The self-accreditation of ICC leaders

What’s wrong with this picture?

This is a screenshot taken from the website of ICCM (International College of Christian Ministries), a training college of the ICC (International Christian Church) that was founded by Kip McKean, his wife Elena, Tim Kernan and Chris Adams – all senior leaders of the ICC.

The first thing that strikes you about this college is the credentials of the faculty. Not only have these individuals founded ICCM, but they have also been individually awarded doctoral degrees by ICCM!

In other words, they have awarded themselves a Doctorate in Ministry (DMin) each according to the criteria set by themselves. It is like saying, “I deserve a doctorate because I think I’m worthy of a doctorate”.

However, this is the official statement made about Kip McKean’s doctorate in ICCM’s 2013 Inaugural Commencement Brochure:

To found a college with the European Degree System, there must be at its head an individual holding the Doctorate Degree. Therefore, today Thomas W. “Kip” McKean II will be awarded the Doctorate Degree (D.Min.) for his years of preaching, teaching, training and building churches around the world. This is not to mention his widespread writings as a scholar and theologian. His formal training and experiences at University of Florida in Speech Communications (High Honors), as well as at Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary and the Harding Graduate School of Religion have enriched his leadership. Kip humbly serves as the President of the ICCM.

In essence, this is saying that McKean’s doctorate was awarded to him simply because his friends appreciated his ministry… plus the fact it would also make ICCM look good to have a doctor as its head!

According to their website, ICCM is an institution approved by the California Bureau of Postsecondary Education since August 2012. However, they have a “verification-exempt” status, which simply means that they can award degrees that are not accredited or verified by any authority outside their own.

Because of such, these “degrees” (which also includes Bachelor’s and Master’s levels) are only recognised by the members and sub-groups within the ICC.

Not only is it embarrassing for the executive leaders of the ICC to award themselves degrees as such, it also show the lengths they would go to in order to bolster their individual profiles and provide legitimacy for their own work.

However, the existence of ICCM does provide us a helpful insight into how the ICC organisation view themselves. Specifically, the ICC believes that they are the one true church of Jesus Christ, hence they do not need to seek any approval from authorities outside their own.

In fact, it is quite consistent with the belief that Kip McKean holds about himself. He is the man specifically chosen by God (just like Moses and King David) to lead a new movement (namely, the Boston Movement) with the hope of evangelising the world in one generation.

I will write more about McKean’s views about himself in a future post. But for now, it suffices to say that he believes he is God’s new chosen prophet for this generation and he’s now also got a “doctorate” to show for it.