DCP - 2016 in Review

[Koinonia]

January 31, 2017

Re: 2016 in Review

Dear Brothers,

2016 was a busy year at DCP. As we rely upon the fellowship and prayer of the churches and the saints, we want to share with you some of the progress made last year. One practical matter was our move into new offices at 1853 W. Ball Road, Suite 103, Anaheim, CA. 92804.

In 2016 DCP gave presentations at the Full-Time Training, Anaheim; at a gathering of Mountain States brothers in Albuquerque; and at a European Brothers Training in Baarlo. Topics included crucial truths that are under attack, how to inoculate new ones and to provide an antidote to those damaged by false reports and attacks on the truth, the history of opposition and rebellion, and the progress and importance of developing positive contacts with fellow believers.

Writing Projects
DCP produced a paper on the Triune God that was presented at the 2016 joint meeting of the Evangelical Philosophical Society and the Evangelical Theological Society. Five brothers attended, were positively received, and met a number of open scholars who were aware of Witness Lee’s ministry or Affirmation and Critique.

We continued work on a four-volume series on the history of the warfare surrounding and including the litigations over The Mindbenders, The God-Men, and the Encyclopedia of Cults and New Religions. The draft and internal review of Books 1 and 2 are complete, and we have started our in-house review of the completed drafts of Books 3 and 4. Our burden in these books is to put to rest many false reports and to help equip the next generation in the Lord’s recovery how to face the enemy’s attacks.

DCP wrote a chapter for a book by Massimo Introvigne, Ph.D., on the Exclusive Brethren. The chapter corrects inaccurate historical accounts of the interactions between Watchman Nee and the Taylorite Brethren and explains Watchman Nee’s stand for the oneness of the Body. DCP provided information, including an explanation that we are not a denomination, to Roger Olson, theology professor at Truett Seminary, for his forthcoming edition of Handbook of Denominations in the United States. DCP also produced a draft entry for Georg Schmid’s updated Encyclopedia of Christian Churches, a widely used resource in the German-speaking world.

China-related
DCP provided research and logistical support to researchers for a book on Eastern Lightning (EL), also known as the Church of Almighty God, which will strongly differentiate it from the local churches, countering the trend among some academics. Support included visits to China, Korea, and Australia for meetings with relevant persons including EL members. DCP is preparing material in English and Chinese to inoculate the saints against EL’s heresies (a female (anti)Christ, denying the Bible, etc.) and deceptive tactics used to recruit from among attendees in local church meetings.

We continued contacts with various Chinese agencies and officials concerning cult issues and the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. Just two years ago we were listed third on the list of xiejiao (commonly translated as “evil cult” in the West) by the China Anti-Cult Association (CACA). Last April, CACA published a new list of xiejiao and for the first time in many years, “the Shouters sect,” which it earlier identified with Witness Lee and the local churches, was not on the list.

A brother presented papers on Watchman Nee’s use of examples from a Chinese context to teach truths at a U.S. conference on Sinicization of Christianity and on the influence of Western missionary work on Watchman Nee’s family at Shanghai University.

Among the Churches Globally
DCP is working with co-workers in Europe to develop inoculation material in German. This includes three websites—witnessleelehren.org, die-wahrheit-des-evangeliums.org (already launched), and die- ortsgemeinden.de. All three should be live by the end of February 2017. The “We Were Wrong” edition of the Christian Research Journal has been translated into German, published in Germany, and posted on the CRI website. Some DCP-related publications are being translated and corrections are being made to inaccurate German-language Internet articles. DCP began a research project to resolve persistent misinformation left over from the late-1980s European turmoil. DCP has also:

• Supported the brothers in India as they face opposition online and from a new publication,
• Consulted with brothers in Puerto Rico concerning an ex-member’s competing work,
• Provided assistance so that Cuban leading ones may get U.S. visas to attend the seven feasts,
• Responded to a dissenting one’s article in the Netherlands (also posted online), and
• Assisted the church in Chicago with material to inoculate against a competing ministry.

Aggressive Contacts
We have continued the long-term project of discovering scholars and other respected Christians who may be potential friends of the Lord’s recovery. This requires research, travel, and much fellowship. One new area of this labor is contact and visitation with key persons in the German-speaking world.

Internet & In-Office Projects
DCP now operates ltm.org and has renamed it localchurchesfaq.org; this site has been redesigned for mobile use. Redesign of contendingforthefaith.org is nearly complete and an-open-letter.org is under redesign to improve user experience and mobile compatibility. We also continue to monitor and respond to matters on the web.

We cherish the fellowship and prayers of the churches and share the above matters with you in mutuality for the Lord’s interest.

In Christ,

Abraham Ho and Dan Sady on behalf of DCP