What would you do if
you learned that a survivor of the Heaven’s Gate cult, and a man who was
David Koresh’s assistant but escaped the Waco fire, and a grandson of a
member of Jim Jones’ Peoples’ Temple group had all moved to Charlotte and
started a church which was targeting university students? And what if you
heard that they were enticing unsuspecting Gardner-Webb students through
their lively, charismatic worship and praise services, love-bombing, personal
Bible studies and convincing theological arguments? What if they were persuading
them that their own religious practices and theology was unbiblical? What
if you discovered that the group requires absolute loyalty and obedience
to what their ‘leaders’ tell them, even to the extent that they will ‘go
to hell’ if they disobey?
Although we are pleased to report
that this particular scenario has not occurred on our campus, there is
a similar and perhaps more potentially dangerous problem that has hit here.
Our students have been targeted and are being strongly lured by a fast-growing,
aberrant Christian group, called the International Churches of Christ (or
the Boston Movement).This group, classified as a cult1
group, appears to be a dynamic, vital approach to worship and discipleship
which is very enticing especially to our Christian students who are seeking
a closer walk with God. The Charlotte Church, the name of the local arm
of the group, uses love-bombing, contemporary worship services, personal
Bible studies, and an invitation to ‘be disciplied,’ as some of their recruiting
methodology. Until someone is ‘hooked’ or falls prey to the persuasion
of those more skilled in doctrinal matters, he/she is unaware of the false
doctrines and potential dangers of the group. Some of the aberrant doctrines
are : (1) baptism in their church by one of their leaders is necessary
for salvation, (2) complete submission and obedience to your ‘discipler’
on all matters and for all decisions, and (3) complete authority of their
founder and leader: Kip McKean. A few of the other radical, but perhaps
less potentially ‘dangerous’ teachings are:
(a) every member ‘proves’ his
salvation by submitting to discipleship and by disciplining others. Unwillingness
to do so makes one a candidate for hell.
(b) Jesus does not like all of
the many churches there are. There should be only ONE true church in each
city (theirs, of course)
(c) In their opinion, they are
not starting a new church. They are simply ‘calling people to restore the
church Jesus built.’
(d) They compile and distribute
‘sin lists.’ New members must confess all of the sins of their entire
life to their disciplers. These lists are then circulated among the leaders
and are used to further control and coerce.
(e) They believe that Jesus was
incapable of sin when he was on earth, not truly man and truly God.
(f) They believe that salvation
requires continual obedience to the church and to their discipler or it
can be lost.
According to a report in the Washington
Post and the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Dean of Boston University’s
Marsh Chapel is quoted as saying that this group is ‘the most destructive
religious group I have ever seen.’ The American Family Foundation reports
that at least 20 well-known universities have banned ICC disciplers from
their campuses.
We need to be aware and informed2.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact me
at 4459.
Dr. Alice Cullinan, Religion Department