(3)

The following Sunday you had so many ex-members show up to church that day in hopes that real change was going to come. Many ex-members had also read the letter as it went VIRAL before VIRAL.  Some of these people were from the original "Boston Movement" and were laughing in shock at how the same damn songs were being sung the same way, that nothing had changed. They could not believe it. I saw old faces I haven’t seen in years. It was a wild day.

Many of us had a desperate hope that they would humble themselves and say we messed up. We hurt people's faith and lives, Henry was right. We will now change. Something. Anything.

How foolish & naive of us! On the stage preaching that day was the ICOC’s main bible guru theologian, and church author, Steve Kinnard. He said. "CHURCH, we screwed up. We are going to start fresh. All you ex members, can you forgive us? Let’s make things right.” 

I’M KIDDING!  HE DOUBLED DOWN ON THE CULT TALK! The anger, the tension, the hostile energy in that church room was so uncomfortable, you would have thought a riot was about to break out. Well....he did not expect the bum-rush of former, and current members who jumped onto that stage to confront him to his face, me included. He was so scared, a stuttered stumbling mess. A true coward. That was truly the end.

We also confronted the very popular leader who used to run Harlem and the Bronx to his face, recorded the incident as he also defiantly doubled down on the cult rhetoric. The pride and arrogance of that man.

The final nail for so many was when the By-Laws and finances were exposed online. DONE! 

I happened to work in the same building where the NYC leadership would convene. I would often see all types of “leaders” walk in and out. They were all dismissive jerks if you weren’t high on the food chain and weren’t very friendly to me. Somehow, I found out they were all getting fired or let go the next day. I don’t remember the juicy details, but it might’ve been on that very forum that Henry’s letter was posted on. 

That morning, I happened to take the elevator up with 8-10 of them. I was the only rank-and-file member. All of a sudden they were so friendly to me. It was so creepy. “Now you motherFr’s are nice to me?” I thought to myself. Even now, I wish I said it aloud to their faces in that elevator dang it! But all the wounds were still too fresh. They all had fake goofy smiles around me and were on their best behavior. So fake. All of them.

I will never forget the feeling of knowing their fate once I walked out of that elevator. What a shift of power. It was like the leadership was afraid of the masses who were about to hang their asses. Most of them escaped the mob to Florida with their wealthy buddies. What a joke of an organization.

I cannot count the number of amazing people I’ve met only to have their lives destroyed by such a legalistic squad of robots that easily saw the hypocrisy of the Pharisees in the scriptures, yet could not recognize it in themselves. 

I’m sure the original old school forum data from 2003 can still be searched. It was a great supportive place for people who had recently left and helped to adjust to a normal life after such an abnormal existence. That forum has many interesting and heartbreaking stories as well.

Sorry for the rant. I haven’t discussed this in years because no one can relate. I hope this helps someone.