This time line was written by Lucas Mboya, a former member of the Nairobi Christian Church.
1989 Overview:The Boston-based International Churches of Christ decide to send a mission team to Nairobi, Kenya.
June 1989: Mission team arrives, led by Jim Brown and Leslie de Morais, all on visitor’s visas. They immediately enroll at Church Province of Kenya (C.P.K) language school to study Swahili. They then apply to the Immigration Department for student passes.
The Immigration officials deny Richard Alawaye a student’s pass. He decides to go in and out of the country intermittently in order to receive additional three-month visitor’s visas. Philomena becomes the first convert.
What is Philomena's last name? Where is Richard Alawaye from? (I thought he was Kenyan.)
1990 Overview: The Nairobi Christian Church (NCC) meets for most of the year at the New Stanley Hotel for Sunday services, and has mid-week services on Thursdays at Ufungamano House. Rumours start to spread in Nairobi that the new church are "Devil-worshippers" and "a cult".
What is Ufugamano House? How did the rumors start about the NCC? Is this a common kind of rumor about a new church or religion, or was there some specific reason that these rumors started about the NCC?
During this year a brother named Edwin Otieno, who appeared to be well-connected, is given Kshs: 50,000 (US$800) by Jim Brown and Onyechi Oguaha to "persuade" a certain VIP to get the church registered, that is, recognized as a society by the Government of Kenya. He turns out not to be as well connected as they thought, and spends the money on other things. Joseph Owade is discipling him at the time.
On another occasion, the same Edwin Otieno takes Richard Alawaye’s passport to Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and returns with it stamped EXIT and ENTRY, without Richard ever having left the country, thus fraudulently getting Richard another three month visitor's visa.
The NCC grows to about 90 disciples.
March 1990: Mike Taliaferro, ICC African Sector leader, moves to Nairobi from Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Tentative plans are made for Nairobi to be the movement’s African Pillar church. Jim Brown is not delivering.
You need to explain what you mean by, "not delivering."
May, June & July 1990: The year sees unprecedented growth. Disciples are being baptized by the hundreds. Nairobi becomes the talk of the Boston movement. Mid-year the NCC begins to meet at the Nairobi Hilton Hotel on Sundays and at KNUT Hall on Thursdays.
December: The church choir goes to State House, Nakuru to sing for President Moi. It is hoped that the NCC will be registered as a result. The NCC moves to the Nairobi Railway Club for Sunday services and stays there for most of 1992 and 1993.
April 1992: Jim Brown moves back to New York City. Alcedis de Morais, Tewolde and Addis move to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to start the Ethiopian ICC affiliate church. (Both Tewolde and Addis were asylum-seekers converted in Nairobi). Eldoret church planted by Thomas Mundia and Nyagah. (Both have since left the NCC).
Is Eldoret a city in Kenya? :)
September 1992: Mike Taliaferro and Tom Ziegler leave for Johannesburg, South Africa which, after the fall of apartheid, is now made the ICC Pillar Church for Africa. Church is registered with the help of the Attorney General, who is a relative to Sarah Alawaye, Richard’s wife.
Which church -- the Johannesburg Church of Christ or the NCC?
November 1992: Richard Alawaye appointed evangelist of the NCC, and co-leads with Keri Greiner as women’s counsellor.
January 1993: Church moves briefly to Jeevanjee Gardens.
August 1993: Richard Alawaye flies out for the World Missions Leadership Conference in Manila, Philippines.
1994 Overview: Church shifts base to Kenyatta International Conference Centre. The NCC does very poorly in numeric growth. Richard gets very harsh with the staff and church. Joseph Owade, a staff member at the time, confronts him about this during discipling time (DT), and Richard does not respond. Some members of staff are laid off.
Mid-year 1994: The NCC "Bring-your-neighbour day" is a big success. Steve Johnson, Lead Evangelist of the New York Church of Christ, flies in to Nairobi for the occasion. Attendance for the day was 700, with a membership of 450. Lucas Mboya, Central Zone leader, leads communion. The same year Lucas Mboya starts to have doubts about tithing and discusses it with Richard. Lucas’s problems with Richard start here.
July 1994: The church’s special contribution raises Kshs: 340,000/= (US $7,500). Membership is now at 540. By the end of the year it will have risen to 595.
Early in 1995: Richard and Sarah Alawaye leave for South Africa to receive further training from Mike and Ann-Brigitte Taliaferro. Joseph Owade and Georganne Okumu are appointed to co-lead in their absence.
April & May 1995: Joseph teaches classes on the cross and grace in a bid to deal with legalism in the church. Richard and Mike Taliaferro are alarmed.
June 1995: John Kilaha (who has been leading the Eldoret church) replaces Joseph at Richard’s behest. Richard "pays tribute" to Joseph's efforts and gives the reason for the change as to "give someone else a chance to grow."
July 1995: Special contribution raises Kshs: 569,000/= (US$:11,380) Membership is now at 643. By the end of year it reaches 695.
October 1995: John Kilaha appointed first Kenyan evangelist. Richard counts 50 additional fall-aways for the year 1995 to make 1996 look better statistically (percentage growth).
January 1996: Richard returns, sets a goal of 1,000 disciples by the end of the year, and builds a "people thermometer" (an idea borrowed from the Lagos church). Membership rises to around 780 by mid-year. Lucas again runs into problems with Richard over tithing.
January-March 1996: No fall-aways recorded even though many fell away. Deception!!
April 1996: Joseph’s wife Ebby goes to the USA for a visit and to attend a wedding. Richard and Sarah voice opposition to her going. Joseph, after listening to their reasons, tells her to go ahead.
July 1996: Special contribution raises Kshs: 700,000/= (US$15,555). Joseph Kung'u (popularly known as "Kush") dropped as staff member because he wishes to get engaged to a sister not considered by Richard to be "ministry material". He leaves staff and goes ahead with the engagement. Joseph Owade is discipling him during this time and openly supports his decision. Lucas refuses to give 10% and says that he will give what his conscience dictates. He also questions the use of performance statistics, and says, "The church is false and unhappy."
October 1996: Church growth slows dramatically. Ebby Owade returns. She is ordered to get re-baptized and refuses to do so. Joseph Owade told he will leave staff because his wife is "not growing enough spiritually" to join him on staff. Richard summons Joseph, Lucas, a sister and Agatha Kimanani for a discussion.
A significant number of disciples become increasingly disillusioned with the leadership of church and what is seen to be a drift from scriptural to man-made authority. Messages begin to get personalized.
What do you mean by the last sentence? Do you mean that the sermons on Sunday started mentioning by name or alluding in a negative way to people in the NCC whom Richard or others disapproved of?
December The NCC leadership organized a HOPE Kenya (the local chapter of the ICC's benevolent arm) dinner to raise funds for an AIDS awareness campaign. The amount raised was Kshs: 120,000/= (US $2,000). Richard had announced that the money would expressly be used for the Campaign and members had gone all out to raise funds publicly. To date, those who have been disfellowshipped and probably the rest of the church as well have no idea how the money raised was spent.
Mid-month Lucas and Sigrid Mboya are expelled. Richard Ahenda becomes the second Kenyan appointed evangelist. Richard immediately flies out on vacation to Nigeria. Joseph calls Mike Taliaferro in Johannesburg, South Africa to get the full reason behind Lucas's dismissal. Joseph tells Mike that, from what two staff members who were there when Richard spoke to Lucas (Anita Mtwaiti and John Kilaha) told him, Lucas was kicked out because he refused to give 10%. Mike tells Joseph that nobody can be disfellowshipped for not tithing -- that doing this would be unbiblical. Mike tells Joseph that Richard only told him of Lucas refusing to give contribution.
At the end of the year the NCC's membership stands at 800.
January & February 1997: Richard returns to find church in disarray. His actions with both Lucas and Joseph have not gone down well with the congregation. Richard calls Lucas's friends after one Sunday service and tries to explain to them why Lucas was disfellowshipped. He tells them that Lucas was not disfellowshipped for failing to give 10%, but was disfellowshipped for causing division and dissension in the church. He is unable to convince Lucas's friends as to what constitutes division and dissension. The meeting becomes heated and ends inconclusively.
Staff members, realizing that Richard has changed his story, start to say that Lucas was disfellowshipped for division and dissension. Disaffection spreads. Other disciples find out what is going on and deluge Richard and the leaders with protests.
A brother who had not at the time left the NCC, and who had long since discovered the information about the ICC on the Internet, shares it with a few close friends. Through this brother Lucas Mboya obtains the Internet material about the ICC. He finds it similar to what has been going on in Nairobi.
Tension builds up as more and more disciples gain access to the Internet information on the ICC. Agatha Kimanani, a close friend of the Mboyas, comes under pressure to cut ties with them, as do a lot of other disciples, namely Joseph Owade, Tim Oruya and others. Six disciples working for a company run by Lucas are asked by the church to quit their jobs. Four refuse. Two sisters, who are also working for Lucas, are given an ultimatum by the church to quit. They do so.
Another sister named Esther, who was acting as a replacement for one of those who left, runs into problems. Both she and her husband are subjected to severe pressure. Esther continues to work for Lucas. Richard quietly jets out to New York for a meeting, presumably with Steve Johnson. Mike Taliaferro joins them there from Johannesburg.
March & April 1997: Mike Taliaferro comes to Nairobi to assess the situation. In his sermon, he says the church has helped Joseph raise Kshs:100,000 (US $1,600) for further education. That is a lie -- most of the moeny was raised by friends and family outside the church. The Johannesburg church sends US $950 for Joseph's education, but Richard Alawaye only remits US $750. The remaining US $200 is used to pay other church bills. It isn't remitted to the school until end of May.
Mike says that the Johannesburg church raised another Kshs. 40,000 (US $645) for Joseph's education. Because he does not intend to remit the money to Joseph until he hopefully toes the line, Mike lies that it will take 5 months to process the money transfer. The money has never been remitted to date.
Leaders under Richard's instruction begin to spy on disciples. They start to dictate to disciples whom they can and cannot speak to. Richard warns Lucas that he will be marked if he continues to talk to disciples and come to meet them after services. Lucas tells him to go ahead.
Leaders try in vain to turn Lucas's friends against him. Lucas and other disciples, along with some of those who have been disfellowshipped for associating with him or reading articles from Internet, talk to the press.
Thursday, April 10, 1997: Richard preaches sermon aimed at Lucas in particular and "errant" disciples in general. Joe Mwangi, (a brother), approaches an associate evangelist (John Kilaha), and tells him of his (Joe's) desire to call a special meeting to discuss the mounting problems in the church. John promises to discuss it with Richard. No mention of it is ever made again by John.
Joe proceeds to collect the 31 signatures required under the church's constitution to convene a special general meeting. A "Kamukunji" meeting is called in the Nairobi Arboretum by disillusioned disciples. Lucas is present, as is Joe. They discuss the best possible course of action.
What is a "Kamakunji" meeting?
At a second meeting at the Arboretum later that month, more disciples attend. Joseph Owade is aware of the meeting but does not attend. Richard advises disciples not to sign a petition for a special meeting.
Joe Mwangi goes to Richard's house and gives him a copy of the petition. Richard agrees in principle to its terms, but then calls Mike in South Africa.
June 5, 1997: Mike Taliaferro and Jim Brown fly in from Johannesburg and New York respectively to address the congregation. They read out the names of the 31 signatories in front of the whole congregation. They denounce them and call on them to withdraw their names from the petition. Jim Brown says the ICC was started by God in 1979 and anyone who rebels against the leadership rebels against God.
Mike preaches on unity. He claims that a disagreement with leaders is like Holy Spirit disagreeing with God. He emphasises that leaders must be obeyed 100% though they are not perfect. He also calls those who have expressed disapproval as devilish and divisive.
June 6 & 7, 1997: Joe and most of those who have signed the petition are disfellowshipped and told to "take a few months off" in the hope they'll feel guilty and see things the NCC's way. The church stops meeting publicly and fragments into neighbourhood "family groups".
June 8, 1997: Richard Ahenda and several staff members are sent to Joseph Owade's house to inform him that he and Ebby are no longer members. They are unable to give specific reasons why.
June 26, 1997: Disfellowshipped members learn of a plan to hold a "shot gun" AGM at Charter Hall. Only three of the "errant" disciples are allowed entry, on the power of a demand note from their lawyer. Police called in by Richard to prevent any "rebels" from entering, under the pretext that it is a private fund-raising function. The "rebel" disciples camp outside the venue. The press are also present but are barred access to the proceedings. Footage of the incident is broadcast on Kenya Television Network (KTN) news the same day.
In the same AGM Richard stage-manages constitutional changes to give himself and the leaders almost absolute authority to rule over the church affairs unaccountability. The new constitution now allows the leaders to throw out any member they wish without a fair hearing or an official letter.
One amendment enables the church to withhold financial information from the congregation.
Richard, looking rather shaken, refuses to talk to members of the press. He comes out of the hall with the press on his heels, gets straight into his car, and zooms off. Richard hires a lawyer to fight against the threat to sue by those he had thrown out.
July 1997: Special contribution is a flop, raising only Kshs: 180,000 (US $3,000), far short of the intended goal of Kshs: 800,000 (US $13,000). The leaders lie to the church that they have met the goal. Richard later directs all press inquiries to newly appointed church spokesman George Nyawade.
Since July Joseph has been employed by the Rainbow Church of Christ, a non-ICC affiliated "mainline" Church of Christ in Nairobi. Some ex-members of the NCC also attend. Some former NCC disciples continue to go to the NCC to meet friends, despite being denied entry to services. More people are becoming aware of what has happened and a number of them have left of their own accord.
October 1997: Church membership is approximately 600-650, down from around 800 at the beginning of the year.
©1997 by Lucas Mboya <lukiemboya@hotmail.com>. All rights reserved.