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Directory v0.3. Will add more quotes and create a "Who's who" section.

This post seeks to be a starting point for newcomers to the forum. It contains a set of reading material general and comprehensive in nature to introduce them to the Local Church and to give them a window into understanding the problems and baggage that the group carries with it.

What is this website?
This website, Local Church Discussions, is a community for individuals who associated with the Local Church at some point in their lives, whether they be member, former member, or family and/or friend of a member. Its focus is discussion on where the Local Church went wrong in its journey to preach the "highest gospel" and the abuses of leadership that continue to plague the church to this day.

What is the Local Church?

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

The local churches (also known as the Local Church) are a Christian movement founded in China whose beliefs and practice are based on the teachings of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. Members of the group condemn denominationalism and believe that Christian believers should have no identifying name or basis for gathering other than the name of city or municipality in which a given assembly is located. Members emphasize what they refer to as "the subjective experience of Christ," as well as Bible interpretation concerning Christ and the church.

Originally Posted by John Myer, A Future and a Hope

The Local Church of Witness Lee is a splinter sect of the Closed Brethren, modified by Asian culture and peculiarly developed because of its isolation from the rest of the Body of Christ.

Where did it come from?
A History of the Lord's Recovery in the US
This is a timeline of the major events in the history of the Lord's Recovery starting from Witness Lee's arrival in America until his death in 1997.

History of the Local Church
An unfinished book by Don Rutledge (username Hope). The two chapters finished provide a picture of the early church in the USA - both its happy beginnings and the emerging problems that would go to shape the Local Church into what it is today.

What do they believe?
Comments on Local Church Doctrines
A quick overview of the theological beliefs of the Local Church, as well as common practices and expectations in the church.

What's wrong with it? - Doctrine
An Open Letter to the Leaderahipof Living Stream Ministry and the "Local Churches"
A letter/petition signed by 70+ Christian scholars highlighting controversial statements made by Witness Lee regarding the Christian faith.

• "Living Stream Ministry and the “local churches” (also known as The Lord’s Recovery), both founded by the late Witness Lee, have been involved for decades in legal and theological controversies with noted Christian institutions and leaders. In light of this history of litigation and conflict, we the undersigned make this public appeal.

The Church in Edmonton?
An outsider's look into a typical Sunday meeting of a Local Church, and her issues with the material covered in the Prophesying Meeting. This particular meeting shows the LC Doctrine concerning the "denominations" through an outsider's eyes.

• My conclusions on this church are simple. It was a good idea that kind of went sideways. It was like a baseball player hit a home run, but the ball went a funny direction and it ended up flying backwards and into the stands where it clipped a lady's arm, bounced off the seat, and broke a guys nose. Yes I agree that there are a lot of Christians out there that follow ritual and have no concept of Christ in their heart, and that these people are making no progress towards being closer to God. That is concerning for their sake and can also give the rest of us a bad name. But I don't think think this church is the answer to this issue. At least not like this.

The Local Church of Witness Lee
Linked in pdf form is an excerpt from a 1980 book The New Cults by Walter Martin, detailing the history, structure, and practices of the Local Church of the Time. Many of the things described in this excerpt still ring true today.

• "We have seen that Witness Lee and the Local Church teach error concerning the doctrines of God, Christ, man, sin, salvation, and the church. Witness Lee is not a sound Bible teacher, and the Local Church is cultic in many ways, even though many of its members are Christians. One cannot be truly obedient to God and join or remain in the Local Church or support the teachings that we have critically analyzed here."

What's wrong with it? - Practice
In the Wake of the New Way
A book written by Steve Isitt (username Indiana) concerning the damage done to the churches by the "New Way" - the reorganization of the Local Church into a vehicle for the ministry for the purpose of constituting the saints with the "truth".

• "To uphold the weak and those with differing views is to be according to the Lord’s heart and to answer the trumpet call. It is also to respond to the Lord’s prayer in John 17, “that they all would be one”. The Lord's move should be a move in His Body involving all the members, not forgetting any among us -- and remembering those who left.

What's Wrong with the LC?
A thread that lists off several points that can be argued as the "top points" of contention in the LC. Listed off are: Corruption, Subjectivity, Hypocrisy, the placing of "special persons" on a pedestal, Control, contempt for "works", Pride, practice and abuse of "Deputy Authority", and contempt for Spiritual Gifts.

How Much to Throw Out?
A discussion thread centering around what aspects of the LC to throw out and what to keep. WARNING: long.

Can the Local Church Leadership Say, "We Were Wrong?"
A letter written by Jane Carole Andersen (username Thankful Jane) to representatives of afaithfulword.org asking for a fair judgement while also challenging the Christian Research Institute over the legitimacy of their article "We Were Wrong".

• "The LC leadership has a long history of unbiblical and unchristian practices that have psychologically and spiritually damaged many people. Fulfilling what they consider to be their special calling is more important to them than individuals, marriages, or families. Their mission is to spread the LC and Witness Lee‘s ministry throughout the earth in order to bring the Lord back. Their goal seems to justify for them the means they employ in their quest."

A Future and a Hope
A book written by John Myer - a former elder in the Church in Cleveland - concerning how to move on from the Local Church and how to not repeat its mistakes.

• "There is no use in trying to resurrect the past. Regardless of what measures we take, we will not succeed in bringing back the church life of 1969 or 1972 or 1976. All we can do at present is to adopt the Apostle Paul’s example of forgetting the things that are behind, while stretching forward to the things that are before. This is a difficult concept to appreciate. Many folks with extensive past glory days unconsciously long for the reinstatement of them. At the very least, they use them as a measuring stick for whatever happens today. A Future and a Hope will not advocate returning to those good old days, but advancing to the fresh new ones.

Other materials on specific subjects:
WARNING! "Christians on Campus"
A post exposing the uglier side of the youth organization Christians on Campus, a recruiting arm of the Local Church.

• "The Bible teaches a simple gospel of a loving God who gave his only Son as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Witness Lee taught that this simple gospel is the “low gospel”. Witness Lee claimed to teach the “high gospel”. This “high gospel” is complicated with spiritual sounding words and terms strung together in a way that boggles the mind. Local Church members seem to believe themselves to be an elite group of Christians who understand this “high gospel” that others do not."