CLOSE TO THE EDGE TOLC, PO Box 348, Morden, Surrey SM4 6ZD Tel: 081-646-7477 Fax: 081-646-8151 May 1994 Issue 7 Email: aakshar@cix.compulink.co.uk Twenty four hour hotline: 0860 579211 Triumphing Over London Cults is a group of former members of the London Church of Christ, Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Dublin, Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester, Tokyo, and International Churches of Christ CHRIS McGRATH LOSES CONTROL OF LCC INSIGHT: UK LEADERSHIP IN STATE OF CONFUSION AS LCC TIGHTENS GRIP Chris McGrath, recently appointed to replace disgraced LCC co-leader Fred Scott, has himself been demoted. McGrath, a former boxer, is no longer the lead evangelist of the London Church of Christ and is now in nominal charge of only the West London zone - a clear demotion. In the meantime, Close To The Edge has discovered, the London Church of Christ is effectively leaderless. Some commentators have suggested that American Douglas Arthur was less than impressed by McGrath's "skills" as an evangelist. Many members of the LCC refer to McGrath as "the hyena" for his bizarre style. On Sunday 9th May McGrath was seen confiscating a copy of Close To The Edge off a church member. Douglas Arthur confirmed in February reports in Close To The Edge that a mole had infiltrated the LCC leadership. Meanwhile the Birmingham Church of Christ has been shaken by the loss of leader Mike DeSouza (sent to London for "re-training" - a similar excuse was used when Fred Scott was sent to Washington, D.C.) and the instatement without vote of the "notorious" Tim Dannett. Dannett is known to be a hard-liner who will not tolerate disobedience, and is believed to have been told to tell members to move into church flats and stop living with parents. Many are believed to be being pressured into giving up their current employment, to devote more time to the church. ZONE LEADER AND 23 MEMBERS LEAVE TORONTO CHURCH OF CHRIST Over 20 members of the Toronto Church of Christ, including a Zone Leader, have followed the example of the Milan and Indianapolis Churches of Christ and have decided to leave the Boston Movement. The Zone Leader, an Iranian, had been commanded by the Church leadership to head a new church planting in the troubled Middle Eastern city of Beirut. Close To The Edge's Canadian correspondent reports that prior to a final meeting with Boston Movement World Leader Kip McKean, the Zone Leader decided to leave the movement, taking with him some twenty three other members. Sources reported that McKean was "in a furious rage" about the Toronto members' refusal to obey him. STOP PRESS Close To The Edge is receiving a growing number of reports from former members concerned by the Child Care facilities offered by the London Church of Christ. A number of married couples have approached us, disturbed to see the LCC leadership asking unqualified (and sometimes highly unsuitable people) to care for children of the congregation. Many who have never had children are being expected to look after infants who require special care and attention. Furthermore, it is reported that some of the carers have had psychological problems, and are regularly taking drugs to control their nerves. STOP PRESS: Reports are reaching us of that a leading member of the London Church of Christ might be about to leave the movement. Regular readers will remember Close To The Edge's prediction in December 93 and January 94 about Fred Scott's future. As correctly anticpated by Close To The Edge Scott lost his job in February. More news next month. Reader's Digest probe makes LCC members think again A detailed probe by respected journalist Peter Browne has prompted members of the London Church of Christ to re-evaluate their position within the movement. The article, entitled "The 'Church' That's Brainwashing Britons", was published in the April 1994 edition of Reader's Digest magazine. The article investigated the abusive practice of discipleship, and the thousands of pounds "milked" out of individual members for dubious causes. Following the article's publication the offices of Close To The Edge were deluged by an unprecedented number of phone calls from current members of the London Church of Christ asking for more information about the church’s finances, and providing details of the abuses they have witnessed inside the church. The Reader's Digest article has been published around the globe in a number of languages besides English: Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Danish, French, German, Dutch, Hungarian, Italian, Chinese, Russian, Korean, Hindi and Czech. We urge members of the London Church of Christ and its sister churches who have not yet read this important article to do so. More married couples leave London Church of Christ In the course of just one week during April, five married couples contacted Close To The Edge and decided to leave the London Church of Christ. If you would like to find out why call us on our 24 hour hotline, 0860 579211. We promise to respect your confidentiality. Birmingham Church of Christ disciples Bristol The Birmingham Church of Christ has taken over the discipleship of its Bristol sister church. Alex Mnatazaganian, the leader of the Bristol Church of Christ, has long been believed by on-lookers to have had anxieties about the practices and extremism of the London church. However, the group in Bristol has failed to find a significant foothold in the city following bans by the University of Bristol and the University of Western England. McGrath in a frenzy over mole in London church Senior sources within the London Church of Christ have alleged that Chris McGrath, former leader of the LCC, is in a state of "frantic paranoia" over the mole in the leadership. The mole, who is known as Garbo in LCC-monitoring circles has been passing on classified information and details of the accounts to TOLC. Some have suggested that Garbo was a close friend of Fred Scott's and this was one of the primary reasons why Scott was sent to Washington DC for "re-training". What is certain, however, is that information the London Church of Christ would rather remain secret is leaking out of the church offices. On February 8th Douglas Arthur confirmed that an unnamed leading member of the church is "falling away in his heart". For the time being, however, it appears the mole is happy to remain underground. "Give up your jobs, move down to London" Some commentators believe this could soon be the message for members of the Birmingham Church of Christ as plans hot up for this summer's HOPE campaign in London. Because London congregations numbers have collapsed so disasterously over the last twelve months UK leader Chris McGrath, under the guidance of Douglas Arthur, are planning to get Birmingham members to move down to London for a month. Such is the pressure put on members of the church in full-time employment that they will be expected to give up their jobs if they cannot get four weeks off work. One member of the Birmingham church recently spoke to Close To The Edge about her experiences when she was offered a job which meant she would not be able to devote 100% of her time to the church: "My discipler advised me not to take it, that no job was worth risking going to hell for. It was the kind of job I'd been waiting all my life to get.. I wasn't going to let them stop me. Later they gave me trouble again when I wanted to move back in with my parents, rather than stay in the sisters' house". 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. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE COPIES OF ANY OF THE ABOVE CONTACT US AT THE USUAL ADDRESS. This newsletter could not have been produced without the help of many current and former members of the London Church of Christ