Quote:
Originally Posted by Freedom
I remember in one of the trainings I went to a number of years ago, the brother speaking (probably Ron) was warning us against reading Jessie Penn-Lewis' writings. I think it was either the "Spiritual Warfare" or "War on the Saints" book that was mentioned in particular. I thought it was ironic because I was already aware that both Nee and Lee were influenced by her.
At any rate, it has always bothered me that no one in the LC ever gives things like this a little bit of thought. If Nee was influenced by Jessie Penn-Lewis' writings, yet we are being warned against reading her writings, what does that imply?
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"Institutionally speaking, the Shanghai Assembly was the de facto headquarters of the Little Flock Movement in China.
The authority was concentrated in the hands of "God's apostles" (Shen de sheetu), namely Watchman Nee and his female co-workers, Li Yuanru, Wang Peizhen, and Yu Chenghua, who were famous evangelists before joining the Little Flock. The Home of Deacons (zhishi zhijia) at Guling in Fuzhou was the national training center of Little Flock leaders while the Gospel Bookstore (fuyin shufang) in Shanghai published Christian pamphlets. There were many such business enterprises run by Watchman Nee in support of the Little Flock activities."
In addition to running numerous business enterprises, Nee was evidently a large land-holder, as well. By his late 20s, Nee was one of the foremost Christian apologists in China, free to do what he wanted. He was a rock star, who could think, do, or say whatever he wanted.
In the article covers interpenetration of the Communists and the Little Flock operatives, after WWII. The narrative is very different from what we heard. The Little Flock had true power - political, social, economic. Many government leaders were Little Flock members, functioning as moles. And vice-versa. Why do you think there was a lag between Communists taking over in 1949, and Nee's arrest in 1952, and then four years between his arrest and eventual trial? Because the two heavy-weights were sorting it out. Eventually in 1956 the communists attacked the Little Flock leadership and broke its power completely.
But before 1956, the LF had a
lot of secular power in China. It's a different reality than what we were fed.
Watchman Nee and the Little Flock Movement in Maoist China, by Joseph Tse-Hei Lee. Church History; 2005;74(1)