[Freedom]

Originally Posted by OBW

And the LRC is just another very over-the-top version of that long parade of splits over pet teachings, practices, or personalities. And in the case of both the Little Flock and then the LRC in the U.S., personality has been very important.

This is the reason that I bring M.E. Barber into this. Ever since I first heard it, I have always have felt uneasy about the LC narrative of just what M.E. Barber was doing in China. They will claim that her being in China was the Lord’s sovereign arrangement for the ‘perfecting’ of Nee and that all this needed to happen on the “virgin soil” of China. By all indications, she was there in China as part of some kind of self-induced exile (kind of like Yoda – okay bad analogy). I see her a bit of a “lone wolf” type and we already know her to be highly esoteric. So why is this so significant? It all points to probability that she was more than likely trying to “prove herself” in China apart from any past affiliations.

According to what WL said, upon severing ties with her affiliations, it sounds like her work in China didn’t involve much of anything besides some inner-life stuff in her home (red flag #1). Upon meeting Nee, she put all her eggs in that basket (red flag #2). It is also significant that Lee mentioned that no one besides Nee could handle her rebuking (red flag #3). So Nee’s ‘foundation’ consisted of an independent missionary who by all indications was not someone who most would think wise to follow. I hope that no one gets me wrong, I’m not trying to criticize or ‘attack’ M.E. Barber. I respect her for what it’s worth, but I think OBW provides a good characterization of her, she was a ‘rebel’. That understanding is important when discussing Nee’s background.

I think that because of being mentored in a highly isolated environment, Nee easily took up to the idea of being part of, or heading a group that would be “God’s remnant”. I’m sure that Nee greatly appreciated his mentoring, but there is a tremendous amount of irony here. The idea of there being a remnant by its very definition is a distinction, even a distinction of all distinctions. So while others are unfortunately dividing over sometimes minor issues, those in the LC have divided themselves over both minor issues and also by the notion that all others are in apostasy, the latter being the defining distinction of the LC.