Local churches

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The term local churches (地方教會) was originally used by Watchman Nee (倪柝聲) to describe Christian churches that form based upon the teaching of the ground of locality; however, its use to refer to any collection of independent Christian congregations in a city has become more popular in recent years. This article focuses on the former meaning, that is, a church that is based on the principle that all Christians in a city or locality are automatically members of the one church in that locality.

Christians started to meet as the local churches in the 1920s in China.

Contents

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The name "local churches"

The present day practice of Christians meeting as the local churches began when Brother Hammond yelled "Raise the Door" 1903-1972) in Foochow (福州), China c. 1922, and after the Communist takeover of China in 1949, was propagated outside of China by Nee's co-worker Witness Lee (李常受, 1905-1997). The local churches have emphatically avoided incorporation into one definite or legal entity, based on the belief that the Christian Church is not an organization, but rather a living organism. However, as is always the case when a group refuses or fails to name itself, the local churches have come to be labelled by outside observers as the Local Church, or the Little Flock ("小群"教會). The original "Little Flock" designation stems from a hymnal used by many of the local churches in China titled "Hymns for the Little Flock." "Little Flock Movement" is still used today to designated underground congregations in present-day communist China that meet in homes apart from and outside of the state-authorized "Church" (三自教會).

While the local churches are popularly called the "Local Church" by outsiders, it is important to note that the churches repudiate this and any name or label used to designate them, as taking a name would smack of the denominationalism which they so strongly castigate. The Christians who meet as the churches believe that to "denominate" themselves by taking a name is tantamount to denying the name of Christ. Indeed, there is no official organization to which a name can be assigned.

Those who meet as the local churches use various descriptive terms to refer to themselves: The Lord's recovery (主的恢復) refers to God's move in time which they believe produced the present practice of the local churches; the church life refers to the corporate experience of enjoying Christ as the believers' life and living; the Church refers not only to "the one true Church", but often to the practical experience of the Church as revealed in the New Testament; and the local churches (plural) is a description of how they see themselves. No one term predominates, and they are freely used interchangeably, even in mid-sentence.

Ironically, those in the local churches very rarely use the term the Local Church (singular and capitalized) to refer to themselves; many, in fact, consider this term given them by outsiders disparaging. They strongly disavow its use, as it suggests the idea of a denomination whose name is "the Local Church". Outsiders, on the other hand, find it difficult referring to a group of Christians who have distinct practices yet who have no official name, and so have assigned the local churches the label "the Local Church" for convenience and consistency of reference.

Individual churches are called by the name of their respective cities (e.g. "the church in San Francisco", "the church in Taipei" (台北市召會)). Those in the local churches insist that these are not official names, but rather an imitation of the pattern seen in the New Testament (e.g. "the church in Jerusalem", "the church in Antioch"). However, the distiniction between a "description" and a formal name is blurry.

Chinese language lacks capitalization and plural form while Chinese terms of Christianity were all translated from other languages. It is, technically, more difficult for Chinese-speakers to refer to their churches. In the beginning the standard Mandarin term "church" (教會) was used. But in recent years, the original Greek term "ekklesia" (召會) which is a new Chinese word coined by themselves is being adopted. Outside local churches, many would just call their churches "Meeting Halls" (聚會所).

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Basis of the local churches

The local churches organize on two basic principles, both centered on the firm belief that all Christians are universally one Body in Christ. This is the same idea promulgated in the Nicene Creed "one holy catholic church" ("one holy Christian church" in some Protestant versions).

The first principle is that all believers in Christ are members of the one universal Body of Christ. A notable and unique implication of this belief is that the local churches do not have any membership in the traditional sense of the term. They automatically recognize all Christians as members of the church in their respective localities. Although there is no statement of faith that anyone is required to assent to, the churches do require that a purported believer acknowledge that Jesus Christ is fully God and is also a genuine man (John 1:1,14), and confess that he is Lord. A believer must specifically believe that this Christ died for their sins and that God raised him from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

Beyond believing these points, there is no ceremony or official process required for membership (such as a specific method of baptism). Nor is anyone quizzed on these basic points of Christian belief: the local churches' practice in receiving other Christians is akin to "innocent until proven guilty" -- they will immediately offer anyone the bread and wine of communion as long as they say they are a believer in Jesus Christ(some localities require the person to be baptized in the past before taking the bread and wine though). Without official membership lists or required fees (at the individual or church levels), the only practical sense of membership in the local churches is keeping track of those who attend meetings from week to week.

The second basis of the local churches is what they call the ground of locality (sometimes called "localism"), the belief that in every city or locality (that is, town, village, etc.), there is only one local church. This is based on the fact that there is no other pattern recorded in the New Testament. Following the New Testament pattern, the churches take no name but the name of the city in which they are physically located (for example, "the church in Los Angeles", "the church of the Torontonians", etc.).

The local churches contend that the practices of multiple congregations organizing as denominations, and the practice of individual congregations within a city splitting to form "independent churches" are unbiblical and divisive, as they are based on human preferences rather than on receiving everyone whom Christ has received. This is not to say that many local churches, particularly in larger cities, do not meet as multiple congregations. However, in such situations, there is still only one eldership overseeing the entire city-church who together lead all the congregations by consensus. There is a separate article on the ground of locality, including its criticisms.

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Meeting life

Men and women of all ages meet with the local churches, representing a broad range of social, ethnic, and economic groups. Some devote a number of years or retire from their jobs to "serve the Lord" full-time. If not self-supported, these "full-timers" (全時間) are supported by free-will offerings, and devote their time to studying the Bible and caring for others spiritually, both believers and unbelievers. It is notable that the eldership is not usually salaried. Thus, most full-timers are not elders, and most elders are not full-timers, though quite a few are in the larger churches. Regardless of "full-time" status, all believers are encouraged to live like full-timers, emphasizing a personal relationship with Jesus, praying, meeting with other believers, and denial of the self (asceticism is strongly condemned, though).

In cities with many believers meeting as the local church, large meeting halls (聚會所) are acquired or built in close proximity to the neighborhoods in which they live, though most gatherings take place from house to house. When they do build meeting halls, they are generally unmarked, though some have a sign that generally reads something like "Meeting hall of the church in such-and-such-a-City".

Meeting life generally consists of meetings all together or by geographical district on Sundays and Tuesdays, as well as many Bible-study and prayer meetings in the homes of the members throughout the week. Meetings are open to the public, whether at meeting halls or in homes. The giving of money is strictly free-will and secret. Contributions are usually placed in a box located at the rear of the meeting hall, to avoid any psychological pressure to donate. Meetings sometimes have an emotional, highly-spirited atmosphere, characterized by enthusiastic shouting and singing, often reminiscent of old-fashioned gospel meetings.

It is not uncommon for single male college students to live together near college campuses in "brothers' houses" (弟兄之家) and single female college students to live together near college campuses in "sisters' houses" (姊妹之家). These arrangements allow for close fellowship and the sharing of duties, and allow college students to maintain a Christian standard of living while attending secular universities. On many campuses, students have formed clubs for the purposes of Christian fellowship and evangelism. Club names include Christians on Campus, Campus Christians, Christian Student Fellowship, and similar names.

Those who meet with the local churches often lend themselves for the construction of meeting halls, training centers, and other tasks involved in their church life. A number of meeting halls have been built by them at substantial savings of time and money to the group. The former facilities for Living Stream Ministry (水流職事站) and Witness Lee's former home in Anaheim, California, were built in 1976 by the hands of those who meet as the churches.

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Experiences in the United States

The local churches have experienced a reasonable amount of growth in numbers during its history in the U.S. Though a number of congregations in the U.S. were started before Witness Lee arrived to the U.S. by returning American missionaries and immigrants who were involved with the churches while in China, the movement did not gain much momentum until 1962. In that year, Witness Lee moved to the U.S. and began ministering mainly among Christians who were not satisfied with a Christianity they perceived to be full of un-Biblical teachings, extra-Biblical practices, immorality, and lack of focus.

The sharp denunciation of denominationalism and the call to unity and Biblical forms of worship attracted many Christians and Christian converts during the turbulent sixties and seventies. Those meeting as churches in established cities began moving to other major American cities to begin new churches. With thousands of Christians beginning to leave denominations to meet as the local churches in their respective cities, some denominational leaders became concerned. The ensuing controversy is discussed in a separate article on the Local Church controversy.

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The Recovery Version of the Bible

The local churches encourage the use of a self-translated "Recovery Version of the New Testament" which was directly translated from Greek and is available from the church’s publishing arm, the Living Stream Ministry.

The New Testament Recovery Version was translated and revised by the Editorial Section of Living Stream Ministry from 1974 to 1991. The New Testament Recovery Version contains numerous study aids, including, the subject and background of each book; detailed, interpretive outlines; enlightening footnotes, valuable cross-references, and a variety of useful charts and maps. All of these study aids were written by Witness Lee, who received much help from the writings of noted Bible expositors throughout church history, including his co-worker, Watchman Nee. The New Testament Recovery Version in its current format in English was published in 1991, and it is also available in Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, and several other languages. The Recovery Version of the Bible, including outlines, footnotes, and cross-references for both the Old and New Testaments have been available since December, 2002.

The Recovery Version Bibles may be read online: http://recoveryversion.org (English) http://www.recoveryversion.com.tw/Style0A/025/bible_menu.php (Chinese)

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Controversy

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Naming issues

The term "local church" is typically used in Evangelical circles to refer to assemblies of Christian believers organized near each other at the "local" level. Typically when the term "local church" is used within the organization associated with Witness Lee, it is used in contrast to all other groups claiming to be Christian. In other words, Witness Lee's group contends that as soon a group chooses a name to identify itself, then it loses both its local aspect and its unity with other Christians who meet without a name, such as Lee's group. In reality, the vast majority of Christians do not see the importance of these distinctions and they do not see themselves as divided because of a name or united because of the lack of one.

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, 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, his entire estate, including all published website material was donated to LSM by his estranged sister. Since that time LSM has sought to conceal Mr. Moran's writings from the public.

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Summary of allegations against the LC

This section attempts to summarize a number of allegations against the Local Church.

The allegations listed here are the ones most commonly cited. Unknown persons, ostensibly biased towards the Local Church, have posted content to this page countering that some of the criticisms here are slanderous and unsubstantiated, and are calculated to bias the minds of newcomers to keep them from making an objective, experiential evaluation of the Local Church.

  • Allegation of Trash Journalism: Since so much of these allegations are not proven, referenced, have no basis in fact, or are not verifiable in yet have been posted in defiance of the wikipedia NPOV policy. Yet there is perceived by some critics an intrinsic value in posting these unverifaible claims since they so thoroughly annoy the local church members and can confuse new comers. A really irresponsible critic hopes that through paralysis by extended analysis and debate will enable indefinitely this page to remain in wikipedia for public viewing.
  • Alienation from family that does not attend the Local Church: Unlike many mainstream Christians, members of the Local Church generally discourage, avoid the practice of, and do not recognize the celebration of Christmas in the traditional sense: that is carol singing, putting up Christmas trees and other decorations, and exchanging presents. This is for two commonly cited reasons: (1) the claim by some theologians that Christ was born in the summer rather than on December 25, and (2) the ancient origins in pagan rituals of what is now commonly celebrated as Christmas on December 25.

    This practice of avoiding the celebration of mainstream Christmas is not, in and of itself, a criticism; however, it does speak to something larger. Each year during Christmas and Thanksgiving, the Local Church holds conferences attended by thousands of members from across the world. Local Church members claim that these two holidays are the only time of the year that almost everybody has for holidays, and are therefore optimal for attendance. Critics, however, note that this prevents members of the church from spending time with members of their own family who are not in the church. (It should be noted that American members of the Local Church freely celebrate and encourage the celebration of the American holiday Thanksgiving.)

  • 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 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.
  • 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. However since no cost comparisons are provided this concern will vary according to house-hold budget.
  • 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 gain God's nature organically. Some critics claim that the local churches reverse the meaning of Un-christian doctrines, however the result of this double-negative is in fact to proclaim Christian doctrine.
  • Doctrinal differences need to be discussed in detail at a latter date or for now the critics in this article will present some conclusions in advance of proof such as members of the Local Church claim that all of Witness Lee's doctrines are based on the Bible [how dare they!]. They differ in interpretation in a number of points with other Christian groups, as does most of christianity with itself, but they claim fully to agree with everything in the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed, so in short this is controversial because there is not one sitable issue, but it is wildly claimed there will be issues found from the discussions to be held later.
  • Allegation of disdain toward Christianity and all things Christian: Critics claim that the Local Church blatantly hates Christianity, and even since they declare to be christians that they hate themselves!. Members unabashedly affirm their disdain for traditional Christianity as a religious system, whether denominational, non-denominational or eceumenical. It is not the believers into Christ from which they separate themselves, but the system of Christianity which they consider degraded. Individual members, however, have expressed some respect and admiration for the organization and practices of the Plymouth Brethren, the Religious Society of Friends, and certain Baptist congregations. Members of the "Local Church movement" emphatically assert that they love and receive all Christians as their genuine brothers and sisters, but believe that God is using the local churches to carry out His practical testimony of oneness in this current age. They also claim to accept all true believers as members of the one universal Body of Christ. While critics do not disagree with Paul's charge to the Corinithians not to demoninate based on a name or a ministering servant, critics do not agree that they need to practically meet and express the oneness of Christ's body within their locality. Critics generally don't chose to meet in the local churches since they have such disdain toward all christians meeting locally.
  • 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. Critics claim the local church christians who frame bible versus are worshipping these words, other critics claim that praying over outlines is worshipping paper. Some critics suggest not praying over outlines and study guides for light, it is safer not to even read them. Still some claim that local church christians repeat some words as many times as Bhuddists therefore they must be Bhuddists.
  • 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. "Front organizations associated with the local churches include Living Stream Ministry and Bibles for America. Anonymous critics claim that they must be hiding something and the Local Church is a front. Some critics claim they have numerous fronts to hide things, for example the registered christian publisher Living Stream is really publisher of christian books, the agency Bibles for America is a front as they actually distribute bibles!
  • 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. This secrecey is very extreme in that the local church members don't even know that they are in the Local Church, they think they are in the local church, but critics know the difference. Critics claim because they don't have a name some members think they are in baptist or pentecostal or other denominational meetings and don't even know it! Critics state there are many more secrets which can not be posted because they would no longer be extremely secretive.
  • 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 the day of the trial, and could not appear in court. Also, the author of The God-Men moved to Denmark immediately before the trial. 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. Regardless of these uncontested victories critics find any local church victories as controversial.

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


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References

Christianity Today March, 2006, article "Loose Cult Talk - There just might be a better way to solve theological disputes." http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/003/15.27.html

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Critical perspectives

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

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Local Church perspectives

  • Contending for the Faith - 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 for the current litigation.
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Information regarding lawsuits

  • Defense by LSM - A thorough treatment, with a copy of the statement of the decision.
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Old information regarding The Mindbenders

  • The Mindbenders by Jack Sparks - 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.
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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.

Texas Judiciary Opinion

On January 5, 2006 the Court of Appeals for the First District of Texas issued this opinion:

"This is a libel suit brought by a church against a publisher and two authors after the church was included in a book about “religious cults,” as that term is defined in the book. The publisher and authors moved for summary judgment, which the trial court denied. This interlocutory appeal followed. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 51.014(b) (Vernon Supp. 2005). Because we agree that the passages in the book that refer to the church are not, as a matter of law, defamatory, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and render judgment that the church take nothing from the publisher and authors."

In conclusion, the court stated:

"Because the allegedly libel statements are not defamatory, as a matter of law, we sustain the publisher and authors’ first issue on appeal. Accordingly, we need not address the remaining issues and decline to do so.
"We reverse the judgment of the trial court and render judgment that the church take nothing from the publisher and authors."
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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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References

(A recent change to ministrybooks.org has caused the "full text online" links below to break; please go directly to ministrybooks.org and navigate to find the titles listed--they are still available.)

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Related links

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External links

Sites run by the Living Stream Ministry and Christians in the local churches:

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Criticism

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