Comments on: A Conversation with Frank Viola, Part II

By: mac

mac — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:28:08 +0000

The Local Church of Witness Lee is NOT a cult. It IS an exclusivistic Christian denomination with authoritarian governance problems but they are genuine believers and as a group probably know the Bible better than anybody you know. Malicious and harmful rumors only make their problems worse. They need to be loved, not slandered.

By: grace

grace — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 17:47:36 +0000

Brother Maynard,
You’ve probably read Brant Hansen’s recent post about Kumar. It seems to cut to the heart of what an apostle is. I’m sure there are many other similar stories, but these guys just aren’t writing books and putting on conferences.

By: Brother Maynard

Brother Maynard — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 17:02:10 +0000

Grace and Alex,

I’m thinking about the intersection of your two questions… they’re much more related than it might appear at first glance. Watch for a post on this. In the meantime—

Alex, the short answer as to just what the Shepherding movement was can be found in the Wikipedia entry. I’ll talk more about some of the effects as I address the question of apostolic authority.

Grace, the short answer is that I’m unconvinced that all of the outworkings should be as implied by the dichotomy. James was an apostle, but did he get beyond Jerusalem? John appears to have settled in Ephesus for quite a while, and isn’t it generally accepted that the church in Ethiopia was started by the chap in Phillip’s miraculous chariot encounter? As implied, in a larger context I’m wondering about this recent apostolic movement and the attention that the “apostle” gets today. I believe all five of the gifts to the church in Ephesians four function now (and that there are five, not four), I have this nagging question: why is all the talk and the books about apostles today coming from people who claim some kind of apostolic calling or office, and not primarily from the theologians? As you know, I don’t see the Ephesian list as a hierarchy, which cuts directly across almost all of what’s being said about apostles these days. I think it’s time I did some more writing on this one.

By: AlexD

AlexD — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 02:26:30 +0000

I, too, have been greatly influenced by the works of Watchman Nee. Most of his works are available for reading free online at Living Streams Ministries – http://www.ministrybooks.org/collected-works.cfm – except for most of the books listed in the interview. The works are listed chronologically, and the authoritarian and hierarchal tendencies are clearly evident in his later writings. As I understand it, after he was imprisoned by the Communists, Witness Lee, his disciple fled China to Taiwan, then came to California where he established a cult.

I don’t know much about the shepherding movement that began in Florida, and I would like to know what happened there. If anyone knows, send me an email explaining that portion.

By: John L

John L — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 01:43:06 +0000

Terrific interview, BroM.

By: grace

grace — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 14:57:08 +0000

Brother Maynard,
I have enjoyed your review and interview. It’s always great to see your mind at work.

I am curious about your thoughts about itinerant apostolic workers, agree, disagree, why or why not?