>Church does serve an important purpose,
>such as fellowship, but too
>often the bad outweighs the
>good. Spirituality is the
>key not religion (church).

I agree.

>I have a buddy who is
>a member of the International
>Church of Christ (ICOC).
>We fell out b/c he
>couldn't accept the fact that
>I did not want to
>attend his church. I
>did some research into this
>church & found out that
>it calls for members to
>be somewhat fanatical in recruiting.
> If anyone has information
>on this church - good,
>bad or indifferent, please share,
>b/c I'm curious about what
>my man has gotten himself
>into.

I was a part of this church for a few months. Your research is correct. A major focus of the church is recruiting. You feel guilty every time you meet someone and don't invite them to church. The church is very controlling. One of the factors that made me wake up and leave the church (beside the fact that my family was pulling their hair out to get through to me) was that they encouraged me to not attend church with my family when I went home to visit, but to find a local branch of the church.

I won't call the church a cult, because that word can mean many things (hell, this site could be considered a cult). I don't think the church is headed for anything tragic, like Waco; but I do think the members are brainwashed. The church has a very fundamentalist and literal interpretation of the Bible. In my opinion, this is not spiritually healthy, and is borderline dangerous in a KKK/Nazi sense of the word. They literally taught that everyone outside of the church (including other Christians) is going to hell...had me thinking my recently deceased grandmother went to hell.

Needless to say, this church put me through some things; but I am glad I went through it. After I got out of the church, I went through a period of not believing in God at all, because I thought if this church was wrong, they must all be wrong. All the negatives they planted in my brain about various religions are still there, and I'm glad. I now experience things on a more spiritual level than ever before. My connection to the energy we call God is stronger than ever and continues to improve. I now understand that many concepts in the Bible, such as heaven and hell, were not to be taken literally. I now am able to appreciate the good aspects of all religions, and I feel free to apply any of their teachings to my life. The ICOC played a part in me getting to that point, so I can't condemn them.

I said all of that to ease your mind about your friend and to give you some advice on how to handle the situation. First of all, when he goes to people at his church and tells them about his situation with you, they will tell him to just live his life in such a way that he'll become a "beacon of light" for you. So when you see how blessed his life is, you'll want a piece of it. My advice is for you to do the same thing. If you're spiritually doing just as well as or better than he is, you may be his "light". Focus internally on your spirituality. You will be better off. Right now, he is getting his power from external sources, and is becoming addicted to evangelism. External power is a figment of the imagination.

Most importantly, don't worry about him. Have faith.

"Life's a b***h, then you die; but for now, Life, close your eyes and feel this d**k." - Jay-Z

"I think we may be integrating into a burning house...We'll have to become the firemen." - Martin Luther King, Jr. (speaking to Harry Belafonte)