Regarding Tom McNaughton (Toledo)

[UntoHim]

I've been informed by sources whom I consider reliable that brother Tom McNaughton who contributed to the Local Church Discussions Forum under the moniker of "Toledo" passed away within the past few days in Toledo, Ohio.

Tom was about 70 years old & served full-time among the Great Lakes area (GLA) local churches--Cleveland, Detroit, Columbus & Toledo--for many years, beginning in the mid/late 1980s. I'm sure many believers in the Great lakes area local churches have fond memories of Brother Tom, his sharp wit & insightful comments.

Among GLA churches Tom was one of the few believers who was proficient in NT Greek and he made it clear (in discreet ways) when ministering brothers (who were much less proficient in Greek) tried to buttress dubious doctrines with a façade of less-than-scholarly Greek.

Tom McNaughton was a decorated Vietnam war Veteran who served his country proudly. Due to this he suffered frequent pain over many decades, nevertheless he remained a loyal & cheerful follower of Jesus Christ who has now "finished his course & kept the faith."

" 'Til we meet again, on the other side"

Nigel Tomes

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[UntoHim]

Toledo's Last Post 1/18/2015

Originally Posted by OBW

Lord's recovery. ...The Lord's recovery is a designator for the sect of people who follow the ideologies of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, declare that the only true church is the one that stands "on the ground of locality," accept that they are becoming God in life and nature, but not Godhead, and believe that the trinity, though true, and therefore three, is irrelevant because they are "simply" one. And if they do not agree to excommunicate Titus Chu and others who did not follow the unscriptural decrees, such as the Phoenix Accord, they are themselves cut off.

And then the legal team goes to work to "recover" the name (that they don't have) from the excommunicated group so that they can declare another lampstand in that city and call themselves by the "proper" no-name name. Oh, and try to sue for the property of the local assembly (the assembly that was at least once local in administration) by claiming more than local administration.

Ouch, now THAT's gonna leave a mark...!

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[Amcasci]

So...is Tom dead or alive? I am trying to let in touch with him. He apparently has a law practice that is alive. I have a phone number and the voice on the machine sounds like Tom.

[Ohio]

Originally Posted by Amcasci

So...is Tom dead or alive? I am trying to let in touch with him. He apparently has a law practice that is alive. I have a phone number and the voice on the machine sounds like Tom.

Tom passed away on Saturday.

[aron]

Originally Posted by Ohio

Tom passed away on Saturday.

RIP brother Tom. I remember Ohio's story about him: "I'm not late, I'm married"; even Titus Chu had to laugh.

Oh that we could all get to the other side of this damn thing, where we could laugh together and not fight over names and doctrines. May God have mercy, "until we all arrive together..."

[Amcasci]

Christ is risen! O death where is your sting!

I am saddened by the home going of Tom. Tom was the director of a jesus people house in Newark Ohio when I met hi. He was insturmental in my life in 1971. I hooked up with the LC first and I actually was then insturmental in Tom, Karen and a few others coming to Akron. Only days ago I finally got a phone number for him and called and left a message on his machine. dear Tom I look forward to seeing you again. I should add that Tom kept me going into the children of God movement which surely would have been the end of me.

I am sorry but I have to go on. Tom was so very alive, had a keen mind. He actually enlisted in the army so he could be an officer instead of a grunt. He saw much horror. I remember him telling me how terrifying it was to hear mortar shells on the way and how helpless it felt.

I am so happy to have know Tom.

Does anyone know of his brother Jim? He was a character and quite different from Tom. I hope Jim is doing ok.
Te Deum Laudamus

Art

[Ohio]

Originally Posted by aron

RIP brother Tom. I remember Ohio's story about him: "I'm not late, I'm married"; even Titus Chu had to laugh.

Oh that we could all get to the other side of this damn thing, where we could laugh together and not fight over names and doctrines. May God have mercy, "until we all arrive together..."

Tom could have been a stand up comic, but instead he used his gift to help others in the Lord.

I remember being in a GLA leaders' meeting of some sort, and prayer (Amen!, Amen!, Amen!) was being commented on. Tom, in one of his famous quips, whispers to the few around him "we pray in 6.7.6.7 meter."

That simple comment helped me, and helped to deliver me from man-pleasing, programmed public prayers.

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Just to clarify something. The moniker pic on Tom's page. It was not him. But he did live in Toledo.

[VoiceInWilderness]

Here's a couple more stories about brother Tom:

A brother wrote RK around 1998, a little bit after brother Lee went to be with the Lord, with some concerns about the Lord's Recovery.
RK wrote back with a registered letter, which addressed none of the brother's concerns at all, but instead asked him 7 questions.
One of RK's questions was: Is it not true that in your living room someone stated, "The brothers in Anaheim can't share their way out of a paper bag?" What was your reaction?
Of course, that was Tom that made the statement quoted by RK.
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April 25, 2015
Remembering my dear brother in Christ Tom McNaughton.
My first meeting with brother Tom was in the spring of 1974. A dear brother, Virgil who worked in Akron came up to the Cleveland branch warehouse on a monday where I was working. He and I had great fellowship and he shared Christ with me for over an hour. It was the best lunch break I ever had. He told me about the meetings and I asked if I could go to one. He said it so happens that the church is having a love feast and gospel meeting this coming Saturday night. Sure enough on Saturday at 5:45 P.M. Virgil pulled into the driveway at my mother' house not far from Cleveland Hopkins Airport. Later I found out he drove all the way from Akron just to pick me up. We had a great love feast with lots of shining faces. After the love feast the chairs were all arranged in concentric circles. I sat in the last row of 3 rows. We sang and had a good time. Then I look to my left and seated 2 chairs away was this little brother in jeans and a red lumberjack shirt smiling, stomping his feet and playing the washboard, yes the washboard with a spoon. I asked him "what is that?" he responded "a spoon." We both laughed so hard. The whole place was quaking with joy. The enjoyment of the Lord was so dense that you could pick Him out of the air like picking fruit off a tree. Brother Tom was grinning from ear to ear. After a few supplement songs I had to ask him "could I play that?" and he answered with a 1,000 watt grin "no". He said "just enjoy" and I said okay. Then after a few weeks Tom started appearing at the warehouse. You see he at the time was an IBM repairman and came to fix the Selectric typewriters. We often made it a habit to find one another and fellowship for a few minutes. His IQ must have been pretty high. He learned law to be an attorney, learned Greek and some Hebrew. He once mentioned around 1979 maybe, that he was going to take a speed reading course and wondered if I wanted to join him and I said no - I soon regretted that decision. He was in my mind "a character who just loved Jesus." There are so many other stories but let it suffice to say, I surely loved and appreciated his labor on me and others throughout the years till his departure. I will be glad to testify how he helped me in the positive ways when we both stand before the judgment seat of Christ in the near future.
May the Lord bless his entire family in the coming years.
~
Jim W. Strieter,
Ohio
Contact Me
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[TLFisher]

In 2009 there was a conference in Raleigh, NC Steve Isitt attended as did Tom McNaughton. It was during this conference Tom revealed to Steve that a son of Tom's asked Tom about Steve's writings. Tom's response to his son was Steve's writings are right on.
Sometime after the infamous Ambato International Conference (where Ron Kangas refers to Steve Isitt as a man of death), Tom (aka Toledo) posted on the forum regarding Steve,
http://localchurchdiscussions.com/vB...=9268#post9268