James Barber - History of Witness Lee

[Freedom]

Originally Posted by NewManLiving

Brent Barber
...A bigger unrighteousness which no one else has discussed is the fact that Philip Lee and the grandsons of Lee had fat Swiss bank accounts which were slush funds from the Living Stream. I know this because my dad told me directly. By the early 80's just before he died, my dad had grown so weary of Philip's shenanigans that he openly discussed it. I was living in Anaheim just before he died and he would stop off at my place when he came into town for the big "elder’s" conventions they had in those days.
He would rip into all the phony pretension and strutting around going on [per Philip]. He could not have been more bored and disinterested. He yucked it up with me a lot during that time and it was the only period when he was honest about everything. He died later that year. I know that he was severely disappointed and disillusoned at the way his dream had turned out. He saw it was a sham, but had nowhere else to go.

I find it to be very significant that James Barber would become disillusioned with the LC towards the end of his life. By all indications, he was one who played a significant role in defining the LCM even as we know it to this day. Earlier today, aron posted an interesting excerpt from Don's book on a different thread: "As I [Don] came to know brother Lee more, I did notice a difference between his public persona and the way he treated different individuals. Publicly, sometimes he got into hyperbole. He would say something extreme and some of the more extreme personality types would take off with it." Notice what Don says about extreme personalities taking off with things that WL said. It is my impression that James Barber was this type of person.

Ohio referred to James as someone full of zeal. After I listened to the recording, that is the view of James that I walked away with. Ultimately, extreme personalities are what it takes to create a movement like the LC. I'm not here to try to determine who to blame for the more bizarre aspects of the LC, but it took more than Lee to make it all happen. A lot has been said about the strong 'Texas' influence in the beginning of the LC. I think that was definitely a factor.

What makes James' eventual disillusionment so significant is that he attempted to distance himself from the monster that he helped create. According to his son, James eventually realized that it was all a farce. Considering just how many who helped start the movement eventually left or were ousted, it really speaks louder than any words about the problems of the LC. Let me put it this way - the current blendeds have given their lives to a movement that eventually turned on some founding members, a movement which other founding members became significantly disillusioned with.