[NeitherFirstnorLast]

Originally Posted by Igzy

That was a serious question. You've made a strong case that Lee should be judged as a false prophet. But there are some troublesome questions about this that I'd like your opinion on.

Good evening Igzy,

I can give you my opinion on those troublesome questions; and they're fair questions you're asking. Of course, I would be lying if I said I ever personally sat at Lee's feet. I never heard of the man before 2006. That said, I read a number of his books, and heard some of his recorded messages. I saw, just as you did, what kind of sweet (yes, sweet), 'fellowship' we seemed to have with the saints in the Local Churches. I loved many of them whom I knew - and I still do. That's the very reason I come here; because I cannot, in love, remain silent. I must hope and pray that those who are still caught up in the system will have their eyes opened to exactly what they are a part of; and I pray that what I write here causes no one to stumble; that the Lord keeps me close to Him and keeps my heart pure before Him.

Let me start by saying that the questions you're asking have also been asked by many others before you. Consider the following testimonies:

"I think the first thing we must realize when we look back is the state we were in when we started getting this information. Many of us also believed totally what we'd been told ALL our lives that this way was started in New Testament times and had continued all the years until present. I think our emotional condition during the time we got this information was mass confusion. Disbelief that the man we'd had such confidence in could have possibly deceived us, bewilderment with what could we possibly do now, what do we tell our children, our elderly parents, who in the world could we talk to about this very controversial issues and where does God/Jesus fit into all this? I think the first thought I probably had was fear that I was losing my mind, becoming unwilling, bitter, falling-away--all those things I had been warned against doing. I'd wake up with my heart pounding about out of my chest, perspiring and the dream was some very strict, staunch co-worker of Lee's telling me I'm going to Hell and taking my family and children there with me."


or consider:


"It takes a long time to recover from the deceptions of the Local Church. There are immediate improvements in one's life, however, when one discovers what really happened historically and learns how the Local Church, like other groups that deceive, manipulates people. Bitterness and anger are normal though you must not let those feelings dominate your life....Your life changes dramatically for the better even though you simultaneously experience emotional pain because you have been lied to for so many years. I have listed things that I have personally experienced and also verified that others have gone through these same feelings...: The most common feeling is the combination of the loss of arrogance and the closer feeling one has toward mankind. This is a great feeling. I no longer feel like I am superior to other people because of the special knowledge that I thought I had possessed....I no longer have to measure everything to how it compares to the teachings of the Local Church...It is wonderful to be free of the burden of constantly imposed guilt. I begin to understand that my own knowledge and skills are sufficient without the need for a "superior" authority telling me what to think or what to do."


or how about:

"After leaving the Local Church, I had many emotions to work through...anger, fear, sorrow, betrayal, and finally...unspeakable joy! At first I was afraid that I was walking away from God. I can't begin to describe how that felt. Then, as I opened my mind and began to read, I learned about the lies and deception of the Local Church. This brought anger and betrayal. As I began to talk about these discrepancies to Local Church people, they would discount the information and tell me the problem wasn't the LC, but it was me. I was flawed, never had a testimony, if I did have one it was weak. I wasn't praying, reading my HWMR, I was back-biting the leaders of the church, listening to the enemy...whatever....Family members would also turn away from us....The good news is that God did not abandon me. Through Christians that He brought into my life, He showed me that His way was different than the Local Church way. He showed me His grace and love for me personally. I found Him in the bible....Yes I lost a lot by leaving the Local Church, but I've gained more. The relationship I so desperately wanted for years was finally gained, not through religion but by placing my faith in Him. In His finished work on the cross. He didn't die for me because I was GOOD...He died for me because I was BAD....I love Him even more because He also brought my husband and children out of the grips of the Local Church as well"

Or...

"I can't say it was easy when I finally left the Loca Church. I found myself in great need of the highly energetic relationships that I had experienced in the group. I attended several churches trying to find one that had that energy but I couldn't. You see, the Local Church creates in sense the atmosphere of love and closeness one feels while attending the church. It does this by restricting who you can be friends with, who you have Home Meetings with, and finally who you can have romantic relationships with....I had a nervous breakdown from the stress and finally had to go to therapy. I still at times have that urge to return to the Local Church and I'll tell you sometimes it's very strong, but I know now that I can't- not because they wouldn't accept me back, they would, but rather because I now know what Christianity is truly about. For awhile I fell away from God, but recently have developed a new relationship with Christ, one that has been more powerful than anything I have experienced so far."

Now, if you've taken the time to read through those quotes, let me confess to you that I cheated. The quotes are real, but they aren't from members of the Local Churches. They're from (1) the Cooneyites, (2 & 3) from Mormons, and the last from a member of the International Church of Christ. I transcribed these testimonies from the Ex-Holdeman's "One True Churches" website - and they posted them there to show their fellows left behind in the Holdeman Mennonite "One True Church" that their feelings and experiences weren't unique either.

Igzy, rather than just answer your questions to the best of my meager abilities, would you be offended if I asked you some questions first? I'm not trying to dodge anything (honest), I just think you're better equipped to answer your own questions than you realize. God lead you here after all, my brother.

Originally Posted by Igzy

• If Lee was a false teacher, then why at times did his ministry seem so anointed?
  

First I must ask, how do you define "anointed"? What does an "anointed" ministry look like, and what does the Bible say about "anointing"?

Originally Posted by Igzy

• How can seemingly serious and thoughtful Christians be so deceived by someone you clearly see as a false teacher?
  

If it weren't possible to deceive "seemingly serious and thoughtful Christians", then why did Christ and His apostles continuously warn early Christians about such deceivers? I said earlier that every New Testament book (except one) warns Christians to beware of False Prophets, false teachers, and false apostles who will come... and in the gospels of Mark and Matthew , Christ said that there would come a time when "false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God's chosen ones.." (Mark 13:22 & Matthew 24:24) I think, the "were it possible" means it's certainly possible to deceive the elect, for awhile. But Christ also promised that those the Father had given Him would by no means ever be snatched away (John 10:29)

Originally Posted by Igzy

• Why would God seemingly bless the ministry of a false teacher? Why confuse followers in that way?
  

What constitues a "blessing" of Lee's ministry? Were there great revivals that rocked cities that I missed? Was there a mass repentance and a turn to God somewhere?

Originally Posted by Igzy

• What does one do with the truly innovative teachings of a false teacher?
  

Weigh them against what the Bible clearly teaches. Test all things, prove all things, and hold fast to that which is good (1st Thessalonians 5:21).... And remember that even Satan quoted Scripture to Christ.

Originally Posted by Igzy

• What does a former follower do with those teachings that he felt blessed him and he even treasured when he finally concludes there were elements of a false teacher in the source?

Remember that Lee didn't save you and he didn't call you. If you're in Christ, then according to Him, God the Father did. You Igzy, were Chosen from before the Foundation of the Earth (Ephesians 1:4). The stripes Christ bore, He bore for YOU. You deserve to have your skin flayed from your bones; you (and I) deserve to have our faces spat upon; you and I deserve to have our friends abandon us; you and I deserve to be nailed to a brutal cross... but because of HIS Love for us, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). He will never stop loving you, and you don't need some special knowledge or teaching to make that Truth any richer. Remember, He asks you only for Child-like faith, and by that faith, you WILL be accounted as righteous. (Romans 5:1)