Local Church controversy

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The "Local Church" Living Stream Ministry, the local churches, and some related organizations have been the subjects of controversy. The "local churches" (called The Local Church by critics and outsiders) are Christian churches that are established and meet based upon the ground of locality; that is, the principle that all Christians in a city or locality are members of the one church in that locality. A separate article describes the local churches in general, including an explanation of the names "local churches" and "The Local Church", their beliefs, practices, and history. This article discusses the controversy surrounding the churches. Because this article discusses the controversies, and because critics of the local churches refer to them as "The Local Church", this article will use the name "Local Church" in the context of controversy.

Contents
1 What is meant by "local church"?
2 Summary of allegations made anonymously against the LC
3 Resources Online

3.1 References
3.2 Critical Perspectives
3.3 Local Church Perspectives
3.4 Information Regarding Lawsuits

3.4.1 Old Information Regarding The Mindbenders
3.4.2 Information Regarding the Current Case with Harvest House Publishers

4 History of Controversy
5 Related links

What is meant by "local church"?

The term "local church" is typically used in Evangelical circles to refer to bodies of Christian believers organized near each other, or at the "local" level. Typically the term is used within the organization against all others claiming to be Christian, whether as part of a large church convention or in an independent community church.

Outside the organization, the term "Local Church" refers to the group of churches related to the Living Stream Ministry (LSM) that call themselves "the local churches". Some critics claim that the local churches were started by Witness Lee, a coworker of Watchman Nee who moved to the United States in the 1960s; however, those in the local churches, including Witness Lee himself, trace their practice of church life directly to Watchman Nee, his numerous publications on the topic of the local churches (see References below), and the hundreds of local churches that Watchman Nee himself raised up in China. Within the movement, it is known generally as "The Lord's Recovery," despite insistence that the movement never name itself to outsiders. See local churches for further explanation of the name(s) of the group.

As Witness Lee never claimed the name "Local Church" for the movement, and since the name was applied by those outside the movement, the term "local church" cannot be considered a trademark or trade name of any organization and remains in the public domain. This was decided in The Church in Houston (Complainant) v. Jim Moran, Light of Truth Ministries (http://arbiter.wipo.int/domains/decisions/html/2001/d2001-0683.html), in which

"the Panel conclude[d] that Complainant has not met its burden of establishing that it has rights in the mark 'The Local Church.' The mark is not registered, and therefore enjoys no presumption of validity under United States law." The Local Church lost its suit in court. However, when Mr. Moran died of a heart attack in 2003, LSM paid his family an undisclosed amount to buy his estate including all published material. This material has since been removed from the public.

Summary of allegations made anonymously against the LC

This section will discuss a number of allegations that critics of the Local Church make. Those in the Local Church counter that many of the claims levied are slanderous and unsubstantiated, having no basis in fact or any evidence to support them. They argue that these allegations are calculated to bias the minds of newcomers to keep them from making an objective, experiential evaluation of whether they like the Local Church themselves or not. In other words, they argue that even if the claims are not true, they "scare people off" without having a chance to evaluate their truth. The allegations listed here are the most widely used and known.

  • Allegation of sexual impropriety: One important allegation is regarding the controversy surrounding Witness Lee's son, Philip, general manager of Living Stream Ministry in the 1980s. Some said Philip was his father's heir apparent to the entire Local Church organization. This sparked controversy in why Witness Lee's son was made the head of a large publishing organization. In the 1980s, Philip moved into a home on the same property as Witness Lee and his second wife. The controversy began when Philip was accused of committing adultery with several different women at the Living Stream Ministry office in the late 1980s. Several leaders (most notably the 3 former elders of the Church in Anaheim, John Ingalls, Al Knoch and Godfred Otuteye) became concerned over the allegations and brought their concerns to Witness Lee. When Lee did not publicly discipline his son, they resigned their positions and left the Church as did hundreds of followers. Ultimately, Philip did resign his senior position, but no wrongdoing was ever admitted.
  • Expense to Members of Trainings and Conferences: Critics claim that Living Stream Ministry drains members' expenses with numerous conferences and trainings. Followers, however, assert that they enjoy and benefit from these conferences. In fact, not only does LSM hold numerous conferences, but most large churches also hold at least one or two conferences a year. In general, the Local Church culture is one in which members love to meet with each other as often as possible, and they often willingly use their vacations to attend such conferences. In response to criticism, members counter that while there is no teaching that attending meetings makes anyone a "good" Christian, the Bible directs believers to meet regularly (Hebrews 3:13; 10:25). They believe that frequent meetings help them grow in their relationship with Jesus.
  • Calling on the Name of the Lord Compared to Buddhist-style Mantras: Critics claim that the practice of "calling on the name of the Lord" is similar to Buddhist mantras. Members find it hard to understand what is "Buddhist" about calling "O Lord Jesus!" They cite the innumerable passages in the Old and New Testaments that tell believers to "call on the name of the Lord". They further consider the critics' accusation akin to Paul's persecution of the early Christians, where he was authorized to arrest all who called on the name of the Lord (Jesus) (Acts 9:14).
  • Allegation of Un-Christian doctrine: Critics claim that the Local Church reverses the meaning of such essential beliefs as salvation, redemption, divine love, human nature and the Name of Christ. For example, the central doctrine of the group is "God became man that man would become God in life and nature, but not in the Godhead." As taught in the Local Church, this means that man must grow in the life of God until he is completely transformed into Christ's image, fully expressing God. Man's original sinful nature will never be recovered or "redeemed." Instead it must be replaced by God's nature.
Doctrinal differences need to be discussed in detail, but members of the Local Church claim that all of Witness Lee's doctrines are based on the Bible. They differ in interpretation in a number of points with other Christian groups, but they claim fully to agree with everything in the Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed.
  • Allegation of Disdain Toward Christianity and all things Christian: Critics claim that the Local Church blatantly hates Christianity. Members unabashedly affirm their disdain for traditional Christianity as a religious system, whether denominational, non-demoninational or eceumenical. It is not the believers into Christ from which they separate themselves, but the system of Christianity which they consider degraded. They emphatically assert that they love and receive all Christians as their genuine brothers and sisters, but believe that God is using the Local Church to carry out His will in this current age. They also claim to accept all true believers as members of the one universal Body of Christ.
  • Pray-Reading: Critics claim that Local Church members worship the published words of Witness through their practice of Pray-Reading. Members "pray-read" non-inspired spiritual works, such as the words of hymns and the words of Witness Lee as well as other Christian writers. They strongly defend the pray-reading of the Bible based on verses such as Ephesians 6:17-18 that mentions taking the Word of God with all prayer, and verses such as Jeremiah 15:16, Matthew 4:4, and 1 Peter 2:2 that talk of eating, drinking, and breathing the words of God from the Bible. Pray-reading is sometimes described as "Buddhist" by critics because it involves repetition in which critics say the mind can be distracted from Christ by Satan.
  • Allegation of Having Numerous front organizations: Critics claim that the Local Church has placed several "front" organizations to hide their identity from the unsuspecting public.
  • A related allegation that there is extreme secrecy involving identifying the organization, and that no name is ever given to inquirers. In response, "Local Church" members point out that they reject the name "Local Church", and have always taught that the Christian Church should not bear any name. See discussion on names in the article, the local churches. Members rarely ever use that name to refer to themselves and thus rarely use the name with outsiders. "Front organizations associated with the local churches include Living Stream Ministry and Bibles for America.
  • Lawsuits against critics: In 1977, two books, The Mindbenders and The God-Men were published accusing the "Local Church" of being a cult. Organizations and individuals associated with the Local Church have successfully sued certain critics for libel on these and different occasions. Critics consider this an abuse of libel laws to silence free speech. After defendants exhausted their finances and resources, The Mindbenders was eventually retracted and withdrawn from publication with a public apology, and The God-Men was determined in court to be “in all major respects false, defamatory and unprivileged, and, therefore, libelous.” However, the trial was uncontested when the defendant declared bankruptcy and could not appear in court. The decision was thus delivered in default. The Statement of Decision is the legal record of the verdict of the Superior Court of the State of California in and for the County of Alameda.

Currently, the Living Stream Ministry is acting as the legal plenipotentiary on behalf of member churches which it legally names "The Local Church."

Resources Online

Some of the resources available online are listed here. By no means is this meant to be an exhaustive listing of resources for any particular point of view.

References

Critical Perspectives

Some websites which are critical of the movement, usually by Evangelical Christians, can be found online here:

Local Church Perspectives

  • The Lord's Recovery (http://www.lordsrecovery.org/) - A History of the Lord's Recovery, as written by those inside the movement. Of particular interest is The Present Recovery (http://www.lordsrecovery.org/history/iv.html) which covers the recent history from an insider point of view.
  • Contending for the Faith (http://www.contendingforthefaith.com/) - Responses to critiques, information regarding cases involving the The God-Men and The Mindbenders, and current litigation involving Harvest House Publishers. Specifically, one should note the arguments for the alleged Biblical basis (http://www.contendingforthefaith.org/libel-litigations/harvest-house-et-al/scriptural.html) for the current litigation.

Information Regarding Lawsuits

  • Defense by LSM (http://www.contendingforthefaith.org/libel-litigations/god-men/index.html) - A thorough treatment, with a copy of the statement of the decision.

Old Information Regarding The Mindbenders

  • The Mindbenders by Jack Sparks (http://www.contendingforthefaith.org/libel-litigations/mindbenders/index.html) - A POV treatment of the controversy surrounding The Mindbenders and its eventual retraction by Thomas Nelson Publishers. In 1980, four separate lawsuits were filed against Thomas Nelson in Anaheim, Dallas, Atlanta, and Cleveland, for a total of $37 million. When Thomas Nelson's liability insurance was near exhaustion, Thomas Nelson opted to settle out of court and issued a retraction as part of the settlement, which appeared in several newspapers. This retraction does not comment on alleged errors in the book; neither does it apologize for its content. Further, the retraction was issued by Thomas Nelson, whereas Jack Sparks did not issue any retraction.

Information Regarding the Current Case with Harvest House Publishers

Sites in support of the Local Church:

Sites by Harvest House: In this suit, The Local Church officially uses the name "Local Church" to refer to itself as a legal entity. The Living Stream Ministry acts as the sole decision-making organ, or headquarters, for all the various churches and business ventures.

History of Controversy

The following is taken in part from a 1984 copy of the SCP Newsletter. Please note that the source of this material has a decided (negative) bias against the Local Church.

Date Controversy With Controversy Over What The Local Church Did Outcome
1966 Members of the Little Flock Church at Shuman Reservoir, Taiwan. Church property. In this rural church, the elders welcomed as Bible teachers persons previously excommunicated by Witness Lee in Taipei. A church split followed, and control of church property became an issue. Followers of Witness Lee from out of town staged a sit-in in the church building and threatened to "take the next step" if the keys to the building were not given to them. Approximately 90 church members reluctantly gave up the church property to approximately 10 of Lee's followers. [Note: Two out of the three persons listed on the title as owners of the building were sympathetic to Witness Lee].
1971 Believers in Church Assembly Hall, Hong Kong Ownership of church property on Observatory Road in Hong Kong. The church was split over this. Church members sympathetic to Witness Lee filed a lawsuit against other members. Out of court settlement. Property went to followers of Witness Lee.
1973 Christian Literature Crusade. Fort Washington, PA. Alleged inaccuracies in The Ecclesiology of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee by James Mo-oi Cheung. Threatened to sue Christian Literature Crusade. CLC recalled books, apologized to Witness Lee, agreed not to publish revised edition.
1977 Dr. Walter Martin, Founder and Director, Christian Research Institute. San Juan Capistrano, CA. Criticism of Witness Lee and The Local Church in public lectures. Lawsuit threatened by The Local Church. Threat ignored. No legal action taken.
1977 Maranatha Village. Santa Ana, CA. Sale of The Mind Benders, a book critical of The Local Church. Requests made by men identifying themselves as Local Church members that Maranatha Village refrain from selling the book. Persons placed Local Church tracts in the books racks. Store continued to sell the book. Employees removed Local Church tracts from book racks.
1978 Believers in The Church in Denver. Denver, Colorado. Ownership of church property in Denver. The church was split over this. Church members sympathetic to Witness Lee filed a lawsuit against other members. Out of court settlement. Property went to Witness Lee's followers.
1978 Lighthouse Christian Store. Long Beach, CA Sale of The Mind Benders in the store. Local Church members requested that the book be removed from the bookshelves. Bookstore refused to remove the book from bookshelves.
1979 Christian Herald Books, publisher. Dr. Ronald Enroth, author. Mention of The Local Church in The Lure of the Cults by Dr. Ronald Enroth. Lawsuit threatened by The Local Church. Without consulting the author, the publisher removed all references to The Local Church in a revised edition.
1979 Nelson Publishers. Nashville, TN; Dr. Jack Sparks, author. The Mind Benders, a book examining cults which included a chapter on The Local Church. Filed four separate lawsuits simultaneously in Anaheim, Dallas, Atlanta and Cleveland for $37 million. Settled out of court with the publisher issuing a retraction and ceasing distribution of the book - the author making no apology or retraction. Media reports that The Local Church received $150,000 in settlement. Estimates are that over one million dollars was expended in litigation costs before settlement.
1979 Daniel Smith, former missionary with China Inland Mission; pastor; Bible teacher. Vancouver, B.C., Canada Comments critical of The Local Church in Pilgrim of the Heavenly Way, Smith's self-published autobiography. The Local Church sent one of their leaders to Canada asking that the book be retracted - "half threatening me," according to Smith. Author rewrote 1 1/2 pages of the book, pasting pages of new text over the old. He was not contacted again.
1979 Schwengeler-Verlag, publishers. Switzerland. Neil T. Duddy and Spiritual Counterfeits Project, authors. Berkeley, CA Die Sonder Lehre Des Witness Lee Und Seiner Ortsgemeinde, a book examining The Local Church, published in the German language, written by SCP researchers. Filed lawsuit in a Swiss court to stop distribution of the book. Dismissed by Swiss court because improper plaintiff brought suit. Appealed by The Local Church but dismissal was upheld by higher court.
1979 Dr. James Bjornstad, author. Counterfeits at Your Door. Regal Books, publisher. Glendale, CA. Mention of The Local Church in Counterfeits at Your Door. Dr. Bjornstad was threatened with a lawsuit by Local Church elders who wanted the book taken off the market. Threat ignored. No legal action taken.
1980 Moody Press. Moody Bible Institute. George Sweeting, president and editor-in-chief. Chicago, IL The July/August 1979 issue of Moody Monthly magazine which briefly critiqued The Local Church in a feature article, "A Catalogue of cults: Where they stand on the Deity of Christ." Prior to this, Local Church members had come onto the Moody Bible Institute campus shouting "Babylon is falling, Moody is crumbling, Moody's going to burn!" Filed a $4.8 million lawsuit in Orange County, California against Moody Press, Moody Bible Institute, and George Sweeting. Settled out of court. Moody Monthly made no retraction, but did agree to delete mention of The Local Church in the reprint of the popular article.
1980 Mr. Salem Kirban, author. Salem Kirban, Inc., publisher. Huntingdon Valley, PA A chapter on The Local Church in Satan's Angels Exposed by Salem Kirban. Representatives of The Local Church visited Salem Kirban, asking him to omit the chapter in subsequent editions, reminding him that they were suing Thomas Nelson over The Mind Benders. Chapter on The Local Church was omitted from subsequent editions. Nothing further was heard from The Local Church.
1980 Eternity magazine. Philadelphia, PA; Dr. Ronald Enroth, author. Mention of Witness Lee in an article entitled "The Power Abusers" by Dr. Enroth, Eternity, October, 1979. Four Local Church elders visited Eternity officials and raised the possibility of legal action if certain demands were not met. As a result of this coercive action, The Local Church was allowed to place a statement in the October 1980 issue of Eternity explaining their faith and practices.
1980 Media Spotlight Ministries, Santa Ana, CA Critique of The Local Church in Media Spotlight magazine, Vol. 3, No. 2 (April - July, 1980) Lawsuit threatened by The Local Church. Threat ignored. Editor and publisher Al Dager continued to comment on the group in a later issue. No legal action taken.
1980 Neil T. Duddy and the Spiritual Counterfeits Project, authors. Berkeley, CA; Schwengeler-Verlag, publishers. Switzerland Die Sonder Lehre Des Witness Lee Und Seiner Ortsgemeinde, a book examining The Local Church, published in the German language, written by SCP researchers. Lawsuit filed by The Local Church in Oakland, California. (Note: a similar lawsuit against SCP was filed earlier in Switzerland). SCP forced into bankruptcy. Resulted in a default ruling against SCP.
1981 A Christian book distribution firm. New Zealand. Distribution of The Mind Benders, a book criticizing The Local church. Lawsuit threatened by The Local Church. Reported in New Zealand Truth newspaper, 23 June 1981, page 10. Outcome unknown.
October, 1983 InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF) chapter at San Francisco State University. San Francisco, CA Criticism of the local church on campus. A student leader in the IVCF chapter at SF State conducted a seminar on cults for students. In the one session examining the local churches, the student leader referred to the group as a cult. Approximately five students attended the session - and approximately six local church members sat in to observe. Christian Students, a local church campus organization, charged IVCF with spreading false accusations and rumors about them based on The God-Men, which is published by InterVarsity Press. Notices were placed by The Christian Students in two campus newspapers announcing four public meetings in which they would detail their grievances. Unknown.

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