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Title: China – Christian Assembly of Sydney – Little Flock Refugee Review Tribunal AUSTRALIA RRT RESEARCH RESPONSE Research Response Number: CHN31627 Country: China Date: 19 April 2007 Keywords: China – Christian Assembly of Sydney – Little Flock This response was prepared by the Country Research Section of the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the RRT within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Questions 1. Please give me information about Christian Assembly of Sydney. Particularly interested in specific beliefs and how they are different from other Christian beliefs/churches that are tolerated in China. 2. Is it linked to First Family Church in China? 3. Is First Family Church in China banned? RESPONSE 1. Please give me information about Christian Assembly of Sydney. Particularly interested in specific beliefs and how they are different from other Christian beliefs/churches that are tolerated in China. No detailed information was found in the sources consulted regarding the specific beliefs of the Christian Assembly of Sydney. The Chairman of the Christian Assembly of Sydney stated in a conversation with a Tribunal Member that the Christian Assembly of Sydney is in the tradition of Watchman Nee and the Brother Movement. Watchman Nee, strongly influenced by the Brethren Movement, founded the Christian Assembly in China (also known as the Little Flock) in 1922. The Christian Assembly in China is a non-denominational religion, influenced by evangelism and with a strong history of itinerant preaching. Sources suggest that the most distinctive feature of the church is its rejection of hierarchal and centralised authority and the strong belief in the localised independence of churches free from external interference. Despite strong government opposition the Little Flock church continues to operate as an underground or house church movement in China. The website for the Christian Assembly of Sydney was not accessible and an archive search of the website provided very limited theological and administrative information. The church provides the following “Statement of Faith” on their website (‘Statement of Faith of the Christian Assembly of Sydney’ (undated), Christian Assembly website, Accessed through Internet Archive website http://web.archive.org/web/20040606132957/www.christianassembly.com.au/aboutus.htm – Accessed 12 April 2007 – Attachment 1). The Chairman of the Christian Assembly of Sydney was contacted in August 2006 by a Tribunal Member. The Chairman stated that the Christian Assembly of Sydney was based on the tradition of the Brotherhood Movement and the work of Watchman Nee (Ni Tuosheng). The Chairman also stated that the Christian Assembly is an illegal church in China: Following the hearing, the Tribunal made contact with the Chairman of the applicants’ church and arranged to take oral evidence from him on 4 August 2006. He outlined the main theological beliefs of his church and explained that the church was in the tradition of a church called the “Brother Movement” which had its roots in Europe about 200 years ago, and of the work in China in the 1920s by a man known as “Watchman Nee.” The Tribunal asked if his church was in the same tradition as the “Shouters” church in China, a church which it understands to be particularly at risk in China, but he distinguished his church from the Shouters. He said that the movement was “very pure” in the beginning but, after the Communist takeover of China, the Shouters came under other influences. In 1956, all the leaders of the Christian Assembly were arrested on one day. Some Christians went overseas, but the Assembly split into various groups in the 1970s. He said that the Shouters come from the same tradition as his church but he said that they had split and “we regard them as taking the wrong path.” The Chairman also explained his church’s attitude to baptism. The Tribunal asked if he was aware of any members of his church who have had difficulties in other countries because of their religion. He said there were three “old people” who had been imprisoned for twenty years in China. Among the younger people in his congregation there would be “not many” such people …The Tribunal asked the chairman if people of his religious beliefs are able to practise their religion openly in China. He said he believed such people do hold illegal religious gatherings in China. He said they can attend the approved “Three self” church if they wish to. However, if they wish to keep the name “Christian Assembly,” then it is illegal (RRT decision 060463473 of 5 September 2006 – Attachment 2). Watchman Nee founded the Christian Assembly in China in 1922. The Christian Assembly is also widely referred to as the Little Flock: An urban-based group founded in Fuzhou, it was led by Watchman Nee (1903-1972)… The correct name of this group is the Christian Assembly, derived from the understanding that Christians had a place where they worshipped God, but were without a church which was understood to be a human institution (Wickeri, Philip L. 1990, ‘Rejection from the Right’, Maryknoll, New York, pp.156-165 – Attachment 3). Joseph Lee in his article Watchman Nee and the Little Flock Movement in Maoist China describes how the Christian Assembly or Little Flock was influenced by evangelical Christianity and the teachings of the Brethren Movement. The Brethren movement was an English sectarian movement which advocated localised and independent churches free from hierarchical influence. Sources state that this egalitarian notion of highly autonomous local churches became a defining feature of the Chinese Christian Assembly: The Christian Assembly originated from the teaching and ministry of Watchman Nee (1903- 72), who was probably the most influential Chinese Protestant preacher in the early twentieth century. …At the age of 17, he gave up pursuing a teaching, medical, or business career and decided to become a full-time evangelist… In 1922, he and the two Wang brothers (Wang Zai and Wang Lianjun)… launched the Christian Assembly in Fuzhou and nearby villages. In 1923, he went to study Christian doctrines with Margaret E. Barber… Barber, after being influenced by the Brethren Movement, returned to China to found a Bible school southeast of Fuzhou. The Brethren Movement (or the Plymouth Brethren) was a sectarian movement in early- nineteenth-century England that sought to recapture the outlook and beliefs of the New Testament church. …Rejecting priestly hierarchy, they believed in the “priesthood of all believers.” …Overall, what distinguishes the Brethren from other denominations is the absence of church government beyond the local church. Unconstrained by a hierarchy or centralized organization, local churches were free to adapt the Christian message to contemporary needs and the local situations (Lee, J. 2005, ‘Watchman Nee and the Little Flock Movement in Maoist China’, Church History, Vol.74, No.1, 1 March – Attachment 4). Joseph Lee states that under the influence of Brethren ideas Watchman Nee established a fully independent nation wide Christian movement. This movement advocated notions non- hierarchical, non-denominational local church assemblies free from external interference. The desire for autonomy was partially inspired by a wish to free Chinese churches from the influence of foreign missionaries: Dissatisfied with the hierarchy that he saw in the Catholic Church and most of the Protestant denominations in China, he rejected the pastoral office partly because he felt that the office of the priesthood obstructed believers’ communion with the Christian God and contradicted the biblical teaching that all God’s people were priests, and partly because it kept ordinary Christians from service within the church. His rejection of the pastoral office also stemmed from the context of Western imperialism in China. For decades, Chinese pastors served as extensions of Christian missionary enterprises. They were employed by foreign mission societies. Many of the Chinese denominational churches reflected this dependent relationship of local workers on foreign missionaries. Therefore, Nee urged Chinese Christians to develop strong lay leaders and to break away from their dependence on foreign missionary enterprises for doctrinal instruction and administrative support. Other features that distinguished Watchman Nee from other Protestant denominations were his antagonism towards denominational affiliation and his emphasis on the church as a local entity. To Watchman Nee, the most vivid expression of Christian community was the local church (difang jiaohui) or local assembly (difang juhuisuo)… Strongly in favor of autonomous and independent local churches, he maintained that there should be “one church in one locality… A church should not represent an area smaller or larger than a city and, therefore, its jurisdiction should correspond with administrative limits of a city. …As Grace Y. May points out, “The empowerment of the laity was the backbone of the [Christian] Assembly and the goal of his [Watchman Nee’s] ministry. Unlike denominational churches, which were clergy centered, the Assembly was clearly a ministry by and for the people.” Evidently, the Little Flock not only represented a growth of consciousness among significant numbers of the Chinese Protestant population, but also redefined the power relations between Chinese converts and their missionary patrons over the issue of church management (Lee, J. 2005 ‘Watchman Nee and the Little Flock Movement in Maoist China’, Church History, Vol.74, No.1, 1 March – Attachment 4). Sources describe how the Christian Assembly or Little Flock used itinerant preachers, known as Apostles to disseminate their religion. These Apostles travelled throughout China proselytising and establishing churches. This led to the growth of Little Flock churches and practitioners throughout China. By 1949 the Little Flock had developed into a nationwide movement: The apostles travelled frequently, preached the Christian message, founded churches in different localities, trained elders and church leaders, and decided doctrinal matters.
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