"Against the Tide" by Angus Kinnear

[aron]

Originally Posted by OBW

I read Jane's review of Hsu's book and it underscored for me that the very core of Nee's teaching was really just a good mind processing more stuff than most of us can comprehend, deciding what parts he liked best, synthesizing something that fit the world-view he already had, and creating a church with Chinese values, origin, and control.

This is a good assessment: I would only change the last part. I would say WN created a church with his values, origin, and control. Getting himself expelled from the Exclusive Brethren was actually his de facto installation as the new Alpha male of an indigenous Chinese "local church" movement. Eventually this indigenous movement had its own geographical training and admin HQ, publishing arm, and an organizational hierarchy (ironically, even having global reach) with himself at the controls. The fact that WN was Chinese was incidental to the process. The "Alpha male" phenomenon is biological at its base and supersedes culture. It manifests itself through culture, but its basis, and universal distinguishing feature, is not Chinese.

"And the disciples were arguing about which one of them was first"... Luke 9:46-56. The whole WN/WL local church movement could be seen as a continuation of this one section of Luke 9. The reason WN 'won' the argument, at least temporarily, is because as OBW notes he read more books than anyone else and could marshall better and more coherent arguments about why 'his' system should rule (with him as overseer, natch).

But the 'ekklesia' is really a coming-together of the called-out ones, where everyone's soulish plans and ideational arrangements should be whittled down to manageable size. Everyone gets to practice getting 'right-sized' - we are in the flesh, after all. Why should we lift up any ideas, practices, or persons on this side of the Bema?

Jesus, correctly, had only one "Alpha": the Father. He therefore humbled himself and lowered himself below everyone, taking the lowest form (Phil 2:8, Heb 2:9). Should we not also follow? All of WN's books could not save him; his great mind couldn't save him. Instead these things became a trap and a snare, and the 'pruning power' of God's ekklesia was subverted, and it was molded into WN's image instead of vice versa.

Look what Jesus did when Peter tried to install him as the Alpha male (with Peter as Beta): "Get behind me, Satan." They all wanted to make him king (John 6:15; see also Acts 1:6), but he refused. He had the Father's business to attend. And to whatever "Living Stream Ministry" and "Editora Arvore da Vida" (DYL) and "Good Land Publishers" (TC) types out there who think these ministries are equivalent to the Father's 'oikonomia', I've four words for you: "Philip Lee" and "Timothy Lee". These are actually human enterprises with a godly veneer. WL's ministry was able to usurp WN's ministry because they were both Alpha-based human creations and thus susceptible to usurpation just like any human kingdom. And now BP and TC and DYL are the new controlling Alpha males. Surprise, surprise. The king is dead - long live the king!