Watchman Nee 1902 - 1972

AGAINST THE TIDE

The Story of Watchman Nee

THE name of Watchman Nee was little known in the Western Christian sphere until Angus Kinnear, publishing first in India, brought to it the first of a series of books carrying the name. These were not direct translations from complete books in Chinese, but selections culled from various sources and compacted into highly readable volumes which rapidly came to the fore in a competitive field - not simply for their immediate appeal, but for their practical contribution toward a fuller understanding of the Christian life. Many have found real help in their personal lives through study of the ministry of this outstanding Chinese Christian, and not a few of these must be curious to know more of the man and his story.

For this reason Against The Tide, The Story of Watchman Nee, has been produced and it is appropriate that Dr. Kinnear who brought the ministry to us here, should now shed some light on the man himself, and his contribution, under God, to the Church in China.

The book begins with a fairly extensive account of his family origins and highlights the importance to a young life of Christian family influence, both directly and indirectly through Christian friends. His mother was not without fault in her dealings with this highly intelligent and sensitive son, yet his conversion through the preaching of evangelist Dora Yu owed something to his mother's own experience with God, and her obedience to His commands. Surely this holds a lesson for those of us who as parents bear a deep responsibility before God for the right beginnings of our children - our own personal relationship with God must play a major part.

He came to a personal knowledge of Christ while at school and his concern for the sharing of the Good News was immediately evident. Laying down the pen at the end of the day's lessons he and his friends would take the Bible and go out into the surrounding villages to preach the Gospel. Holidays were similarly employed and one can see at this early age the compulsion in the man to communicate. He admits that from these early years he loved to preach but there can be little doubt that the urge, and evident gift, had its origin with God 'who would have all men to be saved'. It was not all talk. The record shows that Watchman and his friends were building, at that time, a platform of real experience and practical knowledge of God, and the account of how the rain came is a good example of this. He was not simply a man with a message; he was to be a servant of the Living God, bringing evidence of the reality and power of his Master.

The account of his progress goes on. He gave much time to intensive study of the Scriptures - surely a sine qua non of Christian service. It was his habit in his regular reading to go through the New Testament several times a month. The influence of Miss Margaret Barber and her library was absorbed into his lively and receptive mind, and like Paul he shut himself away from time to time in a small hut by the river, giving sufficient opportunity for these influences to become integrated into his own particular circumstances and style. He began to write - a small paper entitled Revival, consisting of Bible expositions - and this no doubt laid some of the ground work for later writing.

Various Western missionaries working in the area came into association with Nee; some became strongly drawn to him, deeply impressed with his gifts, and growing indigenous work; others regarded him as a threat to the established mission scene, a 'sheep-stealer', enticing the best of the flock into his own part of the fold. There is no evidence on his part of any strong anti-missionary feeling - rather he took the view that God had given him a work to do, and he must apply himself positively to it. He was too occupied with the problems of a young and growing church to take time for negative criticism of other Christian workers. Despite a war situation with its fragmentation of the country, its interruption of communication and curtailment of travel, the work spread rapidly. Assemblies along the simple lines of those found in the New Testament were first established in Shanghai, and soon others sprang up all over China.

He did take time however to visit Britain, more than once, and deepen an association with Mr. T. Austin-Sparks, the editor of A Witness and A Testimony. Many known to the writer of this review, including his father, were privileged to meet Watchman Nee at this time, and he spent a number of months in relaxed fellowship with believers in England and Scotland, and also in Scandinavia.

Eventually, were some two hundred full-time workers in a rapidly expanding work, and the financial needs led Nee into what would appear from the account to have been an ill-advised excursion into the commercial world. But the establishment, with his brother and other colleagues, of pharmaceutical laboratories, was misunderstood by many, although there is insufficient information to judge the implications of it all. His brethren felt, on this evidence, that he had abandoned full spiritual commitment, looking for a foothold also in the material world. At length, to avoid further misunderstanding and conserve unity, he abandoned the project to others.

The political changes in China, with the Communist army advancing from the North, brought Nee now into an intensive program of teaching and training, preparing the believers for harder times. Special conferences for leaders and workers were convened, and serious thought given to the way ahead. Priority was given at this time to memorization of Scripture - how many are still living in the value of this inspired emphasis? He was still free to travel even to Taiwan and Hong Kong where he labored to establish the work of the Lord. With the communists closing their grip on China, at that time many urged him not to return, but 'I have children inside the house', he said, 'and if it is crashing down I must support it, if need be with my head'. So he returned to Shanghai. But his inevitable arrest and the accusation meetings soon followed. As he would not yield to the demands of his captures, his arraignment and imprisonment were made public, all of which lead to the gradual throttling of the external or visible life of the church.

The book is an exhaustive presentation of the life and times of Watchman Nee, and yet the reader is left with the impression of the personality and nature of the man as a hardly traceable thread through great movements in China, political and spiritual, with which he was involved. Perhaps this is only to be expected of this man of God who was counted worthy to suffer twenty years in prison for Christ's sake, and who penned on the fly-leaf of his Bible the most moving words in the book - 'I want nothing for myself; I want everything for the Lord'. [19/20]

Contrary winds, rough seas and fierce tempests seem to be the inevitable experience of the Church of Christ. Whenever the Lord sets a course for His people, there is no lack of satanic opposition against it. It was enough for Jesus to propose to His disciples that they should go to "the other side of the lake" for a hellish storm to menace their boat, a storm of such magnitude that it frightened even the experienced sailors in the apostolic band. (Luke 8.22-25.) Equally, if the apostle Paul was on his way to fulfill a divine commission in Rome, then it seemed inevitable that a violent storm should threaten to drown him. (Acts 27.20-25.) In both cases the diabolical attack was frustrated, for Jesus really is Lord of all, but the striking difference in the two stories is the contrasting reactions of the disciples who were involved in the storms at sea.

In the Gospel story we read that the hearts of the disciples were filled with panic. "Master, master, we perish" was the faithless cry which so deeply disappointed their Lord. The very cry was full of contradiction. If He is indeed Master - the one who stands over - how could they possibly perish? But then, there is nothing so illogical as unbelief. Of course Christ is Master. He soon proved that. But what a pity that they had reacted to the storm with such abject unbelief! "Where is your faith?" It was lying almost stifled under their load of selfish fear. Like some people in our day, they only prayed for themselves. 'How does it affect me,' they ask; 'why doesn't the Lord do something quick to relieve me?'

When the apostle Paul was in a storm - a much worse one - he also feared, but at the same time he trusted. He too prayed, but he forgot himself in his sacrificial prayer for others. He was surrounded by a large number of men who had lost all hope, and most of whom did not know how to pray for themselves. He knew that his life was hid with Christ in God, and so, had no panic about himself. His personal concern was connected not with safety but with the fulfillment of his God-given mission to testify before Caesar. He was re-assured about this, and then, as a kind of royal bounty, he was told that God had granted him all that sailed with him. His prayer had clearly been directed towards the needy men around him. Some were friends, some were enemies, but he prayed for them all, and God wonderfully answered his prayers. "I believe God", the storm-tossed apostle was able to affirm, and they could all see the reality of his triumphant faith, just as they all shared in the value of his intercession.

Today we find ourselves in a tempest-stricken world. Whether we are to be granted emergence into a God-given calm, or whether the ship is to be splintered on the rocks, we do not know. Time will show this. But our business meanwhile is to know how to pray in such conditions. And our prayers should not be the selfish cry of panic: "Master, master, carest thou not that we perish?" but rather the prayer of those who so believe God that our fellow passengers may find salvation through our prayers and through our steady witness.

Like Paul, Watchman Nee had learned to trust in the One who Alone can make us to stand against the tempest of the darkness that surrounds us. For more than half a century his insights have been manna for hungry souls the world over.

Excerpts taken from an article by Eric Fischbacher. The full text can be viewed at Toward The Mark.

Other sites of interest with material on Watchman Nee:
The Testimony of Watchman Nee.
Chicago Bibles and Books.
Classic Christian Ethereal Library.
GNTE.org.
Davin Dahlgren offers outlines of the books of Nee's ministry.