Sorry that this post is a little late, but we’ve had computer issues. In addition, I’m slow, methodical, exacting, and try to cover all the bases in a discussion, so as not to lead anyone astray; plus, I’m aiming for the verbosity medal
.
Ohio,
I will definitely accept your change in the discussion from “overriding control” to “abuse.” As you’ll note, I used several words to describe what went on. We still haven’t defined these terms, but I feel no need to do so. I realize that you already knew some of what I stated, but I wanted to put my thoughts in a context for everyone.
Regarding my mentioning of
The Two Babylons, I simply used the description that I recalled about the temple priests being admitted by degrees into the secrets of the priesthood, which I thought was somewhat apt. I do not consider myself a scholar on the subject, was not endorsing the book, and, if Hislop’s description was in error in that regard, then I retract the comparison.
From center to circumference
As to your “periphery” statement, I do realize that not all Local Churches were the same (even as much as Mr. Lee may have wanted them to be), all elders were not the same, and all individuals didn’t have the same experiences. However, just because folks didn’t see what was going on behind the scenes doesn’t mean that all was well.
My approach now, after way too much giving the benefit of the doubt, is to consider that the system was wrong from the beginning and that it was corrupt at the top. It just took awhile for the disease to spread and become more manifest. (This perspective of mine doesn’t mean that the Lord did not bless us during the early years or that many individuals didn’t have wonderful experiences of the Lord in whatever church.) With this approach, I believe I find myself much closer to the truth (at least in my experience
).
Are we dealing with a copycat?
As I stated earlier, I wouldn’t start with
anything that Benson said. Here’s the portion of your post that I’d mainly like to respond to:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohio
It seems to me that both sides of this account could be true. If BP talked to WL prior to that May '77 meeting, and we know they talked much, and WL describes events in Anaheim to him about "three holy sisters" needing a public rebuke, then BP connected the dots and made leaps of assumptions and played "copycat" in Houston, as if the supposed "sister's rebellion" had come to town. I may be wrong about this. Far more serious in my mind was WL's public humiliation of Max Rapoport's wife for the sole reason that Max confronted Philip Lee about molesting sisters in the LSM offices. That to me "stinketh to high heaven." I can be tolerant of the "mistakes" of many christian leaders, but not this.
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Now, as to your consideration that both sides of the account could be true, let’s talk:
Proposed scenario
So, the scenario that I postulate as being more likely is this, in brief: Philip was heading up The Recovery via The Living Stream Ministry Office. Max Rapaport was Witness Lee’s right-hand man in the Local Church. There was a struggle for control. Philip won, since blood was thicker than the truth, as far as Witness Lee was concerned. Jane was just one of the casualties of a turf war on a wider scale, since Benson and Ray did not like Max and wanted to keep him out of their Texas territory. (This is what Max told Jane in 2006, and it matches with input from other sources.)
Here are the details of my
proposed scenario:
- Max found out about Philip Lee’s sexual abuse of a sister in the Living Stream Ministry Office. Max exposed this to Witness Lee and was pressing for Philip’s ouster. Witness Lee decided to jettison Max instead, but realized he needed to do it in stages since Max wielded a lot of influence, particularly in Anaheim, but also in The Recovery at large, and could have had a huge detrimental impact on his power and bottom line.
- Max was sent out of town Memorial Day weekend so that Mr. Lee could intimidate and manipulate, unhindered, his wife, Sandee, and the others.
- Ray Graver had been living in Anaheim, may have still been there in this time period, and was involved with Philip in the promotion of Living Stream Ministry control. Philip told Ray about what was going on with the “three holy sisters,” a derogatory phrase that Philip used to refer to them. Philip also told Ray that his father was going to deal with them.
- Ray seized the opportunity for an eventual coup d’etat to replace Max with Benson and to make sure that Max couldn’t get a beachhead on their Texas turf. (They assumed that he had already part-way wiggled in through Jane Anderson via his wife, Sandee.) Ray called Benson and passed on to him that the time was ripe to dethrone Max, the source of all their troubles and the key to the “sisters’ rebellion.” With Sandee going down and Max being toppled, they could take down Jane at the same time, and, use Max in the same way that Witness Lee was going to do—as the scapegoat.
Thus, the events of Memorial Day, 1977, were set in motion.
Note: Keep in mind that the foregoing is only a proposed scenario of how things might have happened. It is informed by our knowledge of some of the facts and the people involved.
Reasons why the scenario makes sense
Sandee’s and Ann’s descriptions of what Witness did in the meeting on that Saturday in Anaheim was much more tame than what Benson dished out in Houston. In the Anaheim meeting, Witness (as Sandee refers to him) let it be known that they were no longer in his good graces by saying that the three of them shouldn’t sit together in meetings. That was pretty much it. Since the three of them were deaconesses functioning together, had been given their mission with the sisters by Mr. Lee himself, and were meeting with him on a regular basis about it, you can imagine the effect it had on them and the congregation when he made this statement out of the blue. It definitely had a chilling effect on them and was the first public step of his plan to discredit them and Max.
Mr. Lee’s way of dealing in the Anaheim meeting was
much less heavy-handed than Benson’s was. Benson preached about a sister who was leading a “sisters’ rebellion.” Witness did not. Mr. Lee only indicated (with Local Church coded communication) that these sisters were no longer in a special position with him and were now out of favor.
Knowing Benson’s slavish way of imitating Witness Lee, it makes me think that there was no contact between Witness and Benson before these dealings for these reasons:
- Benson referred to them with Philip’s “three holy sisters” slur, one that they had never heard from Witness Lee, and it was repeated in Houston during the blame-everything-on-Max meeting in 1978, and it was spoken again by Benson in his 2005 Winter Training message. Witness Lee never used this awful moniker, according to Sandee; yet, Benson repeated it as if he had.
- Witness only manipulated the saints in the meeting by telling the sisters not to sit together rather than by bludgeoning them as Benson did Jane.
- Witness Lee implemented his strategy in a phased and nuanced back-door approach rather than the blitzkrieg frontal assault that Benson employed. (If Benson had talked directly to Witness Lee, then the “dealing” in Houston might have been less severe!)
- In the 2005 training, Benson’s talk gave me the impression that he had to pull on his jack boots and deal with a situation in Houston like Mr. Lee did in Anaheim, when Witness Lee had not used those kinds of tactics in the situation.
- According to those involved, the meetings in Houston and Anaheim took place on Saturday evening, Memorial Day weekend, 1977. Taking the difference in time zones into consideration, Benson probably dealt with Jane before Witness pulled the rug out from under the sisters in Anaheim, giving us a somewhat humorous scenario of Witness Lee “following” Benson Phillips.
Eventually, however, the outcomes were pretty much the same in both places, as these sisters realized the place they were to occupy—that of being barefoot, pregnant, and, when allowed, parrots of The Ministry. One sister, who had been closely related to Jane, years later told Jane that when she heard a similar warning in Austin, she became even more absolute for “The Ministry” and determined to have nothing at all to do with Jane in the future.
My problem with your “serious”
I would also like to comment on this statement of yours:
Far more serious in my mind was WL's public humiliation of Max Rapaport's wife for the sole reason that Max confronted Philip Lee about molesting sisters in the LSM offices.
Now, you may have changed your mind after reading my foregoing. If you haven’t, please note the following. Obviously, I’m biased, but I’m having a hard time understanding how you are applying differing levels of seriousness. Here’s my analysis of the two dealings:
- Witness Lee, in his regular capacity as a speaker in Anaheim, directed an adjustment to where three sisters should sit in meetings, full well understanding how the congregation would later view these sisters as not in step with him. He did this to save his son from ignominy and to bring down Max, whom he thought was getting too much control. (He was apparently motivated by a desire to maintain power and reputation, including the protection of his son and his Ministry.)
- Benson Phillips, who rarely, if ever, spoke in Houston after he left, made a special trip to Houston and convened a special public meeting for the sole purpose of delivering a knock-out blow to Jane and inoculating the rest of the saints against Max’s and her possible influence. He put the fear of God into everyone by stating that there was a sister in Houston who was leading a “sisters’ rebellion”! He followed up in a “fellowship room” meeting by laying into Jane with the full weight of his position and affixing the scarlet letter of Rebellion on her! He did it, apparently, to maintain his position in Texas and to keep Max out of Texas. He eventually took over Max’s position with Witness Lee and the Living Stream Ministry, although this may not have been foremost in his consciousness at the time. (He was apparently motivated by a desire to maintain and increase his power and reputation, including the protection of his work and The Vision.)
Ohio, you do not have to reply to this evaluation of your "serious." I’m just telling it like I see it, so that you and any others who think similarly might re-evaluate.
If you or anyone else has any more puzzle pieces, we’d be more than happy to receive them. Because this was such a big deal to us and a rather seismic shift in The Recovery, we’ve done quite a bit of fact gathering related to it, and this is the best we can come up with. We remain open to other possibilities, of course.