Ministry Churches

[Lisbon]

Originally Posted by Freedom

I think that in a certain respect the local churches were always "ministry churches" right from the very get-go. From what I understand of the beginnings of the LCM in the US, it seems that churches that were considered "local churches" always had some connection to Lee and his ministry. In other words, I don't know that there was ever a "local church" that formed in the absence of Lee, without his hand being involved, and that functioned without utilizing at least some of his ministry. I'm sure it's possible that there were churches in those days that didn't rely too much on his ministry, but I have to wonder, did a single "local church" ever form without Lee's knowledge or doing? The whole history of the LCM points to Lee being the one who organized the movement. He called for the migrations, he appointed elders, he visited churches. Thus, it's hard for me to believe that there were every any "local churches" that were autonomous in the sense that they could form and function without any relationship with Lee, yet still have fellowship with those churches that did have a relationship with Lee.

To me, it seems that the what distinctly made the local churches become "ministry churches" is when the ability to function autonomously without having to answer to Lee or the ministry office was taken away. Thus what you could call "ministry churches lite" became blatantly obvious "ministry churches".

I'm not trying to say that there is no need for LC leaders admit what the local churches really are. What I'm saying is that it's quite possible that they were always headed down this path, even though things didn't look that way at first. If Lee's model of local churches could have been implementation without having to use only his ministry, without having to answer to a ministry office, and without forcing "oneness" through manipulation, the LCM might actually have something positive to show for it all. I think this is a big reason that Lee's ministry hasn't gained any respect from the outside. His teachings may have sounded positive, however, the reality is that the local churches take only one ministry and they are sectarian to the point that they can't accept those who don't appreciate Lee's ministry. Sad to say, this is the outcome of Lee's "experiment".

Recently I read a book by WL in 1993 in which he insisted there was no control, no insistence on following him etc etc. Of course this is just a crock of you know what. The contract 150 plus elders signed in the late 80's clearly shows where the control is exerted. I'm pretty sure DR and maybe a few others balked at such a contract and I don't think I ever heard how it came out. Also I'm pretty sure this contract was heavily promoted by BP and RG. This talking out of both sides of the mouth is a most repulsive side of Lee and caroberated by men like BP, RG, RK, and others. Did they really think we were crazy, imbicils, six year olds? Maybe we were.
Lisbon