Blessed are you, dear brother Toledo! I remember visiting the bookstore in Chicago on West Irving Park Road some years ago and thinking “the mindset here is definitely broader and more inclusive than the mindset in my region”. When I would visit the church web sites for localities like Cleveland, OH ,and Westland, MI, and I saw all the positive mentions and links to other ministries besides LSM, this thought would be confirmed.
The mindset in my region was very set – “Sure, there are helpful things in the writings of others besides Nee and Lee; but, be assured that brothers Nee and Lee have already gone through these writings and extracted everything that is helpful in them. You waste your time when you read any other writings besides Nee and Lee.” This mindset was strengthened when WL made his infamous “To go back to the old writings is to go back to the old things” comment in one of the mid-1980’s
Elders’ Training messages. Anyone in my region who publicly mentioned that they were reading anything besides Nee and Lee was treated in the same way that the Samaritan woman treated our dear Lord Jesus : “Are you greater than our brothers Nee and Lee? Do you think you have more gift, more discernment, than them? ” And so, while there was nothing like the “One Publication” edict back in those days, there was plenty of public disapproval and peer pressure exercised upon the brothers and sisters to keep them away from any other ministries.
I appreciate dear brother Jim Reetzke’s heart. You were fortunate indeed, dear brother. Sadly, brother Reetzke’s book on T. Austin-Sparks, while really excellent in parts, ends up propagating the old Lee-centric mythology that TAS lost the flow of the Spirit and TAS’s ministry lost its impact once TAS disagreed with WL over the ground of locality.
Excerpt from dear brother Jim Reetzke’s book:
Quote:
|
“In 1965, one brother went to a conference in Waubana in which Brother Sparks took the lead. According to this brother’s impression at that time, Brother Spark’s ministry had lost its impact. This again shows that when Brother Sparks refused the way of the Spirit, the flow within him was cut off, and he gradually lost his ministry.”
|
Compare this to dear brother Herald Hsu’s testimony from Manila in 1964 (emphasis mine):
Quote:
|
“Finally in 1964, TAS and his wife also came to Manila where they stayed and ministered to us for a month. TAS held two special conferences and also spoke in regular meetings. He delivered 42 messages in all, leading us and the whole body of Christ into the spiritual and heavenly realms.”
|
So, which is it – “lost its impact” or “leading us into the spiritual and heavenly realms”?