Quote:
Originally Posted by aron
I do see your point. But I'm still warning against one possible alternative to your "Old Christ" in that the proposed "New Christ" may not even be Christ at all! It's just worth considering. Of course the benign possibility for LC "new" this and that is that the Bible says it too. Surely Lee referenced the Bible regarding newness, in his messages. Or else the songs would not have been written at all. New this and renewed that, right up to the New Jerusalem. New, new, new.
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It all became frightfully tedious during the heyday of the "new way." Endless changes coming from Lee's "laboratory" constantly made yesterday's "new" become today's "old." Who could keep up with the daily changes? Regular conflicts occurred between the younger and "newer" zealots and the older, slower leaders. Lee and his lackeys seemed to love it. They courted those who thrived on change, while sifting those who paused a moment to consider the consequences. "New" became the mantra for ministry excitement, while abandoning all those who straggled behind.
Lee used "newness, oneness, and new Jerusalem" talk to promote his own self-serving interests. Lee abandoned any concept of local autonomy by downplaying the concept of "church" and playing up the one body. The local church you loved was "merely the procedure" to arrive at his goals, using the N.J. as a ruse to reach them. Oneness was held out as the proverbial "carrot" to advance robotic uniformity, extolling him in the place of honor.