Hi Guys

[brad]

Hi Everyone. Just wanted to give a quick intro and will probably add more at some point later. I'm currently a student who got involved with the lc at the annual bfa distro event. I would have considered myself to be an avid christian at the time, wanted fellowship, and thought that "the church life" would be good for my spirituality. I thought that I'd be "constituted" with all these great things, enter into so much "enjoyment" etc etc and believed the PR versions of everything that I was given.

Anyways, my life,without getting into too many specifics, has gotten kinda messed up since then. I've been following the forums here and on the bereans as well as have read stuff on other websites (whataspin, concerned brothers, twoturmoils et al) about what's really going on and my feeling is that the things that have been "recovered" weren't really "recovered" by witness lee and there's just too much else going on with this whole situation for me to be able to go forward with it.

I have my exit strategy basically planned out, but if anyone has advice or wants to warn me of what to expect that's fine.

brad

[aron]

Originally Posted by brad

I have my exit strategy basically planned out, but if anyone has advice or wants to warn me of what to expect that's fine.

brad

brad,
If you have a strategy mapped out already, you're a better man than me. None of my strategies, exit or otherwise, ever worked out!

Thankfully, God had a strategy also, which was to send Jesus Christ for us all. Including me, hooray! Beyond that, I'm still floundering...so probably no worthwhile advice from me.

But I can't resist:
(1)Keep it simple (not merely exiting the confines of the LSM-controlled fellowships, but life, and spiritual life especially).
(2) Trust the Lord, trust the Lord, trust the Lord, trust the Lord. Follow the Lord. Trust that He allowed you to spend some time in contact w/these folks, and trust in Him to lead you onward.
(3) They have a "negativity" track record, so don't get sucked into the negativity rut. If you were to read all my posts, not that you'd want to, you'd see me getting touched by the negativity bug occasionally. As christians we should only bless, bless, bless. No cursing allowed. So even though it may occasionally seem that you have found a tempting target, I would adjure you to refrain.

Other than that, God speed and God bless.
aron

[countmeworthy]

Originally Posted by brad

Hi Everyone. Just wanted to give a quick intro and will probably add more at some point later. I'm currently a student who got involved with the lc at the annual bfa distro event. I would have considered myself to be an avid christian at the time, wanted fellowship, and thought that "the church life" would be good for my spirituality. I thought that I'd be "constituted" with all these great things, enter into so much "enjoyment" etc etc and believed the PR versions of everything that I was given.

I have my exit strategy basically planned out, but if anyone has advice or wants to warn me of what to expect that's fine.
brad

Reminds me of how I planned my exit strategy! My exit strategy was to move - to "migrate" - to another city with a group of LCrs to start the church life there. Behind the scenes, everyone moving was pretty disgruntled with Brother Lee. They liked the 'church life'..home meetings, fellowshipping..but not junk that was coming out of Anaheim.
Eventually, the church life fell apart because we didn't know how to 'meet' but the way we met in the LC...the lingo, the mannerisms, that stuff. We didn't know how to break away..and everyone had to figure it out for themselves with God's help and guidance.

Since you were a believer before meeting with up with the 'Lord's recovery', ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to Christians who you can encourage in Christ and who will be a blessing to you as well. Ask HIM to show YOU where HE wants you to be planted. It's ALL about HIM..GOD the FATHER, God the SON JESUS and the HOLY SPIRIT.

Next, I don't know if there is anyone you are 'close' to in the LC...someone you can confide in. If there is, be honest with this person and tell him/her you are not comfortable with the meeting life and that this is NOT where God wants you to meet. You don't have to make a big production out of it. IF you do confide in someone you trust and like and that person trusts & likes you, from your part, as the Lord guides you, you be sure you encourage and keep giving your friend/friends living water from the Rivers of LIFE.


IF there is no one you are comfortable with that you can confide in, then follow your spirit in how & when to leave. The SPIRIT will lead you out and bless you with inner peace. He will place a hedge of protection so you will not be 'bugged'.

I still have connections with a few LC friends who have been in it for 30 plus years. They know I don't meet with the LC and they don't bug me. I 'water' them..and bless them..and encourage them in the Lord. I don't bring up the LSM or share my thoughts about it. When they talk about their meetings and what was said and who shared what, I politely listen. Why?
Glad you asked. In the event they ever need a life line, perhaps God will use me to guide them out because they know me and trust me.

We are exhorted to love the brethren and to edify the Body of Christ. If they don't do this with us, that's on them. NOW...every person's experience in the LC/LSM is different. There are lots of divorced families and friendships broken. They could not do what I suggest or recommend.

I pray for everyone's healings and for the LORD to restore the Joy of their salvation. Keep us posted and tell us more Brad. How long have you been acquainted with the LSM? What drew you in and what are the red flags you saw that are drawing you out?

[aron]

Originally Posted by brad

I ... wanted fellowship, and thought that "the church life" would be good for my spirituality. I thought that I'd be "constituted" with all these great things, enter into so much "enjoyment" and believed the PR versions of everything that I was given.

Anyways, my life has gotten kinda messed up since then.

Another point, not that you asked...

Pretty much everyone has PR versions. The Leeites are absolute masters of the craft. First, there are a lot of unpleasant things that have been swept under the rug. I'd never heard of Daystar until I got to read the forums. As far as the "official" version of history, it had never existed.

Then, what does get discussed gets a very strong slant. When they say bad things about other christians, they are "correcting, reproving, and rebuking", and they show you the verses to justify their speaking. But when others use the same kind of speaking towards them, then suddenly Lee's follower's complain that they are being "attacked, defamed, and persecuted". Get my point? They are being subjective, while trying to appear objective.

Now, back to my original point. Pretty much everyone does this "spin" activity to some degree. The best of us admit it and try to humble ourselves and repent. The worst of us pretend we are perfected and far from error, and it's always the other guy's fault. But we are all poor witnesses of the truth. There is only one Faithful Witness. His name is Jesus Christ. We believers today try to follow Him, as best we can. Sometimes we do better, sometimes not so good.

Anyway, I write this to say that when you go forth you may see repeated manifestations of this error, both in yourself and in others, so be on guard. You'll see many permutations of the "We have all the answers. Come, follow us and be blessed" school, and you'll also see variations on the "Let me tell you how many problems the other guy has" theme (i.e. look at the splinter in the other guy's eye, not at the beam in my own).

So don't think you can extricate yourself from one system of error and everything will be all hunky dory. The christian journey is rough and tough, and I'm just trying to give you a few pointers.

Peace and blessings to you "...from Jesus Christ, who is the Faithful Witness..." Rev. 1:5
aron

[OBW]

Brad,

One thing to consider is to simply begin to miss some meetings for legitimate reasons. Then simply stop going. When asked about it, just say you have things going on and need some space. Don't comment on anything.

But find some mainstream Christian fellowship. CMW will advise one way and I would advise another. In truth, either is good, just different. Find what is comfortable to you.

But in saying "comfortable" I do not mean to just "veg-out" in a mindless Christian culture existence. The idea of pursuing Christ is important. The LC does have that one right — along with a lot of other groups.

My experience is that when my wife and I left after 14 years, we got one phone call and I said nothing specific and that was the end of it. We smile and chit-chat if we run into any of them here in Irving or at my Dad's house in Dallas (the rest of my family are still in). Someone recently asked me if I agreed that Lee was correct about a particular thing. Since I did not on that point, I said so. But I have mostly kept the LC out of the conversation. With respect to my family, maybe it is time to shake things up a little.

[countmeworthy]

[QUOTE=OBW;6396]Brad,

One thing to consider is to simply begin to miss some meetings for legitimate reasons. Then simply stop going. When asked about it, just say you have things going on and need some space. Don't comment on anything.

OH YEAH!! ABSOLUTELY!! DUH! I don't know how I missed this out of my reply! THIS would be the VERY FIRST APPROACH I would take.

Thanks for the Heads up OBW!

[ABrotherInChrist]

I would agree wholeheartedly with OBW's approach.

Find yourself some wholesome Christian fellowship, regardless of where. Follow the Lord's leading for that part. As for the LC part, just reduce (gradually or suddenly, however you feel comfortable) your exposure to the meetings and teachings. I would be very surprised if you don't quickly feel blessed by meeting with others and learning with them.

Part of the biggest issue I have with the LC (following LSM) is that they believe and teach often that they are the ONLY place to be. This leaves no space for the Lord to lead us individually to where He wants us to be. There is only one Church, but it is horribly divided right now. Who here on earth is to say where God wants each and every one of us? He may have some plan for where we should be, and what will transpire if we are where He wants us. Who knows, if we follow the Lord's leading, perhaps even some denominations would fold into each other, fixing some of the division that's out there now. We should just let the Lord lead instead of insisting on having our own way.

For me, personally, I'd suggest looking for some interdenominational study group (like the Campus Crusade for university-aged people). This way there is less likelihood of falling into a doctrinal rut like we all did with the LC. If several differing denominations are involved, I've often found that the focus becomes the true core of the faith, and all the differences are left by the roadside.

Of course, your mileage may vary.

[brad]

Thanks for the advice and support, everyone. This board is and has been an invaluable resource for me.

Quote:
Originally Posted by countmeworthy
I pray for everyone's healings and for the LORD to restore the Joy of their salvation. Keep us posted and tell us more Brad. How long have you been acquainted with the LSM?

few years

Quote:
Originally Posted by countmeworthy
What drew you in

close knit fellowship
seeing how much enjoyment and experience was going on
some of the things i saw in the bible being practiced there that weren't other places. [prophesying in mtgs is all i can think of now].
less worldliness than in other places
going out and preaching the gospel/giving out rc v nt's
there are probably more, but i was pretty into knowing theology and applying it to my life and in retrospect i feel that that was replaced by stuff from WL.

Quote:
Originally Posted by countmeworthy
what are the red flags you saw that are drawing you out?

what mainly threw me off was the discrepancy between the l s m version of everything and what actually goes on.

there were "the brothers," whom i'd heard about early on but was not aware of the level of influence they excercised over the LC's until much later.... they train the elders & young adults, speak at conferences, prepare the outlines for others to speak from at the conferences, produce most/all the printed material, prepare the books that the elders encourage us to get into, run the conferences, etc.

there is also the subtle denial of the legitimacy of churches elsewhere ("there are only X number of churches in X country").

perhaps the biggest issue is the allegiance to w.l. and using him to justify things rather than the bible. it seems like this led to bro's being quarantined (not sure if that's the best word for it) for reasons that seemed more related to wl's ministry than the bible.

The history of the movement we're usually told leaves out a lot of stuff discussed here and elsewhere on the web that i think if any of us knew originally we wouldn't have gotten involved.


... the list goes on