Feedback from those who read the book during its first month
—A summary compiled by John Anderson
[Because of our concern about possible retribution by the Local Church against providers of feedback, we decided to remove the actual feedback from our website. Instead we wrote compilations of some of the feedback without using the providers’ names. In the compilations, some of the wording that is presented as quotes has been edited when necessity to further conceal the identity of responders, but the meanings have not been changed.]
God truly moves in mysterious ways, and His ways are not our ways. The feedback on the book in the first month was amazing. We received over fifty very favorable responses to The Thread of Gold: God’s Purpose, the Cross, and Me and no unfavorable. Jane and I had been hopeful that it would be helpful to some, but the initial response far exceeded our expectations.
Some very interesting things happened that month that showed us how God had begun to answer our prayers to distribute the book. For instance, one person saw someone reading The Thread of Gold at a coffee shop and asked about it. She soon discovered that the book contained information about the same church that a dear friend of hers overseas had just begun to attend. She had been worried about the recent changes in her friend’s behavior and obtained a copy to send to her. In another situation, a friend of Jane’s discovered that one of her private students was a former member of the Local Church and had relatives who were former members as well. Jane’s friend gave her student a copy for herself and another copy for the other family members.
One couple was reading it on their return trip home from out of town after obtaining a copy. They continued reading before bed and then before breakfast the next day. It seems that they couldn’t put it down, and this kind of report was common. In fact, one person who received her copy in the mail one afternoon, stayed up all night reading it, ate breakfast, finished the book, and then went to work around noon! She managed to get our phone number and called us saying things like this: “It was so amazing. I just don’t have the words to say what I feel. This book is so needed. I am so thankful you wrote it. Others could have written, but you know how the Local Church squashes people and makes them afraid. But you did it! This book is like a miracle!”
We heard from another friend who was uncharacteristically very effusive in his praise. Interestingly, he had only read through chapter 11 when he emailed us his comments. This pattern continued. Several wrote thanking us for the book while still only part-way through it. One who wanted to learn about this church expressed, “I can’t wait to get through the entire book. I was reading in bed by flashlight last night.”
Another wrote, “Jane, the book is getting rave reviews from everyone I have talked to who is reading it. Not only is the writing excellent, but the vivid accounts of how the Lord moved in you, your dealings with Him, all are such a help to many, and I trust will be to many more.”
One person called to say how deeply the main message of the book, Christ and Him crucified, had affected him. He felt humbled. He said that the light the Lord gave him had begun to open up things to him in the Bible in an amazing way. He also related that he had found a close friend reading the book, weeping and thanking the Lord!
Three days after its initial release, a thread about the book appeared on The Bereans Apologetics Research Institute’s forum. One of the discussion boards there was about “Witness Lee and the Local Church of Recovery” and someone had posted about The Thread of Gold . (Over time there were many posts on that forum from former members of the Local Church and also from current members who were upset by the book.) As a result of the posting on that forum we sent books to six different countries in the first month.
We also heard from some who grew up in the Local Church and had left it, but what really surprised Jane and me was the responses we received from people who were still in the Local Church. Many of these people were living in fear, wondering what would happen to them if they left it. The brief stories that some told us as they sought to make sense of their confusing situations were very heart rending . Someone who grew up in the Local Church, but felt that the Lord was leading him out, wrote, “The final chapters are really especially beautiful, refreshing, and healing.” He wrote that he thought the book was just what he needed. Jane’s journey with God was helpful to him, and he wrote that he believed the book would be very special to him in the future when he was old enough to leave. He expressed his hope that his leaving might be a positive experience because Jane’s experience of leaving showed him that her thread of gold continued after she was no longer in the Local Church.
One man wrote, “I am not the crying kind of person, but my heart was almost broken reading about Jane’s experience. It took me to a time when I, too, was completely engulfed in the daily church experience.” He shared his own heartbreaking story about what happened to him in the Local Church and how he lost all communication with his children who were still in the group. We heard from those who had spouses that were still in the Local Church and whose marriages were in deep trouble as a result. We heard from those who had experienced much depression and had very troubled lives because of their experiences in the group. They were very thankful to read about someone who had found freedom from the deceptive teachings and practices and had found healing from all the hurt incurred there. They wrote about the hope that Jane’s story gave them for their own future.
And from someone who didn’t know anything about the Local Church: “I started reading your book last night. Reading about your teenage years was like reliving mine. I always talked to God every single night, just like you.” And from another who didn’t know about it: “I read very slow because the English is my second language. I have been reading a little by little every day. I wish you were right next to me while I am reading it. I have been laughing and crying with you! Thank you so much for your precious book.”
Then there are the people who say that they want to read it a second time. One said to a mutual friend, “I’ve been a Christian for a long time, but I never realized how much God wants to have a personal relationship with me regarding all the little things in my life. I’m planning to read the book again in case I might have missed something.” And from someone who actually did read the book a second time came this: “Jane, there is one thing that I didn’t like about the book that I realized as I finished it again. It was over too soon!” He ordered several books to send to others.
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