Attending Different Churches: Divisive attitudes

[awareness]

Originally Posted by Evangelical

I see this GotQuestions attitude as a result of seeing the church as a collection of individual gatherings that one can choose from within a city, rather than the biblical definition as all believers in the city.

I find your OP to be poppycock. And all believers in a city are 'in the church', regardless if they meet in homes, denominations, or in Lee's local churches (that's just another denomination among the others).

[Evangelical]

Originally Posted by awareness

I find your OP to be poppycock. And all believers in a city are 'in the church', regardless if they meet in homes, denominations, or in Lee's local churches (that's just another denomination among the others).

So you agree that the GotQuestions article is spreading a divisive attitude by saying people should only meet with one church and not hop around?

[awareness]

Originally Posted by Evangelical

So you agree that the GotQuestions article is spreading a divisive attitude by saying people should only meet with one church and not hop around?

People should meet wherever or with whoever they please. I've know Christians that were meeting in 3 different type churches each week. No big deal. And I have family that have met in only one church all their life.

And just like Lee's local church, none of them are perfect.

[Evangelical]

Originally Posted by awareness

People should meet wherever or with whoever they please. I've know Christians that were meeting in 3 different type churches each week. No big deal. And I have family that have met in only one church all their life.

And just like Lee's local church, none of them are perfect.

So you believe that the advice given by the GotQuestions article is divisive or would lead to division. I believe it is a divisive advice because it encourages people to remain in their sects - this is what most pastors/priests want anyway.

[awareness]

Originally Posted by Evangelical

So you believe that the advice given by the GotQuestions article is divisive or would lead to division. I believe it is a divisive advice because it encourages people to remain in their sects - this is what most pastors/priests want anyway.

I think perchance you're thinking to much about the geography, brick and mortar, dirt, and distance, dividing believers, rather than seeing that there's no division in the Spirit.

Like I told the brother sent to me by the elders, to give me the lowdown about oneness by following Lee. I said :

We're to follow the Spirit, not a man. If Lee is in his spirit, and I'm in mine, then we're one. But if I'm in my spirit and Lee not in his, we're not one, and vice versa. If we were both in our spirit we were one (even thousands of miles apart from each other)

.
In other words, you could be in your spirit in a local church meeting, I could be in mine while at home, and we could be one with the little old lady sitting in the back of a Baptist church if she's in her spirit.

BTW, the brother's answer to me was, "Lee is always in his spirit." Haha. As if he could know such a thing. That only revealed his Lee worship.

[Evangelical]

Originally Posted by awareness

I think perchance you're thinking to much about the geography, brick and mortar, dirt, and distance, dividing believers, rather than seeing that there's no division in the Spirit.

Like I told the brother sent to me by the elders, to give me the lowdown about oneness by following Lee. I said :

We're to follow the Spirit, not a man. If Lee is in his spirit, and I'm in mine, then we're one. But if I'm in my spirit and Lee not in his, we're not one, and vice versa. If we were both in our spirit we were one (even thousands of miles apart from each other)

.
In other words, you could be in your spirit in a local church meeting, I could be in mine while at home, and we could be one with the little old lady sitting in the back of a Baptist church if she's in her spirit.

BTW, the brother's answer to me was, "Lee is always in his spirit." Haha. As if he could know such a thing. That only revealed his Lee worship.

I'm talking about practical division and unity, yes, what you describe is the spiritual reality, but not the practical reality. Watchman Nee/Lee both addressed the practical aspect, which is important.

[awareness]

Originally Posted by Evangelical

I'm talking about practical division and unity, yes, what you describe is the spiritual reality, but not the practical reality. Watchman Nee/Lee both addressed the practical aspect, which is important.

Nee and Lee turned dirt into division.

[UntoHim]

So Mr. E,
What happened when you started meeting with the Local Church of Witness Lee? Did you have a choice, or were you forced at gunpoint? Where you comatose by chance, or did you have all your facilities about you? Were you making a conscious choice to join, or were you some kind of automaton with no mind, emotion or will?
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[Evangelical]

Originally Posted by UntoHim

So Mr. E,
What happened when you started meeting with the Local Church of Witness Lee? Did you have a choice, or were you forced at gunpoint? Where you comatose by chance, or did you have all your facilities about you? Were you making a conscious choice to join, or were you some kind of automaton with no mind, emotion or will?
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There was no forcing.

[UntoHim]

Originally Posted by UntoHim

Were you making a conscious choice to join, or were you some kind of automaton with no mind, emotion or will?

Originally Posted by Evangelical

There was no forcing.

Great. No forcing. Were you making a conscious choice to start meeting with the Local Church?
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[Evangelical]

Originally Posted by UntoHim

Great. No forcing. Were you making a conscious choice to start meeting with the Local Church?
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Yes I chose to stop meeting with the denomination I was in and meet with the local churches.

[UntoHim]

Originally Posted by Evangelical

Yes I chose to stop meeting with the denomination I was in and meet with the local churches.

Great. So you were able to exercise your free will and make a conscious choice. So the Local Church became your personal preference - your meeting place of choice as it were.

Now that we have established the fact that you were willing and able to make a choice, let's move on to the free will and ability to make a choice for other believers. Do other believers have the same ability to make a conscious choice on where they want to worship and serve? Do they have the right and ability to exercise their free will and meet with a fellowship/congregation that does not necessarily subscribe to the doctrine of locality as taught by Nee/Lee?
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