Notes 16-18 - Brother Dong's Claims of Leadership vs. Brother Lee's Fellowship
16Brother Lee Tells Dong Yu Lan He Is Not the "Overseer" of the Churches
Witness Lee, Fellowship with Dong Yu Lan and others, July 7, 1991:
Do not give people an impression that you are the overseer of the churches in Brazil and Argentina; they have to ask your permission in everything.
17Claim of Apostleship
Pedro Dong, São Paulo Regional Service Brothers Meeting, October 2, 2005:
Number one, what is the Daily Food? What do you see as the Daily Food? How do you see the Daily Food? The Daily Food, saints, is a letter of the apostle who takes care of you, isn't it? He takes care of the churches. He sends this letter to the churches which he cares for, as Paul sends a letter to Thessalonica. And this letter is for the good of the saints in Thessalonica. In other words, this is a letter of a living apostle, a living apostle.
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A co-worker of Dong Yu Lan, Message given in Nova Iguaçu, Brazil, September 26, 2008:
The brothers who want to keep fellowship with the Apostle, we are going to consider as the church...
Statement from Fernando Monte-Serrat, October 26, 2007:
Although in the beginning Brother Dong used to say that he was not a worker, that he didn't know how to speak and how to work, and that he went to Brazil as a businessman, today he preaches that he was sent by Brother Lee to do the work in South America. This claim is used to strengthen his authority as the "apostle" in South America. I have seen a considerable change in his person, in his acts, and in his discourse over the years.
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Letter from the church in Ambato, October 24, 2007:
Brother Jorge Navas also said that Andrew Yu had cancer because he didn't want to sign a letter recognizing Brother Dong as the apostle assigned by Brother Lee for South America.
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An invitation to a conference in Rosario, Argentina, June 14-15, 2008, refers to Brother Dong as "the Director of Editora Árvore da Vida and international conference speaker, the apostle Dong Yu Lan."
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This kind of promotion is contrary to the principles established in the work by Brother Nee and Brother Lee. Concerning Paul's word in Colossians 3:3 that our life "is hidden with Christ in God," Brother Lee said:
This shows that we should try to hide ourselves, not advertise ourselves. Today many in fallen Christianity put pictures of certain persons who minister the Word in the newspapers to advertise them. That is not a glory but a shame. That is something of worldly religion. We should not have our names advertised in the paper. Once when someone put up a sign advertising that I would speak in a certain place, I charged him to take that sign down or I would not speak. The Lord Jesus never advertised Himself. Instead, He always tried to keep Himself hidden. ( Christ as the Content of the Church and the Church as the Expression of Christ , p. 51)
18"Father" of the Churches
Pedro Dong, Salomon Ma, and Helcio Almeida, " Letter Sent by Brother Dong Yu Lan," December 13, 2004 (sent as a response to the Ambato brothers' decision to follow the ministry of the age):
Some Brothers from Ambato—Rodrigo López, Fernando Mendieta and Waldemar Quintero—with influence from abroad disregard all that the spirit has accomplished in these years and propagate death saying that they have the freedom to receive other ministries, thus rejecting and disregarding God's delegated authority, the one who has cared for the region as a Father.
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The allegation of "influence from abroad" is without basis. It is typical of Brother Dong's workers to meet any decision not to follow Brother Dong's work with accusations. In fact, the brothers in Ambato merely declared their intention to receive the general ministry in the Lord's recovery and not to follow Brother Dong's regional and divisive work.
