The “International Church of Christ,” has often been called a “cult.” The group was founded by Kip McKean in the Boston area of New England, but quickly spread to old England as well. Its membership went from a mere dozen in 1978 to more than 100,000 in twenty years, though now its numbers appear to be slipping.
Damian Thompson, an English journalist spent a week with the group to make a documentary and said, ” I did not get the impression that they were a sinister group,” reports The Times. Maybe Mr. Thompson should have stayed longer.
In the United States and around the world Kip McKean’s “International Church of Christ” has received perhaps more bad press than any other group called a “cult,” with the possible exception of Scientology.
These reports have included suicides seemingly linked to the group and its influence, the “deprogramming” of members and its expulsion from numerous college and university campuses.
A troubling issue has also been the lack of detailed disclosure regarding the total compensation received by some of the ICC’s top leaders. ICC founder Kip McKean is a resident of an exclusive gated California community. He calls a half –million-dollar condo home. Mr. McKean recently went on a “sabbatical,” presumably with pay.
Whatever the “politically correct” description is for this “new religious movement,” it has apparently hurt many participants. And its attrition rate has continued to climb in recent years. There now may be more former ICC members than current ones.
The ICC requires each candidate for baptism to “count the cost” before becoming a “disciple” and officially entering the group through ritual immersion. But shouldn’t the real question be what cost those who left personally paid?
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