An Open Letter To The ICC Leadership

An Open Letter to the International Christian Churches (ICC) and Its Central Leadership

Introduction

“The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through His messengers again and again because He had pity on His people and on His dwelling place. But they mocked God’s messengers, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets until the wrath of the Lord was aroused against His people and there was no remedy.” (2 Chronicles 36:15-16)

Dear Raul, Lynda, the ICC World Sector Leaders (WSLs), and all disciples in the ICC,

We write this letter with great sorrow as we reflect on the longstanding and current state of our beloved fellowship. Many of us have spoken to our central leadership over the years, particularly in the past six months, expressing our deep concerns regarding the collective state and direction of the International Christian Churches (ICC). Despite years of persecution, ineffective leadership, minimal growth, and setbacks—including the recent departure of the McKeans—we have collectively held onto the dream of evangelizing the world through the unified efforts of the ICC. However, our biblical conviction is that the direction of our Movement, determined by our central leadership’s words, teachings, actions, and/or inactions, has fatally strayed from Scripture. (The central leadership group referred to in this letter includes the World Sector Leaders: Michael and Michele Williamson, Matt and Helen Sullivan, Joe and Kerry Willis, John and Emma Causey, Tim and Lianne Kernan, Cory and Jeraldine Blackwell; Movement Shepherds: Tony and Therese Untalan, Michael and Sharon Kirchner, and Nick and Denise Bordieri; as well as Movement leaders: Raul and Lynda Moreno.) As a result, our confidence that the ICC churches will truly restore the Book of Acts in our generation has completely eroded. In this letter, we detail the series of events that led us to this point, and our attempts to bring about the reform we believe God expects.

The State of The ICC

“Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” (1 Timothy 4:16)

The Word of God study contains one of the Bible’s most fundamental truths: a generation’s salvation hinges on Christians’ unwavering commitment to hold on to their life and doctrine until the very end. Our former movement, the ICOC, experienced a drastic doctrinal drift following the Long Beach Unity Meeting and the Henry Kriete Letter in 2002 and 2003, which eventually plunged most of its church members into pervasive lukewarmness.

In response to the doctrinal drift many experienced in the ICOC, we fought to prevent something similar in our Movement by establishing the Five Core Convictions. However, we failed to understand that a life drift is just as catastrophic. It is our strong conclusion that our Movement has experienced a significant life drift from the example we see in the Book of Acts. Additionally, some of our sound doctrinal practices have become perverted versions of their original intent (i.e., Central Leadership). We believe this life drift began many years ago within our top leadership group—the WSLs—and has filtered down through most of our churches worldwide. Just as a life drift followed the doctrinal drift in the ICOC, we believe that the current life drift in the ICC has led to, and will continue to lead to, an even more significant doctrinal drift over time.

Our Path Here

(2007-2013) The Era of Visionary Advancement

“When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’ The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.” (Psalms 126:1-3)

As our Movement began, many of us could relate to the words of the psalmist written above. Under the leadership of the McKeans, we fought to restore the life and doctrine of the primitive church, which gave us a renewed dream that God would restore a worldwide movement that, in time, would “[turn] the world upside down.” (Acts 17:6, RSV) The Crown of Thorns Plan was birthed, providing us with a tangible strategy to win the whole world for Christ. The City of Angels Church (LA Church) grew rapidly, and church plantings were sent out as God gathered His people worldwide, giving us hope that every city could have a thriving church of “sold-out” disciples.

(2014-2019) The Era of Expediency and Disappointment

“But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light.” (1 Corinthians 3:10-12)

Due to Elena’s health concerns during this era, plans were rushed to appoint WSLs in 2014, followed by the McKeans’ untimely decision to step away from leading the flourishing LA Church in 2015. In reaction to the job insecurity felt by the previous WSL group and the McKeans in the ICOC, the newly appointed WSL group was cultivated with the theme “Family to the End.” With that theme came the promise that only disunity or serious moral failings would result in removal from the group. Although this was well-intended, it created an unbiblical leadership foundation where relationships supersede one’s ability to actually fulfill their role, leading to a lack of forceful advancement. This established order goes directly against pivotal biblical principles, such as: “You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things” (Matthew 25:23) and the Jethro Principle: “But select capable men from all the people.” (Exodus 18:21) The Bible mandates that we put the right parts of the body in the right places “so that the body of Christ may be built up.” (Ephesians 4:12)

This poor foundation of leadership resulted in a lack of urgency and biblical expectation at the WSL level. Since the WSLs could not be removed for ineffectiveness, many years of dismal results followed. For example, by 2000, approximately 20 years into our former fellowship, they had achieved 119,079 members in 404 churches.¹ After about the same time period in the new Movement, we have under 12,000 disciples in approximately 145 churches, and the number of our churches is declining.

(Raul has stated that the underwhelming growth of our movement is due to the world not being as open as it once was. This is a shocking betrayal of faith. The Bible teaches that God is unchanging. [Hebrews 13:8] He blesses His people when we obey Him and curses us when we do not. We do not believe that the world’s openness has changed; instead, we believe the faith of His people has changed, starting with those who lead.)

Additionally, the LA Church, under the leadership of the McKeans, inspired the Movement by forcefully advancing from 42 disciples in 2007 to 916 disciples by the end of 2015. In contrast, under the Kernans’ leadership from 2015 to the end of 2022, the LA Church declined from 916 disciples to a tragic 793.

During the tenure of the Kernans’ leadership of the LA Church, Tim crafted a narrative claiming the Church did not grow under their charge because of the considerable number of disciples sent out from LA on mission teams. However, the McKeans were able to grow the LA Church from just 42 disciples to 916 even though they sent out 690 disciples over eight years. The Kernans inherited the Church with 916 disciples, and actually sent out less (668) over a seven year period—an almost identical amount of time. To give you an idea of how many disciples a church of almost a thousand should be able to send out while still forcefully advancing, the Dimitrys have sent out 202 disciples in just 22 months but have grown the LA Church from 793 disciples to 1,200—an increase of 407 disciples. If you were to scale that out for seven years—the same amount of time the Kernans led the Church—the Dimitrys are on pace to send out nearly 800 disciples while growing the Church from 793 to almost 2,500 disciples.

There is simply no truth to this cleverly concocted narrative. It was just a way to rationalize seven years of poor results and the squandering of millions in Missions Contribution dollars, as the LA Church received nearly 5 million dollars from the Movement’s Special Missions collection during the Kernan’s leadership. Although we are so thankful for every soul that has been saved throughout these 18 years, one cannot help but think about how many more precious souls could have been saved and powerful churches planted if we had only followed the Scriptures in this era. (Matthew 25:21, Exodus 18:21, Ephesians 4:12)

This issue became systemic, as those trained and sent from LA (and other key churches) as Evangelists and Women’s Ministry Leaders during this era were no longer sent from successful situations and often felt a need for personal revival upon their send-off. Thus, they fulfilled Jesus’ teaching: “The student is not above the teacher…” (Luke 6:40) Due to the cultural norm of weak churches sending weak plantings, the results were drastically underwhelming (as you can see in the graphs above). Today, shockingly, 87 percent of the ICC churches are growing by ten new members or fewer per year.

Another byproduct of this era was that some evangelists adopted the deceitful practice of “stat fudging” (i.e., revising past membership numbers and not reporting fall-aways). Jason Dimitry and Kyle Bartholomew confronted this corruption, which led to Kip correcting the worldwide staff at the USA Churches Missions Fundraising Meeting in Los Angeles on August 24, 2019. Following this meeting, to avoid further criticism or accountability, statistics were no longer made accessible to anyone other than the World Sector Leaders and, eventually, Jason Dimitry in 2023. For many, this lack of transparency hurt their trust in the Movement’s top leadership.

(2020-2021) The Era of Compromise

“To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of Him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.” (Revelation 3:1-3)

After six years of sluggish growth, the faith of most leaders around the world had noticeably waned. In June 2019, even Kip confessed to an existential crisis of faith after his trip to Machu Picchu, where he doubted whether our Movement could complete the task of world evangelism.² This was the spiritual state of our Movement going into the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. It is no surprise then that “The Year of Vision” unfortunately kicked off an era of compromise.

Most ICC churches shifted all services to an online format, and Bible studies, church services, Bible talks, and discipling times were held almost entirely over Zoom. Sadly, many members attended these services without ever turning on their cameras. Commitment seemed optional, and the idea of being “sold out” for many had become an empty slogan. This lowered expectation of commitment produced weaker converts, and many in our membership became accustomed to the more convenient “new normal.”

Even more problematic was the allure of having an online membership within the local congregation. Some leaders saw this as an opportunity to be exploited post-pandemic. John Causey was the most outspoken advocate for this direction, making a case for online membership in his book The House to House Effect. ³ What sounds good on paper excused many from living out the total commitment that our Movement was founded upon and resulted in a violation of one of its’ most sacred convictions: maintaining a “sold out base” of disciples. Today, several of our churches have retained pockets of virtual members who live hours away from the local church. They are not expected to move closer to the church or consistently attend in-person meetings of the body. During this era, the standard of commitment within most of our churches was shattered. The ICC may have entered the COVID-19 crisis in a state of spiritual sickness, but it exited with a pandemic of lukewarmness.

(2022-2023) The Era of Revival

Seeing the noticeable decline in most of our churches, the McKeans boldly initiated “Operation Jerusalem” to bring revival to our mother church in Los Angeles and inspire revival worldwide. This hope is expressed in Kip’s initial announcement of Operation Jerusalem to the Movement, in which he stated, “At no point in the history of the SoldOut Movement have so many been gathered and moved by the Spirit! Indeed, a new era for the City of Angels Church and for the entire movement will commence…”⁴

To lead this effort, they tapped the shoulders of Jason and Sarah Dimitry, who had been leading the fastest-growing (numerically) American church in San Francisco. They moved to Los Angeles, bringing with them many of those who converted and trained in their ministries to help rebuild the LA Church. Upon arriving in Los Angeles, the Dimitrys noticed a drastic life drift present in the Church, even among some of the top leaders. Shockingly, Michael Kirchner and Raul Moreno told the Dimitrys that they no longer needed to attend Midweek services due to their increased responsibilities. They politely declined this suggestion, vowing to attend every service, as they had always done.

To put the significance of missing Midweek services into perspective, one only has to recall Kip McKean’s famous story of setting up 25 chairs at their Midweek Service in Portland, Oregon.⁵ He asked Gye Hobbs, an older disciple in the Portland church, “Should we set up 20 or 25 chairs?” Gye responded, “Have faith, let’s set up 25 chairs!” Kip then set up 25 chairs. Kip shared this story many times at the genesis of our Movement. Over time, it evolved into the claim that the Portland church started with only 25 members. In truth, it had over a hundred. The 25 chairs set up were just the number of chairs set up at Midweek Service. Why was Kip allowed this exaggeration—equating 25 chairs to 25 original members? Because Kip repeatedly taught at that time that your true church membership is the number of disciples who attend Midweek services.

Unbelievably, it has been reported that four other WSLs have stopped attending Midweek services as well. We must seriously “consider how far [we] have fallen” as a Movement when our senior leadership would not even have been considered part of our “true membership” early in our Movement’s history. (Revelation 2:5)

Despite this, we saw God work in unprecedented ways during this era. The church in LA was restored to health and quickly became the fastest-growing church (numerically) in the world. In 2023, the LA Church recorded a Movement all-time high of 510 baptisms and 70 restorations, while also sending out 104 disciples on seven mission teams. The Church grew from 793 to 1,008 that same year, surpassing the goal of “1,000 members for the Lord,” a milestone that had not been achieved for over seven years. Additionally, through the Dimitrys’ influence, the Central and South American churches, which had experienced a decline in membership the year before, saw growth that had not been seen in years. Many around the Movement were inspired to witness what God was doing through the efforts and influence of Operation Jerusalem.

This era was also marked by a significant increase in persecution, primarily aimed at the LA Church. Surprisingly, this was not the usual garden-variety persecution from former members. Unlike any other time in recent memory, the Dimitrys and the LA Church began to experience persecution from several ministers within our Movement. Tim Kernan was perhaps the most prominent advocate, as he slandered the Dimitrys and the LA Church by claiming that it was filled with bad-hearted and selfishly ambitious people who were baptizing for their personal glory. He described Jason as a narcissistic demagogue blindly followed by immature Christians who lack character. He assured his listeners that the LA Church was weak and was experiencing unprecedented fall-aways despite the statistical facts showing that it had achieved the lowest fall-away rate since 2014 and had been growing faster than ever before.

The Bible teaches that “ANY kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall.” (Luke 11:17, emphasis added) Jesus made it clear that any kingdom, including God’s kingdom, will fall when divided. Recently, Lance Underhill reported that in a conversation with Tim Kernan, Tim remarked that Kip had started a new movement when he launched Operation Jerusalem almost two years ago. This statement reflects the level of division that already exists within our fellowship—that launching an initiative to revive our diminishing Movement was perceived by one of the WSLs as creating something “new.”

During the 2023 “Filled With Awe” International Campus Leadership Seminar (ICLS) in Mexico City, John Causey accused Jason Dimitry and Blaise Feumba of preaching “heresy” while speaking to Evan Bartholomew and Richie McDonnell. Evan later challenged him on his slander, but John never apologized to Jason, Blaise, or Richie. At that same conference, Kristin Smith asked Lianne Kernan if she and Tim were unified with the Dimitrys. She replied, “We are unified with those who are unified with God.” After seeking advice from her discipler, Kristin confronted Lianne about this comment. Other notable leaders, such as Ricky Challinor and Lance Underhill, were concerned about Tim’s divisive rhetoric and reported what he had been saying to Raul. Lance Underhill disclosed that, like Diotrephes, (3 John 1:9) Tim told him that he would no longer have any place with the Kernan family if he did not sever his relationships with Jason Dimitry and Kyle Bartholomew. Even Raul was informed by Tim, before leading the Movement, that their fellowship would be limited due to his initial suggestion that the Dimitrys should lead Operation Jerusalem in 2022. The unwillingness to biblically address Tim’s unprecedented level of divisiveness, and other blatant sins committed by leaders in our fellowship, gave birth to the next era.

(2024-Present) The Era of Division and Corruption

“No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval.” (1 Corinthians 11:19)

In 2024, God accomplished even greater things with the LA Church and the churches under the Dimitrys’ charge. Just last month, in September, the LA Church reached a record 95 baptisms, while the San Francisco Church had a record 63 baptisms. This record growth followed the summer when the LA Church sent 14 disciples to strengthen the Denver Church, along with the North Carolina and South Carolina Mission Teams, which have already grown by 40 and 50 percent, respectively. The Anchorage Mission Team sent out from San Francisco has also grown by 35 percent. The Latin America World Sector (LAWS), which the Dimitrys and the LA Church significantly influenced, comprises only 13 percent of the Movement’s churches. However, it is responsible for 45 percent of the Movement’s growth, meaning it is growing at five times the rate of the rest of the Movement.

As some will suggest, we do not share these statistics to boast about our numbers. Instead, we share these figures to illustrate the current state of affairs and what can happen when a group of churches commits to restoring the ideals of life and doctrine in the Book of Acts. We do not consider ourselves anything special; instead, we reflect on how many of our churches were forcefully advancing before the “Era of Expediency and Disappointment.” Remember, our Movement was conceived from a message preached by Kip McKean entitled “Follow the Fire,” where he laid out the biblical principle that God will always make His “approval” evident through powerful growth.

As these churches continue to thrive, stark and noticeable “differences among [us]” have emerged. Many within the Movement fundamentally recognize what we see: that the collective churches of the ICC can no longer claim to be a twenty-first-century example of the first-century Church.

Below, we have outlined several alarming occurrences that highlight the current corruption within our Movement and provide clear reasons why God is not blessing our efforts worldwide:

The Pushing Out of The McKeans

In April 2024, the WSLs reported that our Movement’s founders, Kip and Elena McKean, were retiring from their central leadership positions and that Kip had “faltered spiritually.”⁶ Though they presented it as the McKeans’ choice, many believed they pushed the McKeans out. Raul Moreno later confirmed this by telling Jason Dimitry that if Kip and Elena had not stepped down, the WSLs would have flown to Los Angeles and forced them to resign. To be clear, we are not disputing the McKeans’ need to step down due to sin and poor spiritual health, but rather the incredibly corrupt way in which their dismissal occurred.

It has been reported that on the eve of Kip’s trip to Dallas, Texas, to meet with and finally confront Tim Kernan about his previously stated behavior, his bitterness toward Kip, and the current state of his failing churches, Tim’s close friend and confidant, Ron Harding, emailed a list of Kip’s sins to the entire WSL group without Kip’s permission. Ron’s actions sparked considerable concern, as he had already informed Tony Untalan and Raul Moreno about these sins in prior conversations, and they were addressing them as the first step of church discipline. (Matthew 18:15-17) Additionally, he had boastfully bragged to several witnesses for at least five years that he had “stuff” on Kip that could bring down the Movement. (The witnesses include Michael Peterson and Damon James.)

Tim’s motivations were equally concerning, as he knew Kip was coming to Dallas to discuss his role and their relationship. He anxiously stated to some in his leadership group that Kip wasn’t flying all the way to Texas just for a steak dinner, implying that he understood the true nature of Kip’s visit. The timing of Ron’s email does not appear to be a mere coincidence; instead, it seems like a tactical countermeasure to block Kip from going to Dallas. Moreover, Tim employs Ron as the Fort Worth Region Leader of the DFW Church, a position he has maintained following this incident. As Tim benefited most from Ron’s actions and defended him adamantly afterward, many who knew what happened were deeply suspicious.

John Causey was also aware of the material in Ron’s possession, as he told Jason Dimitry in a conversation that he had known about it for “many months” and that it had caused him to struggle spiritually. If these three worked in conjunction, as alleged, then at least two of our WSLs who direct us in areas of theology—Tim Kernan, ICCM Global President, and John Causey, ICCM Global Dean of Masters—collaborated to remove our Movement’s leaders using extortion. Worse yet, they used information that Ron Harding reportedly had in his possession for almost 12 years. Ron also purportedly hired a lawyer shortly after sending his email and refused to answer any questions.

This behavior is common among politicians, not preachers, and should never be used to make changes in the church. If these allegations are true, blackmail and extortion are being employed at our Church’s highest levels of leadership. Out of concern, we requested an investigation into this situation. However, it became evident from Raul and the rest of the WSL group that there was no desire to pursue this, and even discussing it became an act of discord. One can’t help but remember Isaiah 59:15: “Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.”

The Unbiblical Decision to Retain John & Emma Causey as World Sector Leaders

In May 2024, Caleb Cohen, Aaron Turner, Evan Bartholomew, and their wives courageously came forward to express documented concerns about John & Emma Causey’s leadership to our new Movement leader, Raul Moreno. Many of the concerns they raised were similar to those that had previously led to the departure of about 50 members from the Chicago Church a year prior. This group included Congregational Shepherds Theo & Leslie Dawson, four Evangelists and Women’s Ministry Leaders (Pat and Sparkle Boea and Cornel and Tia Buckner), and the World Sector Administrator, Eric Gayton. Additionally, four other appointed Evangelists and Women’s Ministry Leaders (Coltin and Mandee Rohn and Cesar and Debbie Limon) in the Northern Federation World Sector (NFWS) have left the Movement since the Causeys became WSLs on December 7, 2020. In our Movement’s history, we have never seen so many leaders leave at such an alarming rate.

The following were the concerns raised about the Causeys:

1) Dishonest accounting of stats: Every church in our Movement is responsible for reporting on their weekly activities, including baptisms, restorations, placed memberships, move-aways, members who have passed away, and fall-aways. The ICC’s established standard for counting fall-aways has always been to remove those absent for three weeks without reason. While John promptly reported his church’s positive metrics—baptisms, restorations, and placed memberships—he prohibited his Region Leaders and the church leaders under his charge from accurately reporting the fall-aways. People who had been absent for years remained on the church’s membership rosters, creating a significant disparity between John’s reports and reality.

One example of John’s dishonest accounting occurred at a Crown of Thorns Council Meeting earlier this year. Caleb Cohen informed John that the Chicago Campus Ministry had 67 disciples, and the Chicago Church had precisely 340 members. However, just hours later, in front of Caleb at the meeting, John reported to the council that the Chicago Church had 120 campus disciples and that its membership was over 400. This instance is just one of many where John flat-out lied about statistics, portraying his churches as more fruitful than they were. His corruption hurt the faith of many under the Causeys’ care. Ministers are supposed to seek God’s approval more than man’s. (John 12:43; Galatians 1:10) Lying about statistics to make one’s church appear more fruitful than reality is the exact opposite of this. For years, many have voiced their concerns to John Causey about his deceitful accounting practices. He abusively corrected them and labeled them as prideful for questioning his methodology.

2) Possible financial malfeasance and criminality: The Causeys had their monthly PME (Personal Ministry Expense) funds deposited directly into a separate private church bank account and did not provide receipts or proof of their expenses. This practice is a significant departure from ICC protocol, as the IRS requires receipts and proper documentation for all non-profit reimbursed employee expenses. The intent of our protocol goes beyond legal compliance; it also protects the church from embezzlement.

It was also reported that John personally signed checks, and he and Emma carried church ATM cards in their names, allowing them to withdraw cash directly from the Church’s bank accounts. These actions grossly violate church protocol, as ministers should not have direct access to church funds. These questionable activities, combined with the Chicago Church’s excessive number of bank accounts relative to its size and its suspicious transaction histories, are highly concerning. Yet again, these matters were never thoroughly investigated.

3) Extreme negligence: The Causeys almost never preached at meetings of the body and rarely met with anyone they discipled. When they did, it was usually just a brief phone call between the brothers and John; Emma was seldom involved. For example, Evan Bartholomew mentioned that he only spoke to John over the phone about four or five times a year. He also noted that Emma never spoke to Kelly with any regularity and that they had only had two sit-downs with John and Emma together during their entire seven-year discipling relationship. Those the Causeys discipled in Chicago and elsewhere reported similar, if not identical, experiences.

The Causeys often covered up their negligence with deceit. For instance, in one Overseers Meeting, the overseeing church leaders of the NFWS were informed that John and Emma would not be available for months because Raul Moreno wanted them to fly to Los Angeles to help him work with Kip on his repentance. Evan Bartholomew, who was present at the meeting, later asked Raul if this was true. Raul explained that he had not asked John to assist him with Kip, nor had John ever been involved in working with Kip on his repentance. When confronted with this lie, John claimed it was all a misunderstanding. This was just one of countless lies told by John, each of which was easily disproven with a bit of fact-checking.

4) Psychologically manipulative behavior, abuse, and exploitation of church members: John and Emma had a terrible reputation for bullying. When they didn’t get their way, the Causeys were described as abusive, often displaying irate, non-Christian behavior. (2 Timothy 3:1-5) This behavior included lying, creating dissensions, cursing, and making threats. Both John and Emma were incredibly vindictive when challenged. In one instance, after Kelly Bartholomew called Emma for clarification on something she had said in a discipling group with the other women overseers, Emma berated her over the phone. Then she proceeded to “unfriend” and “block” her on Facebook. She later removed Kelly from the NFWS women’s chat group. (To this day, Emma has not unblocked Kelly on Facebook.) Other leaders, including the Bartholomews, have also reported that their jobs were threatened multiple times under the Causeys’ leadership.

In a meeting with Caleb Cohen and Tony Untalan, John also confessed to engaging in shady business dealings with members of his churches, including selling them faulty cars and renting dilapidated homes. On September 24, 2024, Michael Peterson provided a lengthy testimony on Facebook detailing the terrible experience he claims to have had while being a tenant in one of John’s properties.⁷ Yet again, these accusations, including John’s shocking confession of exploitation, were never thoroughly investigated.

5) False teachings: For years, many church leaders expressed concern as disciples from the Chicago Church (or NFWS) moved into their local congregations but held different convictions about dating non-Christians (Houston, Texas; Salt Lake City, Utah; San Francisco, California; Mexico City, Mexico—the Moreno’s home church; etc.). Additionally, numerous disciples have shared concerns about this issue after visiting Chicago and witnessing disciples going on dates with their non-Christian boyfriends or girlfriends. This even included an intern. To our knowledge, the Causeys have never renounced this practice. They are clearly in violation of Scripture, (2 Corinthians 6:14-18) and another founding conviction of the ICC.⁸

Since the Causeys joined the Movement in 2017, many notable leaders—such as Pat and Pam Boea, Michael and Jasmine Peterson, Evan and Kelly Bartholomew, and several others—have expressed serious concerns about Emma’s doctrinal beliefs. These concerns include the necessity of baptism for salvation, the requirement of confessing sins to one another and not just to God, commitment to the meetings of the body, the prioritization of children over husbands, and questionable beliefs about the Holy Spirit, among other issues.

6) The Causeys didn’t go to Church Services: This is probably the most shocking and well-corroborated concern. John and Emma seldom attended Midweek or Sunday Services for over three years. It is estimated that they attended around 12 or so services (Midweek Service, Staff Meeting, and Sunday Service) each year. They had compartmentalized the Chicago Church into so many regions that everyone assumed the Causeys were attending other services in a different region. That assumption turned out to be false.

To Raul Moreno’s credit, he diligently followed up on these concerns and initially held a meeting with the Cohens, Dimitrys, Bordieris, Untalans, and Kirchners. Upon hearing the allegations, Raul and all the WSL Shepherds were appalled and vowed several times to remove the Causeys from their leadership roles, stating that there was no way John and Emma could continue as WSLs. Jason Dimitry encouraged the Morenos, Untalans, Kirchners, and Bordieris to take necessary action, citing Bible passages such as John 8:31, 1 Timothy 3:1-7, and 2 Corinthians 6:3. He argued that John and Emma had to be removed from their roles since they were not holding to “[Jesus’] teachings” and were not living like committed Christians, let alone leaders. After all, how can a couple who wouldn’t even meet the biblical requirements for baptism in any of our churches retain the highest office within our Movement? Jason stated that this was one of the worst instances of a leader not being “above reproach” that we have ever encountered in the ICC and that the Causeys had “discredited” their ministry in an unprecedented way. To our knowledge, we have never had a significant leader in our family of churches who rarely attend their own services.

A second meeting was held with all the same people, including Michael & Michelle Williamson, who were also unified regarding the biblical need to remove the Causeys from their roles. Raul promised to confront John Causey, which he later did. Upon meeting with John, he reportedly addressed the allegations, which John unequivocally denied. John then demanded to face his accusers. So Raul arranged for him to meet with Evan Bartholomew, Caleb Cohen, and Aaron Turner over Zoom. Ultimately, John caved to the allegations, as he was unprepared for the overwhelming amount of documented facts and evidence presented in each meeting. (As far as we know, Emma was never met with or confronted regarding any of the issues raised.)

As these meetings concluded, Raul was shocked by the Causeys’ behavior. He repeatedly promised to call for their resignation several times, and said he would do so in a meeting with the WSLs that week. Before the meeting, Raul expressed apprehension, fearing that John would “spin” his way out of the discipline, and hoped he had the fortitude to follow through and demand his resignation. Sadly, Raul’s fears were realized. He later gave a gloomy account of his meeting with the WSLs (men only).

Raul’s first mistake was allowing John to attend the meeting without any of the whistleblowers present. This is equivalent to having a defendant in the jury room while the jury members deliberate the outcome of his or her case. Secondly, Raul failed to provide a detailed account of what was uncovered and confirmed by the whistleblowers, along with the clear biblical ramifications of the offenses. Instead, he reported that he could not work with John because he was prideful and unteachable. This is comparable to asking the jury to determine the outcome of a case without presenting any evidence from the prosecution other than the prosecutor stating that the defendant is hard to deal with.

In the end, Raul caved to the desires of the WSL brothers, whom he had not provided with all the facts, instead of standing firmly on the convictions of the Bible. He later informed us that Joe Willis, Matt Sullivan, Cory Blackwell, and Tim Kernan pleaded with him to give John another chance. Notably, none of them spoke to the whistleblowers. Raul ultimately gave in to their pleas and allowed John and Emma to retain their positions as WSLs.

Alarmed by Raul’s abrupt reversal, Jason Dimitry, Kyle Bartholomew, Evan Bartholomew, Caleb Cohen, and Aaron Turner met with Raul Moreno and the Movement Shepherds on Wednesday, June 19, 2024. These brothers implored Raul to reconsider his decision, understanding its damaging effect on our fellowship and many disciples’ confidence in his leadership. Each brother present shared their heart and numerous Scriptures with Raul, demonstrating that his decision violated the Bible on several fronts. They highlighted John’s lack of qualifications to be an overseer (1 Timothy 3:1-7) while having almost all of the hallmarks of a false prophet. (Ezekiel 13:1-23; 2 Peter 2:1-22) They pointed out that the Causeys would not even be candidates for baptism in any of our churches, let alone WSLs.

After patiently listening to all the biblical arguments presented, Raul casually stated, “The Bible is a big book.” He read 1 Corinthians 4:3-5 and shared, “We can’t judge the Causeys’ motives. We can judge their actions, but not their motives.” Those present were appalled by our Movement leader’s lack of conviction, as John and Emma’s actions were precisely what was being called into question, not their motives.

Raul eventually admitted that he “probably” made the wrong decision but stated that he would stick to it anyway. He told those present at the meeting that he had placed the Causeys on six-months probation and would have them publicly confess their sins to the Chicago Church. Some members of this group of subordinate leaders later called or messaged the WSLs (Matt, Cory, and Joe), who had pleaded with Raul to keep the Causeys in their roles, to understand why they so adamantly defended them. Sadly, none of them were willing to explain their position or answer questions about their judgment except Joe Willis. He told Fernando Chavez that he had suggested a different solution to Raul. (This is not what Raul initially communicated with us.)

Fernando also spoke to Raul and tried to reason with him to change his decision, referencing the clear double standard between the WSLs and the rest of the worldwide staff. Raul agreed, stating that letting John go would have been “cleaner,” but he would stick with his decision. Fernando responded by reminding Raul that decisions should not be about what is cleaner but about doing the right thing according to Scripture. He also questioned how much investigation had been done regarding the mishandling of finances and the alleged embezzlement. Raul replied that he didn’t know and suggested Fernando ask Michael about it. The lack of righteous follow-through by our Movement leader shocked Fernando to such an extent that he ended the conversation by expressing to Raul that he had “zero confidence” that these crucial issues would be dealt with biblically. (Deuteronomy 13:14)

The consequences of this decision cannot be overstated. The Cohens left Chicago in disgrace; the Turners were begged to stay but refused; and Evan and Kelly Bartholomew demanded to be assigned to another World Sector, yet they were also stripped of half of their geographic charge (Western Canada). By the time the Cohens arrived in LA in July 2024, it was discovered that the Causeys had never actually been put on probation. In fact, the word “probation” was never even used in Raul’s discussions with the Causeys. Instead, we had been lied to.

The narrative spun out of Chicago by Congregational Shepherds Chris & Kerri Sue Adams was that Caleb was an “Absalom” who acted out of self-interest and conspired to steal the church from John. (2 Samuel 15:1-4) The only morsel of accountability left was the public confession Raul had promised would occur. However, neither John nor Emma’s confession was specific about anything they had done, nor did it come close to representing the numerous ways they had taken advantage of the Chicago Church and the NFWS. The most substantive quotes from the Causeys’ public confession are detailed below:

John confessed, “I want to confess that I’ve been independent and isolated… I want to confess that I missed Midweeks when I wasn’t speaking… I want to confess that I have had weak face-to-face discipling times… Raul said I wasn’t a disciple anymore. A couple of days later, I called him and said that I’ve been prideful and arrogant, and I apologized.”

Emma confessed, “I just want to cry. My life is falling apart… Months ago, I realized I was leading with a broken heart, but God is close to the brokenhearted… I want to repent of not making my salvation sure… I have had chronic pain that has been unbearable for the last five to seven years. I don’t know how to get to Church sometimes. I didn’t ask God for help. I am the bleeding woman from Matthew 9:20.”

The narrative about Caleb’s Absalomic behavior and his victimization of the Causeys has persisted among most rank-and-file members even to this day. This is despite the fact that Caleb and Lizbeth were appointed Associate Evangelist and Women’s Ministry Leader of the Chicago Church one month before blowing the whistle and that John had already asked the Cohens to assume full leadership of the Chicago Church in January 2025. Therefore, they had nothing to gain by coming forward—only potential loss. Nevertheless, they were stripped of all ministry responsibilities and sent away in shame. This is how our Movement’s leadership repaid them for their heroically righteous stand.

Disturbingly, Raul then begged the Turners to stay in Chicago despite the Causeys’ leadership and their openness about John’s abusive oversight and its destructive effects on their walks with God. The Turners declined and opted to move to LA. The Bartholomews also decided to be placed under the Dimitrys’ oversight, along with the Toronto Church. Because of their efforts to confront Raul on his blatantly sinful decision to retain the Causeys as WSLs, Jason Dimitry, Kyle Bartholomew, Evan Bartholomew, Caleb Cohen, and Aaron Turner were later accused by Raul Moreno and Nick Bordieri of creating a “faction.”

In a later meeting, Raul met with Jason Dimitry and compared him to King Uzziah. He pointed out that King Uzziah became arrogant due to his success and overstepped his authority by trying to offer incense in the temple. Raul likened King Uzziah’s actions to Jason’s persistent and outspoken concerns, stating that Jason shouldn’t be telling him or the WSLs what to do and was overstepping his authority. In a recent phone conversation, Raul threatened Jason and Sarah Dimitry with probation in response to feeling pressured by their concerns about the Movement. This reaction to the Dimitrys’ concerns starkly contrasts the culture of the first-century Church’s leadership, where Paul felt comfortable rebuking Peter to his face and challenging the Jerusalem leadership council when he believed they were in error. (Galatians 2:11; Acts 15:2)

John and Emma Causey have continued as WSLs while also overseeing theological matters (ICCM) and influencing the Morenos by shaping financial policy at the highest levels of our Movement.

The Poor Treatment of ICC Founders: Kip & Elena McKean

On September 4, 2024, at a virtual Crown of Thorns Council Meeting, the council was informed by the Morenos that he and the WSLs had determined that Kip was now a fall-away and would be removed from the ICC’s membership. They also considered Elena a fall-away due to her complicity with Kip’s sin; however, they decided she would remain on the membership for now. Raul then stated that although Kip had repented of his outward sins, he had not repented of his inward sins. Shortly after that, Raul and the WSLs decided that Kip must go through months of therapy before he could even begin the process of being restored to the Church.

These stances are deeply troubling on several levels:

1) Therapy as a prerequisite to salvation: If the WSLs’ position is true, that Kip needs restoration, then we would be holding someone back from salvation until they completed therapy. This concept has no place in New Testament conversion. Thus, the WSLs are grossly adding to the Bible. Additionally, Raul stated that Kip could not be restored because of his personal feelings toward him, saying, “How could I restore someone I don’t trust?” Again, this is a perversion of biblical conversion (i.e., baptism and restoration).

We believe that therapy, medication, and treatment for other health issues have a place in “teaching them to obey everything,” (Matthew 28:20) but that occurs after someone is saved. Therapy should never be imposed on anyone, as church leaders are not medical professionals. We have never heard of such a practice being forced upon anyone in the ICC as a prerequisite for spiritual restoration. This decision further evidences that the life drift of the WSLs is now leading to a dramatic doctrinal drift as well.

2) Hypocritical judgment (Matthew 7:1-5): The WSLs’ determination of Elena’s spiritual condition was based on her “idolatry” of Kip, as she did not disclose Kip’s sin. However, it is well-known that many of the WSLs, including Raul, were also aware of Kip’s shortcomings, and had been for many years. Tim Kernan confessed his deep idolatry of Kip going back many years and even wrote about it in his most recent book, 20/20 Book Three, in chapter seven, entitled “Struggling With Idolatry.”⁹ Ironically, Tim blames his idolatry in this chapter on his idol rather than taking responsibility for it.

Moreover, on July 7, 2024, Raul called for a meeting with the Dimitrys, where he rebuked Jason for judging John Causey’s spiritual state by labeling him a non-Christian, as John hadn’t consistently attended services for years. He discipled Jason, stating that we can’t make judgments like that about people within our Church, while adding that the Bible doesn’t explicitly say one must attend church services. This perspective is unsettling, as we correctly do not allow people to be baptized if they are unwilling to commit to attending the meetings of the body. (Matthew 6:33; Hebrews 10:24-25) The judgment that was condemned by Raul when directed at John’s actions was then used by Raul himself weeks later toward Kip’s motives—claiming he was lost because he had not repented at a heart level.

The Bible calls us to judge the actions of those inside the Church, (1 Corinthians 5:1-12) while it condemns judging the perceived motives of disciples. (1 Corinthians 4:5) Thus, according to Scripture, Raul handled this situation entirely backward. He condemned the judgment of John’s actions while promoting the judgment of Kip’s motives. Therefore, Raul hypocritically and unbiblically judged the spiritual state of someone within the Church.

3) Open refusal to reconcile: The Bible teaches us to refrain from sacrificing until we have reconciled with our brother. (Matthew 5:23-24) To this day, several WSLs openly and brazenly refuse to speak to Kip, a stance Raul and the other WSLs have accepted. They cite this behavior as evidence of how poorly the McKeans are doing spiritually and how much they have hurt the WSLs. According to the Bible, however, it is evidence of how far our current leadership has drifted from the spirit of grace and the heart of our Father God, who leaves the ninety-nine sheep to search for the one who has strayed. (Luke 15:4)

This treatment of our Movement’s founders and former leaders, regardless of any shortcomings they may have had while serving in office, is incomprehensible. Once again, this is shocking evidence of the WSLs life and doctrinal drift.

(IMPORTANT NOTE: We have not spoken to Kip or Elena McKean about this letter, nor have we informed them of the direction we have decided to take. The views expressed in this letter represent the collective convictions of our group alone.)

Is Central Leadership The Final Authority?

One of the “Five Core Convictions” we have taught in the ICC is that we must have centralized leadership with a central leader. Do we still hold to this conviction? Absolutely. But perhaps a better question is, “Does the authority of the central leadership of our Movement—or any movement, for that matter—supersede the authority of God’s Word?” The answer is unequivocally, “No!”

The best example of centralized leadership with a central leader in the New Testament is the often-cited meeting in Jerusalem between Paul, Peter, James, and the Jerusalem council. (Acts 15:1-21; Galatians 2:1-10) From our study of these passages, we are convinced that the biblical pattern of leadership is centralized leadership with a central leader. However, there are a few caveats that the central leadership of the ICC has chosen to ignore:

1) James made a final decision that they all supported. However, he appealed to the Scriptures—the Church’s highest authority, not human leadership—since this was not a matter of opinion. (Acts 15:15) Central leadership is a tool to fulfill the Bible’s mandates and can never be used to negate them (i.e., discipling is a tool to accomplish the “one another” passages). Otherwise, we would be no different from the Catholic Church, which relies on the Pope as its ultimate authority. Sadly, we believe that in many of the instances detailed in this letter, the Bible was not adhered to, revealing that the ultimate authority of the ICC is actually its central leadership group.

2) Paul would have absolutely parted fellowship with the Jerusalem council had James chosen to disregard the Scriptures and impose circumcision on the Gentile converts. (Acts 15:1-21) How do we know this? First, in Galatians 2:1-9, Paul recounts his visit to the Jerusalem council, stating, “We did not give in to them for a moment so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.” (Galatians 2:5) Paul would never have compromised the sound doctrine of the gospel for the Jerusalem council or anyone else, as he stated in Galatians 1:8: “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!”

Secondly, in the same chapter, he ended his partnership with Barnabas over an opinion matter—whether or not to bring John Mark on their second missionary journey. (Acts 15:36-41) If Paul was willing to take such a bold stance on an opinion matter, how much more would he have rightfully divided from the Jerusalem council over their diversion from Scripture, which would have affected millions of Gentiles’ chances at salvation, even to this day?

We believe that the ICC’s central leadership has drifted from the biblical pattern and no longer sees itself as merely a tool to implement the Bible. Instead, the central leadership has acted as the final decision-maker on church-wide non-opinion matters, even negating what the Bible says when it doesn’t fit their agenda. This problem is the most significant issue in our Movement, as it prevents us from returning to the Scriptures when we begin to drift from sound life and doctrine—which this letter has clearly shown.

We all signed up to be followers of Jesus, and His Word is our ultimate authority. We also expect those who lead us to mirror the firm conviction of Paul: “I can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth.” (2 Corinthians 13:8) If this is not the conviction of our leadership, Jesus’s warning will hold true: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?” (Luke 6:39)

The Biblical Case For Reform and Repentance

We believe that holistic reforms are needed from the top down for the ICC Churches to keep the faith and complete the task of world evangelism. As previously stated, the ministries under the Dimitrys’ influence make up 13 percent of the Movement while producing 45 percent of its growth. To explain this stark contrast, Raul has told us that the Dimitrys and their leaders are just more effective than the other WSLs. However, the Bible teaches that we will save our “hearers” when we “watch our life and doctrine.” (1 Timothy 4:16) Jesus also states that if we remain in Him and His Word remains in us, we will “bear much fruit.” (John 15:7-8)

Therefore, the Bible teaches us that the tragic lack of results we have experienced for many years worldwide is not a matter of effectiveness but faithfulness. Simply put, there has been a failure to remain in Jesus’ words and ministry among the WSLs, which has kept us from bearing much fruit and raising up leaders. Either that is true, or Jesus is a liar.

In addition to the unfaithfulness of our leadership group, unrighteous corruption—such as stat fudging, the compromising of biblical convictions, lack of transparency, hypocritical double standards, and unrepentant sin—leads us to conclude that our WSL group needs a total overhaul. Raul has stated to many of us that he agrees with our assessment that most of the WSLs need to be replaced. He has shared that he has a long-term, five-year (plus) plan to hopefully convince the WSLs to resign willingly, which is highly unlikely, and then replace most of them with specific candidates—most of whom have also not demonstrated an ability to grow a church in a way that is emblematic of the Book of Acts. Even if executed perfectly, this solution would only usher in another era of dismal results.

Another problem with Raul’s approach is that true reform is never delayed in the Bible. Reform and repentance go hand in hand, and repentance is always urgent. (2 Corinthians 7:8-11) Many kings in the Old Testament came to power during unfaithful times and brought about significant reforms. Each reformer acted quickly at the beginning of their rule, with two main exceptions: the first was Josiah, who began ruling at eight years old, and the second was Manasseh, who repented and turned to God after egregious sin, bringing about great reformation. Manasseh’s life shows us that repentance is always the driving force behind reformation among leaders. Therefore, we believe that when “reform” is put off, it is not true reform; it is appeasement.

God has repeatedly sent messengers for many years, pleading with the ICC leadership to reform and restore biblical standards. Over and over, the leadership has dressed the wound of the Movement “as though it were not serious.” (Jeremiah 6:14; 8:11) God has been digging around the fig tree, (Luke 13:8-9) hoping to get the attention of our leaders, only to see another coat of “whitewash” applied to the walls of our beloved Church. (Ezekiel 13:10) The fate of the nations and the condition of our cherished Movement are urgent matters that demand immediate action.

Our hearts are weary from fielding phone calls from geographical areas beyond our influence, where people cry out for help because their local church is lukewarm or dying, feeling trapped under leadership that can’t or won’t do anything to help them. We are convinced that most Movement churches no longer resemble those in the Book of Acts. Raul has even cautioned us to be careful not to compare the Church to the Book of Acts, which is a shocking statement from our Movement leader—especially since the very reason we commonly refer to our Church as a “Restoration Movement” is because we are trying to live out the Book of Acts in our generation.

Although we dearly love Raul and understand that he stepped into a very difficult role, it is extremely clear that he lacks the conviction and faith needed to build an unstoppable movement that can reach all nations, have a significant worldwide impact, and triumph over evil in this corrupt generation. We have also witnessed firsthand how Raul has reversed several of his initial promises, and we have lost all confidence in his ability to bring about the necessary reforms.

Our Decision

“Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” (Matthew 9:17)

While praying and fasting through everything detailed in this letter, we have concluded that the ICC central leadership is unwilling or unable to make the necessary reforms to turn our beloved fellowship back into a vibrant Book of Acts movement that can win our generation for Christ. We believe that we have reached a “no remedy” situation, similar to what the Israelites faced before God sent them into exile. (2 Chronicles 36:15) God’s prophets have always been the remedy to turn His people back to Him. However, when those in power refuse to listen to the prophets of truth among them, exile becomes inevitable.

We love every one of you immensely and would want nothing more than to stay and continue doing what we can in our corner of the world while believing that we could still succeed collectively. But Jesus commissioned His people to create a worldwide movement that wins their generation, as demonstrated in the Book of Acts. To do this, we must be “new wine” in “new wineskins.”

Evidence of this mandate is that currently, apart from the churches under the Dimitrys’ charge, the ICC is growing at approximately nine percent. If you project that over the next 12 years, the ICC will reach just over 29,000 members. That would be 30 years since the commencement of the ICC in 2007—what we have traditionally referred to as a generation. With over eight billion people on the planet, we would deceive ourselves by claiming we are accomplishing the great commission.

In contrast, if we started anew, truly restoring the life and doctrine of the Book of Acts, and scaled out the current growth rate of the Dimitrys’ family of churches, we would reach a staggering 1,743,487 disciples in that same 30-year period. Given the shocking disparity of these projections, which path would a God who “wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth” have us take? (1 Timothy 2:4)

Therefore, we must make the hard but necessary decision to start a new fellowship to keep the hope of an evangelized world alive in the twenty-first century. We will continue the original dream that the Restoration Movement was founded on, including the ICC, to restore the Church to the principles of the Book of Acts. We began this movement with the understanding that God’s people are free to place themselves under different leadership if those in power are no longer leading us in the right direction, which we collectively now believe. This separation is called “godly division,” a concept we teach in our Church Study.

To be clear, we are not leaving the Movement because it is full of sinners; we, too, are sinners. In our departure, we know that some will say we left because we are arrogant and think we are better. This sentiment is categorically untrue. We simply desire to hold on to the original convictions and culture upon which the ICC was founded. We know that along the way, we will face similar challenges. Nevertheless, we are determined to build a family of churches led with transparency and an unwavering commitment to the Scriptures, no matter the cost. We believe that Jesus’ promise in Matthew 28:20 is still true: if we dare to be His people and pursue His dream, He will be with us “to the very end of the age.”

Our Final Plea For Unity

Though we have decided to leave the ICC, we remain open to reuniting if real, meaningful, and immediate reforms are made. These reforms would include:

1) A total overhaul of our leadership hierarchy, starting at the top. Unqualified, unrepentant, or ineffective leaders need to be replaced by those who have demonstrated an ability to do God’s work and have been faithful to their charge. Additionally, our central leadership group must return to the Bible as the final governing authority rather than relying on its consensus.

2) Restoring the Church in the Bible through careful adherence to God’s Word and a radical willingness to obey it. We must eliminate unbiblical practices, such as excessively long conversion cycles that are not found in Scripture, along with extensive unbiblical requirements for baptism or restoration that have been unnecessarily added to New Testament conversion.

3) Commitment to the truth and a spirit of full transparency. There must be an immediate investigation into the use of corruption, blackmail, and extortion mentioned in this letter, and there must be a future willingness to investigate corruption regardless of title or position.

4) A return to a “sold-out” base of disciples. There must be an immediate end to systematic whitewashing practices, such as failing to report fall-aways, recording someone as present at church services when they are actually taking communion at home, or allowing virtual memberships instead of calling people to move.

If the ICC Central Leadership is willing to adhere to these terms of restoration, the WSLs may schedule a meeting with our collective leadership group: Jason Dimitry, Kyle Bartholomew, Fernando Chavez, and Evan Bartholomew. Otherwise, we will focus on forcefully advancing our family of churches.

With all our love,