[UntoHim]

Originally Posted by Ohio

I came here 7 years ago needing to know "how could something so good become so bad," and all my questions were answered.

I wish you all only the best. Much grace to you all! I only ask that you let this post stand as my last, and not move it "offline."

My dear brother Ohio.
Sorry to see you go. Maybe you will reconsider in the future.

Your main problem, I think, is centered in your statement "how could something so good become so bad". This issue is - and it is an issue that all of us former members face - just how "good" was the Local Church of Witness Lee, and just how "bad" did the Local Church of Witness Lee become. Both of these cannot be answered in one single internet forum thread, much less in one single internet forum.

"Something so good". "Something so bad". This alone should tell all us something right from the start. Something from God himself cannot actually turn out to be something so bad. It is us, it is fallen men, that have mucked up the proceedings from the very beginning. This includes any and all movements of men within the Church of Jesus Christ. Church history tells us this. Even secular history tells us this.

The simple truth is that what Witness Lee started here in America was a movement of men. It was doomed from the start to never be "something so good". Conversely, it probably was never "something so bad" (although I think it got pretty bad and is getting worse).

The bottom line is that we brothers are probably wasting our time (and more importantly God's time) arguing and fretting over just how good or just how bad the Local Church of Witness was or became. I'm reminded of something the Lord Jesus, the perfect God-man, said: "And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone". So, the Word of God incarnate himself said that no one is good except God alone. This should be the baseline for all of our considerations and dialog. As far as the baseline for just how bad things may have gotten...well, I'm not quite as clear on that. I think the history is still being written on this.

Much grace to you my dear brother!