The literature review finds that both Anglophone and Chinese scholars working on Watchman Nee’s thoughts attempt to read and analyze his writing through a systematic theological perspective. Generally, those research results identify two theological emphases in Nee’s teaching: the “spiritual man” and the “local church.” Corresponding approaches could be concluded as one from an anthropological and another from an ecclesiological perspective.
This study attempts to read Nee’s teachings about “One locality, one church” under his ministry context. This reading finds that Nee’s ecclesiology comes from his biblical reflection on establishing independent Chinese churches and addressing church affairs in the context of his historical background. Therefore, the researcher realizes Nee’s doctrine of the church was shaped through a problem-solving reflection instead of theoretical construction thinking.
Based on Bevans’s praxis model of contextual theology, this research concludes a pattern to assess Nee’s teaching in the Chinese context. The writer contends that Nee’s teaching and practice about “One locality, one church” can be reinterpreted through this pattern. “One locality, one church,” as Nee’s intelligent and committed action after he reflected on his context, should not be viewed as a biblical principle that mandatorily works across different contexts.
Therefore, those following Nee’s teaching need to figure out why Nee took his action under his context, then apply the principle under his reflection to their new context, perhaps in a different way. Nee’s next generation followers, Xiaoshan Church leaders, show a good example when they apply the principle under Nee’s “One locality, one church” into their context, in the new way, “Life is above locality.” In this way, they kept the essence of “One locality, one church,” which is keeping the unity of the church locally to ensure the autonomy of each local church on the one hand and ensure the unity of churches in one locality on the other hand.