Search
In this chapter we will continue to fellowship concerning the home meetings.
As you labor in the home meetings, you will realize that the new believers under your care need to be led into the practice of the church life. You should not forget that the goal of gaining people is to bring them into the proper church life for the increase of Christ to build up the Body of Christ. Do not wait too long before bringing the new believers into the practice of the church life. Actually, from the day you baptize the new believers, you should begin to direct them into other meetings of the church. If possible, it is best to direct the new believers into the church meeting on the Lord’s Day because that meeting best represents the character of the church life.
Immediately after baptizing a new one, we should bring him into the church meetings and give him some impression concerning the church life. After this initial visit we should charge him again and again in subsequent home meetings to meet with the saints and with the church. We should help him to realize that Christians are like sheep of a flock. As sheep cannot live apart from the flock, Christians cannot live apart from one another and should come together often.
To have meetings in the new ones’ homes is only the initial stage. While we are having home meetings in their homes, we still should endeavor to bring them out of their own homes into other meetings of the believers, such as the small group meetings or the larger meetings of the church. We should help them to build up a practice of meeting with the saints and with the church.
We have to take the lead to bring the new believers into the practice of preaching the gospel. First, we baptize them, and then we feed them in the home meetings. While we are feeding them, we should help them to have a burden for their relatives. We may say to them, “We brought Christ to you, and now we encourage you to bring Christ to your relatives.” As we accompany the new believers to visit their relatives, these “warm doors” will be open to us. We must lead the new believers to visit their relatives, helping them to realize that this is another part of the practice of the church life.
From the very beginning, we should also lead the new ones to take care of other saints. In raising children the best parents always lead their children to do the same thing that they do. While we are caring for the home meetings, we should gradually lead our new ones into the practice of the church life. The practice of the church life is first, to preach the gospel to gain new believers; second, to meet with the saints and with the whole church; and third, to take care of other saints. From the beginning of their Christian life, the new believers should be brought into the habit of caring for other believers.
We should concentrate on these three things in helping the new believers. Yet we should know that each of these three things is not very easy to practice. They may seem to be easy, but they are somewhat difficult. We all must learn to practice these things to bring the new ones into the proper church life.
In caring for the new believers in the home meetings, we must realize that every person has a different disposition. Some are of a loud disposition, and others are quiet. Even among us, there are many saints who have rarely shouted aloud in the meetings. When we are leading the new believers to call on the Lord, we should not care whether they call loudly or softly. Our main objective in the home meetings is to feed the new believers. We all would like to see the new ones pray loudly and shout their Hallelujahs in a loud way. But we must realize that often those who shout loudly and crazily are not that trustworthy. Usually, the more trustworthy and steady ones are the more silent ones.
We should not require the new ones to call or pray in the same way as we do. They have their disposition, and we have ours. Our main job is to give them an injection, that is, to minister and impart Christ into them. Whenever we meet with them, we must have the assurance that we have nourished them.
We should not be overly concerned with their response. When a mother nourishes her child, she is comforted as long as she realizes that her child is nourished. This is primary to a nursing mother. How the child responds is secondary. As we care for new believers, we should trust in the nourishment we have ministered into them more than in anything else we do.
Since I have had many diseases and sicknesses throughout my life, I have been under the care of many doctors and have learned a great deal from them. They strictly pay attention to their treatment and not to the pleasant or unpleasant reaction of their patients. We should take care of the new ones in the home meetings in the same way, giving them the proper injection without being affected by their reaction. However, we should do this in a pleasant way without offending or stumbling them, leaving them with a good impression of us.
In one of the home meetings a family of new believers proposed that their family and the saints exchange Christmas gifts. When this suggestion was made, the saints simply smiled and tried to avoid the issue by turning the conversation to a hymn and a portion of the Word. The meeting ended without any further mention of Christmas. But a few days later another reference was made to something of Christmas by one of the family members as the family was traveling to one of the meetings with the team. The family has been brought into the enjoyment and experience of the Lord on many occasions, yet the saints are somewhat concerned as to how to share with them about the celebration of Christmas without offending them.
In speaking with the new believers, you should never forget that they are babes and that they must be fed with baby food. When they raise a question concerning Christmas, you should use the subject of Christmas to feed them. You should not try to adjust them harshly, since this would not be treating them as babes. The nursing mothers not only feed their little ones, but they also cherish them by playing with them. To play with them is to cherish them. This cherishing makes them happy. Once they are cherished and feel happy, the mothers feed them. You must learn how to “play” with the new believers. Your aim in playing with them is to feed them; therefore, you should not become too occupied with the subject of Christmas. You may say in a tender and loving manner, “Christmas is here because of Christ. Without Christ, there would be no Christmas holiday. The story of Christmas began because Christ came to be our Savior. Although you may have a Christmas tree, you must make sure that you get Christ.” You should gradually turn them from the false things of Christmas to the reality of Christ. As you turn them to Christ, saying something about Christ, spontaneously you are injecting them with Christ. Eventually, through this kind of tender fellowship, they will feel happy that they know something about the real meaning of Christmas, and soon they will forget about exchanging Christmas gifts. You should exercise your patience and wisdom, but you should not forget your goal of ministering Christ into the new believers as their nourishment.
The year I got saved, I learned that Christmas was a falsehood. I began to fight with anyone who held on to something of Christmas. That was wrong. Gradually, I have learned to “play” with the spiritual babes. We all have to learn this secret. In the Western world there is the problem of the Christmas celebration, but in the Far East, especially in China, there is the problem of the traditional feasts, which occur three times a year. It is difficult for the young believers to overcome these feasts and celebrations, but with the Lord’s help, we can help them by applying the principle that I have presented here.
The saints visited a new believer who comes from a strong Christian background and began to teach her a very simple song in order to help her call on the name of the Lord. They told her that they like to sing such a song in the morning, especially when they do not feel so good or when they have a lot of problems. She responded by saying, “Yes, it seems that we always go through a lot of problems.” Based on this response, the saints read Romans 8:28-29 with her and began to share with her concerning the contents of these two verses. In reading verse 29, she noticed the word predestinated, which reminded her of a verse in Ephesians 1 where she had been reading concerning the matter of sealing and pledging. The saints then turned to Ephesians 1 and began to share with her about sealing and pledging. The new believer was excited by the saints’ fellowship on this subject and remarked that she had never heard such things before. The saints shared a little further concerning this matter, and at the end of the meeting they sang the song again and encouraged her to remember it during the coming week.
In principle, when introducing something such as a new song to the new believers, it is best to avoid using the word teach in your fellowship. You should try not to say, “We would like to teach you a new song.” It is better to say, “We would like to sing a song with you,” or “Would you please sing a song with us?” To use the words teach or teaching brings in an element that damages the situation with the new ones.
The new believers, in principle, are like babes; therefore, we must feed them with baby food. But we also have to learn to be flexible when we realize that the one for whom we are caring is more than a babe. In this case, the person the saints were taking care of was not a babyish person. Thus, the saints should have been very flexible and adjusted themselves to the level of the new believer. The saints also tried to deal with too many different things in this one visit. It would have been better to discern which one of the things was the subject for that visit and to feed the new one the proper food based upon that subject. In this matter there is the need for a lot of training because we often do more than we should in one visit. A trained and experienced person, however, would be able to handle this situation in a proper way.
In this home meeting the saints should not have left their subject of singing a song to help the new one to call on the name of the Lord. She introduced the subject of sufferings, but in order to keep the subject of calling on the name of the Lord and avoid changing subjects, they might have said, “Not only do we Christians suffer, but everybody on this earth suffers. This is the reason that we need to call on the name of the Lord. To be rescued from suffering, we must call on the name of the Lord.” By such a short word, the new one is brought back to the subject. Instead of being led by the new one from subject to subject, the saints should have brought her back to the subject of calling, using any word spoken by her to strengthen their subject. According to the Lord’s leading, the saints may have felt to explain a little concerning the name of the Lord being powerful and being above all names. Then they could have led her to call a few times, and as they were calling, one of them could have begun to sing. Spontaneously, the new one would have followed them to sing also. It then may have been appropriate to share a short testimony of their experience of calling on the name of the Lord. This kind of testimony should not be given in the way of teaching but in a spontaneous way as the opportunity presents itself. We all must learn to lay aside the way of teaching in a formal way and to take the way of caring for the new ones in a very living, flexible, and pleasant way.
The principle in visiting people with the gospel is to first help them to get saved and baptized. As we are preaching the gospel, we should learn to exercise our discernment concerning whether a person will be difficult to gain or not. If we discern that the environment, the family, and so forth would make it difficult to gain someone, we should not invest our time in that person. A carpenter selects a certain kind of wood based on what he intends to make with it. He must discern what kind of material will be fitting for his use. We should also discern in the same way when we preach the gospel, because there are many different kinds of people on the earth. We must be wise and learn to discern people while we are talking to them.
I have noticed that when some saints go out, they quickly gain people, but others may go out faithfully, having little result. The problem with the second group of saints is the lack of training. Though we labor a great deal, our labor may be in vain if we do not labor in the proper way. The labor in the gospel and home meetings must be regular, consistent, and continuous. If one member of a team of three is sick, it would be better for the other two to go visit the new one than to have some change of hands in the visiting. To change the persons who labor in a particular home meeting will almost certainly cause a lot of loss. The best way is not to change the persons who visit the home meetings. To change the persons damages the coordination among the saints who have been laboring together to take care of the home meeting. The issue of such constant changes will be confusion among the saints who are laboring, and the time with the new believer will be wasted. Therefore, it is better to maintain the same members in the visiting groups.
We all have to learn how to take the Lord’s new way through training. In the past years we studied history and the biographies and autobiographies of the saints, and we discovered that, among the Lord’s people, only the seminary graduates labored according to some kind of training. These graduates were hired by the denominations to become their clergy. These clergymen were trained, but the so-called laity was not trained. The laity simply acted according to their likes and dislikes. However, today we realize that if we would practice the new way according to the New Testament, we must be trained.
Although the word training is not used in the books of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, the thought is surely conveyed in these books. In order to serve the Lord, we must be trained. In 2 Timothy 2:2 Paul charged Timothy to commit the things which he had heard to faithful men, who would be competent to teach others. To commit to faithful men implies some amount of training. A job cannot be handed over to someone who knows nothing about the job. There is the need of training. Neither does a mother commit the job of cooking to her daughter without first training her.
Paul set up a pattern by staying in Ephesus for three years (Acts 20:31) to train the saints. In Acts 20:20 Paul told the elders of the church in Ephesus that he did not withhold any of those things that were profitable by not declaring them to them and by not teaching them publicly and from house to house, admonishing each one with tears (v. 31). Paul’s teaching publicly in the meetings and visiting from house to house were his training of the saints. Paul later charged Timothy to stay in Ephesus in order that he might charge certain ones not to teach differently (1 Tim. 1:3). This too was a kind of training carried out by Timothy.
There has been little result in Christianity because the so-called laymen have not been trained. Many have been stirred up for the Lord, but their enthusiasm has had very little result because they have exercised to serve the Lord in their own way. We in the Lord’s recovery also need training. The Lord’s recovery itself is very particular, and the matter of training is also something particular within the Lord’s recovery. Under the training we should not do anything according to our likes or dislikes or according to our environment. Rather, we must do everything according to the points of the training.
One group of saints baptized a new believer in an area that has been cared for by another group of saints. The first group wants to introduce the second group to the new believer so that they can begin to care for the new one in the home meetings. The saints are concerned whether or not this is the best way to care for the new believer.
The best way to care for the new believers is to try to avoid any kind of transfer of care from one group to another group. Unless the new ones who were baptized move from one section of the city to another section, it is best not to transfer the new ones from group to group. When there is the need of a transfer, it should be done in a very careful and considerate manner and not in a light way. If a couple wants to adopt a child, they must go through a number of procedures. Likewise, whenever a new believer is passed on from one group of saints to another, it must be done in a very proper way. To conduct a transfer in a proper way, however, is difficult. We must realize that gaining anything worthwhile on this earth is not easy. To get an education to the level of a doctorate is not very easy. One must go through six years of elementary education, two years of junior high school, four years of high school, four years of undergraduate school, and five years of graduate school. If such things as education are not easy, how much more difficult it is to advance in the things of the Lord, who is our King. Nothing with the King is a light matter. To save souls and to feed people in home meetings are not small matters. For a nursing mother to sweep her front porch is not very significant, but to nourish her child is one of the most important things to her. The nourishment of the new believers in the home meetings is a most important thing; therefore, we should exercise great caution in transferring the care of a home meeting from one group to another group.
If a new one moves from one city to another, we have to do something in a definite way to effect a transfer. We should call some of the brothers in the new city to recommend the new one to the brothers. Then we should infuse the new one in order to encourage him to contact the saints in the new locality. We then need to make sure that the new one is contacted by the saints. Otherwise, we will lose the one on whom we have labored.
In raising up the new believers as children, it is best if you have your own children. However, if you do not have your own children by birth, you can adopt other children. Adoption of spiritual children takes place when you do not have children of your own. When you adopt these children, the best attitude is to consider them as your very own children.
One brother related his past experience of being successful in preaching the gospel and baptizing a good number of people but not having remaining fruit due to his own immaturity. Recently, he has gained one of his schoolmates at college, but he is reluctant to stir up his friend to preach the gospel because of his friend’s lack of growth. This brother is also reluctant to have too many spiritual children for fear of not having one who remains.
To bring people to the Lord is relatively easy, but to raise them up is not very easy. In our study over the past few years, we have discovered that we need at least four steps to raise up the new believers. The first step is to visit people by knocking on their doors in order to gain them. Second, after gaining them by saving and baptizing them, there is the need to nourish and cherish the new ones in home meetings. Third, there is the need of group meetings to perfect the saints. Fourth, we must learn to practice having our meetings in mutuality with the universal prophesying. Walking according to these steps is to practice the Lord’s new way. We must learn how to visit people as the New Testament priests of the gospel to get them saved (Rom. 15:16). Then we should take care of them as our little children to cherish them and nourish them that we may raise them up. This step requires a great deal of time, but we should not expect to have remaining fruit without exercising the proper care in the home meetings. After bearing fruit, we must take good care of the fruit; otherwise, the fruit will not remain. Once we have fruit, we should try our best to take care of it even though we may still be young and lack the growth in life. Often, the children in a family are raised not only by the parents, but also by the elder brothers and sisters. It is the same today in the church life. We must realize that the older brothers and sisters in the Lord’s recovery can help us to raise our spiritual children.
Christianity has built up something in a wrong way and has given people the wrong impression concerning the meeting life among the Lord’s people. Because of this wrong impression, most people today have a certain expectation whenever they attend a so-called church meeting. When they attend a Christian meeting, they often say that they are “going to church.” This is the reason that we must have the home meetings. In the home meetings the new ones are not distracted by the form of the church, and they can receive the nourishment. While we are feeding them in their homes, we should gradually let them know what the biblical way of gaining people for the Lord is. Then as they are helped to realize the biblical way to meet and to serve, they will not pay that much attention to the form of the church meetings. In their homes we nourish and cherish them to raise them up and to educate them so that they can realize what the real things are. In many cases, when the saints have done a good job of educating the new ones in the home meetings, the new ones are very happy to attend the small group meetings because their taste has been changed. With this change of taste, these new ones no longer have a taste for the formality of Christianity.
In order to practice the New Testament way, we must have the riches of Christ as our content. Our meetings must have the riches of Christ as their content; otherwise, the new ones will be disappointed. When they compare the attractive façade of Christianity to our way of meeting and practice, they will not be impressed with our way. Therefore, we must have the rich content in the home meetings, small group meetings, and larger church meetings. All these meetings must be full of the riches of Christ. As people taste these riches, they will lose their taste for the façade of Christianity.
