Quote:
Originally Posted by Trapped
Regarding the fellowship you describe, I think the issue in this case would not be whether the church in Scottsdale would participate in fellowship with the nearby local churches, but whether the nearby local churches would participate in the fellowship if the church in Scottsdale was involved.
I am not aware of any LSM/WL related local church that deigns to fellowship with another legitimate but non-LSM local church that does not base its fellowship on WL's material or speaking. I have heard plenty of times descriptions from co-workers about this concept of the "standing" of proximate local churches....they dance around it with fancy phrases ("in the central lane of the recovery" is one exact phrase I've heard, for example) but come on......what that really means is "with the Witness Lee program"!!!
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I will use Moses Lake, Washington as a frame of reference. Broke with LSM in 1986, but still consider themselves a local church. When I was meeting with the church in Bellevue in the 1990's once of the elders when asked about Moses Lake used the term "rebel church". Since then different cities in Washington state have taken the ground. Those in closer proximity to Moses Lake are Ephrata and Yakima. Along the lines of Trapped post regarding Scottsdale, it comes down to what would the nearby local churches do?
After all it takes two.
Just as would the Church in Ephrata be open to fellowship with the Church in Moses Lake, would the Church in Phoenix be open to the Church in Scottsdale?
Have attitudes changed towards ones who have parted ways with LSM?