Looking for a Particular Ministry Publication

Hey there. I recently came across some quotes from Ron Kangas about “burning bridges” with Christianity. Apparently they were from a publication called “The Ministry of the Word.” It was published in February of 2004, but I can’t seem to find it online anywhere. Could someone help me out?

[Ohio]

Originally Posted by Bookseeker

Hey there. I recently came across some quotes from Ron Kangas about “burning bridges” with Christianity. Apparently they were from a publication called “The Ministry of the Word.” It was published in February of 2004, but I can’t seem to find it online anywhere. Could someone help me out?

That was about the time RK and Co decided to “burn bridges” with the Midwest LC’s. Those Blendeds at LSM really should not let RK play with matches.

To Ohio:

It seems they’ve gotten rid of that serious of books on their sites. I can see publications of “The Ministry” from before 2004 and after, but none during that time. It would be nice to be able to reference them because I still know some people in The Recovery who say that their group loves and accepts all Christians but I know it’s not true. They say some harsh things about other Christian groups and mock them a lot. Perhaps seeing the things that their leaders say would help, but I can’t seem to find those specific publications anywhere!

It is this?
https://blendedbody.com/AAA-Personal...ristianity.htm

[UntoHim]

As Posted At BlendedBody.Com

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"The Lord's recovery is not a part of Christianity"
Ron Kangas, Senior Editor and Director of Living Stream Ministry (LSM)

"There is an unbridgeable gap between the Lord's recovery and Christianity"
Ron Kangas, (The Ministry, June, 2004, p. 10)

"We need to maintain the gap between us and Christianity; the wider the gap is the better"
Ron Kangas

"There is a great gulf fixed between the Lord's recovery and Christianity." Ron Kangas

******"If there are any bridges between a local church and Christianity, I hope that we would go back, burn the bridges and broaden the gap."
Ron Kangas

"There is an irreconcilable difference between the church life in the Lord's recovery and today's Christianity in any of its forms."
Ron Kangas

"It is impossible for there to be any reconciliation between the recovery and Christianity."
Ron Kangas

"There is a separation between us and all the denominations, between us and all forms of organized Christianity"
Ron Kangas

"We should not try through diplomacy or negotiation to be reconciled."
Ron Kangas

(NOTE: All quotes from The Ministry, Feb., 2004, pp. 8-25 unless otherwise indicated)
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[TheStarswillFall]

"We are one by eating Jesus"
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[Sunshine]

Hello bookseeker
You will find that the speaking in ministry of the word is a repeat of a combination of Watchman Nee and Witness past speaking word for word.

In LSM ministrybooks.org web page, you can search for book titles based on key words or phrases.

Have a look there.

I’ve checked on ministrybooks with a subscription, but I couldn't find that particular issue. Perhaps one day I can find a physical copy. I’m sure there’s one or two floating around somewhere out there.

I like the idea of using those quotes and searching ministrybooks.org to find similar statements. It can be a real chore, but I’m sure I’ll find something.

Here's a quote that contains some of what you are looking for, and the ministry book it came from:

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Revelation 2:6 speaks of the works of the Nicolaitans, and 2:15 speaks of the teaching of the Nicolaitans. This clergy-laity system caused the church to become the religious system of Christianity, which is another religious age. Paul needed to be delivered from Judaism, the religious age at his time. Today we need to be delivered from Christianity, the religious age in our time.

I am sharing this to help us realize that the history among us has been one of coming completely out of Christianity without compromise. It is a shame that some so-called co-workers among us have tried their best to compromise. They say that between the denominations and the local churches there is a gap, and they consider themselves as the bridge to bridge the gap. This was a suffering to Brother Nee, and today this is a suffering to me.

Since 1927, just two years after I was saved, I began to be delivered out of the present evil age, the age of Christianity. Some have told me that I should not say that Christianity is degraded. But according to Revelation 17, the religious system of Christianity is a great prostitute. Verse 5 calls this great prostitute "Babylon the Great, The Mother of the Prostitutes." We need to be delivered from this mother and from her daughters, who are the prostitutes. Since the mother of the Prostitutes is the apostate Roman Catholic Church, the prostitutes, her daughters, should be all the different sects and groups in Christianity who hold to some extent the teaching, practices, and traditions of the apostate Roman Church. We need to be delivered out of this present evil age. We have to come out of Christianity and come back to the Body of Christ. The pure church life has no evil transmitted from the apostate church.

Because of our standing for the pure church life, others have been offended. But what can we do? Paul said in Galatians 1:10, "If I were still pleasing me, I would not be a slave of Christ." If we were men-pleasers, we would not suffer persecution as Paul did. The history of the Lord's recovery is a history of coming out of and being outside of the present evil age. We have burned the bridges between us and Christianity, but some among us have tried to build a bridge to bring us back. We need to burn all the bridges. There should be no bridge between the local churches and Christianity. Everything should be after its kind. The denominations are after their kind and the local churches should be after their kind. We should be what we are without compromise or pretense.

We need to maintain such a gap between us and Christianity. The wider this gap is the better because it is a gap between us and the present evil age.

The History of the Church and the Local Churches, pages 112-114

[bearbear]

Originally Posted by guest-eroony

Revelation 2:6 speaks of the works of the Nicolaitans, and 2:15 speaks of the teaching of the Nicolaitans. This clergy-laity system caused the church to become the religious system of Christianity, which is another religious age. Paul needed to be delivered from Judaism, the religious age at his time. Today we need to be delivered from Christianity, the religious age in our time

This is a really bad take on the Nicolaitans by Witness Lee. What made them heretics despite adhering to the basic truths outlined in the Nicene Creed is that they taught that the grace of God allowed them to live sinful lifestyles and still be saved in violation of Romans 6. Interestingly, this is not too much unlike how Witness Lee taught.

https://www.samstorms.org/enjoying-g...he-nicolaitans

[Ohio]

Originally Posted by bearbear

This is a really bad take on the Nicolaitans by Witness Lee. What made them heretics despite adhering to the basic truths outlined in the Nicene Creed is that they taught that the grace of God allowed them to live sinful lifestyles and still be saved in violation of Romans 6. Interestingly, this is not too much unlike how Witness Lee taught.

https://www.samstorms.org/enjoying-g...he-nicolaitans

This interpretation of “Nicolaitans” is just as speculative as the one in the Recovery, I.e. the so-called “clergy-laity system.”

[Sunshine]

I did a search on bridges and quite a few hits came up.

Watchman Nee's mention of burning bridges and not shaking hands over the fence with denominations, in his book Further Talks on the church life.

I have attached a screen shot of some of the search results in this reply.

[bearbear]

Originally Posted by Sunshine

I did a search on bridges and quite a few hits came up.

Watchman Nee's mention of burning bridges and not shaking hands over the fence with denominations, in his book Further Talks on the church life.

I have attached a screen shot of some of the search results in this reply.

That is an interesting quote from WN. It is ironic because he built bridges to what I think were false teachers like the exclusive brethren who held to a millennial exclusion theology which would allow for those practicing sinful lifestyles to enter heaven for eternity. It's probably no coincidence that his disciple Witness Lee went on to practice sins such as money laundering and elevating his rapist son Philip Lee to the head of the ministry office without any repentance.

If only Nee had built bridges to traditional Baptists like Hudson Taylor instead, we may all be in a better place. I am grateful for the western missionaries who gave up their lives to preach the gospel in China and wish Nee would have been grateful.

[Ohio]

Originally Posted by bearbear

If only Nee had built bridges to traditional Baptists like Hudson Taylor instead, we may all be in a better place. I am grateful for the western missionaries who gave up their lives to preach the gospel in China and wish Nee would have been grateful.

Hudson Taylor was close to many Open Brethren like George Muller of Bristol. I have noted elsewhere that many early Brethren leaders unknowingly? divided over their denominational backgrounds. The Exclusives (eg Darby, Wigram) were formerly Anglican, with a hierarchical ecclesiological structure. The Opens (eg Muller, Chapman) were formerly Baptist, with more independent and local structure.

Both Darby and Nee and Lee all started their movements based on independent or autonomous assemblies, or local churches, sometimes called the "Antioch principle." But later in life all three transitioned to centralized power, the so-called "Jerusalem principle," similar to Catholic and Anglican structures.