The preeminence of Lee’s writings and, subsequently, the current owner and publisher of his writings (Living Stream Ministry) is certainly one of the most concerning aspects of The Lord’s Recovery that I have taken note of. As far as I’ve experienced myself and seen in the testimonies of prominent figures like John Ingalls and Steve Isitt (and the multitude of saints of no particular prominence), there is simply no room or leeway for questioning Lee’s teachings, revising mistakes in doctrine/delivery, or pointing out discrepancies between his works and the scriptures. It was disheartening to see that these weren’t simply the actions of a few overzealous saints, but the overall attitude of the leaders of The Lord’s Recovery, all the way up to Witness Lee himself.
Quote:
At the end of the summer training in 1995, we celebrated the completion of the life-study of the Bible through Brother Lee’s speaking and the burden of the interpreted word, not merely the written Word. The word that we need to keep is not only the written Word that we study, read, and pray-read but also the proper interpretation of the Word. We boldly declare that this interpretation is to be found in the footnotes and the outlines of the Recovery Version and the Life-study messages. If we do not pay proper attention to the interpreted Word as the opener of the written Word, we will lose everything eventually.
(The Ministry of the Word, Vol. 16, No. 12, page 97, December 2012. The Overcomers. Published by Living Stream Ministry)
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Lee’s writings were put on the same level of scriptures, being seen as the one true and proper interpretation of the scriptures, so naturally they adopted an attitude which saw any questioning of Lee’s words as a questioning of the truth of the scriptures. To take issue with the ministry of Lee and The Lord’s Recovery is to take issue with the Lord himself. I have found that many members of this denomination are unable to divorce Lee’s writings from the truth of the scriptures, seeing them as one and the same, which would perfectly explain their extreme apprehension in engaging in such conversations that could potentially point out either minor or major errors in this “Ministry of the Age.” Just as well, Lee seemed to have taken issue with those who would publish their own works, even if such works were inspired by what he taught them. There was simply no room for such things as Lee himself had covered nearly every bit of “life” and “light” there was to reveal or prepare from the scriptures.
Quote:
It bothers me that some brothers among us still put out publications. According to my truthful observation, there is no new light or life supply there. They may contain some biblical doctrines, but any point of life or light has been adopted from the publications of Living Stream Ministry. There is nearly no item of life or light that has not been covered by our publications. Based upon this fact, what is the need for these brothers to put out their publications? Because all the publications are mine, it is hard for me to speak such a word. But I am forced to tell the truth. By putting out your own publication, you waste your time and money. You waste the money given by the saints, and you waste their time in reading what you publish. Where is the food, the life supply, and the real enlightenment in the other publications among us? Be assured that there is definitely at least one major revelation in every Living Stream Ministry publication. I was burdened to publish the Life-study messages to stress the matter of life because this matter has been neglected, missed, and even lost to the uttermost in today’s Christianity. In most of the commentaries and expositions there is not much life.
(Elders’ Training, Book 8: The Life Pulse of The Lord’s Present Move, from The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1986, Volume 1, Chapter 11, pp. 307-308, section 2 on ministrybooks.org, Published by Living Stream Ministry)
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Such lofty ideas of one’s own self and teachings is disheartening to say the least, but it also gave an apt explanation as to why I saw what I saw within The Local Churches (a.k.a. “The Lord’s Recovery”).