Concerns about the Local Churches

esostaks · 11-09-2013, 01:35 PM

I`m not sure if this is the right sub-forum for such thread and I apologize for my bad English, but here it goes.

First of all a little a bit about myself. I was raised in an atheistic family, however, 6 years ago our Lord saved me. I started to looking for church therefore I have visited several denominations and then I finally stopped and started to regularly attend one of the baptist churches in my city. Even during my first months as a christian when I didn`t know the Scriptures I felt that there was something wrong about the denominational churches and christianity as a whole. When I`ve read the New Testament several times I actually started seeing the false practices and teaching and the fact that the practice of churches described in the New Testament greatly differs from modern denominational churches.

About two years ago a very dear brother in Christ accidentally bought a book The Normal Christian Church Life written by brother Watchman Nee. I`ve read it and understood that the modern churches are false in their whole essence because the biblical churches are separated only by their geographical locations and not by teachings/beliefs/practices/nationalities/social factors etc. I was really happy about this so I started to search if there were any local churches in my country. Fortunately there was a church in the city where I was studying at that moment. I attended some meetings, however, the more time a spent with the church and the more I learned about development of local churches the more disappointed I became.

Eventhough the local churches represent them as something non-organizational I still see that they are extremely organised and act in the same way as any other christian denomination. They also stick to their leaders - Watchmen and Witness very strongly almost idolizing them and putting them in front of Christ. About a year ago I`ve read a testimony by a former member of local churches and he wrote that when Witness Lee was still alive brothers in some local churches made the same haircuts as him and you could be expelled from the church if you doubted something that was taught by Witness Lee. I`ve also seen a video from a local church meeting where the member sing a hymn glorifying Watchmen Nee. Isn`t Christ the only One who is worthy of such praise and glory?

Another thing is that I find works of Watchmen Nee very encouraging and believe that these teachings were revealed to him by God. They really help me grow spiritually. When I read books of Witness Lee something is simply not right. I wouldn`t say that they contradict Bible but they are rather outside the Bible. For example, he uses terms like "element of God", "distributing Christ" which are never used in the Scripture. He made an entire teaching on the expression "economy of God" which is mentioned in the Scripture only once. And how should believers even understand such difficult terms and such intellectual teaching if Paul writes to chorintians that there are not so many wise and strong by human standards among them.

Sometimes I even have a feeling that God really started to awaken His church by Watchman Nee and than satan planted his seed in the form of Witness Lee so the church again becomes nothing more then a formal organization and denomination.

I have now moved to another city to continue my studies and decided to give it another try because this city also has a local church. I attended several meetings but I really don`t get it and cannot see the practice and life of early churches described in the Bible. When I first spoke to the brothers and they were asking about my life the first question they asked is how did I learned about teaching of Watchmen and Witness and how did I found them (local churches). Shouldn`t it be asked how I repented and how Lord saved me?

I am really confused about all of this so I hoped someone here could explain it all and shed some light on my doubts. My purpose wasn`t to offend anyone. I am simply trying to understand God`s view on local churches and understand whether I should meet with brothers there or should I continue to walk on my own during these difficult times because I have not been meeting believers on a regular basis for about 4 years.

11-09-2013, 01:35 PM	#1
esostaks Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 4	Concerns about the Local Churches I`m not sure if this is the right sub-forum for such thread and I apologize for my bad English, but here it goes. First of all a little a bit about myself. I was raised in an atheistic family, however, 6 years ago our Lord saved me. I started to looking for church therefore I have visited several denominations and then I finally stopped and started to regularly attend one of the baptist churches in my city. Even during my first months as a christian when I didn`t know the Scriptures I felt that there was something wrong about the denominational churches and christianity as a whole. When I`ve read the New Testament several times I actually started seeing the false practices and teaching and the fact that the practice of churches described in the New Testament greatly differs from modern denominational churches. About two years ago a very dear brother in Christ accidentally bought a book The Normal Christian Church Life written by brother Watchman Nee. I`ve read it and understood that the modern churches are false in their whole essence because the biblical churches are separated only by their geographical locations and not by teachings/beliefs/practices/nationalities/social factors etc. I was really happy about this so I started to search if there were any local churches in my country. Fortunately there was a church in the city where I was studying at that moment. I attended some meetings, however, the more time a spent with the church and the more I learned about development of local churches the more disappointed I became. Eventhough the local churches represent them as something non-organizational I still see that they are extremely organised and act in the same way as any other christian denomination. They also stick to their leaders - Watchmen and Witness very strongly almost idolizing them and putting them in front of Christ. About a year ago I`ve read a testimony by a former member of local churches and he wrote that when Witness Lee was still alive brothers in some local churches made the same haircuts as him and you could be expelled from the church if you doubted something that was taught by Witness Lee. I`ve also seen a video from a local church meeting where the member sing a hymn glorifying Watchmen Nee. Isn`t Christ the only One who is worthy of such praise and glory? Another thing is that I find works of Watchmen Nee very encouraging and believe that these teachings were revealed to him by God. They really help me grow spiritually. When I read books of Witness Lee something is simply not right. I wouldn`t say that they contradict Bible but they are rather outside the Bible. For example, he uses terms like "element of God", "distributing Christ" which are never used in the Scripture. He made an entire teaching on the expression "economy of God" which is mentioned in the Scripture only once. And how should believers even understand such difficult terms and such intellectual teaching if Paul writes to chorintians that there are not so many wise and strong by human standards among them. Sometimes I even have a feeling that God really started to awaken His church by Watchman Nee and than satan planted his seed in the form of Witness Lee so the church again becomes nothing more then a formal organization and denomination. I have now moved to another city to continue my studies and decided to give it another try because this city also has a local church. I attended several meetings but I really don`t get it and cannot see the practice and life of early churches described in the Bible. When I first spoke to the brothers and they were asking about my life the first question they asked is how did I learned about teaching of Watchmen and Witness and how did I found them (local churches). Shouldn`t it be asked how I repented and how Lord saved me? I am really confused about all of this so I hoped someone here could explain it all and shed some light on my doubts. My purpose wasn`t to offend anyone. I am simply trying to understand God`s view on local churches and understand whether I should meet with brothers there or should I continue to walk on my own during these difficult times because I have not been meeting believers on a regular basis for about 4 years.