One brother from Brazil believes that because a certain Web site does not list any churches for some countries in South America, the saints there have been cut off from the Lord’s recovery due to the matter of one publication. Can it really be so?
The brother writes in his 25 October 2005 letter, posted by the CBs on their site:
In South America, we’ve been following the Lord and living absolutely for His eternal plan and Recovery for the last decades, but since brother Lee went to be with the Lord, this question of “one publication” has been used by some saints to “cut us off” from the Body. Yes, when I access [Web] pages like www.localchurches.org I feel like that. We are more than a thousand churches in my country, but there is none in the map provided in that site. Is this happening just because we don’t follow the “one publication”? I sincerely can’t see any other reason for that, and I sincerely don’t think that this is enough to cut the Body of Christ.
Well, I sincerely know another reason for that, and I would like to set the record straight. At the same time, I would like to make clear what the CBs are actually saying about themselves in reproducing this letter.
Why are there no churches listed for some of the countries in South America on the map at http://southamerica.localchurches.org/contact-us/region.htm? I asked the brothers involved with this Web site, and their answer was simple: The leading brothers in these places never submitted information to them so that they could post it on their Web site. When this site was first proposed to the leading brothers in Ventura, California, in April 2000, the brothers everywhere were invited (not compelled as the CBs would probably imagine) to submit information on their places. No one from these countries submitted information for these countries. (Call the brothers who take care of this Web site, and ask them yourself.) It has nothing to do with one publication. Bear in mind that this was in 2000, long before the matter of one publication became a “concern.” The brothers who take care of this Web site are very eager to get information on the places for which they lack information. But the brothers in the various places may have their reasons for not sending in that information, and that must be respected. Whatever the case, it is simply nonsensical that some churches are not listed on this site because they don’t follow the one publication. I hope someone would write the poor brother back and help him to know the real reason for this. If anyone has his email address, send it to me, and I will do it.
But on a more critical level, what I have a difficult time understanding is why the CBs would publish such a letter without first trying to ascertain the real situation. It was’t difficult at all to find out the real situation. They only had to pick up the telephone and ask the brothers who take care of this Web site. The CBs offer this letter as evidence “of the confusions [sic] and chaos among the
churches in Brazil caused by the promotion of one publication by some coworkers” (CBs’ comment preceding letter). The CBs intend “to provide the saints with current facts and relevant information so that they will not be
misled due to ignorance of the situation” (from “Opening Words” on their Web site). But here is a perfect example of their own ignorance of the situation and of their own proliferation of a mistake. They declare that “the saints need to know the problems caused by
those issues in other places so that they will not repeat the same mistakes and avoid the same
situation in their own localities” (again from “Opening Words”). Yet the publication of this letter is a perfect example of the CBs repeating the same mistake made by an ill-informed brother in another place and of embracing (not avoiding) the same befuddled situation in their own places. These brothers are a simply playing a game. Can we get on with the reality of the Lord’s recovery?
I’m sorry if my comment is not directly related to the one publication but I think it is related to your post nonetheless.
There are brothers in the Lord’s recovery who are trained in turning the saints from death to life. These are ones who themselves enjoy the Lord’s life. My wife and I had the wonderful experience of being turned from death (right and wrong) to life by one of these brothers. I mention this experience because your post reminded me of it.
My wife and I became aware of a brother who was offended by others in his locality. He shared the details of his offense with others and they also seemed to get offended. We thought it terrible that such a thing would happen (that hurt feelings would spread like that), especially if the items of the original offense were possibly unfounded. It’s like we were witnesses of the spread of disease.
I’m still quite independent, and if my wife were not as discerning, subjective, and dependent as she is, we probably would not have sought help from an older brother. I would have dismissed the whole thing as unrelated to me. Nevertheless, praise the Lord, we asked an older brother. He told us that offended party number one should be open to fellowship with the offender, to really clear the matter. Offended party number two should do likewise. He mentioned to us that he himself was open to fellowship and not afraid of it. The other brothers should be likewise. Not only did this help us with how to advise the offended ones, but also it led us to be open to fellowship in our own situations in the future.
There is a hymn that reads something like…
Take time to behold him
Let Him be thy guide
And run not before Him
Whatever betide.
When we behold the Lord and are in fellowship with Him, this will lead us to fellowship with our brothers and sisters. When we do not have fellowship, hide in ourselves, and run from the light, we run before the Lord and will be isolated and lost.
With the brother that wrote the letter that was posted on the CB’s site, there should be fellowship. He should seek after light and not remain in darkness. I can imagine that there are also hundreds of saints, if not thousands, who have unresolved issues, and who have not been willing to come forward to the Lord and subsequently to their “offenders”. In that way, most of the issues would be resolved and we would be able to “get on with the reality of the Lord’s recovery”.
I’d also like to thank the Lord for the many elder brothers he has given us as patterns of ones in life and in fellowship. May we learn from them and be willing to come to them for help and training.
One look at the map on the web site will immediately lead one to conclude that it is an incomplete map. I reached that conclusion when I first saw it a couple of years ago. To post on the Web a suggestive and self-pitying rhetorical question of: Are there no churches in Brazil at all? seems childish and unnecessary. The Lord’s recovery is too grand to be dealing with such childishness.
Yeah I agree. I notice a lot of churches are not listed, including the large country of Russia. We all know the Lord’s move is great there, but if you go to the website, not one of the churches are listed (at least I can’t find any). So I can see that it is not a matter of whether one is part of the “one publication”; it’s just lack of communication.
May the Lord strengthen His recovery and build up the Body of Christ!
– Bro. Ross