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A disturbing message heard from San Francisco, New York and Portland Church of Christ (Kip McKean)
Three statements from ICC leaders this summer tried to call for an end to the movement’s tumultuous period of reexamination, apology and reform. These messages from the San Francisco Church of Christ, New York City Church of Christ (Rockland County), and now-Portland evangelist Kip McKean asked members to return to many policies and practices of the past, saying that reforms in the movement’s churches have already gone too far.
Summer, 2003
In recent years, the Los Angeles-based International Churches of Christ (ICC) titled its newsletters after major Hollywood movies (e.g. Field of Dreams, Back to the Future). However, recent messages from certain hard-line leaders should remind us of the conclusion to Wizard of the Oz.
Asking the Wizard of Oz to keep his promise to send Dorothy back home, the wizard initially declines and tells Dorothy & crew to come back the next day. When they begin to discover the “wizard” at the controls, his amplified voice cries out… “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.” But it's too late: the "Mighty Oz" has been discovered for what he is, and Dorothy finally goes home.
This article takes a look "behind the curtain" to show three recent messages for what they are:
[For links to PDFs files of the above messages, please see the sources at the bottom of this page.]
Certainly, these leaders don’t speak for all the ICC’s congregations – all the more reason to expose their arguments.
We’ll take note of common themes from these addresses, and give some special attention to the content of McKean’s 50-page letter to churches worldwide. These men may claim that God is running the ICC; however, their words betray them. They have been at the controls in their churches, and want things to stay that way.
One of the ICC’s fallen senior leaders, Steve Johnson, has noted that the ICC became two churches: a “leaders’ church” and a “members’ church.” ICC leadership in San Francisco, New York and Portland seem to want to rebuild the “leaders’ church.” Here are their comments related to leadership authority, organized into several categories…
“There has been sin in the pulpit and in the pew. What has widely been viewed as a corruption of the leadership has most certainly morphed into a corruption of the fellowship.”
San Francisco Church of Christ leadership, The Road Ahead, June 15, 2003.
“Essential to this healing, and to my knowledge not boldly addressed, is the need for the membership to humbly beg for forgiveness from the leadership –for their bitterness, gossip, dissension, envy, disrespect and insensitivity to the devastating impact their rebellious spirits have had on the leaders and their families.”
Kip McKean, From Babylon to Zion: Revolution through Restoration III , Portland, July 2003. (Kip seems to think ICC leaders have been devastated by members but not the other way around.)
“People have asked me ‘well what about the studies? When are we going to improve the studies? When are we going to make changes in the studies?’ …The problem right now is not what are we going to do about the studies, it’s we’re not studying the Bible with anybody. That’s the problem. Get out and study the Bible with people and maybe we’ll start tweaking them.”
Steve Kinnard, Rockland Worship Service, West Nyack, NY, June 8, 2003, transcript from audio tape. (Note: McKean is actually in favor of changing the First Principles studies.)
“…those who find themselves completely agreeing with the things that have been shared today, in the coming days will find themselves being part of the NYC church. Those who are not totally comfortable with the things that have been shared today will find yourselves not being part of the NYC church.”
Steve Johnson, Rockland Worship Service, West Nyack, NY, June 8, 2003, transcript from audio tape. (Note: even Johnson who made the “leaders’ church” observation on his website says it's the members that need to change to fit the requirements of the leaders.)
“The first point is that if Jesus is Lord then we will submit to the authority of the elders of this church and to the leadership of the evangelists and the teachers that serve that eldership.”
Steve Kinnard, Rockland Worship Service, West Nyack, NY, June 8, 2003, transcript from audio tape.
“We must solicit the input of all of our brothers and sisters, but this does not mean that there should be a vote. From time to time, faith decisions require the few that are full of faith to persuade the many to believe.”
Kip McKean, From Babylon to Zion: Revolution through Restoration III , Portland, July 2003. (One wonders where the Bible says that leaders are more “full of faith” than the members.)
“We feel confident and secure with the good fruit that God is producing in the San Francisco Church of Christ…”
“God has provided us with another ringing endorsement as… June 1st marked another special contribution where we gave beyond the goal.”
San Francisco Church of Christ leadership, The Road Ahead, June 15, 2003. (By attributing its achievements to the hand of God, San Francisco leadership implies that its methods must be correct.)
“According to the Scriptures, to grumble and be bitter toward leadership is to grumble against God. (Exodus 16:8)”
Kip McKean, From Babylon to Zion: Revolution through Restoration III , Portland, July 2003.
“…as long as you’re a part of this church, you’re going to be called first of all to submit to God and then to the leadership that God has put in place.”
Sam Powell, Rockland Worship Service, West Nyack, NY, June 8, 2003, transcript from audio tape.
“There is a situation in San Jose involving some members that is troubling to us… At the end of the day we can no longer tolerate their slander, factious rebellion, deceit, and false claims of approval from outside church leaders.”
San Francisco Church of Christ leadership, The Road Ahead, June 15, 2003
“What do you think is going on? Satan is trying to destroy the church of God! It’s no joke! That’s what’s going on here! The battle is not with flesh and blood! Your brother is not the issue. The devil of hell wants to destroy the NY Church of Christ.”
Sam Powell, Rockland Worship Service, West Nyack, NY, June 8, 2003, transcript from audio tape.
“…this reexamination of everything at the same time became an emotional overreaction that caused confusion -- which is a signature of Satan. (John 8:42-47)”
Kip McKean, From Babylon to Zion: Revolution through Restoration III , Portland, July 2003.
“Some in the guise of seeking full disclosure or transparency have just been biting and devouring. Until we've almost destroyed the church.”
Steve Kinnard, Rockland Worship Service, West Nyack, NY, June 8, 2003, transcript from audio tape.
“It was a mistake and an error in judgment, and I ask your apology, to have transition teams or any leadership group that the evangelists and elders did not oversee.”
Sam Powell, Rockland Worship Service, West Nyack, NY, June 8, 2003, transcript from audio tape. (Note that one purpose of transition teams was to assure members of the integrity of the leaders. It would be hard to do this if leadership were in charge of the transition teams.)
“The incredible anger and rage that some have had towards the lifestyle and salaries of our leaders are primarily centered in three areas – ignorance, envy and our changing church demographics.”
Kip McKean, From Babylon to Zion: Revolution through Restoration III , Portland, July 2003.
“…we need prayer, sensitivity and good communication to make sure that each congregation is behind the philosophy of salary compensation chosen by that leadership.”
Kip McKean, From Babylon to Zion: Revolution through Restoration III , Portland, July 2003. (McKean suggests leadership choose the salary scale for leadership. Some US citizens might object when Congress votes themselves a pay increase, but at least every Congressperson is eventually accountable to an election to keep their job and salary. Not so in the ICC.)
“People in their 20s and 30s who have never bought houses have been critical of ministers in their 40s and 50s buying homes. We need to repent of our critical attitudes and be supportive of our full-time servants.”
Kip McKean, From Babylon to Zion: Revolution through Restoration III , Portland, July 2003. (Perhaps members are not critical that leaders have homes, but the kinds of homes some have. To see New Covenant Publications page summarizing the costs of many ICC leaders’ homes, click here.)
“…we can’t have people coming wanting to divide things, wanting to continue to talk about issues. We’re moving forward.”
Sam Powell, Rockland Worship Service, West Nyack, NY, June 8, 2003, transcript from audio tape.
“I would like to encourage all church leaders to set aside a specific day, or perhaps, a whole weekend of Restoration and Celebration for all of our churches around the world… This would mark the end of the apologies for the past and the beginning of a new era of brotherhood and world evangelism.”
Kip McKean, From Babylon to Zion: Revolution through Restoration III , Portland, July 2003. (Note that McKean suggests an end to apologies by leadership.)
These leaders seem to advocate a fallacy that forgiving is forgetting – and that if members are not following them, members haven't forgiven:
“’We want to follow the leadership, we have forgiven them, we’re ready to move on.’ I’ve heard so many of you say this. So now it’s time.”
Steve Kinnard, Rockland Worship Service, West Nyack, NY, June 8, 2003, transcript from audio tape.
“What was initially trumpeted as a time of freedom in Christ is beginning to be exposed as a devastatingly unspiritual time of rebellion, compromise, and an unwillingness to forgive.”
San Francisco Church of Christ leadership, The Road Ahead, June 15, 2003.
“When we realize that our sin list is two, three, four pages or more, how can we continue to grumble about our hurts, our leaders’ failures and not forgive those who have hurt us, when we so desperately need God to forgive our many, many sins?”
Kip McKean, From Babylon to Zion: Revolution through Restoration III , Portland, July 2003.
To forgive and to follow are two separate issues.
It may be catchy to ask ICC members to get off the Internet and into their Bibles, but it’s a false dichotomy. The Bible is a message, the internet is a medium. The medium is not the message: you can read the Bible on the Internet.
“I’m calling people in my ministry, in my personal ministry, to get back off the internet and to get into their Bibles.”
Sam Powell, Rockland Worship Service, West Nyack, NY, June 8, 2003, transcript from audio tape.
“For many, to exchange emails and to look at certain sites on the internet is to be enticed into these sins [gossip, slander, evil thoughts].”
Kip McKean, From Babylon to Zion: Revolution through Restoration III , Portland, July 2003.
“Communication is distressingly unreliable as more and more disciples get their information from rumors on the Internet, gossip through email, and the slander induced by bitterness toward those who have not jumped headlong into the waters of this alleged revival.”
San Francisco Church of Christ leadership, The Road Ahead, June 15, 2003.
It’s disappointing that the San Francisco Church of Christ – once appointed the ICC’s champion of the Internet through the NET World Sector – is now discrediting the Internet as a medium (for more evidence of this, see its article “Don’t Believe Everything You Read on the Internet”). Apparently they haven’t considered that the Internet helped save the movement from some of its former practices.
Abandoned by many members and apologized for by many leaders, the seductive “one true church” belief is still advocated by these men:
“Some of us we’ve gotten weak on doctrine over the last few months. The Bible does teach there is one church, and if we are going to please God we need to be part of that one church.”
Steve Kinnard, Rockland Worship Service, West Nyack, NY, June 8, 2003, transcript from audio tape.
Note: perhaps Kinnard -- who was one of the ICC's senior "Kingdom Teachers" -- does not really believe that people need to be part of the ICC to please God. If so, let him clarify publicly.
“The hope of the world’s 7 billion people is dimmer today than any time in the last 20 years…”
San Francisco Church of Christ leadership, The Road Ahead, June 15, 2003.
“…being discipled is an absolute command of God and makes God’s true movement distinctive.”
Kip McKean, From Babylon to Zion: Revolution through Restoration III , Portland, July 2003.
[You can see the RightCyberUp page on the "one true church" and other exclusive ICC doctrines here.]
All three of these messages make repeated use of ICC-style scripture twisting: stating an opinion and then citing a scripture verse so as to make it appear one’s opinion comes from God. This is bad theology, and if a person carefully examines each scripture and context, one will find frequent errors of interpretation.
Here are just a few examples:
“Though no one would dare breathe these words, the desire for autonomy in some is the desire to have their own kingdom.... Romans 13 teaches that all authority (someone over you) is from God, and is meant to protect, not harm.”
Kip McKean, From Babylon to Zion: Revolution through Restoration III , Portland, July 2003.
In context Romans 13 is about public “governing” authorities, not religious leaders. For example, if a deluded postal clerk suddenly calls himself God’s anointed, there is no obligation by Romans 13 or any other verse to follow him.
“…some members were misled into thinking that a June 1 service of about 30 members held by this [San Jose] group, was a part of our church. This is most certainly what Paul was talking about when he said that the divisive men of Crete were ruining whole households.”
San Francisco Church of Christ leadership, The Road Ahead, June 15, 2003.
In context, what Paul wrote was this: “For there are [in Crete] many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach – and that for the sake of dishonest gain.” Titus 1:11-12 It seems Paul was specifically concerned about the “circumcision group” which added the requirement of circumcision the Gospel, thus making it “no Gospel at all” (Galatians 1:6-7 and throughout Galatians). These may be the people Paul refers to as “divisive” in Titus 3:10-11, another scripture ICC leaders have twisted to their favor in the past.
“But Jesus has also established in his church that there is leadership and that we need to follow the leadership that God has put in place. In Eph 4:11, Sam mentioned, it says … ‘It was he who gave some…’ to lead the church in this capacity, ‘to be apostles to be prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be pastors, elders, some to be teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up.’ God did the choosing. God still does the choosing. He picks out of the many some who are to lead the many. We’ve got a decision, if we are willing to submit or not.”
Steve Kinnard, Rockland Worship Service, West Nyack, NY, June 8, 2003, transcript from audio tape. (In Ephesians 4, Paul may be saying that God directly gives people the gifts and calling to take on certain roles in the church. It is twisting Paul’s words to say that “any church that assigns any role to any individual, is acting on God’s behalf.”)
“We should continue to expect our leaders to lead the way in boldness. (Mark 10:32)”
Kip McKean, From Babylon to Zion: Revolution through Restoration III , Portland, July 2003. (No, Mark 10:32 describes Jesus’ disciples being fearful; it is not a command that leaders be bold.)
“[Regarding discipling] …let us not forget 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13, ‘Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.’”
Kip McKean, From Babylon to Zion: Revolution through Restoration III , Portland, July 2003, emphasis McKean. (It is a huge twisting of scripture to suggest that Paul was speaking about one-over-one discipling partners and not elders/deacons when he wrote this.)
“Our purpose should be to glorify God. Our mission should be to seek and save the lost. The two cannot be separated. (John 17:1-5)”
Kip McKean, From Babylon to Zion: Revolution through Restoration III , Portland, July 2003. (The passage, at best, gives weak support for this idea. It seems to be McKean’s opinion that evangelism cannot be separated from glorifying God.)
“I believe with all of my heart, that the leadership of a congregation is the spiritual ceiling of faith for the members. To reiterate this principle, in Hebrews 13:7 the Spirit says…”
Kip McKean, From Babylon to Zion: Revolution through Restoration III , Portland, July 2003. ( The Holy Spirit works to “reiterate” Kip’s beliefs?)
The following statements seem to boil down to an argument that “the ends justifies the means”:
“This is the group that helped you find salvation. This is the group that helped many of you keep you marriages together. It is the group the helped many of you overcome chemical dependency and addiction in your life. We’ve made mistakes over the years. I’ve made mistakes over the years. And we’ve admitted it, and we’ve asked your forgiveness. You know what? We’ll make more mistakes, I’ll make mistakes this week, because I’m human. But let’s not forget the great good that’s been done by this church.”
Steve Kinnard, Rockland Worship Service, West Nyack, NY, June 8, 2003, transcript from audio tape. (Note: see also the People Make Mistakes fallacy.)
“Though our critics multiplied, our Father in heaven multiplied the disciples even faster.”
Kip McKean, From Babylon to Zion: Revolution through Restoration III , Portland, July 2003.
The ends (growth in numbers) justify the means (criticized and/or problematic methods). McKean fails to note that the ICC's number of former members -- now over 250,000 -- grew even more rapidly than the number of members. Presumably for McKean the end justifies this means, too.
“HOPE worldwide, because it was centered in good works, shielded God’s evangelists and churches from persecution in several countries including even the United States.”
Kip McKean, From Babylon to Zion: Revolution through Restoration III , Portland, July 2003.
HOPE was employed as a front group in several situations to help achieve ICC goals.
“We must have a system that uses Biblical principles in order to evangelize the world…In my opinion, systems do not sin.”
Kip McKean, From Babylon to Zion: Revolution through Restoration III , Portland, July 2003.
McKean is saying that the end (evangelization) justifies the need for a system. McKean may be correct that a system does not sin. However, if a system causes people to sin, does the end (evangelization) still justify the means (sin)?
“Discipling is how you got saved! It is why there are churches of thousands that did not even exist just a few years ago… Discipling is the only way that we can fulfill all of the “one another” passages in the Scriptures…”
Kip McKean, From Babylon to Zion: Revolution through Restoration III , Portland, July 2003.
Since Kip is unable to demonstrate that discipling is commanded by the Bible, we are left with no justification beyond the ends justifying the means.
“…we are absolutely convinced that to please God, we must obey his calling to lead his people to evangelize the world at all costs.”
Kip McKean, From Babylon to Zion: Revolution through Restoration III , Portland, July 2003.
This may be reading into McKean’s words, but does he truly believe that all costs (means) are justified by the “ends” of evangelism? In the past these means have included deceptive recruiting.
“If being in the full-time ministry is not the call for those of our number with the most God-given gifts/talents of leadership, then our ministers will be like the ministers of so many denominations who are either average or socially inept, have good hearts, but cannot lead people.”
Kip McKean, From Babylon to Zion: Revolution through Restoration III , Portland, July 2003.
He is apparently saying the ends (being better than denominational Christianity) justify the means (calling talented members to forsake their careers to be in leadership).
A master of words with a disturbing worldview, McKean calls for ICC members to rebuild the old system, slightly modified. Less than a year after resigning as the ICC’s World Missions Evangelist, McKean is trying to make a comeback as lead evangelist of the Portland Church of Christ, and has again rewritten the ICC’s history to support a strong central role for leadership, and perhaps himself (although he denies coveting any particular role).
Speaking of which, it may not be unfair to suggest that McKean glories in himself. As critic Rick Bauer noted a decade ago, McKean still refers to himself with alarming frequency. Also, in Revolution through Restoration III he has published a Psalm (like David) and continues to compare himself to the Apostle Paul as a “father of faith” for ICC members around the world. McKean has already promised a Revolution thru Restoration IV (if members are still listening).
Certainly, not everything in McKean’s letter is negative. He apologizes for some of the ways he has harmed ICC members (although not non-members). He acknowledges some of his mistakes. But while as a Christian he can claim a right to be forgiven by his former church, he must realize that he has no “right” to be followed. He is attempting “resuscitation through revisionism.”
Below is analysis and grouping of several Revolution through Restoration III quotes into categories.
The following are examples of McKean restating old teachings from the old ICC system, along with links that refute his ideas.
“In 1979 we gathered in the Gempels’ living room as one congregation of 30 would-be disciples determined to build a church where every single member was a committed disciple.”
If people in other churches can be Christians, then what is a would-be disciple?
“As Jesus called the 11 faithful apostles to evangelize all nations, each succeeding generation receives the Great Commission to evangelize the world in their generation.”
Restatement of one-generation evangelism.
“In John 4:1, Jesus’ apostles baptized disciples, and we are to do likewise.”
Restatement of circularity.
“Discipling is a principle that exists throughout the Bible. Moses discipled Joshua. Samuel discipled David. Elijah discipled Elisha... Jesus, our perfect example, discipled them as a group. He discipled them one-on-one. And, yes, even one-over-one. ”
Restatement that one-over-one discipling exists throughout the Bible: still unproven by McKean after all these years. If discipling were really part of the First Century church, where are the instructions in the Bible about how to do it? Where are the guidelines for selecting "disciplers"? We can assume these guidelines are not there because there was no discipling system. The best that can be inferred from Scripture is that the Christians freely helped strengthen each other without any system at all.
“Some have argued that one-over-one discipling is wrong because people have been hurt, and therefore we should not do it. However, even in the church, we have marriages in which husbands and wives have hurt each other, but we are not about to abandon marriage.”
Of course, the difference is that marriage is a biblical institution, but one-over-one discipling is not.
“We should strive not to push each disciple to be personally fruitful, but should stress group fruitfulness…”
Restatement of misinterpretation that “fruitfulness” is evangelism.
“…the forceful advancement of the kingdom was directed by evangelists who periodically gave direction to elders in all the congregations under their charge.”
Restatement of “forcefully advancing” misinterpretation, already corrected by other ICC teachers.
“Our Father is deeply hurt by his children who gossip (or listen to gossip), slander (or read slander) and then dwell on evil thoughts about one another....”
Restatement of gossip, slander, hearsay fallacy.
Following are new examples of Kip’s revisionism – subtle attempts to rewrite the ICC’s history:
“…in the LA years, my constant short-term growth goals created pressure on the ministry staff that translated to hurtful pressure on members. When combined with a legalistic mindset, disciples were made to feel they could never measure up, too often wondering if they were fruitful or even saved.”
It wasn’t just McKean’s growth goals that put pressure on members: he actually taught “you're not fruitful, you’ll be sawed off the vine,” meaning members would lose their salvation if they didn't make converts (see Fruit).
“In 1981, the Holy Spirit put on our hearts a plan to evangelize the world.”
Compare with Revolution through Restoration II, where McKean claimed the Lord put this plan on his own heart: “…early in 1982, the Lord put on my heart a revolutionary plan to evangelize the world.”
“In 1988, we decided to select World Sector Leaders (evangelists) to lead the evangelization of each section of the world.”
Who is “we”? Compare the above quote from the new Revolution through Restoration III with how Kip described the selection process in the first one:
“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.
“It must be stated here I have always believed there were Christians – ‘baptized disciples’ – outside of our fellowship.”
It is true that McKean once acknowledged that there were people saved outside his movement. But one must wonder why he has seemed silent on this matter for over fifteen years.
“….autonomy is inherently disunity, the antithesis of brotherhood.”
Note: at one time Kip himself taught autonomy.
“As for Elena and me, it has caused us untold pain to hear criticisms of our lifestyle and our children. After serving in the ministry for 28 years, we do not own a house. We have only a meager retirement fund. Why? Simply stated – not to be a stumbling block to our brothers and sisters – many of whom do not own houses.”
What McKean doesn’t mention is that from 1998 until his sabbatical, he lived in a nearly half-million-dollar condo near the ocean in Pacific Palisades, California, purchased by the International Churches of Christ for him to live in. When this home was made public on the TV news magazine Fox Files, it may have become a “stumbling block” to ICC members who unknowingly helped pay for it (even though the McKean didn’t own it). Also note that McKean's "sacrifice" of not owning this property may have saved him from owing property taxes.
“We cannot absolutely judge whether someone has raised their children in the Lord until that child is ‘old.’”
McKean former interpretation – that a leader whose children left the church was “in sin” – partly caused him to step down. Certainly the old teaching was flawed and deserved to be changed. However, this change now could be seen conveniently as a justification for his return to leadership.
Following are examples of apparent contradictions by McKean within this article…
On Discipling:
“…I see that many leaders did not imitate Christ in me, but my ungodly leadership traits, and they are now being hurt by those they hurt.”
Vs.
“We must not abandon discipling. We must reaffirm it because it is one of the key ways God changes us through the Spirit and the Word.”
On Bible authority:
“…if the Scriptures do not prohibit something, it is allowable. (1 Corinthians 10:23-24)”
Vs.
“Many have adopted a ‘vote of confidence’ mentality from the British parliamentary system. Where do we ever find a vote in the church of the Bible?”
Note: If the Bible doesn’t prohibit voting, what’s wrong with it?
Bible authority, another sample contradiction:
“We must remember that [a church financially] supporting young women is not prohibited by the Scriptures; therefore, it is allowable by God.”
Vs.
“There was greater independence as the churches matured [in the Bible], but there was never autonomy.”
Note: If the Bible doesn’t prohibit autonomy, what’s wrong with it?
Apostles today:
“Let me say right here that I do not believe the office of apostle and the corresponding miraculous gifts are present today.”
Vs.
“We do not need to be tied to the title or quarrel over words (2 Timothy 2:14), but the role and responsibility of the apostle/evangelist must exist so that we can evangelize the world.”
Board member qualifications:
“I would strongly recommend that in the future, our Boards should be composed solely of mature Christians who are supportive of the Biblical leadership and who hold recognized spiritual offices in the church. They should not be selected because of age, wealth or success in the business world, unless they are also a spiritual leader.”
Vs.
“Their role is to merely be a safeguard for the integrity of the church in legal and financial decisions.”
If board members’ only role is to safeguard legal and financial matters, then why would they need to hold “spiritual offices”? (Note that some ICC boards have recently challenged their ecclesiastical leaders, something McKean would apparently like to prevent.)
The mainline church:
“The church universal is all of the disciples in the world that God sees when he looks down from heaven into people’s hearts, whether they are in the ICOC, mainline Church of Christ…”
Vs.
“But denying the principles of discipling in time will lead us directly back to the mainline Church of Christ as well as to other denominations in which people are not involved in each other’s lives.”
Though McKean may not see this as a contradiction, one has to wonder how on one hand he sees the mainline Church of Christ as the group closest to “the truth” aside from the ICC – and on the other hand spends so much time railing on their beliefs and practices. They are part of the "church universal," and therefore his brothers and sisters. Evidently he seeks to differentiate the ICC from the mainline church – where many members will go when they leave the ICC (like a secular company mocking a competitor).
Central church government:
“Contrary to what some teachers would have us believe, strong central leadership is the hallmark of each of the powerful movements of God in the Bible, from Moses to Joshua to David to Nehemiah to, of course, Jesus and the apostles.”
Vs.
“…after many discussions with brothers I respect, I have found that several do not at this time see the need for or even believe in an organized, formal, central leadership. Therefore, I think we all need to be patient to see how God guides us in the future and not be judgmental of those who hold differing opinions.”
Clergy/Laity:
“…I appeal to you to eliminate the clergy/laity gap in many of our churches.”
Vs.
“All over the world there are situations where vocal Korah-like grumblers are allowed to blast the church and God’s anointed servants.”
Calling members “grumblers” and leaders “God’s anointed” expands the ICC’s clergy/laity gap. See also the Leaders' Church comments.
Kip McKean saves his harshest words in Revolution through Restoration III for his perceived biggest enemy: Henry Kriete, who wrote a letter that many in the ICC have welcomed as a necessary call to repentance for leadership.
McKean describes the decline of the London Church of Christ since Honest to God was released by Kriete in February, when he was an ICC evangelist in London. McKean points out that 90% of London’s full-time staff, including Kriete, has left the payroll for lack of funds and many members have left. McKean writes, “The Scriptures are true that say bitterness can cause many to miss the grace of God. (Hebrews 12:15)”. Apparently McKean feels Kriete’s “bitterness” caused people to lose their salvation.
However, if we look closely at McKean’s attack on Kriete, we will see that it is blatantly unfair. In fact, it is McKean’s most public act of character assassination since he dispatched Ed Powers for raising similar issues in Indianapolis in 1994.
Here is what Kip McKean tells us about Henry Kriete…
“Since the letter contained many elements of truth mixed with misinformation and bitterness, there was an outcry in many parts of our fellowship for a need to change “the system” and many of the ways we do things.”
“Henry advocated 'a time for anger and the overthrowing of temples. I believe that time is now.”
There is a time for patience and even having dinner with the Sadducees and Pharisees, and then there is a time for anger and the overthrowing of temples. I believe that time is now. Our errors and sins must be vigorously attacked and overthrown. Christ was hostile to a religious system then, and he is hostile to our religious system now.
“He urged churches to have ‘open forums’ which further poisoned the membership towards the leaders…”
Apply Matt 18 first, and allow the public forum for more widespread concerns. Caution against bitter words, which could cause serious damage in relationships. Choose as moderators, spiritual men who are commended by the members and perceived as unbiased. (Non-ministry).
The forums need to be open and honest, and allow for some venting; however, they must not become slanderous and out of control. If the Corinthian’s ‘open’ worship services did ‘more harm than good’, how much more an open forum where people are pouring out their hearts, often out of much pain and anger. Tread carefully here.
Considering Kriete’s words and warnings about open forums, how could McKean blame Kriete for open forums (in other cities) which McKean thinks “poisoned the membership towards the leaders”? It is a baseless accusation.
More of McKean’s words about Kriete...
“…if we are ‘honest to God,’ we must admit that Henry’s letter was a spark that ignited a powder keg of unspoken issues which had hurt many long-suffering Christians in our churches.”
“My emotional, but dear, son in the faith Henry raised several issues that had varying degrees of validity. However, I believe some were simply not accurate.”
“… Another mitigating factor in the erosion of this role came from Henry Kriete’s questioning of the way that money was spent, i.e. the lifestyles and the salaries of the evangelists. He also charged that there was deceit surrounding our missions contributions and the way the funds were spent. This charge was in spite of the fact that our administrators have diligently practiced the highest ethical standards of accounting and all of our large churches are audited annually by the most reputable accounting firms.”
“Decentralization and Henry’s letter caused a reactionary pendulum swing from supporting any overseeing ministers or administrative positions to only supporting evangelists and administrators locally… Alarmingly, our weekly and missions contributions have plunged, not because of the sagging economy, but primarily because of people’s loss of confidence in church leadership.”
It’s amazing, but just five months after Honest to God, McKean has blamed many of the movements problems partly or wholly on Henry Kriete. (Perhaps Kriete is lucky he was not also blamed for global warming.) Hopefully, readers will forgive if this sounds flippant: the blame-shifting of Kip McKean has truly reached comical proportions when he -- who founded, designed and led the ICC movement for over twenty years -- blames the ICC’s present problems on a former London evangelist with a word processor.
In summary, ICC leaders in San Francisco, New York, and Portland (McKean) are implying that God is working through them as they strain for their former power and control. “Pay no attention to those men behind the curtain,” they seem to be telling us. But we can’t help but notice.
New York elder/evangelist Sam Powell had the audacity to quote Martin Luther King at the end of his Rockland crackdown message: “free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, we’re going to be free at last.” Since he was promising fewer member freedoms and more freedoms for church leadership, apparently it was the Leader’s Church, not the Member’s church he was trying to make free.
Again, these three messages do not speak for the ICC’s members -- and hopefully not for many of its leaders. Perhaps they will be denounced by some, as they should (e.g. the Salt Lake Christian Church was the first congregation from the ICC to publicly reject McKean's letter).
When certain leaders say that basic personal freedoms must be surrendered to have Christian fellowship and forgiveness, we should be reminded of the words of the apostle Paul in Galatians 5:1…
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
Pay no attention to those men behind the curtain.
Sam Powell, Steve Kinnard, Phil Garrison, Steve Johnson, Worship Service Transcript (link to PDF), West Nyack, NY, June 8, 2003 (transcribed from audiotape by Ken Carlstedt).
Kip McKean, From Babylon to Zion: Revolution through Restoration III (link to PDF), Portland, July 2003.
San Francisco Church of Christ Leadership, The Road Ahead (link to PDF), Portland, June 15, 2003.
(1) “One Generation”, Upside Down, April 1992, p. 36.
(2) Also regarding the fallacy of "Appealing to Consequences": throughout the ICC's history, the consequences of believing God had mandated a "system" of evangelizing the world (consequence = rapid short term growth, arguably at incredible cost) did not make this idea true.
Copyright © 2003 Dave Anderson. All rights reserved.
