The reason I posted this piece was because the first paragraph has been my experience. The second paragraph would stand to reason also, though I have never gone to a meetings of The Local Church.
First, Watchman Nee is [Witness] Lee's claim to legitimacy. Lee can sound superficially like Nee, until your read Nee himself. But beware of reading material sold in a Living Stream Ministry outlet at a "local church" purported to be written by Nee. A few of the books under his name cannot be found at a Christian bookstore, and when I read them, I found the style and intellectual level wholly unlike Nee's other writings, but very much transcripts of Lee's sermons published as books [by humans trying to translate but lacking in spirituality]. Perhaps a priest with a background in textual analysis can shed more light in this.
Second, resemblance to Brethren denominations is probably superficial. Congregants are not allowed to speak freely in meetings. If they did, they would be told to sit down and shut up. Lee devotees are reminded to restrict their words to material published by the Living Stream Ministry (ie, the word of Lee) and are specifically prohibited from ever giving their own thoughts or opinions. People are encouraged to make their "testimony" sound genuine with examples from their daily lives. They are also encouraged to give public, detailed, and lurid confessions of sin. That's it. [sounds like boot camp]
Anonymous
Troy Brooks