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The home meetings need not only to be carried out but also to be strengthened. It is not sufficient for us to have a meeting once a week for half an hour or fifty minutes according to our old method. To strengthen the home meetings is to lead the new ones to function in the meetings. In other words, it should not be we who conduct the meeting. We do not go there to lead the whole meeting from the beginning to the end. Rather, we commit the meeting to them and let them lead. In principle, we are there to strengthen them, support them, let them lead the meeting, and let them function. This is what we need to strengthen.
After meeting in a home for several weeks, we need to let the new ones actively lead the meeting instead of taking the initiative ourselves. It is not right if we always have to start the home meeting. We need to let the new ones start it and be active. This requires much skill. Once they start the meeting, they will function. Of course, this is not easy, just as cooking is not as easy as eating. It is easy to eat at a restaurant, but it is much trouble to cook. Everyone likes to take the easy way. However, neither an individual nor a family will live long by constantly eating at a restaurant. For the health and growth of the new ones, we must spend time to help them cook for themselves.
God created man with many different natural characteristics, and each one has its requirement. For example, man has the characteristic of needing to eat. If this characteristic is treated improperly, it becomes sin, but the characteristic of eating itself is not sin. Man needs to drink when he is thirsty. This is also a natural characteristic, and it is not a sin. However, to become addicted to drinking wine is a sin. This applies not only to our eating and drinking but to other things as well. Our body needs exercise, but if exercise becomes a lust, it is excessive and harms the body. According to statistics, a large number of famous athletes have died young because they overexercised and damaged their bodies. A person needs to exercise properly in order to gain the benefit from it. All this illustrates that man cannot live in contradiction to the laws created by God. Therefore, for the health and growth of the new ones, we must help them to care for the “natural law of eating” by functioning in the home meetings.
One brother testified that his father met in a denomination that practiced home meetings. Their result was that none of the homes knew how to meet. Because of this the people sat there with nothing to do and not knowing what to do. After a few meetings they stopped coming. The reason their home meetings were not successful is that in the whole of Christianity the system established from the beginning relies on big meetings. It does not require the individual saints to be able to pray, speak, testify, and function. Although many seminaries have been opened to train students of theology how to use parables and stories in sermons, none of these can meet the need of the home meetings.
According to our observation, no books of value have been published in the whole of Christianity during the last few decades, other than certain Greek and Hebrew lexicons, glossaries, and word studies. This is the case not only in the English-speaking world of Christianity but also in the Chinese-speaking Christian world, of which Hong Kong may be considered the center. There have been no books published with light on truths and the supply of life. Why are there no such publications? It is because Christianity throughout the last few centuries has been built on the foundation of opening seminaries and educating students of theology. However, these theological graduates have not gotten into the depths of the Bible.
In the past few decades since the Second World War, Christianity has not published a single book of great spiritual value. This is unlike the previous century. Beginning from 1828 when the Brethren were raised up, many spiritual books of great value were published, especially in England. However, this situation no longer exists. About sixty years ago it was very easy to buy valuable spiritual expositions of the Bible and books on the inner life, the Holy Spirit, and the church. Such books were in abundance and were available everywhere. The reason for the decline is that instead of being built up, the whole of Christianity is being organized with various traditional methods. America is entirely a traditional Christian country. There are many church buildings, and people go to Sunday services. Many people belong to a church where they gather together to sing hymns and listen to sermons. As a result, though, there is almost no one who has the concept that he needs to function in the meeting. For singing there is the music minister, for praying there is the praying minister, and for preaching there is the preaching minister. Everyone goes to the Sunday service in a relaxed way. To be sure, among them are some devout persons, but in general all who attend the Sunday services go in a loose way without any requirements. This is the reason why Christianity has degraded to the situation it is in today.
Recently, a brother from England brought us a copy of the statistics of the whole of Christianity in England. Almost every group in England — whether the Catholic Church, the Baptist Church, the Presbyterian Church, the Methodist Church, or the Episcopal Church — has dropped in its numbers. Only one newly formed group called the “Home Church” is increasing in number. In England and the United States no other religion has as much influence as Protestantism and Catholicism. On April 19, 1987, the Sunday Times of England published a report on the number of people in the major denominations in 1970, 1980, and 1985 and included a prediction for 1990. The first denomination is the state church, the Anglican Church, which is also called the Episcopal Church or the Church of England. Their numbers were 2,500,000 in 1970; 2,100,000 in 1980; 1,980,000 in 1985; and the prediction for 1990 is 1,800,000. This shows a decreasing trend. In other words, they did not have a gain but a loss.
The second denomination is the Presbyterian Church. Their numbers were 1,700,000 in 1970; 1,400,000 in 1980; 1,300,000 in 1985; and the prediction for 1990 is 1,200,000. Their number is also decreasing sharply. The third one is the Baptist Church, which produced the great gospel preacher C. H. Spurgeon a century ago. The number in the Baptist Church was 870,000 in 1970; 700,000 in 1980; 640,000 in 1985; and the prediction for 1990 is 580,000. This is also a decreasing trend. The Methodist Church, also called the Wesleyan Church, being founded by John Wesley, is also included in this trend. These are the numbers in the Protestant denominations.
Next we come to the Roman Catholic Church. Their numbers were 2,650,000 in 1970; 2,300,000 in 1980; 2,130,000 in 1985; and the prediction for 1990 is 1,960,000. Without exception, this also shows a downward trend. As for the Pentecostal Church, there were 91,000 in 1970; 89,000 in 1980; 78,000 in 1985; and an estimate of 71,000 in 1990. Some people say that the charismatic groups are spreading rapidly and are powerful in the Western world, but in fact the charismatic group in England has decreased, not increased. Hence, even the Pentecostal and charismatic movements have had no power at all.
The numbers in the independent churches were 250,000 in 1970; 220,000 both in 1980 and 1985; and the prediction for 1990 remains at 220,000, showing no further increase or decrease in number. This situation may be considered to be the best one. Then we come to the Home Church. It was not in existence in 1970, but the number in 1980 was 25,000; in 1985 was 89,000; and the prediction for 1990 is 145,000. In the beginning the number was 25,000, but by 1990 it is estimated to be 145,000. From these predictions and statistics we have an impression that we must take the way of homes. These statistics are not insignificant. Within the twenty years between 1970 and 1990, all the major sects and denominations, including the larger ones, have been decreasing in number. Without exception every one of them has displayed a downward trend. However, only the Home Church, which was not even in existence in 1970 but was recently raised up, is on the increase. This is a warning to us.
Therefore, we have a reason to change the system. Before the change of system, we also showed the same downward trend. This is not a small matter. Christianity has come to such a point because no one wants to labor. Everyone wants to “go to restaurants,” and no one wants to “cook.” When we first started the work in Taiwan thirty-eight years ago, we paid much attention to small groups and put emphasis on the small group meetings. Therefore, there was a constant increase and multiplication. However, gradually the small groups disappeared, and we went backward and retrograded. For this reason, we were led by the Lord to strictly correct this error by abandoning the way we practiced, changing from big meetings in the meeting hall to the meetings in the homes.
By the Lord’s grace we know that leading a home meeting is not easy. Nevertheless, there is a secret of success. We have used the illustration of eating, but we must also consider man’s need for education. Education is not achieved by luck. A person grows not only physically but also in maturity. He must be matured to the age of twenty-five to twenty-eight before he can receive a doctoral degree. A person’s education progresses from kindergarten, through elementary school, junior high, high school, and then college. In a sense, no one likes to take this way, because it is difficult. However, those who have the understanding of human life realize that a person must be willing to spend twenty years in studying, from kindergarten at the age of four, all the way through college or graduate research afterward. Then his education can be considered adequate.
Six thousand years of human culture have progressed to the state where everything begins with education. In the past even an illiterate person could work in a factory, but today to work in a factory requires a minimum of a junior-high education. This compels people to pursue education. We truly respect the parents in Taiwan. They are frugal in eating and spending so that their children’s education can be furthered. Because of this, Taiwan has advanced to where it is today. This is absolutely not by chance. This illustrates our need for continual learning in changing the system from the big meetings to the home meetings.
The reason for the decline in Christianity is that people have taken the way of chance. Spiritual giants cannot perfect many saints. Even though the charismatic movement does much promoting of miraculous healing, casting out demons, and speaking in tongues, they are still very small in number. For this reason, we must take the right way. The right way today is the homes.
Billy Graham, the famous preacher in Christianity, was manifested in a big convention in Los Angeles in 1948. In the past thirty-nine years, he has been all over the globe, traveling to many countries and holding numerous evangelistic meetings. However, even though he has worked in this way for thirty-nine years, the number of people in Christianity is still diminishing. The place he visited the most is England. In 1954 and 1955 he preached there every day for several months. At that time it rained very often, but people still went with umbrellas to listen to his preaching. Despite this prosperous circumstance, after thirty-nine years the number of people in Christianity is still dropping. We are not here to criticize people. We are simply pointing out the fact that we cannot take the same way.
The reason for our change of system is that we do not want to take the way of chance, the way of inviting famous people to give speeches. No college education has been successfully carried out merely by inviting famous people to give lectures. Every success has come about through diligent study. About forty to fifty years ago, Nankai University was a famous university in northern China. Its founder was a naval captain named Chang Po-ling. He realized that in the eyes of the international community at that time, China was despised and persecuted, and the people in general were ignorant of the times, circumstances, and world situation. He felt that instead of continuing to be a naval captain, he should offer himself for the field of education. He was not merely a talented person, but he was truly for his nation and people. He ran a school in Tientsin very well, and many useful persons have come from Nankai University. We labored at that campus in Tientsin from 1935 to 1936, and it was not until we baptized a professor of physical education that we learned about this situation. Our point is that Mr. Chang carried out the work of education not by inviting famous people from all over the world to give lectures but through great effort and practical work.
From the age of six we began to suffer in school. After graduating from elementary school, we suffered for another three years in junior high. After graduating from there, we suffered for yet another three or four years in high school. Then after entering into college, we still suffered for four more years. Finally, with much difficulty we were produced as persons useful to the country, to society, and to our family. Today Christianity does not take this laborious way. Rather, it takes the way of chance. The result has been a drastic decline in numbers.
We are truly joyful that there are about one thousand young people here who are willing to serve full time. We need to thank our government for providing a complete educational system so that many of our young people have been able to receive a high education. Our work in America was quite promising, but we left our work there to return to Taiwan. Even if we cannot call this a sacrifice, it is at least a very great price. We chose to come here because there are so many young people here who have already worked hard for sixteen years. This is very precious. They started working diligently even from kindergarten, and now they have all become useful material and have joined the procession of the Lord’s recovery. This is truly very encouraging. Since we are in the procession of the Lord’s recovery, we should reject the degraded practice of Christianity and take God’s ordained new way. By the Lord’s grace, we have to establish the home meetings in Taiwan and even in the whole world.
Our home meetings are not a bondage. Rather, the home meetings are pleasant and good. Our home meetings should be our Canaan, the good land. We need to endeavor not only to enter into them but also to develop them so that every home meeting will become our Canaan, the good land. For this we need to strengthen our prayers, be strong to receive the burden, and do our best to labor on every home and strengthen every home. We should arrive early before the meeting and stay late after the meeting. We should not make a schedule to be in one home meeting for fifty minutes and then attend another meeting for another fifty minutes. If we do this, we will not be able to produce Canaan. Canaan needs to be developed, cultivated, and watered. Although the meeting is supposed to be fifty minutes, if we are willing to stay for an hour and a half, and people are happy with us and not bored, this home meeting will be successful and will have the potential to become our Canaan.
Someone may ask, “What will happen if we are not able to labor on so many homes?” Regardless of the situation, we must endeavor to labor. We must do whatever we are able to do and labor as much as we are able to labor. We ought to produce some Canaans from among the homes we care for. After putting in so much effort, we do not want to see that all the homes are unstable and that none of them is a Canaan. It would be regrettable if this were the case. We need to produce some Canaans that are stable. In addition, we should pay attention and observe to see whether we should combine a few neighboring homes to teach them how to have a small group meeting. Using this as a starting point, we should lead them to know each other and to have their own meeting. At the same time we can lead them to have one more meeting during the week. If they have only one meeting at first, we can help them to add another one. However, we should not add too many at first. To meet twice a week is sufficient, once on the Lord’s Day and another time during the week. This depends on how we do it. Not only so, we must also lead them to build up a relationship with the meeting in the meeting hall. According to the district they are in, we should take them to the meeting hall to attend the Lord’s table meeting. All of this depends upon our effort. If we put in the effort, there will certainly be the result.
After two terms of the full-time training, there will be two hundred fifty full-timers. After they complete their training, they will have some time off for rest. Then they will be completely “yoked.” However, this yoke is not a bondage; rather, it is Canaan, the good land. This good land requires us to cultivate it diligently.
Furthermore, some full-timers from other cities also have the burden to stay in Taipei to take care of the home meetings. Regarding this point, I hope that every one of the full-timers will seek the consent of the church from which they came, because the churches are the ones who supported the full-timers to come here. We have already heard the good news that some churches want to stand in one accord with the Lord’s move today in gospelizing Taiwan. If there is the need for some to stay, then they may stay. If some return to their localities, they should go back to their respective localities. This all depends on the fellowship of the brothers.
This is a proper word. The original intention of the training was that the trainees should return to where they came from to serve there. Therefore, upon the completion of the training, the full-time trainees must seek the consent of the church in their locality regarding where they are to go. This is in the principle of fellowship. Of course, the majority of the churches are willing to bear the burden together in gospelizing Taiwan. After all, there is only one move of the Lord today on the whole earth. We need to spread from Taiwan to the entire earth, taking Taiwan as the center. However, on this central line, we still must keep the principle of having fellowship with every locality.
In order to gospelize Taiwan, we must first gospelize the communities of Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taichung, and then Tainan. After we gospelize all the communities in the big cities, we can then propagate out from the city centers to towns and villages. This is our initial blueprint.
Every year there are college graduates joining the full-time service, and the training also continues every year. Through these, we need to make the homes of the new ones into Canaan. However, we should not do this in a rigid way. Instead, we should do it in an active, attractive, living, and fruitful way. The result we obtain should not be something rigid but something living and abiding as our Canaan, the good land.
From our past experience in leading the new ones to the corporate Lord’s table meeting, we learned the lesson that the table meeting is short of the word of God. At the end of the Lord’s table meeting there should be the ministering of some short messages. For example, we can first minister on the Lord’s life and His precious blood, then on God’s love, and third on God’s grace. After speaking on God’s love and God’s grace, we can proceed with God as light as the fourth topic and then continue with God’s Spirit, God’s power, God’s righteousness, and other topics.
We who lead the home meetings are already familiar with these messages, so we should share and minister to the new ones a little each time. This can be compared to a dessert after a feast with many delicious dishes. However, we should not serve the dessert in a rigid and inflexible way. As long as a topic is interesting to people, we can serve it according to their need without following a set rule, and we can plant that topic into them. If the Lord wills, we should supply a message every Lord’s Day.
We can never take the old way of degraded Christianity. Not only does history prove this, but the entire situation in today’s Christianity also indicates this. The statistics that we saw earlier, in particular, give us a clear picture of the present trend. The result brought in by the old way of traditional Christianity has been a decline in the number of people. Hence, we must set our goal on the home meetings and labor on them. This is a fierce fight and not a small matter. The work we are doing in these days is not an easy work. To work out a foundation of the home meetings is unprecedented in the history of Christianity. This will turn the age. This is absolutely not a small matter.
We need to pray much more, endeavor in one accord toward this goal, and concentrate all our strength on the home meetings. The Lord’s work will not hold still. We will continue to study to take the home meetings further so that the Lord will have a way to accomplish His heart’s desire.
