Kip McKean
Encyclopedia
Thomas "Kip" McKean is a former minister of the International Churches of Christ
, and is a current minister of the City of Angels International Christian Church and head of the International Christian Churches
organization, also known as the "Portland/Sold-Out Discipling Movement".
, McKean was born in Indianapolis
, Indiana, and purports to be named after his ancestor Thomas McKean
, signer of the Declaration of Independence
. McKean married Havana
-born Elena Garcia-Bengochea on December 11, 1976. She is presently the Women's’ Ministry Leader in the City of Angels International Christian Church. They have three children, Olivia, Sean and Eric. Olivia McKean left her father's church and lives in Europe.
in Gainesville
. His mentor, Charles H. "Chuck" Lucas, was the evangelist of the 14th Street Church of Christ, part of the mainstream Churches of Christ, a 19th Century movement with aspirations toward a return to "First Century Christianity" as practiced in the New Testament. The church moved into a larger building with a new name, the Crossroads Church of Christ, and, through an aggressive student-based evangelism program Lucas had established, they made many new converts (along with a number of community and campus detractors) as its membership quickly grew.
Lucas' methodology for raising up leaders in the church involved a great deal of hard work in Bible scholarship and discipling promising Christians in the paths prescribed in Scripture.
In 1975, McKean left Gainesville to be the campus minister for Northeastern Christian College, located near Philadelphia as part of a campus ministry program called "Campus Advance". Then in 1975 McKean was hired as a campus minister by the Heritage Chapel Church of Christ in Charleston, Illinois where he grew a college ministry at Eastern Illinois University, funded by the Houston Memorial Church of Christ in Houston, Texas. In 1977, in the letter announcing their decision to withdraw financial support for McKean, the elders stated McKean was teaching false and deceitful doctrine and promoting controlling practices. Then McKean formed a splinter group often called a cult by its critics. McKean became head of the Lexington
(Massachusetts) Church of Christ in 1979 and carried on Lucas' brand of church ministry that focused on evangelism
and campus ministry. The church grew rapidly and later changed its name to the Boston
Church of Christ.
, with McKean and his wife Elena considered the highest authority within the hierarchy of the movement.
Shortly thereafter, they separated from the mainline Churches of Christ. In 1990, the McKeans moved to Los Angeles
to lead the Los Angeles Church of Christ, where they presided over the rapid growth of the ICOC throughout the 1990s.
At the beginning of 2001 as a college student in Boston, the oldest of the McKeans’ children began to question her faith. Unjustly and heavily criticized – because of the high profile of her parents – and feeling unloved by many in the congregation, she stopped attending church. This single event caused uncertainty in McKeans’ leadership among many of the World Sector Leaders, as well as among the Kingdom Elders and Kingdom Teachers. In September of 2001, the World Sector Leaders pushed the McKeans into a sabbatical – though later, some deeply regretted this decision. The reasoning was that to “oversee” a church, one had to “manage his own family [well or] how can he take care of God’s church.” (1 Timothy 3:4-5) Also cited was Proverbs 22:6, “Train a child in the way he should go, and… he will not turn from it.” The McKenas, and those loyal to them, were hurt by what they felt was a lack of grace and appreciation by almost all of the World Sector Leaders, Kingdom Elders and Kingdom Teachers. To legitimize themselves, they cited places in the Scriptures where some of God’s and Israel’s greatest leaders had unfaithful children – Aaron, Samuel, and even the Old Testament’s Messiah, David – yet they continued to victoriously lead “all Israel.” This use of the old testament as a standard contradicts McKean's claim that the old covenant holds no sway in modern times.
Although the International Churches of Christ and the International Christian Church share almost identical doctrines, the divisive issues are zealousness (neither side thinks that the others are truly living out the scriptures) and the treatment of the McKeans in the early 2000s. Both churches continue to operate, worship, and evangelize in an incredibly similar way, but their differences continue ot separate them.
In August 2008, the Portland church broke away from McKean's "New Movement" and "extended the hand of fellowship" to the ICOC.
Kip McKean's doctrine and practice continue to be the subject of controversy including accusations that he was and is a cult leader.
"It seems McKean's kids weren't always so happy in the ICC. In 1998, McKean's daughter had publicly mentioned earlier desires of leaving the ICC, saying, "I thought that the only place I could find true freedom would be outside the church, and that's the only place that I could be happy." Later, when rumors spread of her actual departure from the ICC, the ICC may have had a consistency issue on its hands: other ICC leaders had been forced to step down after similar occurrences, but what of McKean?"
International Churches of Christ
The International Churches of Christ is a body of co-operating non-denominational, religiously conservative, and racially integrated Christian congregations, an offshoot from the Mainline Churches of Christ. This group is known for and has a long history of showing charity to the poor...
, and is a current minister of the City of Angels International Christian Church and head of the International Christian Churches
International Christian Churches
The International Christian Church is a group of restoration movement nondenominational congregations led by Kip McKean and split off from the International Churches of Christ . It is often still associated with the International Christian Churches; however, there is no affiliation between the two...
organization, also known as the "Portland/Sold-Out Discipling Movement".
Early life and family
The son of an admiralAdmiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
, McKean was born in Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, Indiana, and purports to be named after his ancestor Thomas McKean
Thomas McKean
Thomas McKean was an American lawyer and politician from New Castle, in New Castle County, Delaware and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During the American Revolution he was a delegate to the Continental Congress where he signed the United States Declaration of Independence and the Articles of...
, signer of the Declaration of Independence
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
. McKean married Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
-born Elena Garcia-Bengochea on December 11, 1976. She is presently the Women's’ Ministry Leader in the City of Angels International Christian Church. They have three children, Olivia, Sean and Eric. Olivia McKean left her father's church and lives in Europe.
From Gainesville to the Boston Church of Christ
McKean was baptized in 1972 while a freshman at the University of FloridaUniversity of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
in Gainesville
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
. His mentor, Charles H. "Chuck" Lucas, was the evangelist of the 14th Street Church of Christ, part of the mainstream Churches of Christ, a 19th Century movement with aspirations toward a return to "First Century Christianity" as practiced in the New Testament. The church moved into a larger building with a new name, the Crossroads Church of Christ, and, through an aggressive student-based evangelism program Lucas had established, they made many new converts (along with a number of community and campus detractors) as its membership quickly grew.
Lucas' methodology for raising up leaders in the church involved a great deal of hard work in Bible scholarship and discipling promising Christians in the paths prescribed in Scripture.
In 1975, McKean left Gainesville to be the campus minister for Northeastern Christian College, located near Philadelphia as part of a campus ministry program called "Campus Advance". Then in 1975 McKean was hired as a campus minister by the Heritage Chapel Church of Christ in Charleston, Illinois where he grew a college ministry at Eastern Illinois University, funded by the Houston Memorial Church of Christ in Houston, Texas. In 1977, in the letter announcing their decision to withdraw financial support for McKean, the elders stated McKean was teaching false and deceitful doctrine and promoting controlling practices. Then McKean formed a splinter group often called a cult by its critics. McKean became head of the Lexington
Lexington, Massachusetts
Lexington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,399 at the 2010 census. This town is famous for being the site of the first shot of the American Revolution, in the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775.- History :...
(Massachusetts) Church of Christ in 1979 and carried on Lucas' brand of church ministry that focused on evangelism
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
and campus ministry. The church grew rapidly and later changed its name to the Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
Church of Christ.
Separation from the Churches of Christ
After separating from the Crossroads Church of Christ, the Boston church expanded its influence among other Churches of Christ, becoming known as "the Boston Movement" and, eventually, the International Churches of ChristInternational Churches of Christ
The International Churches of Christ is a body of co-operating non-denominational, religiously conservative, and racially integrated Christian congregations, an offshoot from the Mainline Churches of Christ. This group is known for and has a long history of showing charity to the poor...
, with McKean and his wife Elena considered the highest authority within the hierarchy of the movement.
Shortly thereafter, they separated from the mainline Churches of Christ. In 1990, the McKeans moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to lead the Los Angeles Church of Christ, where they presided over the rapid growth of the ICOC throughout the 1990s.
At the beginning of 2001 as a college student in Boston, the oldest of the McKeans’ children began to question her faith. Unjustly and heavily criticized – because of the high profile of her parents – and feeling unloved by many in the congregation, she stopped attending church. This single event caused uncertainty in McKeans’ leadership among many of the World Sector Leaders, as well as among the Kingdom Elders and Kingdom Teachers. In September of 2001, the World Sector Leaders pushed the McKeans into a sabbatical – though later, some deeply regretted this decision. The reasoning was that to “oversee” a church, one had to “manage his own family [well or] how can he take care of God’s church.” (1 Timothy 3:4-5) Also cited was Proverbs 22:6, “Train a child in the way he should go, and… he will not turn from it.” The McKenas, and those loyal to them, were hurt by what they felt was a lack of grace and appreciation by almost all of the World Sector Leaders, Kingdom Elders and Kingdom Teachers. To legitimize themselves, they cited places in the Scriptures where some of God’s and Israel’s greatest leaders had unfaithful children – Aaron, Samuel, and even the Old Testament’s Messiah, David – yet they continued to victoriously lead “all Israel.” This use of the old testament as a standard contradicts McKean's claim that the old covenant holds no sway in modern times.
New Movement
Since 2005, the congregations under Kip McKean's leadership have sometimes called themselves the "International Christian Church". This group under Kip McKean's influence has also been called the "Portland/Sold-Out Discipling Movement". In 2007, McKean moved to Los Angeles to lead a congregation of his new movement known as the City of Angels International Christian Church.Although the International Churches of Christ and the International Christian Church share almost identical doctrines, the divisive issues are zealousness (neither side thinks that the others are truly living out the scriptures) and the treatment of the McKeans in the early 2000s. Both churches continue to operate, worship, and evangelize in an incredibly similar way, but their differences continue ot separate them.
Controversy
Controversy surrounding McKean started in 1977, when he was fired by the Houston Memorial Church of Christ. Many college and university campuses banned McKean's group throughout the 1980s and 1990s. History seemed to repeat itself in 2003, when a letter written by a former minister of the ICOC caused followers to once again question McKean's methods.In August 2008, the Portland church broke away from McKean's "New Movement" and "extended the hand of fellowship" to the ICOC.
Kip McKean's doctrine and practice continue to be the subject of controversy including accusations that he was and is a cult leader.
"It seems McKean's kids weren't always so happy in the ICC. In 1998, McKean's daughter had publicly mentioned earlier desires of leaving the ICC, saying, "I thought that the only place I could find true freedom would be outside the church, and that's the only place that I could be happy." Later, when rumors spread of her actual departure from the ICC, the ICC may have had a consistency issue on its hands: other ICC leaders had been forced to step down after similar occurrences, but what of McKean?"
See also
- Churches of Christ
- International Churches of ChristInternational Churches of ChristThe International Churches of Christ is a body of co-operating non-denominational, religiously conservative, and racially integrated Christian congregations, an offshoot from the Mainline Churches of Christ. This group is known for and has a long history of showing charity to the poor...
- Restoration MovementRestoration MovementThe Restoration Movement is a Christian movement that began on the American frontier during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century...
External links
- KipMcKean.org, Official Website of Kip McKean