Two new web sites have recently gone online. The first, simply entitled The Lord's Recovery, is located at http://www.thelordsrecovery.us and offers a history and characterization of the "Local Church" movement from a favorable standpoint. The second, Hiding History In The Lord's Recovery, located at http://hidinghistory-us.temp-url.com/, takes a markedly different view, addressing, in the author's words, "negative aspects of our history that have had a serious detrimental effect on the recovery and on the Body of Christ".

Both sites are written and maintained by the same person, Steve Isitt, a 32-year member of the "Local Church" movement. Isitt considers himself in agreement with the teachings of Witness Lee and the "Local Church" movement. Of his first site, he writes, "I do hope that my firm relationship with all the churches and my respect and appreciation for the recovery is understood by visiting that site." Nevertheless, his experiences and research into what he dubs "the New Way", a movement within the "Local Church" during the 1980's, led him to disclose the events and voice the opinions expressed in his second site. As a result of those opinions, Isitt is currently disfellowshipped by the "Local Church" movement's leadership.

Together, the two sites offer a wealth of information and source material on the "Local Church", its vision and history, the views of its members, and a lucid look at the turbulent events of the late 1980s that led many members, including prominent elders, to leave the movement.

Update (30 July) The author has decided to pull the site again on account of its sensitive nature. We will post further updates on its availability as it changes.

The "Local Church" Information Site now has a permanent domain: lcinfo.org. From now on, readers may access the site using the URL http://www.lcinfo.org. The new permanent email address for inquiries regarding the site is editor@lcinfo.org.

On Monday, June 30, 2003, a large number of links and writings were added to the "Local Church" Information Site. These include multiple entries in writings/media, writings/research and links/criticism, plus a few additional entries in other sections. Of particular interest are:

• The Bereans entry on the "Local Church", an extensive set of well-researched and documented information and analyses on the "Local Church" done by The Bereans, an apologetics ministry based in the Philippines.

• Several articles at the top of the media page, highlighting current events regarding the movement.

On June 17, 2003, Daniel Azuma, editor of the "Local Church" Information Site, received an email from representatives of The Church In Fullerton, current owners of the copyrights of the works of the late Jim Moran. The Church In Fullerton is part of the "Local Church" movement. They demanded that all Jim Moran's writings and compilations currently published on this web site be removed. The text of this letter is included below.

The editor concurs that The Church In Fullerton is within their legal rights to ask for the removal of material copyrighted by Mr. Moran, and has complied with the request. Writings authored by Jim Moran remain on file with the editor but are no longer available for viewing on this site. Writings not authored by Jim Moran have not been affected.

In a return email to The Church In Fullerton, Azuma wrote:

In January of this year, Jim Moran, director of Light Of Truth Ministries, probably the largest countercult ministry focused on the "Local Church", passed away, reportedly of a massive heart attack. This event effectively ended the work of Light Of Truth Ministries.

Several months later, in April, the "Local Church", represented by The Church In Fullerton, purchased ownership of Mr. Moran's research material, websites and copyrights from his estate. Since then, The Church In Fullerton has been exercising its ownership of those copyrights by demanding the removal of all Mr. Moran's works from distribution. As another consequence of these events, Internet addresses previously owned by Jim Moran or Light Of Truth Ministries, including the Light Of Truth Ministries home page located at http://www.ltm.org and http://www.thelocalchurch.org, are now owned and controlled by the "Local Church" movement. Therefore, visitors should note that material posted at those sites now are not likely to reflect Mr. Moran's original intent.

Anton Hein of The Apologetics Index has been encouraging readers to download copies of Mr. Moran's original site as cached by Google. The Church In Fullerton claims that these actions violate its copyright.