[Freedom]

Originally Posted by OBW

The question I always have is whether producing "something like it" is really important. (And I note that Igzy didn't say it is.) Even if we are seeking something that is not a product of Lee's folly, do we think that reproducing the "good" parts is important?

Another way of saying this would be to ask whether there are not a myriad of alternate "experiences" that are just as valid, though very different in outward appearance, ranging from quiet, sober reflection all the way to some charismatic forms. Is a preponderance of any of these rather than others anything other than preference? Or is any of this evidence of some special status before God?

This is where I start to sense a need on the part of some to keep reproducing particular experiences because that is what they think was God's real, up-to-date move when in fact if God is moving at all, it is always real and it is always up to date. It is only us that gets fake and/or old.

God moves in people who jump and shout and in people who are quiet and pray. He moves in those who ad lib every prayer and in those who read prayers. He moves in those who have no absolute order of service and in those who follow a set liturgy.

The problem I find is not in any of these ways, but rather those who think that doing it a certain way will bring God to them. Whether it is a liturgy, or sufficient jumping and shouting. Once we think we have figured out the formula to it all, then we are probably just getting what we put into it and little more.

I think many LCers are in the unfortunate position of having their LC experience be defining for their Christian lives. That is definitely true for those like me who are "church kids". For those who first became a Christian in an LC context, the experience can be defining as well, especially if it involved a drastic turn from things like drugs to the Lord.

At one point in time the things that I perceived to be positive about the LC outweighed the negative. Eventually this balance shifted. Even though I now realize that not all the things that I once perceived to be positive were actually positive, when I started becoming frustrated with the negative, I had no choice but to wonder where all the "positive" went. My reaction was to start thinking up ways to "fix" things, so that I could go on in the LC. That might have been a struggle that I would have had for much longer had it not been for the writings that I found on the internet. I can say that have known LC members who are having the exact same struggle I was of the positive versus negative. The funny thing is that this inward struggle tends to be misattributed, meaning that people will blame a specific elder or LC for their unhappiness with the system as a whole. I have known more that one person that has switched to meeting with a different locality, just because they didn't like a certain brother.

What I came to realize through the internet is that with the numerous turmoils that have occurred in the LC, while the younger generation may not have any knowledge of these events, the past LC history that has been brought to light now serves as "archetypes" of what members can expect if they remain in the system. Most members who are disillusioned might just have a general disillusionment, not enough to make them pick up and leave.

This is why I think there is value in discussing where the LC went wrong, and even the possibility of what the LC might be like if things were changed. That's not to say anyone should dwell on the idea of "fixing" the LC, but I don't think it is a complete waste. Before I came to the internet, I didn't know anyone that I could talk to about my LC concerns (and I do know a number of ex-LC members). None want to talk about the subject so I leave it alone. Ironically, what helped me to eventually understand what I was up against was through reading the writings of though who dared try to figure out where the LC went wrong, still having the goal of "fixing" things.

Some of Indiana's writings have clearly documented where the LC deviated from it's original course. While I personally don't think that this is something that can be fixed, I think it does people to make sense of their experiences, knowing where the LC went wrong.