From hinves@world.net Sat Oct 19 21:36:47 1996 Received: from world.net (sydney2.world.net [198.142.12.2]) by shellx.best.com (8.6.12/8.6.5) with ESMTP id VAA11246 for ; Sat, 19 Oct 1996 21:36:44 -0700 Received: from hinves (sydney63.world.net [192.190.215.63]) by world.net (8.7.4/8.6.6) with SMTP id OAA24880 for ; Sun, 20 Oct 1996 14:38:11 +1000 (EST) Message-Id: <1.5.4.32.19961020044150.0069a178@world.net> X-Sender: hinves@world.net X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.4 (32) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Sun, 20 Oct 1996 14:41:50 +1000 To: ariel@best.com From: Martin Hinves Subject: Article Number 1 Status: RO WHY IS KIP MCKEAN SO AFRAID I ask this question in all honesty. It amazes me that a man whom the ICC uphold to be a laterday prophet, and under their imitate your leader philosophy is the man whom you you strive to be like (these are not my words but that of an ICC leader) is a paradox in himself. Kip recently came out to Sydney, Australia, for one members only sermon, one Sunday night. That morning there was a normal Sunday service with a difference. Word of mouth had spread, and that morning was the largest number of ex-Boston Movement members in one place I have ever seen. And they all turned up to see, hear and talk to Kip. Yet we were told it was a members only meeting that evening. No visitors allowed. I wonder to this day what secret knowledge was revealed, that the christian world was not allowed to know. Every ex-member, every concerned parent, every questioning person who asked to see and talk with Kip was refused - straight out, no reason given. The one lady who did not get a refusal was later told that it had been given in error. It appears her husband, an ICC elder decided that rather than allow a meeting his wife would be too busy to ask if anyopne could see or talk to Kip. At the public meeting, there was a 'Song for Kip' followed by a 'Poem for Kip' followed by practise flower giving, singing Kip's favourite songs, and numerous speeeches about how great an influence KIP was in each and every leader's life, who was present there. Numerous speeches were given about how the church had grown phenomenonally, under Kip's guidance (they conveniently forgot that in 1991/2 they had 700+ members, the highest number ever). The brother next to me complained that he had been up since Friday morning with little sleep and had been forced out street evangelising for the last 12 hours in preparation for the meeting. He was whisked away. The meeting was about numbers and growth, and prepared the ground for what Kip would preach on. 'Kip is coming' was preached and announced to the converted. Imitation, Numbers and Sacrifice were the catchcrys of the day. Grace was sadly a second placegetter. My observation was that Kip was an idol, they were worshipping instead. Afterwards the KNN (Kingdom NewsNetwork ) was shown, this time the growth statistics were again misquoted, (1992/4 forgotten again) and many untruths were spoken. I grew ashamed of the church, I had once been a member of. Some ex-ICC members (other than myself), and concerned parents were present, at the public meeting, and the ICC called the police to evict them. Under law here the only way to move them was to arrest them, and charge them with trespass, but I guess the publicity was not what the ICC wanted so they formed a human barrier of ushers and leaders which prevented any ICC member from talking to these people. Any ICC member who aproached, upon seeing a long lost freind or seeking information was roughly manhandled out of the way and warned off., by heavy handed ushers. Other people gave up hope of talking to Kip McKean, but not I. Knowing that violence and force would be used to eviict me if I attended the evening meeting I had another plan. I knew that Kip was in town, and staying at a nearby hotel, I had learbt that much. I rang every hotel in Sydney to talk to him, and beleive you me, a few hours alter, and considerably poorer, I had reached the conclusion that it was not for me to talk to him. I guess the assumed name under which he stayed, was a security responce, to prevent him being annoyed, like the ICC leaders had discussed within my hearing. They said, no-one must criticize, annoy or harrass Kip, Sydney could not afford to be in his displeasure. The visit must go smoothly and without incident. If I had not heard it with my own ears, I would not have beleived it. Such acts only bring me to one conclusion. For a powerful, and persuasive man like Kip McKean, to be so afraid and so tempramental, and so-unforgiving and lacking in compassion, and grace to me must mean the man has something to fear. What can so great a man, have to fear from one such as me who just wants answers to questions no-one will discuss; or from some parent who is concerned about how her child is being treated within the ICC ? A few moments of his time, could have put us at ease; or shown us that yes he is willing to talk. But the only sound we here is that of the ICC leaders saying that nothing must be allowed to irritate Kip on his journey here. Maybe that was why Mr & Mrs Scott were out of town ? Jesus was always willing to talk to those who wanted answers to questions, he always had time and compassion for those in need, for those who were heavy under the burdens of Religious Law. I guess that is not the Kip McKean way. I invite anyone who wants to discuss this to do so. I am free for comments too. In Gods Grace Martin Hinves hinves@world.net Written after Kip McKean's 1995 mid year visit to Sydney Australia. Martin P.S. Could you put in a note (this goes for anything I write) people are free to make copies of, to discuss with me what ever I have written. I have no "copyright" as such. Paranoia is useful when they are out to get you..... It keeps you alive longer... The problem with paranoia is that it makes you think you are important enough to worth the trouble to persecute in the first place.