rex@nbc1.ge.com (Rex Espiritu) (08/06/90)
CRITIQUE OF THE BOSTON CHURCH OF CHRIST by Rev. Tim McAndrew Rev. Tim McAndrew is a cum laude graduate of Columbia Bible College with a bachelor of Science in Biblical Education, 1978. He also received a two year Master of Religious Education from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in 1980. He is currently the Assistant Pastor of the North Chelmsford Congregational Church in Massachusetts. I did this research in memory of Walter Martin. Jude 3 "Dear friends, although I was very eager to write you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints." I. Historical Overview A. Restoration Movement In the mid-1800's a movement to restore New Testament Christianity began to grow and has come down to us in three main streams; (1) Churches of Christ, (2) noninstrumental Churches of Christ, which teach no musical instruments should be played in a church worship service because the New Testament lists no playing of instruments in its recorded worship meetings, and (3) the Disciples of Christ. Tributaries have branched off from these three streams and the Boston Church of Christ has come out of the noninstrumental Churches of Christ. B. The Boston Church of Christ The Boston Church of Christ was in Lexington in 1979 with just thirty members when Kip McKean took the pastorate. He had been a student in the University of Florida in the early 1970's when he joined up with a ministry of Chuck Lucas and his Crossroads Movement that emphasized strict discipleship over followers. The Boston Church of Christ has cut its ties to the Crossroads Movement since Chuck Lucas has resigned from its ministry. In June of 1979, Kip McKean took his discipleship teachings to this local church and by 1986 it was meeting in the Boston Garden with thousands of members and daughter churches spreading from coast to coast and internationally as well. Kip McKean has left this local church and it is now pastored by Dr. Albert W. Baird and Robert F. Gempel and perhaps one or two other "elders" will be appointed soon. As of January of 1989 four or five thousand people attend the Sunday service at Boston Garden and during the summer their international seminar had about thirteen thousand attending the Boston Garden. They use the "cell" multiplication system to get to such high numbers in a single organization. It is a hierarchy with theocracy i.e. God rules their government through their appointed leaders. The pyramid's base is the house churches or Bible Study [Talk] Groups that meet in private homes, apartments, etc., with an appointed leader over each study group. The second tier of leadership is the _Zone_ leaders who oversee several Bible Study [Talk] Groups. The next level are the _Sector_ leaders that oversee several Zone leaders, there are only three main Sector leaders for the Boston Church and one of them is Al Baird, one of the _elders_. There are two other Sector leaders for the Teen Work and Campus Work. Then the top leaders are the two _elders_ who oversee the Sector leaders and themselves as only God is above them. II. Authority Claims and Evidences (1) The Boston Church of Christ makes the basic claim that they follow the New Testament, and Bible in general, more fully than most other local churches. (2) This is the basis for the second basic claim, which is there is no salvation outside the Boston Church of Christ's Theological System. Only local churches which are identical or very, very close to their own beliefs and practices are considered Born From Above Christians. The rest of so-called Christianity are not considered true Christians but either false apostles masquerading as "angels of light" (like yours truly) or deceived followers of such "angels of light" who are ignorant of their condition. Now, every one true church in history has produced evidence to back up that elite claim and the Boston Church of Christ is no different. They have distinctive doctrines and practices to show how most other congregations are different and therefore wrong. How can a one true church believe and act like other congregations? This sort of philosophy does attract a certain type of person who wants to believe that he or she is indeed part of an elite movement. Lutheran theologian Richard John Neuhaus stated that authoritarian groups like this have a growing popularity due to the "false perception of certainty" they offer. "There is a felt market need for specific answers that come from God, not from somebody's judgment," he says. (3) The Boston Church of Christ says God must be favoring us with His Blessings due to the fact that it has grown in population size so quickly and in mass. Large and quick growth is at the least a responsibility and may indeed mean God has blessed it. On the other hand, as certain television evangelists can tell you, that type of proof doesn't prove that a large and fast growing cancer isn't there. It could also be a mixed bag of solid and healthy growth with some unhealthy growth as well. III. Central Beliefs and Practices with Refutations A. Testing Truth Claims Since the central pillar that hold this one true church up is that they follow the Bible more fully than most, it is necessary to cross that same bridge to counter such sweeping claims. The God of the Bible does not equal the Boston Church of Christ. A grammatical and solid case can be built on the Bible to refute their odd theology. Their truth claims will be judged by their own acknowledged standard, the test of Scripture. 1. Isaiah 8:20 "To the Law (i.e. the five books of Moses, Genesis - Deuteronomy) and the Testimony! (i.e. the written testimony of the Old Testament of God's dealings with His people up until Isaiah by this quote). If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn." (i.e. _NO_ true revelation from God in this world of darkness). The Bible cannot at any point directly contradict their truth claims that make them one true church. 2. Acts 17:11 "Now the Bereans were of noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." Even a true apostle speaking inspired words of God was to be checked out by God's standard of revelation claims and they were commended for it. It has been my experience that the leadership of the Boston Church of Christ does not like Biblical literates giving such tests. They run away from the grammar texts that contradict them and when you force them to give you grammatical answers they either say nothing, skip to another passage or they go on a long winded explanation that is pretty much a bag of wind with no substance. 3. I Thessalonians 5:21 "Test everything. Hold on to the good." But then, since I am a critic of the Boston Church of Christ, all testing will be considered as poisoned. There are no legitimate, honest and sincere critics that are outside or have left one true churches. They are all evil or motivated by evil forces. To think otherwise would force them to doubt their elite status. B. Specific Beliefs and Practices Biblical support in written form for all the following beliefs and practices is to be found in the Boston Church of Christ workbook publication, _First_Principles_, first given in 1979 by Kip McKean and "fine tuned" over the years until it has been printed in this booklet in 1989. (Published and available through their Boston Tape Ministry, P.O. Box 144, Lexington, MA, 02173.) 1. Unless you are a fully committed disciple you are either not saved from God's coming judgment or are in danger of losing your Christian standing of being forgiven by rejecting the Boston Church of Christ's teachings. REFUTATION I Corinthians 3:9-15 gives the only explanation of judgment of the believer. If the believer has the foundation which is the acceptance of the finished work of Christ on our behalf, he himself will be saved even if all he has built was wood, hay and stubble. Ephesians 2:8-10 and Galatians 3:1-14 refute such additions to add anything to the forgiven standing of Born From Above Christians. 2. They bring people to Christ and illuminate their minds with their odd theological interpretations of Scripture. They say this is cooperating with the Holy Spirit but they reduce Him to a bit player cooperating with their efforts. REFUTATION John 6:44 "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day." I John 2:26,27 "I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit-just as it has taught you, remain in Him." Authoritative teachers outside of Jesus and the Holy Spirit we do not need. Teachers of the church are gifted by the Holy Spirit but their authority ends before the author of all gifts and His inspired Word. 3. They deny the baptism of the Spirit is for today and claim their water baptism (by immersion) is what saves or completes the saving covenant. Pentecost and the house of Cornelius are the only two baptisms by the Spirit they recognize. REFUTATION a. Acts 10:44-48 and 11:15-18, Cornelius and others receive the baptism of the Spirit before water baptism. Baptism where no water touches the baptized; I Corinthians 10:1-5, I Peter 3:20,21 and Ephesians 5:25,26. b. I Corinthians 12:12,13 "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by (or in) one Spirit into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free-and we were all given one Spirit to drink." Ephesians 4:3-6, Galatians 3:26-4:7 and Romans 8:9-11, Verse 9: "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ." 4. Each person who joins the Boston Church of Christ is given Junior Discipleship Partner status with a Senior Discipleship Partner given as his or her counsellor and guide for his or her Christian walk. Again the Holy Spirit is reduced to speaking through the Senior Discipleship Partner. REFUTATION Jesus' words that the Holy Spirit indwelling you, not other human beings, but you personally would be your ultimate counsellor or guide are hard to ignore. John 14:15-24 and 16:5-16. It is hard for me to forget the words of Martin Luther when he was faced by the political and spiritual authoritarianism one true church of his day. "A man's conscience is God given and to deny what you honestly believe is both wrong and dangerous. Therefore, unless I can be convinced by sacred Scripture or by evident reason, I cannot and will not recant. Here I stand, I can do no other. God help me. Amen (or so be it)." Just because you are a spiritual and/or political authority that wields great power doesn't mean you are right. 5. Do not grieve the Senior Discipleship Partner by disobedience to counsel or you risk the full authority of the Boston Church of Christ lighting right on your neck. They may toss you out of their local assembly which means loss of salvation as you are now out of the Body of Christ. REFUTATION The Holy Spirit seals us in our redemption and breaks fellowship with us when we grieve Him. Ephesians 4:29-32, _Verse_30_ "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." Jesus promised that those who accept Him will _never_ perish. John 6:35-40 and 10:27-30. You should know that you have (present tense) eternal life, I John 5:10-13. Illustration of thief on the cross; Mark 15:25-32 and Luke 23:32-43. IV. CONCLUSIONS My conclusions on the Boston Church of Christ is that they have tried to take over the functions of the Holy Spirit with their own efforts. Their basic problem is that no human organization, or individual for that matter, is up to being God the Holy Spirit. We are simply too sinful and finite. They use the Law of God, i.e. the Law of perfection, and a false claim to spiritual authority on the Holy Spirit's level Himself, like clubs to get their converts and keep them in line with more fear than is necessary. They use high energy and high pressure evangelism with information control. That is, rarely or never giving you information they know exists that would allow you to see other points of view and their validity. Integrity can sometimes get lost in the middle of excitement about a group's power. One last illustration to prove this point. Dr. Al Baird was first baptized in 1983 and then _rebaptized_ in 1987 in Boston. He was and remains one of the top elders. I Timothy 3:1-7, especially verse 6, states no recent convert should be made an elder due to prideful immaturity lurking in his life. Al Baird insists that has nothing to do with him because he was not a recent convert. When asked if water baptism (with correct understanding) is necessary for a true conversion he replied, "Oh yes, we teach and believe that." So why the rebaptism if he had been truly converted before? Do these people really follow the Scriptures more closely than most or is that claim as false as the proverbial three dollar bill? Surely the old dictum is true, that those who tell white lies soon become colorblind. In Christ, Rev. Timothy McAndrew For more information on the Boston Church of Christ or other groups, please contact: Sound Doctrine Ministries P.O. Box 1962 Exeter, NH 03833 (603) 772-3093 [This article was posted with permission of the original author. Is there some reason why we would be particularly interested in an analysis of the Boston Church of Christ? Does it have some particularly wide influence? I'm sure there are lots of people who object to what lots of other churches are doing. I don't doubt that there could be an expose of the errors of the Bound Brook Presbyterian Church (the one I belong to) written from a fundamentalist perspective. However it probably doesn't make sense to analyze every local church in the country in this group. Rather than attacking specific churches, it probably makes more sense to talk about general trends and viewpoints. I'm assuming that the Boston Church of Christ is prototypical of an approach that has wider implications. --clh]
max@mthvax.cs.miami.edu (Max Southall) (08/08/90)
In article <Aug.5.17.40.47.1990.17085@athos.rutgers.edu> rex@nbc1.ge.com (Rex Espiritu) writes: >Is there some reason why we would be particularly interested in an >analysis of the Boston Church of Christ? Does it have some >--clh] I found this interesting because it seems to me to strike a chord with the experience of extremist "discipling" and authoritarianism that has been endemic in some quarters. The arguments refuting it are particularly apt. [flong%math@sdsu.edu (Fred J. E. Long) also comments: >There is a very similar church of christ here in san diego. --clh]
jackk@shasta.stanford.edu (Jack Kouloheris) (08/12/90)
In article <Aug.8.03.05.49.1990.12533@athos.rutgers.edu> you write: >>Is there some reason why we would be particularly interested in an >>analysis of the Boston Church of Christ? Does it have some >>--clh] I think the reason that others might be interested is that there seems to be a *subset* of the Church of Christ denomination associated with the Boston Church of Christ. Other churches include Crossroads Church of Christ (Gainesville, Fla.) and Berkeley Church of Christ (Berkeley, Ca.). Their primary evagelism focus seems to be on University campuses, through their dorm bible studies. The bible studies are advertised as being "non-denominational", but indeed only one interpretation of scripture is allowed. There is a strong emphasis on works as proof of one's faith and salvation. They only recognize their baptism by immersion as being valid. They told me point blank that all other denominations (from Baptist to Catholic and everything in between) were going straight to hell. They said "Why do these churches call themselves "Baptist", "Lutheran", etc. ? We are the only Church of Christ, we are called by His name." Members who drop out, or decide to attend a different church are systematically shunned. They have come under attack in some quarters as exhibiting cult-like practices.
MARK@ucf1vm.cc.ucf.edu (Mark Woodruff) (08/16/90)
In article <Aug.12.04.51.10.1990.16900@athos.rutgers.edu>, jackk@shasta.stanford.edu (Jack Kouloheris) says: > >I think the reason that others might be interested is that >there seems to be a *subset* of the Church of Christ denomination >associated with the Boston Church of Christ. Other churches include >Crossroads Church of Christ (Gainesville, Fla.) and Berkeley >Church of Christ (Berkeley, Ca.). Add to that the Orlando Church of Christ (Orlando, FL) which I have attended twice, but am not a member of. >Their primary evagelism focus >seems to be on University campuses, through their dorm >bible studies. The bible studies are advertised as being >"non-denominational", but indeed only one interpretation of scripture >is allowed. So far, my impression is that if an interpretation agrees with the whole of the Bible, they accept it. Interestingly enough, they don't particularly care which Bible so long as it is a translation and not a paraphrase. Most of their members seem to use the New International Version. >There is a strong emphasis on works as proof of one's >faith and salvation. The emphasis I've noticed is on Matthew 28:19-20. They require discipleship of all members rather than just professional missionaries and preachers. >They told me point blank that all other denominations >(from Baptist to Catholic and everything in between) were going >straight to hell. I haven't heard this from anyone; instead they've urged for everyone to "check them out." If someone finds something they do out of line with the scripture, they say they will change. If you're interested, I'll let you know more as I find out more. mark