Poisoned Fruit: An Analysis of the International Church of Christ's Departure from the Gospel

By Joseph Franklin

In Poisoned Fruit, the first in a six-book series, author Joe Franklin evaluates the International Churches of Christ prior to their crisis in 2003, and advocates and defends the Christian gospel, doctrine and theology.

The ICOC did not, and still does not, hold to sound teaching or orthodox Bible definitions. These departures have led to four decades of man-centered religion and unintended psychological and spiritual abuse. The group denies anyone is being damaged by their extreme form of discipleship “training.” “Those that don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it” is an appropriate saying with regards to the ICOC. In that light, Poisoned Fruit is a relevant analysis for anyone wanting to understand the formative roots of the International Church of Christ, formerly known as the Boston Movement.

Franklin examines the arguments and methods the International Churches of Christ have used to get their converts to accept a “different gospel.” Their beliefs, traditions, unwritten creeds, extra-biblical revelations and practices are compared to the Bible. The thought reform or psychosocial manipulation that was ushered into the group by Kip McKean is thoroughly examined. Franklin concludes that the ICOC is a thought reform practicing Christian organization. Hence, Dr. Robert J. Lifton’s thought reform model is referenced frequently.

Peculiar expressions and words have unorthodox meanings within the group, and have been used over the years by leaders to exploit their members, working their way into the group as unwritten creeds and traditions, universally practiced, to one degree or another, in all ICOC affiliated churches to date (2019). This new religious movement got its start in 1979 and now has 40 years of deceptive recruiting practices, organized indoctrination, manipulation and heresy under its belt.
Franklin analyzes the group’s false man-centered gospel and salvation. Historically, the ICOC’s total commitment discipleship has confused justification and sanctification. All cults of Christianity deny salvation by grace through faith and add other conditions and requirements to obtaining and maintaining salvation. The ICOC is no different. The Bible is clear that God appropriates salvation by repentant faith alone. The ICOC’s total commitment discipleship also negates grace with works, a teaching that promotes a Jesus-plus theology.

The Boston Movement has its roots in the Crossroads Church of Christ in Gainesville, Florida. It was during the fall of 1986 that some of the teachings, derivations of ideas and practices begun at the Crossroads church began to accelerate and take shape. The Crossroads leadership took a stand against the Boston Movement in June 1988, opposing their unbiblical practices.

Franklin also highlights the 1988 document “Progressive Revelation,” the “founding manifesto” of the ICOC. It was written by Gordon Ferguson, with Kip McKean’s approval. These beliefs and doctrines are rooted in ancient heresy.

According to the movement, God can grant revelations of new ways to apply and interpret old Bible truths. In 1988, Boston leadership claimed that God was, in essence, telling them that additional steps and requirements needed to be added to the plan of salvation (gospel). Progressive Revelation continues to be their current belief and practice worldwide. These “myths” became official church policy beginning on May 1, 1988, as stated in the Boston Bulletin.

Franklin examines a fundamental teaching in the Progressive Revelation 5-part series, commonly referred to as “disciple’s baptism.” This man-created addition to the gospel makes salvation a meritorious work and, in the 80’s, led to brutal reconstructions (hostile takeovers) of other Churches of Christ, part of their history that the group has brushed under the rug.

He also reviews issues facing the movement and its followers, including post-cult recovery and provides a free spiritual abuse recov

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joseph Franklin
• Release date: Oct 19, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463975350

Joseph Franklin

Joe Franklin is an accomplished teacher and life skills instructor with a Masters in Special Education. In his writing, he combines his passion for learning, education, and mentoring with an even greater passion for the gospel of Jesus Christ. He became a Christian as a young man, but after being recruited into the International Church of Christ (ICOC), he spent several years journeying down an unscriptural and psychologically manipulative path.

Book preview

Poisoned Fruit

An Analysis of the International Church of Christ’s Departure from the Gospel

The original publication of this e-book was entitled: From Ignorance to Heresy: A Modern-day Movement of Man, circa 2006. It has been a joy updating this work and providing more gospel-centered teaching for the new revision and facelift.

By: Joe Franklin

Year of Authorship: 2006, 2019

Grace & Healing Series

Disclaimer: The citations, links, and videos that I have used to convey my thoughts do not necessarily represent or reflect my views in all areas of faith or Christian living. When theology or sound doctrine is in view, I am flexible and creative enough to cite those sources that keep to orthodox Christian teaching in the essentials even though these sources/authors may not represent my views in all areas. It is ultimately up to the reader to research, investigate, and use their critical and independent judgment. All email correspondence with ICOC leadership has been used by permission. In addition, all the interviews that were conducted in my second e-book, Taken Captive, were done with full disclosure. I let each individual know that I was gathering information and investigating the nature of all the changes that occurred in the ICOC after the bottom fell out of the movement in 2003.

The mention and/or inclusion of a group or leader within this book does not define that group as a cult and/or an individual mentioned as either destructive and/or harmful. Instead, such inclusion simply reflects that this group or person has generated some interest and/or controversy. All uses of the word cult and equivalent phrases/statements are strictly the opinion of the author(s). All uses of the phrase mind control, thought reform and similar phrases are strictly the opinion of the author and do not indicate that all groups and individual members mentioned in this book are utilizing mind control tactics. Readers must exercise their own judgment in choosing and/or reviewing this material and then critically evaluate any views or opinions the author may express. Some may find this material controversial.

Books by Joe Franklin

GRACE AND HEALING: EVALUATING THE INTERNATIONAL CHURCHES OF CHRIST

Poisoned Fruit

Taken Captive

Unmasked

How Pietism Deceives Christians

Unholy Gatekeepers

House of Cards

Copyright © 2006, 2019 by Joe Franklin

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

Visit the author’s website at www.sparrowministry.com. Email [e-mail].

Cover Art by Jeffrey Mardis © 2017.

Illustrations by Dreamstime. The original publication of this e-book was entitled: From Ignorance to Heresy: A Modern-day Movement of Man, circa 2006. It has been a joy updating this work and providing more gospel-centered teaching for the new revision and facelift.

Special thanks to my wife Janice Franklin, who spent many hours proof-reading and correcting this manuscript. May the Lord richly bless her for her special assistance. All scriptural quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2002, 2011 by the International Bible Society, and Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers. All rights reserved.

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Table of Contents

Forward

Introduction

Section 1: Arguments and Methods of Movement Teachers

Section 2: Disciple’s Baptism Becomes Another Gospel

Section 3: Motivating Believers Through the Law and not the Spirit

Section 4: Issues Facing the Movement and Their Followers

Section 5: Conclusion

Section 6: Practical Steps to Recovery: Free Guide

Endnotes

Appendix 1: Thought Reform Model & Chart

Appendix 2: Lifton’s Criteria applied to the ICOC

Appendix 3: Control Mechanisms, by Keith Stump

Appendix 4: Progressive Revelation 5-part Series

Appendix 5: Reconstructions

Appendix 6: ICOC Disciple Doctrine

Forward

On June 1, 1979, history was made as 30 would be disciples gathered on a Friday night in the living room of Bob and Pat Gempel.

Kip McKean – Revolution Through Restoration (1992)

They say the victors write the history books, and there is little doubt that Kip McKean saw himself, and the movement he started, as victors, and in the above quote, we see him commemorating what he saw as history in the making. He marked June 1, 1979 as a watershed moment, as the official start of a modern movement of God. But just a few short years later, in 2003, ICOC Evangelist Henry Kriete wrote his own piece of history regarding McKean’s movement, and the picture he paints is dismal.

We are at a crossroads, a crossroads that will soon become a crisis if we do not act courageously…By and large, as a movement, and by that I mean the sum total of our global congregations, we have slipped into serious error, if not apostasy. The devil has his fangs deep in our neck, and I am afraid that unless we repent – many of our churches and thousands of our Christians will be devoured.

Henry Kriete – Honest to God (2003)

So how did Kip McKean’s triumphant vision of a radical movement of God, a movement that would evangelize the world in one generation, become the chaotic mess that Kriete describes? In other words, Where did it all go wrong?

Maybe it was never right in the first place – maybe the bad fruit described by Kriete was the result of a bad root. This is the question that Poison Fruit asks, and endeavors to answer, using biblical analysis and the thoughts of well-versed and respected biblical scholars.

The book is offered in the spirit of 2 Timothy 2:15:

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

Personalities come and go; techniques go in and out of fashion. The proper use of the ancient texts of Holy Scripture transcends time, trends, and personalities, and when handled properly, produces good fruit, unlike the poisoned fruit birthed from false teaching.

May we all heed the wise words of the Apostle Paul and become students who are so attuned to gospel truth that we’re no longer tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming, and are then equipped to speak the truth in love, to God’s glory. (Ephesians 4:14-15)

Introduction

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! (Gal. 1:8)

Paul told the Galatians that if any person, even an angel from heaven, or even Paul himself, were to preach a gospel contrary to (other than or more than) the one they had first heard and received, let him be eternally condemned! (Galatians 1:8-9). The word gospel refers to the good news of salvation in Christ, to be received by faith, on the basis of his death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. False prophets were found in abundance all throughout the Old Testament; false teacher is the term generally used in the church age. Both terms essentially mean the same thing.

The purpose of this study is not to retrace every biblical departure the Boston Movement/ICOC has ever made. Some of the history, however, should be noted because many people are still asleep to the never ending battle Christian churches have with teachers of error and the bad seed they sow (Mt. 13:24-30). Jesus warns, Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves (Mt. 7:15).

This body of work deals with the evolution of the group’s pseudo-gospel, from the sect’s official beginning in 1979, to 2003, when the bottom fell out of the movement. This timeframe forms the parameters of this study and kicks off the first in a multi-book series, which looks toward grace and healing. Any serious student of this denomination must familiarize themselves with the history of their gospel departure in order to understand the nature of their aberration and heresy today (see Unmasked: Section 4: Historical Proofs of ICOC Heresy for a complete picture).

God has ordered that every seed shall bring forth fruit after its own kind (Gen. 1:11). God’s law of reproduction applies to the plant kingdom, to humans, and to the spiritual kingdom as well. Without fail, when a seed is planted in a plot of ground it produces a new plant identical to the plant from which the seed came. Nobody, after planting squash, would expect to reap potatoes. By the same token, the seed (teaching) of the movement’s founder, Kip McKean, should be analyzed to see if it is the pure word of God or that of a false teacher. The fruit should be analyzed as well (Mt. 7:17-20).

To put it another way, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

We can learn a great deal from McKean’s early experiment with building his own movement. Ignorant of the Bible’s harder teachings, he began to experiment with controlling others through abusive discipling methodologies. He would soon turn away from the truth (2 Tim. 4:4), setting the stage for the introduction of outright heresy. This happened as early as 1977, when McKean had his funding pulled by his sponsor church in Houston while he was serving as a campus minister at the Heritage Chapel Church of Christ in Charleston, Illinois. Both McKean and his partner, Roger Lamb, received a rebuke from the elders in the form of a letter:

We believe that Brother McKean has brought unbiblical practices, peculiar language, and subtle, deceitful doctrines to Charleston from the Crossroads church at Gainesville, Florida.

Both ministers [Kip McKean and Roger Lamb] constantly refused to admit there was even a problem, and they refused to accept a warning about where some minor departures would lead (even in Charleston).

….we are left with no choice but to immediately terminate our association with both Roger and Kip.¹

McKean proceeded to build his church, and reproduced his own kind—Boston-trained teachers—to spread his perverted teachings and establish churches in almost every country of the world. The letter above tells it all: unbiblical practices and deceitful doctrines (2 Pet. 2:1) …refused to admit there was a problem…refused a warning (2 Tim. 4:4)…terminate our association immediately (Titus 3:10).

Although the Boston Movement/Multiplying Ministries did not adopt the name International Churches of Christ formally until 1993, the Boston Movement and the ICOC are one and the same. The Boston Movement is generally thought to have started in 1979, in Lexington, Massachusetts, as this was the inaugural date marking the beginning of the Boston Church of Christ. Some date the group’s history back to Gainesville, Florida, in 1967, but I have chosen to begin my inquiry in 1977. It was during this time that Kip McKean and Roger Lamb had their funding terminated.

Some think they can simply talk to these leaders and get them to see their false teachings and change. The Boston Movement/ICOC and its leaders have been warned in clear-cut statements such as these since at least 1977 and haven’t changed. Dear friends, I believe this is a case of wishful thinking. Are we expecting to pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? (Mt. 7:16).

The Bible offers the most effective refutation of the Boston Movement/ICOC and its false teachings.

Some may recall the four major doctrinal practices that led to the break in fellowship between the Boston church and the Churches of Christ in 1987. Marvin Phillips, Richard Rogers, and Jerry Jones wrote an article outlining these concerns in a 1988 article published in the Christian Chronicle. The following areas of concern were raised:

      (1)  Misuse of authority

      (2)  Prerequisites of baptism

      (3)  Spiritual elitism, and

      (4)  One-over-one discipling²

In June of 1989, in a similar letter, a group of elders from the Central Church of Christ in Huntsville, Alabama, further clarified the scriptural departures of the Boston-led religious movement. Their detailed account gave a clear and needful warning about the erroneous teachings and practices of the discipling, or multiplying, ministries. The following excerpt points to an even more fundamental problem:

The areas of concern are not trivial points. They go far beyond arguments about methods, ministry skills, techniques, etc. They are fundamental to the nature of the church, the relationship Christians sustain to God and to each other, the basis for salvation, the gospel message and the role of leaders in the church. In the aggregate, these teachings amount to another gospel in the same vein addressed by the apostle Paul in the letter to the Galatians.³

This analysis will focus on the following issues:

      (1)  The arguments and methods the International Churches of Christ/Boston Movement have used to get their converts to accept a different gospel

      (2)  Their view that disciple’s baptism is an essential addition to the gospel

      (3)  Enforcing Christian guidelines from the perspective of law (man-made rules) rather than the inner discipline of God through the Spirit, and

      (4)  A call to stand firm and not be swayed or sentimental towards purveyors of falsehood and their human effort gospel

Before discussing more of the history behind the movement, I would like to point out that Paul was willing to meet with the leaders of the Jerusalem church (Gal. 2:2, 6) and let his ministry be examined by others. He was open and ready to change anything that was wrong.

Section 1: Arguments and Methods of Movement Teachers

This section will focus on the arguments and methods the International Churches of Christ (formerly Boston Movement) have used to get their converts to accept a different gospel. What are some of their beliefs and why does it matter?

The following list of expressions and words have unorthodox meanings within the group that were used, and in some cases are still being used, by leaders to exploit other people. The purpose of these terms was twofold. First, they served to confuse others about the true gospel and its ability to save apart from imposed works and prerequisites (Ro. 11:5-6). Second, these innovative terms ensured that after being converted to another gospel, impressionable souls would remain faithful to it and continue a works-based salvation program. Referred to as academic dishonesty or semantic abuse, some of these were nothing more than human demands cloaked in religious terminology (Eph. 5:6).

Items 1-4 are legitimate biblical terms, while 5-10 are not. Item 11 refers to performing Christian works, or works salvation, while being deprived of the Spirit. In other words, the Spirit was within them but the flesh and an unspiritual mind ruled the life (Gal. 5:19-21). This fueled legitimate complaints from those familiar with the group that the ICOC, in all practicality, was a spirit-less religion. (For verification of the negative atmospheric shifts that accompany law-based religion like that seen in the ICOC, see Taken Captive, Appendix 6: Post-Kriete Testimonials).

The ICOC did not, and still does not, hold to sound teaching or orthodox Bible definitions, so the outworking and application of these distortions have led to four decades of man-centered religion and unintended psychological and spiritual abuse. The group denies anyone is being damaged by their extreme form of discipleship training. Expect items 1-4 to have a special and unorthodox meaning for those involved in ICOC discipleship.

I will be speaking to the ICOC’s faulty foundation. I will both organize and unpack their gospel in sections 1-4. This is their orthodoxy that their theology is grounded upon. These beliefs have guided and continue to guide and direct their lives and fortify their consciences. How they live out those beliefs in practice will be the subject of sections 5-10.

I introduced this section by asking why our beliefs matter. It matters because orthodoxy (correct belief) leads to orthopraxy (correct conduct). Heterodoxy (incorrect belief) leads to heteropraxy (incorrect conduct). Biblically grounded and Spirit-led leadership is essential for the healthy functioning of the church and its people. Pastors who equip the next generation must be competent in and committed to sound teaching (2 Tim. 2:15) and to biblical truth (1 Tim. 3:2). Doctrine matters because truth matters, and godly living arises from the foundation of God’s truth (1 Tim. 6:3; 2 Tim. 1:13; 4:3; Tit. 1:9; 2:1).

In 1 Timothy, Paul writes to encourage and direct young Timothy, a church leader. Paul opens his epistle by reminding Timothy that the reason he left him in Ephesus was so that he could command certain individuals not to teach false doctrines any longer (1:3). In this passage, the apostle makes a clear contrast between this false teaching and the sound doctrine that accompanies the gospel he preached and that which Timothy would herald (1 Tim. 1:10).

Items 1-4 will test the ICOC’s teachings, still being practiced today, as to whether it culminates in gospel-centered living. Items 5-10 will further reveal the substance of their beliefs. In nearly all of Paul’s writings the apostle expresses his vision as to how the relationship between theology and godly living equips us for living lives that conform to the truth of our message – for better or worse.

As ministers of the gospel and God’s modern-day disciples, are the ICOC proclaiming a gospel that is biblically and theologically sound? Are items 1-4 the doctrines that Paul expressed and described as both correct and spiritually healthy? Are their beliefs and lifestyle incorrect, the natural consequence and result of spiritually diseased doctrines of false teachers? These are the questions that will be answered.

It should be noted that the ICOC rejects some of the historic creeds of Christianity, purporting, as do other high-demand movements, that true Christianity was watered down and dormant in the early centuries of the church age. They continue to claim they are just getting back to the basics, but the reality is that they have added to the gospel by distorting the great Bible doctrine of justification by faith alone. The ICOC makes clear that faith in Christ is necessary, but they misunderstand the nature of salvation by distorting grace and adding several ingredients to the salvation process. In short, they reject the concept of salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone and have made saviors out of water baptism and key expectations of true discipleship they deem essential. A few of these spiritual markers include baptismal regeneration, the practice of cold-contact evangelism, coercive giving of alms, and submission to ICOC church authority. Requiring baptism by immersion for the forgiveness of sins, and thus salvation, is a heretical doctrine often referred to as baptismal regeneration. This phrase is not found in the Bible. I will use this wording and no other nomenclature when referencing this error. I do not mean to use this term as a slur, but I don’t want to confuse the reader with all sorts of nuanced descriptions.

New members are assigned a discipler with whom they are strongly encouraged to speak daily. All ICOC disciples are expected to engage in verbally confessing all sin, as well as temptations to sin, to their discipler. The ICOC argues that this extreme form of discipleship is the missing ingredient that was lost over the centuries and the key to unlocking God’s blessing for the church today. These practices are promoted by leadership as being somehow meritorious and redemptive. Through scripture twisting and manipulation the ICOC persuades its members that to willfully neglect their discipleship responsibilities in any one area or to seek out a different denomination puts them in danger of losing their salvation and going to hell.

Their peculiar Bible interpretations have a piling-on effect whereby each International Churches of Christ member has little assurance of salvation unless he or she is standing firm to the end, which is conditional and depends on the believer and what they are doing. In this sense, salvation is works-based because it depends on what each person must do to keep saved. This idea of a Jesus-plus salvation is often seen through suggestive language coming from the group, in phrases such as being a disciple is not an option or you need to be a disciple in order to make it to heaven. Realize, however, it is they who define the term disciple in a way that goes beyond biblical limits. Meanwhile, the group’s authoritarian leaders are tasked with setting the expectations for who is considered a true believer. Fear, obligation, and guilt hem in the church member, elevating the compliant and devaluing the less submissive. A spiritual hierarchy results which is man-centered, conditional, and damaging to true spiritual development. This is not what God intends for his followers. Works cannot keep one saved (I Cor. 3:15), but they can help keep one’s reward (I Cor. 3:14). The ICOC blurs this line, which is manipulative and very damaging.

Before we get to the list of terms, it should be understood that, historically, those attaining the prized positions of leadership could not appear critical in any way but had to be in complete agreement with the system into which they had been baptized. Unity meant uniformity. Though there has been a general loosening of control and a greater tolerance for differing opinions within the movement, on some issues, as of 2019 there are no examples of any leader expressing significant differences or criticisms of the movement without being excommunicated, out of the full-time ministry, and out of the church.

McKean used the following bag-of-tricks as part of his ministry skills and so did those aspiring to leadership. At this level, obedience to McKean’s will was nonnegotiable and absolute. There were slight variations in the delivery of these abusive distortions but imitating McKean was not an option. Being a good disciple meant following the man God had put in charge of the movement. It was also a means to love and acceptance within the group. The following distortions have worked their way into the group as unwritten creeds and traditions, universally practiced, to one degree or another, in all ICOC affiliated churches to date (2019). This marks 40 years of deceptive recruiting practices, organized indoctrination, manipulation and heresy.

Furthermore, since they misunderstand the nature of their problems they are bound to repeat them. As previously mentioned, these distortions and gospel perversions reflect the group’s past, and unfortunately, their present. The group does not want to define biblical terms using sound biblical terminology because they can’t manipulate their followers as effectively.

Why are words so important? Semantics make the difference between teaching correctly or not, and between the pure gospel and a counterfeit.

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter (Is. 5:20).

1.1 The ICOC’s Total Commitment Discipleship Confuses Justification and Sanctification

Justification—Just-if-ied never sinned. Justification is salvation (Ro. 3:28). We are made holy (declared innocent) by God’s grace and are righteous before God through faith in Jesus Christ, apart from works (Ro. 3:27-28) [Baptism, although an important ordinance, is a work. Paul excluded it from the gospel, I Cor. 1:17]. There are only two ways to be justified: either by faith (promise) or by law-keeping (flesh) (Gal. 2:15-16). Justification by faith alone is the heart of the gospel and must be understood correctly (Ro. 5:1). One of the primary divisions between false Christianity and true Christianity is the doctrine of justification by faith. The ICOC hold to a Roman Catholic view of justification, distorting this aspect of salvation and making it a process and not a forensic, legal declaration (see Taken Captive, 1.2 and 1.3: Justification in Roman Catholicism; and ICOC Has Adopted Roman Catholic Works Salvation).

I recommend the reader take the time to view three great resources that clearly explain the theology of this vital aspect of our salvation.

Justification (Romans 3:21—4:25) can be found at Bible.org. Click here.

The other comes in the form of a 5-part YouTube video (10 min. each) by John MacArthur called Legalism VS Justification by Faith. Click here.

John Piper’s Did Jesus Preach the Gospel of Evangelicalism. Upon reflection, Piper adds the following: If I had it to do over again, I would use the title Did Jesus Preach Paul’s Gospel? — the gospel of justification by grace alone, through faith alone, on the basis of Christ’s blood and righteousness alone, for the glory of God alone. The reader should note Piper’s concluding implications and applications many of which are appropriate for quasi-Christian groups with a flawed justification theology. Click here.

The ICOC teaches their followers that faith in Christ is insufficient for salvation; they teach the necessity of being a disciple and being water baptized in order to be saved. It is the pseudo-Christian religions that require man’s efforts such as rites, ceremonies, and works in order to secure God’s forgiveness. The perfect and unblemished offering of Jesus, however, frees mankind from bringing self-effort as a way of adding to Jesus’ finished work. This kind of misplaced faith is one that says good works are a means in order to obtain salvation. This error is often made manifest by ICOC statements such as, "We are