This Web site addresses controversies that have arisen from time to time concerning the ministry of Watchman Nee, Witness Lee, and the local churches. In doing so, it is important not to lose sight of the big picture, the greater context, of this subject.

Watchman Nee’s ministry of spiritual nourishment and his unique ability to expound the Scripture along with his firm testimony in the face of persecution has been recognized by most Christians as a significant contribution to the Christian faith in the twentieth century. His writings have been appreciated by Christians around the world and translated into many languages. His book The Normal Christian Life has been widely hailed as a Christian classic. He has been quoted and praised by Christian leaders such as Jerry Falwell, Corrie ten Boom, and Warren Wiersbe. He has been included along with such influential Christians as Martin Luther, John Wesley, Hudson Taylor, John Wycliffe, D.L. Moody, Charles Spurgeon, John Bunyan, William Tyndale, and George Whitefield in collections such as Barbour Publishing’s Heroes of the Faith series, David Lindstedt’s Faith’s Great Heroes, Geoffrey Hanks’ Seventy Great Christians, and Who’s Who in Christian History, edited by J.D. Douglas and W.C. Phillip.

The more than six hundred local churches raised up in China through the ministry of Watchman Nee before the communist revolution have had an undisputed impact on the formation of the Christian church in China. That impact is also acknowledged in much of Southeast Asia. Watchman Nee’s work has been studied and emulated as a pattern of indigenous Christianity by Christians of many countries and of various doctrinal persuasions. His martyrdom in communist prison for refusing to deny his faith was the Lord’s seal upon his life and work.

Some of his early books in English were first printed in India and then in the 1960s in the USA by Christian Literature Crusade (CLC) and the International Students' Press. Many more of his works have been published more recently and are treasured by seeking Christians in many expressions of Christianity. Watchman Nee’s ministry was not only nourishing, it was also prophetic in the sense that he, among others, was calling for Christians to come back to the roots of biblical Christianity.

Witness Lee was Watchman Nee’s closest co-worker in China and was sent by Nee to carry their vision and practice to the world outside of China. Witness Lee did that faithfully for forty-two years, spreading their ministry and the local churches to all six inhabited continents. He was also a prolific speaker and writer, though his books are generally less well known than Watchman Nee’s. They both carry the same general theme of the Christian’s experience of Christ for the building up of the Body of Christ in many practical ways. Today there are over two thousand local churches with over 100,000 members, apart from an unknown number in China.

In America, Witness Lee’s ministry found hearty reception among seeking Christians in the 1960s and 70s and local churches began to be raised up throughout the USA. At that point a small group of critics, apparently unable to see what most saw in this ministry and often motivated by either personal or professional unhappiness, began a very aggressive and coordinated effort to discredit the ministry of Witness Lee and the practices of the local churches. The leadership of the ministry and the churches, including Witness Lee, objected to the mischaracterization of their teaching and practice by that small group of critics and thus a controversy arose. That story is the main focus of this Web site.

The Responses section of this site chronicles various responses made to criticism in a spirit of Christian debate for the truth. Unfortunately, some of those critics went far beyond doctrinal disputes, wildly labeling the ministry and churches as a cult and falsely ascribing all kinds of immoral and illegal activities to them. Due to the refusal to correct these false and defamatory accusations, the conflict led in a few instances to litigation to resolve, not doctrinal, but truly libelous misrepresentations. Thus there is the second section of this site, Libel Litigation. It is not true, as some have alleged, that these lawsuits were over doctrine. Rightfully, no court would insert itself into such matters; that is not the forum for such issues. The courts are, however, the appropriate forum for false allegations concerning things such as immorality, mental manipulation, and various crimes presented as true facts.

After litigating over these accusations in the 1980s and the resultant retraction and judicial condemnation of those charges, the ministry and the churches entered a period in which Christians began to learn about them in a more accurate and congenial way. The result of the last almost twenty years in this process has been the renewal of the positive understanding and contribution of the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee to the whole body of Christ. It has also resulted in a fresh understanding and fellowship with a number of evangelical Christians.

The Living Stream Ministry (LSM), which was formed to carry out the publishing of the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, became a member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) in 2002. That organization conducted careful inquiry into the teaching published by LSM and required a vote of its Board before LSM’s acceptance. Today the writings of both Watchman Nee and Witness Lee can be found in most Christian bookstores.

The Life-study of the Bible radio program, which is carried on many Christian radio stations, discusses the Bible from the perspective of our experience of Christ as our life. That program also features excerpts of Witness Lee’s spoken messages. The Living Stream Ministry has posted many of the writings of the ministry plus many audio and video messages on the Internet. There are local churches with Web site and physical addresses from all over the world. All of this should enable fair-minded people to look at the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee to decide for themselves about its benefit to their lives.

It is indeed sad that a few individuals continue to spread the old misunderstandings that were refuted long ago. This includes the authors of the Harvest House book presently under litigation. One of those authors was intimately involved with the group that became the source of both of the books litigated in the early 1980s. He has magnified their old charges with many new accusations of criminal behavior. When representatives of the Living Stream Ministry and the churches approached Harvest House and the authors to resolve this matter, they were ultimately sued by Harvest House in an attempt to stop any challenge to their book. We are confident this present controversy will be resolved again in truth. In the meantime, we hope that the information on this Web site will equip the Lord’s lovers and seekers in the truths of His word and will help them to have a more accurate understanding of the ministry of Watchman Nee, Witness Lee, and the local churches.