Quote:
Originally Posted by aron
And, while I'm on the subject, I might add that it's possible that the nascent organization-building activities of the church "fathers" might have led to some of the problems noted in the epistles to the Asian assemblies. Bro. Hope noted this when he wrote about how the "work" and the "deputy authority" ultimately usurped the first love toward our Bridegroom, Christ. We toss folks under the bus when they can't get with the program. But the first command is to love our neighbor. Instead we love our organization, our movement, our doctrines. Any truth which releases us from such bondage would be welcomed indeed.
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Sorry to bring up "yesterday's conversation," but this gem has been a huge help in my study of recent history, so I think I can partly understand
aron's interests on this post. As the sports community says, "
Pardon the Interruption."
Long before LSM's bully tactics engineered a complete takeover, the seeds were sown in the LC rank and file concerning "the work" and "deputy authority." They seemed to many to be "fresh light," part of the ongoing "recovery" of the truth, and an "unveiling" of Paul's true calling and ministry pattern to the Gentile world. Coupled with distorted concepts of "oneness," we were all persuaded that we were "onto" something uniquely special from the Lord.
At first, these matters seemed to benefit the church, at least while WN was in the leadership in China. Eventually, however, these very concepts, apparently scriptural, yet without solid verse support, became the root cause for our undoing. The groundwork foundation was already laid, however, so it was far too late to now "change the room layout." A generation of LC leaders, trained up on these errant teachings, in their mature years had lost the ability to go back and examine the scripture anew.
So I can appreciate the discussions here about "Peter and James and John," who they were, and how they altered church history. I personally feel that scripture balances itself, by providing needed diversity. We in the LC seemed to get far too much "of Paul," and lacked the balance of John and James and Peter. The Brethren exclusives suffered similarly.
As an aside, I heard that the recent GLA YP's conf. featured the message: "
faith without works is dead." Imagine that!