Quote:
Originally Posted by Igzy
It depends on what is meant by "follower." If you like some of the teachings of a particular teacher then that makes you a follower of him or her in a way. If that's all that is meant by it then that's fine--and that is the way most people in America at least would mean it.
But in Nee/Lee legacy land, being a "follower" means that the teacher is your major, if not only, influence. This is problematic because in this day and age there are so many good teachers and so much information available at our fingertips that majoring in any one teacher is really relic of the day when information was not so available.
These days, majoring in one ministry is a sure sign of intellectual laziness. It's a kind of wishful thinking, wanting to believe that one person has somehow cornered the market on God's revelation, which implies we no longer have to work, because Super Brother has figured most of it out for us. There might have been a day when finding alternatives to Super Brother was so difficult that resting in the assurance that he had most of it figured out was a reasonable comfort. But that day has passed.
I "follow" many teachers. I could name them but it doesn't matter who they are. Rest assured there are a lot of them. If Kaung is still, after all these years, majoring in what he learned from Nee then I'm disappointed in him. It shows he hasn't been growing much after all.
|
I will go out on a limb here and say that I think the notion that Christians will reference a wide variety of ministries is a bit idealistic. It seems that most non-LC Christians I know are inclined to reference specific ministries that address certain needs, such as family or marital needs. Sometimes it might be to address topics like prayer or finances. In other words, I'm not all that convinced that there are really many people out there who are referencing many ministries for the sake of being "well-rounded".
As I understand it, in the early LC days, saints were allowed to reference other ministries, but it still seems like it was limited to a particular set of ministries that would be considered as part of the Nee/Lee lineage. Because of my background in the LC, I see referencing even a particular set of ministries as being a better alternative to just a single ministry. Some might say that's not going far enough. Maybe not, but I ask: are people out there really following a vast array of ministries for the sake of "proving" that they're not too narrow in following ministries?
I think it's fair to say that most Christian leaders are primarily concerned with whether or not their congregants are reading the Bible on a regular basis. Just doing that alone can be a struggle for many people, so I would consider referencing different ministries as being "extra-curricular". Obviously there is no pressing need to reference or follow any ministries at all, but my point is that with those who do make a point to consult different ministries, it is probably less broad that what would be considered as ideal.
To summarize, I'm more inclined to take the position that following relatively few ministries isn't a big problem if it results in something positive. It's a big problem when it results in a cult of personality. With those who have come out of the LC, the issue of following ministries probably something more of concern than your average Christian. To Christians who have never been obligated to follow a single ministry, I don't think the whole issue of follow ministries is given a second thought. People will follow what ministries they find helpful.