Rom. 16:17 - Now I exhort you, brothers, to mark those who make divisions and causes of stumbling contrary to the teaching which you have learned, and turn away from them.

2 Tim. 2:25 - In meekness correcting those who oppose, if perhaps God may give them repentance unto the full knowledge of the truth.

Notes 125-126, 128-130 - Making Following Brother Dong the Ground of the Church

125Measuring the Standing of a Church by Its Oneness with Brother Dong

" The Orientations of Brother Dong, to Be Put in Effect Now, through His Son Andre," July 16, 2007:

Pass it to the faithful brothers. This is what brother Dong sees.

Travel to the south to visit the churches. We need to let the churches know that the ones from Laodicea left the position of Philadelphia. They were the ones that left...

We told them [the saints who did not follow the leading ones in the churches to depart from Brother Dong's work]: You didn't leave. You should continue breaking the bread, even if the rebels continue to do it at the same time.

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Letter from the church in Ambato, October 24, 2007:

A division was caused directly by Brother Dong in Ambato. When the church in Ambato made the decision to follow the ministry of the age, Brother Dong came to this city and did not seek fellowship with the responsible brothers. Instead, he held a conference in a denomination called "El Pan de Vida" ("The Bread of Life"). Ten saints from the church in Ambato attended the conference. Brother Dong told them that the church in Ambato had become a sect because they had left the apostle's orientation and, therefore, they (the ten saints from Ambato who attended his conference) were then the church and could meet to break bread. Now there is a group of brothers in Ambato who follow Brother Dong's orientation.

... In that same year [2004], the saints of the church in Guayaquil were told that all those who are not one with the apostle's orientation have to leave the meeting hall.

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Letter from Walter Ortiz, October 29, 2007, concerning a letter sent to the churches in Argentina telling them not to receive Walter:

I remember that it read: Do not receive Brother Walter Ortiz because he has another orientation and may cause confusion.

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Ezra Ma, Serving Brothers Meeting in Cochabamba, Bolivia, August 2004:

In a meeting at Estancia the co-workers for all the countries decided that the brothers could read the Morning Revival, but as for the orientation of the church we are going to continue the use of the Daily Food. Many of the co-workers read the Morning Revival privately in their homes, but concerning the orientation of the churches in South America we will continue to use the Daily Food.

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Salomon Ma, e-mail to Brazilian co-workers, December 23, 2008, concerning the Portuguese Recovery Version:

As I have said, the orientation for all the responsible brothers in the churches in region 1 is simply to ignore the matter and not to promote the product anywhere. In general, the saints are not interested in this matter, they do not even ask about it.

Cesar Menegucci, e-mail to the Portuguese-speaking saints in the New England area, December 4, 2007:

If you cannot come in this Sunday, pray and do one's best to come in December 16, Monday, when we will have important orientations to give to all Portuguese speaking brothers.

Ulisses Jardim, Perfecting Meeting in São Paulo, Brazil, May 30, 2008:

The elders must learn. We have to learn to listen in order to receive the orientation of the apostles; this is a blessing for us. When I am submissive to the speaking of the apostles, I am under the blessing. Oh, what a great blessing, brothers! If I think I know more than the apostle, what will happen? You have seen it here where one is pointing to another direction.... We have to receive the orientation of the apostles. The apostles have the responsibility of the work; it was entrusted to them, brothers. God gave this to them. And the elders have the responsibility of the church.

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Brother Dong and his co-workers have made being one with him and his leadership a condition of participating in bearing responsibility and even fellowshipping in the churches:

Letter from Walter Ortiz, October 29, 2007:

While visiting some of the churches [in Argentina] during the week of the trip [in 2002], we discovered that an e-mail was sent to all the churches in Argentina, from a brother named Mario, a doctor, charging the churches not to receive me. I remember that it read: Do not receive Brother Walter Ortiz because he has another orientation and may cause confusion. Of course, Eduardo realized that this was not right, and he planned to let Brother Dong know about this matter so that he could correct it. He was expecting Brother Dong to correct the situation at the International Training for Elders and Responsible Ones (ITERO) that was going to be held in Brazil that fall. When he got there, he was surprised that Brother Dong did not allow him to enter into the South American co-workers' meetings, alleging that Brother Eduardo was not one soul with him.

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Letter from Valdemar Quintero, Rodrigo López, Luis Chango, and Rodrigo Escudero, October 24, 2007:

In 2003 responsible brothers were designated for the churches in Ecuador. Brothers who had not been meeting in the church in Ambato, including one brother who had been out of the country for five years, were designated as responsible brothers because they were "one with the apostle."

Testimony of David Franco, June 18, 2008:

It became almost compulsory for the saints in the church in São Paulo to read Brother Dong's Booklet Daily Food. The saints were expected to purchase it for every family member. Often the saints bought this book just to avoid problems.The majority of the responsible brothers did not agree with that situation. By this reason they were considered as "rebellious" and "those who were not one with the Apostle." Every time any brother was going to share any message they were obligated to share based on the Daily Food. Those words were considered by them to be the present truth of the Lord's recovery. For a while several saints in the lead shared in the meetings using the general topic in the Daily Food, but basing the content of the speaking on the Life-studies and some of Brother Lee's other books that were completely according to the apostles' teaching. This once again led Brother Dong and his workers to consider us as "rebellious against the Apostle." ...

In that same year, 2005, I was called by Brother Andrew Dong and another coworkers of Brother Dong on behalf of Peter Dong to a meeting. In this particular meeting, they wanted to talk to me about Brother Dong. They said to me, "David, I know you traveled to the USA. Are you speaking something to them not good about us?" I said no. One of Brother Dong´s coworkers told me "I am 100% one with Brother Dong. Whatever he says, I agree!" They told me if I was going to be a worker or an elder I had "to be 100% one with Brother Dong." If I was not able to do this, they said it was better for me to resign as Brother Dong's co-worker and as an elder in the church. (Note: These same conditions have also been imposed on many other brothers in Brazil, conditions for them to be in the work or in the lead in their church, but also as a condition for them to be in the meetings of the church.) At that moment I realized that the ground of the church in São Paulo had been changed by them because they made absolute submission to one person—"the Apostle"—a requirement for the oneness. I told them that I could not do this regarding anyone except the Lord Himself.

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126Leaving Brother Dong's "Orientation" Is to Lose the Ground

Letter from the church in Ambato, Ecuador, October 24, 2007:

Brother Dong's followers taught in the churches in Ecuador that leaving the apostle's orientation equals losing the ground of the church and, therefore, becoming a sect.

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Notes on a message given by a co-worker of Brother Dong in Nova Iguaçu, Brazil, on September 26, 2006:

The brothers who want to keep fellowship with the Apostle [brother Dong Yu Lan], we are going to consider as church.

Letter from the church in Guayaquil, Ecuador, February 2, 2005:

Brothers, on January 30th, in fellowship with the brothers in charge of the work in Ecuador and the responsible brothers of the Church in Guayaquil, brothers Jose Bermeo, Luis Maldonado and Stalyn Martinez manifested before us their free will to separate from the spiritual orientation of brother Dong Yu Lan, the orientation that the church in Guayaquil has followed since its beginning. For this reason, the ones who sign the present document, with delegated authority, announce that:

  1. We reject the attitude of these brothers.
  2. They are temporarily excluded from the fellowship of the church

Because of this we ask the saints:

  • That all would abstain from having fellowship with them so that you are not affected by their attitude.
  • To pray for their repentance.
  • To keep ourselves in subjection and fellowship with the brothers whom the Lord put to lead the church, maintaining fellowship with those that practice the church life under the leadership of the responsible brothers, national coworkers and coworkers for all of South America.

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In a letter from the church in Lima, Peru, dated, October 16, 2004, Brother Andres Capillo and Adrian Matta related how Brother Dong directed brothers to start a new meeting after Pedro Dong had told the leading ones that Brother Dong would not come to their city because they were not one with his ministry.

" The Orientations of Brother Dong, to Be Put into Effect Now, through His Son Andre," July 19, 2007:

Travel to the south to visit the churches. We need to let the churches know that the ones from Laodicea left the position of Philadelphia. They were the ones that left.

For instance, there were 50 saints in the church in Diadema, Brasil. One day the leaders were affected and without consulting the church decided unilaterally to follow what they call "the ministry of the age" separating themselves from brother Dong's ministry. Twenty-five brothers didn't agree with the decision. They continue going to the prayer meetings, ministry meetings, but they didn't have any enjoyment; they were just suffering. The positive brothers wanted to continue to meet because of the meeting hall, but the rebellious leaders changed the lock. What did the positive brothers do then? They simply met somewhere else. This doesn't mean that the positive saints left, because they remained along the same line of Philadelphia.

We told them: You didn't leave. You should continue breaking the bread, even if the rebels continue to do it at the same time. That's their problem with the Lord. The meeting hall matter is a matter of a physical building and not a spiritual one.

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E-mail from André Dong to Marcos Bastias, July 25, 2007:

The facts prove that Juan rebelled against Brother Dong. If you say differently, then, why are you having a conference in Victoria with some Americans? Why are so many going to that conference and not to Brother Dong's conference? Even you are going to that conference. He who follows the rebel becomes a rebel and the church also becomes rebellious. How could a rebellious church take on the sacred and pure testimony of our Lord Jesus Christ? What is your basis to carry on the oneness of God's sons? Is it division? What kind of table is this? It's an unclean breaking of the bread because it's done out of sectarianism, division. They went after deception and closed themselves to themselves [lit.]. However, the Lord has reserved for Himself those who belong to Him in each locality. They don't want to follow the rebellious leaders. They want to go on. They are the legitimate witnesses in taking the testimony of oneness in each city, because they are pure and simple; they want to live in their spirit and practice the Lord's move, which is to preach the gospel to the uttermost part of the earth. They are the qualified ones to break bread.

128Those Who Follow Brother Dong Are "Firm on the Ground"

" Letter sent by Brother Dong Yu Lan," signed by Pedro Dong, Salomon Ma, and Helcio Almeida, December 13, 2004:

Brother Dong annuls the action that these brothers made in the name of the church in Ambato. They personally have the freedom to do what they think is right, but not in the name of the church. The Brothers who are clear and pure regarding this matter should remain firm on the ground of the church and in the leading of the Spirit, continuing in oneness with the rest of the country's churches.

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129Those Who Leave Brother Dong Are in Rebellion and Lose the Ground

Letter from the church in Ambato, Ecuador, October 24, 2007:

A division was caused directly by Brother Dong in Ambato, Ecuador. When the church in Ambato made the decision to follow the ministry of the age, Brother Dong came to this city and did not seek fellowship with the responsible brothers. Instead, he held a conference in a denomination called "El Pan de Vida" ("The Bread of Life"). Ten saints from the church in Ambato attended the conference. Brother Dong told them that the church in Ambato had become a sect because they had left the apostle's orientation and, therefore, they (the ten saints from Ambato who attended his conference) were then the church and could meet to break bread. Now there is a group of brothers in Ambato who follow Brother Dong's orientation....

Brother Dong's followers taught in the churches in Ecuador that leaving the apostle's orientation equals losing the ground of the church and, therefore, becoming a sect.

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Brother Dong has also taught that a church can lose the ground if it does not bear sufficient fruit. In London, Canada, on October 14, 2007, speaking in the context of the churches in Central America and the Caribbean, Brother Dong said:

Suppose there are some churches in those places that have been illustrated by brother Lee as an old hen in the nest, and this old hen doesn't lay eggs... Suppose there is a church there. So the brothers in the United States tell them, "No, you're the church there. You're the church." So they are on the ground of the church there and there are eight people meeting there. So they are the church, okay, they are the church. But those eight people after five and ten years they are still eight people; they don't increase in number. We have the burden to establish the churches, so then we also will raise up a church in that place where they don't lay eggs. So if you don't lay eggs, you lose the ground of the church there.

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Brother Dong's teaching is a distortion of Brother Lee's fellowship in the elder's training. Brother Lee's illustration was not regarding churches but regarding leading brothers. His point was that the leading ones in a church should be burdened to bring the church into fruitfulness ( Elders' Training, Book 3: The Way to Carry Out the Vision , pp. 115-116). Brother Dong's teaching is not according to the truth. As the brothers from Central America and the Caribbean correctly pointed out in their letter of warning:

According to the Bible and our longstanding practice in the Lord's recovery, the ground of the church is a matter of standing, not of condition.

We need to make a clear distinction between the condition of the church and the ground of the church. The church may be correct in its ground, but poor in its condition. Of course, we look to the Lord that we may be right in both ground and condition. However, the decision concerning recognizing a church must not be made according to condition, but according to the ground. This is the way to discern what the proper church is. (Witness Lee, Young People's Training , p. 198)

130Establishment of a Second "Church" Justified Based on the Pretext of Maintaining "Fellowship with the Apostle"

Notes on a message given by a co-worker of Brother Dong in Nova Iguaçu, Brazil, September 26, 2006:

The brothers who want to keep fellowship with the Apostle, we are going to consider as the church.

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