a. The one who takes the lead should supply the
2. Seek fellowship. Without fellowship there is no coordination. In order to practice fellowship, the co-workers must learn to:
a. Open up their hearts to each other. b. Forsake individualism and be in one accord as one man. c. Bear one another's burdens. d. Actively seek fellowship. e. Only in the authority and in the fellowship can there be the real practice of arrangement, sending out, staying, and commitment. 3. Who is a co-worker and who is an apostle: 1. Apostle. The apostleship is not a gift but an office. From the gifted ones God chooses some who are vessels fit for His use and sends them to work and establish the church for Him. For example, in Acts 13 Paul and Barnabas were prophets and teachers according to their gifts. But once sent out by the Holy Spirit, they were called "apostles" in Acts 14:4. An apostle is not required either to have an occupation or to forsake it if he has one. Paul's occupation was that of an apostle, not a tentmaker. He simply worked as a tentmaker so that he could be an apostle. 2. Co-worker. The scope of the co-workers is larger than that of the apostles. All the brothers and sisters must make their occupations a secondary thing for the purpose of serving God. All of those who are for the Lord are our co-workers. 4. The matter of finances: 0. Concerning the distribution of money in a local church, there are the following categories:
a. Regular expenses. b. Care of the poor. c. Care of the need of the responsible brothers. d. The need of other local churches. e. The supply to individual workers. f. The supply to the entire region of the work. 1. The financial relationship among the co-workers: a. The one who takes the lead should supply the coworkers. b. The co-workers should be supplied according to individual need, not according to gift. c. All must learn to live by faith, to trust in God instead of in some human source, and not to be responsible for anyone else. All must learn to receive by faith and to give by faith.
_______________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ Following the training in October, the trainees returned to their respective places throughout China, taking with them the help they had received. Wherever they went, they spread the revival.
The result was a tremendous spiritual explosion. Hundreds of sinners were captured for
the Lord's kingdom, many believers were set on fire for the Lord's recovery, and the
churches were increased and built up more than ever before.
This was Watchman's first training in Kuling Mountain. His burden was to conduct this kind of training at least once a year on an ongoing basis. The situation then required him to postpone the time of the second training from February to August 1949. The content of this training was the same as that of the first, with some improvements. The trainees were a different group of believers. In the midst of the training, he moved it from Kuling Mountain to his home at Customs Lane within the city of Foochow.
After the second training was completed, due to the political change, he had no more opportunity to continue his training. Although his training plan was terminated, what he released during his two trainings at Kuling were printed and have become a great help to many who are seeking to follow the Lord in the Lord's recovery. The issue of those trainings is invaluable to us today.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
THE SPECIFIC MEANS OF WATCHMAN NEE'S MINISTRY
(2)
III. ISSUING PUBLICATIONS
The third specific means Watchman Nee employed for his ministry was that of issuing publications.
A. Gospel Tracts
Early in 1922 Watchman began to print gospel tracts for his preaching work. In his open letter in the thirteenth issue of The Present Testimony, published in March 1930, he said, "In these two years hundreds of thousands of gospel tracts have already been distributed. We constantly hear of their effect in saving people."
In his open letter in the nineteenth issue of the same magazine, published in January— February 1931, he said, "The gospel tracts we have printed have been greatly blessed by the Lord. In the past two or three years we have sent out more than five million tracts, and this year we have printed one and a half million tracts." B. The Present Testimony
At the end of 1922 Watchman was burdened to publish a magazine entitled The Present Testimony. In Chinese it is called Fu-shing, which means "revival." The first issue of
fourteen hundred copies was published in January 1923 in Foochow. Its theme was specifically the deep things of God and was composed of messages on life with the Lord Jesus as the center, especially emphasizing His life, His crucifixion, His resurrection, His intercession, His Body, His coming back, and His kingdom. These messages were especially designed for the cultivation of the spiritual life and made no attempt to engage in intellectual debate.
This magazine continued until 1925, when Watchman had the burden to publish The Christian. The publication of The Present Testimony was resumed in January 1928 in Shanghai. The following excerpts taken from his second testimony, given at Kulangsu on October 20, 1936, and his open letters reveal the purpose of the magazine and the reason for resuming its publication:
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Before I became ill, I not only visited various places to conduct special meetings, but I also had a great ambition to compose a good comprehensive commentary. I intended to devote much energy, time, and money in writing a large commentary consisting of about a hundred volumes. After completing The Spiritual Man, which I began in Nanking when I became ill, I realized that the task of expounding the Scriptures was not for me. However, since that time I have frequently met with temptation in this respect. After my illness, God revealed to me that the central point of the messages He gave me was not for expounding the Scriptures, preaching the ordinary gospel, paying attention to prophecies, or anything outward, but for laying stress on the living Word of life. For this reason I felt I should resume publishing The Present Testimony to assist God's children in spiritual life and warfare.
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We continue with a portion of his open letter from the twenty-fourth issue of The Christian, published in December 1927:
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The Bible contains numerous teachings which ordinary believers cannot fully understand. Moreover, the testimony of the Lord is so incomparably great that we cannot receive and preach it completely. During the time of my waiting and praying, God committed to me the testimony which He wishes me personally to bear. I consider the book The Spiritual Man to be an outline of the special testimony which the Lord has committed to me. In the past years, day by day the hand of the Lord has become heavier upon me, forcing me to realize that He desires me to bear a special testimony for His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. There are many who have ordinary testimonies, but the Lord wants me to bear
a special testimony for Him. Therefore, I am ready to give up the work of expounding the Scriptures, which thing I would like to do most, in order that I might bear the specific testimony which God has freshly committed to me. The wonderful thing about it is that the Lord is also leading all the brothers and sisters who are meeting and having fellowship in Shanghai in the same way. Hence, by means of the coming issues of The Present Testimony, according to what we have received from God, we shall specifically explain "the deep things of God" to the Body of Christ. We wholeheartedly desire to bear this unique testimony which the Lord has committed to us. We also fully realize that the Lord will raise up many other believers besides us to bear this testimony together. The more we walk on the spiritual path, the more we realize the importance of the message of the cross. Believers today have failed because they have not allowed the cross to work deeply and destroy all the works of the flesh. There is still a mixture of the new and the old creation in the lives of believers, because the old creation has not yet been replaced by God. Such mixture always results in loss to the new creation. Correctness in outward behavior, excellence in church organization, increase in Bible knowledge, and exertion in God's work are all insufficient to guarantee against a mixture of the flesh within. On the contrary, the flesh can act freely in all these things and promote them with all its might. For this reason, the work of the cross annihilating the old creation is indispensable. Without the cross standing between the new and the old creations, a person's spiritual life is false, shallow, and superficial. Since a believer's life is always related to both "self" and the Lord, the cross must destroy the self so that the Lord can have His legitimate place. The time of the millennium will be the right time for the Lord to overcome Satan. Therefore, by the grace of the Lord, we would remind the church of God that the Body of Christ must rise up to work with Him to bring in the kingdom. Our desire is that the enemy might soon be put to shame and that Christ might soon be glorified.
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In his open letter published in the first issue of The Present Testimony of January—April 1928, he said:
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We publish this little magazine because we have received the commission from God to help His children specifically in matters relating to spiritual life and warfare. In every age there is a unique truth especially needed for that period. For those of us living in these last days, there must also be some specific truth which we especially need. By means of The Present Testimony, we intend to bear testimony to the truth needed in this present age.
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The following words are taken from the open letter in the nineteenth issue of The Present Testimony of January— February 1931:
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Some may think that the content of The Present Testimony is too deep and too specialized. However, many readers have written to us saying that while other magazines are greatly used by the Lord, The Present Testimony provides what the others do not. For this reason we are convinced that the command which we have received of the Lord is right. By the grace of the Lord, The Present Testimony will therefore continue to speak forth the deep things of God this year and in the years to come, the Lord willing.
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Publication of The Present Testimony was suspended following the thirty-sixth issue of July—August 1934 and was replaced by The Testimony in 1948. However, publication of The Present Testimony was resumed in January 1951.
C. The Christian
In order to lay a foundation for understanding his deeper periodical, The Present Testimony, Watchman issued another periodical called The Christian. In the Narration of the Past delivered on the Lord's Day, December 4, 1932, at a meeting in Shanghai, he referred to his burden concerning this paper:
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Publication of The Christian began in January 1923. It was published at irregular intervals and was discontinued in 1925. While I was staying in LoHsing Pagoda, I felt the need to issue a regular publication which would give more emphasis to the truths of salvation and the church and deal as well with prophecies and types. I intended this magazine (called The Christian) to be temporary in nature. In 1925 two issues were published; in 1926 ten issues were published; and in 1927, because of continuous demand, another twelve issues were published. _____________________________________________________ _______
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The announcement in the combined thirteenth and fourteenth issues concerning The Christian was as follows:
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PURPOSE: To proclaim the salvation of the cross, to cultivate the Christian's spirituality, to warn of the danger of modernism, and to declare all of God's will. CONTENT: The Christian contains messages, short articles, stories, signs of the times, studies, expositions of the Bible, and questions and answers (anyone desiring to ask questions about the Scriptures may do so). Every other month we issue a "Scripture-expounding" special, devoted exclusively to expounding the Bible. The current topic is the book of Revelation.
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Each issue of this monthly periodical was approximately eighty pages in length. In those issues he expounded the first three chapters of Revelation, spending much time on the seven epistles. It was through these messages on the seven epistles that denominationalism was fully exposed and the proper church revealed. By reading these papers, many young people throughout the whole of China had their eyes opened. I was one of them. It was thus that I came to see the evils of the denominations and also to see the church. We still have twenty-three of the original twenty-four issues of The Christian. They were filled not only with much revelation but also with much inspiration. They were marvelous. It is almost unbelievable that that young man of just twenty-two years of age could expound the Scriptures in such a way. In those issues he expounded not only the first twelve chapters of Revelation, but also the first two chapters of Genesis. He spoke of the first, second, and third days and applied them all very much to Christ. He said clearly that the land rising out of the water on the third day was a type of Christ coming forth from the dead. Christ was the good land resurrected on the third day to produce all kinds of life. What a marvelous revelation!
The following five excerpts, four of which are taken from the editor's word in The Christian, and one from Notes on Scriptural Messages, reveal his burden and purpose in publishing The Christian.
From the fifth issue of The Christian published in March 1926:
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____________________________________________ From now on, the Lord willing, each issue of The Christian will contain a column on "The Signs of the Times" that our readers might better understand the situation in the last days and know how the prophecies of the Bible are being fulfilled step by step. May the Lord use this column to inspire His children to watch and pray and get themselves ready. Knowing that the Lord is coming soon should not make one lazy, but rather cause him to forsake the world. Those who are aware of the Lord's soon return, yet still love the world, are in a very pitiful spiritual condition.
The purpose of The Christian is not to preach any person, any man's ideals, or any "ism." Its mission is to preach the Lord Jesus and Him crucified. We thank the Lord that this paper has aroused many people's sympathy and prayers. Our intention in these pages is to preach the message of the Lord to people far and near. I deeply believe that if the Lord's servants clearly preach the gospel of the vicarious death of the cross and depend on the mighty power of the Holy Spirit in order that sinners might become regenerated, they will by no means be fruitless. Unfortunately, what is preached today is not the gospel of God, the gospel of the grace of God. Rather, the message of the cross as revealed by God is replaced with man's ideals and rules for improvement. No wonder sinners are not affected. Others preach the salvation of God by their own intelligence and wisdom and do not have the Holy Spirit working with them by power. Hence, even though they preach, in the end they cannot save men's souls. I pray humbly that the Lord may have mercy on us and cause us not to rely on our own ability or strength but rather on God's Spirit to speak forth the gospel of the Lord.
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The following is taken from the combined thirteenth and fourteenth issues of The Christian published in January—February 1927:
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When we first began publication of The Christian, our original intention was to try it for only one year. While, on the one hand, there are not many spiritual publications today, on the other hand, there are enough to make us wonder whether there was sufficient need for us to publish The Christian. Yet, since its inception, readers everywhere have indicated that it does meet a great need in the church today and has its unique place. Their subscriptions, recommendations, and encouragement have been continually pouring in. We thank God that He has made The Christian so acceptable to His children. We intend therefore to continue the work for another year.... When we published our first issue of The Christian, we included a statement stating our goal, standard, and affiliation. We would now like to reprint what we said then: GOAL: In this little monthly publication, our desire is to supply spiritual milk to the young believers and solid food to the older ones. We especially stress the salvation of the cross. But we are even more concerned with the spiritual condition of the believers. We ask God to strengthen us that we could preach all of God's will. As to the errors of modernism, we will strive to warn God's children of its dangers.
STANDARD: The Bible is our only standard. We are not afraid to preach the pure Word of the Bible, even if men oppose; but if it is not the Word of the Bible, we could never agree even if everyone approved.... The contents of The Christian this year will continue as before. Besides "The Signs of the Times," "Stories," and "Questions and Answers," all of which were included last year, we have also prepared three articles on "The Shortcut to Hell" for this year's gospel messages (the first of which is published in this issue). Other articles which also proclaim the gospel of the grace of God will be published in succession. All our readers may feel free to pass on the gospel messages to others (whether or not you mention the name of this magazine). There is a certain pastor who regularly reads the gospel messages of this paper to his congregation on Sundays. He feels that even though they cannot hear our preaching personally, he still can use this direct method to meet the need. The Lord has greatly blessed what he has done. This year there will be many messages especially dealing with faith in the "Spiritual Instructions" column. The articles on prayer by Mr. Meek will still be published. We also hope to print some practical articles written by other children of God. In the first half of this year, we intend to publish "The Practice of Faith," "The Deeds of Faith," "Important or Not," "The Condescension of Jesus," "Bribing the Conscience," and others. "An Hour's Conversation with Mr. George Müller" has been translated by Mr. Wang Tze and will be published in the "Testimonies" column. The Lord willing, Mr. Wang will translate other articles for us. "An Unspoken Message" in the "Stories" column is the most touching one. We also hope to publish some testimonies of high school and college students this year. Please pay attention to them. We have translated "The Origin of the Bible" and hope to publish it soon. Concerning the exposition of the Bible, we will continue "Meditations on Genesis." However, each article will be a separate entity. The sixth and seventh articles have been completed. One is "The Story of Creation and the Basic Truth of Dispensations," and the other is "The Story of Creation and the Seven Great Characters of Genesis." Those who enjoy reading this column will receive much spiritual food.
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After twenty-four issues of The Christian had been published, Watchman was burdened to resume the publications of The Present Testimony. The Christian, therefore, was discontinued in January 1928. After six and a half years, in July 1934, publication was again resumed. The following statements explain the reason and purpose for discontinuing The Christian. This excerpt is from Watchman's open letter in the twentyfourth issue of The Christian published in December 1927:
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After a long period of waiting and praying, I am now clear about the Lord's will concerning The Christian for next year. When I first began publication of this paper, I knew it would not be of a permanent nature. At first I intended to publish it only on a trial basis for one year. Following the first year, I continued its publication for another year. Now two full years have passed. When I began, a few friends asked, "What is your purpose in publishing The Christian? What do you plan to do with The Present Testimony which you published before?" My answer was, "The goal of The Christian is to lead believers to read The Present Testimony. Whenever I feel the time has come, I will stop publishing The Christian." This was what I said to my friends then. Now the time has come, and The Christian will be discontinued. This whole year I have been continually before God, contemplating and praying over the future of this paper. Day by day I have become clearer that the message of this paper is now adequate. God is now leading me on to bear another special testimony. As this instrument has been used in the hand of God, and as He now desires to put it aside, who am I that I should say no? Some friends who learned of my decision felt sorry that The Christian was being discontinued. Also, humanly speaking, it seems that since this paper is enjoying such a wide circulation, that it is a shame to discontinue it. According to my natural thought, I also am reluctant to discontinue The Christian, for I am most delighted with such a work. But God has stepped on the brake, and I must obey with rejoicing. In that day you will know that I was obeying God in this matter. I feel deeply that the various testimonies we have printed in The Christian, especially those concerning the outward behavior of believers, are sufficient. If we continue our tiring reiteration, it will make The Christian a paper specializing in "leaving the denominations," "baptism by immersion," etc. I thank God that He gave the co-workers and me the same feeling concerning this matter.... Does this mean that we will cease printing such writings concerning our testimony? The Lord is leading the believers meeting in Shanghai to publish The Present Testimony. Henceforth, The Present Testimony will be a written testimony of the believers who meet and have fellowship in Shanghai.
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The following statement was Watchman's announcement concerning his publications, issued in the June 1934 edition of Notes on Scriptural Messages:
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In the winter of 1927, having become clear concerning God's will that I was especially called to bear testimony on the spiritual side of the truth (which excludes everything that might cause dispute regarding prophecy, the church, and Bible interpretation), I discontinued The Christian and reissued The Present Testimony. This does not mean that the work of The Christian is unimportant; on the contrary, it has a significant place. But I feel that what the Lord has committed to me are truths more in keeping with the nature of The Present Testimony of these few years. Teachings which are in keeping with the nature of The Christian are also greatly needed, but what the Lord has not committed to me, I must wait for someone else to do. In 1930, after seeing so many young believers (spiritually speaking) without help, I published a simpler and easier paper entitled Notes on Scriptural Messages. It was my hope that God's children might receive benefit and be linked up with the truths which have the nature of The Present Testimony. Meanwhile, I was continually expecting in my heart, and I frequently mentioned to the co-workers, that it would be best if God would raise up someone else to do this in-between work. Last year during the time of my weakness, I received a special dealing from God and felt deeply at that time that if I continued in this way, I could not adequately accomplish the things God had committed to me. There was also the danger of making void my obedience of 1927 if I continued to be careless. As a result I had the thought then of discontinuing Notes on Scriptural Messages. This matter was brought up to the brothers this year in a conference, and it was pointed out that since so many brothers have been raised up, they should begin to take up the burden for many things. The unanimous decision of the brothers then was to resume the publication of The Christian and to allow me to discontinue the Notes on Scriptural Messages. This does not mean that I will no longer bear the responsibility for the content of The Christian. I will be happy to follow after the brothers and publish in The Christian the manuscripts which I have accumulated from the past. But as for me, from now on I will only bear the spiritual testimony. Notes on Scriptural Messages will cease with this issue, and The Christian will resume with the next issue. May God receive the glory in our new arrangement!
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The following announcement by Witness Lee appeared in the first issue of The Christian, newly published in July 1934:
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The discontinuation of Notes on Scriptural Messages and the resumption of The Christian were announced by Brother Watchman Nee in the fiftieth issue of Notes on Scriptural Messages. At this time we wish to add a few words here on the reissuing of The Christian. Since 1928 when Brother Nee suspended The Christian and resumed The Present Testimony, even though truths of the nature of The Present Testimony have helped many of God's children in their spiritual life, it seems that teachings of the nature of The Christian have become hidden to God's children. We realize that the principles of the spiritual life are truly of foremost importance, but the light on the pathway cannot be lacking either. While we should certainly pay attention to the spiritual life, scriptural knowledge should by no means be ignored. Today a believer's inner life needs edification, and his outward behavior also needs cultivation. Even though Notes on Scriptural Messages can be of considerable help in this aspect to the children of God, it still is not the same as the former publication, The Christian. Hence, we felt the need to reissue The Christian. Though the resumption of The Christian was decided by the brothers after the conference in January of this year, it was not until today that, by the grace of God, the first issue has come out. While we confess the delay to be our fault, we also believe that it was God's ordering. After its resumption, the nature and content of The Christian will be largely the same as before. The differences are that the former "Messages" column is now changed to "Notes on Scriptural Messages" and the former "Scripture Expositions" to "Bible Studies." These changes are only in style; the function will be the same as before. The reason "Scripture Expositions" is being changed to "Bible Studies" is because we intend to publish, in succession, notes of Bible studies which Brother Nee conducted with the brothers and sisters in Shanghai during the last few years. By this means the truth-seeking brothers and sisters in every locality will receive help. "Messages" is being changed to "Notes on Scriptural Messages" in order to keep Notes on Scriptural Messages continuing so that the help God's children have been receiving will not be interrupted. Hence, although the Notes on Scriptural Messages ceased to be an independent publication, its essential existence has not been abolished. We simply incorporated it as a column into The Christian. Thus, on one hand The Christian resumes publication, and on the other hand, Notes on Scriptural Messages is also preserved. On the one hand, we want to restore the former testimony of The Christian, and on the other hand, we want to carry on the present help of Notes on Scriptural Messages. Our hope is that God will use this little testimony to lead His children to draw near to His living Word, Christ, and to His written Word, the Bible. In this way
they will be able to see how to go on today and obey Christ that He might have a larger and fuller place in their lives and work. It is our hope that they will also be helped to see the heavenly pattern—Christ—and turn their attention to His central work—the church—in order that Christ might be exalted and the Body of Christ, the church, be built up. It is also our desire that God would use this paper to declare His will and release His truths that the spiritual life of His children could be nurtured and their problems resolved. Although this responsibility is great and we are poor and weak, we do not look to ourselves nor to anything of ourselves. Rather, we look to Him, to His sufficient grace, and to His overshadowing strength. Today with the church in such a confused, dark, desolate, and apostate condition, to speak the will of God straightforwardly and not to shun His truths will inevitably bring upon us the enemy's attack and men's opposition. But since this earth is one that has rejected the Lord, should not attack and opposition also be the portion of those who follow Him? In the work of serving the Lord, we seek nothing but His pleasure and satisfaction in heaven. We dare not compare ourselves with the apostle Paul, but we desire to follow his faithfulness and say with him, "For am I now trying to win the assent of men or of God? Or am I seeking to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a slave of Christ." Finally, dear brothers, because of the greatness of this responsibility, the attacks of the enemy, and our own weaknesses, we do need you to pray for us with the same heart, in the same mind, and under the same yoke. May God bless you all!
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THEME: To speak forth God's will and to cultivate a Christian's spiritual life. CONTENT: Notes on the Scriptural Messages, Twelve Baskets Full, Stories, Testimonies, Questions and Answers, and Bible Studies.
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The Christian continued until 1940. It was then suspended until it was replaced by The Way in 1948.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
THE SPECIFIC MEANS OF WATCHMAN NEE'S MINISTRY
(3)
III. ISSUING PUBLICATIONS
D. Notes on Scriptural Messages
After Watchman Nee discontinued The Christian and resumed The Present Testimony in 1928, the need for messages for young believers still remained. To fulfill this need he published his third paper, entitled Notes on Scriptural Messages. The following announcement appeared on the back cover of the collected volume for December 1933:
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1) This paper was first issued in April 1930. By the end of 1933, forty-four issues have been published. The Lord willing, we hope to publish one issue per month. 2) This paper is somewhat elementary. At times it covers the gospel, at other times the work and person of the Lord, and at still other times messages for edifying young believers. _____________________________________________________ _______
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The messages published in this paper, of which some titles are listed in chapter twentyseven under the subtitle, "Books for the Edification of New Believers" (second group), were mainly for the edification of young believers.
This paper was eventually merged with The Christian, resumed in 1934, and became the first column of that paper.1
E. Collection of Newsletters
For fellowship between the churches and communication between the saints in different localities, Watchman was burdened at the end of 1933 to publish Collection of Newsletters. The following open letter, addressed to the brothers and published as the first issue of this paper, explains its origin:
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November 30, 1933 To the brothers who call on the Lord out of a pure heart:
The Lord is gracious to us, and for this we thank Him. In this end time He has given us light and enabled us to know that it is His pleasure to manifest through us in this world the characteristics which befit His church in order that He might obtain something for Himself. We also thank Him for bending our hearts and producing in us the willingness to obey Him and please Him. Except for this, we are incapable of generating even one good thought. In the past few years we have been enabled to see that in order to please Him and manifest the characteristics of the church, we must not meet divisively; but rather, we must meet in His name. (This is a very small matter, but we still thank the Lord for it.) Hence, there are many brothers meeting in the name of the Lord in different localities. (We know of over a hundred of these places.) This is surely a joyful and comforting matter. However, although the assemblies in the Bible all had their own local administration, they still maintained fellowship with each other. There are many assemblies now; yet some of them do not even know that other local assemblies exist. This being the case, they surely could not be aware of what is happening in other places. This cannot be considered as fellowship. We believe God's will is that we should be local in administration and yet at the same time be open to correction from others. Local administration enables us to bear our own responsibility, while fellowship enables us to receive help and correction from others. This is why in 1 Thessalonians there are such words as "imitators" and "pattern" (1:6, 7; 2:14). Unless we are open to correction from others, we may be wrong without realizing it, and others may advance while we do not know how to follow. Many brothers have written letters to individuals among us giving news of their respective localities. Also brothers have written asking us for information about certain localities. We feel that such intercommunicating of news is both fitting and urgent, but we have lacked adequate time to write such letters. When we published the first issue of Notes on Scriptural Messages, we intended to include news from various localities. Later, however, we realized that the majority of the readers of Notes on Scriptural Messages were not walking with us, and for this reason we felt that publishing the news in that paper would inevitably give rise to misunderstanding. For this reason we discontinued that practice. However, the need for intercommunication of news has by no means disappeared. Rather, it has been increasing daily. After receiving a little light from God to see the Body of Christ, we feel deeply that for an individual to act alone is regrettable and that for an assembly to move independently is terrible. If we are accurate in our perception, the
greatest shortage among today's believers is that they do not know what the Body life is. It seems that they have been detached from the others who are faithfully following the Lord. The individualism of believers today is almost universally prevalent, and the work of the cross, the life of resurrection, and the power of the Holy Spirit are being used almost exclusively for the development of individual holiness, for individual spirituality, and to help achieve individual victory. To be an individual is truly important, but to be only an individual and not to know how to be a brother among the brothers or a sister among the sisters is simply another form of the most hateful "self." How we wish that from now on the children of God would learn to forget about the self and to be the servants and slaves of the brothers. To this end we desire to issue a little publication entitled Collection of Newsletters. It is not our intention to make this publication available to all believers, but rather it is for those who meet with us and walk with us in every locality. We will not send it to those who do not stand on the position of the church as required by the Lord. The contents of this publication will be exclusively news and prayer requests from the various localities. The source of the news will be mainly from correspondence we have received. One source will be mail which we have received directly from the brothers, and another source will be letters which were written to a third party and then forwarded to us. Concerning the nature of this publication, we need to give a word of explanation. We know that the common practice is to publish news so that men might 1) obtain the glory and 2) use the news as a basis for advertisement to make material gain. Because of this, there will no doubt be some spiritual brothers among us who, desiring to avoid this kind of thing, would rather not have their news published. We must remember, however, that the fellowship of the brothers is important. Your move and the activities of the assembly in your place are the concern of all the brothers. You should not deprive your brothers of the encouragement which they might receive from you and the privilege of making supplications for your work simply because you prefer your activities to remain hidden. No doubt, on your part you are humble, but what about the brothers who will not receive your help? The Body life is a life of caring for the brothers. It is, no doubt, wrong to seek prominence in the religious world, but to purposely hide yourself among the brothers (not the outsiders) is not being humble but shrinking back. To do such a thing does not mean that you are free from self-consideration; on the contrary, it means that you are always looking at yourself. This is not spiritual living, but an activity purposely performed by the flesh. May God deliver us, on the one hand, from the evils of today's religious world and, on the other hand, from excessive self-consciousness of the soul and from "deliberate humility." Please keep in mind the examples in the Bible. On the one hand, the Bible says the following: "Your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world" (Rom. 1:8); "For from you the word of the Lord has sounded out; not only in Macedonia and in Achaia, but in every place, your faith toward God has gone out" (1 Thes. 1:8); and "We have heard of your faith..." (Col.
1:4). But, on the other hand, it also says, "And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared the things that God had done with them and that He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles" (Acts 14:27) and "They declared the things that God had done with them" (Acts 15:4). What is needed today are not spiritual giants who cultivate themselves seclusively and who are self-conceited, but we need brothers who care for others and know how to be members together with others. We do not need hiding brothers; we need helpful brothers. It is altogether a matter of your intention. May we, on the one hand, not purposely try to shrink back, and, on the other hand, not intentionally try to show off. Let us not seek glory from men, but in all things let us seek to glorify God and to build up the brothers. Please pay your attention to the following points: 1)Please do your best to send us news regarding the situation of the work, difficulties encountered, results accomplished, requests for prayers, and other information. 2)In principle, all reports should be accurate, clear, and edifying. There is no limitation as to length and style. 3)If some individuals should send you letters mentioning news of the assembly in a certain locality, please forward the letters to us in order that the brothers in different localities might know more about the Lord's work. 4)We would also like to publish announcements regarding the assemblies and the work. 5)The responsible brothers in each locality are cautioned against passing on this publication to those who do not meet with us. It is better not to give this publication to any but those who are walking with us. 6)All mail should be addressed to the Editor, Collection of Newsletters, Box 323, Shanghai. We now put this matter in the hand of God and before the brothers. May this be acceptable to you as it is to God. May the grace of God be with your spirit.
Peace be with you.
Your brother, a bondslave of Christ,
Watchman Nee
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This paper continued for only two and a half years until July 1935. A letter by Watchman Nee published in the twelfth issue of Collection of Newsletters, July 1935, tells us the reason for its being discontinued. It reads as follows:
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June 19, 1935 To the brothers who are of the same mind in all localities:
Our intention when first publishing Collection of Newsletters was that through this little publication the brothers in all the localities might be able to share their news with each other and that the assemblies in various places might be able to fellowship with one another. We had also hoped to obtain more news concerning the personal spiritual experiences of the brothers and sisters so that all the saints in different localities could be mutually edified in their spiritual life. Our work is spiritual, and our emphasis is life. This has already been pointed out in "The Origin" in the first issue and in "A Letter about This Publication and the Co-workers" in the ninth issue. It was also pointed out in "Some Words from the Responsible Brothers" in the tenth issue. However, although this was our intention and hope, the letters which we received from the saints have for the most part not paid attention to this matter. And even we ourselves have not held firm to our purpose in the way we have edited the material. Articles in the past have mostly dealt with outward matters such as baptism, leaving the denominations, etc. Thus, it seems that this paper has become a special publication on leaving the denominations. It is now clear to us that since this is the case, we have not only failed to achieve the objective of this publication, but have also fallen short of our testimony. Brothers, we have deviated from the Lord's heart in this matter. We can therefore only seek the grace of God and hope for a change. We have pointed out before that "our work is spiritual, and our emphasis is life. We are clear that God wants us to manifest the life of Christ in the local churches. Hence, the reality of our work is the life of Christ, and the outward expression of our work is the local church. In this present time, when the outward church is desolate, we do not have the slightest intention to start a new 'movement,' 'group,' 'organization,' or 'denomination.' We dare not even call ourselves the churches in the various places. We stand only on the position of the local church. "What is our center? Is our work to preach Christ as Lord or to preach leaving the denominations? I am really fearful that in every locality there are brothers who, being limited in understanding and spiritual experience before God, only have a little knowledge about outward matters such as baptism, head covering, and denominations, and exhaust their efforts to publicize these matters. By doing so, they cause outsiders to misunderstand us, thinking that we only emphasize these outward things and that we do not exalt Jesus Christ as Lord.
We know that if anyone follows the Lord, he will certainly take care of these outward matters. But it does not mean that anyone who practices these outward things is necessarily following the Lord completely. We must emphasize again and again for the sake of the ignorant brothers among us that although we believe in these outward matters, our testimony, that which makes us different from others, is not in these outward things." (See issue nine and ten of this publication.) We have, therefore, decided that after this issue we shall no longer publish this paper. We hope our decision will seem good to the brothers. Hereafter may we pay more attention to the inward testimony than to the outward matters. This is not to say that we are neglecting the outward matters but that we should not over-emphasize them. We admit they have their place, but they are neither our center nor our testimony. We can only ask God's forgiveness and the brothers' forbearance for the past failure. May the Lord cause us to pay attention to what is important to Him. The Lord bless you all.
Peace be with you in the Lord.
Your brother, Watchman Nee
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F. The Open Door
Because of the Japanese invasion in July 1937, many saints and co-workers in the Lord's recovery were forced to move to the interior of China from the coastal provinces. Watchman was burdened to publish The Open Door, not as an official publication, but as part of his personal ministry to serve the scattered saints. The open letter published in the first issue in September 1937 unveiled to us his purpose in publishing this paper:
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An Open Letter
September 19, 1937 To all the brothers who are partakers of the gracious calling:
For years I have felt the need of a publication which could be used to communicate news of the work in all of the localities. A local newsletter belongs to a particular locality and serves a particular church. But we need a paper for the intercommunication of news which will serve all the localities, that is, one which will serve the work. The name, The Open Door, was chosen
much earlier, and I had hoped that others would be raised up by the Lord to bear its responsibility. This was my hope because, on the one hand, there is the need, and, on the other hand, my special stand makes it impossible for me to undertake the task myself. If this had been undertaken by someone else, it would have been merely personal and done by someone who was gifted to do it. But if I were to do it, it would become official and would be based on my position. Therefore, in order to avoid this, I dared not move for years. I never believed that this newspaper would be issued under this kind of circumstance, at this time, and in this place. Now I must do what I did not wish to do. However, please keep in mind always, brothers, that this is a personal ministry and not the instrument of an organization. If any coworker or church in any locality is unwilling to see their news appear in this publication, please say so in order that none might be offended in this matter. But I do wish that I could receive news from all the localities so that those who are concerned for you could make intercession. The original intention of my recent trip was to go on to England and America. I did not know why, but I kept being delayed on the way. After spending ten weeks in Southeast Asia, I still had not entered the Indian Ocean. While at Penang, I felt the Lord wanted me to return to take care of some work before proceeding on to England. The emphasis of The Open Door is the gospel work in all the localities. It seems that now is the time that the door for preaching the Word is open the widest, and we pray that God would cause us to make use of this opportunity. In this publication we will print: 1)Articles concerning the principles of the work. 2)News of gospel preaching in all the localities. 3)The addresses of the workers (the apostles) on the move. 4)The addresses of the meeting halls of the local churches in order that the brothers who are escaping the war might know where to meet. 5)The whereabouts of the brothers (the disciples) in the Lord at every place in order that comfort might be given those who are concerned for them. We are now temporarily publishing at Gospel Court, Lane 1, Hsiao-Dong-Jia, Hankow. In the future we may move to Ch'ang-sha, though this is difficult to predict. Our correspondence address remains at Hankow until further notice. There is still one further matter. Because the itinerary of the co-workers in the various places is continually changing, it presents a problem to those who wish to write them. We wish to serve the brothers in this matter. Anyone wishing us to forward their mail may send it to the above address, and it will be taken care of accordingly. This publication is not for sale. We trust in God for the supply of its need.
Peace be unto you.
Your brother,
Watchman Nee
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This paper, after its nineteenth issue in September 1939, was suspended until it was replaced by The Ministers in 1948. It was eventually resumed in June 1950. G. The Glad Tidings
Besides the papers which have already been mentioned, a paper on the gospel was also published. The following announcement concerning this paper appeared in the seventh issue of Collection of Newsletters in June 1934 and reveals its purpose and contents:
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After the third overcomer conference this past January, the co-workers from the various localities had a meeting in Shanghai. In that meeting most of the co-workers expressed the hope that a written testimony could be issued solely for the preaching of the gospel. Recently, several co-workers in Shanghai also increasingly felt the burden to publish such a written testimony. We have, therefore, decided to publish a paper entitled The Glad Tidings beginning in July of this year. This publication will be solely for the preaching of the gospel to sinners. The contents of this paper will include three columns: messages, stories, and testimonies. The messages will be simple gospel messages, the stories will be salvation stories of believers from the past, and the testimonies will be salvation testimonies of today's believers.
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This author was asked to bear the burden to write the messages and to edit the paper. The first issue of The Glad Tidings was published in July 1934. The gospel message for the third issue, entitled "There is a God" was one of Watchman Nee's spoken messages. This paper had only three issues and was discontinued in 1936.
H. The Replacement Periodicals
Immediately following the 1948 conference in Shanghai, when Watchman resumed his ministry and the brothers handed over their possessions to the work, he made
arrangements with us to put out four papers to replace those which had been temporarily suspended.
1)The Testimony was to replace The Present Testimony. The subject of this paper was to be specifically the messages of life. The content of it was to be the light received and the lessons learned before God and help for the children of the Lord to have the real growth in life. 2)The Way was to replace The Christian. The subject matter of The Way was to be the biblical truth showing the spiritual way. The content of this paper was to be the way of the gospel, the way of life, the way of Bible study, and the people of the way.
3)The Ministers was to replace The Open Door. The nature of The Ministers was to help the churches and the serving ones in the matter of knowing the way to serve and to solve the problems in the ministry. Watchman wrote a few words for the publication of this paper in the first issue of July 1948:
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For many years there have been many rumors but little news from the various localities. Many localities have been out of touch with the others. There is a real need for fellowship among the ministers. For this reason, we are publishing The Ministers with the hope that the brothers will understand what we as ministers really are. We hope also to help each other solve the problems related to the ministers. Finally, we hope that through this, the brothers will find out some of the things that are happening among the ministers. In these end times everything is solemn. These days are more urgent than we think. May the Lord have mercy upon us.
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4)The Gospel was to replace The Glad Tidings. The subject matter of The Gospel was the proclamation of the gospel of God, and the content was to be gospel messages, testimonies of salvation, and gospel stories.
Following the political change in June 1950, The Open Door was resumed with the twentieth issue containing the following announcement:
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The Open Door (The Ministers is now combined into this paper)
NATURE: To show the way to serve, to help the serving ones and the churches in the different localities to go on, and to solve the problems of the ministry....