The Churches Of Christ A Comparative free essay sample

The Churches Of Christ: A Comparative Essay Essay, Research Paper The Churches of Christ: A Comparative Essay Over the past 10 old ages at that place has been much contention in the Christian and secular media about the International Churches of Christ ( ICC ) , and the United ( or mainline ) Church of Christ ( CoC ) . This contention has stemmed from the ICC # 8217 ; s abuse of financess, doctrinal jobs, member maltreatment, and mind-control. The differences between the CoC and the ICC are of import for Christians know and understand. The CoC began in 1957 when these four groups merged The Congregational Churches, The Christian Church, The Evangelical Synod of North America, and The Reformed Church in the United States. These churches had house Protestant roots in England, Germany, Sweden, and the United States, numbering over 49 old ages in their ain traditions and family. On June 25, of 1957, the four churches held a synod meeting in Cleveland, Ohio, to perpetrate more to the full to integrity, autonomy, freedom in Christ, and the evangelism of the universe. These groups, under the caput of the Uniting General Synod, became the United Churches of Christ. Today the CoC has over two 1000s registered churches in the universe. By 1979, the roots of the CoC were steadfastly in topographic point. It was so that Chuck Lucas, a curate at the Gainesville Church of Christ ( mainline ) , met a immature college pupil, Kip McKean, and began discipling him. Kip was a bright pupil and showed great potency for leading in the church. However, something in the discipling procedure went incorrect. Kip was expelled from the Gainesville church subsequently that twelvemonth for grounds covering with going from the CoC philosophy, manipulative attitude, ill-defined motive, and controlling of other # 8217 ; s lives. Kip and his married woman Elena moved to Boston and started a little church that grew quickly from 30 to over three 100 adherents in two months. Kip ( who, by this clip, proclaimed himself as # 8220 ; God # 8217 ; s adult male for God # 8217 ; s mission # 8221 ; ) so declared in his Evangelism Proclamation address in 1981 that adherents of his Boston church would be sent out to get down sister churches in London, Chicago, New York, Toronto, Capital of rhode island, Johannesburg, Paris, Stockholm, Mexico City, Hong Kong, Bombay, Cairo, and throughout the United States by the twelvemonth of 1985. His success with this end led him to show another Evangelism Proclamation in 1990 that said that every metropolis in the universe with a population of over 75,000 will hold a sister church by the twelvemonth 2000. Today the ICC is in over 70 two states, with a recorded attending ( as of January 1997 ) of 920, 000 people. It is of import to note that the ICC # 8217 ; s current # 8220 ; fall-away ( members who leave the church ) rate # 8221 ; is 1:3 ( that is, for every one individual baptized into the ICC, three leave ) . Due to this growing and going from the CoC philosophy, the contention between the CoC and the ICC has picked up great impulse. The doctrinal and traditional beliefs ( i.e. , baptism necessary for redemption, acapella worship ) of the two groups are based upon the same principals. However, the International Churches of Christ and leader Kip McKean, have taken these foundational Church of Christ beliefs and distorted them into a cult-like system. The leading apparatus of the International Churches of Christ differs extremely from the mainline CoC in that the ICC has a higherarchy apparatus closely resembling a multi-level selling system where every adherent is responsible to describe to person in higher authorization, finally taking to Kip McKean. The cultish behaviours include the ICC # 8217 ; s extremely implemented beliefs that the International Churchs of Christ is the lone organic structure of trusters in the universe, therefore holding a monopoly on redemption, the ICC is the lone # 8220 ; Kingdom of God # 8221 ; , negating of old redemption experiences and baptisms, one on one discipling, the confessions of all wickednesss to the discipler, mind control tactics, religious maltreatment of members, fiscal deceit, compulsory tithing, and the act of go forthing the ICC is to fall off from God contradicting the ICC # 8217 ; s redemption and baptism experience. It is because of these patterns the ICC is banned on over 45 college campuses including Oxford, Berkeley, M.I.T. , Yale, Harvard, and Duke. The mainline CoC encourages regular concern meetings and the cheque and balance system of their leaders, while the ICC has one closed concern meeting per twelvemonth, and takes any inquiries of the higher echelons of leading as a menace to the ICC # 8217 ; s stableness. Unquestionably, the ICC is missing in cardinal CoC and Christian cogency. The cogency of the contention between the ICC and the CoC is perceivable, and the CoC vehemently denies any ties to their adversaries the International Churchs of Christ. The contention has led to legion studies in newspapers including The New York Times, The Wichita Eagle, The Chicago Sun, and the Milwaukee Sentinel, every bit good as telecasting coverage on 20/20, A Current Affair, Inside Edition, and the BBC # 8217 ; s Third Estate Program. Merely through careful probe of the Church of Christ and the International Churches of Christ can one do a personal determination about these delusory patterns.