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The Local Church Movement
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The Local Church Movement (a.k.a. The Lord’s Recovery)

Mishel

 The Local Church Movement was founded by Witness Lee (1905-1977) who imported his belief system from the orient to America during the 1960’s. Lee was a disciple of the Christian Evangelist Watchman Nee (1903- 1973) and believed he was the spokesman for God on earth through direct commissioning.  Until his death, Lee led approximately 150, 000 adherents in strict observance of the teachings he claimed he received as direct oracles from God. This movement’s beliefs are vastly different from those held by orthodox Christians which lead most Christian Apologists to label the movement a cult. 

The Local Church Movement is known to insiders as “The Lord’s Recovery”. It referred to this way because of their belief that all sects and denominations are of Satan and that the Lord is moving to “recover” unity to his church. According to Lee, it is only when the church has been “recovered” that Christ can return. In this respect what they teach is similar in scope to Dominionism.  According to Lee each city should have only one local expression of the body (them) and believe all others are outside of the will of the Lord. The churches associated with this movement name their churches after their physical location (the church in Philadelphia or the Church in San Francisco). They eschew denominationalism as of the devil and are well known for threatening legal action against all who oppose them. They believe that they are the one true church and the sole expression of God on earth. Lee is most infamously known for his doctrine of “mingling” in which he asserts that God became man so that man can become God.
 
Why this Movement is Not of God
 
They believe in Modality and reject the trinity. 
Modality is the belief that that God is a single person who, throughout biblical history, has revealed Himself in three modes, or forms. These modes or forms are consecutive and never simultaneous and thus God is one person and not a triune being. The Local Church Movement or “Lord’s Recovery” does not believe in or teach the doctrine of the trinity.
"The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are not three separate persons or three Gods; they are one God, one reality, one person." Witness Lee, The Triune God to Be Life to the Tripartite Man (Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1970), p. 48
 
They teach that man can become God
The founder of this movement Witness Lee clearly taught that man is divine and can become God.
 
My burden is to show you clearly that God's economy and plan is to make Himself man and to make us, His created beings, 'God,' so that He is 'man-ized' and we are 'God-ized.' In the end, He and we, we and He, all become God-men.' Witness Lee, A Deeper Study of the Divine Dispensing (Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1990), p. 54
 
"We the believers are begotten of God. What is begotten of man is man, and what is begotten of God must be God. We are born of God; hence, in this sense, we are God."
Ibid. p. 53
 
They teach that they are the only true church
Witness Lee believed that he was building the one true world church which would unite all the “local” churches. He referred to Christendom as a negative influence and urged his people to disassociate from it. Lee also taught that the building of this church was a precondition for Christ’s return.
 
“Since there is one God, there is only one church. Since there is only one Christ, there is only one Body (Eph. 4:4-5). Therefore, there are not many churches, but one church universally. We practice the church life of this universal church in each locality. Acts 8:1 tells us of the ‘the church in Jerusalem,’ Acts 13:1 mentioned the church in Antioch. If you live in Anaheim, you are in the church in Anaheim. If you live in Berkeley, you are in the church in Berkeley. These are called local churches. All local churches on the earth throughout the ages compose the universal church. They are all one universally and spiritually.” Witness Lee, “The Way To Begin A Normal Christian Living,”
 
"The Lord is not building His church in Christendom, which is composed of the apostate Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant denominations. This prophecy is being fulfilled through the Lord's recovery, in which the building of the genuine church is being accomplished." Witness Lee in The New Testament Recovery Version, note 184 (Matthew 16:18) (Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1991), p. 99
 
"I am afraid that a number of us are still under the negative influence of Christendom. We all have to realize that today the Lord is going on and on to fully recover us and bring us fully out of Christendom." Witness Lee, The History of the Church and the Local Churches (Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1991), p. 132
 
They teach that they have the only true version of the Bible
Witness Lee who wrote the recovery version of the Bible claims that his translation is the only true translation of the Bible. This Bible version contains footnotes written by Witness Lee that are bent towards his theological views. Lee also discouraged followers from reading any material that he himself had not written thus limiting his follower’s exposure to views other than his own.
 
“First, a Christian needs a proper version of the Bible to progress in his Christian life. Therefore, you need to purchase a Recovery Version. This version is the best translation of the New Testament available today. It is up-to-date and easy to read. It has an outline to help you obtain an overview of what you are reading. It contains footnotes to explain some of the hard-to-understand truths. It also has references to help you locate verses that correspond to the verses you are reading for your study.” “The Way To Begin A Normal Christian Living,” 6. (Note: This is a one-month daily devotion booklet for new converts)
 
“I do not feel burdened to charge the saints to go home and study beyond what is in the truth lessons, but all the elders should promote the reading of the Recovery Version (the Local Church New Testament), the gold bar, in the homes plus all the Life-studies (Bible commentaries) and other publications by the Living Stream Ministry. These will be their library books. Besides attending the meetings to learn the truth, they should read these spiritual publications every day.” Lee, Witness, "The Life-Pulse of the Lord's Present Move", Elders' Training, Book #8 (LSM: 1986)
 
They teach Baptism is Essential for Salvation
Although Lee’s followers deny it,  their literature shows that they believe and teach that baptism is essential to salvation and not just an outward sign of an inward commitment.
 
“Formerly, when we were leading people to salvation, we first considered them as seeking friends. After hearing the gospel and believing and receiving the Lord, they had to successfully pass through an interview concerning baptism. It was only after they had passed the interview that they could be baptized and saved. Now we have changed. As long as a person believes, he can be baptized immediately, and he is regenerated and saved. Furthermore, the Bible says, ‘He who believes and is baptized shall be saved’ (Mark 16:16). It does not say that one is baptized after he is saved. Baptism is not carried out after a person is saved; baptism is part of the process of being saved. It is not that one believes and is saved and therefore should be baptized. Rather, it is that one believes and is baptized and therefore is saved. We must be clear concerning this matter.”
Lee, Witness, “The Up-to-Date Presentation of the Go-Ordained Way and the Signs Concerning the Coming of Christ,” (Living Stream Ministry, 1991)
 
“Baptism is a testimony before men. All believers should be baptized in order to be saved not only before God, but also before men. The Lord Jesus said: ‘He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he who does not believe shall be condemned.’ Mark 16:16. Through baptism, God transfers us from the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of God. For this reason, the Lord Jesus said: ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.’ (John 3:5).” The Local Church, “The Mystery of Human Life,” (Living Stream Ministry, 1986), p. 16
 
 
Although there are many other reasons why the Local Church Movement is not of God, the ones highlighted here more than prove a point. The writings and teachings of this movement are heretical deviations from orthodox Christianity and should be rejected by any true Child of Christ.