Concerned Christians
Jason Barker
Founder: Monte Kim Miller.
Date: 1985.
Official Publications: Bimonthly newsletter, Report from Concerned Christians. Our Foundation radio program. Has also published a newsletter, Take Heed Update.
Structure: Group is governed solely by Miller, who claims to be one of the two end-times prophets mentioned in Revelation 11. Miller channels for God.
History
Monte Kim Miller was born April 20, 1954 (12/20/96 Letter from Anne to Bill Honsberger. Copy on file). He was raised in the small farming community of Burlington, CO, where he excelled in school and "had a gift of persuasion" ("Search Continues for Missing Cult." Associated Press, October 8, 1998). Miller's family did not attend church (Ibid.), but he converted to Christianity after listening to Bill Bright; he claims to have worked for Campus Crusade for Christ during the following year (11/06/96 Letter from Mission to the Americas. Copy on file). Despite his alleged employment with Campus Crusade, Miller claims to have had no formal theological training, avoiding any "discipling in 'man's' traditions" in order to learn solely from God (Ibid.).
Miller started Concerned Christians in the Denver area in the early 1980s to combat the New Age Movement and the anti-Christian bias in the media ("Religious Leader Seen as Enigma." Denver Post, October 8, 1998, p. 1B). Early issues of Report from Concerned Christians focused on such topics as feminist spirituality, the Harmonic Convergence of 1987, New Age trends in the Christian church, and alternative medicine. Miller also lectured frequently in Denver churches about the New Age Movement (11/06/96 Letter).
Despite his involvement with Christian churches in the 1980s, Miller's deviation from orthodox Christian doctrine and practice allegedly began in the middle of the decade. Samantha Smith, a volunteer with Concerned Christians in 1986, states that Miller claimed to regularly speak with God in the morning ("Search Continues"). Another report, however, states that no one at the time knew about Miller's alleged conversations with God (Mark Roggeman, A Report on the Concerned Christians Cult in Denver, p. 2).
Miller's focus began to subtly shift in 1988. A series of newsletters strongly criticized the Word-Faith movement and the Roman Catholic Church. This series was in itself unremarkable, largely because many evangelical Christians also voice concern about the two groups. It served as a precursor, however, that Miller was beginning to levy his attacks against organized Christianity.
The first clear sign that Concerned Christians was becoming separationist in its theology occurred in the December/January 1988-89 issue of Report from Concerned Christians. In the article "Apostasy called Revival: Establishing the Kingdom through the Church," Miller attacked the Coalition on Revival, a Christian political movement including such evangelicals as D. James Kennedy and Tim Lahaye (Ibid., p. 4). The article also criticized Southern Baptists, the Assemblies of God, seventeen other denominations, and thirty Christian organizations for "reject[ing] God's plan and endors[ing] the apostate Church's plan for the Kingdom" (Ibid., p. 1).
Miller's teaching that patriotism constitutes apostasy quickly dominated his publications. A letter sent to ministry supporters in June, 1989, explains:
Miller isolated himself from the public in the early 1990s (Roggeman, p. 2). In 1996, however, he began production of his radio program, Our Foundation (12/20/96 Letter). Lee Schafer, general manager of a radio network based in Boise, Idaho, notes that they received complaints when Our Foundation began airing in 1996. Because he believed Miller had a right to his opinion, Schafer simply aired a disclaimer after the program (11/21/97 Letter from Lee Schafer to Bill Honsberger. Copy on file). The network ceased airing the program in November, 1996, after Miller sent a letter to radio stations on which his program aired, stating,
Records from the United States Bankruptcy Court, District of Colorado, show that Kim and Marcia Miller's assets totaled $142, 628.00, and their liabilities totaled $748,852.20 (Summary of Schedules. Copy on file). In addition to being indebted to the radio stations on which Our Foundation aired, the Millers owed over $100,000 to the Internal Revenue Service (Records on file). Miller reportedly began asking to followers to give him as much as $100,000 (11/06/96 Letter). On one occasion he demanded $20,000 and the profits from a family's business; refusal would result in not only the family, but also the attendees of their Bible study, going to hell (8/19/96 Letter from Jamie and Joy Smith, copy on file). Much of the money he was given was apparently invested in Michael Blythe Construction, Inc., of Pagosa Springs, CO (11/06/96 Letter; Debtor Statement of Intention. Copy on file).
It was also during this period that Miller began to openly channel messages from God. He held meetings every 1-2 weeks in which he would preach about America being Satan, and about the apocalypse ("Doomsday Cult in Denver Vanishes." Associated Press, October 15, 1998). During these meetings, according to a 16 year-old who spent ten years in Concerned Christians, "When he was speaking for God he'd roll his eyes back and then close them and get real dramatic" (Ibid.).
Millers prophecies became increasingly apocalyptic. He proclaimed that, as one of the two witnesses of Revelation 11, he will be killed in Jerusalem in December, 1999, but will be resurrected after three days ("Religious Leader Seen as Enigma"). He also prophesied that the Apocalypse would begin after Denver was to be destroyed by an earthquake on October 10, 1998 ("Doomsday Cult in Denver Vanishes"). A possible reason for the prophesied destruction of Denver can be seen in a "Gathering Message" from Miller (speaking for God), delivered on May 3, 1997:
Israeli authorities captured 14 members of the group on January 3, 1999, alleging that the group was planning to commit a violent action in an attempt to instigate Christ's Second Coming (AP story). The members were deported on January 8, 1999, and as of January 10th were staying a a hotel in Denver (Ibid). They were refusing to speak with family members and the media; their only statement has been that they intended no violent activity in Israel (Ibid.).
Doctrines
Trinity: Miller's view of the Trinity is unclear. Bill Honsberger notes that, when channeling God during a meeting on October 17, 1996, Miller would speak "in triplets. By this he would say something like 'and the money, and the money, and the money.' When I asked him why he would speak like that, he replied that it was the Trinity that was speaking" (11/06/96 Letter). Mark Roggeman notes that, at the same meeting, Miller refused to answer whether he believed that Jesus Christ was God incarnate (Roggeman, p. 1); Honsberger, however, remembers Miller possibly answering the question after being asked six times (11/06/96 Letter).
One True Church: Miller teaches that his followers are the only true Christians (Roggeman, p. 2). He claims that "there is no grace for anyone, because the church has married the whore (America) and anyone involved with the church is going to hell" (11/06/96 Letter).
Prophet: As stated above, Miller is one of the two witnesses (or prophets) from Revelation 11. He will be killed in Jerusalem in December, 1999. He has never stated the identity of the second witness.
Miller is the only true prophet (Jarrell Dunson, Notes from 10/17/96 Meeting with Miller). While God could use another prophet, He has chosen to use only Miller as his "endtime true prophet to the world" (11/06/96 Letter). Miller claims that, at the judgment, all people will be forced to bow to him, indicating that Miller plays a role in the forgiveness of sins (Dunson). This is reinforced by Miller's teaching that salvation can only be earned by repenting and following him (11/06/96 Letter); refusing to do so will result in execution by God (Ibid.).
Miller allows no opposition to his teachings. Any questioning by a listener quickly provokes Miller to threaten the person with execution by God for opposing the true prophet. It is unclear if this execution means that God will immediately kill the questioner, as Honsberger indicates (11/06/96 Letter), or whether it means that God will send the questioner to hell after death, as Dunson indicates.
Channeling: Miller claims that God speaks through him. Bill Honsberger describes the channeling in this way: "At this time Kim moved to the end of his chair and said that we would have to hear from God. His mouth began to twitch in a circular shape and very intently and slowly he began to speak saying he was god. He told us that Kim Miller is his servant that we should listen to what he said" (11/06/96 Letter). Both Honsberger and Roggeman note that it is very difficult to determine when Kim Miller is speaking for himself, and when he is speaking for God (11/06/96 Letter; Roggeman, p. 1).
Church and State: The focus of Miller's theology is that the American church has apostatized by participating in the American governmental system. He writes, "America is 'Babylon the Great' (Rev. 18) whose political, religious, monetary, and military systems comes in the name of God, but actually represents harlot Christianity sold out to themselves" ("One Nation Under God: The False Beliefs of the Church About America." Take Heed Update, September/October 1989, p. 2).
Miller's anti-American rhetoric is highly vitriolic. He writes regarding the Pledge of Allegiance:
The Cross: Miller's view of the cross is revolves around self-sacrifice in the face of violence. Taking up the cross, for Miller, means forgoing vengeance (11/06/96 Letter). The act of each Christian should thus be to "resist not that evil" (Our Foundation, p. 12), even going to the extent of ignoring pornography and abortion in order to focus exclusively on God (Report from Concerned Christians, May/June 1989). Concerned Christians must even refrain from defending themselves in any way from physical assault (Our Foundation, p. 12).
The immediate significance of this teaching is the fear that the group will commit suicide. Much like Jim Jones and the People's Temple, Miller has surrounded himself with a group of followers who believe death is preferable to resisting a government allegedly bent on their destruction.
Biblical Response
A true prophet, when speaking in the name of the Lord, will not teach an error. A prophet who gives an erroneous prophecy is not to be feared (Deuteronomy 18:20-22).
Channelers are either committing fraud, are self-deceived (2 Thessalonians 2:10; 2 Timothy 3:12) or are contacting familiar spirits [demons] who are masquerading as deceased spirit masters (Isaiah 19:3; Ephesians 6:12; 1 John 4:1-3).
Only God can forgive sins (Mark 2:7), and it is to Jesus that every knee shall bow (Romans 14:11; Philippians 2:10).
Christians are to be in subjection to governmental authorities (Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:15).
* Kim Miller's Concerned Christians group should not be confused with Concerned Christians of Mesa, Arizona (www.concernedchristians.org), an evangelical Christian ministry reaching out to Mormons led by Jim and Judy Robertson.