[Hope]

I had listed this post under regional concerns, down south but felt it should be on its own thread.

Hello to those currently participating on the “forum.”

Due to many personal issues and my feelings about some who were posting here, I have been away. Recently I felt that perhaps the Lord desired that I begin to read the current series of posts. The most recent series seems to me to be of much more potential value than those 4-6 months ago.

I felt to stop my ongoing history on the forum as the format of an incomplete work being target practice for certain malcontents did not seem profitable for what I believed the Lord desired.

My hope was that my experience could be an aid for others seeking to know the Lord’s will in their lives regarding participation in the LSM etc and could serve as help to any who had been discouraged by their experience there. In addition, I thought that the posters were predominately seekers of truth and that perhaps we all could come to a more accurate understanding of the Way of God, Acts 18:26.

One glaring fallacy among the posters is to assume the worst possible motives and conduct among those who had some leadership and the best motives regarding former members. I personally know or know of the most vitriolic posters. In the early years, we endured quite a collection of saints. Unless you were there and participating in seeking to help the many problem people, you cannot understand the endurance, mercy, and compassion needed to shepherd some among us and also some among the would be leaders. I believe it will help this discussion to focus a little on the problems which came with the territory in the early days.

Some came into the church and were attracted by the attention they could demand. Giving “testimonies” was an excellent opportunity to talk about ME, ME, ME. Some could go on for weeks, months and years constantly drawing attention to themselves depending on how much they could couch the self-glorifying in spiritual terms and church lingo. Eventually, when out of exhaustion on the part of an elder or elders or compulsion of the Spirit or stacked up complaints from the saints or all of the above, the dear one was confronted about their self- obsession. It almost never went well. THEY WERE HURT! THEY HAD BEEN WOUNDED! Then we all suffered a time of retribution, complaints and getting even. Some on the forum are still suffering from me-itus.

Because of the apparent loose oversight and low key roll many of the elders took, wandering stars would appear. These were folks who saw themselves as spiritually gifted but in need of an audience or group to shepherd where they could practice their wonderful gifts. When they were not given the leading role they saw for themselves, it was surely those controlling elders who stood in their way. They only wanted to help the saints but were shunt aside by the awful elders.

Similar to the above was a group of men I have labeled “disappointed office seekers.” After a period of time, they assumed they would be recognized by WL or BP or some local elders and invited to share in the leadership. (President Garfield was assassinated by a disappointed office seeker. After that event, the civil service examine process was instituted.) This person is so easy to recognize because his remarks always, always, always center on belittling any local church elder or leader.

Then we had the confrontational fault finder. Some elders fell into this category. (Mike, one was in Dallas.) They always had an issue with someone or some church. Usually the other elders would try to ignore them hoping they would get better. Eventually they would get frustrated and withdraw from the church or from the leadership or move somewhere else.

A final group I will mention was the “we are free”, “we can do whatever we want,” “we are not religious,” “we are not under any law.” These folks disrupted many a meeting and offended many of the saints. Eventually when the saints and the leadership could stand no more they were adjusted. My, my, often they howled like a stuck pig. Some on this forum are still howling.

To take the testimony of some of the problem folks and overlay their accusations on WL, BP, RG, MR etc is so unfair. Many of the errors and mistakes made by the local churches were due to the challenge brought on by the “come one come all” approach with very little organization and deliberately weak leadership.

WL had been too authoritarian in the Far East. He told me so directly to my face and I heard him mention it many times. One of his hopes for the trip of 141 in 1967 to Taiwan was to demonstrate to the churches there the lack of control and freedom of the Spirit. Actually pray-reading and calling on the Lord, were originally stumbled on as a way to level the playing field. Anyone could pray read and anyone could call on the Name of the Lord.

The change that occurred in 1974 was not just due to the ambition of WL and MR. (Yes they were ambitious.) But they were searching for a way to provide direction for what often seemed to be some poorly managed congregations often without a clear rudder. The above mentioned problem people were too many. MR was especially running out of patience and ready to institute tighter controls.

BP, RG who I knew intimately, served, and served and served. They both had a weakness of being a little like Popeye the sailor man. Popeye would endure Brutus and endure and endure until finally he declared “I have stood all I can stand, I can’t stands no more.” Then after a little spinach, the house is destroyed as he explodes and deals with Brutus. This happened a few times in Texas. They could have handled some of the problem folks in a better way. But would you say that poor ole Brutus was just an innocent victim? Please note dear reader, you never hear the other side of the story from some of the vitriolic posters.

WL had two bad children. So did Aaron. So did Eli. David had more than two. Solomon’s son caused the kingdom to be divided. Do bad children mean your service was false? The Bible does tell us the details of these families but to illustrate that there is no such thing as Spiritual succession. There is no such thing as apostolic succession. This would be for another discussion of God’s Administration.

Unfortunately there was a very real change over time and the change was not for the better. Unfortunately there were some serious flaws in the practice and attitudes. There was some wrong understanding of the truth and practice unveiled in the New Testament. And there were some problem people who hurt others then and continue to damage and distract those seeking to press on the know the Lord.

In Christ Jesus,

Hope