Quote:
Originally Posted by Thankful Jane
Not simple. Not straightforward. Not a "departure" but an "expulsion."
Max was not fired, he was betrayed—much more insidious.
In January of 2006, my son and I sat across the dinner table from Max and Sandee for several hours and heard directly from their mouths the story of what happened to them at Lee’s hand. It was not the story of a boss firing an employee. Max did not regard Lee as his employer, he regarded him as his brother, his dear friend, and a mentor.
Sandee said that both she and Max loved Lee like a father. They spent many hours with him in their homes, often daily. Sandee was a constant helper to the Lees, doing practical things for Lee himself, sister Lee, and even Lee’s daughter. When Sandee talked about Lee to us she always referred to him as “Witness,” never “Brother Lee.” I was stunned by this and commented on it. She said that is how it was among the three of them. They were on a first name basis and had a very close relationship, until the day that Max went to him about Phillip. After that everything began to change.
Max had trusted Lee would do the right thing for the Lord and the church; but instead, Lee began to take steps to discredit Max (and Sandee) and to push them out. He betrayed them and protected his son and himself. As the breakage between Max and Lee began to manifest, Sandee went to Lee in tears trying to bring about reconciliation. Lee was immovable. (So much for the "oneness of the body" and "oneness on the ground of locality.") He forged ahead spreading lies about Max. Those lies persist to this day. When Max and Sandee decided to leave, it was because they were backed into a corner under a tremendous pressure of rejection by all those who believed the lies. If you call taking the only option left to them a "departure," then you can say they departed, but I would call such a pressurized exit an expulsion.
Maybe only God and Lee and Phillip know why Lee did what he did to Max and Sandee, but the fact is that he did it. The fact is that his pet doctrines meant nothing to him when it came to his own personal interests. The fact also is that it is too late for him to make right his sin against Max and Sandee (and many others.) It is also too late for Phillip.
Max did not portray himself as innocent when he gave us his account of events. He confessed that, much to his shame, he had functioned as Lee’s right hand man and carried out his wishes. He had done nothing without Lee’s blessing and approval. This included manipulating churches and elders. Max confessed to us his shame over this fact and made it plain to us that he had thoroughly repented for this behavior, admitting it was fueled by his own ambition.
This is the same kind of ambition that motivated those who helped Lee oust Max and cover Phillip’s sin in order to gain a place at Lee’s right hand. Those same men are continuing today to live out their ambition as some of the Lee-blessed Blendeds.
They continue to support and re-enforce the lies that began in that not-so-simple betrayal. Saddest of all is the fact that they really seem to believe their version of the Max story (as we can see by Cassidy's representation). That's how darkness works.
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Thanks for sharing your conversation with the Rappaports.
I do not doubt their description of the relationship between them and Witness Lee at that time and I do not know if a conversation occurred with PL in the late 70's. If so, then it might even have seemed (a long time later) to the Rappaports that their expulsion was tied to a conversation about PL with Witness Lee. And if true then that begs the question if John Ingalls, the leading elder in Anaheim and co-worker of Witness Lee, was part of a PL cover-up for yet another decade for the purpose of ousting Max. I think not.
However, as to the
"lies" spread about Max I am not aware of what he meant by that in your conversation with him. If he meant by
"lies" those happenings that
Ohio observed firsthand and documented in the mid-west and of similar things wherever Max held conferences or meetings then those were not lies but rather eyewitness accounts. All those incidents were recounted with many brothers and leading ones discussing these matters openly. In all those '78 meetings PL never came up as an issue by anyone. Just never mentioned by either side.
Therefore, in relation to Max and his expulsion PL was never a factor. The things Max said and did on the road led to his dismissal.