International Church of Christ

When I was an undergrad student in Southern Ontario there was a lot of talk about a campus movement called the International Church of Christ (ICOC), which had some idiosyncratic doctrine and cult-like tendencies.  My wife Leslie encountered this group first hand at the University of Waterloo where she was invited to a Bible study on campus.  This 'Bible study' turned out to be a bit unusual - she wasn't allowed to take her own notes, and she wasn't allowed to invite any friends.  Other friends have had similar experiences with the ICOC.  Fortunately, Les didn't stick around this group for long and looked for fellowship elsewhere.

I almost forgot about the ICOC until yesterday when we discovered that they are now active at Concordia University where I am currently serving.  I did a little reading up on the movement tonight and was encouraged to hear that they have made some significant changes during the past 10 years.  Apparently the ICOC is an offshoot of the 19th century Restorationist Movement led by Alexander Campbell and Barton Stone during the Second Great Awakening.  They are essentially a Fundamentalist faction of the mainline "Churches of Christ" (in the same family as the "Christian Church" or "Disciples of Christ").  One of the distinctives of this family of Restorationist denominations is their unique combination of believer's baptism and baptismal regenration.  The ICOC seems to have had a more exclusive view of baptism than their mainline brethren , viz. no true baptism and therefore no salvation outside of their particular churches.  Since the resignation of their autocratic leader in 2002, the movement appears to be dealing with its more significant theological issues and abuse of power.   I'm not sure what to expect from the ICOC this year at Concordia, but I was very encouraged that they at least seem to be moving in the right direction.  For a more detailed article from the Christian Research Institute (Hanegraaff) see the following link: http://www.equip.org/articles/icoc-international-churches-of-christ-in-upheaval .  I'd be curious to hear if anyone has had an experience with the ICOC since 2003.