“Oh Lord Jesus (amen). Oooohh Loooord Jeeeeeesus (amen). OOOOOOH LOOOORD JEEEEESUUUUUUUS (AMEN). LORD JESUUUUUUUUS (AMEN). LOOOOOOOOOOOOORD JESUUUUUUS (AMEN). WE LOVE YOU LORD (AMEN). LOOOOORD WE LOVE YOUUUUUU (AMEN). LOOOOORD JEEEESUUUUUS (AMEN).
This is a written example of the practice of “calling on the Lord” in the denomination known as The Lord’s Recovery (a.k.a. “The Local Churches). In my experience, this kind of chanting can go on for upwards of 30 minutes, and even this has been lamented by the elders in my locality as beings a somewhat weaker performance than other churches affiliated with The Lord’s Recovery. It was common to see several participants rocking back and forth in their seats during these times of “calling,” and the voice level can range from a whisper to normal speech to speaking loudly to outright shouting to the point that some participants would become hoarse after such a session. It is not unprecedented for leading ones to chastise other participants for not calling loudly enough or for a long enough period, particularly during their weekly “prayer meetings.”
In The Lord’s Recovery, calling on the name of the Lord is seen as one of the quintessential practices that are crucial to our daily lives as Christians. It consists of repeatedly speaking, often shouting, the name of the Lord in order to get the saints to “exercise their human spirits.” Essentially, it is a practice often used to build up spiritual fervor and bring the believers into a headspace where they can accumulate spiritual energy and acquire a sense of “oneness” with the Lord and with their fellow believers. The longer and louder one calls, the more intense the sensation and spiritual high that they receive, lending to a collective buzz that many feel brings them a sense of peace, joy, and belonging.
In his book, The Seven Spirits for the Local Churches, Witness Lee has compared this act of calling to “touching the throne of God” and “being burned,” processes that he believes are crucial to destroying our sense of self and leaving nothing but the essence and person of God in our place. He believes this is part of a necessary process for conforming people to the doctrines and practices of The Lord’s Recovery by forgetting all of their former teachings and concepts.
The more we touch the local church, the more we will be burned. All the old doctrines, the old backgrounds, and every kind of oldness will be burned away. In the book of Revelation, the fire comes before the water, because at that time the church was degraded. Many negative things had come in, and all of these had to be burned away. Teachings can never do this. Only the burning of the seven Spirits can accomplish it. The Spirit is the sevenfold Spirit in the local churches to do a burning work. The more we touch the throne, the more we will be burned. The more we say, “O Lord,” the more we will be burned. The more we say, “Amen,” the more we will be burned, and the more we say, “Hallelujah,” the more we will be burned. To be burned simply means to be rid of all the old things. If we will call, “O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah!” we will sense that we are rid of something. After a few days we will look back and be disgusted with all the old things we used to admire. That is the burning.
(The Seven Spirits for the Local Churches, from the Collected works of Witness Lee, 1969, vol. 2, Chapter 5: The Burning Fire and the Flowing Water, page 269, Published by Living Stream Ministry)
Ironically, Witness Lee presents a doctrine here which decries the use of doctrines, claiming that the Lord will not honor mere doctrines and has instead turned away to this “burning” and “watering” that can only be accessed by “calling.” To him, calling repeatedly on the name of Jesus is more enjoyable than reading the word of God.
The age has been changed. The Lord will never honor mere doctrines. The Lord has turned the age from the doctrines to the seven Spirits. What we need is not the doctrines but the burning and the watering of the sevenfold Spirit. Doctrines do not work so well. This is why there is no doctrine in the book of Revelation. Instead, there are the seven Spirits of God as the lamps of burning fire and the river of living water. When we say, “O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah,” we touch the throne, and something within burns and waters us. Whenever I say, “O Lord Jesus,” I really enjoy the Lord. It is even better than reading a passage of the Bible. To say, “O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah” a few times is so refreshing. This is the watering of the seven Spirits of God.
(Pages 269-270)
This goes hand in hand with Lee’s concept that the way “exercise” or “open up” our spirit is to call rather than to learn, and that the more we call the better. To him, the ideal gathering, the ideal meeting, consists of nothing but continuously calling on the Lord. Lee believes that abandoning care for doctrines and focusing on calling is the way to have the best kind of meeting.
Suppose that in the meetings of the local church we did not do anything but say, “O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah! O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah! O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah!” If the Lord were to lead us to do this for two hours, I believe we would all be set on fire. Everyone would be burned. This is much, much better than any kind of prevailing message. Why is this? It is because when we say these four words, we are touching the seven Spirits of God which are before the throne. Try it and see if the seven Spirits will not burn you.
(270-271)
Taking it a step further, Lee thought and taught that this function of calling was so potent and effective that even those with no intention of believing will still be opening up their spirits and “be caught” because they “opened” that window of their spirit and the Spirit of God will naturally flow in like a breeze. Such unbelieving people, Lee says, can even be saved by calling regardless of their faith.
We have seen that to reach the unbelievers, no preaching is necessary. If we help them to say “O Lord” three times, they will be saved. If they open the window, the air will get in. All they have to do is to open their mouth and say, “O Lord, O Lord.” Even if they have no intention of believing, still they will be caught. Regardless of whether they have the intention or not, as long as they open the window, the air will get in. It is not a matter of teaching; it is a matter of touching the seven Spirits of God.
(271)
Ironically, Lee’s doctrine regarding calling puts down other groups for having particular doctrines, forms, and practices. It seems this irony is lost on him since he does not realize that he himself has created a doctrine, a teaching, on calling and has prescribed a specific form through the use of four words “O Lord Amen, Hallelujah.” This has resulted in a practice utilized by all the churches in his denomination, The Lord’s Recovery, that is known by their members simply as “calling,” though it is sometimes referred to as “exercising the spirit” or “touching God” or “eating God” depending on the context.
In the last book of the Bible there are no doctrines, no forms, and no regulations for the local churches. Praise the Lord! There are only the seven Spirits of God. This is all we need. If we come to the throne of God and say, “O Lord, O Lord, O Lord,” the seven Spirits of God will burn and flow within us. Today is the day of the seven Spirits. Do not talk anymore about doctrines, or you will be killed. The letter kills. Knowledge kills. Doctrine kills. Teaching kills. All the written code kills. The word of the Bible must not be the letters but the Spirit. The Lord said, “The words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life” (John 6:63). It must not be the knowledge, the doctrines, or the teachings. It must be the Spirit, and even more, the seven Spirits. Let us all open ourselves to the Spirit to be really burned and watered so that the Lord may have a free way among us in the local churches.
(273)
It is my observation, however, that Lee often makes use of eisegesis to justify many doctrines, practices, and written codes that he promoted in the denomination he founded. Many former members have noted the neglect of scriptural study and sound doctrine found within this group which also often goes by the name “The Local Churches.” There is a concern held by many current and former members that the de-emphasis on proper doctrine, coupled with other detrimental doctrines from Witness Lee such as “getting out of your mind” and “the dead letter,” is often used to denounce reason and logic in order to reinforce the structure of authority established by Lee which is currently headed by his successors such as Ron Kangas and Minoru Chen. After all, if you take away people’s ability to think for themselves, you take away their ability to discern between what is good and evil. This concern also extends to local leaders such as those who are referred to as “elders,” those who are referred to as “leading brothers,” and those who are referred to as “full-timers” who also often reinforce Lee’s teachings by submitting to the “one publication mandate” that requires all of their affiliated churches to use only the publications provided by Lee’s publishing company, Living Stream Ministry. These local leaders also heavily discourage any critical thought or analysis of this one man’s ministry within their various meetings, trainings, and conferences.
It is for this reason that I have provided a rebuttal to Lee’s teaching on “calling” in the form of a short bible study. This study can be found at the top and the bottom of this page in the form of a word document. There is a subtle but very real danger in this unfortunately central doctrine of the Local Churches, and there is a very real need for current and former members to address it openly.
This warning is all the more pertinent when considering their numerous college ministries which often go by names such as “Christians on Campus,” “Christian Students on Campus,” or “Christians at [University Name].” When these young men and women are trained by the “full-timers” to reach out to new members, they are often told to refrain from speaking of Witness Lee and the various unique and strange practices of the Local Churches, namely “calling” and “pray-reading,” and they are explicitly told that the reason for this is so that newcomers will not be put off and feel that they are a cult-like group due to these odd practices and the college groups’ oft-hidden affiliation with Witness Lee and his denomination, The Lord’s Recovery.
Just as well, the dangers posed by Lee’s authoritarian style of church leadership, reinforced by many other sibling doctrines which demote any critique of Lee’s word as well as any proper scriptural analysis, interpretation, and application, has been the source of much stumbling and strife within this denomination, and it is my hope that it may one day be properly addressed by the next generation of saints in The Lord’s Recovery, if not their current leaders.
The Curious Fellows 
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