Note:  the following article is submitted on behalf of someone (Frank 
daniels) who has difficulty posting to s.r.c, email replies to 
daniels@math.ufl.edu

	I am unable to post to the bitnet groups.
	Here is a capsule history of the Shepherding/Discipleship Movement in
the Churches of Christ (i.e. Crossroads/Boston):

	I could trace the Movement back as far as 1800, and indeed some of its
roots go back that far, but these were really "influences" on the Movement,
and not the actual movement, per se.
	I will start in c.1920.
	In that day, there were 'white' churches and 'colored' churches in
nearly every area (due to segregation).  Modern Pentecostalism was developing
as a predominantly 'colored' phenomenon.  Here, there was great fanaticism,
emphasis on emotional experiences, and belief in a personal guidance and
indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
	Many 'white' Protestant churches were growing into what became known
as conservative fundamentalism.  By the 1940s, the evangelical movement was
in full swing, and many groups were becoming part of it.
	When the civil rights movement grew stronger (in the 1950's and 
1960's),
many 'white' church groups began to be influenced by the 'black' churches and
by what was going on there.  This spread started in the most liberal of groups
and spread to the more conservative ones by the late '60's.  In 1969, even the
Catholic Church was displaying evidence of influence by the other 
groups...still
evident today.

	The Churches of Christ are (and were) a very conservative Protestant
group.  When the influence from outside began to reach the CofC in c.1965, it
was generally not appreciated.  Conservative groups are very strongly 
resistant
to change, and the new movement was VERY different from the CofC status quo.
	The magazines put out at that time by CofC folks tell the story as it
unfolds.  New ideas came into the CofC.  There was a big push to reach out to
college students, young adults, and teens.  Some called this the Campus 
Evangel-
ism Movement.  Emotions, generally not highly regarded in the CofC at large,
played a more important role in the new movement.  In some places, people 
began
to speak in tongues (as their Pentecostal predecessors did).
	This was met with extreme criticism from within the Churches of 
Christ.
In some places, people were fired from their jobs for speaking in tongues or 
for
advocating the "Holy Spirit Movement", another name for the new branch.  The
term "Underground Church of Christ" also came into use because these people 
had
to hide their differences (or they might be ostricised).
	There were several congregations, however, whose leaderships were
receptive to the new ideas (at least in part; the tongues-speaking never 
really
caught on).  One of these was the 14th Street Church of Christ in Gainesville,
FL.  Campus Ministry had already been regarded as important at 14th Street, 
and
the new ideas seemed to be very helpful tools for evangelism.  They also 
seemed
to put vitality into the church, which many felt had been lacking.
	In October of 1967, the 14th Street congregation hired Chuck Lucas to
be its Campus Minister.  By 1970, he would move to being the congregation's
(lead) Minister.  In the late 60's/early 70's, the congregation worked with 
many
other groups.  They held Bible discussions at Daytona Beach during Spring 
Break.
They organized talks in the fraternities on the University of Florida campus.
They also worked with UF sports people.
	In 1972, the congregation ordered a larger building to be constructed.
When it was finished, the group moved and changed its name (now no longer
appropriate).  It became the Crossroads Church of Christ from then on, a name
that would become legendary.

	By this time, Crossroads was basically the only CofC whose programs
were fully aligned to the new movement.  While they didn't start it, they 
continued it and were responsible for where it wound up going.
	By 1975, none of the other Churches of Christ in the area felt that
they could cooperate with Crossroads, due to what they recognized as doctrinal
problems at Crossroads.
	Crossroads had begun to heavily emphasize, and later require 
attendance
at all church functions.  It was seen as a good thing for each member to have
at least one close relationship, a person with whom you would share all of
your problems, pray, and get help from.  The concept was called Prayer 
Partners,
which later became Discipleship Partners and also later became mandatory.  The
leadership was assigning prayer partners to people for a while.
	The book called "The Master Plan of Evangelism" was a strong influence
on Chuck Lucas.  He (and the group) believed that it was every person's duty
and life purpose to carry out the great commission.  Crossroads was growing
in number, and numbers became VERY important (some would say all-important).
	A person who "was evangelistic" was "spiritual".  Evangelism meant
inviting people to Crossroads events; if you did this a lot and some of them
converted, then you were "spiritual".  There were sermons about how if you
bought groceries, the cashier and bag boy ought to receive invitations to
services.  Everyone at your job ought to receive invitations.  Since these
people needed Jesus, you should be "aggressive"--don't take 'no' for an
answer.
	If you did not evangelize enough, you came to be called "lazy" or
"unspiritual".
	By the end of the decade, the Prayer Partner system was integrated 
into
a structure.  The Elders and Ministers were on top (like a big pyramid).  Then
the group leaders, Bible study leaders, and members.  Everyone who came in had
someone placed over them.
	It is at this time, 1978-1980, that the bad press about Crossroads
began to circulate.  The problem with rape on the University of Florida campus
was tremendous, but Crossroads was considered a bigger and more immediate
problem.  There were many complaints about the congregation and its "pushy"
evangelistic tactics.  Crossroads was considering the other Churches of Christ
to be "dead" churches, which aggravated them; it was aggressively recruiting
out of the other church groups (denominations), which aggravated THEM.

	By this time, Crossroads had grown numerically to the point (1100)
where not only did they believe that they would soon need a new building, but
also they were sending out "planting" [create a new church] and 
"reconstructing"
[reorganize an existing church] teams to other cities.  By this time, the
Crossroads Movement was underway.
	A group was sent to the 30-member Lexington Church of Christ in 
Boston,
MA.  The team was headed up by Kip McKean, who had been converted out of a
fraternity by Crossroads (in Gainesville).  Kip held a still stronger view of
church authority, which he believed was heavily vested in the Evangelist(s),
and not so much in the Elders.  He had been fired in 1977 from the 
congregation
that he had been working at when the elders there found numerous things wrong
with his theology, including the practice of what came to be called one-over-
one
Christianity.  [Called this by critics]
	In the first year, half of the 30 people felt that they did not want 
to
be a part of the new congregation.  They left.  But others began coming into
the new Boston Church of Christ.
	Ah, but I'm ahead of myself.
	At Crossroads, the heavy-handed system had begun to take its toll on
the members.  Many have said that they felt that they were working hard, but
they were not achieving the results that were so important.  The numbers were
dropping.  From 1978, Crossroads membership declined steadily.  The leadership
began to tighten the reigns on the congregation, who was seen as being largely
"unproductive" and "unfruitful".  The "fruit" passages in the NT were 
interpreted
as referring to new converts.  If you were not bearing fruit, said John 15, 
you
would be cast into the fire!  [Boston still teaches this.]
	If you love your neighbor, you'll save his soul (invite him to church
and convert him).  If you're not doing that, you don't love your neighbor.
And if you don't love, you're in danger of backsliding.  The logical arguments
continue in this vein.
	In 1985, Chuck Lucas was fired from his job as minister, due to 
recurring
sins in his life.  These struggles were never revealed to the congregation at
large, although many people outside the congregation had heard about them.  
For
by now, there was very little contact (on a friendship level) between most
Crossroads members and those outside.  [If you have contact, your focus should
be on converting them.  Bring them to a Bible Study.]
	Chuck's replacement was Joe Woods, who was fully supportive of the
Boston system.  As Boston grew in number, they began to offer 'training' 
sessions
for other ministers.  Joe went to Boston to be trained and returned to Cross-
roads ready to emphasize the "total commitment" to the church that Boston and
Kip McKean were now emphasizing.  Eventually, in Fall of 1987, the Elders at 
Crossroads (now 2 in number--Dick Whitehead and Bill Hogle) made a decision.
Boston was demanding that all of the other churches in the movement come under
the direction of the church in Boston.  The Elders refused, citing their 
belief
that each church should be autonomous (something true in all non-Boston 
Churches
of Christ).  Perhaps there was also some degree of offense done here, since
Crossroads was no longer the 'example' to the rest of the Movement.  The group
now numbered about 800, while Boston was now larger (in membership).
	The Churches of Christ generally teach that baptism is a necessary
element of salvation.  At Crossroads, they taught what was called 'Lordship'
baptism:  you had to understand the commitment involved before you could be
baptized.  You had to 'count the cost'.  At Boston, they took this a step
further.  If at some time you became "unproductive", then your spirituality
was suspect.  People would begin to ask you if you REALLY understood what you
were getting into.  Anyone who said 'no' had their baptism deemed invalid:  
they
hadn't counted the cost properly.  They still had to be baptized.  Others 
called
this "rebaptism", and Crossroads didn't approve of this practice.
	When Crossroads announced that it would not follow Boston, many of its
members left Crossroads and went to Movement-related ministries, which were
now called Discipling Ministries.  You were either discipling (evangelizing) 
or
you were "dead".  They also used the nickname "Movement of God" for a while.
	By Summer of 1988, Crossroads was withdrawn from the Movement and now
stood alone.  They had few to no allies in the mainstream Churches of Christ,
and now none in the Movement.

	Boston, however, continued to chart its course in the direction that
they had been following.  They sent "reconstruction teams" to many cities, 
which
usually meant that they split the church there.  They stopped acknowledging 
other
churches of Christ as Christians and began to call themselves the "remnant".
The "remnant" of the Jews in the OT are those who are saved by God.  It was
felt that the "remnant" today represents all the Christians.  Sometimes they
would simply call their Movement "the church".
	They usually took the name of the city for their name, implying to the
other Churches of Christ that Boston did not recognize their existence.  Many
campuses have now formally forbidden Boston ministries from recruiting there
due to the number of complaints.  In some cases, it has been documented that
Boston ministries have lied to University officials in order to continue to 
have
access to the campus.  Any resistance that they experience is termed "perse-
cution", which all true Christians are expected to experience.  Are you really
a Christian if you're not being persecuted?
	The numbers at Boston peaked at c.3000 in 1989.  Since then, they have
fought to remain steady.  I have heard a tape of Kip McKean shouting at the
leaders for failing to fulfill the Great Commission (their life's purpose) as
God commanded them.  Their Christianity is highly centered on commands and
obedience.

	Crossroads once was called a cult.  Boston is now recognized by the
Cult Awareness Network and other national and international groups as a cult,
under a formal definition, because of the techniques which they employ.  The
term "cult" is usually differentiated from "sect" by the practice of those
techniques.  The techniques which they employ are recognized by many as being
techniques of destructive pursuasion, also used by other Shepherding
Discipleship groups.  [Robert Jay Lifton, Margaret Thaler Singer, and many
others have written about the topic.]  These techniques include guilt 
motivation,
emotional manipulation, loaded language, the aura of sacred science (a sort
of mystic element seen in everyday events), and others.

	I have no particular axe to grind against the Movement.  I have numer-
ous friends who are still part of the Movement.  I have never had a 'falling
out' with anyone in the Movement.  I disagree with many things which they 
teach.
I recognize the psychological damage done by being involved in such a system.
I hold no loyalty to the mainstream Churches of Christ and do not defend their
mistakes either.
	I want to point out, though, that unlike in many other systems which
are in other ways similar, the Leadership of the Boston Movement are as much
victims of the system as the members.  We do not have a leader who enjoys
manipulating his people.  The leaders believe what they teach, and they feel
accountable for the activites (and spiritual welfare) of the members.  When
members do not evangelize to their expectations, for example, the leaders feel
personally responsible as well.  The leaders are not out for money or power.
They want to evangelize the world in their lifetime.

	I have said too much, but there is much more to say.  There are many
examples I could give and quotes from other sources (including Boston 
bulletins)
that I could include.  But this is too long already.  You may post this if
you so desire.
						Frank D.



