[Indiana]

Originally Posted by Ohio

John Ingalls may have said, "this was encouraging," but history tells us that Witness Lee never felt that way. On the contrary, Lee initially attempted to elicit sympathy saying that he had received "ice water poured on him..."
In the meetings following this gathering, Lee turned noticeably nasty and vindictive towards his other co-workers. So much for the "humble bond slave" willing to learn from other men of God. He would hear no more of this "nonsense...."

Former leader's email - 2001

Hi Steve. I felt I needed to sit on (pray on) what you shared. Admittedly I have a lot of mixed feelings. I want my Lord’s feeling. I was in leadership for fifteen years in a wide variety of churches. I saw and heard a lot of things. Now it’s been fifteen years since I’ve been out of the garlic room. I am no longer as idealistic as I once was. I am probably now too realistic for simple faith to work. I am working on that. Everything I learned about LC authority, rank and file, how dissenters were dealt with, taught me this: no one admits to wrongdoing. The Church way is right, everyone else is wrong. The slightest hint of criticism was ground for being marked out and destroyed. Bro. Lee once said in an elders’ meeting that any elder that criticized the lead was finished. His career was over. “If you can’t agree”, he said, “be a gentleman and leave”. Oneness was always with W. Lee and the “Lord’s move”. Opposers and dissenters were always the enemy to be overcome. Their “truth system” in the LC does not allow any ground or room for making mistakes or being wrong. How can they admit to mistakes? This is the “Lord’s recovery”. They were just following Brother Lee who is God’s man on the earth today. Their denial factor is HUGE!!

I say all that to say this: It may take years of persistent praying and interceding for those walls to crack or come down as Bill Mallon shared. It may take some significant suffering, affliction, trials, and or pain to bring them to any table of fellowship. Your burden is right; your attitude is right….but how can the godmen be wrong?? I hate to say this and I don’t want to daunt your mission in any way; but, I don’t think 1,000 testimonies would put a dent in that iron wall of self-righteousness. They have a well-defended castle. Their attorney/generals are battle tested.

God can touch their heart and make them soft. Maybe He is, and they are, and I don’t see it. Maybe you have heard of a crack in their armor. Maybe they are praying to the Lord right now how they can win us all back. To tell you the truth, most I know don’t want to go back EVER!

I, too, love the brothers, and miss the fellowship of the dear saints, our friends, who we fought the battle with for many years. Dave Higgins has asked me to come back. He said they desperately need shepherds. Mel Porter has asked me to come back for the same reason.

I asked how I can assist you. At this point, all I can commit to is to pray. The other matters I will address in another letter next week.

Eventually, we will all be reconciled. What a glory to the Lord for the breach to be healed now in Satan’s territory, to his shame. Read Is. 58:1-12…“now unto Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think.”


---“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)