I love the local church

[Cal]

Originally Posted by SavedbyGrace

And, I oppose Christianity as a system too. It is the same as the Pharisees turning the commandments into a 'system'. If you want to argue even the Lord's Recovery has become a system, I would agree that it may be true in some local churches (but not everywhere). But, I also agree with Br. Lee that the 'system'/'religion' of Christianity is incorrect.

Nowhere does the Bible condemn systems per se. Everything is a system. LSM is a system, your local church is a system. Even the Body of Christ is a system. It's just the Lord's system. If I study the Bible systematically, that's a system. Since when is that a bad thing?

"System" is one of those bugaboo words that Lee set us against. The question is not whether something is a system, because everything is. The question is what kind of system is it and is it compatible with the Holy Spirit.

Being against "systems" allows you to condemn Christianity as a system, but exempt your own movement from being one, even though both are.

Like I said, the Bible doesn't condemn systems. Ephesians 4:14 condemns a "system of error," but that's "of error."

Condemning systems for being systems is just sloppy thinking.

[Cal]

Every Christian movement and group is some kind of system. They just have different rules and expected behaviors. But the LRC is no different than any other Christian organization in that respect. Just because a group has the Holy Spirit doesn't mean it is not a system. And just because it's a system does not exempt the Holy Spirit. God made us with a tendency to develop systems. That's how we stay organized and know, more or less, what to expect from day to day. What, are we supposed to be utterly spontaneous in every respect? You have scheduled meeting times, right? That's a system. You organize your day, correct? That's a system, too.

I could go on, but I hope I've made my point.