Finally, testimonies of former members often tell of significant psychological and sociological abuse typical of other cultic organizations. They also point to the view within the movement that theirs is the only true church, sometimes, though not always, to the point of questioning the salvation of those who do not follow the ways of their movement. These include a modalistic view of the nature of God, an extreme emphasis on inner experience and corresponding de-emphasis on Biblical study, and a form of human deification. Those who label the "Local Church" a cult refer to several of Witness Lee's teachings that appear to contradict accepted norms in evangelical thought. Because of these events, evaluations of the "Local Church" movement by the evangelical Christian community are few and far between, and the movement remains poorly understood to this day.
The "Local Church" sued several of these publications, eventually winning settlements in a few cases, although under unusual legal circumstances. Outside criticism of the beliefs and practices of the movement appears to have begun in earnest in the 1970's with the release of several books and tracts from major Christian apologetics and countercult organizations labeling the movement cultic. These include Living Stream Ministry, a publishing company focusing on the writings of Witness Lee and Watchman Nee, Bibles for America, an organization promoting and distributing the movement's unique Recovery Version translation of the Bible, and eManna, an email devotional featuring the teachings of Witness Lee.
The "Local Church" has also spawned several related ministries run by its members. However, it is difficult to produce precise numbers, largely because it is difficult to gauge the number of adherents and partial adherents to the group's teachings within mainland China itself, where the movement appears to thrive but has been driven underground by government persecution. Witness Lee died in 1997 in southern California.Įstimates of the size of the "Local Church" hover around several hundred thousand members worldwide. He then began preaching and planting the churches that would develop into the modern-day "Local Church" movement. After the communist revolution in China, Lee, along with a number of Nee's other co-workers, fled to Taiwan, and he later made his way to the United States, settling in southern California in 1962.
The founder, Witness Lee (1905-1997), grew up in mainland China where he was a disciple and co-worker of the fairly well-known Chinese evangelist and preacher Watchman Nee. Other names sometimes used include "Church of Recovery" (Philippines) and "Shouters" (China).
The term "Local Church" is generally used by outsiders, and refers to the movement's belief that the church should be organized by city, and that individual churches should take the name of the city in which they are located. Members typically claim that the movement has no official name, although the term "The Lord's Recovery" is often used internally as a descriptive name. with the teachings of Chinese-American preacher Witness Lee, and it has since spread through much of North America and parts of Europe and Asia.Ĭhurches affiliated with the movement can usually be identified by their name, which almost always follows the pattern "The Church in ". The current movement began in the 1960's in southern California, U.S.A. The "Local Church" of Witness Lee is a religious movement whose teachings are rooted in Biblical Christianity, but with several unique elements that have led many observers to label the group a cult. Introduction to the "Local Church" movement
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