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We should not imitate the practice of Christianity in our meetings. For over thirty years we have encouraged the brothers and sisters to exercise their spirit and to function in the meetings. The Bible does not speak of someone presiding over or taking the lead in Christian meetings. First Corinthians 14:26 says, “Whenever you come together, each one has...” In this verse the first thing that the saints have is a psalm, which means that when the saints gather together, anyone can call a hymn. Our meetings should be as comfortable as our home life because we have been in meetings together for many years, just like a family. We should not be unfamiliar with the things that we need to do in a meeting, such as exercising our spirit and functioning.
Many among us are not familiar with how to sing hymns in a meeting. When I heard you sing, “Thy dwelling-place, O Lord, I love; / It is Thy Church so blessed” (Hymns, #852), I sensed a lack of refinement in the use of this hymn. When we sing hymns, we should not only be loud and clear in our singing but also refined in our enjoyment. For example, after singing each stanza, there could be a short prayer of longing and enjoyment: “O Lord! I love Your dwelling place. I love Your church; she is Your joy and heart’s delight, and she is also where my heart finds rest.” Or we could pray, “O Lord! The church is so lovely. As we come here, our hearts are joyful; once we are here, our hearts find rest.” After such a simple prayer, our feeling will be quite different when we sing the next stanza. Every stanza should be the pouring out of our feelings from within, expressing our appreciation to the Lord. In this matter we need to practice until we are more skillful.
In the Christian college where I studied, there was a one-hour worship service Monday through Saturday at 11:30 A.M. During this time, sermons were given in English by Western pastors. Some of the pastors would speak regardless of whether the students understood or not. Since we could not leave early, we suffered through this time, looking at our watches and waiting for the meeting to be dismissed. This is the situation in Christianity, but our meetings should not be like this. When we worship the Lord, our spirit is refreshed. We not only should worship and enjoy the Lord; we should also testify to Him of our enjoyment. This speaks of the importance of singing hymns.
When we meet, we should be like players on a basketball court. In particular, when singing hymns, one person should not shout the words repeatedly and continuously. This would be like one person dribbling the ball all the time. We have been meeting for many years, and we have many meetings every year. Hence, we have many opportunities for everyone to practice.
At the end of 1962 I received a burden from the Lord to start the work in the United States, and I began the work by stressing the exercise of the spirit. The American saints surely know how to exercise their spirit. In the meetings one hundred fifty saints can be “playing basketball,” not just five. In the meetings they “pass the ball” from one person to another. Moreover, their meetings have reached a point where there is no formal calling of hymns, no preaching, and even no announcement to start the meeting; the meetings just begin spontaneously. The first person who comes to the meeting begins to pray, and when another comes, he begins to pray as well. There are no long prayers; instead, everyone follows each other with prayers that are two or three sentences in length but which are full of the Spirit.
We have not yet entered into this kind of exercise in the Far East. It seems as if we are still in our old culture. May the Lord forgive us. I hope that 1985 would be a new beginning. We need more practice. For example, we should practice singing hymns with two or three saints, and pray after each stanza. We also should be willing to critique one another so that there would be greater benefit.
God can accomplish whatever He desires to accomplish; He does not need to practice, because He does not need to learn. But since we are not God, we need to learn and practice. Even though I am eighty years old this year, I still need to learn. I have many dictionaries in many languages, and I use them whenever I write because I still need to learn. We need to learn in order to glorify the Lord.
The first realm of our life is our family; the second realm is our meetings. When we meet, we should not follow Christianity by keeping religious rituals. In Christianity the pastors give sermons, designated persons offer prayers, and the believers do nothing. This is not the way of the Lord’s recovery. Every one of us should be able to read the Word, pray, call hymns, and sing hymns. Moreover, everyone should be a prophet and an apostle. Everyone should function in the meetings.
However, many of us have been meeting regularly for many years, but we are like a basketball team that is not well coordinated. A family also requires coordination. Even though everyone is willing to eat, some in the family must be willing to cook and wash dishes. When meals are properly prepared and dishes are properly washed, a family will be healthy. Our problem is that our meals are not well prepared and our dishes are not washed properly. Therefore, we must study our way of meeting, especially our small groups.
A small group is a gathering of a small number of neighboring believers. This is not a unit of organization; it is only a gathering of eight or ten brothers and sisters who live close to one another.
For the sake of convenience, a brother or sister can attend any small group according to the Lord’s leading. Even though I have previously said that our small groups should be formed according to geography, it is permissible to go to another neighboring small group. There are no ironclad rules in this regard. Some may think that this will result in disorderliness, but this kind of disorderliness needs to be analyzed from the standpoint of whether or not the saints are living. It is not necessarily good to be so orderly but so dead. We should enliven the saints, not kill them.
Even though a saint can follow the Lord’s leading and gather with another small group for the sake of convenience, he should absolutely avoid and reject natural preferences and fleshly choices. Even though a saint can choose, his choice must be according to the leading of the Spirit. The leading brothers should not create ordinances but rather lead the saints to know the flesh and the natural man. Christianity regulates people so that they will not be disorderly, but the church must emphasize spirit and life.
A small group is not a religious organization; consequently, there are no leading ones in a small group. All the saints have equal obligations, equal responsibilities, and an equal opportunity to minister to others. I hope that we would pay attention to this point and fully emphasize it. When eight or ten saints gather together, everyone is a leading one with equal opportunities and equal responsibilities.
In the small groups we should sing hymns and pray according to inspiration and feeling, and we should read and speak the Word according to burden and need. In the small groups there are no religious rituals or set practices such as first singing a hymn and then praying. Our hymn singing and praying should not be based on rituals but on our inspiration and feeling, and our reading and speaking of the Word should come out of a burden from the Lord and the needs of the brothers and sisters.
The gathering of the small group is for spiritual fellowship. In this fellowship there should be an emphasis on shepherding and teaching one another. There should be a mutual shepherding of one another. Someone asked me whether it was possible for sisters to shepherd brothers. During the time in a small group gathering, the sisters should forget that they are sisters and remember that they are members. However, at other times, when the gathering is concluded, it is good for the sisters to remember that they are sisters and not be so bold. Boldness in a small group is welcome, but boldness in other situations can result in trouble. The protection of a woman is to be hidden and to not assume the headship. But in a small group gathering, the sisters do not need to be hidden. Everyone can speak one to another in earnestness. However, there is still a need for order.
The group gathering is a home meeting. In the home young and old alike can speak. When we come into a small group, we should be free to share our feelings and our needs with others. We should also minister what we have received from the Lord to others. This is to show care and concern for one another.
In big meetings it is difficult for us to have fellowship with one another. However, when seven or eight brothers and sisters gather as a small group, there is time for fellowship about many matters. We can fellowship concerning our problems and burdens, having an intimate care for one another. Since we are members one of another, we should share our joy as well as our sufferings. This can be put into practice only in the small groups.
Before taking the way of the Lord’s recovery, I attended Sunday services in a big chapel. After the service no one ever came to greet me, and I also did not seek out others. I knew many people by their last name, and many knew my name, but we never conversed with one another. This is not a normal condition. In the church the brothers and sisters must know one another, bear difficulties together, and share in joy together. Hence, there is a need for the small groups. If we gather in groups for six months, we will feel the sweetness of the small group and enjoy an intimate supply from one another. This will edify all the saints.
In a small group we particularly need to avoid pleasures and celebrations. Pleasures is not a good word. James 4:3 says, “You ask and do not receive because you ask evilly that you may spend it on your pleasures.” When the saints come to the small group gathering in our home, it is normal for our heart to be full of joy. In order to express our love, it is easy to serve delicacies and to eat lavishly, but this can easily offend the Lord. If food is served, it should be simple, even simpler than what we normally eat at home. The emphasis of a love feast should be on fellowship, not on eating and drinking. Furthermore, the food should be prepared in a simple, clean, refreshing, and hygienic manner so that people do not become sick.
We must do our best to avoid worldliness, including celebrations, in the small groups. After meeting with a small group for a long time, we will know everyone quite well, and it will be easy to consider the celebration of birthdays, weddings, and anniversaries, including the giving of gifts. Our love for one another, however, is not manifested through celebrations and the giving of gifts. Our love is in the spirit, in reality. If we see one of our brothers and sisters in need, however, it would be good if we could help provide for their needs as a group through fellowship. This would please the Lord.
We should not engage in vain talk or have personal affection toward some in our small group gathering. When people gather together and meet for the first time, they cannot help but converse with one another. However, it is easy for our preferences and emotions to direct our conversation. Although this is difficult to avoid, we should exercise to treat everyone equally. We must love not only those who are meek and considerate but also those who have a bad temper. God sends rain on the just and the unjust, and He even loves His enemy (Matt. 5:44-48). Therefore, we must avoid personal affection. Although I have coordinated with some brothers for decades, and we honestly love each other, we do not have personal affection for one another. It is easy for personal consideration to lead to mistakes.
Since those in a small group have much contact with one another, it is inevitable that the saints will become close. If we do not exercise to avoid worldliness and socializing, we will eventually begin to gossip about others and create many problems when we come to each other’s homes. In order to prevent this from happening, we should not allow worldliness and socializing to creep into the gatherings. Our fellowship, love, and care for one another should be in Christ and in the church.
The small group is not the church; it is only a small part of the church in a locality. It is not an independent entity. A small group is under the leading of the elders in the church. No matter how many small groups there are in a locality, all are under the leading of the elders because only this keeps the oneness of the Body of Christ in that locality. Any other consideration will produce divisions.
We should never have the thought of producing or building up something that is independent. Once something independent is produced, it will become a sect. We need to learn to be fully open to every small group in a church. Every small group must be open to every other small group, welcoming and embracing the brothers and sisters in the other groups. No one should be treated as an outsider, and no one should be excluded. Furthermore, we do not need to compare our group to other groups or to compete with other groups. We have to avoid this corrupt practice.
If someone is weak and tells you that he does not like his particular small group because a brother in his group is harsh, you should not try to solve his problem by suggesting that he come to your gathering because the brothers in your group are not harsh. You should not do such a thing. Even if the brothers in his small group are like tigers, you should help him go back to his small group. In a small group gathering, we should not try to draw people to us or give the impression that we are competing with others; this is the proper, normal condition of a small group gathering.
