Quote:
Originally Posted by testallthings
The Resumption of Watchman Nee's Ministry,
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But why was Nee being humble?
Talking about the resumption of Nee's ministry, in 1942 was the "SCA Storm" as it was called. It was when Nee was dis-fellowhipped for scandals with a couple of sisters:
"After his arrest, Nee disclosed the names of the two victims, MYC and ZQN. Not until 1956 did we know of Nee’s affair with ZQN. Yet the discovery of his affair was the underlying cause of the “SCA Storm” in 1942."
~ Hsu M.D, Lily M.; Roberts M.A M.T.S, Dana (2013-04-02). My Unforgettable Memories:Watchman Nee and Shanghai Local Church (Kindle Locations 2061-2063). Xulon Press. Kindle Edition.
After the SCA Storm and with many coworkers alienated from him, Nee had nowhere to go but back to his hometown, Fuzhou.
~Hsu M.D, Lily M.; Roberts M.A M.T.S, Dana (2013-04-02). My Unforgettable Memories:Watchman Nee and Shanghai Local Church (Kindle Locations 2928-2929). Xulon Press. Kindle Edition.
Then in 1949 Witness talked Nee back. So of course Nee would be humble.
The Prelude to Nee’s Resumption
Witness Lee Convinced coworkers to Accept Nee Lee was unswervingly loyal to Nee. He realized there were bitter feelings toward Nee among SCA leaders because of the “SCA Storm in 1942.”(1) Upon his arrival Nanjing and Shanghai, he talked to most of the senior coworkers, including Li Yuanru, Zhang Yuzhi, Xu Dawei (David Hsu), Du Zhongchen, and Yu Chenghua. He persuaded them by saying that the cause of their spiritual back-sliding was their focusing on “Was something truly wrong with Watchman Nee?” They forgot to show gratitude to Nee for his spiritual help. Also, he repeatedly emphasized: “The issue is of ‘the Tree of Knowledge’ versus ‘the Tree of Life.’” Kinnear writes: Already in 1946 Witness Lee had challenged the Shanghai elders: “Were you in the Spirit when you made the decision to reject him? And what was the effect? Can you say it brought life?” “No,” they had replied sorrowfully to each question.(2)
The coworkers accepted Lee’s viewpoint of “considering ‘life,’ but not ‘the knowledge of good and evil.’” The previous grudge was then resolved.
Lee and Wang Prompted the Resumption of Nee
Witness Lee and Wang Peizhen were eager to have Nee returning to his ministry. Lee said: By being in Shanghai again, I had much opportunity to see Brother Nee after a separation of more than six years. .*.*. Also, at this time Peace Wang [Wang Peizhen] and I were concerned for the recovery of Watchman’s ministry. For this reason we both took every opportunity to have fellowship with him.*.*.*. We presented to him the urgent need to resume his ministry because of the restoration of the church in Shanghai and the wide doors opened in new fields. I asked him to resume his ministry, but he told me that because of certain rebellious brothers, his ministering spirit would not allow him to minister to the church in Shanghai. I realized from this that in order to recover his ministry, there was the crucial need of a revival among us.(3)
~Hsu M.D, Lily M.; Roberts M.A M.T.S, Dana (2013-04-02). My Unforgettable Memories:Watchman Nee and Shanghai Local Church (Kindle Locations 857-859). Xulon Press. Kindle Edition.
So Nee was being humble because he was like a little boy coming back after being punished.