Some came to the Sunday service in jeans and sneakers, while others wore suits and ties. Men and women of different ethnicities were gathered together for the service in the basement of the Red Lion Hotel Eugene.
They talked casually until 10 a.m., when they stood and began singing loudly and proudly.
“Lord, we sing your praises loud,” they sang. “Sing them to the stumbling crowd. Sing of Jesus and his Word. Sing until the earth has heard. Hallelujah!”
It was the fourth official meeting of the month-old Eugene chapter of the International Churches of Christ, a Christian church that has been accused by critics nationwide of aggressive evangelizing, harassment of those wanting to leave the church and of authoritarian control over church members.
The Boston Globe reported campuses nationwide have labeled the group a cult and banned it.
Now, University Christians and students are dealing their own criticisms toward the church.
Political science major Lilly Foxx was a member of ICC in Beaverton when she was 16, and she is one of those who oppose the arrival of the church in Eugene. Foxx said escaping the church was difficult for her, and she said she’s worried they’ll find her again.
As a member, the church knew everything she did, she said. She wasn’t allowed to talk to anybody outside of the church — not even the postman — unless she was “bearing fruit,” the church’s expression for recruiting new members.
“I think about how unhealthy that atmosphere was and I honestly don’t hope that for other people,” Foxx said.
Dick Beswick, director of the University Christian Fellowship, said he can admire the group’s “zeal” and agrees with many of its beliefs, but takes issue with the group “micromanaging people’s lives.”
“It’s mostly the intensity of the discipleship program, the disrespect for people’s freedom, that I have a problem with,” Beswick said, adding that the church tended to recruit members from other Christian groups in the past by telling them they were not fully committed. “I hope that if they plant a campus ministry at the University of Oregon, they busy themselves with people who don’t know Christ, rather than trying to take people away.”
ICC Deacon Bob Bertalot, who allowed Foxx to live with him and his family in Beaverton, said ICC holds the belief that people should not just seek forgiveness of their sins through church. Instead, they should live their lives through the word of Jesus, he said.
Bertalot said people who are against the church have never been to a service and know nothing about it.
“Anybody who would really enjoy the Bible is going to enjoy this,” Bertalot said, adding that the church’s goal is to get people together, love them and help them understand the Bible.
Mike Alverts, campus minister for the Religious Directors Association, said he opposes the arrival of ICC.
Alverts said he had a friend in Seattle who was forced by the church to cut ties with his family.
Alverts said he thinks that ICC recruits on college campuses because open-minded students are easily influenced. He said members of the church are overly pushy and don’t take “no” for an answer.
But Eugene resident Chuck Hess, who was at Sunday’s service, said he’s only met one former church member who complained of overly persistent recruitment.
“If people think they’re being followed or annoyed it’s because they’re not willing to make a commitment,” Hess said, adding that he also needs people to help him live by the Bible. “They’re not willing to be held accountable.”
Church member Aaron Mullins said opposition to the church results from a lack of understanding about the church. Many of what people perceive as rules and regulations are just ways of creating a happier life, he said.
“You’re going to get conflicts because it’s the truth,” Mullins said.
Foxx said she joined because she had no family or friends before she joined. One day, she met a woman who was a member of the church.
“She was just really nice; she didn’t tell me what she was doing exactly,” Foxx said. “I thought it was more of a friendly thing and all of a sudden she whips out the Bible and it become a four-hour study hard-core group thing.”
Mullins said he joined because he lived on the streets, hated life and thought he would find happiness by making money. But when he got a high-paying job, he still wasn’t happy.
“I was looking for something real,” he said.
Laura Blake Jones, associate dean of students and director of the Office of Student Life, was appointed by Vice President for Academic Affairs Lorraine Davis to learn more about ICC. Jones said nobody has complained on campus about the church.
She added that the church has access to the campus, like other groups, but if students feel like they are being harassed they should report it.
“Like any group, we’re willing to give them a chance,” Jones said. “But based on experiences that other campuses have had, it raises concerns for me.”
Bertalot stood in front of the congregation Sunday and likened church members to soldiers in Iraq.
“You’re in a war here in Eugene,” he said. “Being a Christian means you’re in a spiritual battle.”