Subtle Issues of Right and Wrong During the late 80s Rebellion

Indiana · 08-17-2011, 05:43 PM

The FTT is a mixture but a chief point is that it has produced Christ in many of the trainees and in the church life. RK is a mixture but has produced Christ; WL was a mixture but produced Christ; the LC is a mixture but has something of Christ; I am a mixture but there is something of Christ in me. And, there is also something of Christ in each of us on the forum. Therefore, categoric condemnations of Nee, Lee, the LC, RK, the FTT, etc. are without weight.

From Deviating from the Path in the Lord’s Recovery

Was the full-time training a mistake? It has been outwardly successful and very helpful to the churches. But has the FTT become another center, something Watchman Nee warned elders and co-workers about? The FTT was a center and promoted a center – a special leader and his ministry. The FTT also produced trained ones to go back to their localities to promote the center, a man and his ministry. In the quote below, Watchman Nee addresses the matter of the extra sphere of a training center.

"Whenever a special leader, or a specific doctrine, or some experience, or creed, or organization, becomes a center for drawing together the believers of different places, then because the center of such a church federation is other than Christ, it follows that its sphere will be other than local. And, whenever the divinely-appointed sphere of locality is displaced by a sphere of human invention, there the divine approval cannot rest. The believers within such a sphere may truly love the Lord, but they have another center apart from Him, and it is only natural that the second center becomes the controlling one. It is contrary to human nature to stress what we have in common with others; we always stress what is ours in particular. Christ is the common center of all the churches, but any company of believers that has a leader, a doctrine, an experience, a creed, or an organization as their center of fellowship, will find that that center becomes the center, and it is that center by which they determine who belongs to them and who does not. The center always determines the sphere, and the second center creates a sphere which divides those who attach themselves to it from those who do not.

Anything that becomes a center to unite believers of different places will create a sphere which includes all believers who attach themselves to that center and excludes those who do not. This dividing line will destroy the God-appointed boundary of locality, and consequently destroy the very nature of the churches of God" (The Normal Christian Church Life, p. 184).

From In the Wake of the New Way, my first writing 11 years ago:

Certain features of the new way indeed were questionable, such as, the young people's full-time training, which was formed as a group of promising ones in the recovery. The establishing of such a group as a kind of centerpiece is what Watchman Nee had warned against, saying that according to church history to set up something in this way is the beginning of a move toward denominationalism.

The FTT, nonetheless, became the hope for the future of the churches as well as for their current vitality, and virtually all of the elders and churches supported and prized its existence. They were also benefited and blessed much as trainees began to enter back into the church life in various localities after their intensive two-year training. It posed very real problems, however, for a number of people, not the least of which was the disparity in interest and care for members outside the FTT.

With the enormous amount of time, energy, money, and manpower being invested into the full-time training, I asked a brother involved with the FTT about the care for those in Anaheim who were not in the full-time training. He confirmed that the overseeing care and interest was fully on the FTT, simply explaining that brother Lee’s burden was for the young people and for this training. This was in November 1995.

The emergence of the FTT was for the spreading of the gospel and the church life as well as for the producing of overcomers to become the spiritual Mt. Zion, the elevated part of Jerusalem in the midst of the church, manifesting the reality of the Body of Christ to usher in a new age. Its existence, however, is a constant reminder and clear example of the difference in care and interest in the members that has existed in the churches since the onset of the new way. Further, the FTT presents a formidable challenge to the New Testament where no precedent has been set for a special group of qualified ones within the church to receive such devoted care and wonderful selected attention.

There are very good alternatives to the FTT that would take away the focus on a few and put it back on the Body, while still preserving our young people, but making greater opportunity for all others to get intensified training and care. I say this with respect to those young people who have been trained in the FTT and who are now good dispensers of Christ and of the ministry in different places, some even going abroad in sacrifice of the human comforts of their soul for the gospel.

08-17-2011, 05:43 PM	#12
Indiana Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 718	FTT a Mixture The FTT is a mixture but a chief point is that it has produced Christ in many of the trainees and in the church life. RK is a mixture but has produced Christ; WL was a mixture but produced Christ; the LC is a mixture but has something of Christ; I am a mixture but there is something of Christ in me. And, there is also something of Christ in each of us on the forum. Therefore, categoric condemnations of Nee, Lee, the LC, RK, the FTT, etc. are without weight. From Deviating from the Path in the Lord’s Recovery Was the full-time training a mistake? It has been outwardly successful and very helpful to the churches. But has the FTT become another center, something Watchman Nee warned elders and co-workers about? The FTT was a center and promoted a center – a special leader and his ministry. The FTT also produced trained ones to go back to their localities to promote the center, a man and his ministry. In the quote below, Watchman Nee addresses the matter of the extra sphere of a training center. "Whenever a special leader, or a specific doctrine, or some experience, or creed, or organization, becomes a center for drawing together the believers of different places, then because the center of such a church federation is other than Christ, it follows that its sphere will be other than local. And, whenever the divinely-appointed sphere of locality is displaced by a sphere of human invention, there the divine approval cannot rest. The believers within such a sphere may truly love the Lord, but they have another center apart from Him, and it is only natural that the second center becomes the controlling one. It is contrary to human nature to stress what we have in common with others; we always stress what is ours in particular. Christ is the common center of all the churches, but any company of believers that has a leader, a doctrine, an experience, a creed, or an organization as their center of fellowship, will find that that center becomes the center, and it is that center by which they determine who belongs to them and who does not. The center always determines the sphere, and the second center creates a sphere which divides those who attach themselves to it from those who do not. Anything that becomes a center to unite believers of different places will create a sphere which includes all believers who attach themselves to that center and excludes those who do not. This dividing line will destroy the God-appointed boundary of locality, and consequently destroy the very nature of the churches of God" (The Normal Christian Church Life, p. 184). From In the Wake of the New Way, my first writing 11 years ago: Certain features of the new way indeed were questionable, such as, the young people's full-time training, which was formed as a group of promising ones in the recovery. The establishing of such a group as a kind of centerpiece is what Watchman Nee had warned against, saying that according to church history to set up something in this way is the beginning of a move toward denominationalism. The FTT, nonetheless, became the hope for the future of the churches as well as for their current vitality, and virtually all of the elders and churches supported and prized its existence. They were also benefited and blessed much as trainees began to enter back into the church life in various localities after their intensive two-year training. It posed very real problems, however, for a number of people, not the least of which was the disparity in interest and care for members outside the FTT. With the enormous amount of time, energy, money, and manpower being invested into the full-time training, I asked a brother involved with the FTT about the care for those in Anaheim who were not in the full-time training. He confirmed that the overseeing care and interest was fully on the FTT, simply explaining that brother Lee’s burden was for the young people and for this training. This was in November 1995. The emergence of the FTT was for the spreading of the gospel and the church life as well as for the producing of overcomers to become the spiritual Mt. Zion, the elevated part of Jerusalem in the midst of the church, manifesting the reality of the Body of Christ to usher in a new age. Its existence, however, is a constant reminder and clear example of the difference in care and interest in the members that has existed in the churches since the onset of the new way. Further, the FTT presents a formidable challenge to the New Testament where no precedent has been set for a special group of qualified ones within the church to receive such devoted care and wonderful selected attention. There are very good alternatives to the FTT that would take away the focus on a few and put it back on the Body, while still preserving our young people, but making greater opportunity for all others to get intensified training and care. I say this with respect to those young people who have been trained in the FTT and who are now good dispensers of Christ and of the ministry in different places, some even going abroad in sacrifice of the human comforts of their soul for the gospel.