of a Split of a Split…
For those wondering at home, the splits that I am aware of at the moment are:
Chicago International Church of Christ – Jay and Denise Chiappetta
Madison Group (name not known) – Jay Shelbrack
Toronto International Church of Christ – Tim and Lianne Kernan
International Christian Church of Northern Ireland – James
This, of course, is in addition to the other splits
Phoenix International Church of Christ – Chris and Sonja Chloupek
Stockholm International Church of Christ – Anu and Argo Lips
Combine that with:
Savannah Church of Christ – Now Buzz Banadyga (used to be Steve and Lisa Johnson)
Salt Lake Christian Church – Jay and Angie Hernandez
Eugene Church of Christ – Jeremy & Amy Ciaramella
Central New York Church of Christ – Chris and Theresa Broom
La Ceiba Church of Christ – Nelson Bernardez
San Pedro Sula Church of Christ – the Escobedos
Tegucigalpa Church of Christ – Daniel and Janeth Aquino
Église du Christ de Montréal – Daniel and Gillianne Brisebois
Quebec City Church of Christ (planted by Montreal recently)
Santo Domingo Church of Christ – Angel and Luz Martinez
What do you have? Considering that all of the above churches have claimed ‘discipling’ from Kip, I’d say you have a cohesive group of folks with a common doctrine, purpose, and polity. In other words, a church. (More specifically, a denomination.)
And add in sympathizers in Novosibirsk, Wichita(KS), Seattle, Boston, and Los Angeles..
Note that just because there are sympathizers in a city, it doesn’t mean the church claims discipling from Kip. The listed churches above claim or have recieved discipling from Kip – after the two letters. The only possible exception is Santo Domingo, they have only received money.
This, of course, is completely different from the largely unaffiliated Atlanta Christian Church led by Steve Sapp and Kindred Howard. They also helped fund the Martinez’ in Santo Domingo, but I’m sure that Steve Sapp has no inclination to be discipled by Kip. He did not want to be discipled by the Elders in Atlanta.