The International Church of Christ
NOTE: Christianity
Today recently published an excellent news article on the International
Church of Christ.
Visit www.tolc.org for more up-to-date
information on the International Church of Christ.
"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing,
but inwardly they are ferocious wolves." (Matthew 7:15)
1. Key Facts
| 1.1 |
The International Church of Christ currently has 274 churches
in 105 nations. Their total worldwide attendance is 138,302 people. |
| 1.2 |
Their goal is to plant a church in ever nation with a city of
at least 100,000 people by the year 2000. |
| 1.3 |
Each International Church of Christ typically adopts the name
of its city (e.g. the Toronto Church of Christ). |
| 1.4 |
The International Church of Christ does much of its recruitment
on university and college campuses. |
| 1.5 |
This group is to be distinguished from the mainline Churches of
Christ, a loosely federated group of congregations from which the
International Church of Christ broke off. |
| 1.6 |
The International Church of Christ is also known as the Boston
Movement or the Boston Church of Christ. |
2. History
| 2.1 |
In the early 1970s, Kip McKean, the founding evangelist and pastor
of the Boston movement, was a student at the University of Florida
in Gainesville. There he met Chuck Lucas, pastor of the Crossroads
Church of Christ. Lucas was active in a campus outreach program
for the Churches of Christ, developing "Campus Advance"
principles. He recruited McKean and trained him in what was then
and is now a radical version of discipleship developed primarily
from Robert Coleman's book, The Master Plan of Evangelism.
Lucas understood Coleman to teach that Jesus controlled the lives
of His apostles and then taught His apostles to disciple others
by controlling their lives. Therefore Christians today should use
the same process Jesus taught His apostles when bringing people
to Christ. Lucas put this teaching into practice in a discipleship
process which he taught to McKean and others. |
| 2.2 |
In 1976, McKean went to Heritage Chapel Church of Christ in Charleston,
Illinois and initiated a campus outreach at Eastern Illinois University.
Several church members questioned his discipleship process and made
charges regarding manipulation and control. |
| 2.3 |
In 1979 McKean moved to the Boston suburb of Lexington where he
became involved in the Lexington Church of Christ. Meeting on June
1 with thirty people—each committing themselves to the Lord
and His work—McKean established an aggressive program of evangelism
and discipleship. The church went from 30 to 1,000 members in just
a few years and outgrew its facilities. By 1983 the church had to
rent the Boston Opera House for its meeting on Sunday and meet in
homes ("house churches") for midweek services. Later that
year the Lexington Church of Christ changed its name to the Boston
Church of Christ. |
| 2.4 |
In 1981 the Boston movement launched an aggressive missions program,
sending out teams of people to establish churches throughout America
and the world. These churches would be part of the Boston family
of churches, under the authority and control of the Boston Church
of Christ, and using the same discipling methods as the Boston church
The Toronto Church of Christ was founded in 1985. |
3. Beliefs
| 3.1 |
Baptism is necessary for salvation – They teach that
one must be water baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of sins.
Faith, they both teach, is not sufficient for salvation; it is not
counted for righteousness until one obeys God by being baptized
with the conscious knowledge that at the moment of baptism one is
being saved and one's sins are being forgiven. Furthermore, one's
baptism is not considered valid unless it is administered by the
true church of Christ (i.e., the churches of Christ or the Boston
movement). |
| 3.2 |
Discipleship – The Great Commission to disciple is
probably the core doctrine of the church. |
| 3.3 |
Confession of sins – Believers are to confess their
sins to each other (James 5:16). |
| 3.4 |
Submission to authority – the authority of the leaders
is God-given or delegated by God to such an extent that in disobeying
them, one is disobeying God. |
| 3.5 |
Orthodoxy – In many other respects, the International
Church of Christ holds similar doctrine to evangelical churches
everywhere. |
4. Methods
| 4.1 |
Initiation – The goal is to be chained to someone
more senior in the church, with someone you bring in the church
under you to disciple
| 4.1.1 |
Nonmembers are invited to a non-denominational "Bible
talk." |
| 4.1.2 |
At the Bible talk, they meet people who are genuinely
warm and caring. |
| 4.1.3 |
In the days following the Bible talk, they receive calls
of encouragement from people that they met. At this point,
nonmembers usually observe that these people are putting
their faith into practice. |
| 4.1.4 |
They (individually) are invited to a weekly Bible study,
taught by a "discipler." At these meetings, they
study the Bible and confess sins. The discipler calls the
disciple, always showing great interest and always ready
to give guidance and advice. Five required studies take
place:
| 4.1.4.1 |
Word of God – showing that the Bible
is factual and necessary. |
| 4.1.4.2 |
Discipleship – to get the person to
admit that they are not a disciple of Christ. |
| 4.1.4.3 |
Light and Darkness – to show that
they are not saved, and that they need to confess
their sins. |
| 4.1.4.4 |
The Cross – to bring a sense of sorrow
and urgency to the person |
| 4.1.4.5 |
The Church – a study which shows that
the International Church of Christ is the only true
church |
|
| 4.1.5 |
Eventually, the subject of baptism is raised. Until a
person is not baptized, they are not part of the church
and not called brother or sister, nor are they saved. The
moment they are baptized, they are saved. |
| 4.1.6 |
Now a member of the church, they are urged to invite their
friends and family to Bible talks. |
|
| 4.2 |
Control – The personal life of every believer is controlled
by a discipler who is over that person. There is a discipler over
every discipler, a hierarchy of disciplers working its way up to
the top. Each believer is expected to submit to his or her discipler,
in matters such as working overtime, dating, etc.. |
| 4.3 |
Sin Lists – Sin lists, lists which included in much
details members' sins, have been found to be computerized and available
to group leaders. An interviewer on ABC-TV's "20/20" reported
this and interviewed members to verify that the confessed sins are
accurate. |
| 4.4 |
Exclusion – "Leaving the church and leaving God
are the same thing." (Randy McKean). Members are ordered to
steer clear of non-members, and if that means your wife or husband
or fianc� or boyfriend or girlfriend, then so be it (Matthew 35:10). |
5. Responding to the International Church of Christ
| 5.1 |
As with other groups, remember: "And the Lord's servant must
not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach,
not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in
the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge
of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape
from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his
will." (2 Timothy 2:24-26) |
| 5.2 |
Remember their goal is to recruit you. Be appreciative of their
expressions of concern and affirmation for you while you talk, but
do not be manipulated. |
| 5.3 |
Be ready to express the doctrine of salvation by grace through
faith alone. Baptism is not necessary for salvation. |
| 5.4 |
Be wary of authoritarian control (2 Corinthians 11:20). |
6. Warning included in Ryerson's Student Manual (1992):
| 1. |
The R.S.U. recognizes a variety of religious and cultural groups
here at Ryerson. However, there are some groups which the R.S.U.
has chosen not to recognize. One such group is the Toronto Church
of Christ. At the R.S.U. Board Meeting held on April 7, 1992, the
following amendment was made to the Policy for New Groups on Campus:
|
WHEREAS the Church of Christ has been identified throughout
North America, by COMA (Council on Mind Abuse) and other
student unions, as having questionable recruitment techniques
and practices; and |
|
WHEREAS campus organizations associated with the Church
of Christ have been linked to traumatic incidents amongst
post-secondary students in the Toronto Area; and |
|
WHEREAS religious and cultural groups recognized by the
Ryerson Student's Union (R.S.U.) are intended to emphasize
areas of commonality and harmony with the Ryerson community
and are NOT to emphasize recruitment or worship as their
raison d'etre; |
|
IT IS A RYERSON STUDENTS' UNION POLICY THAT R.S.U. not
recognize any group associated with the Church of Christ. |
|
| 2. |
If you are being harassed, either in person or over the phone,
please contact security and lodge a complaint. |
