LC Raised Child - Spiritual warfare in household (Help!)

[Ohio]

Welcome ByHisGrace to the forum!

I read with sorrow the difficult predicament you are in. I encourage you to love your family, remembering all the good things about them, while focusing on following Jesus the Lord and His word. It is probably impossible for a child to convince her parents that they are wrong, I know because I tried to do the same thing 40 years ago when I first met with the LC's. Tragically my Mom died suddenly while we were still somewhat in conflict over teachings emphasized by Lee. For years I have lived with those regrets.

The LC teaches that their church supersedes family, and that one must choose the LC over one's own children. They twist the scripture to arrive at this conclusion. I encourage you to love them, and focus on Jesus and the Bible, and try to remain above all the petty conflicts. Ask your boyfriend not to stir up your anger towards your family in the LC by giving you all the bad news about their church. Remember they do love the Lord, and they helped you to love the Lord. You must be most grateful for them! How much better than being a Buddhist or a Mooslem?

Please read scriptures like Romans 14 and I Corinthians chapters 1-3, which teach you to accept other Christians who practice differently than you do. These same conflicts existed in the early church over celebrating holidays, and following different ministers. The Bible teaches us to love one another even when they have different teachings and practices.

All this is possible ByHisGrace! The Lord bless you and keep you!

[aron]

Originally Posted by Ohio

The LC teaches that their church supersedes family, and that one must choose the LC over one's own children.

While I agree somewhat with Ohio's statement, my impression of Asian culture is that family ties in practice can over-ride even church commitment. I have as my example none other than Witness Lee himself, who repeatedly chose his sons over the best interests of the church. At one point when the elders protested that he made his son Philip an executive in the LSM, he replied, "If I want to hire an unbeliever as my personal chef, that is my business." Witness Lee put his family first, and no one could stop him.

So our new friend here has this advantage. As long as you (BHG) are not adversarial toward your parents, they will respect your desire for some spiritual independence. Just tell them that you are considering things. Allow some space to come in.

Your boyfriend was operating from a position of strength in fellowship with you, because he was not under the authority of the LC. You need to do the same. Establish spiritual independence, while maintaining friendly relations with your family. Remember that if your family sees in you a spirit of meekness, per 2 Tim 2:25, they will remain calm and not be threatened by your attempts to seek growth outside LC environs.

Do not become antagonistic! That is my only advice. (this is from one who has failed many times. But I can still repent, and learn!)

[New Beginnings]

I will be praying for you sister!

[TLFisher]

Originally Posted by aron

Do not become antagonistic! That is my only advice. (this is from one who has failed many times. But I can still repent, and learn!)

Thanks Aron. That's good advice I need to heed. At times I do feel myself having antagonistic impulses in regard to relationship with my parents in regard to the local churches.

[NewManLiving]

A Future and A Hope is one book that may offer some help. Once your eyes are opened to see that the centrality of Christ has become the centrality of Witness Lee you can never "not see it" as your love for the Lord Himself will not permit you to. The Father loves the Son dearly and has given Him the first place in all things - we to must love Him above everything including any ministry no matter how excellent or otherwise it may seem.

Sadly, to me, the local church seems to have become a profitable publishing house run by executives that have managed to build their own customer base called LSM churches, while effectively quashing the competition. I do hope I'm wrong

The book URL
http://assemblylife.com

[ByHisGrace]

Originally Posted by NewManLiving

Sadly, to me, the local church seems to have become a profitable publishing house run by executives that have managed to build their own customer base called LSM churches, while effectively quashing the competition. I do hope I'm wrong

The book URL
http://assemblylife.com

Thank you NML for sharing this book. I like how it's more recent than some of the other books I've looked at

Yes, many LC members take pride of the fact that a donation bag isn't passed around at every Lord's day meeting, but someone pointed out to me that buying the LSM books are actually mandatory donations haha If we don't buy them, we can't keep up with everyone and can't follow or participate in the meetings!

[TLFisher]

Originally Posted by ByHisGrace

Yes, many LC members take pride of the fact that a donation bag isn't passed around at every Lord's day meeting, but someone pointed out to me that buying the LSM books are actually mandatory donations haha If we don't buy them, we can't keep up with everyone and can't follow or participate in the meetings!

I guess it depends on one's perspective. In a community church, I have no reluctance in giving. There's transparency in missionaries, ministries, and charities the church supports financially.
In the local churches, I did have reluctance. I did not have the peace how the money would be used. Leading up to the Harvest House litigation, elders would pledge how much their locality could give towards the lawsuit. No, thank you.

[ByHisGrace]

Originally Posted by aron

While I agree somewhat with Ohio's statement, my impression of Asian culture is that family ties in practice can over-ride even church commitment. I have as my example none other than Witness Lee himself, who repeatedly chose his sons over the best interests of the church. At one point when the elders protested that he made his son Philip an executive in the LSM, he replied, "If I want to hire an unbeliever as my personal chef, that is my business." Witness Lee put his family first, and no one could stop him.

So our new friend here has this advantage. As long as you (BHG) are not adversarial toward your parents, they will respect your desire for some spiritual independence. Just tell them that you are considering things. Allow some space to come in.

Your boyfriend was operating from a position of strength in fellowship with you, because he was not under the authority of the LC. You need to do the same. Establish spiritual independence, while maintaining friendly relations with your family. Remember that if your family sees in you a spirit of meekness, per 2 Tim 2:25, they will remain calm and not be threatened by your attempts to seek growth outside LC environs.

Do not become antagonistic! That is my only advice. (this is from one who has failed many times. But I can still repent, and learn!)

Hi Aron, you do bring up a good point :P My dad WOULD put down his LC obligations if I insist. He is a shepherding one, so it's difficult for him to fully break away for too long but he would if it's very important.

Yes, I fail at remaining calm a lot of the times and I do repent for that Thank you for your kind reminder

I am actually most concerned with my relationship situation. As an obedient asian girl who really wants to make her parents happy, it's difficult for me to have parents who disapprove who I date and potentially marry. I guess God has a plan for us all through this experience. We all need some adversity to help us shed our old selves and turn to the Lord. I must admit, I have never been so interested in digging into the scriptures before this contentious matter arose.

So I suppose, Praise the Lord! And thank you all for your support. If anyone has a similar experience and would like to share, please do!

All your testimonies have been a real encouragement because it's difficult to confide in people who don't understand what I've been through and not many people can!!

[ByHisGrace]

Originally Posted by Ohio

Please read scriptures like Romans 14 and I Corinthians chapters 1-3, which teach you to accept other Christians who practice differently than you do. These same conflicts existed in the early church over celebrating holidays, and following different ministers. The Bible teaches us to love one another even when they have different teachings and practices.

Thank you for your swift response and words of encouragement Ohio!
I'm so sorry for what happened to your mother, I do fear that something like that might happen. Especially now that they're getting to that age where they really need to watch their health. My dad and I have both been affected, health-wise, by this ongoing conflict.

Thank you also for sharing scripture with me, I will definitely mark them down

And yes, my boyfriend avoided my parents for awhile because of the conflicts - only to be told that he doesn't care about them or respect them Otherwise, he has to face interrogation from my dad. This has gotten a lot better though, after my own deterioration of health, but the vibe is still there. (If you know what I mean)

[TLFisher]

Originally Posted by Ohio

We
Please read scriptures like Romans 14 and I Corinthians chapters 1-3, which teach you to accept other Christians who practice differently than you do. These same conflicts existed in the early church over celebrating holidays, and following different ministers. The Bible teaches us to love one another even when they have different teachings and practices.

All this is possible ByHisGrace! The Lord bless you and keep you!

Love your neighbor as yourself...there's no conditional word as in Luke 6:32. I think to love your neighbor bears significance being quoted 9 times in the Bible (Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 5:43, 19:19, 22:39, Mark 12:31, Luke 10:27, Romans 13:9, Galatians 5:14, and James 2:8).
In our regard for fellow members of the Body of Christ, I would recommend 1 Corinthians 12 & 13.