and you’re a disciple of someone else ‘til you die.”
Kip McKean, Why Do You Resist the Spirit?, DPI Archive Cassette Series, Tape # 4207, August 28, 1987.
Since the ICC firmly teaches that all people need another person to hold them “accountable”, it was telling to watch leadership's gyrations in explaining how Kip McKean was getting discipled. In 1988 McKean wrote that Al Baird, along with Bob Gempel, “disciples me in my marriage and family, while I give them direction with the ministry.”(6) But when caught off guard in a discussion a year later, Al Baird conceded that Kip McKean reports to no one:
Question: “Who does Steve [Sapp] report to?”
Al Baird: “To Steve Johnson in New York.”
Question: “Who does Steve report to?”
Al Baird: “Steve Johnson’s discipled by Kip.”
Question: “Who does Kip report to?”
Al Baird: “Kip reports to, I don’t know. No one, I guess. Who does the Pope report to? Who does the Pope report to?”
August 8, 1989 meeting with Buddy Martin, Cape Cod, audio file.
Audibly flustered, Baird went on to say that McKean had “relationships” with “four or five” people in his life. Ironically, years later in 2000 McKean called Baird “the man that now disciples me.” (7) Yet it’s clear from Baird’s remarks that even if McKean got guidance in the specific area of "marriage and family", he was not “accountable” to anyone, in the same sense that all other ICC members are accountable to an assigned discipleship partner. Furthermore, McKean would later take a sabbatical and ultimately resign from senior leadership, citing problems with his marriage and family.
Al Baird’s comparison of McKean’s role to the Pope’s (“Who does the Pope report to?”, see above) is an interesting one. McKean sat atop an enormous organizational pyramid, in clear control of the movement’s doctrine and practice. The Roman Catholic Church would say that the Pope is accountable to the College of Cardinals that elected him. (8) McKean, by contrast, was never elected, and McKean had actually appointed all the men beneath him to the positions they hold as World Sector Leaders. Notice how many times McKean referred to himself while describing his appointment process:
“In 1988 after much prayer, fasting, studying the Word and talking with my closest brothers, I came to the conviction that I needed to focus my ministry on ‘a few men’… I felt one of the primary requirements of the ‘focused few’ would be that I had personally trained and discipled them. After a final all-night of prayer, I selected the following brothers to focus my energies upon and gave each a geographical field of the world, so that through a collective effort the world would be evangelized in this generation. I called them world sector leaders.” (emphasis added)
Kip McKean, “Revolution through Restoration”, Upside Down, April 1992, p. 12.
The very men who supposedly held Kip McKean accountable owed their positions to him, illustrating the lack of appropriate checks and balances on the power of Kip McKean in the ICC. It was truly upside down: the person with the most power in the ICC apparently had the least accountability.
[For a separate RightCyberUp article comparing Kip McKean to the characteristics of a cult leader, click here.]
“Advice” in the ICC is a loaded term. Members are taught to “seek advice” continually. They may also be told that “advice is only advice” to imply that following advice is not mandatory:
“Unless the Scriptures clearly settle an issue, we must realize that advice is only advice, even though we are trying to base it on biblical principles.”
Gordon Ferguson, Discipling…, 1997, pp. 164-165.
But is ICC “advice” in all circumstances really just advice? Mary Alice Chrnlogar proposes a definition for advice in her book about abusive churches, Twisted Scriptures:
What is advice? It is counsel you can accept or reject… Frequently, in abusive discipleships, getting ‘advice’ is excessively encouraged. Certain kinds of advice may not be refused without painful repercussions. These repercussions may be punishment by leaders, although more often it is in the form of self-induced guilt. If you decline to accept advice and are punished or made to feel guilty, it is no longer advice – it is an order or command. (9)
Choosing not to follow “advice” in the ICC can have negative consequences: being rebuked, shunned, or implored to pray and seek more advice until the right “conviction” is reached. “Seeking advice” in many circumstances becomes a euphemism for “asking permission”, as ICC leaders and disciplers may expect approval of members’ day-to-day decisions – even decisions that have nothing to do with members’ spiritual lives.
It is upside down for ICC leaders to expect compliance with “advice.”
[For a separate RightCyberUp article showing how the official ICC position on Advice has changed over the years, click here.]
“Grace” in Christian theology is the unmerited favor of God towards man, made possible through the blood of Christ. (If grace were conditional, then it would not be grace – Romans 11:6). While some ICC leaders place more emphasis on grace, others ridicule grace as “cheap grace.” ICC theology often seems to be: “get saved by grace, but stay saved through works.” Members are taught to work hard and bear fruit in order to stay saved.
Even though the story of the Cross is a message of grace, not works, one ICC study about the crucifixion actually ends with an appeal for works:
“Do you have a clearer picture now? What is your response? (Hardwork?)
What do you think you need to start doing?”
Greater Philadelphia Church of Christ, “The Crucifixion,” Equipping Class for Young Disciples, Fall 1991.
The word "grace" appears 118 times in the epistles (letters) of the New Testament – 118 times more than the word “disciple.” These New Testament authors apparently placed far greater emphasis on grace than on the works of discipleship. In losing this emphasis, the ICC has perhaps lost the very heart of the gospel.
The phrase “dying to self” is commonly heard in the ICC (and sometimes in other Christian groups). Kip McKean said, “we’ve got to die to self every day,” (10) and there is even a chapter in the ICC book Deep Convictions called “Dying to Self.” (11)
Too often, ICC leadership’s idea of “dying to self” involves members forfeiting their personal autonomy to the church. Consider the following example:
“After studying for three months, Jay decided to repent, die to self, give up an exchange program in Japan and be baptized into Christ.”
Frank & Erica Kim, How to Share Your Faith, 1998, p. 18.
If Jay against his own desires abandoned a personal goal of an exchange program -- because the ICC expected him to -- then he surrendered himself to the wishes of the group, not necessarily God’s. He may have “died to self” in a way that the Bible never asked him to.
Members might be surprised to learn that the phrase "die to self" never appears in the Bible – it actually comes from the mongrelization of two Bible passages:
“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23 - emphasis added)
"...Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin, how can we live in it any longer?" (Romans 6:1-2 - emphasis added)
The ICC’s error can be summarized like this:
Luke 9:23 says:
Deny à Self
Romans 6:1-2 says:
Die à Sin
The ICC says:
Die
Self
The difference is subtle, but crucial. “Dying to self” implies more than just making sacrifices (as in Luke 9:23) or abandoning sins (as in Romans 6:1-2) – it implies surrendering one’s identity or free will – something the Bible does not call Christians to do. People can make sacrifices and repent without having to “die to self” (forfeit identity or will) as the ICC unbiblically dictates.
Jesus called this the “first and greatest commandment”(12):
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul, and all your mind, and all your strength." (Mark 12:30 in a reference to Deuteronomy 6:5; emphasis added).
To consider whether the ICC is a healthy environment for worshipping God with all of ones heart, soul, mind and strength, let’s isolate the four parts of the “greatest commandment” compared to the ICC.
The ICC’s emphasis and understanding of “the heart” is often troubling. Too often in the ICC, having a “good heart” means going along with the ICC program, while having a “bad heart” means questioning or going against the group. People who are obedient and pliable are said to have the “heart of a disciple.” In one disturbing narrative, an ICC evangelist illustrates just how far this ideal of a submissive heart goes:
“I think of another Christian in Bombay, an older lady by the name of Santang. …And Santang from the very beginning had the heart of a disciple. One day Jan [Blough, then Bombay Women’s Ministry Leader] was sitting with her and they were having a counseling appointment. . . You know, she turned to Mark 9:43 – we all know the verse – ‘If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.’ And she told Santang, ‘Santang, you've got to have that radical attitude towards your sin.’ You know, some time later, Jan and Santang. . . went to visit this other sister in one of the hospitals. And as they were waiting in the waiting room. . . Santang said, ‘This is it – this is time for the operation, isn't it?’ And Jan said, ‘What operation?’ And it turned out that Santang thought, that Jan had brought her to the hospital to have her eye plucked out. You know, the amazing thing about that, was that she was willing, if her discipler thought it was the right thing, to have her eye plucked out.”
Mohan Nanjundan (Geographic HOPE Leader), Even Your Old Men Will Dream Dreams, 1989 World Missions Seminar, DPI Archive Cassette Series, Tape #6357, August 27, 1989.
Although ICC leadership likes to separate the heart from the intellect, the Bible does not support this approach. Proverbs 16:17 says “the wise in heart are discerning.” Proverbs 15:14 says “the discerning heart seeks knowledge.” Proverbs 2:2 implies that a person’s "heart" is not only characterized by obedience, but also understanding: "applying your heart to understanding” (emphasis added). A good “heart” according to Proverbs is not just compliant.
Sometimes in the ICC the word “heart” is used as a weapon. When leaders are asked questions they can't answer – or don’t want to – they may divert the focus back on one’s "heart" (motives). Challenging someone's heart thus becomes a mechanism for questioning the questioner, rather than dealing with the question.
While the ICC’s goal of saving souls is admirable, we should consider the implications of a soul converted by the ICC. Members are taught – errantly – that leaving the ICC means leaving God. By ingraining this fear in members, the group holds souls hostage inside the ICC.
We must also consider the ICC’s long-term retention of the souls it “saves.” Members might be greatly concerned that by 1994, the ICC was losing two members for every three it gained, according to the words of World Sector Leader Al Baird at a leaders’ conference:
“I’ve got two points this morning. The first point is: the kingdom has a shepherding crisis. I picked those words very carefully. I thought about saying, ‘the kingdom has a shepherding problem.’ Brothers and sisters, we are far beyond the problem stage, we are in the crisis stage. How many of you look at the kingdom stats every month? Some of you are liars. We can’t wait to see where we stack up on the kingdom stats. You look at 1994: there were 30,000 baptisms in the kingdom of God – I praise God for 30,000 baptisms, it’s the most in modern-day times in the kingdom of God. But also look below that: in addition to 30,000 baptisms there were almost 20,000 fallaways. You heard it right: 30,000 baptisms, 20,000 fallaways. …How would you like to stand up before your church on Sunday morning, and say, brothers and sisters, I want you to look to your left and to your right, because on the day of judgement, you’re not going to make it. Two out of three of you are not going to make it. We’ve got a shepherding crisis, are you with me church?”
Al Baird, Shepherding the Flock, World Missions Leadership Conference, Johannesburg, audiotape, August 11, 1995.
Baird went on to say that members who leave are “worse off than if they’d never even heard the good news” (note: this is a misquoting of II Peter 2). (13) In Baird’s view, despite the ICC’s net gain of 10,000 members in 1994, there were 20,000 people “worse off” than before. Nearly five years later he cited a similar ratio saying, “only one of three disciples remains faithful for life.” (14) According to its own theology, the church isn’t even helping more souls than it is hurting.
Although the ICC encourages members to use their minds in some aspects of their lives, scrutiny of the ICC itself is actively discouraged.
Besides steering members away from critical information, ICC leaders have sometimes taught self-manipulation of the thought process, citing a passing reference by the Apostle Paul to “taking every thought captive” in II Corinthians 10:5. (15) ICC Women’s World Sector Leader Pat Gempel gives instruction on how members can drive out thoughts:
“Satan will fill us with lies intended to destroy. We must drive out these destructive thoughts and set our hearts on being Christ-like… [cites II Corinthians 10:4] …The practical way that I overcome Satan’s lies is to identify and memorize scripture which gives me God’s answers to my weaknesses and sin. Every time I am tempted to be victimized by a demon, I repeat the verse in my mind and pray that the Lord will help me overcome my sinful disbelief.”
Pat Gempel (World Sector Leader - Women), I Refuse to be a Victim, pamphlet, Boston Church of Christ, Lexington, MA, 1990, p. 11.
Deliberate manipulation of the thought process can be detrimental to ICC members. Members may train themselves to ignore critical thoughts about the church, or may misidentify legitimate concerns about the church as “bad attitudes” and discard them without consideration.
ICC leadership does not seem to want members to let “all of their minds” function – just those parts that confirm what the ICC has to say.
Finally, is the ICC a healthy place for members to love God with “all of their strength”?
When members begin to disagree with certain ICC practices or teachings, living out this command gets difficult. If they try to use their personal "strength" to make changes in how the ICC fundamentally operates, members run the risk of being kicked out of the church.
Those leaders who try to stop some of the ICC’s abuses may find that the movement’s structure and self-perpetuating energy prevent significant lasting change. In a meeting of movement women’s leaders, World Sector Leader Lisa Johnson described her distress over the movement’s abuses:
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“Now this – I mean this sisters. I mean this, this is from the bottom of my heart. This is what I came to say today, to you. I believe that you have quit believing that grace will motivate people. You, personally. Take it personally. Take it individually. I believe that is one of the major problems in our movement, today. We must see it. I’ve seen the dangers, the abuses, the results of it, it is horrendous, it is sickening, it is frightening. We have got to trust that grace motivates people. We don’t need the things that we use to motivate people....
“I’m at the point where I feel like we just need to shut up and read the Bible. That it’s getting dangerous some of the things we tell each other, some of the things that we’ve done. I’m upset and I’m scared about it. I think that we have got to make a decision to repent. You know, the abuses are amazing – we begin to crystallize things – we’ve talked about it before, but sisters it’s time to change it.”
Lisa Johnson (World Sector Leader – Women), Crashing Through The Quitting Places: Discipleship, Women’s Retreat, Boston, audio tape, 1990. (about audio clips)
What’s scariest about Lisa Johnson’s perceptive words: they could easily have been spoken today rather than over a decade ago. Needed changes have still not occurred, and even a World Sector Leader like Johnson has been unable to influence widespread change.
Johnson goes on to tell how disciplers abuse positions of power (strength), and “lord it over” others in clear violation of Matthew 20: 25-26:
“You know, we’ve got to be careful the advice that we give. Sisters, there was a situation in New York where some sisters were. . . giving advice on things about whether this woman should sell her Jaguar or not. . . They had no business giving advice about things they knew nothing about – they were telling her she ought to sell her apartment. I mean, for goodness’ sake, they have no financial background, here. We have got to learn where to just talk where the Bible talks, and to do what the Bible – we’ve got to ask ourselves, ‘Who do we think we are? Are we lording it over people?’ Are we lording it over people?”
Ibid.
In too many cases, yes, the ICC is lording its strength over the very people it claims to have saved.
It appears that the ICC may not be a healthy environment for worshipping God with all of ones heart, soul, mind and strength. God has become secondary, and the ICC, primary. In reality, the ICC asks members to give their heart, soul, mind and strength to the organization.
The ICC is theologically upside down in many ways, but this one may be the most crucial: by putting the ICC organization in the place of God, the “greatest commandment” has been lost.
(1) Jerry Taylor, “Newcomers try to put accent on American,” Boston Globe archives, boston.com, June 29, 1997.
(2) Gordon Ferguson (Kingdom Teacher), Discipling: God’s Plan to Train and Transform His People, DPI, Woburn, MA, 1997, p. 58.
(3) Doug Jacoby, Kingdom Teacher, Responses to Terror, dpibooks.com, September 2001.
(4) Kip McKean (ICC founder), "The Movement of God," Revolution Through Restoration, Part II, The Twentieth Century Church, icoc.org, 1994.
(5) Ibid.
(6) Kip McKean, The Focused Few, Boston Church of Christ bulletin, Vol. IX, No. 35, Boston, MA, September 4, 1988.
(7) Kip McKean, Known but to God, American Commonwealth Region Conference, Washington, D.C., audio tape, July 7, 2000.
(8) The College of Cardinals selects each new Pope by majority vote. Although the Pope appoints individual members to the College during his term as Pope, he does not appoint the entire College.
(9) Mary Alice Chrnlogar, Twisted Scriptures: A Path to Freedom from Abusive Churches, Whitaker House, New Kensington, PA, 1997, p. 73
(10) Kip McKean, Radical Christianity, Boston, audio tape, 1990.
(11) Thomas Jones (Editor-in-Chief), Ed., Deep Convictions, DPI, Woburn, MA, 1993, p. 12.
(12) Jesus said this in the parallel account in Matthew 22:38.
(13) Al Baird (World Sector Leader), Shepherding the Flock, World Missions Leadership Conference audiotape, Johannesburg, August 11, 1995.
(14) Al Baird, “The Net,” LA Story, March/April 2000, p. 2.
(15) Paul’s emphasis here seems not to be on avoiding thoughts or denying their existence.
Copyright © 2001, 2002 Dave Anderson. All rights reserved.
