Recently I stumbled across an e-book titled “Control Mechanisms in the ICC” that was first published by Keith Stump in 2001. Stump was an ex-member of the International Churches of Christ (ICOC, but formerly abbreviated “ICC”), the church movement that preceded the International Christian Churches under their common founder Kip McKean.

What drew my attention was the fact that Stump dedicated an entire chapter on how the ICOC uses the Bible to manipulate and control each of their members. The Scriptures that he brings up include Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 1:14-18, as well as Luke 9:23-26 and Luke 14:25-33 (and many more).

Since I had previously written articles about the ICC’s misinterpretation of Luke 9 and Luke 14, I was curious to see if my observations aligned with Stump’s despite the 22 years of time difference across two distinct church movements. And, lo and behold, I discovered that our observations were essentially the same; namely the ICC’s interpretation of these passages pave the way for the exploitation and manipulation of church members.

Here’s a snippet that Stump wrote about Luke 9:23-26.

Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. (NIV)

The ICC uses this passage to gain allegiance to itself. The commitment that this passage actually puts forth is deflected from God onto the ICC. For example, if a member is not complying properly with the wishes of the leadership, especially if the member is exasperated by how hard the demand is, then this passage will be implemented. Under the auspices of “denying yourself” the ICC will gain acquiescence. Since the leadership will determine what the cross to be borne is as well as when, where, how and to what extent self must be denied, it is actually the leadership that takes control. The member is not permitted to determine what he or she thinks God wants of him or her nor to act accordingly. Practically everything that he or she might do either will originate with the leaders or will have to be approved by the leadership.

An example of this practice will be such things as denying yourself most any comfort in order to be able to give 10% gross income every week along with various other monetary demands, such as those for seminars. Members are compelled to reveal gross income – if contribution level is not deemed sufficient, the member oftentimes will be belittled and berated into giving an amount the leadership specifies, no matter how financially unwise it may be. Members are told to live beneath their means, give up cable TV, buy only the cheapest foods, etc. If any questioning of this is done, then the member is told to deny him or herself, because there are souls to be won. My point is not whether it is doctrinally correct to give 10% of one’s means, but rather that the ICC does not allow the member to choose. Jesus taught that almsgiving should be done in secret, known only to the believer and God, the ICC forces the member to disobey Jesus on this matter. Matt 6:3-4 “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (NIV)

In the First Principle studies, for Luke 9:23-26, the concept is introduced that it is forbidden to “give in to moods”. By declaring that emotional considerations are not valid, the leadership will block the member from investigating feelings that might lead him or her to conclude that something is wrong with the ICC. Instead, the seed is subtly planted that if there are feelings that something is wrong, then it is the emotion rather than the doctrine, the leader or the ICC that is in error. The truth is that emotions can often guide us into understanding things that logical thought cannot yet perceive. Granted, emotions do not always guide us properly and have to be balanced against experience and knowledge to verify their validity. However, the point here is that the ICC has introduced an avenue of exploiting emotions to its own interests.

The ICC leadership will also use the doctrine of not giving in to moods to govern the range of emotions a member experiences. If a member is sad, he or she will be told to “get out of himself” and decide to be happy. If he or she is bored, then the requirement is “to get fired up”. By similar fashion, the ICC will order a member to alter any emotional state that it does not find useful at the moment.

The ICC also uses the concept of forfeiting your soul if you live for self to get the potential recruit or member to believe that failure to comply with the leadership’s directives will cause him or her to lose his or her salvation. By doing that, the ICC manipulates the person’s fears to its own advantage and it gains further control over what a person does.

Control Mechanisms of the ICC, section I.3.

Further, the following is a snippet in regards to Luke 14:25-33:

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters – yes, even his own life – he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who do not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. (NIV)

In this passage the Bible further illustrates that Jesus is to be Lord. Again the ICC deflects such submission to itself, especially its leadership.

The passage about loving parents or anyone else more than Jesus is used by the ICC to get members to place the leadership’s orders above the wishes of their parents. The member will be made to believe that he or she is putting Jesus’ teachings first, but, in fact, merely will be complying with the leadership.

This passage also contains the “counting the costs” verses, which the ICC uses to disconnect the potential recruit or member from outside means of assessing the group. The concept will be introduced that you have to follow Jesus (but in actuality the ICC doctrine and its leadership in general) even over the objections of others. It will be suggested that one must be willing to endure persecution from the media, friends, and family. This seed is planted to prevent critical examination of the group. It will be claimed that the negative statements made about the group are not accurate information but either worldly or satanic in origin.

Depending on the particular study leader, either with this verse or at some other time during the First Principles indoctrination, the concept will be introduced that since Jesus had his critics, so will any true follower. Although the Bible does teach that, the principle will be misapplied. The prospective member will be told that the ICC is being persecuted and called a cult because it calls people to be committed to God. The potential recruit will be told to determine for himself or herself whether the group is truly following the Bible. This is manipulative because it is an attempt to deprive the person of information that is needed to evaluate the group. The ICC does not reveal everything about itself during the First Principles studies. If the true level of control that the ICC wields were revealed up front, few people, if any at all, would join. By acting in this manner, the ICC deprives the potential recruit of the ability to make informed consent, which is extremely manipulative and unethical.

This passage is also used to justify the “counting the costs” procedure conducted just prior the admission into the group. Interestingly, the Bible says that the individual should estimate the costs without making reference anyone else’s guidance; however, to do so is not allowed in the ICC. The potential recruit is tested for compliance to the group’s doctrine and to make sure that he or she is willing to be controlled by the ICC. If something “comes up” during the session, then baptism (and, as the potential recruit will now believe, salvation) is withheld until full compliance is achieved. This practice is an extremely powerful means of firmly establishing control, leaving the recruit willing to do anything the ICC leadership says, believing that compliance is the only way to escape eternity in hell.

Control Mechanisms of the ICC, section I.4.

Conclusion

I really appreciate Stump’s observation that the ICC’s application of Scripture causes people to “deflect their submission to God onto themselves”. That is why the ICC’s teachings are so dangerous to the biblically untrained person. Once a person is manipulated into believing that obeying church leaders is equivalent to obeying God Himself, there isn’t much that they’d be unwilling to do for them. They might think that they’re being “soldout for Jesus” when in fact they are merely doing the bidding of Kip McKean and co. And when they fail to live up to their expectations, it is akin to failing God, leaving them questioning their own salvation and thereby making them vulnerable to further spiritual abuse. It is a vicious cycle!