The elders in a local church must deal with all kinds of issues, including complicated situations involving the saints. A great temptation the elders face is getting entangled in determinations of right and wrong in disputes between saints. The proper function of the elders is to shepherd all the saints and minister Christ as life […]
All articles tagged "leadership"
Serious Errors Concerning the Fellowship of the Co-workers
Recently, a former co-worker accused the North American co-workers of drifting toward organization and hierarchy by allegedly giving serious consideration to centralizing ownership of the local churches’ meeting halls. This is a gross misrepresentation of what actually happened in a North American co-workers’ fellowship. Moreover, in spreading his false account, this brother violated three important […]
Hiding History?
In recent years a myth has been spread on the Internet that the leadership in the Lord’s recovery has systematically concealed the “real” history of the local churches. Lacking firsthand knowledge of the events in question and the objectivity to differentiate evidence and conjecture, those who have propagated this myth claim to unveil an alleged […]
The Ongoing Relationship Between the Apostles and the Local Churches
To say that once a church is established the apostles, that is, the leading co-workers, should never “interfere” in that church’s affairs is inconsistent with the Bible and with the whole body of the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. This crucial matter relates to God’s administration and therefore to the headship of Christ, […]
Selected Ministry on the Apostles’ Ongoing Role in Established Churches
The Collected Works of Watchman Nee [CWWN], vol. 22: The Assembly Life & The Prayer Ministry of the Church p. 30: The books of Timothy tell us, “Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses” (1 Tim. 5:19, KJV). In this matter, we should pay attention to two points. First, […]
Letter from the Co-workers, 3/26/20
In light of the current pandemic the co-workers in the Lord’s recovery released a letter on March 26, 2020, to the saints in all the churches in the Lord’s recovery throughout the earth. This letter provides a timely word of encouragement concerning the sufficiency of Christ and the need to exercise mutual fellowship and care, […]
Questions and Answers about Apostles and Co-workers
Who has the authority to appoint and remove elders? According to the New Testament, apostles, in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, have the authority to appoint elders in the churches (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5; Acts 20:28) and to remove elders when the need arises. If an elder becomes a problem, an accusation against him can […]
Twisting Ron Kangas’s Words
Context and balance are critical to evaluating words fairly. Recently, a short excerpt from a message given by Brother Ron Kangas was mischaracterized as his demeaning his wife in front of thousands of people. This misrepresents Brother Ron’s attitude toward his own wife and toward marriage in general; moreover, it neglects the context of his […]
The One Unique New Testament Ministry
Based on the New Testament, Witness Lee taught that there is only one unique ministry. Some have twisted his teaching to slanderously claim that Witness Lee was referring to his own ministry. This is a gross mischaracterization. The One Ministry of the New Testament The word ministry means “service.” Properly speaking, the Bible contains only […]
Were Max Rapoport and John Ingalls “Forced Out”?
A small but persistent group has propagated a false narrative that leading brothers who brought “concerns” to Brother Lee in the 1970s and 1980s were subsequently forced out of the Lord’s recovery for doing so. The facts of history tell a different story. 1970s – Max Rapoport In February 1978 some brothers informed Brother Lee […]