Healthy Submission vs. Lording it over

[Ohio]

On another post, UntoHim wrote this:

Maybe part of the recovery process for ex members should be a cold, hard assessment of how it is they fell pray to this kind of control, maybe helping them and their loved ones to avoid such pitfalls in the future. I understand fully why ex members are kind of resistant to this kind of painful introspection...it ain't real fun, especially when you are going it alone.

Which prompted me to consider my own history in the LC's, so I posted this testimony:

When I first entered the LC's in the mid 70's in Cleveland, I truly was filled in the Spirit thru the fellowship in the meetings. They truly were life-changing to me in so many ways. I tasted and experienced something purely divine according to God's word, and the normal result in my heart was to submit myself to these ones in the fear of God. From where I was coming from, firstly the RCC and then headlong into the world, this all was new territory for me. The exceeding great joy within produced the fruit of submission in me, and that in itself was a great miracle.

Within a very short time, LSM operatives had begun to take advantage of this godly submission within me and others. By the summer of '77, I was literally told by an older Cleveland brother that, " get yourself ready, you are in the Lord's army, He is moving to the campuses, and you will be told where to move to." Here you can see the effect LSM had upon the LC's, with shepherding brothers reinforcing LSM directives, all at the expense of the young saints, whose only desire was to be pleasing to the Lord.

Slowly, as time passed by, the level of joy slowly subsided, while the levels of control and mistreatment ratcheted up. Sometimes the changes were imperceptible, other times, like during the "new way," radical changes were disguised by "spiritual talk." Of course, each person's character and context was slightly different, and each had his own acceptable limits.

I place nearly all the responsibility squarely on the leaders. They took advantage of God's heritage. Shame on them. Shame on all the evil workers who have hurt God's children. They have become savage wolves preying on God's sheep. (Acts 20.29)

I still think this topic is a valuable one to explore. I have discussed this topic elsewhere with saints, and they had a similar story -- feeling that our "healthy submission" was taken advantage of over time and, in many cases, replaced by a "lording it over." I personally feel that understanding the dynamics here, will help to explain so many issues surrounding LC'ers -- explaining why many stay and why I stayed so long.

As UntoHim originally posted, we do need an "assessment of how it is [we] fell prey to this kind of control." Or as I have said often before, "how could something so good become so bad." I welcome any and all comments. Even to this somewhat provocative phrase "so good."