Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter Debelak
Dear Thankful:
I was not specifically addressing whether the ground of locality became an idol for some - if not all in the LC. I was addressing a much more specific claim made by Matt - that the idea that "we're IT" was a factor which intially attracted people.
It may be the case that those who stayed in the LC eventually learned and uplifted the "ground". But that is not what I'm addressing. I am questioning, as a factual matter, whether the "uniqueness" aspect of the LC was, in fact, what initially made people want to begin meeting there.
Regarding whether the "ground" did become an idol for individual members, I have some thoughts, which I will share soon. In that discussion, I think it is two separate matters: 1) did WL idolize the "ground" from the beginning and 2) did individual members idolize the "ground" and, if so, at what point and in what way.
The evidence concern WL in Taiwan does not inherently implicate a new believer who came in and stayed in the LC in the 1970s. It may, but not because of WL's idolatry, if there was any - but a different, individual, criteria - which I will try to flesh out soon.
In Him,
Peter
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Dear Peter:
Let me take a stab at answering your inquiries. This is a precis of my perceptions. Time constraints do not allow for more. I realize now my blind trust caused me to overlook certain things that should have been alarm bells. But then we all know hind sight is 20-20.
I began to meet with the LC in March 1973. This was just post the hippie era in which my generation was seeking love, peace and an alternate way among other things. In the LC I saw the answer to these things.
There was at this time the definite uplifting of Christ and His Word. That is what attracted me. I saw the Word being used to explain the Word. There was also a paper put out called 'The Generation'.
So there was the 'IT' factor as part of the package. We were the generation that was going to bring the Lord back. Specifically the LC people would because we were on the proper ground. Outside was only doom and gloom.
Problems did occasionally surface but most were kept below the surface and therefore I was not aware of them. Those that did pop up were explained away (Daystar, consolidation). There was, at least for me, a naive trust in the words of WL. After all, he had such a grasp of the bible and talked so much about his close walk with the Lord.
In the last few years I have come to realize an ideology can trump many things including allowing a work 'for the Lord' to come before a proper care of the Lord's people. I saw this in the last 2 years in Toronto in spades.
The army comes before the flock. This is a paraphrase of what I was told directly by brothers from Anaheim.
The 'out there nothing but doom and gloom' picture has, to my realization in Toronto, now been proven patently false. We are seeing the Word of God being opened up and people spontaneously being empowered by it and by the Lord working in their lives. Hallelujah!
Steve