Quote:
Originally Posted by Mordecai
Long careful observation has shown me that typical LC's have no interest whatsoever in being a local church according to Nee's "Normal Christian Church Life" nor even according to Lee's "Practical Expression of the Church." This goes for both west coast and midwest strains of churches. What is currently promoted (and no doubt from a very early time) is a third thing composed of sectarian mindsets, culture, bias, and religious tradition. This is not to say that either book should be taken as foundational or necessarily correct in their logic. I just find it ironic that these works, which defined the "true north" of church practice for the group, find no honest application in LC ranks. It would be interesting to compare the main tenets of these works, chapter by chapter with habits and attitudes of local churches who profess to "stand on the ground of locality."
It seems that these two men identified what they saw as a New Testament pattern, and then their movement found itself highly inconvinienced by that pattern later on. Naturally this led to many colorful maneuvers to adjust the original doctrine to however current winds were blowing. --Sigh-- such is the group that elevates ecclesiology over theology.
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Absolutely, they weren't about to let their plans be dashed by their own teachings. Maybe you could say they were too smart to be held down by their own teachings.
I've been told in the LRC that there are things in
The Normal Christian Church Life that "aren't so right", or kind of behind the times, or something to that general effect.
At least they're honest.
It seems there's no problem at all with people being "caught for the church life" by the vision presented in books like
TNCCL, and then discovering after you're already in that those very teachings, by now, are really passe.
They'll just smile and say,
two sides to everything...