Watchman Nee

Life

Nee was born in 1903. His birthplace is generally given as Shantou, Guangdong Province, and his family were second-generation Christians from Fuzhou, Fujian Province. His grandfather is said to have been the first Chinese pastor among the Congregational churches of northern Fujian. Nee was converted in 1920 at the age of seventeen and came under the strong influence of Margaret E. Barber (1866–1930), an independent British missionary who provided him with spiritual guidance. His English name was Henry Nee. He later changed his name to Tuosheng (柝聲), meaning "the sound of a night watchman's rattle," reportedly because he regarded himself as a watchman sounding a warning.

In 1922 he began holding nondenominational meetings in Fuzhou, which are regarded as the beginning of the local churches. In 1927 he moved his work to Shanghai. After the Communist government came to power in 1949, he was arrested in 1952, and in 1956 he was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. Although his sentence was due to expire in 1967, he was not released. His wife, Charity Chang (Zhang Pinhui), died before him in 1971, and he was unable to attend her funeral. He died on May 30, 1972, in a detention facility in Anhui Province and was cremated on June 1 without a funeral.

Ministry and Contributions

Beginning in 1923, Nee carried on a literature ministry through the publication of periodicals. The Spiritual Man, published in 1928, is known as the only work he composed as a book from the outset. It presents a tripartite (trichotomist) view of human nature, dividing the person into spirit, soul, and body and teaching that the soul (the self) must be broken so that the spirit may be released. Most of his other books are compilations of sermons and addresses. The Normal Christian Life, compiled from addresses he gave in Europe, has been translated into more than twenty languages.

Nee criticized the division of the church into denominations and advocated the "local church" principle, according to which there should be only one church in each locality. Outsiders commonly referred to his meetings as the "Little Flock." His thought is regarded as reflecting the combined influence of the British Brethren (Plymouth Brethren), the Higher Life movement, and the Wesleyan Holiness movement. His co-worker Witness Lee carried on his ministry and spread the local churches to Taiwan, the United States, and elsewhere.

Influence on the Korean Church

In Korea, Nee's books have been translated by a number of publishers and read widely across denominational lines. His writings emphasizing spirituality and self-denial in particular have long influenced readers of devotional literature. At the same time, local church communities that carry on his teaching also hold meetings and engage in publishing in Korea.

Assessment

Nee is regarded as a leading figure of the Chinese church who kept his faith under persecution, and believers from many denominations honor him as something close to a martyr. He has also drawn criticism. Reformed critics have considered his spirit-soul-body trichotomy overly schematic and have also raised objections to an ecclesiology that rejects denominational churches.

Some Korean denominations are reported to have issued rulings bearing on the question of heresy with regard to the local churches, particularly the teachings of Witness Lee. However, the specific content and dates of these resolutions should be verified in the official records of each denomination's general assembly. The local churches maintain that they hold to the orthodox faith and have contested these rulings. Some have argued that, in this controversy, Watchman Nee's own writings should be distinguished from the teachings of Witness Lee.