tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834523366066076881.post8121553015189247136..comments2023-10-20T07:13:08.058-07:00Comments on The Articles of Indignation: Exposing the Corruption of Kip McKean's "Churches" (The ICC): [Article 1] The ICC's Corrupt Policies for Money (Part 1)Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04972523578029238414noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834523366066076881.post-45125279096115735082018-04-12T10:03:00.483-07:002018-04-12T10:03:00.483-07:00Tim is following Kip's pyramid schemeTim is following Kip's pyramid schemeFallenICCmemberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07693182369647511376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834523366066076881.post-30644308872695188702018-01-25T23:48:04.577-08:002018-01-25T23:48:04.577-08:00110% correct, Kip McKean has not changed one bit s...110% correct, Kip McKean has not changed one bit since he first started out with this whole cult thing and his grip especially on the Boston ICC through Mike Patterson is very strong because it is the root of his whole movement. <br /><br />When I left the ICC and ran into my old discipler one time I confronted him about all the financial abuses and other things that they inflict on members and he would not talk about any of it. Especially when I mentioned Kip's $220,000+ a year salary and $650,000+ house in one of the richest areas of CA. <br /><br />They burn people out with all of their demands on time, money, and controlling people. No one survives in that church for long and when they do leave, they are emotionally and physically exhausted from the entire ordeal. Truth is it takes time to gain some sense of normalcy again and move on. <br /><br />I was with Boston for most of 2017 and saw how badly things were with all of their hypocritical garbage, especially in matters of purity and money. If you donated large sums of money each week, there was leniency for what you'd be allowed to do and not. For example, if you donate heavily, it might be overlooked that you won't be at certain meetings of the body, midweek services, sunday services, etc. <br /><br />I'll even go as far as saying when it comes to sex, they overlook certain things in that area too because they don't want to lose a cash cow, so they might be a little more lenient. Tell that person they can't hold a leadership position, but then are back in one less than a month later. It is all about the money with them....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834523366066076881.post-20869535451738680312016-02-10T18:39:55.549-08:002016-02-10T18:39:55.549-08:00About the "financial workshops" where th...About the "financial workshops" where they coerce the members to raise their contributions; a new propaganda video from the ICC shows Tim Kernan using a different terminology while talking about their 2016 "winter workshop" and he says "we went into our 'generosity drive' which we blew it out with...uuhh...a goal…our…our formal giving was about thirty three thousand a week, we have got it up to four thousand" [he meant to say forty thousand]. So during their latest "workshop" they coerced the congregation into raising their contributions from a church total of $33,000 to $40,000 in what they are now calling a "generosity drive". Basically it is the same thing as the "financial workshops" they had in the past but just with a different (and deceitful) packaging. <br /><br />Now why is this terminology deceptive? When you hear such terms as “food drive” or “can drive” or “clothing drive”; when it has the word “drive” at the end you think of people willingly bringing in food, canned goods, and clothes and such on their own initiative. By calling what they are doing during their 2016 workshops a “generosity drive”; this term influences people into thinking that the members are giving willingly rather than being coerced into doing so. The ICC leaders abuse their authority and use forceful means to pressure their members into raising their contributions and then use this kind of psychologically deceptive terminology to try to disguise their actions. Just like they do when they tell the members that they are “called” to raise their contributions.<br />Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04972523578029238414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834523366066076881.post-2558453364548901122016-01-01T04:07:23.183-08:002016-01-01T04:07:23.183-08:00Great blog Daniel I also experienced that cult and...Great blog Daniel I also experienced that cult and I am making a youtube channel about them www.youtube.com/channel/UCyzFYMTuC3UPcMeVfU7oo2g keep up the good work, maybe you could do a video too to share your story.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834523366066076881.post-30723808511512614712015-12-21T23:51:26.817-08:002015-12-21T23:51:26.817-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Onjayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03162729635831400902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834523366066076881.post-31387281118792162632015-11-02T11:12:40.059-08:002015-11-02T11:12:40.059-08:00"We are a corporation"-Cindy Ochs San Fr..."We are a corporation"-Cindy Ochs San Francisco ICC Administrator <br /><br />The below perspective, The Body of Christ vs. Church Corporation, has some very interesting and poignant insights about these two very conflicting entities.<br /><br />"Many believers intuitively feel this war going on—resulting in the large-scale disillusionment we see within Christianity—but have a hard time identifying or naming the problem. They’ve been taught that the church corporation IS the body of Christ, and although it may be “imperfect”, we should not criticize or find fault; because, after all “it is the body of Christ” and you shouldn’t “tear it down” or be “divisive”. This misunderstanding has kept many believers from standing up for the body of Christ...<br /><br />When things go wrong, such as abuse, condemnation, manipulation, corruption, secrecy, guilt tactics, pressure, obligation, or punishment for nonconformity in a church, where does that come from? Is this just the effects of an “imperfect” body of Christ, or the bitter fruit of a corrupt system that above all else needs to feed and protect itself?<br /><br />This is, in fact, the essential difference between the two kinds of “bodies”. One (the body of Christ) lives to extend and give to others, the other (the corporation) lives off of others in order to keep itself alive. At its deepest level, the body of Christ embodies Jesus in this world, and continues the ministry and message that Jesus gave when he was on earth—the mission is everything. At its deepest level, the corporation exists to add value to its investors through the success and expansion of the organization—the mission (or “mission statement”) is a means to that end.<br /><br />The body of Christ cares about all kinds of people and makes sacrifices to express God’s love and grace to others. The church corporation cares about bottom line, budget, expansion, reputation, growth and will use or misuse people as necessary to achieve those objectives. The body of Christ has a heart; the church corporation does not, although for public relations’ sake it pretends to.<br /><br />...In some cases, the body of Christ is holding the corporation at bay; in others the corporation has already taken over, and the life and freedom of the body of Christ has been minimized and even rendered ineffective." <br /><br />*The entire article can be found at http://whychurchessuck.blogspot.com/2010/12/body-of-christ-vs-church-corporation.html<br /><br />*Cindy Ochs interview can be seen viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwfgZ-vzfiIAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834523366066076881.post-80995866950023304072015-09-22T10:51:56.302-07:002015-09-22T10:51:56.302-07:00You know there's a problem when the pillar cou...You know there's a problem when the pillar couples (older, spiritually mature and often financially secure) start leaving and all that's left are relatively recent converts in their late teens and early twenties. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834523366066076881.post-67162088123414716342015-09-20T09:03:03.762-07:002015-09-20T09:03:03.762-07:00Dan-
This is welcomed news for many of us who have...Dan-<br />This is welcomed news for many of us who have been praying, diligently, for those who are enslaved by the ICC system of spiritual abuse and manipulation. This is especially true of the group's most vulnerable members and those they AGGRESSIVELY attempt to recruit and retain, young campus students. It is our continued prayer that as more of the older, spiritually mature and wiser members leave, God will continue to remove the scales upon the eyes of those who remain. And they, too, will begin to evaluate their misplaced devotion to a man and his empire (Kip and ICC) versus God and His true kingdom. <br /><br />Please keep us abreast of those that God continues to lead out of the ICC (spiritual Egypt) and its pharaoh, Kip McKean. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834523366066076881.post-7506293267840852492015-09-18T20:31:09.877-07:002015-09-18T20:31:09.877-07:00When I wrote these articles I predicted that the I...When I wrote these articles I predicted that the ICC would not repent of its abusive actions and coercion. I based this prediction on Kip McKean’s apparent sociopathic behavior and the manipulative tactics that he has used to coerce his leaders and members alike. But for all this there was still some part of me that secretly wished that the ICC would prove me wrong – that they would choose to repent of their wickedness and abusive behavior rather than continuing in it. Instead of proving me wrong, the ICC has proved me right all the more by not only refusing to repent but also attempting to spread lies about me in response to the articles that I have written. This solidifies the conclusion I came to that the best decision for ICC members to make is to leave the organization; changing this corruption from the inside is not going to work at this point.<br /><br />In light of this I am glad to announce that I have just received word that 8 people – 4 married couples who have been a part of the ICC for many years have now decided to leave this corrupt organization together. I have been asked to keep their names confidential because they have been persecuted by the ICC leadership for their decision (having 8 longstanding married members leaving in unison is sure to arouse the leadership’s animosity). After witnessing years of corruption they together made an informed decision that was best for their futures and their spirituality as well. Let’s rejoice that these people will no longer be abused and manipulated for money. Now they can live their lives and build their families with the peace of mind that their kids will not be manipulated and fed propaganda by their youth leaders and that they can now save up money to send their kids to college to have brighter futures rather than having it taken from them by Kip. Let’s continue to pray for the rest of the ICC members and ask God to open their eyes on the corruption of their leadership.<br /><br />I would also like to thank all those who called and emailed me with words of encouragement and support for my articles. This encouraged me greatly amidst the persecution and even outright lies that were being directed at me by the ICC leadership and I was grateful to receive such heartfelt and positive responses to offset the negativity that was being orchestrated by the ICC’s propaganda. The ICC wants their members to believe that people who speak against them do so out of hate when in actuality many of us do so out of love and concern toward the abuse being done against God’s people. Love you all and God bless.<br />Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04972523578029238414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834523366066076881.post-43471532746405461852015-09-01T22:40:21.986-07:002015-09-01T22:40:21.986-07:00I became a member in 2008. I was met on a college ...I became a member in 2008. I was met on a college campus by a couple members of Kip McKean’s organization and they studied the Bible with me. Back in 2008 it didn’t seem like a bad organization. I was told that the members had “decided” to give a 10x special contribution every year back then and I had no reason to doubt their words and I too wanted to have a heart to give sacrificially. Back in 2008 I did not see the coercion for money (yet) and they were not yet extorting money from people. It seems that between 2006 and 2008 Kip was pretending to have repented of his past abusive behavior (although he did cause a lot of damage to the Portland church in 2006 so there were already early signs that this was a faked repentance). <br /><br />Then after 2008 (and right after I joined) Kip began to reinstitute the same abusive policies he had used before. At first I wanted to believe that these were honest “mistakes” in the leadership’s decisions and I wanted to brush it off as an “immaturity phase” that the church was going through since the church was relatively new. But as time went by, instead of coming out of this phase it got worse and worse, and always around issues of money that allowed the leaders to take more money from the members as well as establishing abusive and psychologically manipulative policies that gave them greater control over the members. I had no choice but to face the reality that the church had become corrupted and that it could no longer be considered a church at all. It had degraded to a system designed to deliver the leadership their paychecks and nothing more; Kip’s own personal kingdom in which God’s Word no longer applied except to be exploited for control and money. <br /><br />Thank you for asking about how I am recovering. I left Kip McKean’s organization after realizing that the ICC leadership had abandoned God (they were just trying to exploit people’s faith in God at this point), so I was at peace with my decision. Other people who leave or are forced to leave end up being mentally scarred by the experienced, so I was among the more fortunate. I had watched as the corruption of the leadership grew and my attempts to do anything about it fell on deaf ears since I was slandered whenever I tried to correct any of the leaders about the questionable policies that were being instituted. It was all I could do to avoid being labeled as “divisive” with an open rebuke against them. I realized that the slander they would say about me behind my back was more a reflection of their character than of mine (the source of this slander being the fact that I would not conform to their new policies). Not only that but they also began to slander others who left the ICC to go to the ICOC; this slander and deliberate sin was becoming a disgusting standard ICC procedure. You can see in Article 3 when I finally came to the conclusion that the ICC leadership was too far down the path of corruption and had no intention of repenting. I had stayed hoping for change, but I finally realized that I had to leave and I knew that I had made the right decision when I left. <br />Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04972523578029238414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834523366066076881.post-55710598044076177692015-08-31T07:55:42.784-07:002015-08-31T07:55:42.784-07:00It would be nice to read some more, how did you be...It would be nice to read some more, how did you become a member and how are you recovering now? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834523366066076881.post-26867464665568956392015-08-18T00:56:54.664-07:002015-08-18T00:56:54.664-07:00Apparently, the H20 concert has been moved from th...Apparently, the H20 concert has been moved from the end of August to October. Why? Well, Kip "feels more time is needed" to bring in "show proceeds". What exactly does this mean? That not enough tickets were sold and, more than likely, Kip will make this show a mandatory church event. Meaning that every member will be required to buy the $20 dollar ticket to attend. He will probably even increase the price of the ticket if he mandates that all members must go. <br /><br />Now keep in mind, this concert is taking place a month before the ICC's November Special Missions Collection. I wonder how much of the money raised by this concert will actually go towards providing clean drinking water (like they claim) and how much of it will be funneled to "special missions" ? Kind of like when church members are told to wear their green MERCY t-shirts to tag for money and the funds collected are actually spent on church sponsored retreats, conferences, camps, workshops, etc. instead of helping the poor and needy. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834523366066076881.post-594082513128775792015-08-16T11:56:53.898-07:002015-08-16T11:56:53.898-07:00As a former (and recovering) member of the ICC, I ...As a former (and recovering) member of the ICC, I applaud you Dan Berg for your accurate assessment of the systematic abuse and financial improprieties employed by the ICC organization. As a member of the group from 2010-2013 I have witnessed ALL the indecencies you described in your articles.<br /><br />It wasn't until about a year and a half into my involvement with the ICC that I became increasingly uneasy with the group's incessant focus on money and their obsession with recruiting more members so they could grow their weekly revenue. The evangelist of the particular group I was apart of sat down with every member to determine how much he/she made a year to make sure they were giving the group's mandatory 10% weekly membership fee which he called a tithe. He stated that as a church leader it was his "God given authority" to know this information. I believed that such practice could become a conflict of interest as "special attention" would be given to those who gave more versus those who didn't or couldn't. And as predicted, those that gave more were often heralded from the pulpit for being "sacrificial" and seated in the proverbial place of honor within the church. Those that felt the sting of guilt for not being able to give as much often went into massive debt trying to meet this unhealthy standard. At one leader's meeting, I literally became physically ill when the evangelist said, "Bottom line folks...we either need more members or I'm going to ask everyone to raise their tithe, again, so we can meet our weekly contribution." I was later told by the evangelist and his wife that at a Tuesday staff meeting Kip said "Hey listen...don't be afraid to call your members to sacrifice!" When I brought my concern not only to the evangelist but also to more than one of the LAICC shepherding couples that Kip is running the church like a corporation each of them basically stated the same thing, "the church HAS TO BE RUN LIKE A BUSINESS...and Kip is the CEO." <br /><br />It took me another year and half to finally leave. In that time I witnessed the practice of "tagging" where members were directed to wear their MERCY t-shirts to raise funds for retreats, conferences, etc., learned that one of the World Sector Leader's salary was being paid out of the MERCY fund, friends and family members recruited to go on mission teams had to pay their own way while the leaders' moving costs and salaries were paid by financially struggling church members and don't get me started on the annual Global Leadership Conferences where many of the church leaders fly first class, eat at fine dining establishments and stay in the nicest hotel suites while rank and file members eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches the entire weekend, have to sleep 7-8 in a room and have to choose between paying their utility bill or paying the outlandish registration cost of the retreat. <br /><br />As a side note...I was invited to the H20 concert the church is hosting to "supposedly" raise money to provide drinking water to Haitian villages. After some research, I learned that the ICC is requiring the musicians, artists and stage hands who are volunteering to put on the concert to purchase a ticket to the concert. ABSURD!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834523366066076881.post-6010555526174065802015-08-14T21:29:53.952-07:002015-08-14T21:29:53.952-07:00Wow I read the document. Whatever happened to conf...Wow I read the document. Whatever happened to confessing your sins to each other so that you can be healed? (James 5:16). They just had to try to sneak in another money-making policy and then add a bunch of "fluff" around it to try to disguise it for what it really is.<br /><br />This has the purpose of guilt-tripping members into giving more money and making them feel condemned if they don't resign themselves to these conditions. This is not love. This is coercion with money as an underlying goal.<br /><br />He even pretends like it's Biblical by throwing in 1 Chronicles 21:24 which actually doesn't help his case at all if you read the beginning of Article 6 on this blog which shows how they actually disregard this particular scripture.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834523366066076881.post-84308909589406613552015-08-11T19:31:55.592-07:002015-08-11T19:31:55.592-07:00Came across a "purity covenant" that Mik...Came across a "purity covenant" that Mike Patterson, leader of the Gainsville ICC, drafted for those who want to be a member of his Purity Fight Club. Those who wish to place membership MUST agree to all of Patterson's terms and conditions by signing the contract.<br /><br /> Not surprisingly money and submission to church leadership are among the requirements:<br /><br />"If I masturbate or look at pornography I have to double my contribution every time..."<br /><br />"I will submit to the group leader and church leadership..."<br /><br />The entire document can be found at the below link: <br /><br />https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PIoA50y4ve5nc6rhEjJpbBMP71_ts1w7Awha_Yp9_b0/editAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com