Does Anyone Have An Answer For Division? - pt. 2

now for the conclusion ...

A Mature Way to Respond

I would next like to share something from Watchman Nee in the form of a challenge. It is mainly aimed at those who have a burden for a solution to division and who might be meeting with a group who is actively standing for the oneness of The Body. I believe the following passage is chock full of wisdom and great insight. If we instantly began applying its suggestions tomorrow we would no doubt see sweeping change all over the kingdom of God. This is taken from Nee’s tremendous work titled The Normal Christian Church Life, chapter five on the basis of union and division, in the overcomers section. The content more than speaks for itself. Adopting the following attitude would show great maturity and insight into the mystery of Christ as well as provide an opportunity to be used as a living sacrifice for your Lord’s glory:

“The sphere of the church is local, and the local church should on no account be divided. The question naturally arises, if the spiritual life of a local (not denominational) church is very low, can a few of the more spiritual members not gather together and form another assembly? The answer from the Word of God is emphatically, No! God’s Word only warrants the establishment of churches on local ground. Even lack of spirituality is no adequate reason for dividing the church. Should local methods, government and organization be far from ideal, that still constitutes no reason for division. We must lay it to heart that the difference of locality is the only ground for dividing the Church of God. No other ground is scriptural.

In the second and third chapters of Revelation we see seven different churches in seven different localities. Only two were not rebuked but actually praised by the Lord. The other five were all definitely censured. Spiritually they were wrong, but positionally they were right; therefore God only commanded those in them to be overcomers. The Lord said not a word about leaving the church. A local church is a church which you cannot leave – you must remain in it. If you are more spiritual than the other members, then you should use your spiritual influence and your authority in prayer to revive that church. If the church does not respond, you have only two alternatives: you must either remain there, keeping yourself undefiled, or else you must change your abode.

What a tragedy it is when a few spiritual members leave a local church and form another assembly, simply because the other members are weak and immature. Those stronger members should remain in that church as overcomers, seeking to help their weaker brothers and sisters and claiming the situation there for the Lord. Oh, how prone we are to despise the believers we consider inferior to us, and how we delight to associate with those whose fellowship we find especially congenial. Pride of heart and a selfish enjoyment in spiritual things causes us to overlook the fact that a church in any given place should consist of all the children of God in that place, so we narrow down Christian fellowship and make selection among the children of God. This is sectarianism, and it is a grief of heart to the Lord.”

Personally, I would like to see us at least try this and see what happens. I believe we would do well do adopt this posture rather than picking up the common tools of the flesh that seem to run rampant in God’s house. I believe we have yet to see what fruit can result from our staying put, praying, and giving God the opportunity to work in those around us. The Lord can work through this type of mature and spiritual reaction. His hands are tied if all He has to work with is gossip, slander, backbiting, division, and strife. In a day and time when the prophetic and prophets seem to be so popular in The Church (especially in Charismatic circles), I am surprised that we seem to miss the most prominent activity practiced by the prophets of old. It was not speaking “a word” as many would have us believe. It was actually intercession on behalf of God’s people. Let this return to the forefront of our practice as we endeavor to stand for the oneness of The Body of Christ.

A Lesson From The Local Church Movement

There is a group of Christians that are scarcely known by most mainline evangelicals called the Local Church. They even make it on certain cult lists (unfairly in my opinion). They have their roots with the ministry of Watchman Nee in China during the 1920's, 30's, and 40's and with the Little Flock. After the communists took over in China, two of Nee's trainees fled to Taiwan and then later made their way to the United States. Stephen Kaung landed in the Richmond, VA area and Witness Lee to Los Angeles. Lee was a tireless worker and an extremely gifted individual. The Local Church is almost exclusively a result of his efforts. Back in 1994-1995 I had the opportunity to spend some months with a Local Church group here in Atlanta. That time has proven to be an important point of reference in my life. I believe there are a number of important lessons we can learn from these folks in regard to the oneness of The Body and the plague of division.

I would like to first briefly describe the personality of The Local Church movement for the benefit of those who have never had any contact with them. In a nutshell, The Local Church has been standing for the deeper Christian life, the oneness of the Body of Christ, every member functioning, and the local boundary of The Church. As I mentioned already, Witness Lee's ministry was based in Los Angeles and later Anaheim, CA. The Local Church movement was launched on the heels of the Jesus and Charismatic movements of the late 1960's and early 1970's. The mainline denominations could not provide a relevant refuge for the new generation Christians (because of their traditions and institutional ways) so many were looking for alternative ways of "doing church". Today Local Church groups can be found in just about every major and semi-major U.S. city. They are a deeply committed and confidently functioning people. Fueled by their conviction to stand for the true nature of The Church outside of cultural Christianity, they have seen much growth especially through transplanting. Transplanting is the "Jerusalem model" of church planting where a group of people from an existing church will move to a new city to help start a new fellowship. Once the new group is up and thriving, most of those transplantees will move back to their previous locality but some will decide to stay on. This has been startlingly effective for them. I've also seen that the men are very efficient at starting and running their own businesses which has greatly helped stabilize a new work in a relatively short amount of time.

The Local Church has provided a tremendous testimony to the oneness of The Body of Christ in the U.S. but there are some glaring problem areas that I would like to highlight for us that would be helpful. In fact, if it were not for these areas I am going to present, I believe I would be meeting with them myself.

The first problem area I see is that the Local Church groups in the U.S. are not indigenous but rather have a definite Chinese cultural feel of expression. There exists a certain stiffness, rigidity, and sterile order in the air that is very un-American. It is my belief that when Christian workers are delivering the kingdom of God to a particular people group that those people should be allowed the freedom and purity to come to a unique expression of The Church on their own and not be given a cultural conformity spirit from the worker as well. This is overwhelmingly evident in the affects of English and American missionary efforts around the globe. Not only have certain people groups been given a weak gospel but they also now speak, dress, and act like their foreign workers. Somewhere along the line someone did not take their culture to the cross and die to it. The only culture and expectation that we should be transferring to God's people is that of the kingdom of heaven and none of the kingdoms of this world!


The second area that I would like to point out is hero worship toward Watchman Nee and Witness Lee and in particular with regard to their written materials. There exists an unhealthy affection for the ministries of these two men in my opinion. The root of this problem lies in the belief that these brothers were "the minister of the age" during their respective lifetimes. This mentality was obviously borrowed from Chinese Confucionism philosophy and religious culture. This attitude does not come from Christ! The most obvious dangers this poses for The Church are one, it smacks of a "Papal" position and two, it does not allow for true "brotherhood" to exist as was displayed among "The Twelve" (that Christ trained) and those that came after them (Stephen, Philip, Barnabas,etc.). This hero worship is most evident today in the Local Church's practice of using Witness Lee's materials almost exclusively as the content for their meetings. There doesn't seem to be much room for content to come from the saints themselves or from other workers with fresh revelation.


The third problem area I would like to mention goes hand in hand with the first. It is that of religious chanting and is definitely a borrowed Chinese practice. This is most visible when they are practicing calling on the name of the Lord. And there is certainly nothing wrong with calling on the name of Jesus within itself, that should be encouraged, but the Local Church's practice of it has become repetitive, lifeless, and ritualistic. To be around it in person leaves one feeling a bit strange.


The next thing I will mention is that they definitely have ruling elders as a part of their structure. Perhaps not so much in the meetings of the Local Church but in every other aspect of daily church life, the elders operate and function very much like a pastoral staff found in an institutional church setting. They are managing, making decisions, leading, and being paid much like modern pastors. This practice of elders is not compatible with the first-century story or the Lord's nature in my mind or to the hearts of those I practice church with. Elders (or overseers, pastors, or shepherds) should come along organically and could change through seasons. They do not wear titles, make all of the decisions, or do all of the ministry. They should be mostly invisible until there is a crisis or the church is facing a major decision. By nature of the church, any elders should be more passive than what is commonly practiced in the Local Church and in Christendom at large.


The next and most important troubling area I will state is the evidence of a destructive elitist and sectarian mindset. The mentality that they are the Church, the move of God in the earth, the stream, have the revelation, have the ministers of the age, are the mouthpiece for God, and alone are standing for the local boundary of the church permeates their character and reputation. They unmistakeably think of themselves as The Thing. This is dangerous on a number of levels. Granted, most every Christian church, ministry, or group on the planet I have come across carries with it an air of superiority. Every single one! It would be exotically rare to find one that doesn't. I guess it is just human (fallen) nature to believe that what we are involved with is the thing of God. We don't like the idea that we have joined ourselves with something that is possibly 2nd class, sub par, or not the best. That might reflect poorly on us - we can't have that - we will appear weak (God forbid!). I certainly understand the feeling of being on the forefront of revelation and practice - of being a part of something revolutionary. But the fact of the matter is even if we are a part of something that could be labeled as "the thing of God" (and it's possible), we are never beyond humility, remembering where we have come from, teachableness, correction, adjustment, maturity, and mystery. We never have the scriptural or Spirit right to develop an exclusive attitude that separates us apart from our brothers and sisters in Christ universal. We must avoid this at all costs - even if it leads to our suffering. We must reject it and avoid it because it comes from the evil one - intended to divide our indivisible nature. Even if we have stumbled upon a radically fresh truth, we must maintain a humble, submissive posture while practicing our new found light from the Lord. This is for the sake of our brothers and sisters. That they could receive any reality from us to add to their experience and vise versa. And this is where the Local Church has gone far afield. As I have mentioned earlier in this section, they have carried a tremendously glorious testimony, but they have fallen into elitism, they have treated other Christians as outsiders, and have become insular. This is unfortunate and worthy of sorrow and repentance. It has ended up hurting The Church's oneness and its testimony to the world. And God deals with it. I have heard Stephen Kaung speak on audio tape from a message he gave sharing the history of The Little Flock in China. He communicates a startling perspective as an insider. He believes that God allowed the communists to take over in China as a result of The Little Flock's elitism. He believes they stopped "standing for The Church" and had fallen into believing they "were The Church" - mentalities that are worlds apart. Quite interesting. Unfortunately, that spirit followed Witness Lee to the U.S. and was transferred to the Local Church.


The last area of concern I would like to briefly mention is the Local Church's acquisition of buildings and property and numerous lawsuits to defend its name. It is obvious to me that something has long since dammed up the flow of life within the Local Church circles. A religious spirit has settled in clouding things. I believe they have gone the way of most denominations - starting off with a fresh revelation but ending up having to prop itself up with structures to keep the doors open. I have observed that they have conformed to the religious culture by purchasing land, constructing buildings, meeting on Sunday mornings, and adopting programs. I have also heard that they have a long history of initiating numerous lawsuits against other Christian groups defending itself against the cult label. All of this points to a lack of life and supports the fact that even "right" or "correct" practice in the wrong spirit can lead to the all too familiar dead end road named religious bondage for God's people.


The sad thing about the areas of concern I pointed out is that Watchman Nee specifically ministered on and taught against everything I mentioned. With all of their reverence and respect for his ministry, the Little Flock and the Local Church still fell prey to spiritual blindness in these problem areas. Certain religious practices (like women's head covering) of groups like The Brethren also were a heavy influence on those involved with the work of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. Ultimately, timely adjustments were not made to uproot religious strongholds that had crept in, damming up the flow of the fresh life of God. The people that are currently involved with the Local Church are precious people indeed and there is much we can glean from them all the way around. But all organic groups (including the ones I meet with who have similar roots to the Local Church or who have come out of the Local Church) who are attempting to meet outside of the institutional system and to stand for The Church and the centrality of Jesus Christ had better stay alert to these pitfalls or we are doomed to repeat them. If we are concerned for the Lord's work in the earth and desire to be vessels for His glory in a current way then we must be a people who are open to adjustment. I have heard it said that Jesus Christ is consistently revealing Himself in ways that make it easy for us to reject or miss Him. We must learn from church history and cling to our Head in fear and trembling. We must not be given to any particular form or pattern or we may find one day that He has moved on without us in relation to our church practice.


Practically Walking It Out

As I move on here to close out this article I would like to restate the two questions we began with: Is Christ divided? And, does anyone have an answer for division? I believe we have answered both here. Of course Christ is not divided. His nature is oneness. His people are not divided either (in reality and identity) because they share His nature. There is an answer for the plague of division - it is Christ centeredness practiced by a people who meet solely under their invisible yet living Head. The question is will there be a people who are willing to "leave all" that is culturally comfortable and convenient to see this true Spirit unity realized in visible expression for the long term? That remains too be seen. In Ephesians 4:13 Paul writes, "... until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ." (NASB). When I read this I trust that it is possible for The Church. I tell you what though, it will not be realized inside the walls of the institutional structure. It is impossible there. It is not the proper habitat for the unity of the Spirit. We must have an organic church life situation where people are living in community in the real world and without leaders. Only in that improbable atmosphere will there even be a chance!



We now come to the place where I must take my leave of you in this article on the issue of division. I will close with the following suggestion: If you were touched and challenged by this message and share a similar burden for true unity in the church of Jesus Christ then you must determine to follow a narrow path toward being a Christian who is part of a people who have chosen to be a solution to the problem. If you can no longer remain in the crippling state of where you currently "do church" then please begin by leaving quietly. Next, seek to join yourself with other believers who share the same vision for unity as described in this article. Whether that means helping to gather people together where you live to form a new group or moving somewhere where a group already exists, you be lead and decide. I offer myself to you as a resource. You can contact me through this blog site or at info@amcrex.com if you could use help in locating interested folks in your area or in finding an existing community of believers who are standing for the unity of the Spirit. If you are attempting to start a fresh group then I recommend you find a true Christian worker, an experienced church planter who first lived in an organic church community before becoming a worker, and who will leave the group on their own after laying a solid foundation. I can also help put you in touch with such a person or with a group of seasoned brothers and sisters who can visit you with some help. It would be my absolute joy to assist you in such a way - just let me know. Once you get yourself into such an atmosphere then prepare yourself to hang on for dear life. It will be "glory and gore" as you flesh out the reality of what it takes to realize the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. But as time goes on, as you survive the sacrifices (there will be many), as you lose your life (your worldly identity and soul life) to take up Christ's, as you resist the causes of division and disunity, and as you learn to prefer, serve, and care for one another, you will quietly discover something together: You will find that you are beholding the Lord in His fullness, making a home fit for the Father, walking as the One New Man, and changing the course of church history. This endeavor will take you far from the glitz and glamor of culturally popular Christianity. But the ache you sometimes feel from living "outside the camp" is nothing when compared to catching a glimpse of the loving and deeply satisfied look on your Savior's face as He surveys your unity. The glory and riches that are revealed in this pursuit greatly overshadow all that you will leave behind for this lifestyle of knowing Him together.

May grace be multiplied to you on this quest -


Jon K. Slusser