Signs of Spiritual Abuse by Steven Lambert

[Cal]

As posted at:
http://www.slm.org/trtdigst/articles/abuse.html

The Signs Of Spiritual Abuse ©
By Steven Lambert, ThD

Are you one of the many loyal and sincere church members who faithfully and cheerfully attend, support and participate in a local church, but have a nagging, persistent inward "thought" that "something is just not right here?"............

Then, you begin realizing, somehow, somewhere along the line you began losing your joy, your zeal for the Lord. It used to be you could hardly wait for the services and to be involved; now it is drudgery to go at all. You used to have such a light and blissful feeling as you worshiped the Lord in the services; now you just go through the motions, feeling heavy, staring placidly toward the platform, sometimes wishing you were somewhere else.....

"What on earth has happened to me? What's wrong with me?" you ask yourself. "Is it just me?" Then, you begin to look around the room and study other long-time members. You compare how they are now to how they were when they first came. Is their life, as it should be, appreciably better, or have they and their family experienced an inordinate share of tragedies, seemingly inexplicable difficulties, and reversals? By and by, you begin to realize that many of the other members have lost their "first love" too, their zeal, their enthusiasm, their joy in serving the Lord, and that, though Christians, like everyone else, certainly experience adversity, many of these members' lives have been on a gradual, downward spiral, instead of advancement and blessing.

Does this scenario sound familiar to you? If so, don't think you're alone—it's repeated several times every week by multitudes of sincere, faithful, and trusting believers. They've had this inward intuition for quite some time that something was just not right at their church or in their group, but just couldn't put their finger on precisely what it was. The teaching "sounded" right, all the right things were being said, good things were happening, many members were being "used" in various "ministries" of the church. Still, this nagging sense something is awry persists........

The following are some of the common signs and symptoms, or common characteristics, of authoritarian abuse manifest in hyper-authoritarian groups, churches, networks, and ministries....

1. Apotheosis of the leadership — exalting them to God-like status in and over the group;
2. Multi-level authority/government hierarchy;
3. Absolute authority of the leadership;
4. No real accountability of the leadership to the corporate body;
5. Hand-picked sub-leaders, based on their demonstration of submissiveness to the ultimate leader rather than on the basis of their leadership skills, spirituality, and anointing and appointment by God;
6. Pervasive abuse and misuse of authority in personal dealings with members;
7. Paranoia and insecurity by the leaders;
8. Abuse, misuse, and inordinate incidence of "church discipline;"
9. Personal materialism, covetousness, and self-aggrandizement by the leaders;
10. Members and/or sub-leaders must make a "spiritual covenant," sometimes a signed covenant agreement, pledging their total commitment and financial support to the leadership and church/ministry;
11. Partitioning of the group into smaller groups that are led by internally "raised up" lay-leaders who have not been anointed or appointed by God for leadership within the church;
12. Financial exploitation and enslavement of the members;
13. Inordinate attention to maintaining the public "image" of the ministry;
14. Doctrinal demeanment and devaluation — the requisite of espousing and teaching "sound doctrine" is demeaned and devalued;
15. Theological incompetency by the leadership, especially with respect to the rules of hermeneutics and Bible exegesis employed in the formulation of doctrine, giving license to twisting and adulteration of Scripture in order to provide proof-texts for unorthodox and invented doctrines;
16. Spiritualism, mysticism, and unproven doctrines;
17. Abuse and misuse of prophetic giftings as a means to dominate and intimidate;
18. Devaluation, disallowance, disregard, and displacement of the true Fivefold Ministry within the church;
19. De facto legalism, or works mentality, and its resulting loss of the "joy of salvation," though "freedom" is forever preached from the pulpit and the church is constantly touted as being a "safe church" by the leadership;
20. Esotericism — hidden agendas and requirements revealed to members only as they successfully advance through various stages of "spiritual enlightenment," i.e., unorthodox, unproven indigenous doctrines;
21. Isolationism — corporate and individual, especially with respect to exposure to outside ministry sources;
22. Performance-based approval and promotion system of members predicated on "proven" "loyalty" (i.e., submission) to the leadership;
23. Devaluation, suppression, and non-recognition of members' bona fide God-given talents, abilities, gifts, callings, and anointing, as a means of subjugation;
24. Requiring members to perform menial tasks, such as cleaning toilets, setting up chairs, and acting as the leader's personal valet or slave, as a supposed means to humble them and teach them to "obey their leaders;"
25. Constant indoctrination with a "group" or "family" mentality that impels members to exalt the corporate "life" and goals of the church-group over their personal goals, callings, and objectives;
26. Members are psychologically traumatized and indoctrinated with numerous improper fears and phobias aimed at keeping them reeling in diffidence and an over-dependence or co-dependence on their leaders and the corporate group;
27. Corporately, there eventually develops an inordinately high incidence of financial, marital, moral, psychological, mental, emotional, and medical problems, including sudden deaths and contraction of "incurable" and "unknown" diseases;
28. Lack of true personal spiritual growth and development, especially in terms of genuine faith and experiencing the abounding grace, forgiveness, goodness, blessings, kindness, and agape-love of God;
29. Members are required to obtain the approval or "witness" of their leader(s) for decisions regarding personal matters;
30. Frequent preaching from the pulpit regarding not getting out from under the "spiritual covering" of the leadership;
31. Members departing without the prior permission and blessing of the leadership leave the group under a cloud of manufactured suspicion, shame, and slander;
32. Horror stories frequently told by leaders about individuals or families who left the group without the prior permission and blessing of the leadership, and the terrible consequences and curses they suffered as a result;
33. Departing members often suffer from various psychological problems and display the classic symptoms associated with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

[Ohio]

Igzy,

I remember when the "cult" comments were made about the LC, some leaders would reply that "cults have certain church-like qualities."

This statement was very disarming for me and I think many others.

[Thankful Jane]

Wow. Sounds like he has been there, done that.

TJ

[Toledo]

I dunno, I guess there are many varieties of the church life experience. I have heard of some of the 33 points, but frankly have not experienced any of them.

#1 ) I listened to testimonies about WL that bordered on apotheosis, and was bothered each time. I wondered why someone didn't tell the testifier that we only exalt Christ. I recognized WL as a terrific bible teacher, but no more. Nor was I ever encouraged to exalt him.

I do recall a time when someone quoted from one of WL's books to settle a doctrinal question. I replied, "I do not consider Brother Lee to be an authority". That did not go over well...

#2) I read a lot here about hierarchy. I suppose that to mean "Multi-level authority". Yet we were always quite firm that there is no higher authority than that of the local church. The churches are local; there is no central governing authority. That is to say, the elders in any given church were not subject to review from Anaheim or Cleveland (the co-workers, on the other hand, were under authority to the leading co-worker in their region, but not to any "higher authority").

#3) There was no "absolute authority" for any local elder. Always we were checked by the other elders. Plus the strong limitation of the Holy Spirit continually restricted us. If I overstepped, time and again I was compelled by my conscience to apologize.

I don't recognize any of the other points, except perhaps #24:
"Requiring members to perform menial tasks, such as cleaning toilets, setting up chairs..."

But that was seen as a Levitical service, rendered to the Lord and not to men. It was absolutely voluntary.

I never saw anyone ever required to act as a "leader's personal valet or slave".

I am not going to deny that much of this has happened in other places. I have read the testimonies. I simply affirm that such was not the case in the churches where I lived.

[Ohio]

Originally Posted by Toledo

#2) I read a lot here about hierarchy. I suppose that to mean "Multi-level authority". Yet we were always quite firm that there is no higher authority than that of the local church. The churches are local; there is no central governing authority. That is to say, the elders in any given church were not subject to review from Anaheim or Cleveland (the co-workers, on the other hand, were under authority to the leading co-worker in their region, but not to any "higher authority").

#3) There was no "absolute authority" for any local elder. Always we were checked by the other elders. Plus the strong limitation of the Holy Spirit continually restricted us. If I overstepped, time and again I was compelled by my conscience to apologize.

Toledo, you make it all sound so good, but ... not all leaders could maintain your independence in the face of an overpowering "leading co-worker in their region." One example of this independence, was that Toledo was one of the few churches which neither supported nor rejected the quarantine by public letter. Many times these "leading co-workers" overstepped their place, yet all the while publicly challenging, "who did I control?" Patterns of open humiliation become extremely powerful tools indeed to ensure that none dare to even raise an objection.

What exactly does that mean to be "under the authority." Some have testified that they had to violate their conscience to carry out directives of that "authority," or face serious repercussions, akin to abuse. Others felt like they were treated "like a dog" or an "African American" before the civil rights movement. What are the boundaries of that authority? Are there any at all? Doesn't the word "under" have vastly different connotations in different cultures?

How convenient does it then become when elders in the church are also workers "under the authority." Whole churches along with their other elders could then be very effectively controlled from headquarters. Isn't that a conflict of interest when the elders are also workers "under the authority"? For example, worker activities nearly always take precedence over church activities. And most definitely, the schedule of a worker/elder is determined by "the authority" rather than the church he serves.

I have seen some whose conscience got "re-trained" during their time in the work. "The authority" defined what was "right," and what the conscience should be bothered by. To "overstep" the saints may not require an "apology," if the directive came from "the authority," now would it? This phenomenon, in effect, reproduced bullies on many levels.

I understand that some things have changed recently, since the quarantine fiasco, but that does not negate decades of abuse and misconduct. You know more than I all the many gifted, precious, and fruitful brothers who have passed thru the GLA, and are now gone, but for no other reason, than they supposedly "had a problem" with "the authority."

[Cal]

Toledo,

Benson Phillips said the Texas elders were vindicated in disciplining Jane Anderson thirty some-odd years ago because in 2006 thereabouts she publish a book in oppostion to his leadership. This is the spiritually abusive attitude we are talking about. Would you concede it exists at LSM, if not where you are?

[TLFisher]

Originally Posted by Igzy

Benson Phillips said the Texas elders were vindicated in disciplining Jane Anderson thirty some-odd years ago because in 2006 thereabouts she publish a book in oppostion to his leadership. This is the spiritually abusive attitude we are talking about.

As I understand the discipline took place in 1977/78 and as Igzy points out the book came out in 2006 where Benson aka Dan had a minor role. What's no brought out here are the number of occurrences John and Jane sought to have face to face fellowship with Benson whether in Texas or coming to Anaheim. Okay, it's one thing if you do not want to take care of a relationship, but claiming vindication? What I sense is a spirit that does not know humility.

[ZNPaaneah]

Originally Posted by Igzy

Toledo,

Benson Phillips said the Texas elders were vindicated in disciplining Jane Anderson thirty some-odd years ago because in 2006 thereabouts she publish a book in oppostion to his leadership. This is the spiritually abusive attitude we are talking about. Would you concede it exists at LSM, if not where you are?

This reasoning reminds me of the old test for witchcraft. Throw the woman into the water, if she sinks she was innocent, if she floats she is guilty.

Proverbs 29:27b "he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked."

[Cal]

Originally Posted by ZNPaaneah

This reasoning reminds me of the old test for witchcraft. Throw the woman into the water, if she sinks she was innocent, if she floats she is guilty.

I think it was the other way around, but I get your point.

[Ohio]

Originally Posted by ZNPaaneah

This reasoning reminds me of the old test for witchcraft. Throw the woman into the water, if she sinks she was innocent, if she floats she is guilty.

Is that where they got the expression, "damned if you do, and damned if you don't."

[ZNPaaneah]

Originally Posted by Igzy

As posted at:
http://www.slm.org/trtdigst/articles/abuse.html

The Signs Of Spiritual Abuse ©
By Steven Lambert, ThD

Are you one of the many loyal and sincere church members who faithfully and cheerfully attend, support and participate in a local church, but have a nagging, persistent inward "thought" that "something is just not right here?"............

Then, you begin realizing, somehow, somewhere along the line you began losing your joy, your zeal for the Lord. It used to be you could hardly wait for the services and to be involved; now it is drudgery to go at all. You used to have such a light and blissful feeling as you worshiped the Lord in the services; now you just go through the motions, feeling heavy, staring placidly toward the platform, sometimes wishing you were somewhere else.....

"What on earth has happened to me? What's wrong with me?" you ask yourself. "Is it just me?" Then, you begin to look around the room and study other long-time members. You compare how they are now to how they were when they first came. Is their life, as it should be, appreciably better, or have they and their family experienced an inordinate share of tragedies, seemingly inexplicable difficulties, and reversals? By and by, you begin to realize that many of the other members have lost their "first love" too, their zeal, their enthusiasm, their joy in serving the Lord, and that, though Christians, like everyone else, certainly experience adversity, many of these members' lives have been on a gradual, downward spiral, instead of advancement and blessing.

Does this scenario sound familiar to you? If so, don't think you're alone—it's repeated several times every week by multitudes of sincere, faithful, and trusting believers. They've had this inward intuition for quite some time that something was just not right at their church or in their group, but just couldn't put their finger on precisely what it was. The teaching "sounded" right, all the right things were being said, good things were happening, many members were being "used" in various "ministries" of the church. Still, this nagging sense something is awry persists........

The following are some of the common signs and symptoms, or common characteristics, of authoritarian abuse manifest in hyper-authoritarian groups, churches, networks, and ministries....

1. Apotheosis of the leadership — exalting them to God-like status in and over the group;
2. Multi-level authority/government hierarchy;
3. Absolute authority of the leadership;
4. No real accountability of the leadership to the corporate body;
5. Hand-picked sub-leaders, based on their demonstration of submissiveness to the ultimate leader rather than on the basis of their leadership skills, spirituality, and anointing and appointment by God;
6. Pervasive abuse and misuse of authority in personal dealings with members;
7. Paranoia and insecurity by the leaders;
8. Abuse, misuse, and inordinate incidence of "church discipline;"
9. Personal materialism, covetousness, and self-aggrandizement by the leaders;
10. Members and/or sub-leaders must make a "spiritual covenant," sometimes a signed covenant agreement, pledging their total commitment and financial support to the leadership and church/ministry;
11. Partitioning of the group into smaller groups that are led by internally "raised up" lay-leaders who have not been anointed or appointed by God for leadership within the church;
12. Financial exploitation and enslavement of the members;
13. Inordinate attention to maintaining the public "image" of the ministry;
14. Doctrinal demeanment and devaluation — the requisite of espousing and teaching "sound doctrine" is demeaned and devalued;
15. Theological incompetency by the leadership, especially with respect to the rules of hermeneutics and Bible exegesis employed in the formulation of doctrine, giving license to twisting and adulteration of Scripture in order to provide proof-texts for unorthodox and invented doctrines;
16. Spiritualism, mysticism, and unproven doctrines;
17. Abuse and misuse of prophetic giftings as a means to dominate and intimidate;
18. Devaluation, disallowance, disregard, and displacement of the true Fivefold Ministry within the church;
19. De facto legalism, or works mentality, and its resulting loss of the "joy of salvation," though "freedom" is forever preached from the pulpit and the church is constantly touted as being a "safe church" by the leadership;
20. Esotericism — hidden agendas and requirements revealed to members only as they successfully advance through various stages of "spiritual enlightenment," i.e., unorthodox, unproven indigenous doctrines;
21. Isolationism — corporate and individual, especially with respect to exposure to outside ministry sources;
22. Performance-based approval and promotion system of members predicated on "proven" "loyalty" (i.e., submission) to the leadership;
23. Devaluation, suppression, and non-recognition of members' bona fide God-given talents, abilities, gifts, callings, and anointing, as a means of subjugation;
24. Requiring members to perform menial tasks, such as cleaning toilets, setting up chairs, and acting as the leader's personal valet or slave, as a supposed means to humble them and teach them to "obey their leaders;"
25. Constant indoctrination with a "group" or "family" mentality that impels members to exalt the corporate "life" and goals of the church-group over their personal goals, callings, and objectives;
26. Members are psychologically traumatized and indoctrinated with numerous improper fears and phobias aimed at keeping them reeling in diffidence and an over-dependence or co-dependence on their leaders and the corporate group;
27. Corporately, there eventually develops an inordinately high incidence of financial, marital, moral, psychological, mental, emotional, and medical problems, including sudden deaths and contraction of "incurable" and "unknown" diseases;
28. Lack of true personal spiritual growth and development, especially in terms of genuine faith and experiencing the abounding grace, forgiveness, goodness, blessings, kindness, and agape-love of God;
29. Members are required to obtain the approval or "witness" of their leader(s) for decisions regarding personal matters;
30. Frequent preaching from the pulpit regarding not getting out from under the "spiritual covering" of the leadership;
31. Members departing without the prior permission and blessing of the leadership leave the group under a cloud of manufactured suspicion, shame, and slander;
32. Horror stories frequently told by leaders about individuals or families who left the group without the prior permission and blessing of the leadership, and the terrible consequences and curses they suffered as a result;
33. Departing members often suffer from various psychological problems and display the classic symptoms associated with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

I would argue that the spiritual abuse took place in the LRC as a result of WL being a false teacher. It appears that the major point of contention over the description of false teachers by Peter applying to Witness Lee is the point that “they even deny the master who bought them”.

Titus 1:16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and to every good work reprobate.

I don’t care that WL “professed to know God”, I am concerned with his works. Did he deny the Lord with his works?

Were his works abominable, causing moral revulsion? Several of the stories on this forum have caused me moral revulsion. “He that condemns the righteous and he that justifies the wicked. Both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.” Also, “he that soweth discord among brethren” is an abomination to the Lord. It is not necessary to recount the abominable acts here unless someone disagrees that the sins we know we can ascribe to WL rise to this level.

Was Witness Lee disobedient, refusing to obey rules or someone in authority? I would say yes. If someone can point to anyone in authority that Witness Lee obeyed since 1978 (the year I began to meet with the LRC) then that would go a long way towards proving that this does not describe him. But if over 20 years in the US and you cannot refer to a single person in authority that Witness Lee obeyed then I think that proves he was disobedient.

Was Witness Lee reprobate to every good work? Was he an unprincipled person, was he “wicked”? Proverbs 18:3 “When the wicked cometh, there cometh also contempt, And with ignominy [cometh] reproach.” No one can deny that this forum has brought contempt, ignominy and reproach to Witness Lee. To fabricate a story about WN’s excommunication is unprincipled. To accuse innocent sister’s of a rebellion and then have them excommunicated as a smokescreen to cover for your son’s lasciviousness is unprincipled. To publish a whitewash of the events is unprincipled. Even Witness Lee admitted he would have been ashamed to see WN after the Daystar fiasco because he violated certain principles that WN taught. According to the book of Proverbs we have made a very strong case that Witness Lee was reprobate to every good work.

Conclusion

The key point for me was realizing that Witness Lee fabricated a story about Watchman Nee. The story made the elders who disciplined WN appear shameful and incompetent without telling their side of the story that would have justified their action. Witness Lee’s story of WN’s excommunication left out critical details, it put the blame on the elders when in light of all the facts they seem to have been justified in their concern, and it was self serving for Witness Lee and his claim to be the continuation of WN’s ministry. Even if WN was innocent of these charges they were still critical to the story because even the appearance of sin is a valid reason for the elders to be concerned. Likewise because of the “self serving” nature of WL’s account it also, at the very least, has the appearance of evil.

If a person is a liar you treat them differently, I am no longer interested in what you say but rather what you do. As a result my question is “did WL deny the Lord with his works”?

To me, all of these symptoms of spiritual abuse are really symptoms of a false teacher.

[Ohio]

Originally Posted by ZNPaaneah

Titus 1:16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and to every good work reprobate.

I don’t care that WL “professed to know God”, I am concerned with his works. Did he deny the Lord with his works?

Were his works abominable, causing moral revulsion? Several of the stories on this forum have caused me moral revulsion. “He that condemns the righteous and he that justifies the wicked. Both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.” Proverbs 17.15

Since the time I first read John Ingalls account "Speaking The Truth In Love," there began to grow within a certain moral revulsion to the activities of Witness Lee, his family, and his most ardent supporters. How could Lee condemn Ingalls and other godly men as "leprous rebels" for speaking the truth in order to protect God's children? How could Lee protect his own sons from criminal and moral culpability?

This verse in Proverbs 17.15 speak volumes. "He (specifically Witness Lee in meetings recorded in "Fermentation of the Present Rebellion") that condemns the righteous (that is John Ingalls and the other elders in Anaheim) and he (once again Witness Lee and his closest co-workers) that justifies the wicked (specifically his profligate son Philip Lee who more than once was caught molesting sisters in the act of adultery.) Both of them (Witness Lee is guilty on both counts) alike are an abomination to the Lord.

Anyone who lived through that awful period in the Recovery in the late 80's and early 90's should read John Ingalls' account of events in the light of this scripture.

[ZNPaaneah]

Do you agree that by his works WL denied God?

[Ohio]

Originally Posted by ZNPaaneah

Do you agree that by his works WL denied God?

I think so. Proverbs 17.15 is quite convicting: "He that justifies the wicked, and he that condemns the righteous, Both of them alike are an abomination to Jehovah." The Lord calls what happened with Philip Lee and John Ingalls an "abomination." That's one of those words in the Bible that raises eyebrows, and looking into all the facts surrounding this case, there has never been so obvious a conclusion. Witness Lee condemned the righteous John Ingalls and justified his wicked son Philip. There's just not another way to look at this. Proverbs tells us how the Lord considers these actions by Witness Lee an abomination.

This New Testament verse parallels the proverb -- Titus 1:16 "They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and to every good work reprobate. Witness Lee's works surrounding all the so-called storms in the Recovery now define him.

Let me give another of my bad examples based on recent events in the forefront of national news. Since I was born and raised in Cleveland's west side, perhaps these events are more striking to me, but there is some analogy to be drawn. For years this Castro perp has lived a life apparently well liked by all his peers. He was charming and charismatic to young and old alike. Then one day we all discover that he had locked up a few girls in the basement of his house.

I noticed that no one is now minimizing his "misdeeds" with the usual excuses such as "nobody is perfect, we all make mistakes, give the guy a break, everyone is entitled to a second chance, this is America after all." None such talk. Why? Because young girls got hurt. Over a long period of time. Seriously and irreparably hurt. He schemed and connived his selfish interests at the expense of others' lives. No one will ever look back and say that ole Castro was a great guy, drove a school bus, loved kids, and was liked by everybody. All that will be forgotten. They will only remember the pain of the lives he destroyed.

Such it is with Witness Lee. In order to protect his wayward sons, he was willing to conceive the most horrendous of schemes. He would sacrifice hundreds of God's children, willing to destroy their integrity, in craftiness devising deceptions to ruin them and thus condemn the righteous, while maintaining the singular goal of preserving the family name, even though that family was plagued with wickedness. The Lord called this an abomination. The apostle Paul said that "by their works they deny Him."

[ZNPaaneah]

Thanks for a great response.

Next question. The Lord said "you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free". This thread is about the abuse of power of church authority/hierarchy. These many symptoms have been provided because of the close correlation to what is happening in many LRC churches. Do you think knowing the truth concerning WL will result in saints being "set free"?

[ZNPaaneah]

Originally Posted by Ohio

Such it is with Witness Lee. In order to protect his wayward sons, he was willing to conceive the most horrendous of schemes. He would sacrifice hundreds of God's children, willing to destroy their integrity, in craftiness devising deceptions to ruin them and thus condemn the righteous, while maintaining the singular goal of preserving the family name, even though that family was plagued with wickedness. The Lord called this an abomination. The apostle Paul said that "by their works they deny Him."

Well, if you agree that Titus 1:16 applies to Witness Lee, then do you also agree that
Titus 1:10 For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:
1:11 Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.

Also applies to Witness Lee? From the context these verses by Paul apply to the same people.

Unruly -- similar to disobedient or litigious
Vain Talkers -- could refer to the doctrine of "one church one city" and also the "MOTA"
Deceivers -- could refer to some of the more abominable acts of WL as well as the story of WN's excommunication.
"for filthy lucre's sake" -- could refer to DayStar, LSM, and other schemes