Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohio
You seem to think that I think that all the blessing came thru Lee because he thought that he was the source of all the blessing but I don't think the way you think I think because I think that the blessing was upon the members' seeking the Lord and serving Him in the Spirit like it says in Psalm 133.  |
No. I am fully aware that probably the majority of any perceived blessing was without reference to him. It was more likely the release from the forms of the Christian trappings we had been caught in. And while there were surely some possible problems, at some level it was just as much a product of the times as anything else. The whole world was busy throwing off the old ways. Hippies, and the beatniks before them. The sexual revolution. Change was in the blood of western society. It could not be kept out of the church.
Now that does not mean that some change was not in order, or that whatever change happened was simply wrong. It just provides a different context for assessing what we found ourselves in. The LRC wasn't the only sort of free-group tossing things aside. Some of the origins of the LRC was in groups that were still associated with mainstream denominations, but also having private gatherings to have experiences outside of those forms. A few got introduced to books by Watchman Nee. And even fewer were introduced to a little China man named Witness Lee. The rest is history.
But many of those free groups slowly dissappeared because they had no leadership or organization. (Odd that in the end there is always some level of organization and leadership.)
I do not pretend that there was nothing real. And I don't suppose that all of that early enjoyment was generated by Lee. But I still have some questions about it as a whole. I'm not sure we really have a good idea what it was we were so enamored with. It has been too long now. Too hard to pin down. Even for Don Rutledge. And I probably trust his assessment more than most.
And what we think about those times is interesting. I have had a couple of talks with my dad. He has indicated that if he had heard anyone talking about apostles in 1973, he would likely have just left then. Strangely, I did hear it, though not necessarily from any message. So perceptions and experiences are often different even in the same location at the same time.