Denver cult still missing
[November 2, 1998]
The sudden mysterious departure last month of a Denver religious cult, Concerned Christians, has left in its wake not only distraught families and friends, but worried anti-cult activists, all fearing that mass suicide in Jerusalem is the doomsday cult's final destination.
Approximately 50 to 75 members of the Concerned Christians group, including several young children, left the Denver metro area without a trace last month. Their leader, 44-year-old Monte Kim Miller, prophesied that an apocalypse would strike Denver in October. He also stated his intention to die in the streets of Jerusalem in December 1999, to rise again in three days.
A 'For Sale' sign appeared in front of Miller's home near Harvard Gulch Park, where he lived with his wife Marcia and their 9-year old son. Neighbors commented that the couple's departure was sudden and that, "We didn't even know they had moved out. It was kind of a surprise to us." When questioned about her son's disappearance, Miller's mother, Shirley, responded that she didn't know where he was, suggesting, "You're going to have to talk to him. I haven't heard from him in some time. I love my son, but I just don't have anything to say."
Court records reveal Miller and his wife declared personal bankruptcy in October 1997, owing dozens of creditors more than $600,000, including $100,000 to the Internal Revenue Service.
Mark Roggeman, a Denver police officer and cult expert, received "...an avalanche of concerned calls from family members," as has Bill Honsberger, a metro Denver minister who has been monitoring Millers' cult.
"This guy's influence is perhaps even greater than we'd thought," said Roggeman. Ironically, Miller first emerged on the religious scene in the 1980's as an anti-cult activist when he founded Concerned Christians. "Kim Miller was on our side of the fence, and Concerned Christians was a good name," said Roggeman. "Somehow over the years, he digressed to the point where the world became evil, where the devil and satanic forces are everywhere."
The recent silent, rapid departure of Miller's group did not surprise Honsberger. "They've been talking this way for quite a while, and not hiding it,'' he remarked during a joint Denver Post/9News report. "According to them, (Miller) is the last prophet on Earth. (They think) he is one of the two witnesses from Revelations 11, which is a biblical account of the end of time. The bigger picture, really, is the notion that, according to him, he and his co-prophet are going to die in the streets of Jerusalem.''
John Weaver of Lakewood, Colorado, believes his ex-wife, Jan Cook, a Concerned Christians member since their divorce in 1986, is fulfilling the role of Miller's "co-prophet.'' Last year, Cook severed ties with their 16-year-old daughter, Nikki Weaver. "My ex-wife hasn't talked to my daughter for more than a year," Weaver commented. Nikki Weaver, now 16, believes Miller's sway over his followers is so great they would gladly follow him into death. She was a member of the cult for 11 years, until her father regained custody, and stated emphatically regarding Miller's authority, "He has enough control to get them to do anything he wants. One time my mom told me that if God (a.k.a., Miller) wanted her to kill me, she would."
Preaching right-wing rhetoric and patriotism were regularly emphasized, Nikki remembers, and that Miller claimed he was God himself or that God spoke to him constantly. She also recalls his assertions that the United States was the great Satan, and that demons controlled both the federal government and the US military.
Meanwhile, Israeli police are on the alert to prevent the entry of the Concerned Christians group. In fact, this incident has sparked security preparations in Israel, where predictions maintain they can expect an invasion of possibly multitudes of doomsday cults headed for Jerusalem as the new millennium approaches. Cult experts agree that it may become commonplace for groups such as Concerned Christians to disappear or take drastic actions to fulfill their leaders' prophesies in anticipation of the year 2000.
"Obviously these leaders can't create the end of the world, so they'll have to do something else to keep these groups off balance," stated Janja Lalich, head of the Cult Recovery and Information Center in Alameda, California. "The really charismatic, skillful leader will find a way to weasel around it. The not-so-skillful leader is where you run into trouble, the kind of guy who can't think of anything but pulling the plug."
According to Hal Mansfield, director of the Religious Movement Resource Center in Fort Collins, Colorado, "What happens depends on how threatened their leader feels. The group could just fall apart, or it could go all the way to where he starts believing he's the new Messiah and that the New World is coming and he's going to take everyone with him."
Sources
The New York Times, October 24, 1998
The Straits Times (Singapore), October 23, 1998
The Boston Globe, Barbara Vobejda, Copyright 1998,
Rocky Mountain News, John C. Ensslin, October 8, 1998
The Denver Post, October 7, 1998
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