The Little Flock

Does anyone have any info on "the Little Flock" in China today? I know that "Against the Tide" gives some details on how they managed after the revolution and Nee's imprisonment, but what about now, are they still there?

The "little flock" of today is probably a bit different than what it used to be. Witness Lee made great perversions out of it. Today, I believe they prefer to be called "the local church."

The "little flock" of today is probably a bit different than what it used to be. Witness Lee made great perversions out of it. Today, I believe they prefer to be called "the local church." I am aware of Lee's group. But don't know how well connected they are to "the little flock" in China. Lee worked in Tiawan and then went to LA from there the "local church" spread.After posting the question I did a bit of searching myself and came up with two interesting pieces from the net:From www.tsinoy.comThe church also suffered heavily during this time (communist revolution). While the new Chinese constitution guaranteed freedom of religion, the communist frowned on any foreign links, churches, or religious groups might have.Because of this, some Chinese Protestant church leaders launched the Three Self Patriotic Movement in an attempt to show their independence from western churches or mission groups. But by then numerous church leaders, pastor and lay leaders had been arrested and sent to prison. Among them was Watchman Nee, a Fuzhou born pastor, who pioneered the "Little Flock", the first independent, homegrown Protestant church in China. ...The church in Fuzhou, on the other hand, managed to grow and prosper even during the worst of circumstances. This was partly because the official government policy on religion had been applied liberally in Fujian, although there had been occasional crackdowns on home churches. In a recent survey, the official government approved churches claimed to have 200,000 Christians registered with them. But the number of Christians could be higher if you would include those attending the unofficial underground churches. Watchman Nee's Little Flock for example is still active in the city and is said to have a membership that run in the tens of thousands. From www.opendoorsusa.org:SANTA ANA, CA (Aug. 5, 2003) – On July 13, police raided a house church in Xiaoshan City, Zhejiang province, China, and arrested at least three church leaders. According to a China Aid Association press release dated July 24, the raid came at 4 a.m. on a Sunday morning while the Christians were meeting for prayer and worship.Eighty-year-old Shen Shaocheng, who helped found the church more than 25 years ago, was among those arrested. Xu Weimin and Gao Chongdao, two other house church leaders, were also taken into custody. The three men are being held at an unknown location. Authorities have not revealed their location to their families or allowed them visitors. The church, which has about 1,500 members, belongs to the “Little Flock,” one of the largest house church “streams” active in China. The Little Flock is best known in the West for their famous founder, Watchman Nee, whose writings are widely read by Christians all over the world. Nee was martyred in a labor camp in 1973, and his followers in China still suffer persecution. The Xiaoshan church has been destroyed three times by the authorities over the last 25 years, but it was rebuilt each time – even without government permission. During the recent SARS scare, authorities ordered the church to stop meeting. However, members continued to gather.

Thank you for sharing these stats.

I had visited China in 1999 and had the opportunity to meet up with some believers from the "local church" (also known as "Little Flock") in China. They are deep in spiritual experience and I have received much spiritual help from them.Some of the leaders and believers who were imprisoned in the 1950's survived the hardships of labour camp and remained faithful to the Lord. They continued their testimony upon release from prison.As in many other churches in China, the local churches in China have experienced phenomenal growth. In some areas, thousands and thousands of seekers curious about the Christian faith flock to the churches every day. Many accepted Jesus Christ as their Saviour. (I went to a church during the week day and there was a service going on. The place was so crowded that the congregation had to overflow into the front and back yards to listen to the sermon from the PA system. Imagine this happening in North America!)In the coastal provinces that are economically more propsperous and where less religious restrictions are imposed, many of the "local churches" are able to openly worship in their meeting halls with little government interference. In other words, they are registered with the government (the "Three-Self Patriotic Movement"), but because of the laxity of the local officials, they have liberty to worship and evangelize (all such activities, however, must only be held within the church building--no street preaching allowed). At the same time, some "local church" groups continue to choose meeting privately in small groups, because they perceive allying with the Three-Self Patriotic Movement an unequal yoke.The churches in the countryside are not as fortunate, as they are severely persecuted. However, this is also where the spiritual appetites of people is the strongest. Therefore, despite persecutions, the "local churches" in these areas continue to grow with phenomenal numbers, usually gathering in homes in small groups--a common form of gathering among the underground churches.Many of the aforementioned groups practise their faith more in line with the teachings of Watchman Nee than that of later leaders in the Local Church Movement.However, the Living Stream Ministry founded by Witness Lee in Anaheim has also managed to establish their presence in China in the last twenty years. Groups associated with them are often labelled as "the Shouters," which is considered a cult by the Chinese government and is illegal in China.I would also like to remind the readers that while the Witness Lee group is the largest and most visible, there are many other smaller offshoots of the Local Church Movement that have a similar Watchman Nee heritage yet do not fully embrace all of Witness Lee's teachings and practices.

Sam,Great post. You said:"I had visited China in 1999 and had the opportunity to meet up with some believers from the "local church" (also known as "Little Flock") in China. They are deep in spiritual experience and I have received much spiritual help from them."I often think that in the Kingdom, some roles should be reversed. Many of the places where we send folks to, should be sending us missionaries.Clutch :-)

I often think that in the Kingdom, some roles should be reversed. Many of the places where we send folks to, should be sending us missionaries.I have met quite a number of Korean missionaries who are sent here to North America to advance God's kingdom. :)"A Western explorer saw an African villager studying a Bible under the tree. He chided, 'Hey, at where I come from, we've thrown away this outdated book long ago.' The African responded, 'If it weren't for this book, you are now my dinner already--I'm now a Christian, not a cannibal!' "

With all due respect, many of your characterisations of both Watchman Nee and Witness Lee are incorrect.That their teachings are somewhat different is definitely true, but not the way you characterized it.As far as I know -(1) Both Watchman Nee and Witnee Lee are not strictly Arminian or Calvinist. I would say they lean towards Calvinism.(3) Regarding the lawsuit against Harvest House, the publisher did publish a book, "Encyclopedia of Cults and New Religions," which includes the Local Church movement in its entries as a cult among the Mormons, etc. By the way, Witness Lee himself could not have sued them because he already died.(4) How can you characterize the calling on of the name of the Lord as "violent"? Did anyone "get hurt"? (6) Both Watchman Nee and Witness Lee believed in partial rapture (i.e. rapture before, during, and after tribulation) as taught by Robert Govett.(7) Both Watchman Nee and Witness Lee did not advocate keeping Sabbath. Both believed the Lord's Table on the Lord's Day is central to Christian worship.(8) Having a nomenclature is not a sin. Witness Lee probably created many more jargons than Watchman Nee. But Nee also has his own spiritual terms that have found its way into the mainstream Chinese churches (e.g. Chinese word for "fellowship" - jiaotong)(9) That's your personal opinion.(10) Watchman Nee started the "Shanghai Gospel Bookroom", which is the precursor to Witness Lee's publication arm "Living Stream Ministry". And to be fair to Witness Lee, his translations of Watchman Nee's messages are not too bad. He obtained the original manuscripts of the sermons from Hong Kong Church Bookroom.(11) Can you even read the Chinese manuscript?I shall reiterate that there's a few things said and done by Witness Lee and the Living Stream Ministry that raise my eyebrow. However, in my humble opinion, they are a Christian group with some extreme tendencies, not a cult. They are still dear brothers and sisters in Christ.Moreover, this forum is about Watchman Nee, not Witness Lee. Bring your ungrounded allegations against Witness Lee elsewhere.