Kip McKean
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Thomas "Kip" McKean (born May 31, 1954) is a Christian preacher, religion reformer, a formerly influential leader in the Boston Church of Christ, which evolved into an organization known as the International Churches of Christ. Currently he is the minister of the Portland International Church of Christ and the "International Christian Church" organization.
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[edit] Early Life and Family
The son of an admiral, McKean was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and is purportedly 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 Womens’ Ministry Leader in the Portland International Church of Christ. They have three children, Olivia, Sean and Eric. [1]
[edit] From College Days in Gainesville to the Boston Church of Christ
McKean was baptized as a Christian in 1972 while a freshman at the University of Florida 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 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. In 1975, McKean left Gainesville as part of a campus ministry program called "Campus Advance". Two years later, at the Memorial Drive Church of Christ in Tulsa, OK, McKean lost financial (and church eldership) support and he moved on to other congregations. After a few years in the wilderness as he tried to expand the scope of campus evangelism while introducing a youthful, evangelical enthusiasm to the otherwise stagnant ministerial programs of the mainstream Churches of Christ to which he was sent, McKean became head of the Lexington (Massachusetts) Church of Christ in 1979 and carried on Lucas' brand of church ministry that focused on evangelism but with a style (and a little tweaking) all his own. The church grew rapidly and soon became the Boston Church of Christ. The Boston church then expanded its influence among other Churches of Christ, becoming known as "the Boston Movement", with McKean and his wife Elena considered the highest authority within the hierarchy of the movement. 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.
[edit] Resignation
In 2001, after internal questioning of his leadership and following fallout from both outside and Church and within it regarding many leaders' well-meaning but often intrusive and controlling methods of "discipling the body of Christ", Kip McKean announced that he was taking a sabbatical to focus on "marriage and family issues." In 2002, the McKeans announced their resignations as head of the Los Angeles church.
[edit] Portland ministry
A year later in 2003 they moved to Portland, Oregon to lead the Portland International Church of Christ, where they remain as leaders today. Since 2005 Kip McKean is considered separate from Reformed & Progressive ICOC congregations and have shown a tendency to call their organization within a city "International Christian Church" to differentiate them from the "original" or reformed International Church of Christ.
As of January 14, Kip has preached his last sermon as leader of the Portland Church of Christ. Announced at an earlier sunday service, Kip and his wife Elena, along with many others, will be moving from Portland to assist and lead the mission work of the Los Angeles International Christian Church.
[edit] See also
- Church of Christ
- International Churches of Christ
- List of famous people with Restoration Movement ties
- Fundamentalism
[edit] External links
- KipMcKean.org Official Website of Kip McKean
- Portland International Church of Christ, currently led by Kip McKean and now separate from Reformed & Progressive ICOC congregations.
- UpSideDown21, Portland ICOC website in eight languages
Letters to Kip
- International Churches of Christ "Brothers Letter" To Kip McKean October 2005 ICC Divides: Core Separating from Kip McKean Faction
- Honest to God: Revolution Through Repentance and Freedom in Christ By an ICOC leader Henry Kriete February 2, 2003
- Brothers' Statement to Kip McKean 2005
- Phoenix Letter 2005
- LA letter 2006
Portland movement:
- Kip McKean Starts The "International Christian Churches"
- Los Angeles International Christian Church
- Central New York Church of Christ
- Chicago International Church of Christ
- Corvallis International Church of Christ
- Eugene International Church of Christ
- Phoenix International Christian Church
- Toronto International Christian Church
Criticism:
- RightCyberUp Recovery from the (Portland) International Churches of Christ
- What is McKeanism? A summary of characteristics that illustrate “McKeanism”
- "Reveal" organization by former members for critical information on Kip McKean and the former Boston movement.
- ICOC Blogspot Tracks topics from the various ICOC discussion sites.
- ICOC discussion forum Discussion of the beliefs and practices of the controversial International Churches of Christ
- KipMcKean.com Unofficial information about Kip McKean. Contains quotes, audio files and documented information
- ICOC Commentary Blogspot Commentary by a former member on the ICOC.
