- June 16, 2003 Apologies are Not Enough, by Dave Anderson, RightCyberUp
Many churches of the International Churches of Christ (ICC) have issued apologies for some teachings and practices in the first half of 2003. It will take time to see what changes result � and since the ICC has decentralized, where these changes happen and do not happen. With everything currently happening in the ICC, it's clear that these apologies are a start, not an end in themselves...
- June 3, 2003 Cult members: help, forgiveness - STEVEN ALAN HASSAN, Letters to the Editor, Boston Globe via freedomofmind.com
THANK YOU for Farah Stockman's May 17 front-page story on Thomas "Kip" McKean's organization ("A Christian community falters"). I have been counseling people injured by their affiliation with this group since 1982...Unfortunately, most mental health professionals have not received specialized training in how best to address the psychological problems of people involved with cults...
...Most therapists hear the name Church of Christ and think of legitimate denominations such as the United Church of Christ or the mainline Church of Christ. It doesn't occur to them that there are destructive mind control groups that masquerade as legitimate...
- June 2003 'Boston Movement' Apologizes, by John W. Kennedy, Christianity Today
Open letter prompts leaders of controversial church to promise reform.
A London leader's 39-page confessional open letter detailing abuses in the International Churches of Christ (ICOC) has further shaken a movement that has been controversial since its beginning 24 years ago. Whether the movement, an offshoot of the mainline Churches of Christ and known for its aggressive campus recruiting, is unraveling or reforming is hard to say...
With the autocratic McKean gone, leadership now is in the hands of 10 elders ruling by consensus. One is Al Baird, longtime spokesman for the ICOC in Los Angeles.
"Most of the churches have basically seen how much leadership has been out of touch with the rank and file," Baird told Christianity Today. "We've done a lot of apologizing for things we've dropped the ball on." He said several leaders have left. Some are gone because they no longer agree with church teachings. Others were released because of financial cutbacks caused by a drop in contributions...
- May 17, 2003 A Christian community falters, by Farah Stockman, Boston Globe (Loss of leader, governing body hurts group formed in Boston
It was one of the fastest-growing and most controversial churches in America, banned as a cult from dozens of college campuses while boasting 135,000 members worldwide. Its followers were known for spending their free time recruiting new members and waiting on doorsteps at 4 in the morning, hoping to persuade those who had "fallen away" to come back to the fold. But now the central organization of the International Churches of Christ, a strict religious body founded in Boston, is collapsing.
Thomas "Kip" McKean, its charismatic founder, has stepped down...
...Known as the Boston Church of Christ or the "Boston Movement," the church attracted tens of thousands of members from all backgrounds, who later moved on to form ...the Chicago Church of Christ, and hundreds of other churches, spreading to London, Sydney, Moscow, Nairobi, and other cities...
...Some say McKean grew more uncompromising over time. In the late 1980s, he officially broke with the mainline Churches of Christ, preaching that his church was the only true church. Thousands of his members were rebaptized and all were told that outsiders, even other mainline Church of Christ members, were destined for hell...)
- May 20, 2003 For the record, Boston Globe
Correction: Because of a reporting error, a story on Page One of Saturday's paper about the International Church of Christ misidentified the name of the group's New York church, the New York City Church of Christ, and the college alma mater of the church's founder, Thomas "Kip" McKean, who attended the University of Florida
- May 17, 2003
For the record, Boston Globe
Correction: Because of a reporting error, a Page One story in yesterday's Globe about the International Churches of Christ misstated Jim ... role in the Church. He is a former Bible Talk leader.
- May 14, 2003 Sydney ICOC apologizes, selects elders - The Christian Chronicle (SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - As International Churches of Christ (ICOC) reexamine and reorganizes their practices in the United States, a church affiliated with the movement in Australia is following the pattern.
...The appointments follow a March 16 apology to mainstream churches of Christ. The apology states that the ICOC church adopted "an unbalanced emphasis on certain scriptures" and "an authoritarian leadership style and hierarchy (that affected) every member of the church ~{!*~} often adversely."... )
- April 6, 2003 Pitfalls on the Road to Healing, Dave Anderson, RightCyberUp (Manhattan Open Forum speech) (...It's good to be back here today, and I'm going to talk briefly about Pitfalls on the Road to Healing in today's International Church of Christ (ICC).
It has been exciting recently to watch many churches in the movement travel down a new road, one that could lead to much change and healing. But I hope that the healing in the movement will be complete. My two main concerns are, will the healing be broad enough, and will it be deep enough?
When I say broad enough, I mean, will this revolution of freedom in Christ be felt everywhere? Not just in Manhattan but in every zone of the New York City Church of Christ? Not just in New York, but in cities like San Francisco? Not just in the US, but in the many churches around the world. Will the revolution reach every member? I hope so, but I fear it will not. I'm concerned that the new autonomy in the movement will allow some churches to reach for reform, while others may revert to old ways of doing things ?reverting to habits learned too well during two decades of legalism and abuse...)
- March 26, 2003 REVEAL's letter to Al Baird, (A letter to the ICC, through its "spokesman"
by the Board of Directors of REVEAL
This letter was sent to Los Angeles ICC elder Al Baird in March, 2003. To date, there has been no response. However, REVEAL's offer in this letter applies to any ICC congregations/leaders/members, and it is now being circulated publicly for their benefit...
...The Reveal Board members would like to offer the services of our organization to help the International Churches of Christ through this time of transition and healing...)
- March 25, 2003 ICOC posts major apology, by Lindy Adams, The Christian Chronicle (LOS ANGELES
A detailed 45-page examination of the failings of the of the International Churches of Christ ?Boston Movement ?by member Henry Kriete has prompted a sweeping confession of wrongs by the church's leadership. The document was widely mailed and forwarded on e-mail...
...The letter said, "These sins have not just been isolated events, but a culture that was created and allowed to continue in much of the LA church. We are committed to changing this culture to become more Christ-like. We are deeply sorry for every sin we committed and every sin we tolerated...)
- March 18, 2003 ICC Apologies Escalate; Teachers Support Kriete Letter, by Dave Anderson, RightCyberUp (As a wave of change sweeps over many congregations in the International Churches of Christ (ICC), leaders of an increasing number of ICC churches have published apologies for their past behavior and leadership. Also, prominent ICC teachers have gone on record supporting the content of Henry Kriete's February letter calling for massive reform in the movement...)
- March 13, 2003 Commentary on Chaos: Observations, Assessments, and Proposals regarding Recent events in the International Church of Christ Movement, by Kyle V. Degge via REVEAL
- March 2003 Exposure and Unfettered Access, An official response to the recent calls for change in the ICOC, by the Board of Directors of REVEAL (The recent deafening calls for ICOC to change, reform, repent or however you choose to categorize it, has for the first time come, en masse, from those, not on the outside of the organization, but from within. Why has this happened?...)
- March 2003 'Boston Movement' Founder Quits, By Timothy R. Callahan, Christianity Today Magazine (Kip McKean, founder of the controversial International Churches of Christ (icoc), announced his resignation in a November 6 letter, citing his own arrogance and family problems.
ICOC critics, however, doubt that McKean's resignation signals that the group will abandon its troubling practices, especially an extreme form of Christian discipling that many believe is abusive (CT, Sept. 1, 1997, p. 64)...
...The ICOC has recruited intensely among college students, but more than 20 colleges or universities have barred the group from campus. In 1994 the mainline Churches of Christ officially severed ties with the icoc...
...icoc elders Al Baird and Bob Gempel said sins in McKean's life "have seriously compromised his ability to lead in his present role."...
...Baird, the icoc's top spokesman, said the changes taking place at the icoc are "not over doctrinal issues, but over growth issues." RightCyberUp says that from 1999 to 2001, for every five people baptized into the icoc, another four left, causing the movement's high rate of growth to decline sharply...
...Baird added, "There is no evidence that anyone is disgruntled and no longer wants to be a member."...)
March 2003 International Churches of Christ in Upheaval, (PDF Version)
Gretchen Passantino, Christian Research Institute (After nearly a quarter century of worldwide growth and notoriety, the International Churches of Christ (ICOC), known in its early years as the Crossroads Movement and more popularly as the Boston Movement, is undergoing unprecedented changes fueled by the resignation of its founder and autocratic leader, Kip McKean...
... Insiders and outsiders, including ex-members, have noted a myriad of ongoing problems, including high disaffection rates, financial improprieties, abuses of authority, false record keeping, and member complaints....
...The ICOC has been controversial since its inception, amid charges that it was exclusivistic, autocratic, extremely controlling of individual members� lives, doctrinally aberrant, practicing deceptive recruitment techniques...)
The letter below originally appeared on the Los Angeles Church of Christ web site on February 25, 2003. The letter was revised on February 28, 2003.
- February 25, 2003
Los Angeles Church Apology Letter
WARNING! A link to the International Church of Christ Web site below.
Los Angeles Church Apology Letter
An Apology to the Christians of the Los Angeles Church of Christ:
From: The LA Elders, Super Regional and Regional Evangelists and Women's' Ministry Leaders (...We participated in an authoritarian discipling structure where advice was too often perceived as command. Some felt controlled and manipulated. This was abusive and sinful. We have not been servant leaders and apologize for allowing power to be abused at the top leadership levels...)
- February 25, 2003 Henry Kriete Letter Rocks ICC, by Dave Anderson, RightCyberUp (Following the recent resignation of its founder and decentralization of its leadership, the International Churches of Christ (ICOC) now faces yet another major challenge: how to respond to a damning open letter by one of its most respected leaders. London evangelist and author Henry Kriete has written perhaps the most powerful rebuke yet of the ICC system by one of its own, and other ICC leaders have been forced to respond...)
- February 2, 2003 Honest To God, by Henry Kriete, A current leader in the London Church of Christ/International Church of Christ - via reveal.org An open letter to the elders, teachers, and evangelists in our fellowship of churches (The International Churches of Christ). (...at this moment in our brief history, I have never been more alarmed, even ashamed of what we have become...)
- PDF format February 2, 2003 Honest To God, by Henry Kriete, A current leader in the London Church of Christ - via San Diego Church of Christ An open letter to the elders, teachers, and evangelists in our fellowship of churches (The International Churches of Christ).
- PDF format February 2, 2003 Honest To God, by Henry Kriete, A current leader in the London Church of Christ - via Chicago Church of Christ An open letter to the elders, teachers, and evangelists in our fellowship of churches (The International Churches of Christ).
- March 4, 2003 Henry Kriete the author of the open letter above started answering questions on the
The ICC Discussion forum which is hosted by Delphi Forums
- January 19, 2003 From deprogramming to strategic interaction - Interview with Steven Alan Hassan, Religioscope (Steven Alan Hassan, M.Ed LMHC, has been a familiar name among those involved in the "cult controversies" for over twenty-six years. A former member of the Unification Church...
...Over the years basically, and part of it was because cult leaders like Kip McKean of the International Churches of Christ holding up Combatting Cult Mind Control and saying I was a wolf in sheep's clothing, it would be a sin to talk to me or to read my book. Families came to me and said "We want your help but my kid would never agree to meet you no matter whatever we said. What do we do?" And so that helped motivate me to go?quot;Hum, what are the other options? What are the other choices?" In the meantime I...
...I'd also like to say the strategic interaction approach evolved because of the birth and the growth of the Internet. Before that, deprogramming and exit counseling was very content driven, very much based on the fact that I had the materials, the actual documents, the letter where Kip McKean was fired for being unbiblical by the mainline Church of Christ. But now so much has been scanned and put up on the Internet and it's just beginning. How can we use the content that's there and get the information to the people who are in mind control cults...)
| |
|
|
- - - - - - -
- A Christian community falters, Boston Globe, May 17, 2003 ...It was one of the fastest-growing and most controversial churches in America, banned as a cult from dozens of college campuses while boasting 135,000 members worldwide...
|
