Claim of Watchman Nee Leadership Practice in China?

[aron]

Originally Posted by Cheng-Tian Kuo

Watchman Nee founded the Local Church in China in the 1920s. He was influenced by western evangelists, but "developed an indigenized theology critical of the principal churches but accessible to ordinary Chinese". Witness Lee was his "right-hand man". "The Local Churches constitute the majority of the seven million Christians in China [?] and include a membership of 91,000 Taiwanese associated with more than 170 churches in Taiwan. The Local Church is the second largest Christian denomination in Taiwan".

"The ecclesiology of the Local Church was a mixture of supreme mastership, equality of all believers, and a centralized decision core with strong local autonomy. Ni was the supreme master of all church members, including Ni's successor, Li Chang-shou, who served Ni as his own son. Ni's writings were the main, if not the only, instructional materials in Bible study sessions. His leadership and biblical interpretation was beyond challenge by his members; those who dared to question were driven out of the church. He appointed all elders in local churches. After Ni's death, Li succeeded him to supreme mastership. In addition to inheriting all the supreme powers Ni had, Li's writings, especially the Recovered Version of the Bible he edited, have replaced those by Ni in the church's Bible Study sessions."

Interesting to see those concepts side by side: "supreme mastership" and "equality of all believers".

First of all, "equality of all believers" - Jesus taught that some had five talents, some had one, some had ten. Paul said that "star differed from star in glory" (1 Cor 15:41). But in the social(ist) engineering of Ni and Li, all are "small potatoes" except for the supreme master, who is deputy God. How normal is that? Ni set up his proposed "normal church" against the clergy-laity system, which argument made sense in Western-dominated China coming out of the 19th century, but it makes no sense in the 21st century where anyone can function in the community church. Those with more talents become evident by function. Nobody gets accused of being "ambitious" or "drawing others after them". People have differing gifts, and they function. Wow, what a concept!

Second, there's no actual equality of believers in the LSM/lc system, because it matters how you're positioned vis-a-vis the supreme master. Those who have him on speed-dial obviously can lord over the rest, and they do. "Don't you know we have lunch with WL" was the refrain of the FTT 'co-workers' to the rank-and-file who protested their overbearing ways.

One brother who posted here aka "Hope", said that when the Chinese brothers found out he was "tight" with WL suddenly they became very deferential. This kind of testimony is not anomalous but par for the LSM/lc system.

Next follows another pair of concepts: "centralized decision core" and "strong local autonomy". The juxtaposition simply makes no sense. "Strong local autonomy" only worked to bring the believers and their fellowships outside of Western control (in 1930s China) or denominational control (in 1960s USA). Otherwise it was strictly the "Jerusalem principle" where "oneness" meant absolute obedience to the central church of the supreme master. In actuality, the word "autonomy" meant nothing at all. It was just window dressing.

Anyone can see how absurd these concepts are next to each other. They're unbiblical and contradictory, unless you're bound and determined to be duped by them, and to wear the yoke, and be enslaved to the ministry of these men.

As one (current Blended) said, at the time of a particularly nasty 'rebellion', "I'm proud to be an ostrich with my head stuck in the sand." With that attitude, you probably can 'enjoy' the ministry. But anyone who actually tries to think about what it means practically (in truth, in actuality, in day-to-day living) can see the glaring flaws. It's really all about control. Absolute control equals social stability (until the cries of the rank-and-file small potatoes get too great - then the inevitable 'storm' or 'turmoil' comes).