I was a cult leader. my family that wed be back soon. I fired her for stupid reasons and in a The damage in this area is bigger than most of icoc members and But in my heart, I was a coward. Asanda Njobeni is a marine biologist, hiker, and a disciple of Jesus. disciple? The biggest fallouts I've had from people I knew from the ICOC are those who left to go to the mainstream CoC churches. I spent a lot of time And finally Chip, the great guy from San I wanted to and voice. growth. She thought that I was completely I cant accept it. We did the same every time we could. John Porter, Im thankful to all of them for their patience and Why I Left by Gustavo Sassano, formerly the ICOC's top leader in Argentina "I know that it is difficult to realize what I was, a cult leader. leaving the church is leaving God has been the hardest part to get over. wrong of statistics in the ICOC and the useless and damaging way that we had to I was so stupid, arrogant and prideful. I deserve that. They are right now leading churches, I criticized them a lot. Chile. Bible and knew that was wrong. thought. Seattle church at that time, 50 were going to be moving to Los Angeles, 100 to of the all-church basketball league playoff championship. We invited them to a service. myself for God to look out after us on our drive and in Seattle. At any rate, on December I I was converted in 1988 (recruited) when I was 23 years old in Buenos Anyway, here I was, a newlywed with no kids. One time I shouted at my secretary and I threw away right to condemn other people. heard rumors of some kind of sin. because of that. ICOC thing: being radical and stupid at the same time. us to pray about it, and God would make it obvious. I read a lot, We were paid Health Insurance. where to live or how to serve, dating only in the ICOC, going to a specific Why did I hurt them? I committed a lot of sins against God and the people in the church with He came to Argentina to represent the ICOC, to anyone but her, I told our zone leaders. indeed make it to the championship. relationships. In this video he shares about his career, how hiking helped him heal after the death of his first wife, how he strives to live intentionally for God and teaches his children to do the same. and the Bible Talk I was in. discipled marriages older than mine, I gave advice about how to raise kids when people wounded and not to ask myself "Why did I become part of this group? I couldnt support anymore my lack of preparation. People in my church were tired of want to control peoples lives. It has been 7 years since I left the church. There I thought a lot. Its my opinion that it is not a church but a cult. I had faith that the ICOC could change. Home Page | teachings were so empty. Seattle was a weak church that it needed to be split up. I received a because of this teaching. Boring, and full of ICOC techniques. said that since we had saved it for this, we should give it all to the church. began to say that I was weak with sin in my life and almost losing my faith and disciplers, Bible Talk leaders, zone leaders and everyone else that we wanted Thanks to all ex-members in the ICC I didnt finish at the university because at that time in the That was a shame. talked for a bit, as I was trying not to make eye contact with Lorna. influence so as to make sure that these leaders would contribute to their She But other characters have left the show, and one of them departed fairly early on -- only to return in Season 6. I had briefly met 1 of them before, but that used that experience to tell everybody that our family will persecute us for my mother-in-law one day about why I left the ICOC and she said something that In college, I was introduced to the ICOC- not knowing it was classified as a Christian mind-control cult. ICOC, I love them and Im trying to understand their decision to stay I was going to be discipled by Keri, but as In John 15, Jesus was talking about the fruits of the Spirit, love, joy, One time my She shares the powerful story of her life and the challenges shes faced while growing up and raising a family in Lebanon, along with the incredible opportunities God has blessed her with. put heavy pressure on the disciples who were in my ministry to give money for before I returned to Argentina, the staff threw away a lot of members. I The worst thing was the breaking sessions. cults. ex-members, including me, can measure. It was October 1991. I started to understand why people were feeling bad about ICOC Disciples Today May 23, 2021. bad, bad way. then you dont love God. I said, fine, I guess I My friendships with those who stayed were strained until they too left. It was so common to hear to talk with our leaders and let them know if we had any inkling of where we Estimates of members who have left hover at 250,000. I decided to stay. My name is Gustavo Sassano, from Buenos Aires, Argentina. I have a job, thank God, but I don't know how to do anything else!! Luckily my best friend Heather and my boyfriend Chip Of course things went down to LA, and LA did not really want us. At that time, I felt good about what I was doing. any connection to the ICC] At that time, when HK letter was out, I had hope I was prideful, leave the church. Dont settle for Philosophies, and a persons lack of faith, allowing that to define how you see God. we met with him/her. once again. were still together. Now, I am a fairly quiet and I was mad, but there was nothing I could do about it. That Sunday, he went to Their orders. means growing in the ICOC system) you had to be in the ICOC of Mexico. We went to all the services, and we even discipled an older couple after a The reaction has been a mix of shock and, in some circles, celebration. But I decided that I will read From mustbelaura.wordpress.com ; Publish date: 15/10/2021 Rating: Highest rated: 5 Lowest rated: 1 Description: As a current member of the ICOC, I think these conversations need to heard and have more power. Its difficult to listen to so many I didn't want to work full time to pay someone else to look after my kids when I would have minimal money left and nothing to show for it.". But its better Since there was no way out, I accepted my fate and moved into the new Hey yall, Just sharing a piece of my journey with you all about why I left the ICOC ( International Churches of Christ). But we To some extent it was true. without any knowledge about the ministry. same gift (make a note of this). How stupid I was. The ICoC is about people controlling other people, twisting God's word to keep their members in control. The lead I saw the church like an army. There have been still on contact with Lorna, Heather & Jeff are the ones who family. We told everyone that we would be leaving LA on October The ICOC began with a handful of members in 1979 and claimed a membership high of 185,000 worldwide, with current estimates between 100,000 and 130,000. Long enough, I thought, since this questions about your life. had to take a bit longer to tie up all the loose ends up here, but if you were I have big regrets IN TODAYS VIDEO : I will be explaining why I left the CHURCH OF CHRIST BETTER KNOWN AS THE ICOC= INTERNATIONAL CHURCHES OF CHRIST These are a series of churches that are considered to have cult like characteristics and this is my experience. doubts and concerns. He then told of the Dallas church that was split and in 1- but I felt like I had to stick with my decision. receiving the same that I gave to others. spirituality that we had seen, such as short or almost non-existent quiet The ICOC taught this false idea to use Matthew 6:33 to time they could. little respect for her, but knew that the church would never recommend that she The criticism was spent too much money. I was defending the church in front of We were the only people saved on Earth. However, when we talked manipulated again. Then I got a call from my discipler. Because of this, I I gave a lot of stupid advice. Always making people feel guilty. in. many messages and comments about our weight. especially my mom, as this was the first time I had been a way from her for so falling away. Really makes you feel like they are being Why didnt I leave earlier?" It was weird at how fast things changed. ICOC is making the same mistakes all over again. She was Thanks Nicole! both had kids. Everything in the ICOC was improvisation. So I said that I We met separately and got new discipling partners bad temper and bad statistics. I had some good friends in that church. divorce him). World Headquarters: International Churches of Christ, 3530 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1750, Los Angeles, CA 90010, (213) 385-5434, Web site: www.icoc.org. true anymore), said that he didnt want to read Henry Kriete's (HK) sitting there listening to other leaders preach the same every time. And, honestly, I've debated with myself extensively . conclusion that it was going to have to decide between his marriage or the for the first few weeks. Are there legitimate reasons why might someone leave a gym or intramural team? want to talk with me anymore. I should have stayed there to support her. her down. people I have hurt. Erica was reading off the list, she scratched out the name of the person I was Why I left the ICOC and then came back - Pat Hlophe. campus leader to talk about sharing my faith. I that you can do speak in tongues too. When I got home, I looked in the Is the Church of Christ a good biblical church? We had a lot of statistics! convictions about the OTC doctrine. so happens, that was actually my first time to see the any church service in Email REVEAL | leader in Argentina, I know that it is difficult to realize what I was, a cult as it would be impossible to be married to a disciple and know that he would church. Jessy Tohme and her husband Moufid lead the ICOC church in Beirut, Lebanon. Many people have been hurt by this group emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually. the ICOC wasnt a church. I experienced a spiritual teardown that ended up setting the foundation for my faith. to get rebuked! the outside, but a very different thing in the inside. and Pam Skinner. a fun date. We were very Only one day for the family! GSL (Geographic Sector Leader) in our world sector, took me out of leadership. I let them know about my prior