ePublications

Our Writings

In this section you will find publications that include:

Dialogues

with Fellow Believers

The local churches welcome dialogue with researchers and scholars concerning our beliefs and practices. More and more Christians have come to realize that the local churches are sound in the essentials of the common faith. Read about some of those dialogues here and what these researchers and scholars have to say about the local churches.

Responses

to Criticism

This section contains responses to criticism of the teachings of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. When those teachings are evaluated fairly and in light of Scripture, they can be seen to be not only orthodox but also of great value in bringing the believers into the depths of the divine revelation in the Bible concerning God’s purpose and plan.

Defense

Against Libel

On three occasions, various local churches have taken legal action to defend against reckless and libelous accusations. This section contains documented accounts of lawsuits over The Mindbenders, The God-Men, and the Encyclopedia of Cults and New Religions, as well as discussion of the biblical principles involved in appealing to secular authorities for relief from libel.


The Faith

The faith affirmed by the local churches is the faith common to all believers, namely that:

  • The Bible is the Word of God, written under His inspiration word by word (2 Tim. 3:16), and is the complete and only written divine revelation of God to man (Deut. 4:2; 12:32; Prov. 30:5-6; Rev. 22:18-19);
  • There is one God (Deut. 6:4; 1 Cor. 8:4b; Isa. 45:5a), who is triune—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit (Matt. 28:19), co-existing (Matt. 3:16-17; 2 Cor. 13:14) and coinhering (John 14:10-11) in three persons, or hypostases, distinct but never separate, from eternity to eternity;
  • Christ, the only begotten Son of God (John 1:18; 3:16), even God Himself (John 1:1), became a genuine man through incarnation (John 1:14), having both the divine and human natures (Rom. 9:5; 1 Tim. 2:5), the two natures being combined in one person and being preserved distinctly without confusion or change and without forming a third nature;
  • Christ died for our sins and was raised bodily from the dead (1 Cor. 15:3-4; Acts 4:10; Rom. 8:34), has been exalted to the right hand of God as Lord of all (Acts 5:31; 10:36), and will return as the Bridegroom for His bride, the church (John 3:29; Rev. 19:7), and as the King of kings to rule over the nations (Rev. 11:15; 19:16);
  • Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone (Eph. 2:5, 8) and in His completed work, resulting in our justification before God (Rom. 3:24, 28; Gal. 2:16) and in our being born of God to be His children (John 1:12-13);
  • The church as the unique Body of Christ, the issue of the work of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23), is composed of all genuine believers in Christ (Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:12) and, according to the New Testament revelation, is manifested in time and space in local churches, each of which includes all the believers in a given city, regardless of where they meet or how they may otherwise identify themselves (1 Cor. 1:2; 1 Thes. 1:1; Rev. 1:11); and
  • All the believers in Christ will participate in the divine blessings in the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth for eternity (Rev. 21:1—22:5).

These seven items broadly represent what we hold as “the faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). Although our teachings on other, secondary items are also grounded in Scripture, we acknowledge that genuine believers have historically held to many differing interpretations on these matters and continue to do so today. Therefore we diligently practice to receive all those whom the Lord has received (Rom. 14:3; 15:7).


This is an excerpt of An open letter from the Local Churches and Living Stream Ministry concerning the Teachings of Witness Lee.

Download the full document in PDF format.


An Introduction to Watchman Nee and Witness Lee

An introduction to the life and ministry of two servants of the Lord—Watchman Nee and Witness Lee—whose work produced over three thousand churches spread across all six inhabited continents and whose ministry opened up the Bible’s revelation concerning the experience of Christ as life for the building up of the Body of Christ.

Read more…


Who Are We

DCP is a project to defend and confirm the New Testament ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee and the practice of the local churches. This Web site addresses controversies that have arisen while also demonstrating the invaluable contributions these two faithful servants of the Lord have made in the opening of Scripture.