Quote:
Originally Posted by JJ
AskSeek: your post about TLR being "a sham" expressed what some here have concluded. I've been wrestling with questions about TLR for 32 years (after a "storm" in my local church divided and scattered "the saints" there, and broke my heart). The answers are both simple and complex. After two years of participating in this forum, I see that opinions here vary quite a bit.
My own opinion is that there is a need to consider TLR's "ways", all the way back to its "roots" in "Exclusive Brethren" teachings and practices as well as the in-compassionate and legalistic shepherding of M.E. Barber, learn from the good and drop the bad.
I like what "The Concerned Brothers" have been saying http://www.concernedbrothers.com |
Thanks for sharing about wrestling with these issues for 32 years. "The answers are both simple and complex" is a very helpful to hear.
And from your link I read the "Opening Words" document. I like that they cover the nuance of the word "ministry", something I haven't thought about
:
The matter of one ministry has been strongly emphasized since Brother Lee's departure. This
emphasis has been very confusing to many saints because there are several meanings to the term
‘ministry’ which have not been clearly differentiated. These meanings include (1) the one New
Testament ministry initiated by the Lord, (2) the different individual ministries that are part of
this one ministry e.g. the ministries of the apostles Peter, Paul and John, and others, (3) the
personal ministries of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, (4) the ministries of other workers, (5)
the work of ministry of the saints, (6) Living Stream Ministry (LSM) and (7) "The Ministry," a
magazine published by LSM. The failure to differentiate these items has led many saints to
equate in their own mind Living Stream Ministry with the New Testament Ministry, and to
consider that the co-workers who serve in the Living Stream Ministry are the only ones who
carry out the New Testament Ministry.