2 Tim. 1:13

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2 Tim. 113
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THE DISCIPLING MOVEMENT

• (Crossroads, Boston, Discipling Movement, ICOC)

I. HISTORY
A. Crossroads Church of Christ Gainsville
FL (1960s 1970s).
B. Typical institutional church.
C. Chuck Lucas was campus minister
taught from Robert Colemans Master plan of
Evangelism.
(Denom. Book assumes all should be trained like
Jesus did the apostles.)
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THE DISCIPLING MOVEMENT

• (Crossroads, Boston, Discipling Movement, ICOC)

I. HISTORY
D. Became center for CofC campus ministries.
1. Avg 200 baptisms / year for 14 years.
2. Intense school of ministry for preachers.
3. Lucas best student Kip McKean,
became lead evangelist at Boston.
4. Lucas dismissed Aug 1985 for
reoccurring sins.
E. Boston (1980s) lead in baptism for 8 years.
1. Lucas sent preachers to existing churches
many split.
2. Kip McKean went beyond campus
ministries (Editorial p. 2).
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THE DISCIPLING MOVEMENT

• (Crossroads, Boston, Discipling Movement, ICOC)

II. KEY ELEMENTS
A. Active Campus Ministry
1. One subtlety of Scriptures is the
apparent youth of the original twelve. Youth is
tremendous. It has a sense of black and white
there is no gray There is a sense of
moldability of youth I read recently that the
strength of any movement, secular or religious,
is the number of youth in proportion to the
movement (Biblical Discipleship Quarterly,
Spring 1987 p. 6).
2. ANSWER The strength of any movement
is youth? What about subjection to TRUTH,
whatever your age (Rom. 116-17)?
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THE DISCIPLING MOVEMENT

• (Crossroads, Boston, Discipling Movement, ICOC)

II. KEY ELEMENTS
B. Home Bible Studies
1. Weekly studies in homes of leaders (10-12
persons).
2. Some designed for teens, singles, college,
married.
3. Each expected to invite 10 people a day to
the study.
(Most of their conversions came from this.)
4. ANSWER There is nothing wrong with Bible
Studies in themselves. Nor addressing
peoples circumstances in life. But there is
more to what they did than just this
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THE DISCIPLING MOVEMENT

• (Crossroads, Boston, Discipling Movement, ICOC)

II. KEY ELEMENTS
C. Discipling
1. A personal Paul Timothy relationship.
2. Use of guilt pressure.
3. A study found statistically significant
changes in personality like a cult! (The
Discipling Dilemma p. 31).
4. Less than 5 of 900 tested showed no
change. Clear pattern was from introverted to
extroverted. From thinking to feeling, from
perceiving to assuming.
5. Example in Lithuania in Houston, Tx.
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THE DISCIPLING MOVEMENT

• (Crossroads, Boston, Discipling Movement, ICOC)

II. KEY ELEMENTS
C. Discipling
6. What all this means is that the Boston
Church of Christ is producing in its members
the very same pattern of unhealthy personality
change that is observed in studies of well-known
manipulative sects/ Whatever they are doing
that produces this pattern needs to be changed
(Ibid p. 37)
7. They told people what courses to take in
school, what field to major in, what career to
enter, whom to date or not, whether to marry or
not (p. 55).
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THE DISCIPLING MOVEMENT

• (Crossroads, Boston, Discipling Movement, ICOC)

II. KEY ELEMENTS
C. Discipling
8. ANSWER
a. What makes a disciple complete (2
Tim. 316-17)?
b. How did the Eunich make it (Acts 839)?
c. Work out OWN salvation (Phil. 212).
d. Paul said differences will exist in
authorized opinions we must learn to be
gracious (Rom. 14).
e. Stopping sin is one thing manipulating
personalities into one emotional mold is
another!
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THE DISCIPLING MOVEMENT

• (Crossroads, Boston, Discipling Movement, ICOC)

II. KEY ELEMENTS
D. Organization
1. Pillar churches not every congregation
is equal or autonomous.
2. This special edition is a tribute to the
individuals and congregations who through
generous financial support of the Central London
Church of Christ and its mission teams (A
Light To London Bulletin, Oct.-Nov 1986, Vol. 5
no. 10 p. 1).
3. Since the Boston church is scheduled to
meet together as an entire congregation about
once a month in 1993 (via Preceptor Aug 1993 p.
8).
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THE DISCIPLING MOVEMENT

• (Crossroads, Boston, Discipling Movement, ICOC)

II. KEY ELEMENTS
D. Organization
3. Lead evangelist over the Boston
church. Husband wife quadrant leaders over 4
quadrants. Sector leaders over sectors. Then
zone leaders over 15 zones. Then house
churches
4. ANSWER
a. Local Limited org. (Phil. 11 1 Pet.
52).
b. Where do we ever read of one church
being subdivided into separate units for
worship, Lords supper, etc?
c. Rank titles condemned (Mt. 238-12).
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THE DISCIPLING MOVEMENT

• (Crossroads, Boston, Discipling Movement, ICOC)

II. KEY ELEMENTS
E. Total Commitment To The Cause
1. Many leave jobs become missionaries
over seas for life.
2. Some sold their cars to support these
efforts.
3. Spend vacation time in workshops learning
more.
4. Being totally committed charitable are
good (Lk. 1426-27 Acts 245) but WHY did
these do it?
a. Love of TRUTH?
b. Cult-like personality manipulation?
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THE DISCIPLING MOVEMENT

• (Crossroads, Boston, Discipling Movement, ICOC)

II. KEY ELEMENTS
F. Emphasize Numerical Growth
1. Example chart in editorial (p. 3).
2. ANSWER
a. What of Noah, Jeremiah Ezekiel?
b. God requires us to bear fruit (Jn.
151ff), but numbers are never demanded as
proof of that fruit!
c. They neglect to mention their fall away
rate Boston averaged 250 per year
(Christian Chronicle Dec. 1987).
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THE DISCIPLING MOVEMENT

• (Crossroads, Boston, Discipling Movement, ICOC)

II. KEY ELEMENTS
G. New Uses Of The Spirit Progressive
Revelation.
1. Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit,
returned from the Jordan and was lead by the
Spirit (Luke 41). In the East Zone, we want
to imitate our Lord and be full of the Holy
Spirit This fall the East Zone will be
advancing in the power of the Spirit (Luke
414) (Jack Rosenquist, Mission Church of
Christ Bulletin, vol. 2 no. 38 p. 3).
2. By progressive revelation, we do not mean
that God is continually revealing spiritual
truths He does reveal the application of those
truths (Gordon Ferguson, Boston Church of
Christ Bulletin Vol 9 no. 17 p. 3).
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THE DISCIPLING MOVEMENT

• (Crossroads, Boston, Discipling Movement, ICOC)

II. KEY ELEMENTS
G. New Uses Of The Spirit Progressive
Revelation.
3. ANSWER
a. Gods silence is not permission (Heb.
714).
b. Do all by Christs authority (Col. 317).
c. Reject those who do not bring Truth (2
John 9-11 Rom. 1617).
HOW DID THIS ALL HAPPEN?
They did not abide in the Truth (2 Tim. 113)!
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THE DISCIPLING MOVEMENT

• (Crossroads, Boston, Discipling Movement, ICOC)

CONCLUSION
A. Discipling movement has begun to diminish
turn toward mainstream practices.
B. But it is a tremendous lesson on the
dangers of drifting from Gods word!
And he gave some to be apostles and some,
prophets and some, evangelists and some,
pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the
saints that we may be no longer children,
tossed to and fro and carried about with every
wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in
craftiness, after the wiles of error but
speaking truth in love, we may grow up in all
things into him, who is the head, even Christ
(Ephesians 411-15)
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