CLOSE TO THE EDGE November 1994 Issue 13 TOLC, PO Box 348, Morden, Surrey SM4 6ZD, United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)181-646-7477 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, Brisbane, Bristol, Denver, Dublin, Edinburgh, Indianapolis, Jakarta, Leeds, Los Angeles, Manchester, Melbourne, Milan, Paris, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Washington, and International Churches of Christ. Fred Scott 'on verge of leaving movement' EXCLUSIVE: Australian membership figures revealed ------------------------------------------------- Fred Scott, the former leader of the London Church of Christ, is now leading the church in Sydney, Australia. Scott hastily left England earlier this year for an address at 1714 W Virginia NE Avenue, Washington DC where he was due to receive "re-training". This followed months of speculation about his future in the movement after a series of disasters with the church's public image at the hands of an enquiring media. In the States Scott was under the wing of Douglas Arthur, who has now passed his protege onto the Sydney planting. This ousted former Sydney leader Mike Fontenant, who has also been sent back to the United States for the customary "re-training". TOLC representatives in Sydney have been keeping a close eye on Scott's activities, however, and in his very first message to the congregation he told how earlier this year he had been on the verge of leaving the leadership, and was very close to leaving the movement altogether. However, explained Fred Scott, it was the help of Douglas Arthur that had kept him going and had encouraged him to take the leadership of the Sydney Church of Christ. Observers have commented that the Sydney Church of Christ is a distinct snub to the former leader of the London Church, often referred to as the "jewel" in Douglas Arthur's crown. Sources close to the leadership have suggested that former Sydney leader Mike Fontenant is privately "less than delighted" at Douglas Arthur snatching his post away from him for Fred Scott. We hope to bring you more news about events in Australia next issue. A Close To The Edge investigation has revealed the following membership figures in the Australian Church of Christ: Sydney: approx 500 (down from about 750) Melbourne: approx 140 Brisbane: approx 110 "If you don't pay your contribution, you can't be a Christian" -------------------------------------------------------------- The offices of Close To The Edge received a disturbing telephone call at the end of October. On the other end of the line was a member of the London Church of Christ in a highly distressed state. The member told us that he had just been told by his discipler that unless he paid his contribution to the church, he could not be a Christian. Immediately the church member told his discipler to leave the premises immediately and not to come back. The discipler, however, became agitated calling out: "Where do you think you are going? Who do you think you are talking to!!?" The caller to our offices was seeking the telephone numbers of the London Christ's leadership in the United States. He wished to communicate directly with Douglas Arthur and Douglas Jacoby. The London Church of Christ has claimed in the past that there is no pressure placed on people to give contributions, and that all money given to the church by members is voluntary. Disgraced evangelist visits London ---------------------------------- Wembley Conference Centre was once again the focus of criticism on Sunday 23rd October as it played host to another London Church of Christ rally. Evangelist John Louis who was expelled by the Singapore authorities for visa irregularities (See CTTE Issue 3) was the leading speaker at a rally designed to buoy up the sinking spirits of the LCC's London membership. Wembley Conference Centre has been criticised in the past for hosting events for the controversial multi-level marketing organization, Amway. The Amway Corporation's methods of recruitment have been seen by some to be increasingly "cult-like". On June 22 1994 Time Out reporter Tony Thompson investigated the Amway organization alongside a piece about the dangers of the London Church of Christ. NEWS: Kilroy wasn't here? ------------------- The London Church of Christ refused to send any members of their leadership or representatives to the recording of the BBC Kilroy programme on 31 October (broadcast 1st November). In scenes which seemed to parallel events at the annual conference at Exeter University the London Church of Christ was unwilling to defend any of the allegations made against it. Church members may begin to wonder why the leaders have allowed so many newspaper, radio and television reports and investigations go unanswered. One man who did appear in the programme to answer his critics was Gideon Scott, UK representative of the highly-controversial religious sect the Children of God. In early 1993 the Carlton Television programme Beam & DaSilva investigated the Children of God alongside an investigation into the activities of the London Church of Christ. The caring church? ------------------ A female member from the East zone of the London Church of Christ contacted TOLC during the month of October about her feelings regarding the church. As she was buying her weekly shopping, she was seen picking up the cheapest products available, sometimes junk food, and no fruit. She was asked why she wasn't buying any good food and fruit for her children, and she could reply was: "I can not afford it.. I have not got any money to buy anything except what is necessary. I have to give to the church out of my weekly money from the DHSS. Two pounds goes to the church, and I have to pay my rent and bills as well as my shopping. Fruit is something we don't have unless it is a big, special occasion". TOLC reminded the woman that we were now living in the twentieth century, and everyone should be able to buy fruit - especially if they have growing children. She was encouraged to spend the two pounds a week she normally gives to the London Church of Christ on good, wholesome fruit instead. The member of TOLC who spoke to the woman was worried that the children might be deprived of much-needed nourishment. So, for one week the woman did not pay her two pounds to the London Church of Christ. Her reward from the church for looking after her children? A blasting. She was told she did not love God and had been very selfish, and did not care enough for the church. TOLC reminds all readers that it is right to look after your family, to feed and clothe them properly, before even beginning to consider giving money to the London Church of Christ. Single mother sacrifice ----------------------- TOLC have obtained some documents which show the amount of money the poorer members of the LCC, those on income support as well as single mothers, are paying to the church. In some situations single mothers are paying well over 10%, whilst some leaders are contributing a fraction of that amount. Is this what sacrifice is all about? Concerned parents appear on GMTV -------------------------------- A few days after the tragic events unfolded of the Solar Temple sect in Switzerland, two parents of a young woman in the Birmingham Church of Christ appeared on breakfast television. Dennis Eborral and his wife spoke movingly of their love for their daughter and their very real concern about her involvement with the Birmingham Church. Even if members of the church do not agree that involvement with the London Church of Christ can be harmful, they cannot help but be touched by the sincere anxieties of parents, family and friends they have left behind. It would be in the best interests of all members of the London Church of Christ, and its affiliated churches, to try and understand the reasons why their families and friends are troubled by their involvement with the church. These anxieties are real and are making the lives of those left behind a misery; often finding it difficult to sleep when worried about their loved one's involvement in a controversial group. Seven sisters for seven brothers? --------------------------------- London Church of Christ members David and Mandy got married recently. Like all London Church of Christ marriages the partnership was approved by the church leaders, and would not have been allowed if the church leaders did not think the two well-matched. Three women at the service voiced their anger and frustration with the London Church of Christ leadership in finding them "a suitable man". They were upset that they were not getting married, and the length of time it was taking church leaders to find a husband that was the "right choice" for them. Mother left in the cold ----------------------- It is only natural that parents of London Church of Christ members should become so frustrated at their son's or daughter's involvement with the church that they resort to desperate measures. One mother whose daughter is a member in the North Zone of London felt her daughter was treating her so badly that she decided to take action, go to the press and expose the treatment and the church’s involvement in her daughter's life. Depite her mother being very ill the daughter ignored her and was saying the church was more important than her mum. In desperation the mother spoke to her daughter's discipler, Simbo, who said "we are not encouraging her to do such things. Please do not go to the press". She assured the mother that "your daughter will be with you soon". A few days later the daughter returned to her mother's house but reportedly continued to act cruelly and unfairly, praying extremely loudly in the house early each morning. WHY WE LEFT THE BOSTON MOVEMENT By Joe and Louise Krainock -------------------------- We are so grateful to have this opportunity to perhaps encourage some one who may be reading this who has had some very difficult encounters with the Boston Movement. For Joe and me, it began in Poway, 13 years ago. We were met by Greg and Shelley Metten. After studying the Bible with them and getting marriage counseling from the Lindos as well, we became Christians in 1980. To this day we are thankful for God working in our lives and in the lives of the Mettens, the Brumleys and the Lindos. God's spirit was really among the congregation. We grew in our knowledge of the Bible, God and Jesus. Relationships were close, very tight and real. In 1986-87 Kip McKean came on the scene through reconstructions of many churches across the country; and, slowly, the hierarchy which is present in full force today, began. Joe and I were really unaware of the forming of the leadership and we didn't see the "control of the leadership" until we got into it. In 1983 we sold our home so that Joe could finish college and then go into the full-time ministry. In 1986 we sold our hair salon so that we could move to Boston with dreams of going on a mission team to Milan, Italy. We had hearts that would give up anything and go anywhere. In 1988 we moved to Boston where we were placed in Willie and Tonya Flores' zone. We had been encouraged to move there (Boston) because of the training for church plantings that takes place and also we knew of so many friends who had moved there. We were told that relationships were close and Boston was on the "cutting edge". Boy, were we sold a bill of goods! One couple in particular told us that "Boston is different than San Diego; you are free to express yourself here and not worry about what people will think about you." Yeah, right! As McCauley Caulkin would say, "I don't think so!" We had become really disappointed with the eldership. There was such control in every area of one's life. The emphasis on evangelism was constant, which made it difficult to get close to anyone. Joe and I became Bible Talk leaders and just wanted to make our group like family, but it was hard with so many feeling the same pressure we did -- to be continually "fruitful." Everyone was constantly on a guilt trip handed down by the leadership. In the fall of 1989 we were asked to be a part of the Los Angeles mission team. We were excited to help start a church from the ground floor up and to be in California again was a thrill! Joe and I were one of the first Christians to roll into LA from the team. It was slow at first. We had to find jobs and a home. Many of us were just barely making it financially. Most of us didn't know where our next meal would come from. Our little group got close and we knew this too shall pass. The leadership began to come in to LA and the work was ahead. Tom and Kelly Brown who were the lead couple, after being there for a few short months, were taken back to Boston due to what was described as "marital problems". Kip and Elena McKean, along with Marty and Chris Fuqua who became the new lead couple, arrived in January of 1990. Things started spinning! Joe and I had held for awhile two Bible Talks, discipled five people each, while being personally discipled and also fitting time in to study the Bible with people. Along with this, we both tried to hold down a 40-45 hour-a-week jobs and also tried not to neglect our 4-year-old daughter at the same time. There was absolutely no time for us, for our marriage, our daughter, much less our families who lived two hours away in San Diego. We only saw our families three times in the year and a half in LA. Your lives were there for one reason only and the leaders made sure you never lost that focus. I remember Joe being advised not to go to his sister's second marriage ceremony simply because it was her second time. The worst of times in the 12 years plus in the Movement came through our involvement with the Flores. I remember one time coming down with the worst case of strep throat. I was unable to make the weekly Bible Talk leaders' meeting, so Joe gave Tonya the message that I wouldn't be there. She called me that night and rebuked me for not calling her personally. I was stunned; I didn't know what to say in response. I guess it really hit me that Tonya was more concerned about my absence and lack of communication than my own personal health. I realized that no matter how hard I tried, it was never good enough. All the leadership was concerned about was productivity and performance. Joe and I had put everything we had into God and the church. Joe lost his job largely due to the pressure to be at every church event. Soon after that we decided, due to our financial condition, to move to San Diego. The Flores, especially Willie, blew his stack at Joe when told of our plans. Things were said that are unrepeatable. There was an unhealthy protection of leadership in the church. Joe called Kip McKean the following day to let him know of Willie's reaction to our moving. Kip said he didn't disagree with our decision to leave but that it wasn't handled the best way. Joe explained to him that Willie had would not allow it to be explained properly. I had a conversation with Tonya Flores the day before we left. She said that I would have to initiate a relationship with her from now on as she wasn't going to and that was because we went against their advice. Joe was told by Kip that he had hurt Willie and he must now try to salvage the relationship. We tried to do this once we had got to San Diego, but they were not willing to resolve things. We went to a wedding a month after we left LA and Joe approached Willie to talk with him and after a two-minute hello, Willie turned his back on Joe and started talking to another person. I bring this up to say this, the church has manipulated and controlled people for a long time, and I pray that more people's eyes and hearts will see this and that people will stop living in fear and guilt. The methods of control have got to stop. It has caused so much spiritual destruction in so many people's lives that it makes us sick. Moving to San Diego, we found the same control and manipulation we had found in Boston and Los Angeles. We were wrongfully and unbiblically "marked" because we spoke up to someone who took our concerns as being divisive rather than being concerned about things we felt were hurting the church and ultimately hurting people. The church has gotten to a point now that the only ones who are allowed to be members of the Movement are those who will do whatever the leadership says, which now includes advice. Those who refuse to go along with this are told that they are not members and their names are put on a list so that all people in a specific zone will know who aren't and who are members. The church will teach you that people are to be like the Bereans when you are studied with. You are told to go over the studies and develop your own convictions. "Don't just trust in the person delivering it but you need to see it and believe it personally". This has all gone out the door now. The purpose for this letter is not that we believe it will stop Boston, but to prevent any others from becoming a part of it. Joe and Louise Krainock 14105 Halper Road Poway, CA 92064 USA MEDIAWATCH ---------- Church member told: "The Kingdom is not a democracy.. I tell you what you need, not what you want to know" Karl Williams, a former discipler in the London Church of Christ, wrote an article about his experiences for The Daily Telegraph early in October. The article, titled "The day I joined a cult", told of Karl's recruitment into the LCC in the summer of 1986 and subsequent discoveries of abuse. Karl tells how he was encouraged to become a member by regular phone calls from the group, invitations to social events and "the unbelievably pleasant nature of many of the individuals encountered". Williams tells however of deceptions: "The outward show of warmth and affection masked what was occurring behind the scenes. The church preferred to keep much of what it believed and practised hidden from outsiders. They didn't, for example, tell visitors that the London Church of Christ organization considers itself to be the only truly Christian church, that all others are damned for eternity, and there is an unspoken agenda to convert everyone who attends." Karl Williams also featured in the respected Scottish TV investigation into the Edinburgh Church of Christ, Scottish Reporters (See Close To The Edge Issue 5, March 1994). In that programme reporter Lynda Kennedy interviewed former members Karl Williams, Alistair McKay, Ayman and Jane Akshar, Theologian John Drane, Psychologist Dr Geoff Scobie, exit-counsellor Graham Baldwin, and accountant John Gilmour. The programme also interviewed the parents of an LCC member, and one former member of the Edinburgh Church who is still so traumatised by her experience that she asked not to be identified. Three times Scottish TV asked for an interview with Andrew Broughton, the leader of the Edinburgh Church of Christ, three times the request was refused. A reporter then spent six weeks "undercover" with the Edinburgh church posing as a new recruit. The documentary secretly filmed Broughton's reaction as the new "recruit" announced his desire to leave. (Broughton was unaware throughout the filming that his "recruit" was in fact working for Scottish TV, they even took their new "member" to a baptism at a cold Scottish loch in the early hours of the morning.) Former treasurer Alistair McKay, meanwhile, told of an ex-leader who had "tried to commit suicide". Karl Williams said: "I personally know of three people who were suicidal after having left. There were a number of other people who actually did attempt suicide... Many, many have severe emotional problems. I know seven people who have had to be sectioned into psychiatric institutions as a result of their membership of the church." Karl Williams was also critical of the pressure put on those who could not afford to give money, "Their love for God was directly equated to the amount of money they gave". In his newspaper article Williams told of how when he questioned his discipler he was told: "The Kingdom is not a democracy". Requests for information on decisions made by the leadership were met with: "I tell you what you need, not what you want to know". Williams concluded his article in The Daily Telegraph by telling of the difficulties he faced in leaving the LCC: "It took me about a year to finally make up my mind to go... members are constantly told about those who "fall away", the miserable lives they are supposed to lead and the eventual damnation that they will face.. I wish I had been more assertive and left much sooner". TIPS FOR AVOIDING CULTIC DECEPTION ---------------------------------- Don't talk with strangers about your spiritual life. Many a young fresher has been sucked into authoritarian groups by opening up about the state of their spiritual life with some fresh faced proselytizer. You should no more discuss your spritual life with a stranger than you would discuss the balance in your bank account or your sex life. Such questions should be greeted with a polite "I'm sorry I don't know you, and I don't discuss personal matters with strangers" Don't go to meetings or Bible studies with strangers. Very often individuals have gone to a "bible study" where they get inundated with a lot of "sincere" interest and acceptance (love-bombing), and depleted by overly long meetings (the extended meeting technique). Many have been taken over because they trusted someone they did not know. "But they're such nice people!" This is a commonly made observation about people in the London Church of Christ. But nice people sometimes do terrible things. Often they are unwittingly part of an organization that is destructive as a whole. Civility and courtesy are not guarantees of truth, goodness, or spirituality. Legitimate groups openly identify themselves and give references and literature. Cultic groups try to cloak their practices and beliefs. They push for commitment before they disclose their program and practices. Legitimate groups give room for questions and reflection. Authority cults tend to "railroad" people into their program. Find out what kind of control characterizes a group. Do members have to seek permission from their leaders in making minor and personal decision, do they occasionally seek advice when they need help with a difficult issue? What is the group's reaction to former members? If in doubt about a group, contact the experts: Catalyst, 0777 708970 Cult Information Centre, 081 651 3322 FAIR, 081 539 3940 TOLC, 081 646 7477 AVAILABLE LITERATURE: The Boston Movement: Analysis, Commentary and Media Reports; Rick & Sarah Bauer. Captive Hearts, Captive Minds; 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; 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. A Family Intervention; Carol Giambalvo 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; 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 November 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 (Ayman Akshar) hamrag@cix.compulink.co.uk (Graham Cluley)