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by Rita Lady Communes, arranged marriages, and destitution are not synonymous with what most evangelicals would view as the modern church. Pyrotechnic circus performances of mega church pastors who preach the prosperity gospel attract many critics and inspire followers. However, a much more sinister, much less glamorous wing of the New Apostolic Reformation has spread for decades, virtually undetected.
In 2023, Rolling Stone Magazine ran a story, "Not Your Church Next Door: 'Cult' Ignored Abuse, Ran 'Pyramid Scheme,' Lawsuit Claims." The church at the center of the lawsuit is ICOC (International Church of Christ). ICOC/ICC/ICCM started in the 1979 by evangelist Kip McKean who, at the time of this writing, reportedly stepped down due to "spiritual faltering." It should be noted that a previous attempt to step down for similar reasons in 2002 was unsuccessful. With over 100,000 members worldwide, the organization focuses heavily on "sold out discipleship," submission to church authority in all things, spiritual parents, overseers for your finances and dating life, and communal living. It is common for sexual and other types of abuse to run amok in groups where members are manipulated and coerced to fully submit, without question, to church leaders. This belief system is not the creation or simple musings of founder Kip McKean. It is one of the many heretical doctrines of the N.A.R (New Apostolic Reformation) known as the Shepherding/Discipleship Movement (SDM). As with all N.A.R teachings, heretical misuses of Bible verses are used to support unbiblical theories and rituals (i.e. prophetic singing, spiritual coverings, "God's anointed") peddled as deeper spiritual understanding of scripture. Shepherding/Discipleship teachings began in the 1940s in the New Order Latter Rain Movement; prototype for today's New Apostolic Reformation movement (coined by C. Peter. Wagner, a student of Oral Roberts). By the 1970s, a group well-known in evangelicalism (Bob Mumford-Reformed, Derek Prince-Pentecostal who met William Branham, Charles Simpson-Southern Baptist, Don Basham-Reformed, and Ern Baxter-Reformed). After claims of abuse began to circulate from their Florida compound, Pat Robertson, a televangelist, who is arguably part of the "Signs and Wonders" wing of the N.A.R., went to investigate (In my blog New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) Heresy: Then & Now, I discuss how opposite ends of N.A.R often denounce the other). One of the whistleblowers reportedly told Pat Robertson that their "spiritual father" said: “The Word and the will of God for our lives today should come first to the group of pastors that get together in a certain city… God reveals to them the purpose for the city and His purpose for the disciples.” “We are not a John 3:16 ministry. We are here to establish the government of God on earth.” Once Robertson observed the hierarchy of "shepherd/disciple" relationships, forced giving, and other abuses, Robertson took to CBN to denounce the movement. He called it "witchcraft" and said the only difference between it and Jim Jones' Jonestown Revival was Kool-aid. Unironically, the pastor of the Shepherding cult I was in (the reason I started this website) made a similar claim to what the Ft. Lauderdale Five whistleblower reported. In a Bible study, the pastor said: "The Gospel is not that Christ died and was resurrected for our sins...but that the kingdom of heaven was here." Even after reports of abuse surfaced decades ago, the ICC/ICOC organization rebranded, opened new sites near college campuses (as do most Shepherding groups), and operates largely unencumbered. There are numerous social media testimonials of brainwashing and psychological torture by recent ICC/ICOC victims, most of whom, had a Christian upbringing. SDM groups target professing Christians, selfless types, who earnestly seek to do God's will. According the Shepherding/Discipleship cults, Christians aren't truly saved and must be proselytized according to the true gospel; their "gospel." Recall the Ft. Lauderdale Five whistleblower's quote and my "pastor's" statement about earthly kingdoms. Shepherding/Discipleship groups adhere to Dominion or Kingdom Now theology; New Apostolic Reformation doctrines. SDM groups like ICC/ICOC/ICCM, One Association Churches (the group I was in), and hundreds of others, hide in plain sight within Evangelicalism. Shepherding groups often fly under the radar. They appear to be "sold out" for Jesus, Bible in tow, with a self-righteous facade. However, similar to other cults that hang out on college campuses speaking "prophetic" words and pushing "supplemental" books, their God isn't sovereign and expects you to earn your keep. For SDM cults it's through discipleship. While social media fixates on Steven Furtick's "Little gods" antics or Michael Todd's Easter blasphemies, Shepherding cults and it's "spiritual coverings" quietly operate under the cloak of N.A.R mega-church pomp and fanfare. Followers of Christ must remain diligent in proclaiming the Good News of Christ crucified, teaching (especially to our children) the truth of God's word, and exposing error. Showing how phony the shiny objects are within the New Apostolic Reformation is a good thing. But Rolling Stone, a secular magazine, is where I first stumbled upon the International Church of Christ (ICOC) lawsuit. It may be tempting for some to shy away from Shepherding/Discipleship groups such as ICOC, shamefully casting them aside as if belonging to the Mormons or some other pseudo-Christian cult. But we can't. They're ours, birthed out of the N.A.R. just like Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, and Michael Brown of the Toronto Blessing ilk. As we pray for discernment and expose unsound teachings from the usual Charismatic mega-church suspects, let's remember to snatch from the fire those in the less flashy wing of the N.A.R, the branch that might be the ugliest of them all; the authoritarian Shepherding/Discipleship Movement. Sources: RollingStone.com, exploringicc.org, Scribd.com
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