- Wikipedia states:
Watchman Nee (倪柝聲 pinyin: Ní Tuòshēng;, 1903–1972) was a Chinese Christian author and church leader during the early 20th Century. He spent the last 20 years of his life in prison and was severely persecuted by the Communists in China[1]. Together with Wangzai, Zhou-An Lee, Shang-Jie Song, and others, Nee founded the The Church Assembly Hall, later which would be also known as the "Local churches" (Chinese: 地方教會).
Watchman Nee became a Christian in 1920 at age 17 and began writing in the same year. In 1921, he met the British missionary M. E. Barber, who was a great influence on him.[2]Through Miss Barber, Nee was introduced to many of the Christian writings which were to have a profound influence on him and his teachings.[3] Nee attended no theological schools or Bible institutes. His knowledge was acquired through studying the Bible and reading various Christian spiritual books.[4][5] During his 30 years of ministry, beginning in 1922, Nee traveled throughout China planting churches among the rural communities and holding Christian conferences and trainings in Shanghai.[4] In 1952 he was imprisoned for his faith; he remained in prison until his death in 1972.[6]
Nee Shu-Tsu (Watchman Nee) was born in Foochow, China. Nee's grandfather, Nga U-cheng, born in 1840, was a Congregational preacher of the American supplies commission. He died in 1890. Nee's father was Ni Weng-Sioe (W. S. Ni), born in 1877, and the fourth of nine boys. He was an officer in the Imperial Customs Service. He died in Hong Kong in 1941. Nee's mother was Lin Gwo Ping (Peace Lin), who was born in 1880. She died at the age of 70, in 1950.
When Nee was 17 years old (1920), and still a student, he went to hear an evangelist by the name of Dora Yu, who charged the people to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, a call that Watchman Nee accepted.[7] From that day on, he consecrated himself completely to Jesus Christ and to the preaching of the Gospel in China[8]. After his conversion, many of his class-mates were converted due to his testimony and consecrated living.[9] During Nee's college years, Miss. Margaret Barber, an independent British missionary was his teacher and mentor. She treated him as a young learner and frequently administered strict discipline.[10] Miss Barber died in 1930 and left all her belongings to Watchman Nee.[11]
Watchman Nee became intimately familiar with the Bible through diligent study of the Bible using various different methods.[12] His development was strengthened by the influence of Jessie Penn-Lewis, Robert Govett, D. M. Panton, G. H. Pember, John Nelson Darby and many others, reading as many as 3,000 books from various authors since first century.[13] In the early days of his ministry he spent one-third of his income on his personal needs, one-third on helping others, and the remaining third on spiritual books.[14] He had an ability to select, comprehend, discern, and memorize relevant material, and grasp and retain the main points of a book while reading.[15] In his gospel preaching and ministry, Nee always stressed more on the "inner-life" issue in a believer's life rather than the "outward-work".[5] Nee claimed that to be a Christian is altogether a matter of the divine life.[16] He believed that a belief is not a religion, and therefore he did not establish headquarters or create a hierarchy of leadership positions in the church.[17] He once stood up and said against a certain collected assembly:[6]
"You may well have light and truth, but knowledge alone will benefit you nothing."
Today many of his written books are published in English, although most have been translated from Chinese. He published regular articles in his own magazine, with The Present Testimony and The Christian being some of them.
The Normal Christian Life
Probably the best known book of Watchman Nee's is The Normal Christian Life. It was based on talks given by Watchman Nee at the time of and subsequent to his trip through Europe in 1938-1939. It expressed theological views on the first few chapters of the New Testament book of Romans. In the later sections of the book he presented his views on what the normal Christian life should be.
Later years
Between the period of 1940-1960, the local church in China underwent many trials and tribulations. Many of these local churches had been founded by Watchman Nee based upon his conviction of "one church for one city or town" on the ground of oneness among the believers. He asserted that geographic boundaries were the only legitimate ground to have different churches to express the one body of Christ on the earth (the local church). He strongly promoted the view that various ways of separating churches, such as apostles and their ministries, spiritual gifts, racial or social status, or different doctrines and missions was condemned by the word of God as division and sin, and as the works of the flesh.[18]
In the period between 1923-1949, more than 700 local churches were created with an attendance of more than 70,000.[19] During the Chinese Communist takeover, these "assemblies" formed the core behind the house municipalities. Through the efforts of Nee and his colleagues, local assemblies were founded all over China and among other Chinese-speaking communities in the Far East. Some of Nee's co-workers in this work later would become known outside of China (e.g. - Witness Lee, Stephen Kaung, Faithful Luke, Simon Meek, and others).[20]
In 1949, Watchman Nee's co-labourer Witness Lee emigrated to Taiwan. In 1952, Watchman Nee was imprisoned by the Chinese government for his faith. He remained in prison until his death twenty years later.[21] Watchman Nee's writings on matters of the individual Christian life have been a source of inspiration to Christians throughout the world, though his writings on the local churches -which he considered to be central to his ministry have been largely ignored by the mainstream Christianity so far.[7]
Persecution and death
Watchman Nee felt led by his belief in God to remain in Mainland China in spite of the threat of Communism, and to sacrifice everything to this end.[22] Watchman Nee was arrested by the Chinese Communists in March of 1952 for his professed faith in Christ as well as his leadership among the local churches. He was judged, falsely condemned, and sentenced in 1956 to fifteen years' imprisonment.[23][24] During this entire time, only his wife was allowed to visit him.[25] In his final letter, written on the day of his death, he alluded to his joy "in the Lord":[26]
"In my sickness, I still remain joyful at heart."
He died in confinement in his cell on May 30, 1972.
Influences
The theological influence of Watchman Nee (English for Nee To-Sheng ), went much further than his own circle reached; not only in his native country China but also outside in other countries.[27] He changed his name to Watchman Nee because he saw himself as someone that stayed up in the middle of the night to awaken men of the coming of Christ.[28] In 1928, Watchman Nee settled in Shanghai where he based his own speaking and publication work, the Shanghai Gospel Bookroom, which published books by Nee and others, as well as some Chinese translations of English-speaking authors - most notably the Christian teacher and writer T. Austin-Sparks, with whom Nee had a very close relationship fostered during his significant time at the Honor Oak Christian Fellowship Centre on Honor Oak Road in London, England.[29]
Ministry, sufferings, and commission
Watchman Nee's ministry used eight different means to carry out what he believed had been wrought into him by God: preaching the gospel, teaching the Bible, traveling and revivals, contacting people, corresponding with people, holding conferences, conducting trainings, and producing publications.
Nee suffered much for his belief that, according to the Bible, denominations are wrong in that they divide the One Body of Christ.[30] Because his firm stand for the oneness of the Body of Christ against the denominations, they caused him much suffering.[31][32] Some denominations despised and criticized, some opposed, and did their best to destroy his ministry.[33] They also spread false rumours about him and misrepresented him to the extent that Watchman Nee once responded,[34]
"The Watchman Nee portrayed by them I would also condemn."
By the time Nee was arrested in 1952, approximately four hundred local churches had been raised up in China through his life and ministry. In addition, local churches had been raised up in the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. Today the local churches have grown to over 2,300 worldwide through the ministries of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee.
Works
Watchman Nee not only spoke frequently both privately and publicly, but he was also a prolific writer. His publications included gospel tracts, periodicals, papers, articles, newsletters, hymnals, and a chart of biblical prophecies. In addition to publishing various periodicals, papers, gospel tracts, etc, Watchman Nee also published many books for the carrying out of his ministry. Some of these books were messages published in his periodicals and reprinted in book form.
In addition to writing and publishing books and hymnals, some spiritual books in English were translated by him and under his publication ministry through the years.[8]
Published works
In English there are approximately fifty-five books of him available, published through Christian Fellowship Publishers [9], Richmond, Virginia, United States. Another source in English is The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, a 62 volume set covering his entire ministry - published by Living Stream Ministry [35][10] located in Anaheim, California, United States. These are made available primarily from notes taken by students during his many talks and translated by various publishing group.
Some of his best known books are:
* The Spiritual Man
* Spiritual Authority
* Mystery of Creation
* Gospel Dialogue
* The King and The Kingdom of Heaven
* Interpreting Matthew
* Come, Lord Jesus
* The Better Covenant
* Aids to Revelation
* The Overcoming Life
* The Normal Christian Life
* The Breaking of The Outer Man and The Release of The Spirit
* The Song of Songs
* Authority and Submission
Watchman Nee's best known books on "Church", "Church Life", and "the Church issues":
* The Normal Christian Church Life
* Church Affairs
* The Church and the Work: Rethinking the Work
* The Glorious Church
* Further Talks on the Church Life
* The Orthodoxy of the Church
Articles
There are also many books, booklets, magazines and articles published by Living Stream Ministry located in Anaheim, California, United States. Most of Watchman Nee's writings are from his own notes and magazines he himself published. Nee gave great importance to the end-time view of separate rapture and to apostles not exceeding their regional boundary in appointing elders of a locality; e.g., apostles of the churches in Judea, apostles of the churches in Asia Minor, apostles of the churches in Texas; elders of the church in Jerusalem, elders of the church in Ephesus, elders of the church in Dallas. In his later writings, he mainly focused on the Church and the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:23).[36]
Nee's Name
His English name seems to be a literal variation of his Chinese name. 柝 (pinyin tùo) is a Chinese watchman's knocker or plaque, sounded to mark the hours of night. 聲 (pinyin shēng) means sound.[11]
Books about Watchman Nee
* Chan, Stephen C.T. Wo Ti Kau Fu Ni To Sheng [My Uncle Watchman Nee]. Hong Kong: Alliance Press, 1970.
* Chen, James. Meet Brother Nee. Hong Kong: The Christian Publishers, 1976.
* Kinnear, Angus I. The Story of Watchman Nee: Against the Tide. Fort Washington, Pa.: Christian Literature Crusade, 1973.
* Leung Ka-lun. Watchman Nee: His Early Life and Thought [Chinese]. Hong Kong: Graceful House Limited, 2005.
* Watchman Nee: His Glory and Dishonor (Chinese). Revised and enlarged edition. Hong Kong: Graceful House Limited, 2004.
* Lyall, Leslie. Three of China's Mighty Men. London: Overseas Missionary Fellowship, 1973.
* Roberts, Dana. The Secrets of Watchman Nee. Gainesville, FL: Bridge-Logos, 2005
* Lee, Witness. Watchman Nee: A Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age. Anaheim, CA: Living Stream Ministry, 1991.
* (Compiled notes from Brother K.H. Weigh). "Watchman Nee's Testimony." Anaheim, CA: Living Stream Ministry, 1974 (1st edition).
References
1. ^ Chan, Kim-Kwong, and Alan Hunter. Protestantism in Contemporary China. Cambridge: University Press, 1993: pages. 121-123.
2. ^ M. E. Barber, Biography, by James Reetzke, Chicago Bibles and Books
3. ^ Watchman Nee, A Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age (ISBN 0-87083-625-0), by Witness Lee, Living Stream Ministry
4. ^ Melton, J. Gordon: Religious Leaders of America. Detroit: Gale Research, 1991: page. 407
5. ^ Lee, Witness: Watchman Nee, A Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age (ISBN 0-87083-625-0), page. 23
6. ^ Patterson, George. N: Christianity in Communist China. Waco, Tx: World Books, 1969: pages 72-73
7. ^ Nee, Watchman, Watchman Nee's Testimony, Living Stream Ministry
8. ^ Hanks, Geoffrey: Seventy Great Christians. Fearn, Scotland: Christian Focus Publications, 1994: pages. 295-298
9. ^ Compiled notes from K.H. Weigh. "Watchman Nee's Testimony." Anaheim, CA: Living Stream Ministry, 1974 (1st edition)
10. ^ Melton, J. Gordon. Religious Leaders of America. Detroit: Gale Research, 1991: page. 407
11. ^ Lee, Witness: Watchman Nee, A Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age (ISBN 0-87083-625-0), pages. 16-19
12. ^ Lee, Witness: Watchman Nee, A Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age (ISBN 0-87083-625-0), pages. 23-27
13. ^ Lee, Witness: Watchman Nee, A Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age (ISBN 0-87083-625-0), page. 25.
14. ^ Nee, Watchman, Watchman Nee's Testimony, Living Stream Ministry
15. ^ Lee, Witness: Watchman Nee, A Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age, page. 25
16. ^ Lee, Witness: Watchman Nee: A Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age, page. 85-86
17. ^ Fu, Tina. "Christians March Across Capital." China Post 4 May 1998: 20
18. ^ Patterson, George N. Christianity in Communist China. Waco, Tx: World Books, 1969: pages. 79-80
19. ^ Kauffman, Paul E.: China Yesterday. Hong Kong: Asian Outreach, 1975: 100-101.
20. ^ Entrepreneur, AC Magazine (1999), Huei Liu, Copyright 1999 AC Media Inc.
21. ^ Melton, J. Gordon. Religious Leaders of America. Detroit: Gale Research, 1991: page. 407
22. ^ Hanks, Geoffrey. Seventy Great Christians. Fearn, Scotland: Christian Focus Publications, 1994: pages. 296-297
23. ^ Melton, J. Gordon: Religious Leaders of America. Detroit: Gale Research, 1991: page. 407
24. ^ Hanks, Geoffrey. Seventy Great Christians. Fearn, Scotland: Christian Focus Publications, 1994: pages. 295-298
25. ^ Lee, Witness: W. Nee, A Seer of the Divine Revelation, Living Stream Ministry, page. 124
26. ^ Last eight letters of Watchman Nee (from communist prison), [1]eight letters[2]
27. ^ Bays, Daniel H., ed: Christianity in China from the Eighteenth Century to the Present. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1996: page. 311
28. ^ Nee, Watchman: The Body of Christ, A Reality: (1978) CBS, Christian Fellowship Publishers. Inc.
29. ^ J. Gordon Melton: Watchman Nee, The Encycolpedia of American Religions, 5th edition: Gale Research Inc.
30. ^ Lyall, Leslie. Three of China's Mighty Men. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1980: page. 141
31. ^ Kauffman, Paul E: China Yesterday. Hong Kong: Asian Outreach, 1975: pages. 100-101
32. ^ Lee, Witness: Watchman Nee, A Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age (ISBN 0-87083-625-0), The Suffering of Watchman Nee, pages. 173-177
33. ^ Lee, Witness: Watchman Nee, A Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age (ISBN 0-87083-625-0), pages. 173-177
34. ^ Lee, Witness: Watchman Nee: A Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age, page. 177
35. ^ Living Stream Ministry - Publisher of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee
36. ^ The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, Publisher: Living Stream Ministry, The Mature Period, 1942-1951 (Vol. 47-62)[3]
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watchman_Nee
- Wikipedia states:
John Livingston Nevius (1829-1893) was a Protestant missionary in China and Korea, appointed by the American Presbyterian Mission.
Indigenous Church Mission
After questioning the methods of western missionaries of his time, he took up the Venn-Anderson principles of "self-propagation, self-government, and self-supporting" in a series of articles in the Chinese Recorder journal in 1885, which was later published as a book in 1886, The Planting and Development of Missionary Churches.[1] Nevius called for discarding old-style missions and the adoption of his new plan to foster an independent, self-supporting local church. He criticized the missionaries' practice of paying national workers out of mission funds, believing the healthy local church should be able to support its own local workers.[2]
The Nevius Plan
The principles he laid out, known later as the Nevius Plan, did not gain popularity in China. However, when American Presbyterians began their work in Korea, the new missionaries invited Nevius to advise them. Embracing his method, the Korean mission enjoyed great success. The Nevius Plan outlined the following:[3]
- Christians should continue to live in their neighborhoods and pursue their occupations, being self-supporting and witnessing to their co-workers and neighbors.
- Missions should only develop programs and institutions that the national church desired and could support.
- The national churches should call out and support their own pastors.
- Churches should be built in the native style with money and materials given by the church members.
- Intensive biblical and doctrinal instruction should be provided for church leaders every year.
References
- Weber, Hans-Ruedi (2000), The Layman in Christian History: A Project of the Department on the Laity of the World Council of Churches, London: SCM Press, p. 350
- Broomhall, Alfred James (1982), Hudson Taylor & China’s Open Century Volume Three: If I Had a Thousand Lives, Littleton, CO: Overseas Missionary Fellowship
- Terry, John Mark (2000), "Indigenous Churches", in Moreau, A. Scott, Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, pp. 483-485
- The Westminster Biblical Missions states:
John L. Nevius (1829-1893)
Life and Work
John Livingston Nevius was the seventh generation of Joannes Nevius who became schepen of New Amsterdam in 1654. About 1818 John P. Nevius moved from New Jersey to a farm the Finger Lakes region of western New York in the township of Ovid, Seneca County. His son, Benjamin Hageman Nevius, married in 1826 Mary Denton, of English descent. To them was born John Livingston on March 4, 1829, in the same place. During his early years on the farm John developed a strong physique and developed a knowledge of farming. With his brother Reuben he first attended Ovid Academy and then entered Union College, at Schenectady New York in 1845. Upon graduating in 1848, he went south to Georgia, where he taught school for a year with considerable success. The greatest event of this period, however, was his conversion. From his letters to his brother Reuben, his conversion was the result not of sudden influences from without but of months of inner questioning.
Returning north, he entered Princeton Theological Seminary in 1850, and graduated in 1853. In that year he was ordained, appointed as a missionary by the Presbyterian Board, and assigned to Ningpo, China. He was ordained by the Presbytery of New Brunswick on May 23. In June he married Helen Sanford Coan, a school friend of Ovid Academy days. In September they both sailed, by way of the Cape of Good Hope, for China.
Presbyterian Missionary to China
There he labored at this post from 1854 to 59. The first years were full of uncertainties, and the climate of Ningpo, to which they had been assigned, was notoriously difficult. Mrs. Nevius health failed, and in 1857 she had to return to the United States for a period. Nevius became pastor of a church at Ningpo and started evangelistic work in San-Poh. He and his wife became pioneers in a mission station in Hang-chow in 1859, where he was the first to find a footing, but had to withdraw because of political unrest. He then sojourned in Japan from 1859-61, where he prepared a Compendium of Theology for Chinese students. Upon return to China, they proceeded to aid in the establishment of a mission in Shantung province, in Northern China, serving at Tung-chow, 1861-64; and at Chefoo, 1871-93. There Nevius toiled with characteristic energy for more than thirty years. His evangelistic zeal prepared the way for many local churches, the work in each locality being delegated as far as possible to native residents.
Cultural Influence
The statesmanship of his contribution to the missionary program was recognized by his appointment as American chairman of the Second Missionary Conference in Shanghai, 1890; and in America by the prominence accorded to his counsels and addresses. A lasting benefit to China’s material well-being resulted from his experiments in acclimatizing Western fruits and vegetables. Nevius character was seen in his commanding presence and the powers of concentration, but equally characteristic were qualities of geniality, sympathy and good comradeship.
His life continued active and full to the last day; and it ended peacefully at his desk after daily prayers in San-lou, the house which he had himself erected on a hill overlooking the Chinese city of Chefoo. At his death he was occupied with a translation of part of the Bible. He died on October 19, 1893.
The Nevius Method
Study of the Nevius method became a part of the preparation of missionary candidates. Charles A. Clark wrote,
The history of the National Presbyterian Church of Korea for the last twenty-five years should be better known by the Church at large, for it is a record of the workings of God’s Spirit that should inspire the Church in the homeland to a greater belief in the possibilities of Missions, and should inspire it also to a greater zeal in its own work here at home.
Thirty years ago there were less than 10,000 Christians in that country. Today there are over 160,000 Presbyterians alone. Counting all denominations, there are more than 250,000 meeting each Sunday in some three thousand congregations. All through these last thirty years, the Christians have shown an apostolic zeal in preaching to their neighbors and an apostolic earnestness in bringing their church to self-support and self-government. Not only have they brought their own church to a high state of organization. They have become a missionary-sending church, with their missionaries working north in the two Manchurias and in Siberia, south in the Island of Quelpart, east in Japan among the 400,000 Koreans there, and west among the Chinese in Shantung, China.
Many people have asked what the secret of this great success has been. Of course, it is not by might nor by power but by My Spirit that all such things come. Humanly speaking, however, those who know the work best believe that the results have come because of a peculiar system of methods that have been used there, something not used to such an extent at least in any other Mission field in the world.
Writings
Nevius kept up a steady output of written material both in Chinese and in English. This included at least sixteen tracts or books or translations in Chinese, and several works in English:
- San-Poh. (1869)
- China and the Chinese. (New York, 1869; Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1882) This book provides a historical perspective of the Chinese Empire and its inhabitants, Confucianism, the Chinese government, the religions of China, religious rites and beliefs, superstitions and the science of feng shui, modes of divination, the dialects of China, social customs, festivals, customs and amusemeMethods of Mission Work (1886, Published by the Northern Board, 1899)
- Planting and Development of Missionary Churches. Nutley, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1958. 1958. Preface to the Fourth Edition by Bruce Hunt.
- Demon Possession and Allied Themes (1894, 1895) which was published after his death. Kregel. (Searchable book located at Amazon, online text not found as of 8/2008.)
Bibliography
- Dictionary of American Biography
- Hunt, Bruce. Preface to the Fourth Edition of Planting and Development of Missionary Churches.
- Mrs. Helen S. C. Nevius, Life of John Livingston Nevius, New York, 1895. The chief source of information is by his wife.
- Necrological Report … Princeton Theological Seminary,1894.
- A. Van Doren Honeyman, Joannes Nevius… and His Descendants… 1627-1900. (1900)
- F. F. Ellinwood, “Rev. John L. Nevius, D.D.” in Church at Home and Abroad (Feb. 1894)
- Gilbert Reid, “The Rev. John L. Nevius, D.D.” in Missionary Review of the World (May, 1894)
- Clark, Charles A. The Korean Church and the Nevius Method, Fleming H. Revell. (1930, 1937)
- Clark, Charles A. The Nevius Plan for Mission Work, illustrated in Korea. Seoul: CLS, 1937.
- Kim, H. K. “The Influence of Nevius on Korean Reformed Spirituality.” Korean Christianity, 2 (1997).
Source posted on February 20th, 2007 by Rev. Eric Bristley
http://www.wbminc.org/2007/02/20/jlnevius/
- Christian Cyclopedia, Concordia Publishing House states:
John Livingston Nevius
(March 4, 1829 - October 19, 1893). Presbyterian missionary to China; born near Ovid, New York; educated at Union College, Schenectady, New York, and Princeton Theological Seminary (New Jersey); worked at Ning-po (now Ning-hsien) 1854-59, Hang-chow 1859, in Shan-tung Province 1861-64, 1871-93; in Japan 1859-61, in America 1864-68; developed Nevius Methods. Works include China and the Chinese; The Planting and Development of Missionary Churches.
H. S. C. Nevius, The Life of John Livingston Nevius (New York, 1895).
Source: http://www.lcms.org/ca/www/cyclopedia/02/display.asp?t1=N&word=NEVIUS.JOHNLIVINGSTON
Nevius Methods
Plan for missions work developed by J. L. Nevius; successfully used first in Korea; aims to establish self-propagating, self-supporting, self-governing indigenous churches from the beginning. The methods have been summarized:
1. Let everyone stay in his calling and be an individual worker for Christ in his neighborhood, supporting himself by his trade.
2. Develop organization only as far as the native church can handle it.
3. Use the best qualified natives for evangelistic work.
4. Natives provide their own church building in harmony with native architecture and economic standards.
Nevius emphasized extensive travel by missionaries, personal evangelism by all church members, systematic Bible studies, strict discipline, cooperation and union with other churches, noninterference in lawsuits.
C. A. Clark, The Nevius Plan for Mission Work, Illustrated in Korea (Seoul, Korea, 1937); W. J. Kang, “The Nevius Methods: A Study and an Appraisal of Indigenous Mission Methods,” CTM, XXXIV (1963), 335–342. Mission.
Source: http://www.lcms.org/ca/www/cyclopedia/02/display.asp?t1=n&word=NEVIUSMETHODS
- Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions states:
John Livingston Nevius
(1829-1893) American Presbyterian Church, Shandong, China. American Presbyterian missionary in China best known for the Nevius method of church planting.
Born near Ovid, New York, Nevius attended Union College, Schenectady New York, and Princeton Seminary (B.D., 1853). Called to missions while at Princeton, Nevius sailed from Boston with his wife, Helen (Coan), in September 1853 and arrived in Ningpo, China, six months later. Both were good students of the Chinese language, and in little more than a year Nevius was preaching and teaching. He and his wife spent most of their time in China in Shantung (Shandong) Province. Itineration formed a key to his missionary method. Most of each year he visited churches on horseback, encouraging, disciplining, and instructing. From June through August each year, however, between thirty and forty men would come to their home for systematic Bible study. He emphasized especially the importance of establishing self-propagating, self-governing, and self-supporting churches, Bible study, strict discipline for believers, cooperation with other Christian groups, and "general helpfulness where possible in the economic life problems of the people." He created a Manual for Inquirers, setting forth rules and regulations for believers; these were also mounted on placards in the chapels. The manual included Bible study methods, how to pray, the Apostles' Creed, and passages of Scripture to be memorized.
In 1890 Nevius was invited to explain his method to the new Presbyterian missionaries in Korea. His principles so shaped the Protestant church in Korea that much missionary work as well as local church leadership and organization follow his original design to this day.
In English Nevius wrote San-Poh (1869), China and the Chinese (1869), Methods of Mission Work (1886), and Demon Possession and Allied Themes, published in 1894 after his death. He died in Chefoo (Yantai).
Everett N. Hunt, Jr.
Bibliography
- Samuel H. Chao, John Livingstone Nevius 1829-1893: A Historical Study of His Life and Methods (1996)
- Charles Allen Clark, The Korean Church and the Nevius Methods (1937)
- Everett N. Hunt, Jr., Protestant Pioneers in Korea (1980) and "John Livingston Nevius," in Gerald H. Anderson et al, eds., Mission Legacies (1994), pp. 190-196
- Helen S.C. Nevius, The Life of John Livingston Nevius (1895); Roy E. Shearer, Wildfire: Church Growth in Korea (1966).
This article is reprinted from Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, Macmillan Reference USA, copyright (c) 1998 Gerald H. Anderson, by permission of The Gale Group; Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan. All rights reserved.
Source: http://www.bdcconline.net/bdcc_stories/china/shandong/nevius_jl.html
Additional Citations:
List of Protestant Missionaries in China - Wikipedia
- Text and Audiobooks On This Site
- The Quotable Christian states:
As a preacher, he consistently drew large crowds and led many to trust Christ. Murray endured many trials and sickness throughout his life, but these experiences gave him a deep understanding of prayer, meditation and patiently waiting upon the Lord. He would go on to write a number of classics on these subjects, which remain popular to this day.
Murray and his wife, Emma, were hospitable and opened their home to many. When revival came to South Africa, he almost quenched it because he was concerned that emotionalism would prevail and cause chaos. But he soon learned that God was doing a similar work, as He was in America.
Murray would also serve as the first president of the YMCA (Young Men's Christian Fellowship). His books include The Prayer Life, The Deeper Christian Life, and Abide in Christ.
Source: http://www.pietyhilldesign.com/gcq/biopages/murray.html
- The Christian Classics Ethereal Library states:
He was one of the chief promoters of the call to missions in South Africa. This led to the Dutch Reformed Church missions to blacks in the Transvaal and Malawi. Apart from his evangelistic tours in South Africa, he spoke at the Keswick and Northfield Conventions in 1895, making a great impression. upon his British and American audiences. For his contribution to world missions he was given an honorary doctorate by the universities of Aberdeen (1898) and Cape of Good Hope(1907).
Murray is best known today for his devotional writings, which place great emphasis on the need for a rich, personal devotional life. Many of his 240 publications explain in how he saw this devotion and its outworking in the life of the Christian. Several of his books have become devotional classics. Among these are Abide in Christ, Absolute Surrender, With Christ in the School of Prayer, The Spirit of Christ and Waiting on God.
Source: http://www.ccel.org/m/murray
- Christianity Today states:
Andrew Murray, Enter Page Title Hereone of 131 Christians Everyone Should Know. Leading student in Christ's school of prayer. Quote: "May not a single moment of my life be spent outside the light, love, and joy of God's presence."
As a young man, Andrew Murray wanted to be a minister, but it was a career choice rather than an act of faith. Not until he had finished his general studies and begun his theological training, in the Netherlands, did he experience a conversion of heart. In a letter to his parents, Murray wrote, "Your son has been born again. ... I have cast myself on Christ."
This "casting of the self" became Murray's life theme. Sixty years of ministry in the Dutch Reformed Church of South Africa, more than 200 books and tracts on Christian spirituality and ministry, extensive social work, and the founding of educational institutions—all these were outward signs of the inward grace that Murray experienced by continually casting himself on Christ.
"May not a single moment of my life be spent outside the light, love, and joy of God's presence," was his prayer. "And not a moment without the entire surrender of myself as a vessel for him to fill full of his Spirit and his love."
School of Prayer
At age 21, Murray received his first appointment as the only minister in the Orange River Sovereignty, a 50,000-square-mile territory in remote South Africa. Constant travel to distant parishes and outreach to the unevangelized soon depleted his strength. A bout of illness so weakened him, he was forced to return to England for rest.
When he returned to South Africa, he took a position in Worcester, where he became involved with the newly opened Theological Seminary of Stellenbosch. His passion for Christian education prompted him to found a succession of institutions, such as the Bible and Prayer Union (which encouraged Bible study and prayer) and the Huguenot Seminary, where young women could prepare for educational work.
From Worcester, Murray accepted a more prestigious preaching position in Cape Town and then, seven years later, the pastorate of a church in Wellington, a more rural parish. Here Murray honed his preaching skills and led a holiness revival (historian Walter Hollenweger considers Murray a forerunner of Pentecostalism). Through his preaching and writing, Murray slowly became an international figure.
Murray wrote to interpret the Scriptures in such a way that Christians were free to believe and experience the grace of God. He believed that God had done everything necessary for people to live rich, productive, meaningful lives that participated in the life of God. The obstacles to such lives included half-hearted surrender to God, a lack of confidence in the anointing of the Spirit, and a deep-rooted skepticism about the power of prayer.
One of his most popular books, With Christ in the School of Prayer, takes New Testament teachings about prayer and illumines them in 31 "lessons" designed to help the reader move past shallow, ineffectual prayer into a fuller understanding of the work God has called them to do. According to Murray, the church does not realize that "God rules the world by the prayers of his saints, that prayer is the power by which Satan is conquered, that by prayer the church on earth has disposal of the powers of the heavenly world."
He strove to align his spiritual insights with his Reformed theology, but he was accused by Reformed critics of teaching free will and that God wills the redemption of all.
In the face of criticism, though, Murray insisted that the believer can expect to receive the fullness of the Spirit. As Murray put it, "I must be filled; it is absolutely necessary. I may be filled; God has made it blessedly possible. I would be filled; it is eminently desirable. I will be filled; it is so blessedly certain."
Source: http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/special/131christians/murray.html
- GloryOfHisCross.org states regarding the South African Revival of 1860:
For some years, Rev. Andrew Murray, Sr., longed and prayed for revival in South Africa. Every Friday night he spent several hours in prayer. The revivals of 1858 in the United States and 1859 in Northern Ireland were reported in the Dutch Reformed journals. A little book on "The Power of Prayer" was published. Individuals and prayer groups in various places across South Africa began to pray specifically for revival.
In April 1860, a conference attended by 374 was convened at Worcester, South Africa. Representatives of twenty congregations-sixteen Dutch Reformed, plus Methodist and Presbyterian gathered. The main topic was revival. Andrew Murray, Sr., was moved to tears and. had to stop speaking. His son, Andrew Murray, Jr., prayed with such power that some say the conference marked the beginning of the revival.
Fifty days after the Worcester conference, revival fires began to burn. In Montague, near Worcester, a prayer revival began in the Methodist church. Prayer meetings were held every night and on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, sometimes as early as 3:00 A.M. People who had never prayed before began to pray. One evening God anointed a young girl to pray. Young and old began to cry to God for mercy and continued until midnight. As Dutch Reformed people left their prayer meetings, they crowded into the Methodist church.
For weeks, the village of Montague experienced great conviction of sin. Strongmen cried to God in anguish. Six prayer meetings were going on throughout the village. The report reached Worcester, and prayer meetings began there as well. Whole families, both European and native African, were humbled before God.
"One day I was talking with a missionary," writes Andrew Murray, "and he said to me, 'Brother, remember that when God puts a desire into your heart, He will fulfill it.' That helped me; I thought of it a hundred times. I want to say the same to you who are plunging about and struggling in the quagmire of helplessness and doubt. The desire that God puts into your heart He will fulfill.
"If any are saying that God has not a place for them, let them trust God, and wait, and He will help you and show you what is your place.
"I have learnt to place myself before God every day, as a vessel to be filled with His Holy Spirit. He has filled me with the blessed assurance that He, as the everlasting God, has guaranteed His work in me. If there is one lesson that I am learning day by day, it is this; that it is God who worketh all in all. Oh, that I could help any brother or sister to realize this!"
One of four children born to Andrew, Sr. and Maria Murray, Andrew Murray was raised in what was considered then the most remote corner of the world - Graaff-Reinet (near the Cape), South Africa. It was here, after his formal education in Scotland and three years of theological study in college in Holland, that Andrew Murray returned as a missionary and minister.
Murray's first appointment was to Bloemfontein, a remote and unattractive territory of nearly 50,000 square miles and 12,000 people beyond the Orange River. Even at this early stage of ministry, he already showed signs of becoming a noted author. The "deeper Christian life" was a favorite subject for Murray. He told how God was committed to revealing more of Himself to those who would seek Him.
As a preacher, he consistently drew large crowds and led many to trust Christ as their Savior. But Murray's life was not without testing. As a young man, an enduring sickness left him weak and exhausted. Later at the prime of his ministry, a severe illness resulted in his absence from the pulpit for two years. But God used each trial to remove all that hindered his devotion to Christ.
Murray wrote, "That awful pride and self complacency which have hither to ruled in my heart." He fought an insidious battle with pride, but God had the victory.
"I had never learnt with all my theology that obedience was possible," writes Murray. "My justification was as clear as noonday. I knew the hour in which I received from God the joy of pardon. I remember in my little room at Bloemfontein how I used to sit and think, What is the matter? Here I am, knowing that God has justified me in the blood of Christ, but I have no power for service. My thoughts, my words, my actions, my unfaithfulness - everything troubled me."
Murray's daughter wrote of her father, "It was after the 'time of silence' [in sickness] when God came so near to father and he saw more clearly the meaning of a life of full surrender and simple faith. He began to show in all relationships that constant tenderness and unruffled lovingkindness and unselfish thought for others which increasingly characterized his life from that point. At the same time he lost nothing of his strength and determination."
When revival came to Cape Town, Andrew Murray was hesitant. He didn't want to be swept away in the heart of emotion. But Murray quickly realized that God was working in South Africa the same way He was in America. The result was an even deeper knowledge of the things of God.
He writes in The Secret Of Adoration, "Take time. Give God time to reveal Himself to you. Give yourself time to be silent and quiet before Him, waiting to receive, through the Spirit, the assurance of His presence with you, His power working in you.
"Take time to read His Word as in His presence, that from it you may know what He asks of you and what He promises you. Let the Word create around you, create within you a holy atmosphere, a holy heavenly light, in which your soul will be refreshed and strengthened for the work of daily life."
Friends share how the Murray home was always filled with activity. He and his wife, Emma, had nine children, and there was an endless stream of visitors and friends. In 1873, Andrew helped to establish the Huguenot Seminary, a school where young women could be trained for educational work. Girls from all over the country began arriving. When classes opened, the building was too small for all who had enrolled and a wing had to be added.
He also served as the first president of the Young Men's Christian Fellowship (YMCA). Not only was he the author of over 240 books, he was also a man of great prayer. Through his private devotion with the Savior, he learned that laughter and fellowship were two of life's most important activities.
He often prayed, "May not a single moment of my life be spent outside the light, love, and joy of God's presence and may not a moment without the entire surrender of my self as a vessel for Him to fill full of His Spirit and His love."
Abiding in Christ was the cornerstone to Andrew Murray's life and ministry. He writes: "Abide in Jesus: your life in Him will lead you to that fellowship with God in which the only true knowledge of God is to be had. His love, His power, His infinite glory will, as you abide in Jesus, be so revealed as it hath not entered into the heart of man to conceive .
THUNDER FROM HEAVEN
One Sunday evening, during the youth fellowship meeting, an African servant girl arose and asked permission to sing a verse and pray. The Holy Spirit fell upon the group and she prayed. In the distance, there came a sound like approaching thunder. It surrounded the hall, and the building began to shake. Instantly everyone burst into prayer. The assistant minister knelt at the table.
Andrew Murray had been speaking in the main sanctuary to the service there. He was notified and came running. Murray called in aloud voice, "I am your minister, sent from God. Silence!"' No one noticed as all continued calling out loudly to God for forgiveness. Murray asked his assistant to sing a hymn, but the praying continued undiminished.
All week long, the prayer meetings were held. Each service began with profound silence. "But as soon as several prayers had arisen the place was shaken as before and the whole company of people engaged in simultaneous petition to the throne of grace." The meetings often continued until 3:00 A.M., and as the people reluctantly dispersed, they went singing their way down the streets.
Services were moved to a larger building because of the crowds. On Saturday, Andrew Murray led the prayer meeting, preaching from the Bible. He prayed and then invited others to do so. Again, the mysterious sound of thunder approached from a distance, coming nearer until it enveloped the building. Everyone broke out in simultaneous prayer.
Murray walked up and down the aisle trying to quiet the people, but a stranger in the service tiptoed up to him and whispered, "Be careful what you do, for it is the Spirit of God that is at work here." Murray learned to accept the revival praying. As many as twenty found the Lord in one service. Mrs. Murray wrote, "We do feel and realize the power and presence of God so mightily. His Spirit is indeed poured out on us.”
The South African revival then scattered like buckshot and spread to other areas. One pastor reported something of “the glory of the church in the first century”. Prayer meetings multiplied. Many Christians met each week in prayer groups of three to four. Some churches could not hold all who came to worship. Spiritual awakening came to places up to two hundred miles away.
Source: http://www.gloryofhiscross.org/revive7.htm
- The Eagle and Child
- Wikipedia
- The YMCA