15 Years Later

[WacoTX]

I was involved in the LC in Arlington TX from 1990- about 1995 as the ending period is real fuzzy since I didn't have an experience of standing up in the meeting and declaring that I was leaving the flock.

I simply graduated from college and quickly got consumed by work and stopped meeting. I have no ill-feelings toward anyone, in fact hold high reguards to all of the brothers that helped me so much and encouraging me to start college at age 23 in 1990. Because of that, doors have been opened and I can provide for my family that wouldn't have been there if I didn't attend college (which wasn't in my plan at age 23).

OK - Fastforward 15 years, one move south 100 miles + 3 kids.

My kids went to chuch camp with a Baptist church last summer (2009) and all prayed to receive the Lord. They came home and told us and at the time I was so far away from the Lord that I think I basically said, "That's great, pass the butter" and left it at that.

At their request I have been taking them to the Baptist church ever since and actually enjoy the fellowship with the other adults there in my class, yet at first I kept wondering when we would start talking about the church (the body of Christ).

I struggle now with what is truth. I gained and have retained pretty good scripture knowledge from my short stint with the LC, but I fight with wondering if I am viewing everything through my "WL Bliders" or it is really the truth. I do get funny looks at times in the class when I talk about the Bride and Bridegroom.

This site has help to read through other's experiences and am just encouraged even though I did leave the LC, but I'm still here and have a heart for God. I was told that if I ever left the LC there would be no place to go, and that was just a lie.

[aron]

Originally Posted by WacoTX

I struggle now with what is truth. I gained and have retained pretty good scripture knowledge from my short stint with the LC, but I fight with wondering if I am viewing everything through my "WL Bliders" or it is really the truth. I do get funny looks at times in the class when I talk about the Bride and Bridegroom.

I also struggle with the truth. It seems so clear in black and white; why am I so short in actuality?

One of the drawbacks of the "clear word" theology in the Lee-ite churches was that your mind gets ossified in the template provided. No wiggle room; no uncertainty. But our lives still (for the most part) lack a clear reflection of christ.

So we are told to work harder. You know, do the same thing over and over again, only more strongly, and you will get different (better) results.

Somewhere in this process, we must be allowed to radically re-think our treasured concepts -- they become cages which cut us off from the possibility of freedom offered by the Lord.

Your time in the Lee-ite church was not vain. God allowed, and used it, for a reason. But be careful how much of it you want to drag forward into your new future with Christ.

The nice thing about following the God of resurrection is that you can throw it ALL down, and watch the Eternal One pick up the pieces and re-assemble something you never dreamed possible.

Grace to you in your journey. God bless those children who got excited for Christ.

[Nell]

Originally Posted by aron

I also struggle with the truth. It seems so clear in black and white; why am I so short in actuality?

...
The nice thing about following the God of resurrection is that you can throw it ALL down, and watch the Eternal One pick up the pieces and re-assemble something you never dreamed possible.

Grace to you in your journey. God bless those children who got excited for Christ.

Aron and WacoTX,

At this point in my life, I've been "out" longer than I was "in" the Local Churches of Witness Lee. I was "in" for about 15 years.

I think one of the most insidious lies perpetrated upon us was that our walk with the Lord was dependant on our affiliation with LC leadership and/or the teachings of Witness Lee. The result was that we were walking with Witness Lee, the LC, the elders, etc., and not the Lord. Having been "out" for a very long time, I've discovered that it's much easier and simpler to follow the Lord than it was to follow Witness Lee, et al.

I went through a period of detox which was very good for me. I scrapped everything I had ever heard from Lee. I only reacquired it after I put it through the "Is this scriptural?" test. The truth of God's word is the only thing that remains and the only thing that matters.

Here's another truth spoken by Benson Phillips in the late 60's but no longer believed nor practiced by him. He told us "If you concentrate on Christ, the church will come out. If you concentrate on the church, nothing will come out." I believe there is a lot of truth to this. It helped me to leave that place. All they "concentrate" on is the church. Very little pointing us to Christ. The result, accurately predicted by BP, is a lot of nothing.

I've stopped looking for "the church". I"ve long since learned how totally unqualified I am to make a determination about how Jesus is building His church. Much of what we see today is human effort by men and women who overestimate their ability to judge spiritual matters. This is true in Christianity as a whole. Having said that, I've visited several large churches in the last few years, and these places are in much better shape than the Living Stream Ministry Franchise "churches".

Instead, I see the church everywhere I look. Some Christians are in better shape than others, but that's not my place to judge. I try not to expect others to live up to my expectations, but rather appreciate their acceptance, love and concern for me. The exception to that is sin in the camp. We always have a responsibility to judge behavior, including our own, where sin is concerned.

All this to say, the Christian life is not as complex as we were led to believe. We are His sheep. He is our Shepherd. I want to be the best little sheep I can be, trusting and obeying Him; following Him; calling out to Him to keep me safe; talking to Him about the things I care about. I believe this is my calling in life.

Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe.

Nell

Originally Posted by WacoTX

I do get funny looks at times in the class when I talk about the Bride and Bridegroom.

The inability of those with lesser scriptural knowledge to appreciate the portion of someone with more scriptural knowledge is no reason to doubt the truth of the New Testament revelation concerning Christ and the assembly.

Share your portion, as found in the Word, remaining teachable in case you've got something wrong. Pretty much everybody gets stuff wrong anyway. It's not that big a deal whether you made it up yourself or got it from the denomination you used to be in.

That said, don't pick up an agenda to bring them up to speed and don't prattle on about the things they've never heard when they aren't getting it.

Just share in love as you are led.