REGARDING THE ACT OF SHUNNING:  

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• Why do you shun?

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So, Lakeview considers itself the remaining Last Latter Rain church. In truth, Lakeview has moved way past what Latter Rain ever taught, especially when it comes to shunning.

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The truth be told, shunning was not practiced as a part of the Latter Rain Movement. Bethesda Missionary Temple in Michigan, where Norman H. James, Sr. was "brought into Latter Rain teaching" never practiced shunning and does not practice shunning even to this day. Shunning is a practice of Norman H. James. Latter Rain never taught or advocated shunning.  

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Norman added this to the church, not Latter Rain. If Latter Rain was indeed a visitation from God, focused on the leading of the Spirit, overcoming, holiness, then why did they never practice shunning? Makes you wonder why Norman added this practice...

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In reviewing profiles of leaders of high control religious groups, it has been noted that they take members leaving as a personal rejection and so shunning becomes a retaliating punishment to hurt the one that hurt the leader for leaving. 

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We should consider why he started this practice in the first place. We have our thoughts about that, that they stem from his own childhood, but one can never know for sure.

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One thing we can report is that the practice was championed early on by the apostle's wife, Becky James. She told a story for years of how and why she cut her own mom out of her life and "shunned" her. It wasn't a spiritual or biblical issue; it was done in retaliation for a hurt Becky experienced.

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The story goes that she took her oldest son Eric to visit her mother in the hospital, and while they were there, her mother "purposefully" called Eric, "David" (one of her other sons). Becky believed that her mom did this to get at her and hurt Eric because she believed her mother knew exactly who Eric was. She said she cut her mother off from that point on. She said she wasn't going to be hurt by her mother or let her hurt her kids anymore. She never spoke to her mother again.

 

That is the example she gave to countless people to show that if she could do it, they could too. How petty, how cruel. Just like the ongoing policy of shunning...petty and cruel. This is not a reaction our Lord would have had.

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How many times did our Lord continue to love, in spite of how He was truly wronged?  But that is the earliest example of the practice of shunning we can recall and it was birthed, not for any higher spiritual purpose, but out of retaliation - "You hurt me...I'll hurt you!"

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At any rate, the act of shunning has now taken on a life of its own and is practiced out of habit and fear. It is not a doctrine practiced routinely in Christianity, because it is pure evil.

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It is not a truth restored to the church, it is a tool of control to prevent questioning and prevent you from leaving.

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