Validation: Gut Feeling

As Genesis 1:27 tells us, God created us human beings in His image, as the masterpiece of His creation. One of the marvelous aspects that we were created with is the ability of involuntarily reacting to our environment. Most of the time these involuntary reflexes help protect our lives. For example, if we accidentally touch something very hot with our hands, our hands, arms, and bodies will immediately recoil, mitigating damage taken from severe burns. Ignoring or overriding these involuntary actions take strength, energy, and concentration in addition to the great risk of harm that will likely come by ignoring these kinds of reflexes.

In the same way, God our Creator has not only given us involuntary physical reflexes, but mental and emotional reflexes as well. These help to avoid physical and psychological harm. The classic example is the fight-or-flight response. Sometimes it's more difficult to attribute these feelings to impeding or perceived danger, but in some circumstances, especially when they're told to an external observer, these "gut feelings" turn out to be absolutely correct.

In April of 2013, a member of the Cincinnati Church of Christ posted on the ICOC/ICC Discussion Forum on Delphi. His initial post gave typical defenses of ICOC doctrines and practices in the post-McKean era. One part did stand out (underlined emphasis mine):

I'm not thinking about leaving, and my goal isn't to "silence the criticism." I have issues myself sometimes, but I am not afraid to give voice to them, talk to leadership etc. Sometimes my issues get good answers that put them to rest and sometimes they don't. So far I don't have big enough issues with stuff to leave and stop trying to help the church grow, and I don't think there is abuse. There was a sermon a while ago that i did feel was waaayyyy [sic] strong and made me very uncomfortable (not "ouch, convicting" uncomfortable, but "this is wrong" uncomfortable) but a few weeks later he apologized to the whole congregation and said it was uncalled for and too much. Overall i don't usually feel like manipulative control is our issue.

Upon reading this, I responded to his post and affirmed that his instincts were likely correct. I also encouraged him that this was an opportunity to think and confirm that his instincts were correct. Was it just the delivery of the sermon that made him and many other members of the Cincinnati Church of Christ uneasy or was it the delivery and the contents of the delivery? I also asked him which sermon it was so I could listen to it.

He responded again:

He let his emotions about the subject cause him to go on a rant, and lost the love aspect of "speak the truth in love." That's what i mainly found wrong with it, and this was the only time in my 4 years here that I felt like I was hearing something similar to the bashings I've read about in the past.

This response didn't contain the response to the request I had made in the previous post for the sermon he was concerned about. After I had mentioned it to him again, another forum member graciously gave me the information. The sermon was based on Mark chapter 4 and was entitled "Seeds and Soils". It was delivered by Evangelist and Youth and Family Minister John Cleghorn. I wasn't surprised in the least that it was Cleghorn that went on a rant!

In the next post, the contented member of the Cincinnati Church of Christ explains the content of the sermon:

We were going through Mark, and that sunday [sic] was the parable of the sower. When talking about the worries of the world that choke our faith, [John Cleghorn] used an example of teens spending too much time on sports and got carried away, ending up saying parents were enabling it and would get to heaven to find their kids didn't make it, but hey at least they got a college scholarship.
There are many better ways to say ["]Why gain the world if you forfeit your soul?["] but that is all he was trying to say, i [sic] think.

I responded:

The scriptures clearly teach that it's the responsibility of parents to teach and model the faith once for all delivered to the saints to their children and the responsibility of the children to decide to follow Christ, whether it be early in their lives or many years later. Parents may enable their children to prioritize other things above Christ, but John Cleghorn is wrong to directly blame (and presumably lay guilt upon) [Note: keep reading this blog post because my presumption was correct!] the parents for their children not making it to heaven.

I would ask Cleghorn about those Kingdom Kids who grew up in the ICOC and whose parents made the Kingdom of God a priority, but those children are now no longer interested in Christianity whatsoever. Who's to blame there?

Although what Cleghorn was teaching from the pulpit was not obviously violating any primary Christian doctrines (as he and his cohorts have done many time in the past), what he was teaching was both clearly incorrect and highly manipulative.

Several days later, I listened to the sermon and posted a full analysis. The following is the section in question "preached" by John Cleghorn that made everyone uneasy:

"And I think in this area, I get a little scared because we've watered that down. We often don't water it down for ourself [sic], but we're OK missing church to go to something, to some sporting event, to some dance-thing, or some something and you think, 'Well, I'm committed.' But what are you teaching your KIDS? [My wife] Shannon and I made a decision with our children, they can play one sport. (And I think it's good to be in a sport or dance or something like that. I think that's GREAT. There are things you can learn on a team that you can't be taught unless you're on a team. I think that's great.) But my kids aren't going to join a sport that's going to get in the way of seeking the Kingdom first. Period! Maybe on our minds we're thinking, 'Well, they can be a pro athlete. Or they can get a SCHOLARSHIP and SAVE US MONEY.' I KNOW WE'RE THINKING THAT. WILL THEY GET A SCHOLARSHIP? SO WHAT?! WHO CARES IF THEY GET A SCHOLARSHIP IF THEY [pounds the pulpit] DON'T MAKE IT TO HEAVEN?!?! WHO CARES!?!?!? YOU'RE GOING TO BE IN HEAVEN AND GO, 'MAN, MY KID GOT A SCHOLARSHIP AND I'M FIRED UP, BUT THEY DIDN'T MAKE IT TO HEAVEN.' NO, YOU'RE GOING TO BE LIKE 'I BLEW IT!!!!!! [pounds the pulpit] I BLEW IT!!!!!!' [some clapping from the audience] 'MY KID'S EDUCATION WAS MORE IMPORTANT THAN GOD'S WORD AND THEM BEING A CHRISTIAN.' It drives me crazy when I hear about parents that talk about if their kid did homework or not, but they didn't have a quiet time with them. They asked them more if they did their homework or if their homework was complete than if they ask they're walking with God. That STUFF DOESN'T MATTER! (Now you still need to get good grades, amen? [laughter from the audience]) But that stuff doesn't matter! 'Well, John's being hard.' No, I'M NOT BEING HARD, THAT'S WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS!! AND IF YOU THINK IF YOU'RE FRUSTRATED, GET MAD AT GOD BECAUSE HIS EXPECTATION IS THAT!! AND I KNOW SOME OF YOU ARE BLARING AT ME, LIKE 'HE'S TALKING TO ME!' YES!!!!! I'M TALKING TO YOU, AND IT AIN'T JUST ME, IT IS GOD TALKING TO YOU THROUGH HIS HOLY SPIRIT, THROUGH HIS WORD: DON'T WATER DOWN GOD'S EXPECTATION BECAUSE WE WANT THESE KIDS TO BE FAITHFUL!!! ['amens' and applause from the audience]"

His "gut feeling" was correct, as well as many other members of the Cincinnati Church of Christ. Sadly, as this follow-up post details, he did not want to accept the facts that were exposed and the conversation came to an end. As of early July, he hasn't posted much, if at all, on the forum. And why should he? From what we can tell, he recently graduated from college, is in a "sharp" ministry of young professionals (as opposed to a "weak and weird" ministry of the "unsharp"), and all is smooth sailing. He's likely on the track of good graces with his peers and the leadership to date and marry as well. Why take direction from a "fall-away" who has confirmed that his instincts are correct and risk losing everything he has in Kip McKean's Christ?

The truth hurts. Leaving the International Churches of Christ over six years ago was one of the most difficult things I've done in my life. But seven years ago I woke up and realized that I was burning. The authentic Jesus Christ of true Christianity has healed me of the spiritual, emotional, and psychological burn wounds I've suffered at the hands of their demonic system. But what will happen to those today who remain burning and who continue to will themselves to ignore benefits of common grace in order to avoid what they perceive as inconceivable pain? You can only ignore your "gut" for so long before it gives out.

Validation: Meet the New Boss

On the ICOC/ICC Delphi discussion forum, I read an interesting thread involving three current ICOC members, all of which have been with the organization from at least the 1990's.

The first, who initially quotes a former member:

"The [Boston Church of Christ] will not change until all the old leaders are either gone or die off. Sorry to be so blunt.

If you read in Exodus, the LORD had the nation of Israel wander 40 years so that everyone died off and only the new generation could ever see the promised land. God forgives, but he takes righteousness very seriously. Even Moses himself was not allowed to witness the land that God had promised to Abraham and his descendants"

you know...i had this same conversation with a couple of folks about the ICOC on the whole.

This was followed by the second current member:

That's funny - I've had the same conversation, too. Though I see the occasional young evangelist who thinks the old days must have been great and it makes me very sad...

And this was followed by the third:

Me too, actually! I have had MANY of these conversations in the last 10 years, and a few very recently. I've said here before, but the ICOC as a whole will not collectively grow or get collectively healthier while the current leadership paradigm exists. And the current old boy club ain't given up control! Heck, Steve Johnson is on the evangelist committee thingie. And too many of the young leaders aren't being taught differently, either. I don't see it changing fellowship-wide at all.

We won't get fooled again.

Enjoy The Silence

In light of the tenth anniversary of the events surrounding Kip McKean's resignation from the ICOC and the Henry Kriete Letter, I've written an op/ed on the current state of the ICOC entitled Enjoy the Silence. What is the status of the ICOC now? What, if anything, has changed? And where are they going?

You can read the paper at: http://www.reveal.org/library/history/enjoythesilence.pdf.

Hoodwinked!

The Christian Chronicle, a periodical published by the mainline Churches of Christ, recently published a glowing article of the current state of the International Churches of Christ. It appears they didn't ask the hard questions necessary to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are no longer a cult of Christianity. Instead, they merely bought into the dog and pony show given to them by leaders such as Mike Taliaferro and Steve Staten.

My concern is that can even those in the mainline Churches of Christ, or even those in the general Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement (including the Christian Churches and Disciples of Christ) know what to ask them to reveal that the ICOC preaches a false gospel of tentative grace that can only be earned by pleasing men and a man-made messiah without the person and work of the Holy Spirit?

P.T. Barnum would have been proud.

Studies Separated at Birth?

Several months ago, the International Christian Churches released a version of the "First Principles" Bible study series as an app that can be used on a smartphone or tablet device. That "app" is basically a web page that can be viewed at http://www.1stprinciples.net/. This mobile version contains the same studies and corresponding heresies that the previous, paper-only versions have had, going back through the early 1980's, when Kip McKean allegedly wrote them from scratch. The core of the studies, from "The Word of God" through "The Church", has been largely unchanged for over three decades. McKean formally added a "Seeking God" and several post-baptism studies such as "After Baptism, Now What?" and "Persecution" several years ago.

This isn't surprising to observers of "God's (New) Modern-Day Movement". What's shocking to those who understand the core of this false gospel and can refute it is this article on the International Churches of Christ news site HotNews. This article announces the availability of a full-fledged iPhone/iPad app called "First Principles". It was developed by a group called CheapBrain. The project manager of the group, Ed Partch, is located in Denver, Colorado. There is no church loyal to Kip McKean's new movement in Colorado (at the time this article was written), so it's a safe assumption that this group has direct ties to the ICOC.

So how do the mobile "First Principles" apps from the ICOC and ICC compare? Comparing the screenshots on the ICOC app to those on the ICC app and to the paper (or PDF) versions of "First Principles" before Kip's departure from the ICOC in 2002 show no substantive difference whatsoever between either movement's versions (besides the addition of new, non-core studies in the ICC version). Even the same illustrative graphics are used in both "Light and Darkness" studies!

What does this mean? Why would people likely linked with the ICOC publish a "First Principles" app that was an exact clone of the version used by the ICC? Why would one of the ICOC's flagship news sites publish an article noting its release and apparent support by the movement? Is it a coincidence that one of the major players behind the scenes of HotNews is Mike Taliaferro, who is hosting the ICOC World Discipleship Seminar in his hometown of San Antonio in a few months with over 16,000 members registered to attend? How important is it that the San Antonio congregation is part of the ICOC Co-operation Churches and that Taliaferro is a key high-level leader in the post-McKean ICOC?  Note that Denver's Bible Study series, Knowing God, is a thinly-veiled rehash of "First Principles", complete with its heretical false gospel. In addition, many other ICOC congregations use knockoffs of "First Principles", including Cincinnati (I provided an analysis of this supposed "new" study series about a year ago).

Perhaps the most intriguing question is this: what will happen if Kip's group attempts to call out the ICOC for plagiarism? Or vice versa? In either case, both groups undeniably support a false, works-based gospel that calls for its disciples to sell out to total commitment to an idol and system that takes the place of the authentic Jesus Christ of truth and grace.

Update! On Thursday, May 17th, Disciples Today posted an announcement concerning the release of the "First Principles" app by Ed Partch. He adds certain details such as adding study series from the individual ICOC congregations (the larger ones first) and integrating additional features such as tracking the progress of people who are being studied with along with inviting people to "study the Bible" using the address book. Perhaps the most chilling new addition is "a reporting feature to keep others abreast of progress".

The more things change, the more things stay the same.

Declaration of War

In an article on the City of Angels (Los Angeles) International Christian Church's web site posted on April 15, 2012 entitled Degrees of Lukewarmness, ICC founder and top leader Kip McKean concludes the article with this paragraph:

My heartfelt plea is for disciples anywhere and everywhere - whether in the Mainline Churches of Christ, conservative Christian Churches, the International Churches of Christ, those who have drifted into denominational churches, or even fall-aways: Let the Spirit gather us together as one in God's new movement. Let us be unified by being "consumed with [a fiery, hot] zeal for our Father's house" (John 2:17) and "loving one another deeply from the heart." (1 Peter 1:22) Then and only then, will we become "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God" distinct from the world and worldly churches with various degrees of lukewarmness. (1 Peter 2:9) And to God be all the glory!

It's obvious that McKean himself is the locus of unity for this call to those outside of his current movement. It's his false gospel, his methods, and submission to his leadership or nothing at all, even to those who may be "true disciples" in his view in these other churches. McKean has called out the "remnant" before in the 1980's and does so again with not only the mainline Churches of Christ, (Independent) Christian Churches in the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement, and other "denominational" churches, but also his former fellowship - the International Churches of Christ. With his new movement at 1,500 members as of early 2012 and with plans to plant (or replant) congregations in San Francisco, Orlando, Paris, Mexico City, and Boston late this summer, nothing is in McKean's way to impede his progress. Kip has declared war on not only the churches that have clearly rejected him (namely the Churches of Christ and the ICOC), but has resumed a full-scale assault against historic, healthy, mainstream Christianity.

The United States wasn't fully prepared for war when Pearl Harbor was attacked in December of 1941. In a similar fashion, the groups Kip has specifically targeted don't appear to be ready either - and some of them are in some sort of weakened state:

• The International Churches of Christ, almost a decade after removing McKean from leadership, is still attempting to take his false gospel (see the previous blog post) and methodologies and re-brand it as their very own without McKean. In the various factions, the same doctrines are still taught, but almost none of them require the same call of commitment as McKean requires. The ICOC remains in serious danger of being run down and run over by McKean's new movement, particularly with those who have grown up and have been brought into the movement in the past decade.
• The Churches of Christ are having a growth and identity crisis of their own. The Churches of Christ are shrinking numerically, especially those bent towards legalism. (Remember that the ICOC arose from these legalistic congregations and the ICC split from the ICOC.) As conservative and progressive elements continue to determine the future of that wing of the Stone-Campbell Movement, few are paying attention to both the ICC and ICOC.
• The Christian Churches, at most a very minor player in the history of the Boston Movement and ICOC up until McKean's departure in 2003, may be blindsided by both the ICC and the ICOC because of their contemporary styles of worship and outward evangelical stances on certain positions. In fact, on the surface, one may not be able to distinguish a Christian Church congregation from an ICOC or ICC congregation.
• The other Protestant denominations and fellowships, Roman Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox have largely ignored the problems the Discipling Movement have created the past four decades because of its negligible impact on overall mainstream Christianity. The only Christian and para-church organizations that have even paid attention are those working in apologetic and anti-cult ministries and campus ministries.

In the International Christian Churches Good News E-mail from April 15, 2012, one person from the mainline Churches of Christ has been baptized into the new movement, one was "restored" into the new movement, and several others have joined from the ICOC - the former fellowship. Kip McKean's intentions to pull as many followers as he can into his new movement from churched backgrounds (if you can call an ICOC member "churched") are clear and are currently paying off. My hope is that these other healthy denominations and fellowships warn their members of this new menace and continue to preach and teach the true gospel of grace to Christians within their ranks and let the Holy Spirit do His work to convert the lost in addition to the Church doing their part as the hands and feet of Jesus.

Constructing Heresy

Today, Google had a doodle in honor of the architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Yesterday, I encountered a quote from Cincinnati Church of Christ Lead Elder Jim Fulcher that is just as well architected and constructed as one of van der Rohe's buildings.

"Well, think about this real quick. Even to be saved, if we know, we have the knowledge to be saved, are we saved? No! You have the knowledge. OK, if you have the knowledge and you believe it, you have faith, are you saved? No, you're not! Well, what if you have knowledge - the real knowledge - truth, and you have faith - you believe it - and you start following Jesus, are you saved? No, you're not, really! And you'll see it in just a minute. Because God wants this whole thing to all work together, all of it. So how about all that stuff: you really know it, you got the knowledge, you really believe it, you really start following, and you repent, are you saved? Wait a minute, I'll tell you what! Now you've got an individual who's got the knowledge, they're going to church all the time, they're reading their bibles, I mean, they're acting like Jesus, and they're repenting - man, they're quitting all that nasty old, sinful stuff, surely, I mean, when you start repenting and you're going to church, don't you feel - saved?! Yeah, you really do. Because so much has changed by what God calls you and I to change. You with me? [Audience agrees.] But you see, it's still not complete because you and I come in contact with the blood of Jesus when we are baptized [more agreement from the audience]. So when you hear it, you believe it, you become a disciple of Jesus, you follow, you repent of your sins, and you're baptized, are you saved? [Audience responds with a resounding 'Yes!'] Yes!! But you can mix it all up. What if you just believe it and you get baptized, forget the repentance? [Audience responds 'No!'] I mean, you can mix it up in any order you want, but unless we do it the way that God pens it out. So whether it's a salvation issue or whether it's a dealing-with-sin issue, it's got to be done God's way, Amen?! [Audience responds with applause.]"

Jim Fulcher - Lead Elder - Cincinnati Church of Christ - "Mastering Your Mind" - March 26, 2012 - [37:35-39:34]

I have seen and written quotes containing the kernel of the McKeanist plan of salvation (hear, believe, repent, become a disciple, and then be baptized), but never have I seen someone articulate it in this well laid-out form. The steps are built one on top of another and in the supposedly correct order. It's like clockwork. Additionally, the collective membership of the Cincinnati Church of Christ doesn't clearly respond audibly until Elder Fulcher starts talking about baptism. They agree with him on his assessment of the so-called revealed plan of salvation that every other so-called Christian has gotten wrong. And those poor, deluded, religious Christians are placed right smack dab in the middle of his argument! It's pure brilliance.

It's no wonder Satan masquerades as an angel of light. If the heresy of a works-based, man-centered, Spirit-less salvation can be so clearly seen, the darkness surrounding those who teach and truly believe this demonic doctrine must truly be great.