Quote:
Originally Posted by YP0534
Right, but I guess I would ask why such "practice" requires the existence of all the trappings of traditional Christian religious worship - membership rolls, clerical workers, meeting halls, etc. Moreover, even if it does require them, shouldn't they be a mere incident of meeting in oneness rather than a goal for an eventual formal organizational system? Talking about who is the right eldership has always seemed like a serious problem of putting the cart before the horse in these discussions.
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Thank you YP0534,
Acts 14:23 shows churches were already there and recognized as such before any elders were appointed. Elders are not the issue. Elders do not a church make.
There were a few LSMers in Chapel Hill, NC where I lived in 1989. I told them to their faces that they were a sect and a division. I challenged them on their notions of oneness and I took the position that our oneness was in Christ alone and had nothing to do with our oneness with an apostle or his work. They declared that our oneness was based on our oneness with "THE APOSTLE." They further let me know that oneness with the Apostle meant supporting the current work and burden of the apostle. You could not just be neutral or passive. If you were, that was an undermining of the work. In addition, they informed me that they had written a letter to WL informing him that I was not one with the ministry and not supporting the new way. They planned to deliver it to him at the spring conference in Cleveland. With that we shook hands and parted ways.
I called my best friend, Don Looper, after this encounter. He told me I had made a mistake and should have moved to another town. Our conversation turned to the matter of Deputy Authority. For Don Looper, it was all about Deputy Authority. The matter of one church one city never came up. He never contacted me again. I did get up with him 11 years later on my initiative. I was in San Antonio on business and drove up to see him. He received me for the afternoon but no hospitality was offered. I stayed in a motel.
Within a few days after the encounter with the NC LSMers, I received a call from Titus Chu. He had somehow heard of our problems and what was about to transpire. He invited me to come to Cleveland and stay with him and he would have me sit next to WL during the meetings. Then, these few would not dare do anything against me.
Of course I did not go to Cleveland. But I did lose my relationship with most of the brothers in Texas and all the brothers in the Ohio area for nearly 15 years. But all is forgiven. It was forgiven then as well as now. Based on what those brothers held in their conscience they were between a rock and hard place.
Throughout 1989 and 1990, I waited to see how all would come down. From several sources I was informed that WL had asked on several occasions if someone would visit me to rescue me. He had told the brothers that “Don is the purest brother in the recovery.” I have no idea why he thought that but it seems he did. Finally, he charged Benson directly to go and see me. (There were little birds in the room at that time that would call me.) Within a few days I received a letter from Benson. This was the first letter ever from Benson. He included a check for $500. This was another first, but very much appreciated. Since I had severed my relationship with the LSM etc., I had stayed about one week away from bankruptcy and living on the street. I thanked him for the financial help but it never worked out for us to get together.
The content of his letter and my reply is another story for another time. I will just say this. In his letter, he never brought us “local church” but only wrote of WL and the glorious work that was taking place.
The model of the city church was of no consequence to the LSM cadre. They were all about persons and personalities and power struggles. Thus, I have continued to point to the twin dangers of “Deputy Authority” and “the Work.” In my experience with them from 1974 on, it was not about one church one city or the correct set of elders but all about “the Apostle,” “the Ministry,” “the Work,” “the Flow,” “the Coordination,” “the Oneness,” etc.etc. To quote by beloved brother Dan Towle, “Don you and I cannot be one unless you are one with Max.” On another occasion he stated, “We have a middle management problem,” when referring to local elders. He saw the critical entity as “the Work,” the “we” above and the elders were the middle managers for the Work. Believe me I have pages and pages I could write along this line and quote upon quote. Trust me. THE LSM IS NOT ABOUT THE MODEL OF ONE CHURCH ONE CITY. To find this being taught there, you will need to go deep into the remote stacks and dust off a volume of forgotten lore.
Hope, Don Rutledge
A believer in Christ Jesus who is seeking to be a true disciple.
John 8:31-32, Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. "
NASB