Quote:
Originally Posted by Terry
That may have been the case for the brother who told me, "there's no politics in the church". However LC history is quote clear the brothers who were ambitious for position or power displayed apathy towards right verses wrong, morality verses immorality, etc. All about outmaneuvering brothers who were under the headship of Christ. Now that they're blended brothers or part of their clique, playing politics is still subtle as it's been said, "I'm not stepping aside for anyone".
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Studies of group and organizational behavior show that politics as I defined it below is common if not ubiquitous. So, we shouldn't be surprised to find politics in any or all organizations including religious ones like churches.
The problem is that Witness Lee and his followers claimed that there was something higher about their organization. This, of course, led to the expectation that behavior like playing politics wouldn't happen there, which, in turn, resulted in either denial or disappointment when it did. Lee also neglected basic teachings such as forgiveness and sharing and caring for one another as Jesus taught. That kind of thing was taught in Christianity. So Witness Lee, who despised Christianity, taught us to aim higher. Consequently, we missed basic Christian love to a large degree.
Jesus liked to turn social norms on their head. Thus, he taught that would-be leaders should be servants. "It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant..." But, I'm not sure something like that can be institutionalized. Maybe that was his point.