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Paul Cox · 06-08-2013, 04:58 AM

The Lord lays the foundation in Matthew 5,6 & 7 as to how we should go forward in our personal lives, as well as in the church. A crucial point was, "Take no thought." From global leadership such as Witness Lee, or the Pope, all the way down to a single individual ruling a single congregation with an iron fist, it all has it's basis in a lack of faith, and a paranoid need for control. It serves as a lesson to us that we must always remember that the work is not ours. We get to touch it for a while, and then we move on. If we leave our own heavy handed imprint on it, the result will always be a monstrosity like the hideous Roman Catholic Church, or a more sanitized version - The Living Stream churches.

I got to meet this past weekend with some saints from Memphis Tenn., who have been meeting for over 40 years, without a building (they meet in homes), without a pastor, and without any desire to file for tax exempt status. They have elders, and by their own admission, they have problems. But the sweetness of Christ I experienced with them was so refreshing to my wife and me.

They do attend the conferences at Richmond Virginia with Stephen Kaung and the rest. But If you look at all the assemblies that attend those conferences, it becomes strikingly clear that there is no centralized control. Richmond is very different from Memphis, or Houston, or any of the assemblies on the West Coast. They even gratefully acknowledge past help from Gene Edwards, although they are no longer affiliated with him.

The unlocalness of the Local Churches has been studied here to exhaustion. So there is no need for me to add to that. But I was reminded that there are indeed thousands of genuinely local gathering of saints, all over the globe, who have shunned ANY form of one man control. Many of them have never heard of Watchman Nee, Witness Lee, or Stephen Kaung.

That's what I want. That's what I have been renewed to pursue here in our little gathering in my home. I told the saints here the other night, that as we pursue the Lord about this model, I have no desire to be a pastor. I don't even have to be an elder. If there are spirit led brothers who can be elders among us, I would be more than content to sit on the back row.

06-08-2013, 04:58 AM	#56
Paul Cox Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 181	Re: Minister of the Age The Lord lays the foundation in Matthew 5,6 & 7 as to how we should go forward in our personal lives, as well as in the church. A crucial point was, "Take no thought." From global leadership such as Witness Lee, or the Pope, all the way down to a single individual ruling a single congregation with an iron fist, it all has it's basis in a lack of faith, and a paranoid need for control. It serves as a lesson to us that we must always remember that the work is not ours. We get to touch it for a while, and then we move on. If we leave our own heavy handed imprint on it, the result will always be a monstrosity like the hideous Roman Catholic Church, or a more sanitized version - The Living Stream churches. I got to meet this past weekend with some saints from Memphis Tenn., who have been meeting for over 40 years, without a building (they meet in homes), without a pastor, and without any desire to file for tax exempt status. They have elders, and by their own admission, they have problems. But the sweetness of Christ I experienced with them was so refreshing to my wife and me. They do attend the conferences at Richmond Virginia with Stephen Kaung and the rest. But If you look at all the assemblies that attend those conferences, it becomes strikingly clear that there is no centralized control. Richmond is very different from Memphis, or Houston, or any of the assemblies on the West Coast. They even gratefully acknowledge past help from Gene Edwards, although they are no longer affiliated with him. The unlocalness of the Local Churches has been studied here to exhaustion. So there is no need for me to add to that. But I was reminded that there are indeed thousands of genuinely local gathering of saints, all over the globe, who have shunned ANY form of one man control. Many of them have never heard of Watchman Nee, Witness Lee, or Stephen Kaung. That's what I want. That's what I have been renewed to pursue here in our little gathering in my home. I told the saints here the other night, that as we pursue the Lord about this model, I have no desire to be a pastor. I don't even have to be an elder. If there are spirit led brothers who can be elders among us, I would be more than content to sit on the back row.