Witness Lee and the "Local Churches": A Personal Testimony

by Daniel Azuma

Author's Preface

It has been about five and a half years since I left the "Local Church" cult of Witness Lee, also sometimes known as "The Lord's Recovery." A rough time it has been, with many hard lessons and much questioning-- a common experience, as other ex-cult members can certainly attest to.

My experiences are not unique, but they are not universal either; different people will respond differently to the situations that cult membership presents. Nevertheless, many of the themes and threads are common: patterns of control and abuse, subtle psychological manipulation, direct indoctrination, the illusion of superiority.

These patterns I will explain in a personal way, in the context of my direct experiences with the "Local Churches." It is my hope that the words I write here will serve to help you, the reader, understand what life inside a cult is like, how to identify and interact with one, what to respect about people who are members or ex-members, and what our response to this growing problem should be.

In pursuit of these goals, I will discuss a fair amount of psychology, and a little bit of Christian theology, and so I must first mention that I do not claim to be any kind of expert in either of these fields. Concerning Bible-based theology, I do engage in the frequent informal study of the Bible, both personally and in groups with other Christians, typical of the evangelical Christian churches and organizations I have involved myself with since leaving the cult. Based on this activity, I believe I have a fairly solid basic understanding of the topic; but, I have not (yet) attended seminary or otherwise had any significant formal training. Neither have I had any formal education in cult psychology or sociology; however, in this area of pure humanities, it is my belief that real understanding comes primarily from direct experience, such as I have had as a former cult member, rather than academic study.

What I say, then, should not necessarily be taken as solid and undeniable truth. Instead, consider me as I am, a pursuing Christian giving my testimony, seeking only to make known what I have experienced and what I have learned from it.

The experiences I had with the "Local Church" cult of Witness Lee have had a significant impact on who I am as a Christian. Things could have been better. Perhaps I could have walked out earlier, without losing so much in the process, and perhaps I would have been happier if I had received the Lord without having been involved at all with a marginal group. But of course, things could have been a lot worse, and I would like to thank the following people for their help in a tough situation. I am only giving initials, but if you're reading this, you probably know who you are...

• C, for finding me early on, for holding my hand through the worst of the ordeal, and for the quiet wisdom that always led me on the right track.
• N, for putting up with me those two years even though you didn't know what was going on until late in the game.
• G, for starting me off on the right foot, and not giving up on me as a friend and as a Christian when things turned awry.
• L, for being reasonable when reason was required.
• Our Lord Jesus Christ, for keeping me one of His own.