Quote:
Originally Posted by Olvin
I don't think there are many who have suffered more indignities than myself in the local church. Still I challenge all who post here to do this: take your biblical understanding; subtract all the revelation you have received from "the ministry" and consider what you are left with. Can you minister life with that? Do you still see God's purpose, do you yet know the mystery of the human life? I doubt.
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Olvin, this paragraph from your testimony kind of sums up the controversy we face on this forum. From one point of view, we had many experiences of Christ with the brothers, and learned so much about the Bible. From another point of view, the leaders abused lots of dear saints and hid their unrighteousness from sight. I definitely understand both sides of this debate because I was active in the churchlife for 3 decades, migrating twice to start new churches. I could go on and on about all the good ... and all the bad ...
Igzy and others on this forum no longer place a high value on all the Bible doctrine we have learned in the LC. They tend to focus on the Lord's commands to "
love God and love your neighbor." When it comes to how the leaders in the LC's treated the saints, they are a dismal failure, as evidenced by your own testimony. "
Greater love has no man than this, than we lay down our life ..." was grossly absent in LC leaders. Paul's pattern of being with the saints, as recorded in numerous books of the New Testament, was not practiced by LC leaders. It is impossible to find one verse in the Bible that can justify both W. Lee's and T. Chu's practice of publicly shaming the brothers.
I have on many occasions noted on this forum how many beloved gifted brothers who departed after enduring Titus Chu's constant abuses. Both churches I helped to start were nearly destroyed by this. You yourself have tasted this fiery trial which never should have happened.
And why did it happen? Because both Titus and Lee loved to be first, lording it over the churches. They used public shaming to maintain their power base. As a result, brothers were forced to choose between being man-pleasers or being faithful to God and their conscience. They left because they chose God over man.
So we can debate all day about which point of view we like to have. Personally I treasure all my experience of Christ and everything healthy I have learned from LC teachers. The Lord warned the disciples, however, to "
beware of the leaven of the Pharisees," and I too have been forced to discard many LC teachings as lousy leaven. I have also discarded all of Lee's views on church history as being seriously self-serving. I could go on and on, but the point is that LC leaders took advantage of the trust we placed in them, and
never took responsibility for their failures.
The Apostle Paul warned those from Ephesus that this would happen in Acts 20.28-30, "
And take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among whom the Holy Spirit has placed you as overseers to shepherd the church of God, which He obtained thru His own blood; I know after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; And from among you yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverted things to draw away the disciples after themselves."
Lee and Chu taught many "
perverted things to draw us after themselves," and not after Christ. They surely loved the glory of men. All the glory had to go their way, rather than to God's only Son. Isn't our Heavenly Father jealous over His Son? Jesus warned the Pharisees, "
How can you believe when you love the glory of man, more than the glory of God?" LC leaders were filled with the
doctrines on faith, but did not possess the real thing, otherwise why would they have to resort to constant lawsuits?