This feedback is interspersed with comments and some responses by Jane. Because of concern for retribution, responders names and locations have been withheld.
Dear Sister Jane,
I received your book this week and began reading it. I was planning to email you after reading the entire book but last night I was puzzled about chapter 13 on Daystar. I have been in the church life since November 1973. There are a number of things that led up to ordering your book of which I would like to address later. In brief, I have been seeking the Lord since 1998 for answers that have not yet become clear to me. I hope that through your book with much prayer and fellowship with the Lord I will come to understand the things that concern me. I also hope that your fellowship will be of some help.
As of now I have not voiced any of my concerns to the leading Brothers or the saints in the church. For the most part I enjoy the church life and my service in the Body (which includes caring for a good number of Believers outside the local church). But my concerns have caused me to ask the Lord many questions about the local church and Lord’s Recovery movement. The history of the church has always been of interest to me so I have also been studying the other side of our history since 1998 and have just recently made contact with a few who are no longer meeting with us.
What I want to ask you now is concerning Daystar. I knew nothing about Daystar when I came into the church life. I understand that it was history at the time I came into the local church but your book gave a different impression on page 195 (John and I decided to invest a fourth of the money he had inherited from his mother). The testimony in your book is chorological and in an earlier chapter you mentioned Brother Lee’s right hand man, Max Rapoport, coming on the scene (that must have been from 1974-1977) and the Galilean fisherman flow that was in 1977. I am confused because I thought Daystar went bankrupt before 1973. A few years ago a brother in one of the churches in Texas told me that Max helped Brother Lee get out of that situation. He said that after helping Brother Lee he was brought into leadership and the Ministry. I assumed that it was Max that asked the saints to release Brother Lee. Can you clarify all of this with me? I am reading your book with an open heart in fellowship with the Lord but this point troubles me. I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks
Name withheld
Jane’s answer to this reader’s Daystar question follows:
Thank you for your email. My husband and I just finished discussing it and the questions you asked. First, let me say that in our discussion we uncovered the problem with what is in chapter 13 about the inheritance money. John remembered that he had actually asked his mother for a loan (so we could invest) without telling her what it was for. She answered his request by giving him the money, after he agreed that it would be taken out of his inheritance.
When writing the book, I remembered that the money was part of his inheritance (which we received in 1977), but wrongly concluded from this memory that we had given it to Daystar after that. (A clarification added to this response at a later date: We had been given the money in advance and it was deducted from the 1977 inheritance.) We probably missed the timing discrepancy because the dates related to Daystar were not that significant to us. The main point I was seeking to make by including a little about Daystar was that we were also being hurt financially. In the disclaimer to the book we state that all dates are accurate to the best of our ability. We are very open to any information that helps us improve the accuracy of the dates in our book. This matter will be corrected in future editions of the book, if there are any. We are sorry for any confusion this error may have caused you, and we thank you for bringing it to our attention.
I also looked in our attic to see if I could find old bank statements that might have a record of the date we gave the money, but could not find paperwork that far back. I can, however, give you a little more information about the timing of Daystar that may be helpful to you. A few weeks ago, I came across a website on the internet which contains a picture of an actual Daystar motor home (in serious need of a paint job) and some information about it. According to the website, the Daystar pictured was built in 1975 and was #16 of the 16 that were built. If the owner of the vehicle is accurate about the year it was built, this would indicate that Daystar was not bankrupt before 1973. When I found this website (after the book was in print), I was puzzled by the date of 1975 because I had written that we had contributed in 1977. Your question and my husband’s subsequent recollection have now cleared up that puzzlement for me. We still don’t know exactly when we invested, but it seems apparent now that it was not in 1977.
I have no clear memory as to when we were told that Daystar had failed and that we needed to forgive Brother Lee and free him from any sense of obligation. As for Max Rapoport’s involvement with Brother Lee and Daystar, I don’t know anything about that firsthand. To the best of my memory, as I wrote, Max was on the scene in the young Galileans period of time. I also know that he and his wife, Sandy, were in the forefront of things for about a year after I was disciplined in the spring of 1977 because of memories I have about the “sisters’ flow.” It was the leading brothers in Houston who asked us to forgive Brother Lee.
Dear Sister Jane,
During the Thanksgiving conference Brother Benson mentioned that he was reading a book by a sister that used to be a good Sister in the church. He said that she lost everything. I just finished the 2006 Winter Training on video and took notes on what he said in message 11 on “Discerning the Destroyers of the Divine Building to Remain in the Lord’s Recovery of the Divine Building.” Here is the outline and my notes on what he said about you:
Outline on Message 11 of The Building of God
2006 Winter Training (LSM)
V. The destroyers of the divine building are those who are factious, sectarian—Titus 3:10:
A. A factious man is a heretical, sectarian man who causes divisions by forming parties in the church according to his own opinions; in order to maintain good order in the church, a factious, divisive person should be refused, rejected, after a first and second admonition.
B. Because such divisiveness is contagious, this rejection is for the church’s profit that contact with the divisive one may be stopped—cf. Num. 6:6-7.
In 1987 [error by Benson, it was 1977] we had a situation on the west coast building up a group around themselves. Then it (the same flow) spread to Texas. Because it happened, we Brothers had to do something. Brother Lee in a conference on the Kingdom was so distraught and grieved said to three Sisters to stand up. Brother Lee didn’t mess with factious ones. He asked them a question. Then in Texas they had their party built up in the church. To form a group around yourself keeps others out. The one Sister—the leader we had to deal with. She just came out with a book against the Recovery. If she can write a book today that was a seed in her then. They had to be dealt with because they are destroyers of the divine building.
Did you realize this was the reason you were disciplined in the church? Can you give me more details about it? From your book I got the impression that what was going on in Texas was unrelated to the west coast but BP said it came from the west coast. During the second training on the book of Revelation I stayed with a family that was in that so-called flow. The husband’s name was ______ but I cannot remember the name of his wife. She was a dear Sister and I enjoyed my stay with them. They shared a lot with me about what they were enjoying from the Ministry of WL and Andrew Murray’s “The Spirit of Christ.”
______ had left the Recovery and his wife but had come back and was revived by that flow. My impression was that it did not come directly from WL but Max and his wife seemed to be more instrumental in it. From what I remember WL thought the Sisters were exclusive and he tried to encourage them not to sit together in the meetings but to sit with other Sisters to care for them. After my stay with this family I went back home with a fresh anointing of the Lord and was very encouraged; I kept in touch with them for a while by phone.
Because this was a part of my history and I am seeking the Lord for spiritual discernment I look forward to hearing from you.
Name withheld
In 2006, Jane responded with this:
Dear Brother,
Just recently I was informed by several others about what Benson said at the winter training. I will do my best to answer your question. My experience with the “sisters’ flow” was as I wrote about it in the book. I did not say much about the sisters’ flow in the book because I had zero involvement with the Anaheim sisters’ flow or the Texas sisters’ flow. Here is a brief overview of the actual sequence of events related to the sisters’ flow at that time, showing where I fit in the picture:
In early 1977, I heard rumor that God was doing something with the sisters in Anaheim from someone locally and mentioned this in a corporate sisters meeting.
In May of 1977, I was condemned as the leader of a sisters’ rebellion in Texas. The sisters’ flow in Anaheim (led by Sandee Rapoport and two other sisters) was underway (and sanctioned by Witness Lee) until the summer/fall of 1978, when Witness Lee “exposed” Max and labeled the sisters’ flow as a “sisters’ rebellion.”
What Benson said at the Winter Training left the impression that I was dealt with in Texas after Brother Lee dealt with the “three holy sisters” in Anaheim. He represented to the thousands of listeners that this was done after watching how Brother Lee dealt with these “factious” sisters in Anaheim. I am sad to report that in his statement to the trainees, Benson bore false witness. What he represented is, plain and simply, not true.
What is the truth? I was dealt with in May 1977. Max and Sandee Rapoport (she was the main “holy sister” were dealt with by Witness Lee and left the Local Church in the fall of 1978. The Anaheim sister’s flow then became known as the “sisters’ rebellion.” (The Lord used Sandee and some other sisters to start this “flow”—one that I now believe helped marriages and families.. as your own experience with it testifies.) This flow did not come from Witness Lee, although for a period of time he sanctioned what these sisters were doing, probably because Max was at that time his new “right-hand man.” Brother Lee allowed this until he turned against Max when Max began to confront him about Phillip and the sin in the LSM office. Then, Witness Lee dealt with the “three holy sisters.”
I am 100% certain that I was disciplined in May 1977, because this happened a day or so before my husband’s mother suddenly died on June 1, 1977. That date is a matter of public record. To the best of my knowledge Max and Sandee R. were “exposed” in the fall of 1978. The only written documentation that I have found which provides a date when Max and Sandee left the Local Church is the God-Men, by Neil T. Duddy. That book says they left in November 1978. (I am planning on sending an email to Sandee for date confirmation and will let you know what I learn. I do not know her personally but I have her email address. I emailed another question to her a month or so ago, and it took a long time for a response. I don’t think they do much emailing. Anyway, I hope I hear from her.)
I have three independent memories that further confirm the sequence of events for me:
1) Not long after Dan Williams dealt with me, the leading brothers in Texas welcomed the “sisters’ flow” from Anaheim to the Texas churches. It was sanctioned by them…. I was never involved in this sanctioned Texas sisters’ flow.
2) In July of 1977 (shortly after my “discipline” in May), John decided that because we were in such bad shape, we should attend a special July 4th weekend church conference in Anaheim and maybe get help from Witness Lee’s sharing. At this point, I believed that the problem in the Texas churches was with the elders in Texas misapplying or wrongly implementing whatever they heard from Witness Lee. One day while we were there, the sister in whose home we were taking hospitality told me that we had been invited to lunch at Sandee Rapoport’s house. The sanctioned sisters’ flow under Sandee’s guidance was underway in Anaheim. (i.e., Witness Lee had not yet stopped it.) After lunch, Sandee, whom I had never met before, took me aside into a private room and talked with me. She was warm and loving and seemed to be someone I could talk to about what we had been through. Yet as she talked to me, I had a strong feeling not to mention my own situation at all. I had a witness that what she was sharing was of the Lord. I knew she was waiting for a response from me, but I said only a few words to her, just acknowledging I was listening. Afterwards, when I left, I had a tremendous sense of peace. As much as I wanted someone’s sympathy and help, it seemed this wasn’t what the Lord wanted for me at that time.
3) Approximately a year later, I heard about the “three holy sisters” being singled out in a meeting by Witness Lee. I remember this because being in the meetings at that time was such a suffering to me. When they began to “expose” Max in the meetings in Texas and announced the end of the sister’s flow, calling it a “sister=s rebellion,” I clearly remember thinking that what had happened to me was now happening to Sandee R. and the other sisters there with her.
I still marvel that I didn’t talk to Sandee that day at her house in 1977 and tell her everything. She certainly gave me the opportunity. (Matt, knowing me well, had a good laugh when I told him that he no doubt would realize that my silence at that time was probably one of the most powerful testimonies of Christ he would ever hear from me!) I remember thinking, after being at Sandee’s home that day, how wonderful it would have been to have been able to fellowship freely with those sisters. They were seeing and experiencing together many of the things I had been realizing from the Lord.
But the point of all this is that Benson reversed the sequence of events when he talked about it in the winter training. I can only surmise that he may have felt the need to legitimatize the action taken towards me by linking it to Witness Lee=s action, indicating that it was according to Witness Lee’s example.
You asked if I realized this was the reason I was disciplined in the church. So, if by “this” you mean the Anaheim/Texas sisters’ flows as Benson indicated, the answer is I did not get in trouble for being part of these. All I understood then was that they suspected me of some kind of subversive activity–starting from the time I made mention of hearing about a sisters’ flow in Anaheim. However, as I explained in the book, I now believe that the real reason was that Satan was targeting my individual experience of the Lord. This is supported by the fact that their public condemnation included statements about seeking to be a spiritual giant and about reading books about “spiritual giants” (pp. 310-311). Sandra (my fellow “rebel”) was asked to burn her Madame Guyon book for this reason…
One other point: It is also noteworthy that Benson used the words “factious” and “sectarian” in his condemnation of me at the winter training. These are not words used at all when I was dealt with in Houston. Rather, I was labeled as the leader of a sisters’ rebellion. I consider his current emphasis on forming parties and being sectarian to be a re-writing of history colored by his memory of the Anaheim sisters situation. I also wonder if he purposely avoided the use of the word “rebellious” because of Witness Lee’s footnote on Matthew 5:22 which I had pointed out in letters I wrote in the early 1990s (pp. 257).
I hope this answers your question satisfactorily.
Now, I have a question for you. Are you positive you heard Benson say at the Thanksgiving conference that he was actually reading my book? I do hope that is so. I have heard reports that he never read my long letter to him written in the early 90s.
Your sister in Christ,
Jane
Later, as more facts surfaced about the so-called sister’s rebellion these facts were posted on a forum about the Local Church (The Bereans) under a thread named “The Thread of Gold Chronicles” and we put a link to it here under our Feedback. In 2020, we found the link was broken and that all posts about the Local Church had been removed from the Bereans forum. We had copies of the material in question, so we have posted The Thread of Gold Chronicles: The Three Holy Sisters and Benson Phillips, on our Lemons to Grapes forum in the section that is about the Local Church of Witness Lee.
Someone who heard the book mentioned at a 2006 Thanksgiving Local Church conference sent me the following transcript:
Dear Jane,
Attached is a copy of the outline of BP’s sharing. He was on II C 2. After saying that natural affection will become rottenness in the church he gave this testimony about you and your book. It is an exact copy from the tape:
I was looking at a book the other day and in this book this sister gives her life’s story. Well, she was a good sister at one time. Then eventually she was defeated by the enemy because of her natural affection toward other sisters and she lost everything. Brothers, in the church life we don’t have any natural affection—we don’t have friends; not friends naturally, but everything must be in the Spirit. [emphasis added]
Someone whom I told about this comment wrote me the following:
Note BP said, “…in the church life we don’t have any natural affection”? In saying this, he puts himself and others in the same category as those Paul mentioned in 2 Timothy 3:1-5:
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
We have added the following presentation to this first year feedback from Local Church members. It contains an actual recording of Benson Phillips (aka Dan Williams in The Thread of Gold) speaking at the 2005 Winter Training, so one might say this was Benson’s first-year feedback. The following media contains Benson speaking about Jane at that training. (Jane had read a transcript of his speaking in 2006 but it wasn’t until 2019 that she heard heard him speaking these words for the first time in a youTube presentation that had been posted by a brother named Steve Nelson.)
The following is longer version of what she saw on youTube. This version was made for her by the same brother after the Living Stream Ministry had youTube remove the original one.
The following is a comment Jane posted on the original youTube presentation:
Well, you can imagine my surprise to hear this audio after all these years. I was given a transcript of Benson’s speaking not long after the 2005 training, but actually hearing his voice and condemnation after this many years was a bit other worldly. One observation: Benson’s claim that Witness Lee publicly called out the “three holy sisters” in Anaheim was a falsehood (among the numerous others in his speaking).
Sandee Rapoport told me in 2006, that Witness Lee did not ever use this term to refer to them. She said it was Phillip Lee who always called them the “three holy sisters” in a mocking way. It seems highly unlikely that Benson was present to hear what Lee said in that 1977 Memorial Day weekend meeting, because he was in Houston condemning me on Saturday night of that very same weekend.
Sandy told me that all Witness Lee did in that meeting was publicly embarrass the three sisters by telling them they should stop sitting together in the meetings. He did not ask them to stand up. The fact that Benson told his own version of the story using the term “holy sisters” is pretty strong evidence that the story was passed on from Phillip Lee (probably via Ray Graver, Benson’s shadow, who was around Phillip a lot according to Sandee). Phillip would have told the account using his pejorative title for these sisters.
Another observation: When my husband read the transcript in 2005, he said something like: “Wow. When I wrote to Benson in 1990 about what he had done to you by labeling you as a rebel in 1977 (13 yrs before), he wrote back that he had no memory of ever having done such a thing. But now in 2005, twenty-eight years after the fact, his memory of what he did to you is crystal clear! So, either he flat-out lied in 1990 or there has been a miracle and his memory has been restored!” —Jane Carole Anderson
One more thing about this 2005 recording of Benson Phillips: It surfaced at the end of 2019 because of a long letter exposing the Local Church that was published in the spring of 2019. The letter was written by a young woman in her thirties named Jo Casteel who was a “church-kid” (a term for someone who was born and grew up in the Local Church).
(An interesting factoid that Jane discovered in 2019 was that Jo was born when her parents lived just a few houses down the street from John and Jane. Having been around Jo until she was about two years old, Jane had some vivid memories of her. Casteel was Jo’s married name, so it took Jane a period of time after she saw Jo’s letter to realize the connection.)
Continuing with feedback that was posted in 2005-2006 on the original Thread of Gold website:
Dear Jane,
I am ______ and I was put in touch with you by ______ through ______. I am very
interested in reading your book. I have been in the recovery since the early 1990s …. There are some things in the church life that worry me. Especially the extreme elevation of Brother Lee’s ministry and a change of focus from Christ to the ministry. I believe you had the same realization in the past, so I would really appreciate your experience….
At present I am quite confused. On the one hand I can’t deny that I have received a lot of help from Br. Lee’s ministry. On the other hand I can’t accept the direction the recovery is taking. My heart is full of pain. I gave half of my life to the recovery, and I never thought that I would find myself in the present condition. There are many saints I am attached to, and sometimes I just want to hide my head in the sand. In the present situation, your own experience may be of great help to me.
May the Lord bless you richly,
Name withheld
Later this person wrote:
Dear Jane,
I am sorry for this late reply. As I promised I would like to share some of my impressions from your book. One thing that I liked the most is the absence of bitterness in your book. It is very valuable when we are mistreated by our fellow believers that we do not hold bitterness against them. So I really appreciated that.
It was also very interesting for me to compare the church life at your time with what we have now. I did not experience many of the negative things that you described in your book like burnings, pan banging, no make up, plain dress. I also did not have such a tight schedule in the church. But many of the things you describe explain the problems we encounter today. The root problem is the elevation of one man ministry and making it the factor of group unity. This process has almost reached its climax now. Take the one publication for
example.
The part where you analyze the teachings of Witness Lee I enjoyed less. I feel that you are inclined to over-simplification of certain issues. If you want, I can touch upon it in more detail in the future. You have some very valuable points though, like the lack of proper family care.
I really treasure your experience. I very much enjoyed the opportunity to look at the Local Church through the eyes of a sister. I also very much enjoyed all the hymns that you placed in your book.
I would like to ask you to tell me more about the Daystar case. That is a missing piece in the history of the Local Church. I would very much welcome your input.
I close this letter with prayer for you and your family.
May the Lord bless you richly,
Name withheld
This person also wrote:
Dear Jane,
…. By the way, Dan Williams mentioned your book at the last Winter Training (of course, he did not mention your name). Whatever regrets he had for dealing with you harshly in the past, he dismissed them now. He said that they had dealt with you rightly, because if you were able to write the book against the recovery now, you must have had the seed of it then. I am sorry to tell you such unpleasant things. This brother did not read your book and still had liberty to judge you. He had no thought that he himself planted the seed and watered it. But I am happy that this seed, nonetheless, by the Lord’s mercy produced sweet fruit. Your book doesn’t have any bitterness. So it is not against the recovery, it is for the recovery. It recovers many wounded souls.
May the Lord bless you richly,
Name withheld
This person later wrote again:
Dear Jane,
Thank you for your fellowship. How mutual enriching the fellowship is! Praise the Lord for calling us into the fellowship of His Son!
I liked the story in your book where you told the Lord that you loved that chair. For a long time I have felt that the main problem of many saints today is that they are not sincere before the Lord. Real fellowship with the Lord depends on how honest, frank and open we are before Him. Of course, He sees our heart and we can hide nothing from Him. But our fellowship with the Lord depends upon the condition of our heart. The growth of life is impossible if our heart is improper (Matt.13). That’s why we should always pay attention to our daily life. It is easy to be “spiritual” in the meetings. But much of that spirituality is just hypocrisy. And the remedy is just to admit that we are hypocrites. It is the cure. O, may the Lord be merciful to us, so that we would see our real situation before the Lord. One of the church fathers said that Christian perfection is an increasing knowledge of our imperfection.
I have one question. At the last winter training Benson told the story how Brother Lee openly had dealt with three “holy” sisters at one of his trainings. Were you present at that meeting? Can you tell me the details?
Be blessed, dear sister,
Name withheld
And later:
Dear Jane,
….Some time ago I came across one verse (1 Sam. 22:2)–“And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him (David); and he became a captain over them”. Those people in distress, in debt etc. suffered from Saul (misuse of authority), but this brought them to David (Christ). And eventually they became his mighty men. God is Sovereign! It is wonderful to see how the misuse of authority eventually turns us to the true authority — Christ. I more and more appreciate that I should submit to Christ only. I really liked that quote from Kennedy you gave in your book. Christ is present in His church in person, so we do not need any mediators.
Name withheld
P. S. I am two years younger than Matt
_______________
Someone wrote and gave Jane a link to a Local Church discussion group on the Internet, pointing her to the following post. We have underlined a very telling statement in which the writer states a falsehood as a fact. The poster actually admits that he/she never even read the book! The whole post reveals the typical mindset of Local Church devotees which is basically that truth is what the Local Church says it is.
Now, the problem with the new book The Golden Thread (will not underline) is the author, a sister, has had some bad experiences; and because of this, she concludes that the local churches and Brother Lee are cultic. I have not read the book, but I read her page about the book. I am not saying anything about her. But I can see clearly she lacked revelation. If one is strongly rooted in revelation and the Lord Spirit and the Word, they would never say anything against Brother Lee and the local churches. Yes, there may be saints in the churches who are not walking in their spirit who may persecute others (but this is the case in any setting in society where there is more than one person). But the ones who are persecuted should not let it affect their full faithfulness in pursuing the Lord Spirit, the Word and the ministry. This is where spiritual warfare takes place. The Lord said that the gates of Hades shall not prevail against the builded church. The gates of Hades are continually trying to prevail against us. Satan will often use certain saints who are open to his lies to persecute other saints. The saints who are persecuted do not realize the assault is from the enemy, so they open themselves to the attack when they think it is from the saint. They then, become weakened and offended, and in return persecute the saints. Any negative thought you receive about any saint, you must not accept. Satan will use whomever he can to weaken and damage the saints. In the case of this sister who wrote the book, she let herself open to the lies of the enemy. Now, to be fair, many brothers too have opened themselves to the lies of the enemy. We really have to be watchful. And I mean it if you have divine revelation, you can never be moved by anything the enemy says.
Specifically, the opening of our mind to accusations, and lies is the gates of Hades in action. That is why even we who are on the internet must keep speaking our portion of Christ so that the building work will take place. The more we are built together, the enemy will not be able to prevail. But he will continue to assail. But do not fear, we have the blood of the Lamb, and the word of our testimony and we do not love our soul life (the home of the
gates of Hades) unto death.
Hallelujah!!! Satan is in the lake of fire. And that is all there is to it. Yes, Amen.
I am so faithful and strong and unmovable because I received a lot of revelation. Plus, I have kept myself in the Lord Spirit, the Word and the ministry. And, also because I have exercised my mind to think objectively. Watchman Nee said one of the things a person should have when studying the Word is objectivity. There are a lot of believers who are really subjective. They cannot differentiate between truth and falsehood. Truth is always strengthened by divine revelation. It is too bad that we have to suffer a bunch of theological dummies, who claim to be experts. I say this in all honesty. If they want to sue me, they can have all my possessions. I do not care.
Although, we have to suffer all sorts of trials and persecutions, we cannot but REJOICE, for we have Christ as the life-giving Spirit. And, Hallelujah, we do not have what the opposers have, and they certainly do not have what we have. If they had what we had they would not be persecuting us.
In my experience, persecutions just make me stronger. Satan can do whatever: I am still one with the Lord. Yes, Amen. Praise the Lord. And, this is true for you too. The more opposition against you, the stronger you will become. It is always a bad sign to be welcomed. It is always better to not have the first seats. This way you will gain more Christ.
FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH
Dear sister,
I read with interest your book The Thread of Gold. I have been in the local church since January 1977. I was lead there by the Lord and still enjoy it. It does not mean I agree or accept everything the elders, LSM or anyone else may say. We are told to try the spirits to ascertain what is of God and what is of man. Throughout this time my wife, family took a good vacation every year and gave our children Christmas presents. Of course I am labeled as being “too independent” and not one with the body”. However, it is irrelevant to me what is said. There is no need to please man. We only answer to the Lord and what He tells or approves for us to do.
I am a locality were Authority and Submission has been GREATLY emphasized, “Authority is absolute, all must submit.” (Yes I found it interesting that it was only half of Watchman Nee’s book. Although the recent publication is now complete.) My question for you is whether the authoritarian elders you were under were Chinese or from the Far East? If so would you mind sharing which ones? I wonder how much of that theology is just Eastern culture given that from my understanding their history shows:
1. They like to fight to have a region for control.
2. They do not like to submit to others.
3. Do not like for the leader to lose face.
4. Need to make the leader’s plan work no matter how bad or what the cost.
5. Leaders will sacrifice the truth to save face.
Would you not agree with these?
I would point out that authority is balanced by the body. It is not absolute. Even God’s authority is balanced by righteousness. He is just not free to do whatever He wants!
May the Lord be with you and keep you in His grace till the day we meet Him!
In Christ,
Name withheld
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