ShepherdingWords.com: Addressing Rumors and Presenting the Truth

We would like to announce the launch of a new website, ShepherdingWords.com, which contains articles written by the co-workers in North America addressing rumors that have arisen over the years regarding the local churches and the ministry of God’s word through Brothers Watchman Nee and Witness Lee.

The enlightening articles and factual accounts on this site are presented to help those who have encountered these rumors, as well as those who desire to be equipped to respond to inquiries or accusations that may come their way.

We hope that all of the saints would be edified by this site, that the material presented there may be a safeguard from stumbling (2 Cor. 6:3), and that it would restore all of our hearts more fully to the Lord, His life, His light, and the joy of our salvation.

The site currently contains the following articles, with more to be added in the future.

Teaching and Fellowship:

• Spiritual Authority and Its Misuse – In Watchman Nee’s teaching, spiritual authority is not positional but is based on a person’s seeing of the spiritual realities in the Bible concerning God and His purpose together with the working of the Holy Spirit to bring him into the same subjective experience of the death and resurrection of Christ seen in the pattern of the apostle Paul (2 Cor. 4:10-12).
• A Specious Claim of Racism – The apostles’ teaching in the New Testament is clear that all racial, social, and cultural distinctions have been abolished in Christ. Ephesians 2:15 says that Christ abolished in His flesh the law of the commandments in ordinances so that he could create the Jews and the Gentiles—the two categories of people separated by the strongest racial/social/cultural wall—in Himself into one new man.
• Some Questions and Answers Regarding Deputy Authority – Is deputy authority biblical? Is there more than one kind of deputy authority? How is authority established? What is the basis of spiritual authority? How is spiritual authority manifested? How is spiritual authority expressed? What should be our attitude toward deputy authorities? What if a deputy authority is wrong? Why is it important to know deputy authority?
• Concerning Having One Publication Work – The churches in the New Testament were established by and continued in the apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:42). The apostles’ teaching brought them into the apostles’ fellowship, which was the unique fellowship of the Body of Christ in and with Triune God (1 Cor. 1:9; 1 John 1:3). Only one teaching was recognized in the early churches—the apostles’ teaching. The apostles taught the same thing in every church (1 Cor. 4:17), which was a strong factor in maintaining the oneness and one accord among the churches.
• Concerning the Ministry’s Attitude Toward Sisters – The kingdom of God can come in its full manifestation only when the church’s submission to God’s government is complete, and the church is built up through mutual submission and the functioning of all the members to mutually supply one another (Eph. 4:16; Col. 2:19). This is what the Bible teaches, this is what Witness Lee taught, and this is what the ministry in the Lord’s recovery is still teaching today.
• The Minister of the Age, Not Infallibility – Today we in the Lord’s recovery are not following a man, much less an infallible man, for aside from the Lord Jesus Himself, no such person exists (Rom. 3:23). Today, we are following the vision we have seen, and in following this vision we are not ashamed to acknowledge those through whom the vision has come to us (2 Tim. 1:8).

History:

• A Response from the Church in Houston
• Facts Concerning Daystar Motor Homes
• Facts Concerning Statements Attributed to Max Rapoport

This article is introducing ShepherdingWords.com: Addressing Rumors and Presenting the Truth.