Sixteen disciples from the campus ministry of the Atlanta Church of Christ are creating a national ruckus with their cheering for the Georgia State University men's basketball team.
Named for GSU coach Charles "Lefty" Driesell, Lefty's Loonies came to be in 1997 when Matthew Roberson, a 21-year-old GSU disciple...
(Photo of Lefty's Loonies included.)
The following link will take you to an archived version of the article below.
...It's the International Church of Christ, and it's the subject of controversy on college campuses in Georgia and around the country...
...The church describes their recruitment practices as aggressive, and the church is banned on dozens of campuses across the country, including Georgia Tech.
At Georgia State, in 1997, complaints about student harassment were part of the reason why the school temporarily revoked the church's charter. "They look for students who are relatively vulnerable students who are sitting alone in the cafeteria, students who might be studying by themselves and they'll simply ask them to go to church," said Dr. Kurt Keppler, dean of students. "So, our office was getting complaints basically that this group wouldn't take no for an answer."...
April 26, 2001ICC Influence Reaches Metro Atlanta, The Catalyst Online via the Wayback Machine, Joseph Wheeler High School (...International Church of Christ...Atlanta Church of Christ...Georgia State University junior Elizabeth McGinnis..."I am an RA this semester, and I have already had over 40 complaints," McGinnis said. "You�re not allowed to solicit in the dorms, but they go door to door anyway. Even if you say that you�re not interested, they won�t leave you alone. We had to have a staff meeting about it. There�s even an RA who is a member of the ACC and he has been trying to convert everyone on his hall; there have been complaints about him too."...)
March 26, 2001Recent Georgia Decision Upholds Undercover Reporting, BLT Atlanta via the Wayback Machine (The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia recently issued a ruling in favor of Fox News Network ("Fox") and one of their reporters in a case attacking a Fox undercover report concerning a religious group at Georgia State University ("GSU").
In the case, Esmeralda Lucas, the Woman's Campus Ministry Leader for the Atlanta International Church of Christ (the "Church"), and her husband Jonathan Lucas brought suit against Fox and a Fox reporter working undercover at GSU...)
Photo:
"Lefty's" Loonies March 2, 2001 Press Release Georgia State Athletics, "Lefty's" Loonies made their presence felt in the Sports Arena, leading one of the largest, and loudest, crowds in recent memory. (The photo was online at
www.georgiastate.com/athletics/mbball/0001/pressreleases/
feb01/mbbtaacsam.htm)
February 18, 2001 Cults' grip often invisible, but breaking it is possible The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (International Church of Christ and Valdosta State University in the news.)
July 31, 2000U.S. Court Rejects Church Employee Suit in TV 'Cult' Story, Fulton County Daily Report via law.com (...invited to the bedroom of the Atlanta International Church of Christ's campus ministry leader at Georgia State University for a private "sin and repentance study."
...The resulting video -- broadcast Jan. 21, 1999 on Fox as part of a news segment titled "Cults on Campus" -- prompted Lucas and her husband, Jonathan Lucas, to sue Fox and Bark. They claimed that Bark's hidden camera and her undercover reporting were an invasion of Lucas' privacy...)
October 10, 1999 Renting as they grow: Controversial church opts not to be bound by four walls, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (...the Atlanta Church of Christ...affiliated with the International Church of Christ...In 1994, a Georgia Tech branch of the Atlanta Church
of Christ was kicked off the campus amid allegations that students were being harassed and intimidated. Emory University's chaplaincy office denied the group a charter in 1993...)
On Television - January 21, 1999 Cults on Campus, Fox files, Fox News (FOX files wanted to see how the International Church of Christ works on a campus where it is not banned, and sent two associate producers to go undercover at Georgia State University to see if they would be solicited like most other students on campus...)
...While most of these groups seem friendly, the Office of the Dean of Students refers to some as "high pressure groups."
According to Stephanie Ray, Assistant Dean of Students, the Office has received several complaints in recent weeks about recruiting on campus, especially around the freshmen dorms and outside the Student Center. While other types of these groups (i.e. social and political) exist, most are religious, and some have been suspected of cult activity and brainwashing...
...The student and the participants were members of the Atlanta Church of Christ, a large church in South Atlanta who recruits on campus...
...When he refused to join the church, the employee received hang-up calls and unsolicited visits from the members, and he became too afraid to call the police. After speaking with a Tech human resources official, the employee worked hard to put his life back together and to recover from his emotional pain...
October 13, 1998 "Georgia State University Church of Christ under scrutiny" By Tonya Shoemaker, Signal, Georgia State University ("Alpha and Omega's (the [International] Church of Christ) charter has been tabled because there has been some confusion about their members and obviously the student's concern on the harassment issue plays a part in that decision. We just want to make sure all the facts are straight before we make a decision,"...)
September 22, 1998Religious solicitation complaints prompt warning against group, Emory Wheel, Emory University (Student complaints of harassment prompted Religious Life officials to warn a local religious organization to keep its members off Emory's campus.
Members of the Atlanta Church of Christ have stood in front of the Dobbs University Center recently, despite opposition from the Office of the Dean of the Chapel...
...Emory has a history of problems with this particular group, which is not allowed anywhere on campus, according to Religious Life officials...
...Henry-Crowe said any students who are approached by this group should notify her, an official in Religious Life or the Emory Police immediately.)
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