Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohio
Mine too! We had a great time. We were fruitful, joyful, blessed by God in many ways. It all ended with the "New Way" mandates from Lee, along with regional directives from TC to "follow Lee closely."
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6 One Body universal,
__ One in each place expressed;
Locality of dwelling
__Her only ground possessed;
Administration local,
__ Each answ’ring to the Lord;
Communion universal,
__ Upheld in one accord.
Yes it was
Hymn 824 that I was thinking of; thank you. 'Each answ'ring to the Lord' became 'each answ'ring to Anaheim'.
And the "Lord's move", so-called, of Witness Lee echoed that of Watchman Nee before him. Independence and localism were wedges to drive Christians away from any other fellowships, which were held to have unscriptural ties to extra-local religious bodies.
Then, once separated, the screws were tightened, to get these independent bodies to come under central control. And voila, a new denomination gets created. The regional or national training place is no different in aim or function, here, than a denominational seminary or Bible institute, all the rhetorical flourishes and protestations aside.