Living Stream Ministry (LSM), founded in 1968 by Witness Lee, is a non-profit corporation based in Anaheim, California, affiliated with the Local Church Movement and dedicated to the promotion of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee's ministries. It accomplishes this through publishing and distributing their literature and multimedia, running several Full Time Training centers across the globe, publishing the Recovery Version of the Bible and distributing it through affiiliate Bibles for America, and producing the Life Study of the Bible with Witness Lee radio program. With respect to the Local Churches, it hosts and plans their major conferences and trainings, handles litigation through its affiliate the Defense and Confirmation Project, mediates internal conflicts, provides financial support, and trains their elders. It is a member of the "Evangelical Christian Publishers Association" (since 2002) and the "Christian Booksellers Association" (since 1981).
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Mission statement
The Living Stream Ministry publishes the works of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, providing the authoritative and definitive collections. The writings of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee focus on the enjoyment of the divine life and on the building up of the Local Churches. Its purpose is to promote the teachings of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, and to prepare, select, and distribute information of all kinds which may be useful for the growth of spiritual life among Christians.
Living Stream Ministry provides video tapes, audio tapes, and printed spiritual materials, which it distributes through Local Churches and their bookstores. The ministry also supports broadcasting programs that broadcast ministry messages. These include the Life-Study of the Bible, a thirty-minute radio program composed of excerpts from the works of Witness Lee. This program, which began production in 1996, is currently broadcast in three languages to more than 100 radio stations.
LSM distributes complimentary copies of the Recovery Version New Testament through Bibles for America, Bibles for Australia, Bibles for New Zealand, Bibles for Canada, and related organizations.
The Living Stream Ministry has a total amount of $54,654,000 in net assets and $7,421,000 annual revenue in 2003, and $59,116,000 net assets, $17,622,000 annual revenue in 2007 according to MinistryWatch statistics.
Additional activities
Living Stream Ministry conducts various conferences and trainings throughout the year [1][2] for churches in the Lord's Recovery.[3] It offers the Full Time Training in Anaheim, a two-year program whose purpose is to "foster living, functioning, overcoming members of the Body of Christ for the fulfillment of God's eternal purpose."[4] The Ministry also "donates funds to other 501(c)(3) organizations," [1] such as Bibles for America, the Defense and Confirmation Project, et al., as well various local churches in support of each's respective mission.
One Publication
In 1986, a letter was signed by over 400 elders and co-workers during a conference in Southern California which stated that they "...repudiate all differences among the churches, and all indifference toward the ministry office, and the other churches" and "agree that this [Witness Lee's] leading is indispensable to our oneness and acknowledge the one trumpet in the Lord’s ministry and the one wise master builder among us.[5] In 2005, the blending co-workers in the Lord's Recovery issued a statement designating LSM as the one publisher for the local churches as a means of preserving the integrity of the New Testament ministry of Witness Lee and Watchman Nee, which is "crucial for the practical oneness among the local churches."[6]
Opposition and Support of Living Stream Ministry
While Living Stream Ministry and parts of the evangelical community affirm that Lee's teachings are part of the Christian tradition, there has been some debate over whether or not his Recovery version of the Bible and some of his major teachings do in fact adhere to orthodox Christianity. Some evangelicals and mainstream Christian theologians and ministers have criticized Lee's theology as being a departure from essential doctrines of the Christian faith. In January 2007 an open letter was signed and posted online by more than 70 theologians and pastors from seven countries detailing the ways in which Lee's teaching and Living Stream Ministry separated believers from true Christianity. [7] The letter also called Living Stream Ministry to discontinue their use of litigation as a means to settle disputes. In February 2007, the editorial section of Living Stream Ministry responded to their letter with a statement entitled, "A Brief Response to 'An Open Letter to the Leadership of Living Stream Ministry and the Local Churches.'" [8]
However, not all in the evangelical community agree that Living Stream Ministry and the local churches depart from orthodox Christianity. In recent years, prominent apologists, theologians, and ministers have published their support for Living Stream Ministry and the teachings of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee.
In January 2006, Fuller Theological Seminary released a two-page statement [9] stating that, "Fuller Theological Seminary (Fuller) and leaders from the local churches and its publishing service, Living Stream Ministry (LSM), have recently completed two years of extensive dialog" and that "It is the conclusion of Fuller Theological Seminary that the teachings and practices of the local churches and its members represent the genuine, historical, biblical Christian faith in every essential aspect."
In February 2007, "Apologetics Conclusions Reconsidered...A Case in Point: The Local Churches and Living Stream Ministry" [10] was published in support of Living Stream Ministry by veteran apologist and Answers in Action director Gretchen Passantino. Passantino commented that "the churches affiliated with the teachings of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee and with the Living Stream Ministry (LSM) embrace and teach orthodox Christian theology, are a Christian movement of brothers and sisters in Christ, and should not be labeled theologically heretical nor as a 'cult.'"
In the forward [11] to that same article, Bible Answer Man Hank Hanegraaff commented that “the local churches are an authentic expression of New Testament Christianity” and “I stand shoulder to shoulder with the local churches when it comes to the essentials that define biblical orthodoxy.”
Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) accepted Living Stream Ministry in 2002 with full voting membership.
Lawsuits
In 1999, the new book The Encyclopedia of Cults and New Religions included a short entry on the Local Churches and Living Stream Ministry. It was published by Harvest House Publications. Some Local Churches and Living Stream Ministry sued the publisher for $136 million dollars for defamation. In January, 2006, an appellate court in Texas ruled that the court system was not the place to decide theological disputes, stating that "being labeled a 'cult' is not actionable because the truth or falsity of the statement depends upon one’s religious beliefs, an ecclesiastical matter which cannot and should not be tried in a court of law." [12] The suit was therefore dismissed in summary judgement. The decision was appealed to the Texas Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case.[13]
On May 16, 2007, some Local Churches and Living Stream Ministry petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari.[14] This petition was denied on 18 June 2007.
References
- ^ a b 2007 Tax Return p. 6
- ^ Upcoming Conferences and Trainings
- ^ Invitation to 2007 Thanksgiving Conference
- ^ [1]
- ^ "A Parallel of Two Turmoils"
- ^ "Publication Work in the Lord's Recovery"
- ^ [2]
- ^ "A Brief Response to 'An Open Letter to the Leadership of Living Stream Ministry and the Local Churches'"
- ^ Fuller Theological Seminary Dialogue with LSM
- ^ "Apologetics Conclusions Reconsidered...A Case in Point: The Local Churches and Living Stream Ministry"
- ^ Hanegraaff Forward
- ^ Texas Appellate Decision
- ^ "ReligionNewsBlog". http://www.religionnewsblog.com/17062/open-letter-to-local-church. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
- ^ [3]
- ReligionNewsBlog. [4]
- Charity Navigator. Charity Summary - Living Stream Ministry. Retrieved May 14, 2005.
- Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. Voting Members. Retrieved May 14, 2005.
- MinistryWatch. Summary Profile. Retrieved December 13, 2006.
See also
External links
Official sites belonging to the Living Stream Ministry
- Living Stream Ministry Website
- Living Stream Ministry Online Publications
- Lebensstrom e.V., Distributor for Living Stream Ministry in Germany, Austria, Switzerland
Other sites with information on the lawsuits
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