2013-06-01              John W                                John W's previous articles

One of the founders of China's blossoming house church movement:

Watchman Nee  (1903-1972)

Different reports give different figures, but in China there are about 12 million Catholics, and at least 70 million Protestants/Evangelicals

Why the big difference? Because from about the time of the Communist take-over in China, Evangelicals favored the house church movement with local leaders, whereas Catholics stayed dependent on ordained clergy (even in the "underground church" which was a sort of house church arrangement, but still dependent on ordained clergy)

One of the house church movement's main founders, leaders and sources of inspiration was Watchman Nee, "one of the 20th century's most important Christians". He spent his final 20 years in prison and died in prison on June 1, 1972

His life and teachings hold many valuable lessons for Christianity in all parts of the world

For a detailed account of Watchman Nee:

Wikipedia summary

Watchman Nee and the house church movement

This book Watchman Nee - Man of Suffering has some historical inaccuracies but is worth reading for inspiration.

Passages I noted when I last read it:

p. 29:  Watchman deplored the church being divided, and even came to believe that denominationalism was condemned by Scripture. He was later criticized for his conviction that there should be only one church in each locale

p. 41-43:  His denomination took Communion only four times a year, but in the Bible he saw that the first Christians "broke bread" at least on the first day of the week and probably on a daily basis....so he began having Communion services every Sunday

p. 60: All over China the state of the institutional church had lapsed into lukewarm religious secularism. Denominational jealousies and prideful, compromised ecclesiastics had practically paralyzed the movement of the Spirit ...

p. 64, 65: How prayer rescued him from a sickness that had him in the throes of death

p. 69:  A beautiful poem he wrote:
Not by gain our life is measured,
But by what we've lost it's scored.
It's not how much wine is drunken,
But how much has been outpoured.

He who treats himself severely
Is the best for God to gain.
He who hurts himself most dearly
Most can comfort those in pain

p. 75 and elsewhere speaks of the influence on Watchman Nee of the British missionary Margaret Barber

p. 77-79: teaching about the centipede....paralysed by problem of which leg to move first....unable to move....eventually when sun came out, centipede forgot the problem and just walked....so with some interior/introspective  issues ..best approach is to forget them and they go away!
(c.f. God at Eventide, July 20: "Do not recognize your illness. Each time you speak of it to others, you stabilize it. Ignore it as much as you can. Think more of Me, the Great Healer")

p. 84: He would never think of anyone as an Anglican, Methodist or Baptist, for denominationalism was anathema to him

p. 89: teaching re "ecclesia" means "called-out ones" (similar to teaching in this article)

p. 122ff:  The plan to plant house churches

p. 138:  (at time of Japanese invasion of China): Japanese not enemies but brothers....

p. 148 and elsewhere:  would not defend himself when criticised/maligned

p. 158ff: could have escaped to freedom (at time of Communist takeover in China) but stayed with his flock.....was imprisoned in 1952....stayed in prison until his death in prison in 1972

Saint Watchman Nee, pray for us!

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