During conferences held in Shanghai and Hankow, Watchman spoke to his fellow-workers on the principles in the New Testament concerning the practical arrangement of the churches, the ministry, and the work. In his speaking, he honestly examined his own work before the Lord in the light of these principles, provided adjustment and encouragement to his co-workers, and confirmed through personal testimony that the practice of the normal Christian church life revealed in the New Testament can be recovered.
Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars(4.5 out of 5 stars)
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4.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by David D. Flowers (Texas), February 13, 2007
If you are a member of an institutional church (i.e. you meet in a religious building, practice empty pagan rituals, pay professional staff members, etc.) this book will not be much help to you. I recommend reading "Pagan Christianity" by Frank Viola.
However, if you are seeking first-century Christianity... this book is worth the read!
The first book I read from Nee was the classic, "The Normal Christian Life." Great book! One of my favorites! After doing some reading on the house church I realized Nee was also known for radical recovery efforts to bring the ekklesia (church) back to its first-century origins. So... I read this book.
Most of the book centers on the life of an apostle/worker. In today's terms... Church Planters! Now... I grew up in the Southern Baptist Church... was on staff for 6 years... it wasn't long ago I believed all the apostles were dead and no more. I come to discover, among MANY other things, that apostles are still very much alive and on the front line of what Christ is doing with his church. This book is very thorough when it comes to the work of the apostle/worker/church planter. If you are wanting to know more about the role of the apostle and how he/she is to function... you definitely want this book. Many will have a problem with Nee's seemingly rigid approach to church by locality only. Nee believes that churches should only divide on the grounds of locality. His biblical evidence and reasoning for this is very convincing. Nee's book also touches on other aspects of the church. He goes on to briefly describe the roles of the prophet, pastor/teacher, the evangelist (preacher), elder, etc. He even discusses our favorite topic of all: FINANCES!
After reading Nee, I highly recommend you read "SO YOU WANT TO START A HOUSE CHURCH?:First-Century Styled Church Planting For Today" by Frank Viola.
4.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Roy Ingle (Thomson, GA), August 13, 2002
This is an excellent work on the Church. Nee deals with the present clergy/laity distinctives and exposes them as unbiblical. He also deals with the nature of the NT church, the purpose of the Church, and where the church meets.
My only problem with the book is Nee's usage of unbiblical terminology and he doesn't deal with the modern notion of the pastorate. A good follow up book is Frank Viola's work RETHINKING THE WINESKINS (found at www.ptmin.org).
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