Quote:
Originally Posted by Curious
I would be very interested in learning some more about these things, to fill in the picture.
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I believe that Steve was in a meeting where WL said, "We have to find out what happened to those who left; to reconcile with them." This goes against the "guanxi network" ethos of "once out, ever out." Yet the message was on reconciliation and WL in a burst of Christian piety, said that he wanted to make peace.
So Steve, burning for the building up of the Body of Christ, went forth and got the stories.
Now, what to do? Clearly he was operating within a culture of silence, and to bring "bad news" to the church about what happened would have ramifications. But WL had said, "get the stories - reconcile". So there he was. He stayed with WL's directives, which were based on NT exegesis.
He went to the local leaders. Reply, "Nix. Quiet." Now, another dilemma. Listen to the local leaders, or go above them? He went above them. Surely at some point he must have realized that this would not go well. But the directive was there, and he remained steadfast.
(at least, this was my take, reading the story)