Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohio
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This, Lee said, showed that the elders in the church equaled the elders in the city, meaning that the boundary of the church was the city. Furthermore, he noted that even though there were thousands of believers in Jerusalem, the church there was referred to in the singular and there was only one group of elders in the church.
So I wonder if Drake agrees with this? Are the elders selected by Witness Lee in the church in Houston the only genuine elders in Houston?
Witness Lee was often critical of the organized system of Christianity, saying that it had deviated from the biblical revelation. He identified three inherent deficiencies in this system:
There are many substitutes for the living person of Christ;
The clergy/laity system nullifies the proper function of the believers; and
The divided state of the denominational/free group system is contrary to biblical injunctions to keep the oneness of the Body of Christ.
I feel that these criticisms of Witness Lee towards others is equally applicable to him.
1. Substitutes for the living person of Christ. -- MOTA and Ground of the Church are two examples. Jesus is the minister of the age. To say that Watchman Nee or Witness Lee is equals a substitute for the Living person of Christ. Likewise it is the living person of Christ that is the bond of peace that keeps the oneness, not WL's doctrine of the ground of the church.
2. Nullification of the proper function of the believers. -- We watched that as "living testimonies" were converted into parroting footnotes and WL's ministry.
3. The divided state of denominational system is never so clear as in the Lord's Recovery Church. It is either stated plainly or else implied that taking the Lord's table in any other Christian fellowship is akin to a sin that could kill you.