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Originally Posted by aron
Or the idea of "locality" of the "local churches" being promoted until HQ suddenly decides it's time to take control, then they "recover" the Jerusalem Principle. Suddenly we don't want to do anything "outside the fellowship" of the Big Boss in Central HQ.
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Both John Darby, Watchman Nee, and Witness Lee all started their ministries emphasizing "local" assemblies as a way to extricate seeking Christians from the established denominations of their day, using the so-called Antioch principle. After their movements became established, due to the labors of numerous gifted ministers, then Darby, Nee, and Lee each deemed it necessary for the Lord's work to have just one leader. Each then used various theological or practical issues to subjugate all of their perceived "rivals" into subordinate positions in the movement.
This never seemed to go very well for the movements, and quarantines or excommunications were then necessary to influence their adherents into believing that God had raised up only one oracle / brother / MOTA per age. Since the Bible never really justified their actions, in each case it really was the shear weight of personal character which elevated them to the top, while banishing "rivals." Many new teachings were thus employed to expedite this transition period including the change to the "Jerusalem" principle of "the work."
Each movement suffered as a result, losing the freshness and the blessing of the Holy Spirit, the oneness of the body of Christ, and the notable characteristic of brotherly love. Each of the three leaders also left the fresh anointing of the Spirit for the deep, exclusive, and somewhat esoteric teachings they later became known for.