CLOSE TO THE EDGE September 1994 Issue 11 TOLC, PO Box 348, Morden, Surrey SM4 6ZD, United Kingdom Tel: 081-646-7477 Hotline: 0860 579211 email: aakshar@cix.compulink.co.uk Triumphing Over London Cults is a group of former members of the London Church of Christ, and Belfast, Birmingham, Bombay, Boston, Bristol, Dublin, Edinburgh, Indianapolis, Jakarta, Leeds, Los Angeles, Manchester, Milan, Paris, Singapore, Tokyo, and International Churches of Christ. Exeter University denounces London Church of Christ =================================================== In a hard-hitting press release Exeter University has hit out at the London Church of Christ. Sir Geoffrey Holland, the Vice-Chancellor of Exeter University, released a statement days before the LCC's conference denouncing the church's practices. Sir Geoffrey disassociated himself and his university completely from the "methods of recruitment and activities of the London Church of Christ... such activities are not welcome here now, during the conference, or in the future". The media gathered in force on the first day of the conference as members from the London Church of Christ gathered at Exeter from up and down the country. Extensive TV reports investigating allegations of psychological and financial abuse about the church were broadcast that night, as well as radio and newspaper reports. Church members were told not to speak to any of the media present, and even the head of the trustees, Andrew Agerbak, seemed to have forgotten the meaning of the word autonomy as he referred all questions back to the church's central office in London. Meanwhile UK administrator Neville Lee reneged on a promise he made to BBC TV to give them an exclusive interview and the right to film inside. The BBC TV reporter present became increasingly frustrated by members of the LCC as she found none of them were willing to defend the actions of their leaders on camera: "What have you got to hide? Why won't you talk to me? Why won't you defend yourselves?" she was heard asking more than one member of the church. Meanwhile TOLC's representatives (Ayman Akshar, Graham Cluley, and Peter Hodge from the New Cross Church of Christ [mainline]) were being escorted from the University premises by security guards following complaints from the LCC organizers. Despite protesting peacefully and amicably it appears the LCC leadership were upset by the power three people could have against over one thousands members of the church. The full text of the July 25th press release: ============================================ "The University Conference Office took a booking some months ago from the London Church of Christ for a conference to be held on University premises from 23-26 August 1994. This was a routine booking of meeting rooms and other accomodation, one of many made each year. The booking office was unaware of the concern associated with the activities of the London Church of Christ which has now come to my attention. The University understands that the activities of the group have been banned from Birmingham University and discouraged at others. The NUS (National Union of Students) has frequently expressed its concern about cults working on campus, including the London Church of Christ which is cited in its recent publication Cults on Campus as one of the most active. The University has been advised by solicitors that it is now too late to cancel the booking. The University wishes to put on record that it disassociates itself entirely from the methods of recruitment and activities of the London Church of Christ which may be prejudicial to the welfare of students. Such activities are not welcome here now, during the conference, or in the future. I want to make it clear that it is not our intention to offer our facilities on any part of the University's premises to the group at any time in the future. I am taking these steps to ensure that the interests of our students are not put at risk. In this I have the support of the President of the Guild of Students. Sir Geoffrey Holland, Vice-Chancellor, July 25 1994" "Neville Lee is an awesome dude!" ================================= In the month of August more married couples contacted the offices of TOLC to complain about the excessive pressures put upon them by the London Church of Christ. Despite constant and repetitive claims that they have changed their ways the LCC are not prepared to accept that married couples can suffer from financial hardship and are no longer able to pay their weekly contribution. One such couple spoke to the evangelist and some of the trustees. The only person who was supportive and understanding was Neville Lee. Close To The Edge sends its appreciation to Neville. One former member of the LCC was heard to comment: "Power to your elbow Neville, you're an awesome dude. Keep up the good work, and keep your conscience clear. Hopefully they (the leaders of the LCC in the USA) will not kick you out of the Movement, as you do not agree with them on such crucial and delicate matters. Neville Lee is the only decent, honest man in the church". As a result of the unacceptable pressures of the the leadership many LCC members are reducing their weekly contributions. Insiders have reported that in numerous cases members have stopped paying all together, and it is anticipated that such members will be kicked out soon. The London Church of Christ went ahead with its 100,000ukp booking of Exeter University despite much criticism from the media and former members. It was suggested at one stage that the church's dismal public image might have been improved if the money had gone to the Rwandan appeal instead (foregoing the conference in the interests of saving lives), but in the event approximately 4000ukp was raised by LCC members for the troubled region of Africa. A sizeable number of members of the London Church of Christ could not afford to pay to go to Exeter and a special contribution was encouraged to help those unable to pay. One member gave 100ukp, but sadly this was a third of the total money raised: 300ukp, meaning only three extra people were allowed to go. At the time of printing deposits have not been returned to those who could not afford to attend. Westcountry Television's Insight programme on Tuesday 23rd August was a detailed investigation of the London Church of Christ, complete with footage of the group meeting at Exeter University. This broadcast complimented a news story about the controversial Exeter booking. In a letter to the Close To The Edge office Amy Bingham of Westcountry TV thanked TOLC for their assistance in the making of the programme and added: "For your interest they (the LCC) refused to give us an interview on their controversial nature despite emphatic promises to the contrary". A visitor to London Church of Christ services described to Close To The Edge the increasingly paranoid approach taken by the church. A legitimate member of the congregation was not recognized by the ushers and virtually assaulted as he was manhandled from the building, believed to be a media infiltrator. The member was heard to comment that this was "the only church he had ever been to which hired bouncers". This disturbing trend follows the expulsion of Greater London Radio reporter Tom Symons from the Wembley "Fan Into Flame" rally by "Charlie". ARTICLE BY DANIEL ENG, FORMER EVANGELIST: To whom it may concern: My name is Daniel Eng. I was baptized in 1976 in Malaysia and was a member of the church of Christ (mainline) in Klang, Malaysia. In 1982 I began serving as a full-time minister with that congregation until November 1984 when I joined the then Central London Church of Christ (Boston Movement). I was invited by their leadership to train as an intern and was subsequently discipled by James Lloyd, one of their two evangelists in London, England. In October 1987 I was sent off to Singapore to plant their new mission work and the Singapore Central Christian Church officially began in February 1988. I was appointed an evangelist in the Boston Garden in September 1989 at the last Boston World Missions Seminar. When this Singapore church grew to about 400 members, I was sent off again to start another new planting. I started the Central Jakarta Church of Christ in Indonesia in February 1990 and stayed their till March 1991. After Jakarta, I was asked to move to Bombay, India to help the church there. I moved there in April 1991. Two months later I met with the Boston Movement leadership in London, England to discuss my concerns about certain authoritarian abuses. In June 1991 I made my decision to leave them. When I left the Boston Movement I was marked and ostracized. The experience left me very unhappy, very depressed, suicidal, disillusioned and very confused. At that point I began an intensive research on the Boston Movement and came across Dr Jerry Jones' books What Does the Boston Movement Teach, Vols I and II. Reading those two books confirmed my doubts about the Boston Movement. As one of its former evangelists, I can testify that the questionable beliefs and practices were definitely present and adhered to. There has been talk of the Movement changing, but the sermons and attitudes of the top leadership remain the same. This is confirmed innumerable times as I continue to meet ex-members everywhere with testimonies of authoritarian abuses, etc., even til today. Below are the main reasons why I left the Boston Movement: 1. One-over-one discipling which they believe and practice, giving the "discipler" the authority to manipulate and control every aspect of the lives of the members including marriage, dating, sex, finances, school, career, future, friends, family, etc. 2. Unquestioned obedience and loyalty to human leaders in the Boston Movement where there is no room for disagreements, criticisms nor different opinions of any sort. To disagree or to differ with the leader or discipler is considered "prideful, arrogant, insubmissive, stubborn, independent, rebellious, disloyal and having a bad heart." 3. Concept of "disciple" (Matthew 28:19) which has resulted in numerous 'rebaptisms' and created many man-made prerequisites for those who want to be baptized. 4. Congregational autonomy which has been rejected and replaced with a hierarchical authoritarian structure led by Kip McKean and the World Sector Leaders. 5. Monopoly of salvation, ie. that only the Boston Movement churches and their members are "true disciples/Christians". 6. Legalistic understanding of the Christian life which is opposed to a correct understanding of gospel and grace. 7. Mind-control methods being practiced to manipulate and control every member in their churches. 8. Widespread abuses and destruction of the lives of Christians both in the Movement and those who have left, resulting from the mind-control techniques used. (These methods are the same used by destructive cults like the Moonies, Children of God, etc.) There is something very wrong with a movement or church when its members walk out by the hundreds and thousands with total disillusionment in God, Christianity and the Bible, with their faith in God destroyed, and with similar stories of widespread authoritarian abuses and manipulation. The sight of seeing and meeting with these devastated Christians trying to return to reality and to put their lives together again should cause all of us to have very serious doubts of this Movement. I regret my role in propogating some of these abuses while I was in the Boston Movement. It is my prayer and hope that the leaders will open their eyes to see the thousands that they have directly and indirectly abused and manipulated. These thousands leave voluntarily and involutarily but always with feelings of disillusionment and depression, and their faith in God adversely affected. May God help them to recover from the pain of their ordeal in the Movement. Daniel Eng BACK ISSUES =========== ISSUE 1 (August 1993): Home Office probes LCC's bogus school; John Partington letter exposes tax fraud; Former members set to issue writs. ISSUE 2 (December 1993): LCC rocked by membership crisis; 3rd-in-command in "tape scandal"; Times Higher Educational Supplement dismisses LCC complaint; Open letter to the LCC leaders; West Zone leader "sponging off students". ISSUE 3 (January 1994): Church of Christ praised by Moonies; LCC reject TOLC talks offer; Touche Ross talk abandoned; Fred Scott in trouble?; Evangelist expelled by Singapore government for deception; Ex-members meet in London; Woman harassed on Underground; Who are TOLC? ISSUE 4 (February 1994): Fred Scott's cuckoo conspiracy theory; Open letter to Fred Scott; News from Birmingham Church of Christ; Edinburgh Church of Christ under investigation; Reader's Digest and Everyman investigations. ISSUE 5 (March 1994): Fred Scott loses job; Mission to Tokyo Church of Christ; Mole hunt in LCC as senior member leaks information to TOLC; Christian Worker article slams LCC; Berlin Church of Christ under investigation; Singapore Church of Christ leader leaves Boston Movement; Milan Church of Christ stumbles; Convention news. ISSUE 6 (April 1994): TOLC celebrates first anniversary - Ayman Akshar looks back over a year's events; The strange affair of the LCC trustee; Touche Ross refuse to sign LCC accounts; Scott Bryden and John Partington investigations; Church of Christ in Indianapolis votes to leave Boston Movement. ISSUE 7 (May 1994): Chris McGrath loses control of LCC; Zone leader and 23 members leave Toronto Church of Christ; Child care concerns; Reader's Digest probe; Married couples leaving LCC; Bristol church collapses and is taken over by Birmingham; Mole in London Church; "Give up your jobs". ISSUE 8 (June 1994): Secret Church of Christ report reveals negative growth; Milan Church of Christ members give account of why their church fell apart; Midweek magazine exposes LCC recruitment tactics; Mediawatch on Everyman documentary; Tithes to be phased out? ISSUE 9 (July 1994): Manchester Evangelist earnings exposed; Worldwide evangelists conference in Phillipines report; Church of Christ South African Rugby Tour; Birmingham SunSplash wash-out; True membership figures revealed for Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Sheffield Churches of Christ. ISSUE 10 (August 1994): LCC vs BBC Newsnight: Complaint rejected - London Church of Christ loses at Broadcasting Complaints Commission; Newsnight answer back; Honest seekers of the truth?; Speak out against abuse; War of the Words: John Partington and Graham Baldwin exchange correspondence, and Tommy Chan, evangelist, admits lying. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE COPIES OF ANY OF THE ABOVE CONTACT US AT THE USUAL ADDRESS. ALL ISSUES ARE SENT UNDER PLAIN COVER AND WE WILL RESPECT YOUR CONFIDENTIALITY. AVAILABLE LITERATURE: The Boston Movement: Analysis, Commentary and Media Reports; Rick & Sarah Bauer. Captive Hearts, Captive Minds: Freedom and Recovery from Cults and Abusive Relationships; Madeleine Landau Tobias & Janja Lalich. Churches that Abuse; Ronald M. Enroth. Combatting Cult Mind Control; Steven Hassan. Cults: What Parents Should Know; Joan Ross & Dr Michael Langone. Damaged Disciples: Casualties of Authoritarian Churches and the Shepherding Movement; Ron & Vicki Burks. Dangerous Persuaders; Louise Samways. The Deceivers: What cults believe and how they lure followers; Josh McDowell & Don Stewart. "A Diary": Why I left the Boston Movement; Susan Condon. The Discipling Dilemma; Ed. Flavil R. Yeakley. Discipling Ministries: An Inside Look; Danny Dixon. The Discipling Movement; Maurice Barnett. The Emperor's New Clothes; Susan Condon. Influence: How and Why People Agree To Things; Dr Robert B. Cialdini. The Kingdom of the Cults; Walter Martin. Responding to the Boston Church of Christ; Rick Bauer. The Secret World of Cults; Jean Ritchie. The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse: Recognizing and Escaping Spiritual Manipulation and False Spiritual Authority Within the Church; David Johnson & Jeff VanVonderen. Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism; Robert Jay Lifton. "A Time to Speak": A Personal Journal of My Years in the Boston Movement; Sarah Bauer. Toxic Faith: Understanding and Overcoming Religious Addiction; Jack Felton & Stephen Aterburn. What Does the Boston Movement Teach? (Volumes I - III); Dr Jerry Jones. The opinions expressed in this newsletter are those solely of the writers and are not meant to be indicative of editorial policy or TOLC as a whole. Close To The Edge is a non-commercial venture, produced for current and former members of the LCC by current and former members of the LCC. We have made every effort to ensure that the information in this newsletter is correct, but we welcome notification of change in case of inaccuracies. Published September 1994. Close To The Edge welcomes contributions from readers and writers, but unsolicited mail is sent at the sender's risk. Copyright (c) TOLC 1994, All Rights Reserved. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: To ensure you don’t miss an issue send a stamped addressed envelope to Subscriptions, TOLC, PO BOX 348, Morden, Surrey, SM4 6ZD for further details. Editor: Graham Cluley. Executive Editor: Ayman Akshar. Subscriptions Manager: Harriet Bentham. Telephone: +44 (0)81 646 7477. Fax: +44 (0)81 646 8151. Twenty four hour hotline: 0860 579211. Internet email: aakshar@cix.compulink.co.uk