Quote:
Originally Posted by zeek
To me the issue you raise is not about Lee's character flaws. Of course, Lee may have scored somewhere in the sociopathic spectrum. But the issue is why we, the so-called saints, gave him so much power. There would certainly be something of value to be learned by elucidating that process in print, so that they who read it don't repeat it.
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1) Part of the answer could be something as simple as this:
Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and
searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
We gave Lee power because of what we failed to do: "trust but verify". I guess I can say "we"...I certainly wasn't fact checking. No one was fact checking. Even if you found that something was "off", the prevailing "ministry" was to put a sock in it...don't say anything negative.
Early on, in the 1970's I remember the Lord's blessing on the sharing of the word. It was so powerful that I came to believe that "this is IT". That's when I became the "frog in a pot". The water started to heat so slowly that I didn't notice. That is, more and more questionable teachings and questionable behavior came into play. I turned a blind eye because of the early (what I believed to be) outpouring of the Spirit. Pretty soon, the water was boiling.
Did this relieve me of my responsibility to
search the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. No. It didn't. This was my sin. I allowed a man or group of men to replace God in my life, in many ways, most of which was disobedience to the Word.
2) Just leaving the LC isn't enough. When I finally left "it", I repented to God for being disobedient to His Word. I also repudiated the many, many times I consecrated myself to "it". I gave myself to Lee's church, so I needed to "take myself back" and once again give myself to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and Him alone.
I think it's an important beginning to break all the ties we created either consciously or unconsciously. Repentance of my sins and repudiation of my misplaced consecration to Lee (or any other "thing" other than God) and his organization is important. Our words mean something. In the spiritual realm, we don't know how much or how little. It certainly can't hurt, can it?
Nell