Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He

Transcription

1 Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with his own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw the disciples after them. Acts 20:28-30

2 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11:13-14

3 The International Christian Church (ICC) aka Sold-Out Discipling Movement

4 Why Are We Speaking About This? The International Christian Church (ICC) is not just a denominational group Demonstrates Cultish Qualities ( Scheduled to plant a church in Albuquerque in January 2018

5 Why Are We Speaking About This? Traditional practice is to target members of mainline churches of Christ or the ICOC and/or college campuses In September 2016, postings were made on Facebook claiming members of our congregation as disciples of the ICC without the knowledge of those individuals

6 History Of The ICC/ICOC Movement 1967 Crossroads Movement and Chuck Lucas Based on a need for a greater emphasis on discipleship and evangelism 1972 Thomas Kip McKean was baptized 1977 Kip McKean was fired as minister in Illinois for teaching false and deceitful doctrine and promoting controlling practices 1979 Kip McKean took over a small suburban Boston congregation which would become the Boston Church of Christ. The Boston Church became the center of the discipling movement

7 History Of The ICC/ICOC Movement 1993 Took the name International Church of Christ (ICoC) with 103 congregations and 50,000 in attendance on Sundays 2002 Kip McKean resigned. Henry Kriete, leader of the London ICoC issued a letter which led to immense changes in the ICoC 2006 Kip McKean was disfellowshipped form the ICoC for divisive and abusive behavior and founded the ICC in Los Angeles 2016 Gordon Ferguson s book, My Three Lives

8 Cultish Practices Key aspect is sacrificial behavior by members in service to the aims of the supreme leader A supreme leader whose behavior and judgments are considered beyond question A pervasive hierarchy linking the supreme leader to every member A mandatory cell structure at each level in which a sub-leader exercises complete control over cell members Isolation of members from outside influences

9 Cultish Practices Deceptive recruiting methodology Deception in dealing with those who oppose them Subtle distortions in right teaching or through redefining words in support of their teaching

10 Centralized Structure ICC Practices A cell structure in which all members report to an assigned discipler All members and congregations ultimately report to Kip McKean Deception in dealing with those who oppose them Fraudulent Financial Dealings

11 A History of Division ICC Practices Subtle distortions from right teaching and redefining words to fit their teaching The ICC effectively puts the discipler in the role of Jesus

12 Subtle Distortions From Right Teaching Evangelism and discipling (not a Bible word) are turned into numerical quotas and control of all personal decisions Deemphasize the Teaching in Acts and the Epistles Distort the requirements for Baptism

13 Subtle Distortions From Right Teaching Confession ICC requires public confession of sin or error to the cell and cell leader which gives the leader enormous psychological power over the followers Sin and Grace ICC prey on guilt, shame or hopelessness in changing from a Christian s sinful practices as evidence that they never really became Christians They state that a Christian is not a sinner

14 Subtle Distortions from Right Teaching Fruits of Repentance ICC defines fruits as meaning submission to the orders of a discipler Self-sacrifice for a hierarchical organization Meeting an imposed quota Teach Them to Obey ICC interprets Matthew 28:20 to mean that these include whatever the discipler interprets them to be in the service of the hierarchical organization

15 Henry Kriete Letter: Other Resources One of the evangelists at the London Church of Christ, Henry Kriete, wrote an open letter in early February 2003 detailing problems he had witnessed inside the International Churches of Christ

16 Henry Kriete Letter: Other Resources Kriete says, the systematic abuse of stats and stat-taking, goal setting and goal making has ruined countless lives in the process, damaged our integrity and trustworthiness as ministers and leaders, and has fostered a climate of manipulation, fear and men pleasing.

17 Henry Kriete Letter: Other Resources From Kriete s letter: We have practiced and even theologically defended the wholesale write-off of members in the name of 'pruning'. Not only is this phenomenon repugnant, it is completely without Biblical precedent. Jesus commanded, leave them alone 'let the wheat and the tares grow together'. Are we stronger or wiser than he? How arrogant of us it is Christ's own church we have pillaged, his own body we have mutilated!

18 Have they changed? Other Resources Visit the following websites and draw your own conclusions ExICC.org Livinginthebookofacts.blogspot.com

19 Conclusions The ICC is a hierarchical organization with Kip McKean, not Jesus Christ, as its ultimate authority The ICC has taken a healthy emphasis on evangelism and discipleship and corrupted them into works based quotas and personal control The ICC uses shortcuts to godly ends by using ungodly methods The ICC routinely endorses deception of both those inside and outside their organization to achieve their goals and to enrich leadership

20 Conclusions The ICC utilizes both the best and worst of Christians motivations to recruit existing Christians Desires for spiritual growth and evangelistic emphasis Guilt and shame with current lifestyle The ICC has destroyed many lives in their brief existence