International Churches of Christ

International Churches of Christ discussed in this article are not part of International Christian Churches, the Churches of Christ, Independent Christian Churches, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the United Church of Christ, Church of Christ, Scientist, the Churches of Christ in Australia; the Fellowship of Churches of Christ in the United Kingdom; the Associated Churches of Christ in New Zealand; or the Philippines-based Iglesia ni Cristo.

International Churches of Christ
Classification	Christian Restorationist
Orientation	Evangelical
Polity	Congregationalist
Region	global (159 nations)
Origin	Restoration Movement
Separations	Portland Movement (City of Angels International Christian Church)
Congregations	543 (2005)
Members	95,751 (2005)

International Churches of Christ comprise autonomous, non-denominational, religiously conservative, culturally innovative, socially engaging, and racially integrated christian congregations, an offshoot from the Mainline Churches of Christ. It has also been called the "Boston Movement" because of its original ties to the Boston Church of Christ. It was once one of the fastest-growing Christian movements in the United States, but membership has dwindled since the unceremonious departure of Kip McKean in 2002 and subsequent internal turmoil, with total membership falling 23% between 2002 and 2004. These churches comprise nearly 100,000 members in 160 nations in over 560 individual congregations worldwide. 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 the New Testament in Acts 2.

It is also controversial, on the campuses of many colleges and universities across the United States.

The Churches emphasize the use of only the New Testament to find doctrine, ecclesiastical structure, and moral beliefs, while maintaining that the Old Testament, the only Testament recognized in Judaism, is also the inspired Word of God, is historically accurate, and that its principles remain true and beneficial, but that its laws are not binding under the new covenant in Christ unless otherwise taught in the New Testament.

Individual members of the International Churches of Christ point out that throughout church history many have sought a return to the simple, original Christianity that is "pre-denominational" and unbound by the decisions of councils or denominational hierarchies. Rather than basing doctrine on the interpretations of post-first century church fathers, ecclesiastical councils, or more modern denominational synods or conventions, they use only the Bible as their official source of doctrine.

History in America

Roots

The International Churches of Christ are restorationist churches. The roots of the International Churches of Christ lie in the Restoration Movement of the early 19th century, which promoted a return to the practices of the 1st century Christian churches as described in the New Testament. The American Restoration Movement of the 18th and 19th centuries was an emergence of seekers who perpetuated ideals that have existed throughout church history regarding inspired truth over ecclesiastic tradition or dogma. This movement was in some ways similar to the Reformation and was sometimes referred to as "the new Reformation." The Restoration Movement promoted a return to the purposes of the first century churches as described in the New Testament and is considered by some historians to be part of the Second Great Awakening.

See also: Restoration Movement

Origin

The approximate number of a cappella Churches of Christ comprise about 2,000,000 members in over 40,000 individual congregations worldwide. The International Churches of Christ began as an offshoot of the Church of Christ, originating in an evangelistic effort known as the Crossroads Movement in Gainesville, Florida. The so-called Boston Movement started when the dwindling congregation of the Lexington Church of Christ invited Kip McKean in for an overhaul and revitalization. (The son of an admiral, McKean was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and is purportedly named after his ancestor Thomas McKean, signer of the Declaration of Independence.)

The Boston church sent mission teams Chicago and London in 1981, and New York shortly thereafter. The term "International Churches of Christ" was given the movement by the mainline church during the 1980s, which was characterized by ICOC church plantings and "reconstructions" of mainline Churches of Christ in the United States and elsewhere. The movement took on a more centralized structure after Kip McKean assumed leadership of the Los Angeles church in the late 1980s. The L.A. church quickly became a "superchurch" that attracted thousands of members. This centralized structure lasted until 2002, when McKean resigned from his leadership role, and was furthered by a letter written by then-London church leader Henry Kriete pointing out shortcomings of the ICOC. Since 2003, the International Churches of Christ have no formally recognized headquarters, councils, centralized structure, or hierarchical church government, but many of them still maintain close ties with each other. Some have sought reunification with mainline churches. And, in recent years, McKean has formed another offshoot movement in Portland, Ore., which is referred to as "International Christian Churches" to distinguish it from the ICOC.

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) near the University of Florida. Evangelist and 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, which 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 was baptized at the 14th Street Church and trained by Lucas and his protege, Samuel D. Laing, while other "Boston Movement" leaders, including McKean's brother Randy, were baptized and trained at the Crossroads Church. Lucas resigned in 1985, in the wake of a widely publicized scandal alleging his participation in (and covering up) homosexual activities, 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 (though it often is). McKean and many others developed their methods based on those taught by Chuck Lucas in the 1970's.

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.

Growth

Evangelization Proclamation document

A 1994 document recounts the church's official version of its history at that time (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.

After recounting the now contested history of how the church was called by God to fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-10), the document goes on to summarize the church's strategy for doing so. It claimed that God required total commitment from everyone in the ICOC in order to "change the course of human events" by evangelising the whole world. This document was also signed by the World Sector Leaders, and was distributed throughout the ICOC congregations. 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. On June 1, 1979 in Bob and Pat Gempels' living room, Kip McKean calls 30 "would-be disciples" to be totally committed to Christ. 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.

A map showing the locations of ICoC congregations in 2000.

A map showing the locations of ICoC congregations in 2000.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the International Churches of Christ went through a period of rapid growth. A movement 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 responsibility were also passed down from one church to another, with the Boston Church of Christ as the flagship.

In 1990, Kip McKean moved from Boston to head the Los Angeles Church of Christ. Los Angeles quickly became the new central authority for the growing movement. By the official website church had 135,039 members in 434 congregations by January of 2003. Currently, the total membership of International Churches of Christ is around 96,000.

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." Steve Cannon currently oversees the Indianapolis International Church of Christ.

Reform

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 and though this was not the only issue for the sabbatical, it was a visible "thorn" in Kip McKean's side.

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" 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, arrogance, and abberational teachings. While perhaps originally intended for leaders' eyes only, many rank-and-file members were able to obtain and read copies of the letter over the internet. It remains massively distributed to this day and is posted on a number of websites. The majority of churches throughout the International Churches of Christ eventually accepted the letter. While reactions to the letter caused large rifts, many hurt feelings and scarred faith, many church members, though not all, believe that its writing and widespread dissemination was an act of God intended to compel the church to redress many of its abuses and un-biblical practices. As a result of the letter, 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 removal of the hierarchical structure that was part and parcel of the assigned discipling relationships has allowed the leadership and the general membership to become far closer than in the past and there is far less intimidation of "ordinary" members. For example, there is now open opposition to leadership when they are not perceived to be doing what is right. However, it should be noted not all leaders accept the challenges. Furthermore, while many members enjoy the freer, less constrictive fellowship, many also lament the loss of closeness and constant biblical counseling that were a part of the assigned discipling relationships. While a significant number of those relationships were perceived as authoritarian and abusive, many members also acknowledge some of those relationships were also extremely helpful, faith-building and,life-saving.

Beginnings of the Portland Movement

In 2003, Kip McKean was invited to return to Oregon’s failing Portland International Church of Christ, no longer affiliated with the ICOC.; he preached his first sermon on July 23 to a congregation of some 60-70 parishioners. Six months later, membership had doubled, and by mid-2005 an average of 425 coreligionists visited the church every Sunday.

Its subsequent revitalization and the continuing uncertainty within the ICOC movement prompted other congregations to break from the ICOC and rejoin with McKean. This new movement, currently numbering twenty congregations in eight nations, has been termed the ‘Portland Movement’ or ‘International Christian Churches’; it comprises an estimated 800 members.

Bolstered by his recent successes, McKean set his sights on establishing a Portland Movement church in his former capitol city of Los Angeles. In preparation, he dispatched an anonymous email in October 2006 to Angelino ICOC members, deceptively inviting them to a ‘bible talk’ session where he attempted to recruit them to the Portland Movement. This came to the attention of ICOC leaders who responded with a letter advising members to avoid contact with McKean’s new organization. Four months later, McKean led a ‘mission team’ of 42 Portland-area parishioners to Los Angeles where they joined with fourteen local supporters to found the new City of Angels International Christian Church. The movement continues to focus heavily on recruiting from area campuses.

Church organization and services

The ICoC directly administers or partners with over a dozen organizations. Some function as appendages of the church, others are entirely unrelated in their mission and activities. Of these, the largest and most well-known is “LOVE,”a charitable foundation run by ICoC which serves as the primary beneficiary of the church’s charitable donations (though it is funded through other sources as well). Founded in London in 1986, LOVE moved to a global scale the following year. It sponsored the largest blood drives in Brazil and Mexico in 1994, and opened an orphanage in Hong Kong that same year.

Congregational leadership

Church government is congregational, rather than denominational. Elders in some cases, or where there are not elders, Evangelists, with the assistance of leading men of the congregation, are seen as the spiritual leaders of the congregation. The International Churches of Christ's principle: Leaders can not really fully devote themselves to leadership and evangelism while encumbered by another 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.

Evangelist

The Evangelist, Preacher, or Minister prepares and delivers sermons, teaches Bible classes, performs weddings, preaches or evangelizes the gospel, and (sometimes) performs baptisms however, baptizing is not restricted to ministers. This position is typically paid to allow the evangelist to disentangle himself from secular employment and focus on studies. For most congregations the evangelist leads the local church in much the same way as most fundamentalist church 'pastors'. He is often assisted by groups of men that have been elected by the local congregation or appointed by the Evangelist. In many cases, church elders from what were formally regarded as 'pillar churches' act as advisors to the smaller congregations.

Congregational autonomy

Church leadership is congregational rather than denominational. The International Churches of Christ have no formally recognized headquarters, councils, or hierarchal church government. Rather, the independent congregations are a network with each congregation participating at its own discretion in various means of service and fellowship with other congregations.

Church hierarchy until 2002

By 1988 the budding Boston Movement had congregations in more than eight cities across the globe, and Kip McKean found that running the organization single-handedly had become unwieldy. He selected a handful of men that he had personally trained and assigned each a number of churches in a geographic region, naming them ‘World Sector Leaders’ and taking the title of ‘Leader of the World Sector Leaders’ for himself. In 1994, the subservient position of Geographic Sector Leaders was added.

The leader of each congregation is referred to as an Evangelist, and the Evangelists at in the several ‘pillar churches’ outrank the others. Larger churches may have an Assistant Evangelist or some number of elders – older, married men with at least one baptized child.

Since each city has a single church, its membership may be large and geographically disperse; if so, it is divided into regions and then sectors of perhaps a few small suburban communities, overseen by Region Leaders and Sector Leaders (known collectively as Zone Leaders). The Sector Leader is usually the lowest-tier salaried official, with those below him being volunteers only.

This governing system has attracted criticism as overly-authoritarian, but the ICoC denies this charge. “It’s not a dictatorship,” says Al Baird, former ICoC spokesperson; “It’s a theocracy, with God on top.”

HOPE Worldwide

HOPE worldwide is an international charity that changes lives by harnessing the compassion and commitment of dedicated staff and volunteers to deliver sustainable, high-impact, community-based services to the poor and needy. The International Churches of Christ founded HOPE worldwide in response to the Scriptures that call us to have the heart of Jesus by serving the poor and needy throughout the world. God has truly blessed our efforts and today the organization operates on every inhabited continent and reaches more than 1,000,000 people each year.

It should be noted that many ICOC leaders were members of the Hope board of directors.

Chemical Recovery Ministry

The goal of the Chemical Recovery Ministry is to help the addict have a hope and a future.

Other affiliated organizations

The following companies and institutions are also operated by the ICoC:

• Discipleship Publications International – official ICOC publishing company, which prints mostly spiritual literature.
• KNN/Disciples Today.net is a production of KNN Kingdom News Network, an Illinois non-profit religious corporation based in Chicago.)
• Upside Down, the official monthly publication of the ICoC.
• llumination Publishers International (IPI) - is committed to producing the very best in Christian writing and audio teaching.
• FunInTheSon.org
• International Missions Society, Inc. (IMS)
• Florida Missions Council
• Baltic Nordic Missions Alliance
• Taiwan Mission Adventure
• European Bible School
• Athens Institute of Ministry

Political Hierarchy

The hierarchal structure of the ICoC at the time of McKean’s resignation, indicating which positions were salaried.

By 1988 the budding Boston Movement had congregations in more than eight cities across the globe, and Kip McKean found that running the organization single-handedly had become unwieldy. He selected a handful of men that he had personally trained and assigned each a number of churches in a geographic region, naming them ‘World Sector Leaders’ and taking the title of ‘Leader of the World Sector Leaders’ for himself. In 1994, the subservient position of Geographic Sector Leaders was added.

The leader of each congregation is referred to as an Evangelist, and the Evangelists at in the several ‘pillar churches’ outrank the others. Larger churches may have an Assistant Evangelist or some number of elders – older, married men with at least one baptized child.

Since each city has a single church, its membership may be large and geographically disperse; if so, it was divided into regions and then sectors of perhaps a few small suburban communities, overseen by Region Leaders and Sector Leaders (known collectively as Zone Leaders). The Sector Leader was usually the lowest-tier salaried official, with those below him being volunteers only.

This governing system attracted criticism as overly-authoritarian, but the ICoC denies this charge. “It’s not a dictatorship,” said Al Baird, former ICoC spokesperson; “It’s a theocracy, with God on top

This distinct structure, which defined the church’s polity for most of its history, may longer represent an accurate characterization of its actual functioning. In the years following McKean’s resignation, the central leadership was shaken and largely disbanded, and local churches have become increasingly autonomous. Some no longer report to the Los Angeles headquarters, others have ceased to collect Special Missions Contribution for the central administration. Local opinion of Kip McKean varies, with some congregations still (unofficially) supporting him and others condemning the man and his past influence on the organization, often with veracity.

Belief and practice

International Churches of Christ have also accepted and adapted certain beliefs and practices foreign to the majority of the Mainline Churches of Christ.

In many ways, the belief-system of the International Churches of Christ are comparable to other American evangelical traditions. Members accept the virgin birth, the substitutionary atonement, the bodily resurrection of Jesus, the Holy Trinity, and the Second Coming. But despite the apparent similarities, the movement is exceptionally exclusivist, believing that it is the most ‘pure’ form of Christianity and that followers of all other faiths will not be granted access to heaven. McKean explains, “[We are] very fundamental in our following of the Bible, so we have convictions that are narrower than some groups about what it means to be a Christian. We don't apologize for our beliefs.

Like the mainline Church of Christ, the ICoC recognize the Bible as the sole source of ecumenical authority, and extrapolate from it that there should only be a single, unified Christian denomination, though the ICoC goes a step further to say that there should be only one church per city or town. Both organizations accept the Nicene Creed and the necessity of baptism by immersion for spiritual salvation; neither allows infant or childhood baptism (one must first reach the “age of accountability” ). The ICoC teaches that only those “baptized as a disciple” (i.e., through the ICoC) will receive salvation.

The ICoC does not affirm the perpetuity of spiritual gifts, original sin, the Perseverance of the saints, predestination; it does acknowledge atonement, eternal conscious punishment, the final judgment, and amillennialism.

Beliefs

General principles

• The bible is God's word.
• The people are saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus.
• Every individual Christian is called to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
• Every disciple must be baptized by being fully immersed under water to be saved. (Acts 2:38)

Self-identification

Members do not consider themselves either Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant. They hold to the biblical and historical belief that the church was founded by Jesus Christ, and that its doctrines and practices were established long before these other traditions, movements, structures, councils, etc. Members also do not typically consider themselves to be members of a denomination, but prefer to simply be known as "Christians" (in contrast to, for example, a Catholic Christian, a Presbyterian Christian, a Baptist Christian, etc.), with no other religious title needed or preferred. Thus, a collective group of Christians is a church of Christ (e.g., Romans 16:16).

Soteriology

• Hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:14-17)
• Believing the Word (Hebrews 11:6, Mark 16:15-16)
• Repenting of one's sins (Ezekiel 18:26-32, Luke 13:3-5, 2 Corinthians 7:10-11, Romans 12:2, Acts 26:20)
• Confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord and deciding to become a disciple (Mark 8:34-38, John 13:13-17, Luke 14:25-33, Matthew 11:28-29)
• Being baptized by full immersion (Acts 2:36-41, Acts 22:16, 1 Peter 3:21)
• Persevering to the end (Hebrews 10:36-39, Matthew 24:12-13)

Modern disciples

Disciples are people who are living or who have lived since the time of Christ and have repented, been baptized and continue to live for Christ. God calls true disciples to be committed to God for life, not just at the time of baptism.

Practice

Sunday worship

Boston Garden stadium

The Massachusetts congregation held Sunday services in the Boston Garden stadium.

Sunday morning prayer involves singing (praying, preaching, and the sacrament of the Lord's Supper.

One of the most distinctive elements to ICC tradition is the lack of established church buildings. Congregations meet in rented spaces: conference rooms, schools, public auditoriums, conference centers, small stadiums, or rented halls, depending on the number of parishioners; the location may vary from month to month.

House Churches

Each congregation is divided into House Churches (formerly called Family Churches) of thirty to fifty members, which meet separately several times during the week.

Bible Talks

Bible Talk groups consist of some six to fifteen coreligionists who gather on Wednesday nights. They can meet almost anywhere, including college dormitories, restaurants, and member’s houses. All are encouraged to bring at least one guest per week to these sessions to spread the Word of Jesus Christ and to build relationships with people who are currently seeking out a relationship with God.

Discipling

The practice of discipling is one of the most defining – and controversial – elements of the ICoC methodology. Members believe that this practice is based upon and encouraged by biblical passages.

Kip McKean: “I believe it is biblical for us to imitate the relationship Jesus had with the apostles and the relationships they had with one another. For example, the apostles had a student/teacher or younger brother/older brother relationship with Jesus. They also had adult/adult relationships with each other. Jesus paired the apostles for the mission. (Matthew 10) Both types of relationships are essential to lead people to maturity. Another text that demonstrates the student/teacher relationship is in Titus 2 where the older women are to train the younger women-"

Personality changes

It has been documented that ICoC members tend to shift towards personality type ‘ESFJ’ (one of sixteen possible types) once joining the church. McKean has suggested that this simply indicates Jesus was of this personality type. The response to McKean was that one cannot apply a personality test to divinity; God, having no psychological weaknesses, would have full strength in all dimensions of personality.

Cultural, philosophical and doctrinal changes

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.

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 and evangelism. Other churches are gravitating toward Evangelicalism and Protestantism.

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.

ICOC and Churches of Christ relations

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 (affiliated with the mainline Church of Christ) held the "Faithful Conversations" dialog between members of the Church 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 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.

Harding University (affiliated with the mainline Church of Christ) is contemplating a distance learning program geared toward those ministers who were trained in the International Churches of Christ. However, the Worldwide Church of Christ (www.wwcoc.org) has chosen not to be affiliated with the ICOC or the mainline Church of Christ.

ICOC plan for 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.

As of May 15,2006 a total of 343 Churches agreed to and committed to the Plan for United Cooperation.

Plan for United Cooperation document

Within the ICOC, there is a current push to have churches sign up for the "Unity Plan". This plan is in no way connected to the churches deciding to follow Kip's teachings."

Advocacy

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

• 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. Prior to 2003, the church claimed a divorce rate of 0%. This fact, according to the church, was based upon two members of the church could not divorce. A divorce was only acceptable if a member was married to a non-member and the non-member wanted a divorce, or if one member of the church, "fell away" (left the church) and divorced their member spouse.
• When only one out of every eight churches evaluate their membership's evangelism effort (Barna: 2006), the International Churches of Christ determined to live out the Great Commission.

See also

• Churches of Christ
• Early Christianity
• First Christian Church

External links

International Churches of Christ cooperation websites

• Disciples Today -International Churches of Christ Cooperation Link A web portal by Reformed & Progressive International Churches of Christ members.
• HOPE Worldwide An International Churches of Christ relief ministry.
• International Churches of Christ websites
• Discipleship Publications International DPI -International Churches of Christ Books

News and opinions

The growth, methodologies and goals of the ICOC have engendered a great deal of contention, with the church (and its past and present leaders) gathering both vocal adherents and vociferous critics. Consequently, online resources devoted to the ICOC tend to fall into one of three categories:

Generally neutral

• Icochotnews.com created by Justin Renton and Mike Taliaferro
• ICOC Info.org Latest Updates on the International Churches of Christ -Unofficial information.

Generally critical

(International Churches of Christ are not part of Portland International Church of Christ (Portland Movement)

• Brothers from the ICOC Statement to Kip McKean 2005
• RightCyberUp website by Dave Anderson (the founder of RCU)
• International Churches of Christ "Brothers Letter" To Kip McKean (Brothers - "Marking Letter by 84 ICOC church leaders" worldwide) October 14, 2005 ICC Divides: Core Separating from Kip McKean Faction
• Phoenix Letter 2005 Response to the Starting of a New Church in Phoenix

• "Reveal" - Charismatic Organization 1996-2006 A smal group and website by Catherine Hampton who is today an Eastern Orthodox Church member and Michelle Campbell (who is a Member of a Charismatic Organization CA and pursuing a career in law) to contribute to former members
• LA letter in 2006 An Open Letter To The Los Angeles Church From the Elders and Evangelists of the Los Angeles International Church of Christ - When Kip McKean Starting of a New Church in Los Angeles

Generally positive

• Chemical Recovery Ministry An International Churches of Christ ministry.

Several International church sites:

• All Nations * Auckland * Boston * Bay Area * Brasília * Budapest * Chicago * Glasgow * Greater Atlanta * Greater Baltimore * Greater Las Vegas * Hong Kong * Kansas City * Los Angeles * Lexington * Limassol * Madrid * Malaysia * Mexico* Milano * Montréal* Nashville * New York * New Orleans * Novosibirsk * Philadelphia * Savannah * Seoul * Seattle * Sofia * Springfield * St. Petersburg * Sydney * Taiwan * Tampa Bay * Tokyo * Toronto * Winnipeg * Vladivostok * Vancouver * Zagreb

Restoration Unity pages:

• RestorationUnity.com Representing greater unity among restorationist churches ( Churches of Christ, ICOC, Independent Christian Church / Church of Christ (inst), Disciples of Christ )
• VBS Unity ICOC / CoC The Omaha Church of Christ (ICOC) and the Southwest Church of Christ (non-instrumental CoC) have teamed up for their Vacation Bible School (VBS).