Quote:
Originally Posted by Indiana
On page 33 of Fermentation, Brother Lee asks, "Where is the hint, even a little hint, that Witness Lee or Philip Lee or anyone of my office in the past did something to exercise their power over any church?”
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Brother Lee Not Open for Opinion or Fellowship
from (Deviating from the Path)
4. Churches in Southern CA
"In the late eighties, during “the Lord’s new move”, the elders pondered many things in their hearts and were not short of desire and need to share with one another what was on their heart for their localities and for the recovery. In a surprising elders’ meeting in 1988 when they did open up to one another and share in an honest way about what they felt, Brother Lee was unable to truly hear them or understand the problems they faced in their localities, as morale in locality after locality declined. A description of that 1988 elders’ meeting follows: S. I.
John Ingalls –
"Dick Taylor, an elder in Long Beach, started [the sharing] with a lively, full-of enjoyment kind of testimony, such as Dick is well-known for, thanking the Lord for the door-knocking and the Gospel preaching in Long Beach, but ending with an honest word about the depression and the discouragement among some of the saints. This was unusual for Dick but he was telling it like it was. Other brothers followed who also spoke very honestly about dissensions concerning the new way and discouragement among the saints in their localities, for which they were very concerned. In some places divisions had arisen over the new way. John Smith, an elder in San Diego, ended the time of sharing with an honest account of his concerns for the saints in his church, mentioning how he feared that with the overemphasis on methods, numbers, and increase, the saints would become activity-centered instead of Christ-centered.
J. I.
"What was extraordinary was the elders speaking up in such an honest and forthright way, knowing that such reports were not what Brother Lee liked or wanted to hear. We were not accustomed to doing this due partly to a sense of intimidation. To my knowledge this was the first time that had been done. This was encouraging. But Brother Lee was visibly bothered, and later reacted strongly to the brothers’ speaking, saying of one brother’s sharing (John Smith’s) that it was like pouring iced water on him."
J.I.
As the Raleigh brothers said, 'they had no problem with the matters of the new way, but how it was carried out was a problem. They were not concerned for right and wrong, but for God’s righteousness. This word could have been echoed by many brothers at that time, who found that “fellowship” with Brother Lee was a one-sided matter of complying with him and his wishes, regardless of their circumstances and conscientious objections. J.I.
“Some transmute the basis of the oneness of the believers by the assertion of their own authority to the point where the actual ground of oneness becomes acceptance of and obedience to their authority”. (DCP)