Hrnicek said members of his faith were adamant about following what the Bible mandates, such as what he considers its prohibitions on sex before marriage and homosexual lifestyles.

In his speech the previous week, Farmer criticized the life of sin he lived in college before he joined the BCC. He spoke about the lies he told his mother, his racist attitudes, his affairs with women and his drinking. "The funny thing is, people liked me," he says. "I was normal."

Farmer said he is now more concerned about those injured by sinful acts and added that God shares this concern.

"In God's eyes, people have great worth," he said. "Who are your victims?"

A Global Church

In the audience, Harvard students sat next to Roxbury residents. Blacks, whites and Asians listened to the speakers and sang with linked hands. On stage, blacks and whites led the congregation in singing, which never failed to bring the crowd to its feet.

"The Kingdom of God is color-blind," Larson said. "It doesn't matter what country you're from, how much you make, how much education you have."

In fact, members of the BCC voice their approval of interracial relationships and marriages and cite disapproval for racial exclusivity.

"Is there someone you wouldn't want to bring home?" Larson said. "Is there someone you wouldn't want to marry? Is there someone you wouldn't want in your neighborhood? If there is, you repent."

In his sermon, Farmer said he sees the Christian bond the BCC tries to create as the solution to racial problems far more severe than those which Boston faces.

"The answer to the 1,000-year war between the Croatians and the Serbs lies in the cross," he said.

According to Farmer, the BCC has churches throughout the world. Disciples from his congregation recently set up parishes in Vienna and Prague. The Berlin church, which has 240 members, is the largest congregation meeting in the "godless, secular, humanistic" city, Farmer said.

Many members attending the BCC services are from foreign countries. One of the Boston-area college students at the meeting mentioned that she is from Turkey. She said Trejo had approached her and invited her to the church's activities.

Loving, Not Brainwashing

Farmer's father, Dean Farmer Sr., spoke at the Hancock Hall meeting about how he had come to accept his son's faith over five years. Despite hesitation on the elder Farmer's part, his son eventually persuaded him to attend services and talk to people in the church.