All Posts Tagged "Gretchen Passantino"

Our Faith, Testimony, and History introduces readers to the local churches and to the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. As Christians, we affirm “the faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). As this booklet explains, we endeavor to cooperate with the Lord to recover the experience of Christ as life, the functioning of every believer in serving the Lord, and the building up of the Body of Christ in a testimony of oneness.

Meeting believers who suffered persecution because of the writings of apologetics ministries in the West.

Concluding that the teaching of Witness Lee and the local churches is “well within Christian orthodoxy.”

On seeing “authentic New Testament Christianity” in action in his visits to local churches in various parts of the world.

On hearing “stirring affirmations” of the faith from representatives of Living Stream Ministry and the local churches.

The Christian Research Institute published videos to accompany excerpts from radio broadcasts of Hank Hanegraaff, the Bible Answer Man, discussing the findings of the Christian Research Institute’s six-year primary research projects into the local churches and the ministry of Witness Lee.

In December 2009, the Christian Research Institute (CRI) published an edition of its Christian Research Journal dedicated to CRI’s reassessment of the local churches and the ministry of Witness Lee. This reassessment caused CRI to withdraw its earlier criticisms and endorse the local churches as “genuine New Testament Christianity.”

Voices of Confirmation contains the testimonies of leading evangelicals who, through direct study and contact, have come to appreciate the local churches and the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee.

Elliot Miller, Editor-in-Chief of the Christian Research Journal, describes his experience of meeting members of the local churches in China and witnessing the strong move of the gospel and the bright testimony of “some very dedicated disciples of Christ.”

Hank Hanegraaff, President of Christian Research Institute; Elliot Miller, Editor-in-Chief of the Christian Research Journal, and Gretchen Passantino, director of Answers in Action talk about their conclusions after a six-year primary research project into the teachings of Witness Lee and the practice of the local churches.

An amicus brief filed by cult experts who appealed to the United States Supreme Court to review The Local Church et al v. Harvest House et al on the grounds that Texas Court of Appeals decision set a dangerous precedent for protecting defamation by the use of the term cult when it is used in a secular sense, as the Encyclopedia of Cults and New Religions did.

This 2008 book contains statements from Hank Hanegraaff, President of Christian Research Institute; Gretchen Passantino, director of Answers in Action; and Fuller Theological Seminary that attest to the orthodoxy of the teaching and practice of the local churches.

Although the local churches have always been willing to dialogue with responsible apologists and theologians, it was not until 2003 that this openness bore significant fruit. This article gives a brief history of the dialogues that have ensued since that time.

Since 2003 representatives of Living Stream Ministry and the local churches have engaged in dialogue with Hank Hanegraaff and his staff at Christian Research Institute. This dialogue has resulted in a complete reversal of CRI’s earlier criticism of the local churches and the ministry of Witness Lee.

An amicus letter brief by apologist Gretchen Passantino filed with the Texas Supreme Court concurring with Hank Hanegraaff’s amicus brief on the dangers of protecting the word cult from defamatory meaning.