The LCS Factor

[Paul Cox]

The Church is the Body of Christ. And, of course, the Living Stream Church all but says they are exclusively THE Body of Christ. When addressing problems in the Body, we must look at specific symptoms, and then find out what the systemic problem is, as there is almost always a systemic problem leading to ill health, baring some type of trauma.

If I presented to a doctor, and she or he found a lump in my chest, she or he would, or should, move with all haste to find out what is my root problem. It would be malpractice for them to set back and say, “Okay, now we need to observe what good health problems you have to offset your lump, so we can have a balanced view of what’s going on in your body.” This may be an example full of holes, but I think you get my point.

I see forums, and more specifically threads like this as a lab to find out what was the systemic problem in the Local Church, a system many of us dedicated decades of our lives to. This thread is certainly not supposed to be a fair and balanced view of the Local Church. It’s a thread about spiritual abuse in the Local Church. Excuse me but defending certain localities is altogether besides the point.

There is nothing stated or practiced by any of the Living Stream Church that would indicate that any of them stands alone, and therefore are immune to criticism of the entire LSM. They all stand as one with clinched, raised fist, saying loud AMENS to Anaheim. They do this at least for the two trainings, and the so-called “Seven feasts.” Without exception, every locality which remains loyal to Anaheim has a part in this.

Regardless of what can be said positive about any of the localities, I think abuse was widespread, and there is a systemic problem that addresses it. More than anything, it can probably all be traced back to the “sold out” view with which most hold Witness Lee, his ministry, and his self-appointed successors, “The Blended Brothers.”

Once we have identified the systemic problem then we can start to understand what happened to us. We can also learn what to avoid in the future. But most importantly, our posts and conclusions can serve as a warning and a help to those who maybe considering an entry into the Living Stream Church, and also those who are starting to question, and investigate sites such as this, for their eventual exit. To the later I would certainly say lay the axe, maybe not to the whole group, but certainly to your connection. And yes, run, run as fast as you can in the other direction. It’s a grand deception and most are held under the spell (Gal. 3:1) of Witness Lee.

One of the problems on the other forum was the persistent work by some to torpedo any effort to expose the LSM and its leadership, and its churches. You start a thread pertinent to the issues of the Local Church, and an appeaser would come along and take aim at you, instead of addressing the issue. That’s why I’ve said goodbye to that stagnation for good. It’s becoming almost impossible to get any traction on any subject without appeasers coming along to spoil everything, and imply that we all should just forget everything, and join hands in kumbaya.

I believe we should stay on track. This is a discussion forum about the Local Churches, and this is a thread about spiritual abuse in that group. It’s not about abuse in the denominations, neither is it a discussion about abuse and misbehavior in other Christian groups. Other venues take up these subjects more than adequately. No need to be fair and balanced here. The “baaaaaaady” is sick. Let’s not pull any punches in diagnosing the problems.

Roger