Further Revelations: 1937 - 1950

E. Recovery of Watchman Nee’s Ministry: 1948

Following the conference in Foochow, they stayed with Watchman Nee another two weeks to fellowship with him that the recovery of his ministry must be sped up. When the other co-workers and leading ones heard about this fellowship, they also would not leave, but asked them to obtain permission from Watchman Nee that they might also participate in the fellowship. At first he would not give his permission, but on further entreaty, he agreed for them to be present on the condition that they would sit a distance away from him in another section of his spacious living room. Only Peace Wang, Rachel Lee, and Witness Lee sat together with him for fellowship. Witness Lee opened the fellowship by asking him why all the churches in the provinces of Fukien and Kwangtung were filled with confusion. Immediately he responded by releasing a message on the line of Jerusalem. The word poured out of him for over an hour. They sat there astonished. To their surprise a sister sitting among those far away burst out, “Why should we not do it right now according to Brother Nee’s message?” Brother Nee responded, “If you wish to do it, you must all hand yourself over to the work (the ministry). Sign a note indicating your consecration, and pass it on to Brother Lee.” This they all did.

When the leading brothers of the church in Foochow heard about this, they came that evening and handed over both themselves and the church to the work. This stirred up all the saints in town, and Watchman Nee decided to call a meeting of the whole church. He asked Witness Lee to speak at that meeting, but Witness Lee told him strongly that if he would not go and speak, he would not even attend the meeting. He therefore took up the burden and spoke at that meeting. All of them realized that this was the beginning of the recovery of Watchman Nee’s ministry. Hundreds of them rejoiced over this. These events transpired in March 1948.

Witness Lee then told him that over forty co-workers and seeking ones would be attending a conference in Shanghai in April, which had already been scheduled. Witness Lee asked him if he would take care of this conference, and he agreed.

Watchman Nee requested that they sing the spiritual prose on the life of the grapevine. His desire after so many years of suffering was to express his spiritual sentiment through the singing of that prose

In one of the conference meetings in Shanghai, Watchman Nee requested that they sing the spiritual prose on the life of the grapevine. His desire after so many years of suffering was to express his spiritual sentiment through the singing of that prose. Witness Lee then put it into meter, and they sang it in the meeting.

That conference broadened the revival that had already been brought into Shanghai. Also through that conference Watchman Nee’s ministry was fully recovered. At that time he decided to have a six-month training in the training center on Kuling Mountain. Peace Wang, Ruth Lee, and Witness Lee were assigned to stay in Shanghai to care for the church and the supply of the training. By 1948 the number of attendants in the church in Shanghai had greatly increased. It was, therefore, necessary to build a larger meeting hall, and a piece of land was purchased for that purpose on Nan-Yang Road. The cost was two hundred ten gold bars, equivalent to one hundred five thousand dollars in U.S. currency, to be paid in three equal installments. At that time the church has on hand only half of the initial installment.

One day Watchman Nee asked Witness Lee to come to his home. After Witness Lee arrived he handed him thirty-seven gold bars, the equivalent of eighteen thousand five hundred dollars, which was more than sufficient to pay the other half of the initial installment. He told Witness Lee that he had purposely kept that amount of gold aside to be applied on a meeting hall site for the church in Shanghai.

Preparing to Spread to Taiwan

Also at this time Watchman Nee realized that the Lord’s recovery would spread to Taiwan, and he was burdened to buy some land in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, for this purpose. A brother who was a businessman in Taipei promised to take care of this matter for him, and Watchman Nee sent that brother some money for this purpose. When that brother attended the conference in Shanghai, Sister Peace Wang and Witness Lee were deeply impressed that he might not be faithful in money matters. On a certain day when Watchman Nee invited Witness Lee to help him send a further amount of money to that brother, Peace Wang and Witness Lee took the opportunity to express their feeling to him concerning that brother. He replied that the Lord knew that Judas was stealing from the purse, but He still allowed him to care for the money. Witness Lee responded, “I cannot understand this point.” But Watchman Nee gave no explanation.

Continuously Being Trained by Watchman Nee

Later, when Witness Lee was sent to Taiwan, Watchman Nee instructed him to visit that brother, and gave Witness Lee full authority to settle the account with him. Witness Lee took one of the Taipei elders with him and asked the brother about the account. He presented a bundle of interest bills to them showing that Brother Nee still owed him a good amount of interest. Witness Lee sent the report of this conversation back to Watchman Nee in writing, but he received no further instruction from him regarding this matter.

One day while fellowshipping about the Lord’s work, Watchman Nee asked Witness Lee why he had gone to a certain place. His answer was that he wanted to help the church there solve its problems. Watchman Nee said that that was playing politics. He continued by saying that to do anything with a purpose, regardless how good, spiritual, or scriptural it might be, is to play politics. Only to follow the Lord’s leading is not politics. As long as you are unable to say that your going there is following the Lord’s leading, you are playing politics. In this same year, 1948, because of the heavy responsibility of the church in Shanghai, Watchman Nee appointed Witness Lee as an elder there to help the situation.