Cult members still missing

Denver Post/November 9, 1998
By Virginia Culver

With luck, members of a group calling itself Concerned Christians will get bilked out of their money.

That's far preferable to having their leader, Monte Kim Miller, direct them to commit suicide, said Bill Honsberger, a Denver-area cult expert.

Miller, 44, and an unknown number of his dozens of followers, most of whom are from Colorado, disappeared a month ago and no one seems to know where they are.

One guess is Israel because Miller, who considers himself the last prophet of God, has said he will die on the streets of that ancient city in December 1999 and be resurrected three days later.

"But they could be in downtown Littleton for all I know,'' said Honsberger, a graduate of Denver Seminary and a conservative Baptist missionary who educates people about cults. He has known Miller for years and believes he is capable of convincing his followers to sacrifice their lives for his cause. "But I can't say if he will ask them to do that,'' he said.

Miller, a former marketing employee for a pharmaceutical company, has managed "to get his members to leave their husbands, or wives, or kids or parents, convincing them God wants them to give up families,'' Honsberger said.

"They've absolutely given their minds over to him.''

They've also given over their money, said John Weaver, whose 16-year-old daughter, Nicolette, was once in the cult and whose ex-wife, Jan Cooper, still is.

In fact, Weaver said, Miller may have "anointed'' certain followers to the position of prophet within the group based on the amount of their donations to Concerned Christians.

"He's like Almighty God to the members,'' said Weaver. Long before the members left last month "they had to call Kim several times a day about the smallest detail - whether they should take their dog in for a trim, whether they should make a dental appointment, whether they should buy three days worth of groceries or a week's worth.''

Several observers say that Miller believes God speaks through him, sometimes telling people how much money God wants them to donate to his organization.

Both Weaver and Honsberger are fearful for the time when Miller and his followes are found. If Miller feels cornered or trapped, he may do something violent, they said.

Miller began his religious career as a mainstream Christian but had become more and more isolated, Honsberger and Weaver said.

"He used to have my ex-wife send letters to churches all over the metro area telling them they were teaching New Age or Satanic stuff,'' said Weaver. Though he used to speak at area churches, that stopped after the letters. "Pastors just blew him off.''

Feeling alone among his religious peers, Miller may be plotting his own martyrdom or a mass suicide, Honsberger and Weaver said.

In the meantime, family members wait.

"I'm so angry and I'm worried to death,'' said Cathy Davidson, an Oklahoman who's sister, Connie Blythe, and her husband, Mike, are presumed to be with Miller.

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