Customer Reviews

The Normal Christian Church Life

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

At the time I first read this book, the Lord had been increasingly showing me how far short of the Bible that most local churches fall, particularly in the denominations, which divide the Body of Christ. Thus, when I read Watchman Nee's exposition on what the Bible teaches us about the practical aspects of the local church (as opposed to the universal Church), I was very much encouraged and enlightened by his exposition.

However, I had an extremely hard time with his teaching that the only biblical revelation of a local church is a church that spans the entire city: In God's eyes, a local church consists of every single child of God in a geographical city. A practical local church must include all believers in Christ, and it is unbiblical to form a "church" that excludes anyone in the city whom Christ receives as His own.

It took a second careful reading of the book and some practical experience with Christians who are practicing this reality for me to see that this is exactly what the Bible teaches. What also helped was the sequel to this book, "Further Talks on the Church Life", which addresses many confusing questions such as "the church in the house/home", the biblical meaning of Christian unity, and the true biblical membership of a local church. A study of this subject is not complete without reading this companion volume (especially if the first book doesn't persuade you).

I've read quite a few of Watchman Nee's books, and I never cease to be astonished by how he manages at the same time to produce a crystal clear yet razor sharp exposition of the Bible. He seems to catch almost every detail, and he is truly gifted in making the most complex theological subjects very simple and practical.
I highly recommend this book to all the Lord's loving seekers who are sick and tired of playing church, who want to practice the reality of the Body of Christ.

I have known, studied, followed, and appreciated the ministry of Watchman Nee and his co-worker in the Lord, Witness Lee, for my entire life. I grew up in this fellowship, and I have only experienced denominational Christianity as an outsider looking in.

Brother Nee's ministry concerning the church as set forth in this book is full of light and revelation. The church is the Body of Christ, as is made very clear in the Bible (Eph. 1:22-23), and as such there should be an organic relationship between all the members of the Body, namely, all those who have believed into Jesus Christ. If one member of a person's body rebels, the whole body is put out of function. Likewise, if a group of Christians follows one specific doctrine, and another group contends that a different doctrine is truer, more important, etc., then the Body of Christ is dismembered, because all the members of the Body are not fellowshipping in the life of Christ together.

Watchman Nee, in his exhaustive study of the Bible and a lifetime of labor in the Lord, the last twenty years of which were spent in a Chinese Communist concentration camp, was very clear that there is but one Body of Christ in the universe. The oneness of Christ's Body is what Christ Himself died to produce, not just individual sects of believers (Ephesians 4:3-6, 13-16, 25). In New Testament times, the believers in a city all met together--which is why the Epistles are always addressed to the believers in a particular locality, Corinth, Ephesus, Galatia, Philippi, etc. Paul and the other apostles never addressed their letters to the believers on a particular street, and certainly Paul was very clear that all the believers he wrote to should not be divisive in any way, and should refuse any divisive teaching.

How wonderful it would be if all Christians would see this vision, that in the church (including all the believers) there can be no Greek, no Jew, no Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, or anything else...but that Christ Himself is the life in all of us, and that He desires us to live by His life so we would be one Body to express Him and represent Him on the earth. What a testimony to the greatness of our God, that He could build countless irreconciliably different individuals into just one, glorious expression of Himself.

This is the normal Christian church life Watchman Nee is talking about: how can it be normal for the Body of Christ to be divided? How can it be normal for believers who claim the same Lord not also claim to be members of His one Body? It is normal for Christians to be in oneness! Watchman Nee is also very clear that if a teaching causes division in the Body, it must be put out. How can I claim to be a Methodist rather than a Baptist? Or denominational rather than non? There is only Body, just as there is only one Christ, and only one God. That is the only claim I make, and Christ's is the only name I take.

I highly encourage every Christian who has ever wondered what the Body of Christ is, and why there are so many different "churches" today, to read this book. May the Lord grant you a vision to see His Body, and that you are a part of it.

This book is a classic by Nee that few Christians have ever read or heard of. I would no doubt believe that many have not heard of it because of the hard hitting truth that Nee brings forth in this book. For years I tried to reject what he teaches in this book but the more I have read my Bible and the more I have read books by house church leaders the more I have become convinced of its truth.

Nee writes about the normal Christian church life. He tears down many of the man-made traditions such as one pastor rule versus a plurality of elders leadership (Acts 11:30; 14:23; 15:6, 23; 20:17, 25-35; Titus 1:5). He tears down the walls of division among believers by pointing to the unity of the Body in Scripture (Eph. 4:4-6) and he forces us to wrestle with nearly every facet of the Church.

While I don't agree fully with Nee in all parts, he does force you to go the Bible for your doctrines and practices (1 Cor. 11:2; 2 Thess. 2:15; 3:6). A must read for every true disciple (John 8:31-32).

Some folks should live the life of a church planter and labor and suffer in the Lord's work all over their country and have an incredible depth of knowledge and experience of the Lord Jesus Christ before they judge Nee's work.
Some folks reviewing the book miss the point and do not realize that Jesus is the Truth,it is His person we worship, and we worship in truth whenever we worship Him regardless of the fact that we cannot possibly fathom Him or understand Him completely. Christ does not consider us in sin or idol worshippers if we do not have perfect doctrine about Him or everything in Scripture. That idea makes a mockery of salvation and implies God won't accept children or uneducated folks, or anyone who makes a mistake in interpreting their Bible. If anyone thinks they have correct views on everything or that their church does, they are lost in incredible spiritual pride that will blind them to the Lord like the Pharisees were blinded. No one has arrived at perfect knowledge and it takes humility to learn and grow spiritually.
We must learn from those who have gone before and labored greatly for the Lord. If their work comes from real experience of the Lord and the Church it is worth hearing. Theories from ivory towers, however scholarly, cannot match the work tested by fire and approved by those in a position to know. The New Testament itself was produced in the 'trenches.'
Nee had such experience. Hear him. He's not infallible, but neither are Amazon reviewers.

Watchman Nee's "Normal Christian Church Life" is no ordinary book. It's actually incredible to me it is so reaadily available today at such a nominal price, and says very much how fragmented Christian mindshare must be!

I first came by this book the very hard way: I had to make a copy of it on a copying machine in the late 1970's because it was completely unavailble.

Here is a true story about this book.

In the spring of 1983, I was asked to escort an older gentleman who was then an itinerating preacher. I drove him from Omaha, NE to Lincoln, and then to Des Moines, Iowa, and then to my late father's house in Omaha.

Over the course of that driving, we had many long conversations wherein i essentially poured out my heart wit the struggles I was facing as a young preacher who knew God's calling.

This old preacher had a few very key things to tell me, not the least of which was detailed information about a mutual nemesis we had both faced.

Then, upon raching my father's home, I considered I should share with this old preacher my notebook copy of this book by Watchman Nee. I told him it greatly influenced me, and that he would probably enjoy it, because I knew he had served in the China Inland Mission in his youth.

The preacher said a few cordial words and said he must excuse himself for awhile from my compnay. I feared i had offended him.

He came back to me after about an hour, and I learned he had gone the room furnished to him to be alone and pray. He looked me in the eys, and said, "What I am going to tell you now you must not disclose, or I will not be invited to preach in brethren assemblies anymore, and at my age, it's all there is left to do."

"I translated this book."

That old preacher was Dan Smith of Vancouver, B.C., a man of God who did me more good in a few hours than any preacher before or since.

It is ironic that, having provided the English reading world with this remakable book that Dan Smith was treated so poorly by the Witness Lee schism that took the book - against the warning of Watchman Nee - as "a manual for service."

I have known, studied, followed, and appreciated the ministry of Watchman Nee and his co-worker in the Lord, Witness Lee, for my entire life. I grew up in this fellowship, and I have only experienced denominational Christianity as an outsider looking in.

Brother Nee's ministry concerning the church as set forth in this book is full of light and revelation. The church is the Body of Christ, as is made very clear in the Bible (Eph. 1:22-23), and as such there should be an organic relationship between all the members of the Body, namely, all those who have believed into Jesus Christ. If one member of a person's body rebels, the whole body is put out of function. Likewise, if a group of Christians follows one specific doctrine, and another group contends that a different doctrine is truer, more important, etc., then the Body of Christ is dismembered, because all the members of the Body are not fellowshipping in the life of Christ together.

Watchman Nee, in his exhaustive study of the Bible and a lifetime of labor in the Lord, the last twenty years of which were spent in a Chinese Communist concentration camp, was very clear that there is but one Body of Christ in the universe. The oneness of Christ's Body is what Christ Himself died to produce, not just individual sects of believers (Ephesians 4:3-6, 13-16, 25). In New Testament times, the believers in a city all met together--which is why the Epistles are always addressed to the believers in a particular locality, Corinth, Ephesus, Galatia, Philippi, etc. Paul and the other apostles never addressed their letters to the believers on a particular street, and certainly Paul was very clear that all the believers he wrote to should not be divisive in any way, and should refuse any divisive teaching.

How wonderful it would be if all Christians would see this vision, that in the church (including all the believers) there can be no Greek, no Jew, no Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, or anything else...but that Christ Himself is the life in all of us, and that He desires us to live by His life so we would be one Body to express Him and represent Him on the earth. What a testimony to the greatness of our God, that He could build countless irreconciliably different individuals into just one, glorious expression of Himself.

This is the normal Christian church life Watchman Nee is talking about: how can it be normal for the Body of Christ to be divided? How can it be normal for believers who claim the same Lord not also claim to be members of His one Body? It is normal for Christians to be in oneness! Watchman Nee is also very clear that if a teaching causes division in the Body, it must be put out. How can I claim to be a Methodist rather than a Baptist? Or denominational rather than non? There is only Body, just as there is only one Christ, and only one God. That is the only claim I make, and Christ's is the only name I take.

I highly encourage every Christian who has ever wondered what the Body of Christ is, and why there are so many different "churches" today, to read this book. May the Lord grant you a vision to see His Body, and that you are a part of it.

Reading this was like coming home. Ahhh, I thought to myself...that's what I always thought too. And the parts I didn't say that, I said, oh that's how that works out. Yes, that makes perfect sense. This will knock your socks off if you're in a denominational church (99% of the Church). And if you're in a not-mainstream fellowship you will glean much from it of practical use. Highly recommended for any Believer. To go with this book, I also recommend _The Open Church_ by Gene Edwards.

This book is one of the few authentic books actually penned by Nee. Originally published in China under the title "Concerning Our Missions," Nee was actually writing to the Chinese context, not to the whole world. As a country largely unreached for Christ and devoid of churches, Nee naturally didn't want to reproduce the western pattern of denominationalism. However, he openly worried that people would apply it woodenly. The last section on finance is unbiblical, because he thinks Christian workers should pretend their needs are all met, an implies that even dishonesty would be alright. However, I still think the book is well worth reading and contains some excellent insights on the church.
Dennis McCallum, author Organic Disciplemaking: How to promote Christian leadership development through personal relationships, biblical discipleship, mentoring, and Christian community

I have read most of Watchman Nee's books and I am greatly encouraged and challenged by them all but especially this one about the leadership of the Church.

God has revealed many of the same things to me over the years so THIS is an encouragement to know, that in what I am hearing, I am not alone.

The challenge is TRYING to implement these things in a Church today that is steeped in traditions as much as the Pharisees were in their day.

However, be ready to bear His reproach! IF you do try you will be accused of being a false prophet and/or a false teacher. Trust me, I know!

Thirty years later I have given up on trying to implement any of this in today's average denominational Church. So NOW I understand why Nee said that it might be impossible to fellowship with such Churches. They will NEVER embrace these teachings because it means that they have been wrong, in their pattern of leadership, for nineteen-hundred years! Also they fear losing their jobs and $$$ as pastors.

However, I do see a way we could correct the structures by implementing the 'God given PATTERN', (see Heb. 8:5) and allow the pastors to keep their, paid jobs. IF only they would be willing to change?

Nee did not believe that such Churches were in reality are a part of THE TRUE CHURCH. There I could not agree with him completely! But "What IS?" Does meeting in a home make us New Testament or ???

The House Church movement claims to be a 'Restoration of The Early Church', and I would say that they are getting closer but many of them are JUST LIKE the church on the corner with a steeple. They meet once a week, they have someone leading - just like a pastor; they also do a song, a message, a closing prayer and then go home. The FACT that they meet in A HOME does NOT make them a New Testament Church! And a pastor by any other name is still a pastor.

Luther took catholic priests, told them that they could get married and made a few other minor changes but RETAINED the HIERARCHICAL system of 'One Man Rule', which DESTROYS 'The Priesthood of the Believer'. Eventually they began to call THEM PASTORS! Luther also retained Infant Baptism, and in all retained approximately 90 percent of the Catholic Church's 'traditional' practices. But worse still he attached the church to the state government, and used the state to persecute TRUE BELIEVERS, even torturing and killing hundreds and thousands.

IF we look only at the structures of such Churches Nee may well be absolutely correct, but I would have to add one thing, that many of the Christians, in these Churches, are in fact a part of THE CHURCH. It's just that their "organizations" do NOT fit the New Testament example (definition) or 'PATTERN' of what a Church is!

Scripture, history and the circumstances shows that Jesus was slain "Outside the camp". Hebrews 13:12 says, "...suffered outside the gate." Outside of the walls of Jerusalem (aka 'outside the camp') and then in Hebrews 13:13 it says, "So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach."

The camp represents the place of "Acceptability", outside the camp is the place of unacceptability. The Church has been compromised and destroyed by a willingness to compromise so that we ARE ACCEPTED! Are you WILLING to bear His reproach?

NOTE: Be careful what you buy! Some works are duplicated and/or reprinted with different titles, example the book series titled "The Church and the Work II, 'Rethinking the Work'" was printed by the Christian Fellowship Publishers in 1982, and was reprinted (with one minor change) under the title, "The Normal Christian Church" by Living Stream Ministry in 1996!

So if you don't have either book I highly recommend that you buy and read this one, and be challenged.

Watchman Nee gives an excellent and biblical account of what it means to be a Christian. He explains how a Christian is to live life from the Spirit as opposed to the flesh. He shows the believer that they are dead to the ways of the flesh and alive to Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit working in within. He takes the reader through the process of becoming untangled from the works and ways of Satan to embracing the resurrected life of Christ. He explains Christ's part; the cross and the blood,the Holy Spirit and His power to change the individual and the must needed cooperation of the believer.