(Kip McKean's Involvement In The RCW-ICC Split)
by Jason Dimitry and the RCW Leadership Team
“Calamity upon calamity will come, and rumor upon rumor. They will go searching for a vision from the prophet, priestly instruction in the law will cease, the counsel of the elders will come to an end.” (Ezekiel 7:26)
Since the release of our letter on October 18, 2024, entitled “An Open Letter to the International Christian Churches (ICC) and Its Central Leadership,” and our subsequent departure from the ICC, there has been much speculation and many rumors regarding Kip McKean’s potential involvement in writing our letter and facilitating our departure. Although we have publicly denounced these rumors on several occasions (See https://faiththefacts.com/questions-and-answers/)––and despite there not being a shred of evidence to support these wild claims––we felt it necessary to dispel this notion once and for all.
In this post you will find screenshots of our original Google Doc, where Jason Dimitry, Fernando Chavez, Kyle Bartholomew, and Evan Bartholomew wrote and edited the letter. You will see that the letter was only shared among the four of us, that it was created on October 2, 2024 (not months or years beforehand), and that the “Version History” (a log of all edits) confirms only we four had access to and edited the document. Let us be very clear: Kip McKean had no involvement or knowledge of our letter or our intention to leave the ICC.
Given this documented proof, we strongly hope for the following:
1) If you had any quiet reservations that those in our leadership group were not being completely forthright, your concerns are alleviated
2) If you have been lied to by someone claiming they know Kip was involved, you will confront them about their lie, and there will be repentance.
3) Our letter will be taken at face value, as we took great care to explain in detail exactly why we chose to leave so many of our dear friends and beloved ICC family.
To those responsible for spreading these unfounded rumors, we gently implore you to consider the famous words of the apostle Paul, “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” (I Corinthians 13:6)
Much Love,
Jason Dimitry and the RCW Leadership Team
I think people are struggling with the idea that you’d allow a wolf in sheep’s clothing to be part of your membership. Not only is there a track record of perversion, but this individual has to be held accountable legally. Leadership is called to protect the flock and if Kip is allowed to place membership in RCW, that is not caring for the flock. Not only that, but being as transparent as possible with your congregation is necessary – did anyone in RCW invite Kip to service last Sunday? Did anyone in RCW tell Kip they’re open to him placing membership in RCW? Why wasn’t Kip’s disgusting behavior not in the original letter? I think the answer to these questions are equally important to your congregation right now as some are extremely confused by RCW’s stance on someone like Kip considering the way every other crooked leader’s name was spotlighted.
Thank you for sharing your concerns. We in the RCW believe that anyone can change. Paul was a killer of Christians before becoming one – which most would say is far worse than anything that Kip is being accused of. Forgiveness and repentance are hallmarks of Christianity. We are all sinners, and all sin stinks in the eyes of God. We believe that we must be humble about our own sin before sitting in judgement of anyone else’s sin; and as fellow sinners, we must extend the same grace God gas given us to others who have sinned against us. If Kip should choose to be a part of the Restored Church Worldwide, he would not be placing membership; he would be getting restored to the Church, so long as he has already been restored to God through repentance.
You at the RCW believe “anyone can change” and have a history of protecting pedophiles and allowing pedophiles in your congregation and these very same pedophiles have continued to be abusers. You choose to turn a blind eye to abusers like Kip and endanger the flock. You are happy to mudsling others but won’t say a negative word about Kip who has committed truly sinful, deceitful and abusive actions against women, marriages, and the church. If Kip was not involved in writing the letter, you sure made it clear that you are “Team Kip”.
First off, Kip is not a pedophile. Secondly, we will welcome anyone into our fellowship who repents just as the father in the parable of the lost son welcomed his son home – with open arms (Luke 15:22). That includes anyone from the ICC, ICOC, COC, or any where else for that matter. We are not team Kip. We are not team Jason. We are not even team RCW. We are team Jesus.
In Kip’s case, what would be your definition of “repentance”? Given that much of his sin was hidden, how would anyone know if he’s repented of that sin?
As with
everyone
who studies the Bible with us, whether for baptism or restoration, there is a degree of trust we have to accept – in God and in man. We are not investigators that follow people around to ensure their repentance. We believe that if anyone is not truly repentant, God will expose that in due time (I Timothy 5:24-25). On the other hand, we try to be very thorough and do the best job we can to restore a person gently (Galatians 6:1).
The prodigal son didn’t sexually harass his kid’s nanny and his secretaries repeatedly. Nor did he make pornography out of other men’s wives countless times. The prodigal son didn’t explicitly tell parents not to report the pedophiles who raped their children. Based on your logic anyone can be welcomed into the RCW no matter how horrendous the sin and how often it occurs as long as the person says they’ll repent? No wonder the ICOC and ICC have had rampant abuse, they have the same logic. This is scary! How do you think women feel wondering if Kip used their pictures? Why does Kip get to be safe but the women don’t? You’re prioritizing Kip. Do you see how uncomfortable this is?
To Not Bitter but Better
“Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a [a]people producing its fruit. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and on whomever it falls, it will crush him.”
God keeps his kingdom growing while simultaneously humbling and disciplining those of us He needs to. And in some cases, if we’re unrepentant, crush us.
Hi RCW Admin,
There is no debate about the fact that God can use people like Paul, who previously persecuted Christians before his conversion. The real question is whether someone who has sinned gravely as a Christian, especially a leader, can be restored to a leadership position. I believe they cannot.
In 1 John 5:16, the Bible distinguishes between sin that leads to death and sin that does not lead to death. I once thought all sins were treated the same, but I now understand that the Bible does not support this perspective—particularly regarding leaders who commit serious sins, such as adultery or financial embezzlement, which can severely damage the trust of the congregation. While a leader who has sinned gravely can be restored to fellowship upon repentance, I believe they should never return to leadership, as they have violated a position of trust. James 3:1
Thank you for comments. Whether or not someone can return to a leadership position after committing grievous sin is somewhat debated. We believe they can, which is clearly demonstrated in the case of Peter falling away and coming back. Not only did Peter deny Jesus three times, but he also sinfully refused fellowship with gentile disciples. We agree that one can be disqualified from a leadership position when they fail to live up to standards (I Timothy 3:1-7, 5:19-20), but we also believe that with repentance they can win back trust and eventually work themselves back into a leadership role. That all being said, given the context of your comments, should Kip be restored in the RCW it would be as a brother; not a leader.
I find it weird that you claim he is being accused of sin. Why do you use that language? Is it because you can’t make yourself admit that he made nude photos of women in the church? Some of whom are in your church? And the Jason had the audacity to compare him to Moses? Can you admit that he at least did the things he has been exposed to have been doing? Are you going to stonewall and gaslight? Will you admit that while he lead the disfellowshipment of Coltin Rohn, he wasn’t even living in the light? Will admit that he tried to get Tony Untalon and Michael K, to make sure the information Ron Harding presented was destroyed? And if any of the WSL made it public that it was “disfellowshipable”? Is the truth in you? Can you speak it? I await a truthful response.
– A Loud Negro
We are not defenders of Kip, or of his sin. If he should choose to be a part of our church family, he would need to “repent and turn to God and demonstrate [his] repentance by [his] deeds” just like everyone else (Acts 26:20).
Was Kip publicly restored to RCW this past Sunday? If he was, why was it intentionally cut out of the livestream? It all feels very secretive.
No, Kip was not restored. If Kip should be restored in the RCW, it will definitely be made public.
Why didn’t the ICC restore Kip?
The question isn’t if Kip helped write the letter but rather did he influence it or did he influence any of the leaders to break off from the ICC or advise them regarding what to say?
Please disregard. This was already addressed in your letter. My apologies.
Can you please delete my other two questions and just keep this one
Why didn’t the ICC restore Kip?
A considerable amount of evidence has been shared that Kip employed women under his organization and instructed them to move in, and created without their knowing explicit content of them. This is illegal according to California state law.
As part of Kip’s repentance, will he be required to turn himself into the proper authorities in following Romans 13:1-2 to obey the laws of the land and submit to the governing authorities? Or do you dispute that any of this happened?
Kip has not done anything illegal. Your information is inaccurate.
Do you believe the disciples in the ICC are still saved? Also what are you doing differently than they are that you felt the need to start a whole new church. (No, I did not read the full letter but I did some and was confused on these points)
Yes, absolutely. Although no one is saved purely through their church affiliation, we believe that most in the ICC are saved disciples. Please read the letter, as we detail our reasons for leaving there.
When someone has greatly sinned they are brought before the church as part of step three. Why is it that when Kip sinned he was not brought before the church, and was not made to publicly apologize to the congregation? Would you agree this is blatant favoritism? Do you believe that the steps of church discipline do not apply to Kip? Also why do RCW leadership justify lying by claiming your motives to be “tactfully deceitful”? At the end of the day a lie is a lie, regardless of the motive behind it.
You are 100% correct. Kip should have been taken through the steps of church discipline. We have no control over how things were handled with him in the past with the ICC. However, he is now seeking restoration, and we will always help anyone who desires to repent and get right with God regardless of their past.
As far as your comment about lying goes, we did not lie to anyone. We never claimed to be “tactically deceitful” as you stated. We simply said that we were being shrewd, which the Bible actually commands (Matthew 10:16). It is the ICC leadership who claimed that we lied; which ironically, was exactly what they were doing by saying that. Hope that helps.