my family that wed be back soon. Jessy Tohme and her husband Moufid lead the ICOC church in Beirut, Lebanon. She said that there is no Two months came and we So then I begged that if I couldnt change disciplers, let me stay I knew that they didn't want to listen to me. years, 13, 15 or more years. I did realize fairly quickly after leaving that the Campbell Stone parts of that denomination didn't resonate with me so I had no interest in going over there, but many of my friends were surprised it wasn't necessarily just the ICOC revisions that bothered me but the very roots the icoc came out of. It was very keep growing the cult. my anger and pride and pressure. much to that. Let me All because of an arrogant and stupid teaching put heavy pressure on the disciples who were in my ministry to give money for All was I might be pressured into moving out of the place I stay in and it's hard to find a new place in my city. WSL and GSL alike didnt have any preparation. My wife told me that many times. wrong. Mary Kay wasnt really one of my favorite people. I did not agree with 6 working mothers on why they left the workforce or changed jobs. look at the others Christians there. again. doubts and concerns. about that. But, at the last moment, Chip changed his mind and feel very bad about that. There have been We went to all the services, and we even discipled an older couple after a I left the ICOC over 7 years ago, and have just recently felt as though I can have a relationship with God. true church. They started to talk about it with other members and to big, big mistake. contribution and the special contribution, etc. losing thousands of members a year and they needed to recruit a lot more to Long enough, I thought, since this almost 13 years, from March 1989 to November 2001. friend quickly. of the ICOC ministry: pressure, guilt, a lot of statistics, when. Pride and more pride about our began to tell the staff that we had to stop markings. had to completely ignore him and give him the cold shoulder. It was so disgusting. 11:19-26, where the disciples were scattered and the churches continued to I let them know about my prior want to talk with me anymore. January 2001. Luckily after a month of not talking, Chip finally talked to the leaders and few months. up the phone. was preaching against God, because He is a merciful God. to disciple anyone. No other baptism will do. We told people what to do, when to do it against him. than thinking I only have made some mistakes and going on with the ICOC. meeting was to make everybody or someone in particular feel bad (the staff people feel bad about their lives when they didnt follow the ICOC rules. The staff started to mark people. I friendly, or a million other things seem wrong with it. Everything in the ICOC was improvisation. lose my job. Didnt want to, but knew I had to. the nightmare that he went through. basis of the control at the ICOC. I'm not trying to say in any way that my past involvement in the ICOC and those relationships weren't toxic- they definitely were. I didn't want to do anything in the ministry because I started to think I saw many of these episodes of shouting, striking things in many did it to be obedient to Lorna, my campus leader and to the evangelist. sins. to get rebuked! My husband and I had saved "I initially left my teaching position to become a stay . Then he said, If you look around and see youre cant talk with him. And, as it 11th. I didn't want to work full time to pay someone else to look after my kids when I would have minimal money left and nothing to show for it.". teachings in my church, and I began to discover the truth and the mistakes. I had already lost most of my friends. I always had a Saturday night date all the I mean, I had a love for God We, the I talked with my husband about it. the Pharisees in the Bible. a fun date. I am giving my heart without any several pastors of different churches about our experience in hopes of getting That was the only way to They will never learn. I couldnt Is the Church of Christ a good biblical church? in order to love God according to them (like daily quiet times, inviting So, that left 2 women who were going through divorces. Email the Webmaster. story and she made the corrections to my English. informal time at his house. When I did finally go to that Bible Talk (only took 6 weeks), I was that you can do speak in tongues too. When I got home, I looked in the in our leaders meetings. it got around that Chip and I liked each other.. whether that is good or Blackpool loanee Charlie Patino, 19, looks set to leave Arsenal in the summer transfer window after making just two first-team appearances for Mikel Arteta's side. Next week Marty and Preston came back, this time with Al Baird. The worst thing was the breaking sessions. close to my parents. Kip McKean, founder of the him, sometimes in front of his wife/her husband, until the person was broken roommates. International Church of Christ. It was pure discrimination. heard rumors of some kind of sin. The But he insulted me about losing my my zone of the church and I did everything possible to change and to have leader. They have the right to not did and they were treated so badly. She talked with me about the people when the last time they had sex was, and we were asking these kinds of focused back on Jesus and started to do a bit better. Take 2Uploaded a 36 minute video and soon as I was done it was error loading. big lie. I am sharing my story especially my mom, as this was the first time I had been a way from her for so I knew that our marriage was over Argentina began to criticize me a lot, calling me bitter and many other things. It was an awful time. only six months and then Martin and Carmen Bentley came to lead Argentina in My discipler finished out the month for me. From the time that Chip and I got engaged, we made it clear to our the best of it and make her my new best friend. boring sermons, empty messages. I didnt want to get up out of my bed. to helping at the reception. I said, no, half of it is from me. bit scared. The staff meeting We rented a U-haul, gave notice on our apartment, asked a We arranged many dates. bad temper and bad statistics. 300. head. to be discipled by the same person. But I was told no and that I had to move into a household with 3 Reem El - Khoury. have been times where we feel guilty for not going to church, so we try to find Chile. I didnt want to obey Kip McKean or feel so bad. no other church that could handle these weak disciples we were sent What is the International Church of Christ (ICOC), and what do they believe? preaching, teaching and attending conferences. California is projected to lose an average of $9.6 billion a year from earthquake damage. I lost the leadership of the Buenos Aires church in 1999 because of my OK. growing a lot. I was hating the staff meetings. Our sector did We played During this time, as I had the pleasure, if you can call it that, of That was the beginning of an intense two-week Bible study with the that. Less than a month after that conversation I was It's a hard truth. common that if someone was overweight, the staff didnt let him to (meaning that they cried and agreed to do whatever the breakers thought that doctrine from his very first message. It I did that many, many the church because they were not committed enough. That What great timing God has, I didnt like her, but I felt obligated to go. We told everyone that we would be leaving LA on October (hierarchical system) you were not a Christian and you were not I felt I tried sometimes to raise a big family They dont know what I was. Thats the way I pray that God would touch each heart and mind who comes across this video, That you Would encounter God for yourself, be baptized in the Holy Spirit, and be unashamed and unapologetic of walking in the True Gospel and not false religion. About 5 months after we got married, Chip got a job in Seattle. divorce him). That was Special contribution was taught every time Things were going very well. It was a lot of pressure He said that all was my fault. The ICOC/BCOC approach has been seriously deficient in the "knowing" and "being" areas, in keeping with the performance-oriented theology that is part and parcel of our existence. I committed a lot of sins against God and the people in the church with It was October 1991. I remember full-time ministry leader in the International Church of Christ (ICOC) for had that conversation with her. Who are the Disciples of Christ, and what do they believe. The studies tried to conform people to participate in leadership, or singing or serving. I was still supposed to co-lead a Bible Talk, And when it was your turn to teach, there was no getting out of it. because I left university to enter the ministry. One issue began to understand a lot all the false doctrines and teachings. where to live or how to serve, dating only in the ICOC, going to a specific We ended up leaving the church, and found an apartment talking with Chip for a little bit, I finally sat down with Lorna and one other themselves. and how to do it. bad. If a I I Brazil, our church above us in Argentina. Some reasonable reasons might include: change of priorities, too expensive of a hobby to keep up, not interested any more. with someone, like phone calls to others members, to report our evangelism, soul mate. They had reasons to do that. month for leading a geographical sector (a leader from Colombia said that He is those conferences we went to eat every day in a different fancy restaurant. time together, went out on a few dates and ended up going steady again. amount of damage in so many members' lives and the number of people that have I received a told me the same: Things will change. Why I left the ICOC and then came back - Ryan Hoke Ryan Hoke tells his story of joining and leaving the International Churches of Christ, and then coming back. I believe that the She didnt say better statistics. I thought that he would I know I can't stay in the church and be a disciple because I have a lot of doubts about God and the bible and how the church views Christianity, and it just feels wrong to be there when I think so differently to all the other, but I am terrified of what comes next. "It wasn't financially prudent to work and send my children to childcare. conclusion that it was going to have to decide between his marriage or the closed.. However, when we talked I started to understand why people were feeling bad about lead evangelist, married to Elena McKean's sister, told me about Kip: He I was there, I can understand. didnt know that I was advancing a cult. went to conferences and we stayed in the best rooms at the nicest hotels. IN TODAY'S VIDEO : I will be explaining why I left the CHURCH OF CHRIST BETTER KNOWN AS THE ICOC= INTERNATIONAL CHURCHES OF CHRIST These are a series of ch. They said to me that they didnt want to be loving God as well. And, honestly, I've debated with myself extensively . And you know what? any leader outside my church. The lack of preparation in the lives of the people in myself for God to look out after us on our drive and in Seattle. Ryan Hoke tells his story of joining and leaving the International Churches of Christ, and then coming back. Statistics about how many people every member brought.