Curious!

[Ohio]

Originally Posted by Curious

Domination
Intimidation
Manipulation...

The three ways of ungodly control….together they make the word DIM, and yes, the light gets very DIM indeed under these three means of control.

Let's discuss the practice of Intimidation in the Recovery. Lots has been written about the LC method of rebuking, public shaming, humiliating others ... supposedly done in order to "perfect" other brothers.

According to the history of the "Recovery" given to us by Lee himself, this practice of strong rebukes had its origin with a missionary sister named Margaret Barber in China. She used this "recovered" practice to perfect W. Nee, who alone could endure her extremely harsh rebukes. Thus W. Nee was matured for Christian ministry. I'm not making any of this up, I heard this from Lee on numerous occasions.

Though probably none of us were there to witness either Barber's or Nee's public practice of rebuking the other brothers, some were there with Lee, and I was there with TC. Each referenced his own practices to the "recovered" precedent he had received. Personally I watched an elder close to me dramatically change after beginning to serve full-time with TC. He went from beloved brother to bully, becoming abusive and condescending to other brothers. It was sad to watch, becoming instrumental to my departure, and explaining "what happened" as the condition of the LC's deteriorated over my tenure there.

Where do we find these Intimidation techniques in the scriptures? Can anyone find a verse showing us how to "perfect" the brothers by rebuking and humiliating them? How can this be "recovered" if it has no record in the scriptures? Where can we find this pattern among other men of God in church history? Surely Schaff's History ... would have recorded this?

In his last message to the elders before his long imprisonment, Paul emphasized (Acts 20) "how he was with you all the time, serving the Lord as a slave with all humility and tears." (vv. 18-19) Neither Paul nor any of the other apostles ever mentioned this prominent LC technique of Intimidation. I should also mention that during the formative, and blessed, first decade in the USA, WL hid this part of the "recovery" from the brothers. By all accounts he served as "a" minister, and treated all the brothers respectfully.

Note also that his own son Philip, though an unregenerate profligate, also used these same techniques as he took over LSM. Unfortunately he even treated the sisters worse than the brothers.