Remarks re: CRI’s Research and Conclusions

Excerpts from Bible Answer Man Radio Broadcasts Concerning the Teaching and Practice of Witness Lee and the Local Churches

The three participants in the CRI research team that reevaluated the teaching and practice of Witness Lee and the local churches have each written concerning their respective conclusions. Hank Hanegraaff, President of CRI, contributed a foreword to the book The Local Churches: “Genuine Believers and Fellow Members of the Body of Christ,” two columns in the special edition of the Christian Research Journal (“We Were Wrong” [ download / purchase ]), which published the team’s findings, and a follow-up column in a subsequent issue of the Journal entitled “D-I-S-C-E-R-N” [ purchase ]. Gretchen Passantino, Director of Answers in Action (AIA) and an early critic of the churches, posted an article on the AIA website, wrote the main article in The Local Churches, and contributed an article in the special edition of the Journal. Elliot Miller, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal, wrote a seven-part article for the special edition of the Journal in which he convincingly demonstrated the orthodoxy of the teaching of Witness Lee and the local churches.

The following excerpts from the Bible Answer Man radio broadcast hosted by Hank Hanegraaff speak to the scope of the team’s research and the basic conclusions they reached:

  • The dialogue between the local churches and CRI began in 2003 when Hank Hanegraaff, Gretchen Passantino, and Elliot Miller sat down with representatives of Living Stream Ministry (LSM), which publishes the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, and of the local churches. The meeting began with the representatives of LSM and the local churches presenting what they preach and teach as the common faith. On his January 5, 2010, broadcast, Hank Hanegraaff testified of the “stirring affirmations” of orthodox Christian teaching that they heard in this first meeting. [ audio / transcript ]
  • In the same broadcast Hank Hanegraaff described the extent of the research CRI “conducted, not only in the United States of America, but also in China, in Taiwan South Korea, England,” further stating that “it involved careful evaluation of literally hundreds of books, of papers, of church documents, audio, video recordings, even court documents.” As this statement shows, CRI’s research far exceeds that of the critics. [ audio / transcript ]
  • Also in the same broadcast Hank Hanegraaff testified that in his visits to local churches in various parts of the world, he saw “authentic New Testament Christianity in action.” [ audio / transcript ]
  • Beginning in the early 1970s Gretchen Passantino was one of the early critics of the local churches and of Witness Lee. On the June 12, 2007, Bible Answer Man broadcast, Gretchen spoke about the CRI research team’s reassessment of the teaching of Witness Lee and the local churches, concluding that it is “well within Christian orthodoxy” and that the members of the churches are “our brothers and sisters in Christ.” [ audio / transcript ]

All audio clips are © Christian Research Institute and used by permission.

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