[UntoHim]

Unregistered Guest,

Thanks for your heartfelt and lucid response.

Firstly, let me say that I have been where you're at. I have been in your shoes. I once felt the same way about Lee and Nee. I still do honor their service to the Lord and his Gospel. They are now both with the Lord, and their ultimate honor, glory and reward is in the hands of the One they attempted to serve.

I noticed you use the terms "experiences", "more real" greatly enhanced" when speaking of the ministries of Lee and Nee. These are all subjective things which can be highly influenced by our un-renewed minds and our fickle heart and emotions. Thankfully, God has provided us with at least two checks and balances for our spiritual well-being, and for the safety and admonition of the Body of Christ.

The first check and balance is, of course, the Holy Scriptures. Every experience, or even understanding, we have, no matter how "real" or "enhanced", MUST be compared and contrasted with what is plainly set before us in the Word of God. There is an abject danger we all face when any teaching or practice becomes untethered from the black and white holy writ of the Bible, and from "the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints". (Jude 1:3) There is little doubt that Witness Lee felt he was qualified to establish teachings and practices which were, at best, untethered from the clear teachings of Christ in the Gospels and the writings of the apostles, and at worse were patently unbiblical, and arguably heretical. This forum is replete with innumerable examples which run from the "at best" all the way to the "at worse".

The second check and balance was clearly enunciated by Igzy:

Originally Posted by Igzy

The relationships in the LCM are fine. But they are diminished by the fact that LCMers have very little relationship with those outside the movement. This is lead's me to believe the internal LCM relationships are based more on common culture than a common relationship with God.

I must say that Igzy was being quite generous with his "very little relationship with those outside the movement". Actually, "very little" would be a good start and vast improvement. In all fairness, at least Local Church members are no longer marching outside of Moody Bible Institute shouting "down with Christianity!" and other such outlandish slogans. I haven't heard of any lawsuit being filed (against Christians outside or inside of the movement) in quite some years. Hope springs eternal!

Seriously though, Iqzy says just about all that I would want to say regarding this matter of being balanced by the Body of Christ. What Local Churchers don't understand, much less appreciate, is that we all don't have to agree on every teaching and practice to have a relationship with other members of the Body, with other churches, church groups or ministries.

There is a song sung in the Local Church, probably written by, or at least influenced by, the teachings of Witness Lee, which opens with this:
Oh, the church of Christ is glorious, and we are part of it—
We’re so happy that the Lord has made us one!
There’s a Body in the universe and we belong to it—
Hallelujah, for the Lord has made us one!

Yes, my dear Local Church brothers and sisters, the Lord has made us one! So why do you continue to resist and even fight against what the Lord has done? Yes, the Body of Christ is divided...but only by those who would do the dividing. Frankly, many of the teachings and practices of the Local Church are part of the problem instead of being part of the solution. But brothers and sisters like our friend, Unregistered Guest, can be part of the solution, at least here on this forum. And this is one of the main reasons this little popcorn stand will remain open and available for the foreseeable future.

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