Quote:
Originally Posted by JJ
Why did Witness Lee bother to come to a Navigators Bible study if it was part of the old wine skin?
I found the statement "The ministry is for the church, not the church is for the ministry" at the beginning very interesting. James, do you hear yourself?
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If accurate, Witness Lee met Don Hardy through the Navigators.
In respect to what James spoke, try to keep it in historical perspective. James passed away the year the New Way began in Taiwan. Several years before the pledge of allegiance Benson and Ray allegedly drafted.
It's been documented a former co-elder of James believed the same thing:
"The ministry is for the church, not the church is for the ministry"
The following is from page 11 of
Speaking the Truth in Love by John Ingalls,
"
I believe that the first was that the ministry was being given a place above the churches. It was being too highly exalted and emphasized, so that it became imperative for every church now to manifest that they were “for the ministry” and to “serve the ministry”. It was no longer, as we were often told, that the ministry was for the churches and that only the churches should be built up; rather the churches now should be for the ministry, and the ministry was being built up. We felt that we should voice such a concern to brother Lee."
On one hand James had to promote the ministry Witness Lee spoke. On the other being supported full-time he had to keep concerns to himself.
Something that was very telling from Brad Barber's posts for those of us that participated and/or read on thebereans.net was this statement:
"If pressed, someday I may tell the reason why James had to leave beautiful sunny Southern California and move us to the lc's version of Australia during the colonial period."