I’ve waited to share these thoughts because I wanted to give some time for the strong emotions we’ve all felt to calm down.
Now that a few months have passed, I believe we can talk more calmly and clearly about what happened that caused the leaders of RCW to go their separate way.
First, I want to say that I’ve been part of our church family for 38 years, and I understand what it feels like to be hurt by others.
Honestly, the deepest pain I’ve ever felt has come from people in my Christian family. So I don’t want to ignore or make light of anyone’s pain.
But over time, I’ve learned that even this pain has helped me. God has used it to teach me how to love others like Jesus does—with patience, compassion, and never giving up on them, even when it’s hard.
Also, I want to be clear that everything I’m about to share is just my personal opinion. It’s based on my own time reading the Bible and thinking about it. These are not the official views of the ICC or RCW. And I hope you’ll take the time to study the Bible yourself and come to your own beliefs too.
Why RCW Was Not Right to Leave the ICC Over Disagreements or Sin
Some leaders in RCW say they left the ICC because they believed there was sin in the ICC leadership, they believed leaders and members were drifting in their commitment to God, and because they didn’t agree with how things were being run.
At first, these might sound like good reasons for them to choose to leave, but when we look at the Bible, the Bible does not support dividing a church over any of these reasons.
Here’s why:
1. The Bible Says We Shouldn’t Divide Over Disagreements
In Romans 14, Paul teaches that believers should not divide over “disputable matters.” These are things that aren’t essential to salvation—like leadership styles, church methods, and opinions on how things should be done.
If RCW left ICC because of leadership disagreements or church structure issues, then these would qualify as disputable matters, and their separation was not biblical.
The Bible says we should work through our differences and stay united, not split up over things we disagree on, no matter how strong our beliefs (Rom 14:19).
2. The Bible Doesn’t Support Dividing Because of Sin in the Lives of Individuals
RCW might also say, “We left because there was sin in the leadership and church, and we weren’t going to tolerate it.”
But here’s the problem:
All church leaders sin.
And every church has sin.
Even in the Bible, Jesus, Paul and the other apostles wrote to churches full of sin and problems (including leaders in sin: Gal 2:11-14, 3 John 9-10, 2 Peter 2:1-3, Galatians 1:6-9, 1 John 2:18-19, Jude 1:4, Corinthian Church Leaders). But they never told people that leaving and starting a new church was the solution.
Instead, they told them to:
✔️ Correct sin (1 Corinthians 5:1-5)
✔️ Restore sinners gently (Galatians 6:1)
✔️ Follow the steps Jesus gave (Matthew 18:15-17)
✔️ Be patient, bear with and help those that struggle with repentance (Col 3:12-14).
✔️ Help them repent and forgive them (James 5:19-20, Luke 17:3)
For example, when Paul saw sin in Peter’s life he corrected Peter (Gal 2), but he didn’t start a new church — he fought for unity within the body.
If RCW saw sin in the ICC or their leadership, the right response was to help correct it, patiently bearing with each other and gently restoring others within the church. But, dividing is never given as a solution for sin in the Bible.
If every time a family member hurt our trust, we left the family and found a new one, we’d all end up alone. God’s church is a family — broken and messy yes, but still our spiritual family.
So Jesus, Paul, and the other apostles all taught that we should fix problems in the church, not run away from them (John 10:11-13).
The RCW might say, “What if leaders refuse to repent?”
Even if leaders or members struggle with repentance, God still expects us to love them, patiently bear with them, use all our Christian resources to help them, and never give up on helping those repent who are trapped in the grip of sin (Galatians 6:1, James 5:19-20, 2 Tim 2:24-26, 1 Cor 13:7, 1 Thess 5:14, Matt 18:12-14, Jude 22-23, Prov 24:11-12, 2 Peter 3:9).
But church division is never God’s answer for when individuals sin.
3. The Bible Doesn’t Support Dividing Over Claims of Lukewarmness.
1 Thessalonians 5:14 NIV – “And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.”
The consistent response in the Bible to weaker, disheartened, even idle disciples is encouragement, help, warning and patience.
Even Jesus when correcting a lukewarm church, gave them time to repent because he didn’t want anyone to be lost (Rev 3:14-19) Which is the same spirit God has always had (Ezekiel 18:32, 2 Peter 3:9, Romans 2:4, 1 Tim 1:16, Jonah 4:2).
Also claims that a church is drifting from their purpose or are lukewarm, are often based on subjective opinion. God has established his standards of discipleship (Matt 22:37, Luke 9:23, Luke 14:25-33, John 13:34-35, John 14:23-24, Matt 28:18-20, etc.). But placing rigid, man-made standards on people besides what God has established, (like the Pharisees did), has often resulted in conflicts with Jesus himself (Luke 18:9-14, Luke 15:25-32, Matt 20:1-16).
But the Bible’s consistent response to those that are weak, struggling, lukewarm or drifting is love, correction, help and support, not church division.
4. RCW’s Issues With a Few People Was Overgeneralized to Include the Whole Church
Another issue is that RCW treated the ICC as if the whole church was “drifting” instead of seeing that only some people were struggling.
Just because some members had sinned or were weak in faith, it does not mean the whole church was bad.
Just because some leaders sinned or made mistakes does not mean the entire ICC was corrupt.
This is called overgeneralizing—taking a problem that affects a few people and saying it applies to everyone.
If RCW thought only a few people were struggling, they should have helped them, and not given up on them.
If RCW thought the whole church was failing, they needed to prove it with clear evidence, then roll up their sleeves and get to work helping resolve the problem from within.
But by overgeneralizing, and by choosing to leave, they divided not only from the few members that were struggling, but also from the thousands of other disciples that were not.
5. The Bible Commands Unity—Not Separation Over Sin or Disagreement
Jesus prayed for His followers to stay united (John 17:20-23). Jesus also emphasized unity through his life and his teaching (John 13:34-35, John 15:13, Matthew 5:23-24, Matthew 18:15-20).
Paul told churches to work together and not divide (1 Corinthians 1:10). As well as exhorting us to make every effort to stay unified in their relationships with one another (Eph 4:1-6, Phil 2:1-4, Romans 12:16, Romans 14:19, Romans 15:5-6, Eph 2:14-16, Col 3:12-15, 1 Cor 12:12-27, 1 Thess 5:13, 1 Tim 2:8)
If the Bible commands unity, and there are no commands to divide over sin, leadership issues or disagreement, then RCW’s choice to leave was unbiblical.
If RCW wanted to follow the Bible, they should have worked to keep unity, not cause division.
6. The Overwhelming Biblical Response to Problems in the Church is Love not Division
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
John 15:12-13 NIV
The consistent response in the Bible to issues regarding disagreements, unrepentant sin, corruption, false teaching, drifting, lukewarmness, confusion, etc. has been a combination of love, forgiveness, bearing with one another in love (Col 3:12-14), gentle teaching, correction (2 Tim 2:23-26), restoration (Gal 6:1), laying down our lives for each other (1 John 3:16), and trusting in God to work out disagreements from within the church (Phil 3.15).
Even in the most extreme cases in the New Testament church’s sinful history the response from Jesus and the apostles is the same. And that is that love, patience, forgiveness, faith and unity are the solutions to human challenges in the church, not division.
Like Peter said:
1 Peter 4:8 – “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”
Even when Jesus was asked by Peter regarding the limits of love and forgiveness, Jesus responded with the most extreme example (77X) to convey the idea that we should never stop loving, never give up on each other, and never stop forgiving our brothers and sisters in Christ. (The Unmerciful Servant Matthew 18:21-35). Which Paul later reiterates in his passage about love to the Corinthians (1 Cor 13:1-8).
All of the above, paired with the fact that there aren’t any direct or indirect commands encouraging division as the answer to church problems, overwhelmingly supports the idea that division over church matters is unbiblical and not approved by God.
7. God Explicitly Condemns Division in the Church.
The Bible repeatedly warns against causing division and encourages believers to strive for unity.
1 Corinthians 1:10 – “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.”
- Paul explicitly commands the church to avoid division and pursue unity.
1 Corinthians 12:25 – “So that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.”
- The church is described as one body, and division is contrary to its design.
1 Cor 3:17 – “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.”
- Any harm that comes to God’s temple through division or otherwise will incur God’s wrath.
Proverbs 6:16-19 – “There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.”
- God hates it when people stir up conflict that leads to division in his community of believers
Acts 20:29-31 - “I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.”
- Paul warns the church elders to protect the flock from men that will cause division in the church.
The scriptures clearly describe how much God our father hates division in his church family of believers.
8. The Bible Evidence the RCW gives for Dividing the Church is Circumstantial
The RCW has made the following statements to support the biblical justification for dividing from the ICC church:
- The Bible is silent on dividing so then God gives the RCW the freedom to do it.
- There are examples of divisions in the old and New Testament so the RCW can do it.
- The ICC Church study says that godly division is acceptable, so then it is acceptable for the RCW to do it.
- The ICC itself has divided from the ICOC before, so it is justifiable for the RCW to do it.
On their face, these look like acceptable reasons to divide. But on closer inspection you can see that none of these reasons give any strong biblical support for dividing. And the evidence they do provide is circumstantial at best.
To use such circumstantial evidence to support something as extreme as dividing God’s family, especially when God is so vehemently opposed to division – is highly unwise at best, and incurs God’s wrath at worst.
These statements are also very weak arguments for these reasons:
- Silence is not evidence of God’s approval. Scriptures that clearly state what God approves are the best evidence for God’s approval. And the Bible clearly states God approves unity not division. And to be clear, the Bible is not silent about how God feels about division (see previous).
- OT and NT examples of divisions in the Bible do not prove that God approves of division, it only proves that he makes us aware of it, when necessary he sovereignly authorizes it (Gen 11 Babel, 1 King 11:11-12, 12:24), and that he works in spite of it.
- The First Principles Church study is not gospel, and the scriptures referenced to support godly division (Luke 12:51-53, Matt 10:34-39, John 10:19-21), if read in context, applies to divisions caused between those who make Jesus Lord and those who do not. To use it for a justification for division amongst believers is taking these scriptures out of context.
- The question we’re dealing with is the lack of Biblical evidence that justifies the RCW dividing now, not the split between the ICC and the ICOC in the past.
- Also many of us (including me) were kicked out of the ICOC and didn’t even have a choice in the matter.
9. Since Choosing to Divide Is Not Biblically Justified – By RCW Persuading Others to Go With Them, It Is an Act of Biblical Divisiveness
Even if RCW believed some people in the ICC were struggling, we see that the Bible still does not justify division. Because of this, by taking people with them, and dividing the family of believers, it is considered biblical divisiveness.
The Bible warns against those causing other disciples to stumble (Mark 9:42-49), especially by inciting division among the family of believers (Acts 20:29-30).
Paul said in Romans 16:17:
“Watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.”
If RCW leaders wanted to live holy lives and help others do so as well, they could have done that inside the church without dividing the family of believers.
Even if a few people decided to leave, by convincing others to go with them, the RCW leaders acted in a divisive way by dividing the family of God, which is something the Bible commands against (Titus 3:10), and which God strongly condemns:
1 Corinthians 3:6-7 – “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.”
Conclusion – Why RCW’s Separation Was Not Biblically Justified
Based on the Bible, RCW did not have a biblical justifiable reason to separate.
- They left because they claimed some members or leaders were in sin, which is not a justifiable reason to divide.
- They left because they claimed they didn’t agree with certain leadership styles or methods, which is considered a disputable matter and not a biblically justifiable reason to divide.
- They left because they say the church lost its purpose and became lukewarm, which is not only based on their opinion, but God’s answer when encountering the weak and struggling is love, not division.
- They left over the sins of a few, even though thousands were innocent of their claims. So they left the many, over problems with a few.
- They left, even though God, through the Bible, consistently expresses how much He hates and condemns division in his church family, and wants unity instead.
- The RCW used circumstantial, weak evidence to support their division, and ignored the overwhelming amount of scripture that commands love and unity.
- The RCW persuaded others to go with them, and divided the family of believers, which according to the Bible, God is vehemently against and strongly condemns.
Since the Bible teaches unity and correction—not separation over sin, disagreements or opinions —RCW’s decision to leave the ICC and divide the family of God was not justified by the bible. Instead, it was an example of the kind of division that the Bible strongly warns against.
If RCW leaders truly wanted to honor God, they should have stayed, patiently worked to restore the church, and followed the Bible’s clear commands for unity.
Ephesians 4:2-3 - “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
Yet, by dividing and taking disciples with them, they have separated God’s family, and are preventing disciples from being together with their brothers and sisters in the church. A unity that Jesus commanded, prayed and died for (John 17:20-23).
So by standing by their choice to divide, even when it is not biblically justified, the RCW are declaring that they will no longer follow 100% of Jesus’s commands (specifically his commands on love and unity). In other words, they are declaring the Bible will no longer be their standard and highest authority. Unfortunately, building on this kind of foundation will not last (1 Cor 3:11-15, Matt 7:24-27).
Therefore, because of all of these reasons, I implore the leaders of the RCW to consider how their actions of dividing are not justified biblically and therefore are not approved by God.
I also implore them to change your ways, by making amends with the ICC, and lead the disciples under their care back to loving fellowship, worship and unity with the family of believers that they left, like God approves.
Since they led them away, it is their responsibility to lead them back.
Last, on a personal note, my heart behind this post is ultimately to convey how much we greatly miss all, our brothers and sisters, and we long for the day when they will come back.
And just imagine what it would look like if we were all together again.
Bonus: 10. Church Separation is Not Approved By God, Though Practical Ministry Separation is Common
As we’ve discussed above, church separation is not approved by God. Though practical separation is part of the normal operation of a church.
Practical ministry separation is when members of a church are separated in location due to practical needs within the church, yet they still remain united within the same church.
Examples of practical ministry separation may include: separating to plant a new church in a new city (but still remain united with church as a whole), separating to move to a new city (but still be part of a sister church), separation due to different ministry leadership roles and responsibilities (Paul and Barnabas Acts 15 * though their separation was emotional they remained in the same church family) or temporary separation for visiting family, etc.
The RCW or others will sometimes claim their separation is a practical ministry separation, but it is not the same. They have established a new church, which refuses to worship together or be influenced by their original church family. This as we’ve read above, is not approved by God (1 Cor 1:10-13).