Whistleblower

[Nell]

History of Sexual Abuse in the Local Church

This is the earliest instance of sexual immorality, known to me, in the Local Church. Watchman Nee's immorality was not made public until the last few years. Witness Lee's son, Philip was a predator and was reported by the sister in "the office" to John Ingalls as described below. The events that followed resulted in a disaster in the Church in Anaheim which included the excommunication of Philip Lee. In another instance, a brother walked in on Philip and a sister in "the office." The brother was devastated and reported what he saw to Max Rapoport.

In the cases I will bring to the forefront, Witness Lee's solution was a coverup. We can also surmise that the situation continues today because of Lee's disastrous failures.

I have heard stories about sexual immorality in the Local Churches for years. Some of you have probably heard stories as well.

Below are excerpts from Speaking the Truth in Love by John Ingalls which is posted on this forum here where the elders attempted to reason with Lee on the seriousness of his son's behavior and the need to deal with his son. I also have a copy of this story which was reported in the Los Angeles Times.

John Ingalls (deceased) and Godfred Otuteye were elders in the Church in Anaheim at the time.

A SHOCKING DEVELOPMENT
September 1987

On the following Tuesday, Sept. 29th, Godfred (Otuteye – O two tay) left for a business trip to Europe. On the next day, Wednesday, Sept. 30th, I received a telephone call from a sister who had a prominent position in the Living Stream Ministry Office, asking if she could see me that night. I consented. That evening she sat in my living room and with tears opened her heart to me. She had served sacrificially and faithfully for many years in the LSM office, and now she said she could not tolerate anymore the gross misconduct that was being perpetrated upon some and especially upon her. I had been acquainted with this sister for many years and knew her to be faithful, upright, and trustworthy; therefore, I took her word very seriously. I was amazed that she could put up with such conduct for so long. She stated that she tolerated it only for the sake of Brother Lee and his ministry. She said that she had no other recourse but to resign. I confirmed her intention.

That conversation utterly shocked me. I deeply felt that something must be done to acquaint Brother Lee with the situation and to let him know that we would not tolerate it. I obtained Godfred’s telephone number in Europe and called him a soon as the difference in time zones permitted, telling him the things that had come to my ears. Godfred listened and said that he already knew it. I was amazed. That night I considered what could be done. That we had to go to Brother Lee I was certain.
...

PART TWO
ANOTHER SHOCKING DEVELOPMENT
December 19,1987

In the morning of December 19, just before Ken and I were to leave for Texas that afternoon, the sister from the LSM office who had spoken to me on September 30th (see page 10) called and asked to speak to Godfred and me. We met with her and were utterly amazed at what we heard. She began to relate to us in detail some of the things she suffered while in the service of the LSM office. She wanted us to realize how grave the problem was. We were revulsed to the depths of our being, and when the conversation ended and we parted, we so full of abhorrent feelings that we were literally in a daze.

Godfred drove me to the airport to meet Ken. We were in a state of shock and utter disgust. All this had taken place in what we called the Lord’s recovery! We felt that Benson Phillips and Ray Graver, who were deeply involved in the LSM operation, must surely know something of these matters. Therefore, we resolved to confer with them about this when we got to Irving.

...

At this time Witness Lee could have put a leash on his son Philip but he did not.

More to come.

Nell

[awareness]

Good post and quotes Nell.

I'm nervous to even bring this up.

Don Hardy was very close with Witness Lee and his family. In a long list of emails he tells goings-on that would pop your eyeballs out, of all kinds on sexual goings-on at the top level of the LC.

Years ago I got a copy of them and wanted to share them with exLCers I'm still friends with. So I put them up on my domain, thinking to send the specific link to my friends, and not the whole WWW.

But that darn Google Spider found the page, so that they showed up if anyone searched for Don Hardy. And lo and behold brother Hardy found them. I was told I had to take them down.

And I did right away. Why? Because of fear of lawsuits by the Lee corporate system, and legal department, aka Defense and Confirmation Project, Inc - DCP.

The practice of suing their critics works to shut down the ugly truth of what really goes on at the top levels of the LC.

The practice of covering up sexual abuse, like what we see with the pedophile priest in the RCC, to protect the image and reputation of the institution, happens also in the local church.

So sister Nell, the information you shared from Speaking the Truth in Love, by John Ingalls, who was also close with the top inner circle, has been covered up in the local church, just as Don Hardy's revelations of the inner goings-on is covered up. And, btw, Lily Hsu's book, "My Unforgettable Memories - Watchman Nee and Shanghai Local Church," that reveals the sexual infractions by Nee, is also hidden from those in the local church.

Maybe that's because they know, "the truth shall set you free." Like it did to the very close co-workers of Witness Lee, when Lee and Co. was covering up Philip Lee ... and btw, the cover up of Lee's other son, Timothy Lee. His sexual infractions, with married sisters, is hardly mentioned anywhere. Hardy tells of them, because he caught Tim with is wife - now ex-wife. And Witness knew of it for 9 years, and told Hardy's wife to keep it secret.

If you ask me, Lee brought Nee's ministry to America, and Lee's sons brought Nee's sexual practices to America. Even tho it was known to at least 2500 in Shanghai, when Nee confessed, Witness Lee covered that up too.

Some "Recovery" that is.

Thanks again Nell.

Harold

[Nell]

Thanks Harold. If you still have that Don Hardy information you might consider posting it here.

Nell

[Indiana]

Originally Posted by awareness

Bless you Nell for bringing up this matter.

And you are right, sexual abuse should be reported.

Does it happen in the local church? Yes. Even the founder of the local church, Watchman Nee, admitted to sexual abuse, and rape of sisters. He spent 20 years in prison for that, and illegal business crimes.

Seems power and sexual abuse run together.

Anyway, it can happen anywhere, and by those no one would ever expect.

And it should be reported, no matter of position and power.

Thanks again Nell.

I hadn't known about Nee having a serious moral problem till I read Lily Hsu's book. You could feel her deep sentiment and heavy heart in addressing the tumult that had left the church badly shaken involving her brother in Christ, Watchman Nee, and two of her sisters in the Lord - in incidents she determined to share candidly, and carefully. I have never heard of, or experienced, such a devastating scene of disillusionment and sadness in the church as what Lily depicts and brings to light regarding both government and church judgment in an upheaval and exposure of their brother of high regard, Ni Tuosheng.

Book: My Memories of Watchman Nee and the Shanghai Local Church

The opening quote stunned me when I first read it, and unless I missed something about Nee's sentencing, i think the report could be meaningfully adjusted for accuracy's sake, if someone has enough confidence in what could be changed. (And what I have shared here, or will share, someone please adjust, if necessary, for even a small point or mis-impression on this, a most humanly sensitive subject, on a potentially volatile thread.)

[awareness]

Originally Posted by Indiana

Book: My Memories of Watchman Nee and the Shanghai Local Church

There's a thread on it here on LCD :
http://localchurchdiscussions.com/vB...ht=lily&page=4

[Nell]

More from John Ingalls' Speaking the Truth in Love

ELDERS’ MEETINGS AND FELLOWSHIP WITH BROTHERS IN IRVING, TEXAS
December 1987

On Saturday afternoon, December 19th Ken Unger and I flew to Irving. I did not relate to him what the sister from the LSM office had just told us. On Monday, December 21st, we made an appointment to see Benson Phillips and Ray Graver in the morning. Having been intimate co-workers with them for many years, and knowing that they were aware of many things, we mentioned the concerns that we had presented to Brother Lee on December 12th, excluding the matter of the misconduct in the LSM office. We wanted especially to let them know how strongly we felt regarding the colossal mistake they had made in promoting and exalting the office and Philip Lee, starting in 1981. They said that they did not feel they had erred much. This really surprised and disappointed us. We tried to impress them how serious this matter was. They invited us out for dinner, and we decided to meet again in the afternoon to continue our fellowship.

Upon coming together we attempted amid protests to mention the matter of the misconduct in the LSM office. They steadfastly refused to hear about it, but we proceeded to speak. Ray Graver then quickly rose and exited the room. Benson (in whose home we were meeting) also rose to register his displeasure. We felt that they had knowledge relevant to the matter and wanted to confer with them about it. Benson admitted that the same sister from the LSM office (mentioned previously) had come to him in Taipei to disclose a related event, but he strongly protested our bringing this matter before them. They argued that this affair was exclusively under the jurisdiction of the church in Anaheim, and they had no business being involved. We felt, as we mentioned earlier, that it was more than local, and that since that they were leaders in the LSM operation, they could be consulted. Some time later, however, I apologized to Benson and Ray for this, feeling that if they chose not to hear, we should not have forced the issue.

Note that when the Church in Houston "disciplined" Jane Anderson as she described in her book, Benson had no problem attending this "kangaroo court" from his "locality" which at the time was Dallas. I suppose this "affair" was not exclusively under the jurisdiction of the Church in Houston, and that "jurisdiction" changes at the whim of the elders or at the convenience of the elders.

Nell

[Ohio]

Originally Posted by Nell

They argued that this affair was exclusively under the jurisdiction of the church in Anaheim, and they had no business being involved. We felt, as we mentioned earlier, that it was more than local, and that since that they were leaders in the LSM operation, they could be consulted. Some time later, however, I apologized to Benson and Ray for this, feeling that if they chose not to hear, we should not have forced the issue. -- John Ingalls

Note that when the Church in Houston "disciplined" Jane Anderson as she described in her book, Benson had no problem attending this "kangaroo court" from his "locality" which at the time was Dallas. I suppose this "affair" was not exclusively under the jurisdiction of the Church in Houston, and that "jurisdiction" changes at the whim of the elders or at the convenience of the elders. -- Nell

Hypocrites!

They went to Whistler ski resort in BC, Canada to Quarantine Titus Chu and the Midwest.

They quarantined Dong Yu Lan from their LaPalma offices.

They play this "locality game" whenever it's convenient for them.

They later said that Philip Lee could not be disciplined by the Anaheim elders because he worked at LSM, and was not able to meet with the church there.

"Woe to you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and self-indulgence." -- Mt 23.25

[TLFisher]

Originally Posted by Nell

"jurisdiction" changes at the whim of the elders or at the convenience of the elders.

Absolutely! Just like wind, jurisdiction can change at a moments notice. In one breath "it's a body matter" and in the next breath "it's a local matter". Whichever is politically beneficial for the brothers at that moment.

[awareness]

Originally Posted by Nell

Thanks Harold. If you still have that Don Hardy information you might consider posting it here.

Nell

I wouldn't without Don Hardy's permission. However, hit me in PM.