We, the Restored Church Worldwide (RCW) Council, write this not to hurt anyone’s faith, as the truth should never weaken our faith. Instead, out of love for those who may feel spiritually confused, we hope this document will bring biblical clarity. As recently announced, the International Christian Church (ICC) has revised its First Principles Studies Series. In doing so, the “godly division” doctrine was erased from the Church Study (pg. 18-21; see the images below).

Why is this so significant and reflective of where the ICC leadership is at? In Hebrews 10:38, it says:

We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.

Many in our former fellowship, particularly its top leadership, due to failure and hardship, have fallen into the trap of this passage—they are shrinking back spiritually. Interestingly, the Greek word for “shrink back” (hypostellō) is related to the same Greek word for “confidence” in Hebrews 3:14, which says:

We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction [or confidence] firmly to the very end.

So, shrinking back occurs when we begin to lose the very confidence that once firmly grounded our original convictions!

Throughout the Scriptures, God’s plea has been to “hold” (John 8:31-32), “remain” (John 15:7), “stand firm” (Ephesians 6:14), and to never let go, compromise, or reinvent our “original convictions.” In Galatians 1:8, Paul himself built a fail-safe for the church if he or any of the other top leaders started to shrink back and change the original teachings. He said, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!”

In the early 2000s, following the downfall of the ICOC, its leadership began to rewrite its history, erasing characters and moments it wished to forget. Even scarier, they also began to make significant changes to its foundational teachings with what was being called “new thinking” and a “new direction.” Sadly and tragically, with the release of the ICC revised First Principles book, history repeats itself.

The removal of the “godly division” doctrine from the ICC’s First Principles is not a minor adjustment, but a fundamental shift. For nearly two decades, this teaching was central to the ICC’s identity as it biblically justified its separation from the International Churches of Christ (ICOC) and defended the very legitimacy for a “new movement”. To now erase it raises serious biblical and theological questions: Were they wrong all along, or are they rewriting history to fit present needs? However, as it says in Luke 6:38b:

For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

The ICC has pointed this double-edged sword of truth at the ICOC for many years, and now is being measured back to them. Shockingly, they are following suit by erasing their history and revising their teachings to suit their current state. Of course, there is nothing wrong with making changes to a Bible study series. We will also likely make minor adjustments to our own version of the First Principles in time. However, removing a specific doctrine, such as godly division, is reflective of a massive shift in theology. To be clear, what this amendment to their First Principles Study Series implies is the following:

1. The abandonment of this doctrine implies and admits that the ICC was birthed from a sinful faction. (Note: several of the ICC World Sector Leaders took passionate stances from the ICOC, which they were baptized into, to join the ICC.) Now, if the ICC was born out of sin, how does that reconcile with Luke 6:43: “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit”? Of course, it was not sin—it was “godly division,” as there has been good fruit born in the ICC. Furthermore, Jesus himself preached and practiced godly division as the church divided out of Judaism in the first century (Luke 12:49-53).

2. Furthermore, it is worth noting that several of the current World Sector Leaders were not only present, but also active participants in the ICC’s original division from the ICOC. They have continued to teach and defend the doctrine of godly division for nearly two decades. If they are now prepared to abandon it, what does that imply? Are they conceding that for all these years they did not truly understand the Scriptures and were, in fact, teaching error? Such an admission stands in direct conflict with the biblical qualifications of an overseer, who, according to Titus 1:9, “must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.”

If this doctrine is now being retracted, it is not merely a change of emphasis—it is an acknowledgment that they have been wrong for years. That reality alone validates at least one of the central reasons the Restored Churches Worldwide (RCW) chose to separate: the leadership was wavering incurably not only in practice but in doctrine itself.

In conclusion, the ICC’s removal of “godly division” from its core teachings can only mean one of two things: 1) the ICC was a sinful faction that divided from the ICOC, or 2) like the ICOC, they are changing their doctrines now to control the narrative and their current membership.
We, the RCW Council, would like to end this letter with a vow to all the RCW disciples: If we ever begin to shrink back, erasing foundational doctrines, or steering the church in an unbiblical direction, we call each of you to take a stand for God and His Scriptures by calling us to repent and once again be sound in our convictions. If we refuse, then not only are you permitted, but you are biblically mandated to obey God rather than man and to practice “godly division.”

Your Family in Christ,
RCW Council