International Churches of Christ: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 19:46, 29 September 2006

Latest revision as of 00:48, 15 August 2025

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{{Short description|Group of Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement Christian churches}}

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{{Multiple issues|

{{Third-party|date=September 2023}}

{{Unreliable sources|date=September 2023}}

{{Original research|date=October 2024}}

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{{Use American English|date=September 2018}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2014}}

{{Infobox Christian denomination

| name = International Churches of Christ

| image = International Church of Christ worship.jpg

| imagewidth = 250px

| caption = An International Church of Christ worship service

| main_classification = [[Protestant]]<ref>“Rooting from the idea of Restorationist - Though some in the Movement have been reluctant to label themselves Protestants, the Stone-Campbell Movement is in the direct lineage of the Protestant Reformation. Especially shaped by Reformed theology through its Presbyterian roots, the Movement also shares historical and theological traits with Anglican and Anabaptist forebears." Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, "Protestant Reformation", in ''The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ'', Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, {{ISBN|0-8028-3898-7}}, {{ISBN|978-0-8028-3898-8}}</ref>

| orientation = [[Restoration Movement|Restorationist]]|polity=[[Congregationalist polity|Congregationalist]]| separated_from =

| associations = {{Plain list|

* HOPE Worldwide<ref name=NBC/>

* ''Disciples Today''<ref name="Ross Jr-2012"/>

* IPI Books<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ipibooks.com/|title=IP > Featured Items|publisher=ipibooks.com|access-date=28 August 2007|archive-date=30 August 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070830160752/http://www.ipibooks.com/|url-status=live}}</ref>

}}

| area = Global (144 nations)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://icocco-op.org/church-list | title=Leadership | date=14 March 2024 | access-date=28 November 2023 | archive-date=8 December 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208163318/https://icocco-op.org/church-list/ | url-status=live}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=May 2024}}

| website = [http://www.disciplestoday.org International Churches of Christ]

}}

The '''International Churches of Christ''' ('''ICOC''') is a body of decentralized, co-operating, religiously conservative and racially integrated Christian congregations.<ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite web|url=https://disciplestoday.org/about-the-icoc/|title=About the ICOC|date=18 February 2016 |publisher="Disciples Today" – official ICOC web site|access-date=March 27, 2024|archive-date=15 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240315141242/https://disciplestoday.org/about-the-icoc/|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]). The bible is not a reliable source.|date=October 2024}}<ref name="Jenkins-2003" /> Originating from the [[Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement]], the ICOC emerged from the discipling movement within the [[Churches of Christ]] in the 1970s. [[Kip McKean]], a key figure until 2003, expanded the church from Gainesville to Boston and it quickly became one of the fastest growing Christian movements with a heavy focus on US college campuses. Under his leadership, the ICOC experienced rapid growth but also faced criticism. In March 2024, the ICOC numbered their members at 112,000.<ref name="ReferenceB" />{{better source needed|date=May 2024}}

{{cleanup-date|April 2006}}

The ICOC is organized with a cooperative leadership structure broken down into regional families that have their own representative delegates. Viewing the Bible as the sole authority, the ICOC emphasizes being a non-denominational church united under Christ. It advocates salvation through faith and baptism, rejects "faith alone", and emphasizes global unity. Historically, the church practiced exclusive baptism and strict "discipling", but since 2002, has shifted to a more decentralized, voluntary discipling approach. The ICOC also promotes racial integration, opposes abortion and recreational drugs, and engages in international service through the HOPE Worldwide.

{{christianity}}

[[David V. Barrett]] noted in 2001 that in the 1990s the ICOC "attracted a huge amount of criticism and hostility" from the [[anti-cult movement]]. The church's emphasis on and system of discipling during the period of McKean's leadership was the subject of particular criticism, with some ex-members alleging that it involved the humiliation of vulnerable members. The ICOC's use of "love bombing", which involved drawing members in through showing them love and affection that became more conditional over time, was also criticised, due to its tendency to attract vulnerable and lonely people. The church has been barred from recruiting students on campuses or has been denied student organization status at numerous universities.

''{{dablink|Alternate meanings: The [http://www.disciplestoday.com/ International Churches of Christ] discussed in this article is not related to [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]], the [[United Church of Christ]], [[Church of Christ, Scientist]], any [[Church of Christ (Mormonism)|Church of Christ]] within the [[Latter Day Saint movement]], the [[Disciples of Christ]] or the [[Philippines]]-based [[Iglesia ni Cristo]].}}''

In 2022, the ICOC were named in US federal lawsuits, alleging that leaders of the church covered up the sexual abuse of children and financially exploited members between 1987 and 2012. The complaints were voluntary dismissed at the request of the plaintiffs in July 2023 and similar lawsuits were then filed in the [[Los Angeles County Superior Court|Superior Court in Los Angeles, California]].

'''International Churches of Christ''', [[autonomous]], [[non-denominational]] [[christian]] churches, a part of the [[Restoration Movement]]. It has also been called the ''Boston Movement''.

==OriginsHistory==

===RestorationOrigins in the Stone-Campbell Movement===

{{see also|Restoration Movement|Churches of Christ}}

The roots of the [http://www.disciplestoday.com/ ''International Churches of Christ''] lie in the [[Restoration Movement]] of the [[19th century]], which promoted a return to the practices of the [[1st century]] [[Early Christianity|Christian churches]] as described in the [[New Testament]].

[[File:Crossroads Church of Christ.jpg|thumb|Crossroads Church of Christ in 1970s.]]

The ICOC has its roots in a movement that reaches back to the period of the [[Second Great Awakening]] (1790–1870) of early nineteenth-century America. [[Barton W. Stone]] and [[Alexander Campbell (clergyman)|Alexander Campbell]] are credited with what is today known as the Stone-Campbell or [[Restoration Movement]]. There are a number of branches of the Restoration movement, and the ICOC was formed from within the [[Churches of Christ]].<ref name="Stanback-2005">{{Cite book |last=Stanback |first=Foster |title=Into All Nations (A History of the I.C.O.C.) |date=1 January 2005 |publisher=Illumination Publishers Intern |isbn=9780974534220 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Stockman-2003" /> Specifically, it was born from a discipling movement that arose among the Churches of Christ during the 1970s.<ref name="Foster-2004">{{Cite book |last1=Foster |first1=Douglas Allen |title=The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement |last2=Dunnavant |first2=Anthony L. |date=2004 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=9780802838988}}, 854 pages, entry on ''International Churches of Christ''</ref> This discipling movement developed in the campus ministry of Chuck Lucas.<ref name="Foster-2004" />

===Crossroads Church of Christ===

A chief influence on the development of the International Churches of Christ was the "Crossroads Movement", growing out of the campus ministry of the 14th Street [[Church of Christ]] (later called the ''Crossroads Church of Christ'') at the [[University of Florida]]. Campus minister Chuck Lucas created a very successful style or method of ministry and [[evangelism]]. The church established a school of ministry to teach its unique discipling methods. These methods may have been learned from the "[[Shepherding Movement]]" that came to prominence within Charismatic and Pentecostal churches in Florida during the [[1960s]] and [[1970s]]. Kip McKean and other "Boston Movement" leaders, including McKean's brother Randy, were trained at the Crossroads school. Lucas resigned in [[1985]], in the wake of a homosexual [[scandal]], leaving the Crossroads movement.

Though the Crossroads Church of Christ eventually repudiated McKean's "Boston Movement" in the late [[1980s]], its foundational role cannot be overlooked. McKean and others developed their methods based on those taught by Lucas.

In 1967, Chuck Lucas was minister of the 14th Street Church of Christ in [[Gainesville, Florida]] (later renamed the Crossroads Church of Christ). That year he started a new project known as Campus Advance (based on principles borrowed from the [[Campus Crusade]] and the [[Shepherding Movement]]). Centered on the [[University of Florida]], the program called for a strong evangelical outreach and an intimate religious atmosphere in the form of ''soul talks'' and ''prayer partners. Soul talks'' were held in student residences and involved prayer and sharing overseen by a leader who delegated authority over group members. ''Prayer partners '' referred to the practice of pairing a new Christian with an older guide for personal assistance and direction. Both procedures led to "in-depth involvement of each member in one another's lives".<ref name="Paden-1995">{{Cite book | last = Paden | first = Russell | editor-first = Timothy | editor-last = Miller | title = America's Alternative Religions | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=og_u0Re1uwUC&q=%22international+churches+of+christ%22%7C%22boston+church+of+christ%22 | access-date = 2007-08-07 |date=July 1995 | publisher = State University of New York Press | ___location = Albany | isbn = 978-0-7914-2397-4 | pages = 133–36 | chapter = The Boston Church of Christ | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=og_u0Re1uwUC&q=%22international+churches+of+christ%22%7C%22boston+church+of+christ%22&pg=PA133}}</ref>

Ministries aimed at college students, or "campus ministries" were not very common among the churches of Christ at the time the Crossroads Movement came to fore, though they had existed at larger universities for some time, primarily in Texas and Tennessee. Between 100-200 Crossroads-trained campus ministers began serving at churches of Christ throughout the country, primarily at public universities, and were successful in the conversions of many new members using small group [[Bible]] studies, called "Bible talks" or "soul talks." In the late 1970s and early 1980s, many of the campus ministries came under fire, both within their sponsoring congregations and in the public arena, for using discipling techniques that were considered too controlling. Many campus ministers resigned, or were dismissed, and formed new congregations, typically in the same cities and often with the encouragement of Crossroads-movement leadership. Campus ministries were occasionally precluded from holding meetings on campuses when too many complaints about their methods were received by university officials.

McKean himself had been working with the Heritage Chapel Church of Christ in [[Charleston, Illinois]], receiving financial support from the prosperous Memorial Church of Christ in [[Houston, Texas]]. However, in April [[1977]], Memorial withdrew its financial support from McKean and another evangelist, due to McKean's methodology and doctrinal positions. McKean stayed on with the Heritage Chapel Church of Christ despite this lack of funding for another 2 years.

The ministry grew as younger members appreciated the new emphasis on commitment and models for communal activity. This activity became identified by many with the forces of radical change in the larger American society that characterized the late sixties and seventies. The campus ministry in Gainesville thrived and sustained strong support from the elders of the local congregation in the 'Crossroads Church of Christ'. By 1971, as many as a hundred people a year were joining the church. Most notable was the development of a training program for potential campus ministers.<ref name="Wilson-2010" />

===Boston Church of Christ===

In [[1979]] [[Kip McKean]] (former leader) led 29 people into what became known as the [http://www.bostoncoc.org/index.htm Boston Church of Christ]. The International Churches of Christ grew out of the [[Boston]] Church of Christ.

===From Gainesville to Boston: 1970s–1980s===

===Evangelization Proclamation document===

Among the converts at Gainesville was a student named Kip McKean who was converted by Chuck Lucas.<ref name="Ross Jr-2012" />

[[Image:EvangProcl..jpg|thumb|right| Evangelization Proclamation document]]

McKean was introduced to the Florida Church of Christ's controversial recruitment style in 1967.{{sfn|Stanczak|2000|p=114}} Born in [[Indianapolis]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kipmckean.org/|title=Kipmckean.com – Get Your Answers Here!|work=Kip McKean|access-date=28 August 2007|archive-date=24 August 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070824094554/http://www.kipmckean.org/|url-status=live}}</ref> McKean completed a degree while training at Crossroads, and afterward served as campus minister at several Churches of Christ locations. By 1979 his ministry grew from a few individuals to over three hundred making it the fastest growing Church of Christ campus ministry in America.<ref name="Stanback-2005" /><ref name="Stockman-2003" /> McKean then moved to Massachusetts, where he took over the leadership of the Lexington Church of Christ (soon to be called the Boston Church of Christ). Building on Lucas' initial strategies, McKean only agreed to lead the church in Lexington as long as every member agreed to be 'totally committed'. The church grew from 30 members to 3,000 in just over 10 years in what became known as the 'Boston Movement'.<ref name="Stanback-2005" /><ref name="Stockman-2003" /> McKean taught that the church was "God's true and only modern movement" and under his leadership, it "envisioned and implemented a tightly structured community that returned to the doctrines and lifestyles of the first-century Christian churches, with the goal of evangelizing the entire planet within a generation".<ref>{{cite journal|last=Bromley|first=David G.|title=Sources of Challenge to Charismatic Authority in Newly Emerging Religious Movements|journal=Nova Religio|volume=24|issue=4|year=2021|doi=10.1525/nr.2021.24.4.26|pages=26–40}}</ref> According to journalist Madeleine Bower, "the group became renowned for its extreme views and rigid teaching of the Bible, but mainstream churches quickly disavowed the group".<ref name="Bower-2023">{{cite news|url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/inside-nsws-most-bizarre-religious-sects/news-story/42fb265039d1f787a2c63bd5ad1c2aba|title=Inside NSW's most bizarre religious sects|first=Madeleine|last=Bower|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=26 March 2023|access-date=6 September 2023|archive-date=6 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230906142235/https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/inside-nsws-most-bizarre-religious-sects/news-story/42fb265039d1f787a2c63bd5ad1c2aba|url-status=live}}</ref>

A 1994 document, authored by Kip McKean, where he recounts his version of the ICOC's history (which some have contested). This proclamation included a "Six-Year Plan" to establish an ICOC church in every country with a city of at least 100,000 people, by the year 2000. This was later amended to "by the end of the year 2000" without explanation. [http://www.rightcyberup.org/contradiction.html Change in Plan].

<P>

In the document, after recounting his now contested history of his calling by God to fulfill the Great Commission, he summarizes some of his plans for doing so. He states how he requires total commitment from everyone in the ICOC in order for him to "change the course of human events".

<P>

The document states clearly that only his churches, now called the ICOC, comprise "God's modern-day movement". He states "that only the totally committed could be members of the Lexington Church of Christ (later renamed Boston)..... The Spirit then gave us a deep conviction that only these baptized disciples comprise God's kingdom on earth. This was and still is the true church of Jesus."

<P>

This document was also signed by the World Sector Leaders, and was distributed throughout the ICOC congregations. All congregations were ordered to fully participate in the project.

<P>

Link: [http://www.portlandchurch.org/features/features.php?sec=evan&dir=/&file=evan.php HTML Text of Evangelization Proclamation]<P>

Alternate Link: [http://www.portlandchurch.org/features/evan.pdf#search=%22evangelization%20proclamation%20kip%22 PDF Text of Evangelization Proclamation]

[[David G. Bromley]] and [[J. Gordon Melton]], sociologist and historian of religion respectively, note how International Churches of Christ grew quickly in the 1980s, but that "Even as ICOC developed, however, its relationships with several established institutional sectors deteriorated". The church's "doctrine signaled the movement's self-perceived superiority to other Christian churches in teaching that it alone had rediscovered biblical doctrines critical to individual salvation and insisting on rebaptizing new members to ensure their salvation". They note that further tensions developed as a result of the church's "aggressive evangelizing tactics" and use of 'discipling' or 'shepherding' practices, whereby new members were provided spiritual guidance and had their personal lives closely supervised by more established members. "Members were taught that commitment to the church superseded all other relationships", write Bromley and Melton. As a result, "the main branch of the

=== Growth of movement ===

Churches of Christ disavowed its relationship with ICOC; a number of universities banned ICOC recruiters; and ICOC became a prominent target of media and anticult group opposition".<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bromley|first1=David G.|last2=Melton|first2=J. Gordon|title=Reconceptualizing Types of Religious Organization|journal=Nova Religio|volume=15|issue=3|year=2012|doi=10.1525/nr.2012.15.3.4|pages=4–28}}</ref>

The Lexington [[Church of Christ]], outside of [[Boston, Massachusetts]], was considering closing its doors when they decided to hire Kip McKean as minister in [[1979]]. Within two years, the Lexington church grew from 30 members to over 300. In [[1981]], McKean and the church began to fulfill a "vision" of organizing churches in key world metropolitan centers, especially those with populations greater than 100,000. By the early [[1990s]], almost 150 churches had been organized. While this growth was widely publicized, McKean determined that a central strategy for funding and organizing new churches was needed. Until that time, individual congregations would organize, train, and fund their own mission teams.

In 1985 a Church of Christ minister and professor, Dr. Flavil Yeakley, administered the [[Myers-Briggs Type Indicator]] test to the Boston Church of Christ (BCC), the founding church of the ICOC. Yeakley passed out three MBTI tests, which asked members to perceive their past, current, and five-year in the future personality types.<ref name="Langone-1993">{{cite book|last=Langone|first=Michael|title=Recovery from Cults|url=https://archive.org/details/recoveryfromcult00mich|url-access=registration|year=1993|publisher=W. W. Norton and Company|___location=New York|page=[https://archive.org/details/recoveryfromcult00mich/page/39 39]|author-link=Helping Cult Victims: Historical Background|chapter=1|isbn=9780393701647}}</ref><ref name="Gasde-1998">{{cite journal|last=Gasde|first=Irene|author2=Richard A. Block|title=Cult Experience: Psychological Abuse, Distress, Personality Characteristics, and Changes in Personal Relationships|journal=Cultic Studies Journal|year=1998|volume=15|issue=2|page=58|url=http://www.csj.org/pub_csj/csj_vol15_no2_98/cutexperiencetext.htm|access-date=2 September 2013|archive-date=1 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141201225349/http://www.csj.org/pub_csj/csj_vol15_no2_98/cutexperiencetext.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yeakley|first=Flavil|title=The Discipling Dilemma|year=1988|publisher=Gospel Advocate Company|isbn=0892253118|url=http://www.somis.org/TDD-01.html|access-date=7 September 2012|archive-date=1 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120701053036/http://www.somis.org/TDD-01.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> While over 900 members were tested, 835 individuals completed all three forms. A majority of those respondents changed their perceived or imagined personality type scores on the three tests in convergence with a single type.<ref name="Langone-1993" /><ref name="Gasde-1998" /> After completing the study, Yeakley observed that "The data in this study of the Boston Church of Christ does not prove that any certain individual has actually changed his or her personality in an unhealthy way. The data, however, does prove that there is a group dynamic operating in that congregation that influences its members to change their personalities to conform to the group norm".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.douglasjacoby.com/wp-content/uploads/Discipling%20Dilemma%20Part%202.pdf |title=Douglas Jacoby &#124; Challenging People to Think About Faith |access-date=19 April 2024 |archive-date=27 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527052723/https://www.douglasjacoby.com/wp-content/uploads/Discipling%20Dilemma%20Part%202.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

In the late [[1980]]s and early [[1990]]s, the International Churches of Christ went through a period of rapid growth. A hierarchy of churches was established with the world divided geographically into seven World Sectors. A single International Churches of Christ church was established as a "pillar" for each sector and this church became responsible for missionary work in that area. Lines of authority were also laid down from one church to another, with the Boston Church of Christ as the flagship.

By the end of 1988 the churches in the Boston Movement were for all practical purposes a distinct fellowship, initiating a fifteen-year period during which there would be little contact between the CoC and the Boston Movement. By 1988, McKean was regarded as the leader of the movement.<ref name="Wilson-2010" /> It was at this time that the Boston church initiated its program of outreach to the poor called HopeWorldwide.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}} Also in 1988, McKean selected a handful of couples that he and Elena, his wife, had personally trained and named them World Sector Leaders.<ref name="timeline">{{cite web|url=http://www.kipmckean.com/timeline.htm|title=Brief History of the ICOC|access-date=2007-07-09|publisher=KipMcKean.com|date=6 May 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070620183301/http://www.kipmckean.com/timeline.htm |archive-date = 20 June 2007}}</ref> In 1989 mission teams were officially sent out to Tokyo, Honolulu, Washington, DC, Manila, Miami, Seattle, Bangkok, and Los Angeles. That year, McKean and his family moved to Los Angeles to lead the new church "planted" (a euphemism the church uses for "established")<ref>{{cite news|title=The Church That's Brainwashing Australians|first=Mark|last=Barbeliuk|work=Reader's Digest|date=May 1996}}</ref> some months earlier. Within a few years Los Angeles, not Boston, was the fulcrum of the movement.<ref name="Wilson-2010" />

===The ICOC: 1990s===

In 1990, Kip McKean moved from Boston to head the [http://www.laicc.net/index.htm Los Angeles Church of Christ] . Los Angeles quickly became the new central authority for the growing movement. Though still widely known as the "Boston Movement", the official name was adopted in [[1993]]. The official website claims the church had 135,039 members in 434 congregations by January of [[2003]]. However, such figures are widely disputed outside of International Churches of Christ. Currently, the total membership of International Churches of Christ is around 95,000. {{fact}}

[[File:EvangProcl..jpg|thumb|The Evangelization Proclamation, issued in 1994, pledged that the ICOC would establish a church in every country that had a city of at least 250,000 within six years.]]

In 1990 the Crossroads Church of Christ broke with the movement and, through a letter written to ''[[The Christian Chronicle]]'', attempted to restore relations with the Churches of Christ.<ref name="Foster-2004" />{{rp|419}} By the early 1990s some first-generation leaders had become disillusioned by the movement and left.<ref name="Foster-2004" />{{rp|419}} The movement was first recognized as an independent religious group in 1992 when John Vaughn, a church growth specialist at Fuller Theological Seminary, listed them as a separate entity.<ref name="Stanback-2005" /><ref name="Wilson-2010">{{cite web |author=Wilson |first=John F. |date=2010 |title=The International Churches of Christ:A Historical Overview |url=https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1041&context=leaven |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240315143238/https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1041&context=leaven |archive-date=15 March 2024 |access-date=15 March 2024 |publisher=Leaven:Vol 18:Iss. 2, Article 3}}</ref> TIME magazine ran a full-page story on the movement in 1992 calling them "one of the world's fastest-growing and most innovative bands of Bible thumpers" that had grown into "a global empire of 103 congregations from California to Cairo with total Sunday attendance of 50,000".<ref name="Ostling-1992" /> A formal break was made from the Churches of Christ in 1993 when the group organized under the name "International Churches of Christ."<ref name="Foster-2004" />{{rp|419}} This new designation formalized a division that was already in existence between those involved with the Crossroads/Boston Movement and "original" Churches of Christ.<ref name="Foster-2004" />{{rp|418}}<ref>Leroy Garrett, ''The Stone-Campbell Movement: The Story of the American Restoration Movement'', College Press, 2002, {{ISBN|0-89900-909-3}}, {{ISBN|978-0-89900-909-4}}, 573 pages</ref> In September 1995, the ''Washington Post'' reported that for every three members joining the church, two left, attributing this statistic to church officials.<ref>{{cite news|title=Campus Crusaders: The fast-growing International Churches of Christ welcomes students with open arms. Does it let them go?|newspaper=Washington Post|date=3 September 1995|page=F1, 4–5}} {{ProQuest|903450905}}</ref>

==== The Indianapolis Church of Christ ====

:''This section requires more specific details, and independent references to back them up.''

The first major challenge of the International Churches of Christ leadership occurred in 1994, when Ed Powers, evangelist for the Indianapolis Church of Christ, openly questioned several of the more controversial aspects of the International Churches of Christ, including mandated giving and the exclusivity doctrine of salvation. The Indianapolis Church of Christ was surpassing 1,000 in attendance at that time and was a major congregation in the Midwest region of the United States. In a special meeting of the congregation, Ed Powers challenged several of the International Churches of Christ -enforced practices which he identified as quenching the joy and spiritual health of the members of the congregation. Upon learning of this special meeting, leaders from across the United States, including Kip McKean, flew into Indianapolis and effectively split the church. As a result, there were now two congregations in Indianapolis: the newly formed Indianapolis International Church of Christ and the now-estranged and renamed Circle City Church. Ed Powers later retired from the ministry of the Circle City Church and Keith Bradbury became evangelist for the congregation."

Growth in the ICOC was not without criticism.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}} Other names that have been used for this movement include the "Crossroads movement," "Multiplying Ministries," and the "Discipling Movement".<ref name="Paden-1995" /> One Church is formed per city, and as it expands it is broken down into "sectors" that oversee "zones" which have their own neighborhood Bible study groups. Claims that this structure too authoritarian were responded to by McKean saying, "I was wrong on some of my initial thoughts about biblical authority".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.citypaper.net/articles/022599/coverstory.shtml|title=The Love Bombers|access-date=2007-07-09|publisher=Philadelphia City Paper|date=March 1999|author=Davis, Blair J.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080404131705/http://www.citypaper.net/articles/022599/coverstory.shtml|archive-date=4 April 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Al Baird, former ICOC spokesperson adds, "It's not a dictatorship," ; "It's a theocracy, with God on top."<ref name="Ostling-1992">{{cite web |author=Ostling |first=Richard N. |date=18 May 1992 |title=Keepers of the Flock |url=http://www.kipmckean.com/images/flock2.jpg |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061214083831/http://www.kipmckean.com/images/flock2.jpg |archive-date=14 December 2006 |access-date=2007-07-12 |publisher=Time}}</ref> The ''[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]'' reported in 1996 that "The group is considered so aggressive and authoritarian in its practices that other evangelical Protestant groups have labeled it 'aberrational' and 'abusive'. It has been repudiated by the mainstream Churches of Christ, a 1.6 million-member body from which it grew".<ref>{{cite news|title=Some call sect 'abusive'|work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=17 November 1996|page=A20}} {{ProQuest|391759338}}</ref>

=== Changes in the International Churches of Christ ===

Growth continued globally and in 1996 the independent organisation "Church Growth Today" named the Los Angeles ICOC as the fastest growing Church in North America for the second year running and another eight ICOC churches were in the top 100.<ref name="Stanback-2005" /><ref name="Saltenstall-2000">{{cite web |author=Saltenstall |first=Dave |date=October 22, 2000 |title=A Church of Christ or Cult of Cash |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2000/10/22/a-church-of-christ-or-cult-of-cash-critics-slam-group-as-manipulative/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240313233509/https://www.nydailynews.com/2000/10/22/a-church-of-christ-or-cult-of-cash-critics-slam-group-as-manipulative/ |archive-date=13 March 2024 |access-date=13 March 2024 |work=[[New York Daily News]]}}</ref> By 1999, the Los Angeles church reached a Sunday attendance of 14,000.<ref name="Wilson-2010" /> By 2001, the ICOC was an independent worldwide movement that had grown from a small congregation to 125,000 members and had planted a church in nearly every country of the world in a period of twenty years.<ref name="Stanback-2005" /><ref name="Saltenstall-2000" /> In his 2001 book ''[[The New Believers|The New Believers: A Survey of Sects, 'Cults' and Alternative Religions]]'', [[David V. Barrett]] wrote that the ICOC was "currently causing perhaps more concern than almost any other" evangelical church in the United Kingdom.{{sfn|Barrett|2001|p=230}} Barrett writes that "In the last decade ICOC has attracted a huge amount of criticism and hostility from anti-cultists", noting that it had been made aware of various criticisms "but unlike some of the other movements founded in the 1970s, does not yet have appeared to reached the point in its development where it becomes sensitive to the genuine distress of some of its members and their families have experienced, and willing to modify some of its practices to reduce the possibility of causing such distress".{{sfn|Barrett|2001|p=233}} In 1998, Ron Loomis, an expert on cults and leader of a cult-awareness program at the [[College of Lake County]], called the ICOC "the most intensive cult in existence since the mid-1970s".<ref>{{cite news|title=Student shares how one group lured him during college years|first=Mary Jo|last=Przygoda|work=Daily Herald|date=20 November 1998|page=1}} {{ProQuest|309882181}}.</ref>

In early [[2001]], some of the World Sector Leaders (Regional Evangelists directing geographic areas of churches) began to question the effectiveness of the present leadership structure as well as the qualifications of Kip and Elena McKean to continue in their global leadership role. By September, the issue had reached a head in which the majority of World Sector Leaders agreed that significant changes were necessary. In November [[2001]], the McKeans announced that they were stepping down from leading the Los Angeles Church of Christ in order to take a sabbatical for an unspecified amount of time in order to focus on "marriage and family issues." All of the McKeans' adult children had disassociated themselves from the movement. This was not the only issue for the sabbatical, but it was a visible "thorn" in Kip McKean's side.

Barrett also noted in 2001 that as with other [[new religious movements]], membership turnover in the ICOC was high, with "many leaving after a few months because they find the discipline of life in the movement too demanding or oppressive". He concluded that "There are probably far more ex-members of ICOC than current members", though noted ICOC attempts to discourage members from leaving and that communal living arrangements and the fact that the ICOC encouraged the breaking-off of friendships with non-members made it difficult for some to leave.{{sfn|Barrett|2001|p=232}}

At this time, the International Churches of Christ administration, under the leadership of Andy Fleming (former missionary to [[Scandinavia]] and the [[Soviet Union]]), began to formulate a plan for a massive reduction in the overhead of the worldwide organization. The goal of this administrative plan was to refocus the resources of the local congregations on building up their own ministries as well as guaranteeing continued 'goodwill' in future missions contributions. By the end of [[2002]], the overhead had been reduced by 67%, and Fleming resigned as the [[Chairman of the Board]].

====Kip McKean's Resignation ====

In November [[2002]], the McKeans announced their resignations from their roles as World Mission Evangelist, Women's Ministry Leader and Leader of the World Sector Leaders. The World Sector Leaders also announced the disintegration of their leadership group with the suggestion that a new representative leadership group including evangelists, elders and teachers, be formed with an initial meeting in May [[2003]].

In February [[2003]], Henry Kriete, a leader in the [[London]] Church of Christ, wrote an open letter titled "Honest to God: Revolution Through Repentance and Freedom" transcript to the leadership of the International Churches of Christ, criticizing many of its practices. Kriete called for the leaders of the International Churches of Christ to renounce, abandon and repent of its systemic abusive practices, financial capriciousness, prideful attitudes, and controversial teachings. While perhaps originally intended for leaders' eyes only, many rank-and-file members were able to read copies of it. It remains massively distributed to this day. The majority of churches throughout the International Churches of Christ eventually accepted the letter. While it caused large rifts and many hurt feelings and scarred faith, it is now generally regarded by church members as from God. Many churches in the International Churches of Christ no longer require the strictly assigned discipling relationships that once characterized the International Churches of Christ. Overall, the leadership and the general membership are far closer than in the past and there is far less intimidation of "ordinary" members; there is now open opposition to leadership when they are not perceived to be doing what is right.

===The ICOC: 2000s===

==== Cultural, philosophical and doctrinal changes within the former International Churches of Christ ====

Membership growth stopped as the 90's finished.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Taliaferro |first=Mike |date=30 January 2013 |title=Has a New Era Begun for the ICOC? |url=http://www.disciplestoday.org/has-a-new-era-begun-for-the-icoc |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928125319/http://www.disciplestoday.org/has-a-new-era-begun-for-the-icoc |archive-date=28 September 2013 |access-date=24 August 2024 |website=disciplestoday.org}}</ref> In 2000, the ICOC announced the completion of its six-year initiative to establish a church in every country with a city that had a population over 100,000.<ref name="timeline" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.portlandchurch.org/features/evan.pdf |title=Evangelization Proclamation|access-date=2007-07-09|publisher=International Churches of Christ|date=4 February 1994|author=McKean, Kip|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070616164854/http://www.portlandchurch.org/features/evan.pdf|archive-date=16 June 2007}}</ref> In spite of this, numerical growth continued to slow. Beginning in the late 1990s, problems arose as McKean's moral authority as the leader of the movement came into question.<ref name="Stanback-2005" /><ref name="Stockman-2003">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/443203270/|title=A Christian community falters |last=Stockman |first=Farah |publisher=The Boston Globe|date=May 17, 2003|page=A1, A4|access-date=14 March 2024|archive-date=14 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314204129/https://www.newspapers.com/image/443203270/|url-status=live}}</ref> Expectations for continued numerical growth and the pressure to sacrifice financially to support missionary efforts took its toll. Added to this was the loss of local leaders to new planting projects. In some areas, decreases in membership began to occur.<ref name="Wilson-2010" /> At the same time, realization was growing that the accumulated costs of McKean's leadership style and associated disadvantages were outweighing the benefits. In 2001, McKean's leadership weaknesses were affecting his family, with all of his children disassociating themselves from the church, and he was asked by a group of long-standing elders in the ICOC to take a sabbatical from overall leadership of the ICOC. On 12 November 2001, McKean, who had led the International Churches of Christ, issued a statement that he was going to take a sabbatical from his role of leadership in the church:

Since the period of time in late [[2002]]/early [[2003]], many of the International Churches of Christ have gone in different directions. Some have chosen to stay with the distinctive International Churches of Christ characteristics and practices, whereas some have pursued reformation. Results of each course of action vary from church to church; some thrive, while others stagnate with traditional International Churches of Christ methodology, while some thrive and others stagnate, having chosen to utilize a reformed or progressive approach.

{{cquote| During these days Elena and I have been coming to grips with the need to address some serious shortcomings in our marriage and family. After much counsel with the Gempels and Bairds and other World Sector Leaders as well as hours of prayer, we have decided it is God's will for us to take a sabbatical and to delegate, for a time, our day-to-day ministry responsibilities so that we can focus on our marriage and family.}} Nearly a year later, in November 2002 he resigned from the office and personally apologized citing arrogance, anger and an over-focus on numerical goals as the source of his decision.<ref name="Stanback-2005" /><ref name="Stockman-2003" />

As of [[2005]] there are three (sometimes overlapping) groups within the International Churches of Christ. There are those who have held firmly to what has traditionally distinguished the International Churches of Christ: discipling, Bible Talks (small groups), [[Baptism#Baptism_in_Churches_of_Christ|baptism]] and evangelism. Other churches are gravitating toward [[Evangelicalism]] and [[Protestantism]].

Referring to this event, McKean said:

The Circle City Church (formerly the Indianapolis Church of Christ) is now an independent and non-denominational congregation, but has made several overtures to open dialog with the now largely independent congregations of the International Churches of Christ, including the Indianapolis International Church of Christ congregation.

{{cquote| This, along with my leadership sins of arrogance, and not protecting the weak caused uncertainty in my leadership.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.portlandchurch.org/archives/archives.php?langID=1&artID=1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927224407/http://www.portlandchurch.org/archives/archives.php?langID=1&artID=1|archive-date=27 September 2007|title=The Portland Story|access-date=2007-07-09|publisher=Portland International Church of Christ|date=21 August 2005|author=McKean, Kip}}</ref>}}

As part of the cultural, philosophical and doctrinal changes within the former International Churches of Christ (pre-2002), efforts are being made by some Progressive International Churches of Christ members to also reconcile with mainstream [[Churches of Christ]] and [[Independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ]]. In March [[2004]], [[Abilene Christian University]] held the "Faithful Conversations" dialog between members of the Church of Christ and International Churches of Christ. ¹ Those involved were able to apologize and initiate an environment conducive to building bridges. A few leaders of the Church of Christ apologized for use of the word "cult" in reference to the International Churches of Christ. The International Churches of Christ leaders apologized for alienating the Churches of Christ and implying they were not Christians. Although a better atmosphere for cooperation and understanding was generated, there are still fundamental differences within the fellowship. Early [[2005]] saw a second set of dialogs with greater promise for both sides helping one another.

[[Ronald Enroth]] writes that McKean "was forced to step down because of his own rule that leaders must resign if their children leave the church".<ref>{{cite book|first=Ronald M.|last=Enroth|editor-first=Ronald M.|editor-last=Enroth|title=A Guide to New Religious Movements|chapter=What is a new religious movement?|publisher=InterVarsity Press|___location=Downers Grove, IL|year=2005|isbn=0830823816|pages=9–25}}</ref>

[[Harding University]] is contemplating a distance learning program geared toward those ministers who were trained in the International Churches of Christ. ²

The period following McKean's departure included a number of changes in the ICOC, including decentralization and a dismantling of its headquarters and central leadership.{{sfn|Chryssides|Wilkins|2014|p=422}} Some changes were initiated from the leaders themselves and others brought through members.<ref name="Stanback-2005" />{{sfn|Jenkins|2005|page=240-246}} Most notable was Henry Kriete, a leader in the London ICOC, who circulated an open letter detailing his feelings about theological exclusivism and authority in the ICOC. This letter affected the ICOC for the decade after McKean's resignation.<ref name="Stanback-2005" />{{sfn|Jenkins|2005|page =240-246}} ''Christianity Today'' reported in 2003 that following McKean's resignation, "leadership now is in the hands of 10 elders ruling by consensus".<ref name="Kennedy-2003">{{cite news|url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/2003/06/boston-movement-apologizes/|title='Boston Movement' Apologizes: Open letter prompts leaders of controversial church to promise reform|first=John W.|last=Kennedy|work=Christianity Today|date=June 2003|access-date=13 September 2024}}</ref>

====Kip McKean separates from Reformed & Progressive International Churches of Christ ====

In July [[2003]], Kip and Elena McKean moved to [[Portland, Oregon]] to lead the Portland International Church of Christ. Since that time McKean has been making an effort to reunite as much of the former International Churches of Christ as possible yet maintain what he sees to be biblical convictions.

Critics of the ICOC claim that Kip McKean's resignation sparked numerous problems.<ref>{{cite news|last=Callahan|first=Timothy|title=Boston movement' founder quits|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/march/15.26.html|access-date=24 September 2013|newspaper=Christianity Today|date=1 March 2003|archive-date=6 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006084500/http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/march/15.26.html|url-status=live}}</ref> However, others have noted that since McKean's resignation the ICOC has made numerous changes. ''[[The Christian Chronicle]]'', a newspaper for the [[Churches of Christ]], reports that the ICOC has changed its leadership and discipling structure. According to the paper, "the ICOC has attempted to address the following concerns: a top down hierarchy, discipling techniques, and sectarianism".<ref name="Ross Jr-2012">{{cite web |author=Ross Jr |first=Bobby |date=September 2012 |title=Revisiting the Boston Movement: ICOC growing again after crisis |url=http://www.christianchronicle.org/article/revisiting-the-boston-movement-icoc-growing-again-after-crisis |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002090422/http://www.christianchronicle.org/article/revisiting-the-boston-movement-icoc-growing-again-after-crisis |archive-date=2 October 2013 |access-date=25 September 2013 |work=christianchronicle.org}}</ref> In September 2005, nine members were elected to serve as a Unity Proposal Group. They subsequently developed a 'Plan for United Cooperation', published in March 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://disciplestoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/englishproposal.pdf|title=Plan for United Cooperation|publisher=International Churches of Christ|date=11 March 2006|access-date=13 September 2024}}</ref> In September 2012, it was reported that around 93% of ICOC churches supported the plan.<ref name="Ross Jr-2012"/>

In August 2005, Kip McKean effectively divided International Churches of Christ churches and members between those willing and those unwilling to follow him by announcing "Portland leadership believes it is time for a progressive 'calling-out of the remnant of disciples' from dying, former International Churches of Christ Churches."³ McKean declared that he would call each church to return to biblical teachings, and if current leadership were not inclined to permit this, he would encourage the formation of a new church and lend his support to them. The vast majority of churches within the International Churches of Christ have not endorsed McKean's plans and few appear to be inclined to do so in the future. A few churches, notably Phoenix, Boston and Seattle, have publicly announced opposition to McKean's efforts.

Over time, McKean attempted to re-assert his leadership over the ICOC, yet was rebuffed. Sixty-four Elders, Evangelists and Teachers wrote a letter to McKean expressing concern that there had been "no repentance" from his publicly acknowledged leadership weaknesses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.disciplestoday.org/commentary/perspectives/item-410-brothers-letter-to-kip-mckean|title=Brothers' Letter to Kip McKean|author=Brothers the ICOC|work=disciplestoday.org|access-date=22 April 2014|archive-date=9 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309171354/http://www.disciplestoday.org/commentary/perspectives/item-410-brothers-letter-to-kip-mckean|url-status=dead}}</ref> McKean then began to criticize some of the changes that were being made, as he did in the 1980s toward Mainline Churches of Christ.<ref name="Carrillo-2009">{{Cite journal |last=Carrillo |first=Robert |date=2009 |title=The International Churches of Christ (ICOC) |url=http://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1083&context=leaven |journal=Leaven |publisher=[[Pepperdine University]] |volume=17 |issue=3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203233155/http://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1083&context=leaven |archive-date=3 December 2013 }}</ref> After attempting to divide the ICOC he was disfellowshipped in 2006<ref name="Carrillo-2009" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.disciplestoday.org/commentary/perspectives/item-409-brothers-statement-to-kip-mckean|title=Brothers' Statement to Kip McKean|author=Brothers the ICOC|work=disciplestoday.org|access-date=22 April 2014|archive-date=9 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309154118/http://www.disciplestoday.org/commentary/perspectives/item-409-brothers-statement-to-kip-mckean|url-status=dead}}</ref> and founded a church that he called the International Christian Church.<ref name="Carrillo-2009" />

==== United Cooperation ====

The most recent development is the effort to rebuild and restructure the overall leadership organization for the entire International Churches of Christ. Solicitations for governing structures and methods of inter-congregational relationships were requested by [[November 1]], [[2005]], with the goal of completing a final proposal by [[February 1]], [[2006]]. This effort is seen to have a purpose only to reorganize and coordinate missionary efforts across independent organizations by the now authority-phobic churches, many of whom can trace their roots back to their old egalitarian Church of Christ days, where a major ongoing issue was opposition at almost any cost to any sort or organized, centralized "missionary society". Yet, attitudes vary from church to church as to how much authority, if any at all, the new leadership structure should possess. It seems only a small band of churches welcome the old style back, while many prefer, and wait, for a "new improved" version that could provide an overall vision for this group of churches. According to www.icocinfo.org, an independent International Churches of Christ survey group, the membership of International Churches of Christ in 2005 is 92,474, which declined 12.5% from 2004.

''The Christian Chronicle'' reports that the ICOC's reported membership peaked at 135,000 in 2002, before dropping to 89,000 in 2006. ICOC leaders reported that a mid-2012 survey revealed that membership had grown again to 97,800 members in 610 churches across 148 countries.<ref name="Ross Jr-2012"/>

As of [[May 15]],[[ 2006]] a total of 324 Churches agreed to and committed to the Plan for United Cooperation.

{{Sectstub}}

=== Legal issues ===

===== [http://www.disciplestoday.com/Headlines/images/20060311.APlanForUnitedCooperation.pdf Plan for United Cooperation document] =====

====Lawsuit by an ICOC member church alleging defamation====

{{Sectstub}}

On November 23, 1991, two Singapore Newspapers, ''[[The New Paper]]'' (English) and ''[[Lianhe Wanbao]]'' (Chinese), published articles stating that the Singapore Central Christian Church (a member of ICOC) was a "cult". The church sued the papers, alleging [[defamation]]. An initial court ruling held that what the papers had written was fair and in the public interest. An appeals court, however, overruled the lower court, stating that the papers had stated that the church was a cult as if that was a fact, when it was not a fact, but a comment. The papers were each ordered to pay the church {{SGD|20,000}}. ''The New Paper'' had to pay the founder of the church, John Philip Louis, {{SGD|30,000}}. The papers also had to pay the legal fees of the church and its founder.<ref name="Jin-1998">{{cite web |last=Jin |first=Lim Seng |date=September 1, 1998 |title=Church wins appeal in libel case |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19980901-1.2.31.11 |publisher=The Straits Times |page=26 |access-date=4 January 2024 |archive-date=5 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105080924/https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19980901-1.2.31.11 |url-status=live}}</ref> In the same ruling, the appeals court held that an article that had also characterized the church as a cult, in the bi-monthly, Singapore-based, Christian magazine ''Impact'', was written fairly from the standpoint of a Christian publication written for the Christian community. The church and Louis were ordered to pay ''Impact's'' legal fees.<ref name="Jin-1998" />

====Lawsuits related to alleged coverup of sexual abuse====

==Church organization and services==

In 2022, the ICOC and the International Christian Churches were named in multiple US federal lawsuits. They alleged that between 1987 and 2012, leaders of the two churches covered up the sexual abuse of children, some of whom were as young as three, and financially exploited members.<ref name="Yeung-2023">{{Cite web |last1=Yeung |first1=Ngai |last2=Moskow |first2=Sam |date=2023-02-28 |title=Church leaders concealed sexual abuse of young children, lawsuits allege |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-02-28/church-sexual-abuse-allegations |access-date=2024-09-11 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US |archive-date=4 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904072310/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-02-28/church-sexual-abuse-allegations |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Borecka-2023">{{cite news |last=Borecka |first=Natalia |date=19 March 2023 |title=US Christian group accused of covering up sexual abuse of minors |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/19/international-churches-of-christ-lawsuits-alleged-sexual-abuse |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926175401/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/19/international-churches-of-christ-lawsuits-alleged-sexual-abuse |archive-date=26 September 2023 |access-date=3 September 2023 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> The lawsuits alleged that the ICOC, together with its affiliates the International Christian Church, the City of Angels International Christian Church, HOPE Worldwide and Mercy Worldwide, "indoctrinated" the plaintiffs, keeping them isolated while they were sexually exploited and manipulated through the ICOC's "rigid" belief system. The lawsuit also named ICOC leaders, founder Kip McKean and the estate of Chuck Lucas, as defendants. The plaintiffs alleged that the ICOC and its leaders created a "system of exploitation that extracts any and all value it can from members". The lawsuits alleged that members were forced to give 10% of their income as a [[tithe]] to the church and additionally to fund twice-yearly special mission trips, which drove some to depression and suicide.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.christianpost.com/news/church-families-pressured-to-tithe-to-point-of-suicide.html|title=International Churches of Christ abused, pressured members financially to the point of suicide: lawsuit|first=Leonardo|last=Blair|work=The Christian Post|date=4 January 2023|access-date=10 September 2024}}</ref> The Los Angeles ICOC responded to the lawsuits by stating: "As the Church's long-standing policies make clear, we do not tolerate any form of sexual abuse, sexual misconduct, or sexual coercion, and we will fully cooperate with the authorities in any investigations of this type of behavior".<ref name="Yeung-2023"/> The federal lawsuits were voluntarily dismissed [[prejudice (legal term)|without prejudice]] at the request of the plaintiffs in July 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Five Women Sue Christian Organization Alleging Cover-up of Child Sexual Abuse|url=https://ministrywatch.com/five-women-sue-christian-organization-alleging-cover-up-of-child-sexual-abuse/ |date=January 12, 2023|author=Anne Stych|language=en-US|publisher=MinistryWatch}}</ref> Similar lawsuits were then filed in the Superior Court in Los Angeles, California (i.e., State Court).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Women Sue International Churches of Christ for Concealing Alleged Abuse:20 plaintiffs have filed several lawsuits in Los Angeles Superior Court.|url=https://ministrywatch.com/women-sue-international-churches-of-christ-for-concealing-alleged-abuse/ |date=December 13, 2024|author=Kim Roberts|language=en-US|publisher=MinistryWatch}}</ref>

===Congregational autonomy===

==Church governance==

There are no [[headquarters]] for the International Churches of Christ. The congregations are autonomous and non-denominational.

[[File:Jakarta Church.JPG|thumb|The 2000-member church in Jakarta, Indonesia]]

[[File:Central Christian Church worship service.jpg|thumb|The Church in Singapore, which numbers over 1000 congregants]]

{{Third-party|section|date=September 2024}}

The International Churches of Christ are a family of over 750 independent churches in 155 nations around the world. The 750 churches form 34 Regional Families of churches that oversee mission work in their respective geographic areas of influence. Each regional family of churches sends Evangelists, Elders and Teachers to an annual leadership conference, where delegates meet to pray, plan and co-operate world evangelism.<ref name="Lamb-2015">{{cite web |author=Lamb |first=Roger |date=2015 |title=International Churches of Christ (ICOC) Co-operation Churches – ICOC Service Teams |url=http://www.icocco-op.org/content/view/95/69/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000649/http://www.icocco-op.org/content/view/95/69/ |archive-date=4 March 2016 |work=icocco-op.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icocco-op.org/content/blogcategory/25/65/#ref=Wibiya_bar2|title=International Churches of Christ (ICOC) Co-operation Churches|work=icocco-op.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109015146/http://www.icocco-op.org/content/view/146/65/|archive-date=9 November 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> "Service Teams" provide global leadership and oversight.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}} The Service Teams consists of an Elders, Evangelists, Teachers, Youth & Family, Campus, Singles, Communications & Administration, and HOPEww & Benevolence teams.<ref name="Lamb-2015" />

===Ministry Training Academy===

===List of the International Churches of Christ===

{{Third-party|section|date=September 2024}}

The education and ministerial training program in the ICOC is the Ministry Training Academy (MTA). In 2013, the MTA finalized a curriculum consisting of twelve core courses that are divided into three areas of study: biblical knowledge, spiritual development, and ministry leadership. Each course requires at least 12 hours of classroom study in addition to course work. An MTA student who completes the twelve core classes receives a certificate of completion.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://icocmta.com/mta-overview/ | title = ICOC Ministry Training Academy Guidelines | access-date = 2013-10-13 | work = ICOC Ministry Training Academy | archive-date = 10 June 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150610200522/http://icocmta.com/mta-overview | url-status = dead}}</ref>

{{main|List=== ofICOC's relationship with Internationalmainstream Churches of Christ Congregations}}===

With the resignation of McKean, some efforts at healing between the International Churches of Christ and the mainstream Churches of Christ are being made. In March 2004, [[Abilene Christian University]] held the "Faithful Conversations" dialog between members of the Churches of Christ and International Churches of Christ. Those involved were able to apologize and initiate an environment conducive to building bridges. A few leaders of the Churches of Christ apologized for use of the word "cult" in reference to the International Churches of Christ.<ref name="Ross Jr-2012" /> The International Churches of Christ leaders apologized for alienating the Churches of Christ and implying they were not Christians.<ref name="Ross Jr-2012" /> Despite improvements in relations, there are still fundamental differences within the fellowship.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2005-10-28 |title=ICOC, 'mainline' leaders meet at Abilene Christian |url=https://christianchronicle.org/icoc-mainline-leaders-meet-at-abilene-christian-1/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240104183134/https://christianchronicle.org/icoc-mainline-leaders-meet-at-abilene-christian-1/ |archive-date=4 January 2024 |access-date=2024-01-04 |website=The Christian Chronicle |language=en-US}}</ref>{{Update inline|date=September 2024}} Early 2005 saw a second set of dialogues with greater promise for both sides helping one another.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

===CongregationalHOPE LeadershipWorldwide===

Founded in 1991, HOPE Worldwide is a non-profit organization established by the ICOC that supports disadvantaged children and the elderly. It relies on donations from ICOC churches, companies and individuals and on government grants.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Nashville Church forces members to donate, suit says|first=Mitchell|last=Kline|work=The Tennessean|date=22 June 2005|page=B.1}} {{ProQuest|239758349}}.</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Volunteers promote free health tests|work=Daily Press|date=27 April 2002|page=C3}} {{ProQuest|343139656}}.</ref> {{As of|1997|09}}, HOPE Worldwide was operating 100 projects in 30 countries.<ref name="Frame-1997">{{cite news|url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/1997/09/cost-of-discipleship/|title=The Cost of Discipleship? Despite allegations of abuse of authority, the International Churches of Christ expands rapidly|work=Christianity Today|last=Frame|first=Randy|date=1 September 1997|access-date=13 September 2024}}</ref> {{As of|2023}}, the organization reported serving on average more than one million people per year, in more than 60 countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://irp.cdn-website.com/0741528c/files/uploaded/Quick_Intro_to_HOPEww_org.pdf|title=Did You Know? 5 Facts to Inspire Greater Hope...|publisher=HOPE Worldwide|access-date=13 September 2024}}</ref>

{{Sectstub}}

HOPE Worldwide received grants from US president [[George W. Bush]]'s AIDS program for its work in several countries, and arranged for [[Chris Rock]] to visit South Africa for an AIDS prevention event.<ref name="NBC">{{cite news |date=31 January 2006 |title=Religious groups getting more AIDS funding |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna10789265 |access-date=13 September 2024 |publisher=[[NBC News]] |agency=[[The Associated Press]]}}</ref>

====Evangelist, Preacher====

==Beliefs and practices of the ICOC==

The Evangelist, Preacher, or Minister prepares and delivers sermons, teaches [[Bible]] classes, performs [[wedding]]s, preaches or evangelizes the [[gospel]], and performs baptisms (however, it is not believed that baptizing is restricted to ministers). This position is typically paid to allow the evangelist to disentangle himself from secular employment and focus on studies.

===Beliefs===

{{Third-party|section|date=April 2024}}

The ICOC considers the [[Bible]] the inspired word of God. Through holding that their doctrine is based on the Bible alone, and not on creeds and traditions, they claim the distinction of being "non-denominational". Members of the International Churches of Christ generally emphasize their intent to simply be part of the original church established by [[Jesus Christ]] in his death, burial, and resurrection, which became evident on the [[Day of Pentecost]] as described in Acts 2.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Acts|2}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]). The bible is not a reliable source.|date=October 2024}} They believe that anyone who follows the plan of salvation as laid out in the scriptures is saved by the grace of God, through their faith in Jesus, at baptism.<ref name="ReferenceB" />{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]). The bible is not a reliable source.|date=October 2024}} The ICOC has over 700 churches spread across 155 nations, with each church being a racially integrated congregation made up of a diversity of people from various age groups, economic, and social backgrounds. They believe Jesus came to break down the dividing wall of hostility between the races and people groups of this world and unite mankind under the Lordship of Christ <ref name="ReferenceB" />{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]). The bible is not a reliable source.|date=October 2024}}

Like the Churches of Christ, the ICOC recognizes the Bible as the sole source of authority for the church and it also believes that the current denominational divisions are inconsistent with Christ's intent, believing instead that Christians ought to be united.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}} The ICOC, like the [[Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)]], in contrast to the CoC, consider permissible practices that the New Testament does not expressly forbid.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XDBnRcyZAeUC| title=Journey in Faith: A History of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)|author1 =William E. Tucker|author2=Lester G. McAlister|publisher=Chalice Press|date=1975|pages=242–247|isbn= 9780827217034}}</ref>

====Other Leaders====

{{Sectstub}}

The ICOC teaches that "anyone, anywhere who follows God's plan of salvation in the Bible and lives under the Lordship of Jesus, will be saved. Christians are saved by the grace of God, through their faith in Jesus Christ, at baptism."<ref name="ReferenceB" />{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]). The bible is not a reliable source.|date=October 2024}} They claim that "[[faith alone]]" (e.g., saying the [[Sinner's Prayer]]) is not sufficient unless an individual by faith obeys God and gets baptized, believing that baptism is necessary for the forgiveness of sins.<ref name="Ross Jr-2012" /><ref name="Ferguson-2009">{{cite web |author=Ferguson |first=Gordon |date=December 2, 2009 |title=Baptismal Cognizance: What do you need to know when you are baptized? |url=https://disciplestoday.org/baptismal-cognizance/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328204503/https://disciplestoday.org/baptismal-cognizance/ |archive-date=28 March 2024 |access-date=28 March 2024 |publisher=Disciples Today (official ICOC web site)}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]). The bible is not a reliable source.|date=October 2024}} The belief in the necessity of baptism is in agreement with the prevailing view in the [[Churches of Christ]] and [[Restoration Movement]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-3UtqrX56rgC&pg=PA1|editor=Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant|title=The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|date= 2004|isbn=978-0-8028-3898-8}} {{ISBN|0-8028-3898-7}}, {{ISBN|978-0-8028-3898-8}}</ref> It is in contrast with the beliefs of [[Baptist]] churches that teach that faith alone is adequate for salvation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=DeBerg |first=Jennifer |date=2023-04-05 |title=Family Caregivers of Older Adults Transitioning from Hospital to Home (ProQuest Dissertations and Theses). |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1079/searchrxiv.2023.00199 |access-date=2024-10-25 |doi=10.1079/searchrxiv.2023.00199 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Family Trees {{!}} US Religion |url=https://www.thearda.com/us-religion/history/family-trees?F=96 |access-date=2024-10-25 |website=www.thearda.com}}</ref>

===HOPE Worldwide benevolent organization ===

{{Sectstub}}

====One True Church (OTC) doctrine====

===Chemical recovery ministry===

Originally, the ICOC taught that only baptisms within ICOC member churches were legitimate and hence only members of ICOC churches had had their sins forgiven and were saved. This is known as the [[One true church|One True Church]] (OTC) doctrine.{{sfn|Jenkins|2005|page=140}}

{{Sectstub}}

In 2003, however, after the departure of McKean, the leadership of ICOC issued letters of apology stating that they had been "too judgmental" in applying this doctrine. As a consequence, many within ICOC began to accept that baptisms outside of ICOC churches, particularly those of family members who belonged to other Christian denominations, could be legitimate.<ref name="Ferguson-2009" />{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]). The bible is not a reliable source.|date=October 2024}}{{sfn|Jenkins|2005|page=243}}

== Belief & practices ==

International Churches of Christ have also accepted and adapted certain beliefs and practices foreign to the majority of the [[Church of Christ|Churches of Christ]].

This is consistent with their historical roots in the [[Churches of Christ]], which believe that Christ established only one church, and that the use of denominational creeds serves to foster division among Christians.<ref>V. E. Howard, ''What Is the Church of Christ?'' 4th Edition (Revised) Central Printers & Publishers, West Monroe, Louisiana, 1971</ref>{{rp|23,24}}<ref>O. E. Shields, [https://www.mun.ca/rels/restmov/texts/rboll/ww1945/TCOFC.HTM "The Church of Christ,"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120129180219/http://www.mun.ca/rels/restmov/texts/rboll/ww1945/TCOFC.HTM |date=29 January 2012}} ''The [[Word and Work]]'', VOL. XXXIX, No. 9, September 1945.</ref><ref>J. C. McQuiddy, "The New Testament Church", ''[[Gospel Advocate]]'' (11 November 1920):1097–1098, as reprinted in ''Appendix II: Restoration Documents'' of ''I Just Want to Be a Christian'', [[Rubel Shelly]] (1984)</ref> This belief dates to the beginning of the [[Restoration Movement]]; [[Thomas Campbell (clergyman)|Thomas Campbell]] expressed an ideal of unity in his ''[[Declaration and address]]'': "The church of Jesus Christ on earth is essentially, intentionally, and constitutionally one."<ref>Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, "Slogans", in ''The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ'', Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, {{ISBN|0-8028-3898-7}}, {{ISBN|978-0-8028-3898-8}},</ref>{{rp|688}}

Some churches within the International Churches of Christ have inherited the exclusivism of its parent body, and not only separate themselves from the majority of Christendom, but the Churches of Christ as well. Whether an individual congregation separated itself from other churches or not, one of the key doctrines of the International Churches of Christ has been the "one true church" doctrine (recognizing only repentant baptized disciples as part of the true church). The International Churches of Christ teaches that a person is saved by grace through a personal faith and the power of God at the point of repentance and [[baptism]] by immersion, and that once baptized, you are added to God's heavenly church, and to the church here on earth. Many congregations today have modified this to now admit that God's church here on earth is not just the International Churches of Christ, but the International Churches of Christ is a subset of God's church here on earth.

===Modern=Lifestyle Disciplesbeliefs====

The ICOC is opposed to abortion, recreational drugs, and non-marital sexual relations. Homosexuals are welcome, but they must lead a life of chastity.{{sfn|Yi|2009|page=75}} Members' romantic partners require approval by the church.<ref name="Bower-2023"/>

===Practices===

{{Sectstub}}

[[File:Boston Garden church service.jpg|thumb|An ICOC Church Service in the Boston Garden. Prior to the building's demolition in 1998, the [[Massachusetts]] congregation held Sunday services in the [[Boston Garden]] arena.<ref name="Paden-1995" />]]

===Controversy=Sunday worship====

A typical Sunday morning service involves singing, praying, preaching, and the sacrament of the [[Lord's Supper]]. An unusual element of ICOC tradition is the lack of established church buildings. Congregations meet in rented spaces: hotel conference rooms, schools, public auditoriums, conference centers, small stadiums, or rented halls, depending on the number of parishioners. Though the church is not static, neither is it ad hoc – the leased locale is converted into a worship facility. "From an organizational standpoint, it's a great idea", observes [[Boston University]] Chaplain Bob Thornburg. "They put very little money into buildings...You put your money into people who reach out to more people in order to help them become Christians."<ref>{{cite journal | author=David Frey| title=The Fear of God: Critics Call Thriving Nashville Church a Cult| journal=InReview Online| date=July 1999}}</ref>

The International Churches of Christ have been surrounded by controversy over the years; media sources from ''[[Christianity Today]]'' (an [[evangelicalism|evangelical]] periodical) to town newspapers to popular magazines (such as ''[[Rolling Stone]]'') have included articles about members and by former members. There have been TV exposés on major venues, such as "Believe It or Else" on ABC's 20/20, on 10/15/1993 ([http://www.icocinvestigation.com/audio/2020.wmv 50MB video of broadcast])

This practice of not owning buildings changed when the Tokyo Church of Christ became the first ICOC church to build its own church building.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}} This building was designed by the Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki.<ref>[http://www.arch.mcgill.ca/prof/mellin/arch671/winter2000/mchan/precedents/maki.html Tokyo Church of Christ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720034810/http://www.arch.mcgill.ca/prof/mellin/arch671/winter2000/mchan/precedents/maki.html |date=20 July 2011}} page on the McGill University website (accessed 21 February 2011)</ref> This became an example for other ICOC churches to follow.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

Many, if not most, of those articles have described allegations of emotional abuse and high levels of control. The ICOC has been listed as a group of concern by several cult watch groups. Many former members have described the group as a cult, a point which has been strongly contested by the group's leaders and lay members. However, some former leaders of the group are now amongst those characterizing the group as a cult.

====Discipling====

Since 2003 breakup of the centralized leadership; some congregations have made many reforms, while others have maintained former practices. Some current members admit that alleged abuses did happen prior to 2003, but maintain that such practices have since been reformed or discontinued.

=====McKean era (1979–2002)=====

A distinguishing feature of the ICOC under McKean was an intense form of [[discipleship]]. McKean's mentor, evangelist Chuck Lucas, developed this practice based in part on the book "The Master Plan of Evangelism" by Robert Coleman. Coleman's book taught that "Jesus controlled the lives of the apostles, that Jesus taught the apostles to 'disciple' by controlling the lives of others, and that Christians should imitate this process when bringing people to Christ."<ref>{{cite web|title=Come All Ye Faithful|author=Daniel Terris|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/437645005/|publisher=The Boston Globe|date=June 8, 1986|page=42|access-date=16 May 2024|archive-date=16 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240516124507/https://www.newspapers.com/image/437645005/|url-status=live}}</ref> Under McKean, "discipling" entailed members being "assigned a more senior adviser who is always available and frequently present in their lives, even at intimate moments, which mentors them through relationship difficulties. In this practice, individuals interact with other group members in hierarchical relationships".<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/20443664.pdf|last=Neitz|first=Mary Jo|title=Review of "Awesome Families: The Promise of Healing Relationships in the International Churches of Christ"|journal=Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews|volume=36|issue=1|year=2007|doi=10.1177/009430610703600131|pages=53–54|jstor=20443664}}</ref> According to Kathleen E. Jenkins's [[ethnography]] of the church, McKean viewed discipling as "the most efficient way to achieve the movement's stated goal: 'to evangelize the world in one generation'".{{sfn|Jenkins|2005|p=25}}

The church's emphasis on discipling during this period was the subject of criticism. A number of ex-members expressed problems with discipling in the ICOC.<ref>{{cite book|last=Giambalvo|first=Carol|title=The Boston Movement: Critical Perspectives on the International Churches of Christ|year=1997|publisher=American Family Foundation|isbn=0931337062|page=[https://archive.org/details/bostonmovementcr00giam/page/219 219]|url=https://archive.org/details/bostonmovementcr00giam/page/219}}</ref> Critics and former members allege that discipling "involved public scorn as a way to humiliate vulnerable members, to keep them humble".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonian.com/2008/07/01/unanswered-prayers-the-story-of-one-woman-leaving-the-international-church-of-christ/|title=Unanswered Prayers: The Story of One Woman Leaving the International Church of Christ|work=Washingtonian|first=Drew|last=Bratcher|date=1 July 2008|access-date=6 September 2023|archive-date=23 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240223190214/https://www.washingtonian.com/2008/07/01/unanswered-prayers-the-story-of-one-woman-leaving-the-international-church-of-christ/|url-status=live}}</ref> Jenkins notes that "[t]his ICOC structure has been greatly criticized by anti-cult organizations, university officials (the ICOC has been banned from several campuses), and ex-members".<ref name="Jenkins-2003" />

'''Criticism'''

Discipling under McKean was mandatory. All disciples (i.e., baptized members) had to be paired with and mentored by a more mature Christian. They had to check in with their discipler frequently, such as daily or weekly, and were held accountable by them. This included the activities and Church contribution a disciple would give (typically 15-30% including "special contribution).{{sfn|Yi|2009|page=<<60-62>>}} Disciples were also held accountable for how many new people they met on a daily basis and recruited into the church. Anyone criticizing the authority of a discipler was publicly rebuked in group meetings.{{sfn|Yi|2009|page=75-76}}

The church has received much criticism from many groups, both religious and secular, as well as by former members. Former members have created websites such as [http://www.reveal.org Reveal.org] which host information strongly critical of the church.

Those who left the ICOC were to be [[shunned]],{{sfn|Jenkins|2005|page=55}} and disciples were told that only those baptized within the ICOC were saved; all other people were damned. Furthermore, anyone that left the church would also lose their salvation.{{sfn|Yi|2009|page=75–78}}

Gustavo Sassano, formerly the top-ranked leader of the group in Argentina, wrote an article, [http://www.reveal.org/library/stories/people/gsassano.html Why I Left], wherein he documents many of the claims former lay members have made about extreme levels of control and emotional abuse. In that article, he describes "breaking sessions" wherein, following the examples of higher level leaders, he had been taught to shout at and humilate people until "they cried and agreed to do whatever the breakers thought that person should do." He goes on to state that doing this was standard practice.

A 1999 study found that a substantial minority of former ICOC members included in the study "reached clinically significant levels of psychological distress, depression, dissociation, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms." Two-thirds of them had sought psychotherapy after leaving the church.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Malinoski|first1=Peter T.|last2=Langone|first2=Michael D.|last3=Lynn|first3=Steven Jay|year=1999|title=Psychological distress in former members of the International Churches of Christ and noncultic groups|journal=Cultic Studies Journal|volume=16|issue=1|pages=33–51|url=https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1999-05591-002}}</ref>

Nonetheless, many disciples, including some who left, got a great deal out of the structure of the discipling system. They found "meaning and community" and formed close friendships across racial and class lines within the ICOC.{{sfn|Yi|2009|page =78}}

Much of the criticism has focused on:

Sociologist Dr. Joseph E. Lee posits that the strict discipling program helped lead to a lowering of barriers between races and classes. He found this to be a general characteristic of organizations (e.g., martial arts schools) with strong formal beliefs and discipline.{{sfn|Yi|2009|page=12}}<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Dynamics of Liberal Indifference and Inclusion in a Global Era|first=Joseph|last=Yi|journal=Society|year=2015|volume=52|issue=3|pages=264–274|doi=10.1007/s12115-015-9897-z}}</ref> Kathleen Jenkins found that "Discipling [...] created tightly bound networks that threw members into frequent contact with disciples from different backgrounds who intimately and routinely intervened in all aspects of an individual's life. These intimate racially and ethnically diverse discipling networks provided members with social resources such as childcare, teen counseling, tutoring, employment opportunities, domestic help, and other kinds of assistance in day-to-day living."<ref name="Jenkins-2003"/>

=====Post McKean era (2002–present)=====

According to Joseph Yi, writing in 2009, with the departure of McKean in 2002 the ICOC transitioned from a top-down organization to a "loose federation of autonomous local churches".{{sfn|Yi|2009|page=79}} This led to a change in discipling practices. One of the local ICOC churches, the Chicago Church of Christ, made discipling voluntary and not mandatory. Instead of a top-down hierarchy, they adopted a "servant leadership" model.{{sfn|Yi|2009|page=79}}

====="Discipling"=Love bombing====

The ICOC has been accused of using the tactic of "[[love bombing]]",<ref name="Vogt-1997">{{cite news|title=A mainstream mask on fringe cults|first=Amanda|last=Vogt|work=Chicago Tribune|date=19 April 1997|pages=N1-2}} {{ProQuest|2278691113}}.</ref><ref name="Nordheimer-1994"/><ref name="Belling-2022"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-09-25-mn-42642-story.html|title=Church's Membership Rises; So Does Criticism|work=Los Angeles Times|first=Ken|last=Guggenheim|date=25 September 1994|access-date=12 September 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://simmonsvoice.com/11668/features/in-plain-sight-a-controversial-faith-group-finds-a-home-at-simmons/|title=In Plain Sight: A Controversial Faith Group Finds a Home at Simmons|work=The Simmons Voice|first=Isabelle|last=Indelicato|date=16 March 2021|access-date=12 September 2024|archive-date=20 September 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240920172856/https://simmonsvoice.com/11668/features/in-plain-sight-a-controversial-faith-group-finds-a-home-at-simmons/|url-status=live}}</ref> which David Barrett describes as "showing a great deal of love, affection and attention to prospective members to draw them in", resulting in the criticism that "vulnerable or lonely people, and this includes many students, will be attracted by this".{{sfn|Barrett|2001|p=231}} Journalist Alasdair Belling has noted that this attention and praise "slowly becomes more conditional over time".<ref name="Belling-2022"/>

== University campuses ==

Much of the controversy surrounds the practice of "discipling", in which each member is assigned to a "discipling partner" with whom the member is expected to discuss every aspect of his or her life including, but not limited to, individual Bible study, sins, daily habits, relationships, financial contribution to the church, and efforts to evangelisation. This practice, related to the [[Shepherding Movement]] first begun by the Fort Lauderdale Five in the mid-1970s, was once mandatory in every International Church of Christ. However, since the changes that began in 2003, there have been adjustments to the practice. Although many congregations have retained the former practices, others have experimented with althernative means of "discipling", such as giving the members some measure of choice in who their assigned "discipleship partner" will be. Some current members admit that some members have abused discipling.

[[File:Chicago Campus Conference.JPG|thumb|The ICMC held in Chicago in 2009]]

Starting from his own college days in the 1970s, McKean and the churches he has led (e.g., ICOC and its predecessors and successors) made recruiting on college campuses a priority.<ref>{{cite web|title=Come All Ye Faithful|author=Daniel Terris|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/437643272/|publisher=The Boston Globe|date=June 8, 1986|page=13|access-date=15 May 2024|archive-date=15 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240515171911/https://www.newspapers.com/image/437643272/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1994, the ''New York Times'' reported that Campus Advance, the ICOC's campus ministry, had been accused of using "high-pressure tactics" to "systematically target and isolate recruits and deprive them of food and sleep in carefully coordinated steps to break down resistance and cause mental confusion", saying former members compared the group's tactics to those of a cult.<ref name="Nordheimer-1994" /> In response, a spokesperson for the New York Church of Christ stated that "This word 'cult' is so inflammatory and thrown around so loosely that it is completely unfair and totally unfounded". The articles noted that "representatives of the church say their actions are misrepresented by religious groups jealous of their ability to appeal to young adults". The ''New York Times'' noted that "complaints against the church and its campus affiliates are strikingly uniform in portraying church members as adept in singling out vulnerable targets, like lonely students, and enveloping them rapidly with a psychological dependency that is difficult to break", while the Church leaders rejects nearly every allegation.<ref name="Nordheimer-1994">{{cite news|title=Ex-Members Compare Campus Ministry to a Cult|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/30/nyregion/ex-members-compare-campus-ministry-to-a-cult.html|last=Nordheimer|first=Jon|work=New York Times|date=30 November 1994|access-date=11 September 2024|page=B.1|archive-date=11 September 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240911115239/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/30/nyregion/ex-members-compare-campus-ministry-to-a-cult.html|url-status=live}} {{ProQuest|429938522}}.</ref>

===== Assertions of ICoC as "True church" =====

In 1996 the dean of [[Boston University]]'s Marsh Chapel, Rev. Robert Watts Thornburg, referred to the church as "the most destructive religious group I've ever seen". Thornburg stated that the church's "[r]ecruitment techniques include the duplicitous use of love and high pressure harassment, producing incredibly high levels of false guilt" and that "The group cuts across the very core of what higher education is about. It refuses to receive questions or have any kind of discussion of an idea. It simply says 'Believe and obey', and if you do anything else you are hard of heart". An evangelist for the church responded to the allegations by stating that "We are a very, very different church from what's already established" and that "Whenever you see something radical or different, of course you're going to get that label that it's a cult".<ref name="Geraghty" />

Members of the ICOC have asserted they they are the only "true church" following the Bible. This includes but is not limited to denouncing "not true, 'just religious' Christians" and that ex-members are not disciples (they are not "real" followers of Christ now). It was once official doctrine that only the ICOC was the "true" church; and that very few, if any, people outside the group were saved. Since the 2003 change in the leadership structure, some members and a few congregations have "admitted" that there are "true" Christians outside the ICOC. However, there has been no formal statement issued by high-ranking leaders declaring that any other denomination of Christianity is a "true" form of Christianity.

In 2000, a ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]'' article by Carolyn Kleiner on proselytizing on college campuses described the ICOC as a "fast-growing Christian organization known for aggressive proselytizing to college students" and as "one of the most controversial religious groups on campus". Kleiner states that "some ex-members and experts on mind-control assert [it] is a cult". The article quotes ICOC spokesperson Al Baird, who stated "We're no more a cult than Jesus was a cult", and sociologist [[Jeffrey K. Hadden]], who was in agreement with Baird and stated that "every new religion experiences a high level of tension with society because its beliefs and ways are unfamiliar. But most, if they survive, we come to accept as part of the religious landscape".<ref name="Kleiner-2000">{{cite web |title=A Push Becomes A Shove: Colleges get uneasy about proselytizing |url=https://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/articles/000313/archive_021162.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080627183207/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/articles/000313/archive_021162.htm |archive-date=27 June 2008 |publisher=U.S. News & World Report|date=5 March 2000|first=Carolyn|last=Kleiner|access-date=21 September 2024|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

====="Finance"=====

Financial impropriety including allegations made by International Churches of Christ critics, former International Churches of Christ staff and even current International Churches of Christ leaders. Many of these people or groups above claim that International Churches of Christ staff live lavish lifestyles with members' monetary donations. A double standard being practiced by the leadership, demanding sacrificial lifestyles from the rank and file and putting a huge emphasis on giving by the general membership while enjoying an affluent church-funded lifestyle themselves. {{fact}}

A 2004 edition of the ''Encyclopedia of Evangelism'' reported that academics had complained that their students who get involved with the group tend to lose interest in their studies.<ref>{{cite book |last=Balmer |first=Randall |title=Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism |publisher=Baylor University Press |year=2004 |isbn=9781932792041 |___location=Waco, TX |page=353}}</ref>

=====The persuasion of International Churches of Christ members about criticism on finance=====

''The International Churches of Christ's principle:'' Leaders can not really fully devote themselves to leadership and evangelism while encumbered by other job. ''The viewpoint of members:'' The members to engage full time leaders for the gospel propagation, for the members' spiritual preparation, and for Church program to serve.

Anna Kira Hippert and Sarah Harvey of the Religion Media Centre noted in 2021 that the ICOC's discipling system together with its university campus activities "made the ICOC one of the more controversial new Christian groups in the UK".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hippert |first1=Anna Kira |last2=Harvey |first2=Sarah |date=22 December 2021 |title=Factsheet: New Religious Movements |url=https://religionmediacentre.org.uk/factsheets/factsheet-new-religious-movements/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240915083649/https://religionmediacentre.org.uk/factsheets/factsheet-new-religious-movements/ |archive-date=15 September 2024 |access-date=20 September 2024 |publisher=Religion Media Centre}}</ref>

=====Other==University responses===

Boston University banned the group in 1987<ref name="Geraghty">{{cite news|title=Recruiting tactics of a religious group stir campus concerns|work=Chronicle of Higher Education|last=Geraghty|first=Mary|date=13 December 1996|pages=A41–A42}} {{ProQuest|214737425}}.</ref> or 1989, by which time 50 students per year were reportedly dropping out of education to join the church.<ref>{{cite news|title=Campuses ban alleged church cult|first=Michael|last=Paulson|work=Boston Globe|date=23 February 2001|page=B1}} {{ProQuest|405379940}}.</ref> The ICOC was reportedly the first religious group to have been banned at Boston University.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Michael D. Langone, Ph.D. |date=7 November 2001 |title=An Investigation of a Reputedly Psychologically Abusive Group That Targets College Students |url=http://www.csj.org/infoserv_articles/langone_michael_target_college.htm |url-status=dead |journal=Cultic Studies Review |archive-url=https://www.icsahome.com/elibrary/topics/articles/an-investigation-of-a-reputedly-psychologically-langone |archive-date=7 November 2001}}</ref>

* '''Control'''

The ICOC has enforced, overtly and/or covertly, an extensive set of behavioral norms created by the leaders governing such issues as dating, financial management, marriage, living arrangements, and monetary contribution requirements. The exact level of control exerted by leaders over followers in the International Churches of Christ has varied over time and from one leader to another. Many of the claims of high levels of control have been stated to be issued in the form of "advice" that members have been required to seek out. This advice has been claimed by former members to have been on any topic, not just those typically considered to be religious in nature. Former members who have published claims about their experiences in the International Churches of Christ have frequently alleged that they were required to allways seek advice.

In 1994 it was banned at [[American University]] and [[George Washington University]].<ref name="Nordheimer-1994" />

There are inconsistent reports on the degree to which said advice was expected to be followed; however, published accounts by former members have repeatedly included claims that "advice" was expected to be followed as if they were commands. Admission of the existence of extreme levels of control have been published by leaders of the group, most notably Henry Kreite. It was once official doctrine of the International Churches of Christ that any instructions given by a leader to a follower should be obeyed unless the member were instructed to "sin", commit a crime, or the instructions violated the member's conscience. The published accounts by former leaders, including those issued when the ICOC broke "fellowship" with Kip McKean, have consistently detailed extreme cases of emotional abuse and demands for absolute obedience.

In November 1996, it was reported that the ICOC had either been barred from recruiting students or had been denied student organization status by 22 US colleges and universities, according to information compiled by the [[American Family Foundation]]. The reasons cited for these decisions were mostly accusations of harassment or violations of campus policies.<ref>{{cite news|title=Campus curbing of religious sects a sensitive issue|first=Bill|last=Sscackner|work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=17 November 1996|page=A-20}} {{ProQuest|391704389}}.</ref>

In 1998, it was reported that the ICOC had been banned from university campuses in the United Kingdom, including in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester.<ref>{{cite news |last=Teale |first=Stacey |date=8 November 1998 |title=Churches of Christ banned from UK campuses |work=Sunday Mercury |page=2}} {{ProQuest|322115569}}.</ref>

*'''"Questionable practice"'''

In March 2000, the [[State University of New York at Purchase]] settled a court case about an incident that happened in 1998, when it had suspended an ICOC member was for allegedly "intimidating ... harassing ... and detaining" another student and banned the church from holding services on the Purchase campus. The student was reinstated and the ICOC was allowed to use campus facilities again.<ref name="Kleiner-2000"/>

Including the use of "sin lists" (lists of individual members' sins passed around to leaders, sometimes also including background information on individual members).

By 2000, according to ''US News & World Report'', "[a]t least 39 institutions, including [[Harvard]] and [[Georgia State]], [had] outlawed the organization at one time or another for violating rules" regarding recruiting and harassment.<ref name="Kleiner-2000"/>

*'''Former members'''

The ICOC in the 2020s was banned from operating at a number of Australian universities.<ref name="Bower-2023"/><ref name="Belling-2022">{{cite news|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/sydney-student-shares-warning-signs-after-his-friend-joined-a-religious-cult/Z3NO5ZOPGCWMMHK64CFETSUMRI/|title=Sydney student shares warning signs after his friend joined a religious cult|first=Alasdair|last=Belling|work=New Zealand Herald|date=16 May 2022|access-date=10 September 2024|archive-date=11 September 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240911115245/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/sydney-student-shares-warning-signs-after-his-friend-joined-a-religious-cult/Z3NO5ZOPGCWMMHK64CFETSUMRI/|url-status=live}}</ref> The ICOC's group at the [[University of New South Wales]] (where it is formally banned), the UNSW Lions, has repeatedly renamed itself to maintain a presence on campuses.<ref name="Belling-2022"/>

One of the notable features of the International Churches of Christ is that the high pressure environment of the church led to a rapid turnover of membership. By the 1990s, though the movement was relatively young, the number of ex-members well exceeded the number of members. Many ex-members insist this church is an unjust cult, while current members deny the assertion and defend the movement vigorously. A group of former International Churches of Christ members organising the "Reveal" organization and reveal.org website, which claims it is dedicated "to provid[ing] complete criticism information about Kip McKean and the former Boston movement's beliefs and practices".

==Racial integration in ICOC churches==

'''The persuasions of ICOC members about criticism of former members'''

ICOC churches have an overall higher degree of racial integration than many other religious congregations. This is a priority for the denomination. Racial prejudice is viewed as a state of personal sinfulness which is done away with once a person is baptized and becomes a member. Jenkins also notes that "mandatory close and frequent social interaction forced members to develop such strong cross-racial and ethnic networks".<ref name="Jenkins-2003">{{cite journal|author=Jenkins|first=Kathleen E.|date=2003|title=Intimate Diversity: The Presentation of Multiculturalism and Multiracialism in a High-Boundary Religious Movement|journal=Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion|volume=42|issue=3|pages=393–409|doi=10.1111/1468-5906.00190|jstor=1387742}}</ref> Writing in 2004, Kevin S. Wells reported that "The fact that ICOC congregations are typically multicultural has [...] gained the positive attention of national media in recent years".<ref>{{cite book|first=Kevin S.|last=Wells|chapter=International Churches of Christ|pages=418–419|editor1-last=Foster|editor1-first=Douglas A.|editor2-first=Paul M.|editor2-last=Blowers|editor3-first=Anthony L.|editor3-last=Dunnavant|editor4-first=D. Newell|editor4-last=Williams|year=2004|title=The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement|publisher=William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company|___location=Grand Rapids, MI|isbn=0-8028-3898-7}}</ref> In 2017, the ICOC formed an organization called SCUAD (Social, Cultural, Unity. and Diversity) that would "seek to champion racial conversation, education, and action among ICOC churches" <ref name="Burns-2023">{{cite web |author=Burns |first=M.R. |date=2023 |title=Paul's Approach to Social Superiority in the Corinthian Church Applied to Racial Superiority in the 21st Century Church |url=https://spark.bethel.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1943&context=etd |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240316180513/https://spark.bethel.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1943&context=etd |archive-date=16 March 2024 |access-date=18 March 2024 |publisher=Doctoral thesis, Bethel University}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is a doctoral thesis ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=September 2024}} By 2021, many local ICOC churches had instituted their own SCUAD groups. There was, however, a certain amount of backlash from members who saw the SCUADs' explicit discussion of racism as a form of [[critical race theory]]. Nonetheless, by 2022 most congregations had begun conversations about "racial inclusion, diversity and justice", although Michael Burns states that "It seemed [...] that very few had undertaken to carefully examine their history, beliefs, practices, and systems and subsequently engaged in significant structural change".<ref name="Burns-2023" />{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is a doctoral thesis ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=September 2024}}

{{Sectstub}}

==See also==

*'''"Elitist belief"'''

{{Portal|Christianity}}

{{Div col}}

* [[History of Christianity]]

* [[New religious movement]]

* [[Restorationism]]

* [[Second Great Awakening]]

* [[Non-denominational Christianity]]

* [[John Oakes (apologist)]]

{{div col end}}

==References==

Sometimes members of the Church referred to non-members as "in the world" and discourage interaction with these people for any purpose other than to recruit them into the church. Members will be encouraged to go to other members businesses and remain a close knit network of "Disciples".

{{reflist}}

==Works cited==

It was standard doctrine, prior to 2003, that only members of the ICOC were saved and going to heaven, except for a "rare" individual that managed to get save without them. Since 2003, some congregations have renounced this doctrine, while others maintain it.

* {{cite book|last=Barrett|first=David V.|title=The New Believers: A Survey of Sects, 'Cults' and Alternative Religions|publisher=Cassell & Co|___location=London|year=2001|isbn=0304355925}}

*{{cite book|last1=Chryssides|first1=George D.|last2=Wilkins|first2=Margaret Z.|year=2014|title=Christians in the Twenty-First Century|publisher=Routledge|___location=Abingdon|isbn=9781845532130}}

===Advocacy===

* {{cite book|last=Jenkins|first=Kathleen E.|title=Awesome Families: The Promise of Healing Relationships in the International Churches of Christ|publisher=Rutgers University Press|___location=New Brunswick, NJ|year=2005|jstor=j.ctt5hj239 |isbn=9780813536637|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5hj239}}

The group's advocates have long been pointing out the International Churches of Christ members' commitment to live out their faith:

* {{cite book|first=Gregory C.|last=Stanczak|editor1-last=Flory|chapter=The Traditional as Alternative: The GenX Appeal of the International Church of Christ|editor1-first=Richard W.|editor2-last=Miller|editor2-first=Donald E.|title=GenX Religion|publisher=Psychology Press|___location=New York, NY|year=2000|isbn=9780415925709|pages=113–135}}

* When the divorce rate within the Evangelical churches is relatively the same as the national average, the International Churches of Christ boasted extremely low figures in their congregations.{{fact}}

*{{cite book|first=Joseph E.|last=Yi|title=God and Karate on the Southside: Bridging Differences, Building American Communities|___location=Lanham, MD|publisher=Lexington Books|date=2009|isbn=978-0739138373}}

* When only one out of every eight churches bother to evaluate their membership's evangelism effort (Barna: 2006), the International Churches of Christ determined to live out the Great Commission.{{fact}} (However, there are quotes that seem to show that some members of the International Churches of Christ have preached to focus on baptizing only certain classes of people)

===Notable Members===

*[[Andie MacDowell]]- actress, movie star (former member)

*[[Mack Strong]] - football player for the NFL's [[Seattle Seahawks]].

*Ian Scott - football player for the NFL's [[Chicago Bears]].

*[[Speech (rapper)]] - ([[Arrested Development]])

*[[Vera Schmidt]]- a [[singer-songwriter]] who rose to popularity after placing fifth in the Hungarian version of "[[Pop Idol]]" [[Megasztár]].

*[[Marcus Gayle]]- football (soccer) player for Aldershot Town

== See also ==

*[[List of International Churches of Christ Congregations]]

*[[Early Christianity]]

*[[Church of Christ]]

*[[Restoration Movement]]

*[[Fundamentalism]]

*[[Evangelism]]

*[[List of famous people with Restoration Movement ties]]

==External links==

{{commons category}}

* {{Official website|http://www.dtoday.net/ }}

* [http://www.icochistory.org/ Official history]

{{Restoration Movement}}

===Official sites===

{{Authority control}}

*[http://www.disciplestoday.com/ '''Disciples Today'''] ''A web portal by current Reformed & Progressive International Churches of Christ members.''

*[http://www.acesonline.org/ Aces Online] ''African International Churches of Christ news''

*[http://uk.tecarta.com/index.htm United Kingdom International Churches of Christ]

{{DEFAULTSORT:International Churches Of Christ}}

===Official church sites===

[[Category:Arminian denominations]]

See [[List of International Churches of Christ Congregations]]

[[Category:Protestant denominations established in the 20th century]]

[[Category:Christian missions]]

===Official sites taken down===

[[Category:Christian new religious movements]]

*[http://archive.bibalex.org/web/20010202033500/http://icoc.org/ International Churches of Christ] ''Ex official website''

*[http://ucd.discipleforum.com/ UpCyberDown] Former web-center of the ICOC

===Related Organizations===

*[http://www.hopeww.org/index.htm HOPE Worldwide] ''An International Churches of Christ relief organization''.

*[http://www.chemicalrecovery.org/news.php Chemical Recovery Ministry] ''An International Churches of Christ ministry''.

*[http://www.dpibooks.org/default.aspx Discipleship Publications International] ''DPI -International Churches of Christ Books''

===Historical Documents===

*[http://www.disciplestoday.com/Headlines/images/20060311.APlanForUnitedCooperation.pdf '''Plan for United Cooperation pdf'''] ''2006''

*[http://archive.bibalex.org/web/20010209045440/icoc.org/html/articles/PROCLAMATION/evangel.html Evangelization Proclamation ] ''1994 - "World Sector Leaders" proclamation.''

===News, Forums, and Opinions===

====Neutral====

*[http://www.icocinfo.org/links.html''' ICOC Info.org'''] ''Latest Updates on the International Churches of Christ -Unofficial information.''

*[http://icoc.blogspot.com ICOC Blogspot] Tracks topics from the various ICOC discussion sites.

*[http://forums.delphiforums.com/ICCdiscussion/start ICOC discussion forum]

====Positive====

*[http://discipleforum.com/ DiscipleForum.com - The online Community Of The International Churches of Christ]

====Anti-ICOC====

*[http://www.rightcyberup.org/ RightCyberUp] Recovery from the International Churches of Christ

*[http://www.reveal.org/ Reveal.org] An Organization of Former Members of the International Churches of Christ

*[http://www.kipmckean.com KipMcKean.com]'' Unofficial information about Kip McKean from an ex International Churches of Christ member. ''

===Restoration movement links===

*[http://www.restorationunity.com/ '''RestorationUnity.com'''] ''Representing greater unity among restoration churches''

*[http://www.restorationmovement.org/ Restoration Movement Internet Portal ] ''A web portal for members of Restoration Movement churches. (Churches of Christ, Independent Christian Churches, Disciples of Christ, International Churches of Christ )''

'''References'''

<div style="font-size: 90%">

¹ Tryggestad, Erik (March 17, 2004). Apologies, tears highlight International Churches of Christ talks in Abilene [http://sites.silaspartners.com/partner/Article_Display_Page/0,,PTID25485|CHID127205|CIID1752926,00.html The Christian Chronicle.]

²"Harding Grad, Chicago International Churches of Christ group meet". (October 17, 2004).

[http://sites.silaspartners.com/partner/Article_Display_Page/0,,PTID25485|CHID127205|CIID1885194,00.html The Christian Chronicle.]

³"The Portland Story". (August 21, 2005).

[http://www.portlandchurch.org/archives/archives.php?langID=1&artID=1 www.portlandchurch.org]

</div>

[[Category:Churches of Christ]]

[[Category:RestorationEvangelical Movement|Internationaldenominations Churchesin of ChristNorth America]]

[[Category:ChristianFundamentalist fundamentalismdenominations]]

[[Category:Restorationism|InternationalReligious Churchesorganizations ofestablished Christin the 1980s]]

[[Category:ChristianRestoration historyMovement denominations]]

[[Category:Religious organizations]]

[[Category:Religious work]]

[[Category:Conservatism]]

[[Category:Christian missions]]

[[de:Internationale Gemeinden Christi]]

[[et:Rahvusvahelised Kristuse Kogudused]]

[[hu:Krisztus Nemzetközi Egyházai]]