Living Stream Ministry

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It has been suggested that Bibles for America be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) Proposed since October 2011.

Living Stream Ministry (LSM), founded in 1968 by Witness Lee, is a non-profit corporation based in Anaheim, California, within the Local churches (affiliation). It publishes and distributes Witness Lee's literature and multimedia and the Recovery Version of the Bible, distributing it through affiliate Bibles for America, and producing the Life Study of the Bible with Witness Lee radio program. With respect to the Local Churches, it runs several full time training centers across the globe, and hosts and plans major conferences and training sessions. It also mediates conflicts within churches, provides financial support, and trains their elders. Litigation is handled through its affiliate, the Defense and Confirmation Project. LSM has been a member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association since 2002 and of the Christian Booksellers Association since 1981.

Contents

[edit] 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.[1]

[edit] Additional activities

Living Stream Ministry conducts various conferences and trainings throughout the year [2][3] for churches in the Lord's Recovery.[4] 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."[5] The Ministry also "donates funds to other 501(c)(3) organizations," [2] such as Bibles for America, the Defense and Confirmation Project, et al., as well as various local churches in support of each one's respective mission.

[edit] One Publication

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] In response, there are some who have questioned the biblical validity of LSM's "practical oneness" approach.[7]

In 2006, Titus Chu and his supporters, including many churches in the Great Lakes region of the US and Canada, were removed from fellowship ("quarantined") for refusing to adhere to LSM's one publication policy.[8][9]

In 2009, Dong Yu Lan and his supporters, including many churches in Brazil and throughout South America, were also quarantined for not submitting to one publication.[10][11]

[edit] Opposition and Support of Living Stream Ministry

Main article: Local Church controversies

Because of Living Stream Ministry's prominence within the Local Churches as the publisher and promoter of the Recovery Version of the Bible as well as Witness Lee's ideas, the publisher has played a significant role in defending and responding to some of the controversies surrounding the movement. Living Stream Ministry affirms that Lee's teachings are part of the Christian tradition, which a growing number in the evangelical community have confirmed over the past decade. Statements of support for the movement have come from figures and institutions within evangelical Christianity such as the "Bible Answer Man" Hank Hanegraaff, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Answers in Action director Gretchen Passantino. As of 2002, the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) has also accepted Living Stream Ministry as a member [12] with full voting rights.

There has also been controversy over the organization's legal tactics. Living Stream Ministry sued Harvest House Publications for defamation and $136 million dollars in damages after an entry on the Local Churches movement was included in Harvest House's Encyclopedia of Cults and New Religions. In January 2007, an open letter was signed and posted online by more than 70 theologians and pastors from seven countries asking the church to repudiate controversial statements by Witness Lee and to cease resorting to litigation as a means of settling disputes.[1] 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'.[13]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ MinistryWatch (2007?). "Living Stream Ministry". http://www.ministrywatch.com/profile/living-stream-ministry.aspx. Retrieved 2011-02-09. 
  2. ^ a b "Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax". 2008-11-19 (received) for tax year 2007. pp. 6. http://dynamodata.fdncenter.org/990_pdf_archive/237/237031637/237031637_200712_990.pdf. 
  3. ^ Living Stream Ministry (2011). "Upcoming Conference & Training Information". http://lsm.org/upcoming-conf-info.html. Retrieved 2011-02-09. 
  4. ^ Living Stream Ministry (August 15, 2007). "Invitation to 2007 Thanksgiving Conference". http://www.lastadam.com/archive/2007/Informationtochurches.pdf. Retrieved 2011-02-09. 
  5. ^ "About FTTA". http://ftta.org/about.htm. Retrieved 2011-02-09. 
  6. ^ Living Stream Ministry (2005). "Publication Work in the Lord's Recovery". http://www.lsm.org/onepublication. Retrieved 2011-02-09. 
  7. ^ Nigel Tomes (February 16, 2006). "The Bible: Our Only Standard". http://www.concernedbrothers.com/Bible/Bible_is_our_only_standard_Nigel_Tomes.pdf. Retrieved 2011-02-09. 
  8. ^ "A warning to all the saints and all the churches in the Lord's recovery concerning Titus Chu and those who promote or disseminate his divisive teachings, publications, practices, and views". 2006-10-01. http://www.afaithfulword.org/statements/Warning%20Statement%202006-10-01.pdf. Retrieved 2011-02-09. 
  9. ^ "Quarantine". http://www.afaithfulword.org/quarantine/index.html. Retrieved 2011-02-09.  - Index of pre-quarantine, quarantine, and post-quarantine materials concerning Titus Chu
  10. ^ "Letter of Fellowship and Warning". April 4, 2009. http://afaithfulwitness.org/warnings/Co-workers.pdf. Retrieved 2011-02-09. 
  11. ^ "Warning Statements Concerning Dong Yu Lan and His Co-workers". http://afaithfulwitness.org/warnings/index.html. Retrieved 2011-02-09. 
  12. ^ Local Church Fights for Evangelical ID Card, Mark A. Kellner for Christianity Today, 2/01/2003
  13. ^ "A Brief Response to 'An Open Letter to the Leadership of Living Stream Ministry and the Local Churches'"

[edit] External links

[edit] Official sites belonging to the Living Stream Ministry

[edit] Non-LSM Resources

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