In an effort to address concerns raised about the International Churches of Christ, I will address these items. First, here are the items, what follows is a discussion of each:

1. Leadership
    A. cult membership in past
    B. inferiority complex, anti-social, desire power and attention
    C. criminal background
    D. balance of power, leadership balanced or controlled by the top? checks/balances
2. Doctrine
    A. Freely available
    B. inside/outsider doctrines (depends who is listening)
3. Membership
    A. Recruitment
        1. deception
            a. quotas, schemes;
            b. front organizations
            c. imbalanced flow of personal information
           d. pressure
        2. Personality Change upon conversion
    B. Maintenance
        1. undermine other relationships- family, etc.
        2. physical factors
            a. sleep deprivation
            b. weight change (loss)
            c. psychosomatic illnesses
        3. Devotion to group activities; little time for privacy, friends/family
        4. Inability to make decisions
    C. Freedom to leave
        1. no legitimate reason to leave
        2. use fear/guilt to keep members

Discussion

Leadership

The leadership of the ICOC consists of Kip McKean and a group of "World Sector Leaders" (or "WSL's;" so named because they have responsibility for ministries in their specific region of the world). These are:
 

Kip McKean	Los Angeles, USA	Middle East
Frank Kim	Tokyo, Japan	Pac-Rim (Japan, SE Asia)
Scott Green	Seattle, USA	China
Marty Fuqua	Los Angeles, USA	"Northern Federation" (Western US, Canada, former Soviet Union, Scandinavia)
Douglas Arthur	Washington DC, USA	British Commonwealth (GB, Australia, India)
Steve Johnson	New York, USA	Eastern US, Africa, West Indies
Peter Garcia-Bengochea	Mexico CIty, Mexico	Latin America
Randy McKean	Boston, USA	Europe

Regarding "ICOC Geography," many US churches are also a part of the non-US world sectors to balance the leadership load and financial support base for each of the world sectors. Additionally, other men serve with this same "status" as WSL's:  Al Baird, Robert Gempel, and Andy Fleming. These men have various administrative responsibilities with the ICOC framework.

Several of these men were a part of the traditional churches of Christ, some a part of the "Crossroads" movement prior to the forming of the ICOC in the late 1980's. Others were converted to Christ in Boston in the early days of the movement.  Since the ICOC and the Crossroads movement share many characteristics, involvement in the Crossroads movement is not relevant in discussing "previous cult membership; none of these have been a part of questionable religious groups prior to their involvement in the ICOC.

None of these men have any known criminal background whatsoever.

The ICOC is led by this group of people, directed by Kip McKean. Initially, this group of men was hand-picked by Kip McKean to help in the plan to evangelize and minister to churches of the movement around the world. Prior to their selection, McKean found himself overextended and turned to these men to assist in his work. (It should be noted that Tom Brown, Phil Lamb and Corey Blackwell all formerly served as World Sector Leaders and either resigned or were dismissed from that role due to various personal or family problems. To this date, all are still faithful members of the ICOC.)  A more detailed discussion of this can be found in Kip McKean's "Revolution through Restoration" article.

ICOC bylaws provide a means of succession and selection for these men. The leader of the WSL's shall in the future be chosen by election of the WSL's, with ties being broken by the eldest WSL. WSL's are selected and removed by the leader of the WSL's. Valuing unity, the membership of the ICOC has no potentially contentious democratic vote in the selection of any of these men, yet it is clear they cannot lead without the consent and support of the membership.

Since their service in this role depends upon continued faithfulness and spirituality, there are no "terms" of office but men serve until they resign or are dismissed. Checks and balances in the top leadership structure exist via reliance upon the integrity of the World Sector Leaders.

Doctrine
    A. Freely available
    B. inside/outsider doctrines (depends who is listening)

The ICOC is an heir to the tradition left by the traditional Churches of Christ, which itself is a product of the "Restoration Movement" popular in the early and mid 1800's in the United States, especially in the midwest and southern US.  The ICOC adheres to Scripture as its only certain authority on matters of faith and practice.

The ICOC uses a series of basic studies known as "First Principles" (freely available on the ICOC website) as a "starting point" in addressing basic beliefs and doctrines. I don't always agree with the exegesis expressed in the First Principles studies, but I find the series useful and for the most part an accurate treatment of the topics discussed.

Regarding the topic of insider/outsider doctrines, there are none. Doctrinally, there is little difference between the ICOC and the  "traditional Church of Christ;" and the evangelical world as well. For example, the ICOC adheres to the traditional Christian doctrines of the Trinity, the Virgin birth of Jesus, the resurrection, the inspiration and the authority of the Bible, future judgment, the resurrection of the dead, and salvation by grace through faith and the response of a good conscience to the gospel . However, opinions on lesser matters or those not clearly defined in Scripture tend to vary and are not normally discussed with outsiders (nor freely with insiders, for that matter). In my experience the reasons for this are not deception but simply relevance-- the ICOC does a fairly good job of sticking to the important issues (matters surrounding salvation) and tends to leave other issues in the background.

Membership-Recruitment

"Recruitment--" evangelization-- is done in all sorts of ways. Everything from word of mouth to neighborhood canvassing. Deception is not permitted, though some zealous members may unwittingly be deceptive when they intend to be clever. As in Biblical times, members simply and genuinely want others to have what they have spiritually, and look for all sorts of avenues to interest people in the message of Jesus.

A common complaint is that members may hold a secular type event (say a volleyball or football game) and invites passers-by to join. Yes, members would want all passers-by do become members of the church, but that doesn't mean the game is a deception or a front organization or something of that sort. All sorts of groups have events and include passers-by. After such a game, an invitation might be given to a Bible study or other event, but this is overt and direct, and individuals are NOT pressured to attend.

Like other churches, ICOC churches may have programs of outreach that include goals (inviting x number of people to events for a given period of time, for example). There is nothing deceptive about this at all. The only problem with these type of things in the spiritual realm is with the member who feels that such a goal takes precedence over the command of God. In the ICOC, many people have found a fulfilling relationship with God through all sorts of outreach programs.

Campus organizations of students may take a collegiate-sounding name (e.g. "Advance for Christ"). These organizations are run by the students and faciliate meeting spiritual needs on campuses. This is not a deceptive "front organization;" it is common for many other church and parachurch organizations have campus organizations with an organizational link to larger, non-campus groups (e.g. the Navigators, Campus Crusade for Christ, etc.).

Regarding an "imbalanced flow of personal information," members tend to get to know prospective members through a "give and take" of information and experiences. Certainly individuals may vary, but typically ICOC members have a very balanced flow of information and disclosure with prospective members, building fulfilling relationships based upon trust and shared common experiences.

"Pressure" is a common allegation towards evangelistic groups. I believe that pressure "muddies the waters" and violates the conscience of a person contemplating a serious spiritual commitment, and it has little place in the process. On the other hand, God through the Holy Spririt and the conscience can and does bring about all sorts of "pressure" (direction, guilt, etc.) to those contemplating spiritual choices. No doubt some individuals are zealous for people to make certain decisions and may act in ways that appear pressuring, but mature people recognize that prospective members need to reflect and deliberately make decisions based upon facts.

Personality change upon conversion is a common topic and is discussed elsewhere on this site.

Membership-Maintenance
        1. undermine other relationships- family, etc.
        2. physical factors
            a. sleep deprivation
            b. weight change (loss)
            c. psychosomatic illnesses
        3. Devotion to group activities; little time for privacy, friends/family
        4. Inability to make decisions

Regarding ongoing membership, there is no indiscriminate attempt to undermine family relationships, except to the extent that these relationships may interfere with the authority demanded by Jesus (e.g. Luke 14:25-26). (Elsewhere on this site, I have discussed ways that ministers can work more effectively with family situations. and how family relationships can change upon conversion )

Hassan raises issues like sleep deprivation, weight loss, and psychosomatic illnesses. Citing instances of 3 to 5 hours of sleep a night in some groups, I would have to say that Hassan has little basis for criticisms of the ICOC regarding sleep deprivation. In my experience, most members of the ICOC usually get about the same amount of sleep as other Americans-- between 6 and 8 hours of sleep nightly. In my experience, ICOC members in the United States share the same basic weight condition as most other Americans. I cannot recall any instances of seeing anyone experience weight change as a sole result of their church membership, though many members (like other Americans) endeavor to achive better physical health via regular exercise and better diet.

I know of no instances of psychosomatic illnesses as a result of church involvement.

Regarding the "inability of some to make decisions," members of the ICOC generally regard the Biblical practice of "getting advice" (e.g. Proverbs 12:15) to be wise and well worthy of practice, both in spiritual or secular areas. To an outsider, this could appear odd or perfectly normal, depending upon his frame of reference.

Some ICOC members have been known to ask advice in trivial matters. This can appear odd to outsiders, and is generally regarded as immature by more mature members. With time, the vast majority of members learn a good balance of self-sufficiency in known areas and advice-seeking in unknown areas.

No doubt the seeking of advice and a possible expectation to heed it in all sorts of areas allows for the possibility of abuse. Abuses have occurred, ranging from controlling to "micro-managing." I would urge caution in jumping to conclusions just because someone begins seeking of advice, but I would also examine areas of advice-seeking that seem odd, excessive or controlling.

Membership-Freedom to Leave
        1. no legitimate reason to leave
        2. use fear/guilt to keep members

Generally, ICOC members prefer membership in ICOC churches. When contemplating relocation due to career changes, most will want to go to a city where another ICOC congregation exists, even to the point of turning down a better offer in places where no congregation exists. Purely on my own, I myself have done this on several occasions.

In the religious world, people change church memberships within the same city for any number of reasons-- minister preference, facilities, location, programs offered, social disposition, etc. ICOC members recognize that the early church had one church congregation per city, even if the churches in larger cities had smaller groups. Those looking for new programs or opportunities usually look to implement these ideas in their local congregations. Examples of this might be a chemical-dependancy recovery group, "Weigh-Down" groups, arts-media groups, and the like.

In the religious world, some people change churches because of the inability to "get along" with others. Certainly ICOC members are not immune to this condition, but they do make efforts to resolve these difficulties and maintain unity to honor God. ICOC members generally heed the admonition to be "diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3)." Certainly one could be a faithful follower of Jesus outside of ICOC congregations, but the unity of the church and believers is highly valued, and (rightly) great efforts are made to work through problems instead of just leaving for another congregation.

In the religious world, some people change churches because of changes in personal spiritual convictions. Many ICOC members search the Scriptures for areas where the status quo in the church may differ from how the Scriptures say we should act or believe. This willingness to embrace new positions with sound Scriptural backing has always been one of the great traits of the ICOC. Those learning new convictions about the Scriptures are encouraged to implement these in their local congregations and share them at large. (For example, many of the articles on the "Banbabas Ministry" website contradict "status-quo" ICOC understandings on various topics. These are presented in the spirit of learning and moving more and more towards a faith more in touch with the Scriptures as we have opportunity to do so.)

Regarding the use of fear or guilt to keep members, I would say that Christians do indeed need to have a healthy fear of what would happen if they leave God. Usually, the reasons why some would leave a congregation could also be reasons why they might leave God. Members generally believe that things with such an end result are often sinful and should be addressed and changed. They also believe that if someone does what is right in the situation at hand, issues that might otherwise have led to someone leaving the church can usually be worked out with a great blessing of unity and personal growth in the long run.

Having said all of that, it is sad to report that guilt and fear have been used in the ICOC at times. Resorting to guilt or scare tactics to motivate or influence is wrong. Such techniques do not commend the spirituality of those using them, and they rob people of the choice of righteousness and faith, thwarting spiritual growth in the long run. They usually reveal that what is desired by such "advice" is not in the individuals best interest and can only be achieved through manipulation.

No church congregation, ICOC or not, likes to lose members, because it weakens the church. Wise leadership must realize that people do in fact have choices about what group they associate themselves with and seek to provide influence with integrity, love and genuine concern for those under their leadership and the church as a whole. It must resist the temptation to act in its own self-interest; it must also resist acting upon biases that might accompany such a predisposition. A "spiritual free agent" should look for a leadership that leads him closer and closer to the Biblical plan for his life. And I might add, I think the vast majority of ICOC members regard their leadership in exactly this way.

Copyright © 2000 John Engler. All rights reserved.