Local Church Discussions - View Single Post - Nee and the Brethren

NeitherFirstnorLast · 12-28-2012, 12:20 PM

Let me excerpt a letter here (from the My Brethren website) to Angus Kinnear: Note both the date of the writing, (1973 - and in reference to goings on in China long predating that), and the details.... I've editted this letter to include my own side notes in [umber].

***********************

December 15, 1973

Dr. Angus I. Kinnear,

Dear brother in Christ,
Having just read your recent book 'Against the Tide – The Story of Watchman Nee', I am writing to let you know that I found it most interesting and informative.

What little I previously knew about Mr. Nee and the so-called 'Little Flock' Christians had come from from Mr. A. J. Gardiner's 'The Recovery and Maintenance of the Truth' and the 'Letters of James Taylor'.
As you may have suspected, until 1971 I was connected with those you call the 'London' group.
I was interested to read the other side of the story and also to learn of the background of Mr. Nee.

I am thankful to have had my eyes opened at last to see the unscriptural, and finally unchristian, character of what had developed among the 'London' group.

In the goodness of God my wife and I were delivered from that system.

It is remarkable that many of the aberrations of the 'Little Flock' had their parallel among the 'London' group,

(References are to your page numbers):

119, last paragraph. The exaltation of the meeting in a particular locality – JT called this 'metropolitanism' (Anaheim, in the LC's case)– and of one man "our Brother" ('Brother' Lee, in the LC's case) – exactly the same expression was used – and "new teaching" ("New Way", in the LC's case).
126-9. Involvement of the Lord's servants in commercialism (Fosforus, or DayStar, or LSM the 'One publisher', in the LC's case)
131-3. Organization of meetings and strict control of personnel including attendance and investigation of personal affairs, dissemination of uniform teaching etc. Emphasis on authority. (One way of meeting, one publication, trainings conducted by trainers from the centre on Ball Road, in the LC's case).
136-8. Breaking up of large numbers in certain localities by sending persons to establish new meetings. This happened especially in Australia in the late 1960's. (the migrations, orchestrated by Lee, in the LC's case)
138-9. "An order of seniority, expressed by a row of chairs" with a "Number One seat" – exactly the same practice. (Full-Time brothers front and centre please, in the LC's case)
138. Personal control of ownership of meeting rooms by leaders or their appointees. (Ownership of meeting halls even contested in court, in the LC's case)

I have only briefly touched on the similarities which in many instances are striking, even identical. I read some of the passages to my wife who immediately connected them with practices among the 'London' group.

In the Lord Jesus, Gordon.

****************

So in case anyone missed it, the "aberrations" we see in the Local Churches are "nothing new under the sun" - the exact same aberrations developed in Nee's Little Flock, and before that in the Exclusive Brethren from which they (and later we) emerged.

That's a pattern that HAS GOT to tell you something. If the "recipe" you're using produces a foul or even poisonous loaf, no matter who the baker is, then after three tries don't you realize it's not the baker but the recipe that's wrong?

12-28-2012, 12:20 PM	#3
NeitherFirstnorLast Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 348	Re: Nee and the Brethren - a Broken Relationship Let me excerpt a letter here (from the My Brethren website) to Angus Kinnear: Note both the date of the writing, (1973 - and in reference to goings on in China long predating that), and the details.... I've editted this letter to include my own side notes in [umber]. ********************* December 15, 1973 Dr. Angus I. Kinnear, Dear brother in Christ, Having just read your recent book 'Against the Tide – The Story of Watchman Nee', I am writing to let you know that I found it most interesting and informative. What little I previously knew about Mr. Nee and the so-called 'Little Flock' Christians had come from from Mr. A. J. Gardiner's 'The Recovery and Maintenance of the Truth' and the 'Letters of James Taylor'. As you may have suspected, until 1971 I was connected with those you call the 'London' group. I was interested to read the other side of the story and also to learn of the background of Mr. Nee. I am thankful to have had my eyes opened at last to see the unscriptural, and finally unchristian, character of what had developed among the 'London' group. In the goodness of God my wife and I were delivered from that system. It is remarkable that many of the aberrations of the 'Little Flock' had their parallel among the 'London' group, (References are to your page numbers): 119, last paragraph. The exaltation of the meeting in a particular locality – JT called this 'metropolitanism' (Anaheim, in the LC's case)– and of one man "our Brother" ('Brother' Lee, in the LC's case) – exactly the same expression was used – and "new teaching" ("New Way", in the LC's case). 126-9. Involvement of the Lord's servants in commercialism (Fosforus, or DayStar, or LSM the 'One publisher', in the LC's case) 131-3. Organization of meetings and strict control of personnel including attendance and investigation of personal affairs, dissemination of uniform teaching etc. Emphasis on authority. (One way of meeting, one publication, trainings conducted by trainers from the centre on Ball Road, in the LC's case). 136-8. Breaking up of large numbers in certain localities by sending persons to establish new meetings. This happened especially in Australia in the late 1960's. (the migrations, orchestrated by Lee, in the LC's case) 138-9. "An order of seniority, expressed by a row of chairs" with a "Number One seat" – exactly the same practice. (Full-Time brothers front and centre please, in the LC's case) 138. Personal control of ownership of meeting rooms by leaders or their appointees. (Ownership of meeting halls even contested in court, in the LC's case) I have only briefly touched on the similarities which in many instances are striking, even identical. I read some of the passages to my wife who immediately connected them with practices among the 'London' group. In the Lord Jesus, Gordon. ************** So in case anyone missed it, the "aberrations" we see in the Local Churches are "nothing new under the sun" - the exact same aberrations developed in Nee's Little Flock, and before that in the Exclusive Brethren from which they (and later we) emerged. That's a pattern that HAS GOT to tell you something. If the "recipe" you're using produces a foul or even poisonous loaf, no matter who the baker is, then after three tries don't you realize it's not the baker but the recipe that's wrong?