A Response to Recent Accusations
June 2025
Over the past few years, a local sister has written and posted extensively about the local churches, including a self-published book and over 130 public videos on YouTube.
Although her grievances are not mainly directed at the church in Los Angeles, because she is among us in our local community, we feel it is important for us to give this limited response. We do not purport to speak on behalf of other churches or persons beyond our boundaries. All words quoted below, unless otherwise specified, are words she has employed in her videos.
Our response to allegations of mistreatment of “whistleblowers”
First and foremost, we affirm our love for our sister and her dear family (including her husband and two children), and we treasure the precious moments we shared in our local church community for over two decades. Although her videos assert that the Lord’s recovery swiftly shuns or quarantines speakers like her, the fact is we have made no pronouncement or judgment upon her. We make mention of her in prayer, not in rebuke (1 Thes. 1:2).
She and her family remain our dear fellow members in the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:27).
Our response to claims of abuse
Allegations of abuse—especially criminal abuse—are serious and must never be ignored or dismissed. If such wrongdoing occurs, it should be brought fully into the light and addressed through the proper legal channels.
Our sister raises grave claims about behavior she asserts has happened outside of Los Angeles and across decades. These are deeply sensitive matters. But for justice to be served—for both the accuser and the accused—there must be impartiality and due process, without which we risk substituting public accusation for true accountability.
Thus, when she once hinted at an alleged instance of abuse to us in another region, we swiftly responded to her in writing with unequivocal clarity: if there is any claim of criminal abuse, it should be reported immediately to the appropriate authorities. The church is not equipped to investigate alleged crimes and it could be obstructive for any church to do so; such responsibility rests with law enforcement.
Our response to claims that the churches exert control or “totalitarianism” over family relationships
As publicly repeated by our sister in her videos, one of the precipitating factors of her posts is a particular family dynamic she has faced for many years. On various occasions she has asked the brothers in Los Angeles to intervene in the matter. Our position is that we never interfere with any member’s direct relationship with Christ the Head, or with the God-given boundaries of family life (cf. 1 Pet. 5:3; 2 Cor. 10:13-14). It is not our place to solve private disputes within family units, especially when there are long-held, differing factual accounts. In June 2022 we wrote to her:
The elders in Los Angeles avoid direct involvement with the intra-family dynamics of the saints as much as possible, especially when such matters are due to complex factors that decidedly belong in the realm of human affairs tended to by specialist training. This has been our general practice for all the saints within our sphere, and our primary burden is to bring such situations to the Lord in prayer.
With regards to your family, we have prayed and will continue to pray in a steadfast manner for each member of [your] family. We seek not to know too much about any such situation beyond that which is needed for prayer.
That is not control, but restraint.
Our response to claims of a “cover-up” culture within the churches
Specific claims of immorality have been raised—none of which pertain to Los Angeles—and all are based on incidents outside our jurisdiction. In the New Testament, when a matter arises in a local church, it is to be handled in the domain of that local church, under the Lord’s headship. It is not our place to assume how other churches should act—or to judge how they have acted—when we were not involved and do not know the facts.
We categorically reject the idea of a culture of cover-up. But we do affirm the scriptural principle of covering—which is something quite different. Covering is not concealment. It is redemptive. It reflects the heart of God, who disciplines in righteousness, but always with a view to restoration and not public shaming (Gal. 6:1; 2 Cor. 2:6-8).
Even in the secular workplace, personnel matters are handled with confidentiality. An HR department does not broadcast the reasons why someone may have stepped down or been removed. It is neither ethical nor legal to do so. Likewise, in the church, not every matter is public domain—especially when people’s reputations, families, and livelihoods are at stake.
There are always multiple sides to complex situations, and it is neither scriptural nor righteous to demand full visibility into every detail of matters that were not ours to oversee.
Our response to allegations of “organizational hierarchy” among the churches
We are accused with other churches of being part of an organizational hierarchy controlled by the Living Stream Ministry. We reject that assertion. A local church is not a franchise; it is the Body of Christ expressed locally (Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:27). Christ alone is the Head (Eph. 1:22) and we are directly and solemnly accountable to Him (Col. 1:18). We brothers have served the church for decades and have never once reported to a “headquarters” or “hierarchy.”
Because we are only a local church, we do not possess the authority—nor do we presume the right—to intervene in the affairs of all the churches in the Lord’s recovery at the urging of any one person. The “systematic” changes our sister claims are needed could only be implemented by the kind of centralized control she claims to oppose.
Our stance towards mental health matters and the safety of minors
We are firmly committed to the safety, well-being, and spiritual care of all our members—especially minors and children. Our long-standing policy requires that anyone serving minors undergo local training, complete third-party background checks in compliance with California law, and understand mandated reporting procedures, among other safeguards.
While our central burden will always be to minister the unsearchable riches of Christ for the building up of His Body, we recognize the value of practical support in areas such as mental health. Since at least 2018, our summer truth schools for young people have included dedicated sessions on mental health and well-being, including training for parents and serving ones. Our college fellowship has included similar topics dating back to at least 2019.
We are not experts in every domain of human need—nor are we meant to be. When a situation calls for clinical expertise, such as in matters of mental health or substance abuse, it is our practice to encourage individuals and families to seek the help of trained professionals. Supporting the saints sometimes means not trying to be that direct help ourselves.
Each local church is a gathering of believers in whom the surpassingly great Christ dwells—yet we remain, by God’s design, fragile vessels of clay (2 Cor. 4:7). This paradox does not excuse our limitations, but it does remind us that the excellence of the power is not of us, but of God. Notwithstanding all of our weaknesses and shortcomings, we conclude here by affirming our unshakable confidence that God will gain the glory through His unending and prevailing work in all of His own (Rom. 8:30).
May the Lord’s mercy and grace be upon us all.
The elders of the church in Los Angeles
June 2025
Recommended reading: