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Concerning the matter of having a preparatory meeting for the small groups, we need to spend, at the very least, three to five months to advance in the small groups in order to have a good beginning. We will use Thursday evenings to hold a preparatory meeting in every hall. If some of the halls need help, the co-workers can help. On Wednesday evenings there will be a joint meeting of all the brothers who minister the word and the elders. The brothers who come together for this time to prepare the word should focus on two burdens: the message for the big meeting on the Lord’s Day morning and how the brothers in each hall can use the Life-study messages to perfect the core members of each small group.
According to the Bible and our history, the advancement of the small groups is central to the spread and increase of the local churches. In the past we practiced the small groups, but we did not practice them thoroughly. Over time we began to rely on the big meetings and neglected the small group meetings. In Acts the early gatherings of the church consisted of both big and small meetings. Big meetings were held in the temple, while small meetings were carried out from house to house (2:46). We must follow the track of caring for both big meetings and small meetings. This can be compared to the two wings of an airplane, which are equal in both size and importance.
The most important matter in a big meeting is the ministry of the word. As long as the word is strong, it is easy to have a big meeting. However, having just a strong word in a small group meeting is not adequate; there is also a need to perfect the saints so that they can function. Hence, the elders need to study how to perfect the saints in the small groups to function according to their measure. The elders should see the goal of building up the small group meetings. We should spend more effort in the beginning to build up the small group meetings so that the church can be strong and spread, propagate, and support and retain people. Furthermore, we must see that the key to both the big meetings and the small group meetings is the word. In both the big meetings and the small group meetings, the word needs to be strong. Based on our experience it is not an easy matter to strengthen the word. Therefore, after much consideration before the Lord, we feel that we should focus our energy on the ministry of the word. We need to build up the ministry of the word.
God completed His work of creation by speaking. When God speaks, there is a result, a work (Gen. 1:3, 6-7, 9, 11, 14-15, 20-21, 24; Psa. 33:9). In the New Testament the Lord as the Word became flesh (John 1:14). The preaching of the gospel and the speaking of the truth that cause people to hear and to believe depend on the word of God. Hence, in order for the church to be strong, the word must be strong. This requires our all. The denominations have clergymen who give sermons, but among us, we have no clergymen; those who speak and preach are the believers themselves. In any case, there is a general shortage of the word today. This causes my heart to grieve and ache.
Ever since Brother Nee brought in the Lord’s recovery among us, most of the troubles in the Lord’s recovery have come through those who are capable in ministering the word. Eventually, such ones have left because of pride, dissension, ambition, or greed. One such incident occurred just two years after the first church in the Lord’s recovery in China was raised up in Foochow in 1922. At that time there were two or three brothers, along with Brother Nee, who could minister the word, but they could not get along with Brother Nee. One of them became a traveling evangelist who went to different places to preach the gospel. Miss M. E. Barber even warned this brother that if he continued to go out in this way, she would no longer pray for him. Later, there were others who could minister the word but who could not accept Brother Nee’s leading. Nearly ninety percent of those who accepted the leading in the Lord’s recovery were ones who could not minister the word; those who could minister the word left. The ones who could not minister the word remained with us faithfully, whereas those who could minister the word did not remain, because they each had a plan to build an “empire” for themselves. In their speaking they declared loudly, “We are all one in Christ,” but they were all doing their own work, building their own “congregation.” They did not accept Brother Nee’s leading, and they could not get along even with each other. This is a warning from our history.
When T. Austin-Sparks visited Taiwan in 1957, the ones who got into trouble were the capable young people who could minister the word. They believed that they had seen something and boasted that they were a “visionaries’ group” that had seen “the full Christ.” Their pride ruined them. They felt that they had some knowledge of the truth and were capable of preaching. The reason behind the trouble in the United States in 1978 was similar to this situation. Some people came into our midst with the intention of building up their own empire. This was their greatest problem. They thought that they had something, but not many truly had a real portion in the ministry of the word after Brother Nee brought in the Lord’s recovery. Brothers, our eyes need to be opened to see that once churches are raised up in one place after another, the ministry of the word must be strong. However, we have to beware of the fact that when the ministry of the word is strong, people will be tempted to start something new for themselves. This kind of ambition has ruined many who have the gift of ministry.
Since the Lord has put us in His recovery, how should we go on? We must pay attention to the spirit and the word. If we want our spirit to be strong, we need to spend more time before the Lord in prayer and fellowship to receive His leading and dealings. However, in order for the word to be strong, there must be a pursuing through many ways.
The brothers taking the lead in every hall must pay attention to the supply of the word, which refers to God’s speaking. In order for us to release God’s word, first, we need to know the Bible; second, we need to have a vision and revelation; and third, we need to see the central line of the revelation. Even today the Brethren are well-known for their knowledge of the Bible, but what they teach is mainly Bible knowledge. They are far from having vision, revelation, and the central line. In schools of theology the teachings concerning God and Christ are primarily objective. Moreover, different schools of theology have their own teachings. Some teach one thing, while others teach another thing. Hence, some believers, who had a very strong faith in God before they attended a seminary, became shaken in their faith and confused after studying in a seminary. For this reason we should not assume that those who graduate from a seminary will be rich in their speaking.
Although there are many books that expound the Bible, according to our observation, the books that contain light and revelation are with us. Our expositions are not focused on just expounding the Bible but on releasing vision and revelation. I hope that many can participate in this need for interpreting the Bible by having a strong foundation in the Word of God. Then, when we need to release a message, the revelation and light that we have received will spontaneously serve as a basis for the rich word.
There was once a brother who came into our midst. Through prayer he found the key and learned to release the Lord’s words. Although he was not eloquent, he was able to convey spiritual reality into people. Only spiritual reality can help people. Eloquence and persuasive speech are not necessarily good because being eloquent or persuasive is not the same as having the word. The word must have genuine content. This can be compared to a salesman who cannot rely simply on his speaking to sell a product; he must have a genuine product to sell. If we want to sell diamonds, we must have diamonds that we can sell to others. If we do not have any diamonds, no amount of speaking will make a difference. We must have a genuine product.
I met Brother Nee for the first time in 1932 and received him into my home. In my living room I had a periodical published by a famous preacher in China. Brother Nee picked it up and said, “This brother is eloquent in speaking and has a good writing style.” I did not understand what he meant at the time. He was indicating that the periodical contained only “Mandarin eloquence,” not any reality. When I listened to that preacher, I could hear perfect, authentic Beijing pronunciation spoken in a very appropriate tone. The spiritual content of his message was merely to call people to repent, to believe in the Lord Jesus, and to behave properly after believing in the Lord. The preacher gave a message entitled “Being Careful,” and he spoke in such a clear and logical way that everybody wanted to be careful in everything they did. However, being careful does not help people to gain Christ. His message had no Christ, no Spirit, no light, and no life.
In the New Testament, Paul’s Epistles all contain spiritual realities. This spiritual reality is the truth. The brothers who speak in each hall should pay attention to this: Is there spiritual reality in our messages? Is there truth? We must build up the small group meetings by emphasizing the word. The big meetings need the word, and so do the small group meetings. This is not something that can be accomplished overnight. We need to devote much time and energy to this matter.
In carrying out the small groups, the elders need to spend time to visit every small group meeting to see their strengths and weaknesses, to understand their needs, and to try to fill in what is lacking. Some groups may have six or seven strong ones out of eight to ten brothers and sisters, and another group may not have even one strong one. In this kind of situation there is a need to reallocate the saints, but even the matter of reallocating is difficult to carry out. It would be better for the Lord Himself to vitalize some members in the group after a few months. This is much better than the brothers reallocating the saints.
The most important thing that the elders in each hall and in each church should do is to build up the small groups one by one. The elders’ responsibility to lead the saints to serve in cleaning, ushering, or other areas is secondary. The most important thing is to build up each small group. I hope that we will be successful in this matter. It is good to have a neat, clean, and orderly meeting hall, but it is not too important. This can be compared to inviting a guest for dinner but not providing any food. The table may be set nicely, and the chairs may be arranged properly, but the plates are empty. Such “neatness” will not satisfy anyone. Under the Lord’s fresh leading, our main direction is to build up the small groups one by one. The elders should go to the small groups to understand their situation. When they come back, they need to study how to improve the small groups and help the brothers and sisters. We need to labor on all these details.
Presently, the first crucial matter is the small groups, and the second is the big meetings. In the past we did not carry out the small groups adequately. Although many were baptized, at least eight out of ten of those who were gained would eventually leave. In order to remedy this shortcoming, we have to labor on the small groups. In the past some also felt that there was no opportunity to manifest their function in a big meeting. Even though we carried out various aspects of service, it was not easy for everyone to participate. Even in the service related to the work on the campuses, in the community, and among the children, it was hard for everyone to function. But now with the focus on the small groups, the church in Taipei suddenly has four hundred groups. This is like four hundred basketball teams with each having five players and five backup players for a total of four thousand people. Now everyone can function.
I mention this so that the elders would see the importance of the small groups. An elder must do more than make arrangements to clean and usher, speak words to inspire others, and preach the gospel. This is too common. The elders need to focus on laboring on the small groups. If a hall has two hundred saints, the elders should have a list of these two hundred saints in their pocket all the time, and they should know who is in each group. When they attend a group meeting, they need to pay attention to those who are useful and also be willing to go and fellowship with those who are not in the meeting to encourage them to come and participate. Once such ones come, they will be able to fully function. The elders must spend at least three to five months to build up the small groups one by one in each hall.
The elders not only have to build up the small groups; they also have to labor to strengthen the word. Building up the small groups is a great matter; strengthening the word is an even greater matter. These matters are not easy; they depend on our endeavoring. Sometimes, in the big meetings, there are messages that sound the trumpet, but sounding a trumpet every month is too much. The messages in the big meetings should emphasize the release of the riches of Christ, because grace and reality came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17). The messages in the big meetings and the Life-study messages in the small groups should supply the riches of Christ by supplying the brothers and sisters with truth and grace.
Based on my observations in both Taiwan and the United States, the ministry of the word does not have a clear outlet through many brothers. When I listen to their messages, the central point is not clear. Although some speak forth grace, truth, and the riches of Christ, others speak words that only stir up the atmosphere and sound the trumpet. Occasionally, this is needed, but it is not adequate for the long term. Every meeting should supply the riches of Christ and release grace and truth.
The law belongs to the Old Testament; it was given through Moses. Grace, truth, and reality belong to the New Testament; they have come through Jesus Christ, and of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace (John 1:16). For this reason the messages in both the big meetings and small group meetings should fulfill this word. Grace and reality came through Jesus Christ, and we should supply others with grace upon grace.
I am concerned that eighty to ninety percent of what we supply in our messages is just carob pods, that is, nice-sounding, moving words that do not have much grace and reality. If this is the case, we have failed in ministering the word. Presently, almost all the elders serve as outlets for the word. Thus, our speaking needs to be exercised. Even if we use the Life-study messages and speak according to them, our speaking may not necessarily be full of life, grace, and reality. We must have some personal seeing, some personal experience. When we speak from such a base, we can supply others.
The emphasis in the preparatory meeting for the small groups should be on the supply of life. We should not use the Life-study messages as reading material just to fill up time. We should release the riches of Christ in the small group meetings. This is not easy. Even if we labor day and night, we will not accomplish this quickly. This is a long-term labor.
We may be able to build up the small groups within one year, but we may not have the assurance that we will see the riches in the small groups. If all the elders and the co-workers work diligently in one accord and labor together, it is possible that within three years we will obtain some results by solidly building up the small group meetings in the church in Taipei. Then, whether we migrate or go out to propagate, we will be influenced by this “family practice.” Wherever we go, we have to build up the small groups as the foundation. We should not only build up the small groups but also care for the riches in the small groups. This is worth doing.
Our work needs to change. The co-workers who travel to different places should not go just to hold large meetings. Large meetings are necessary, but the small group meetings must be built up in every place. All the local churches need to have a fundamental change by starting with the small groups. Manila, Singapore, Tokyo, and every other place need this. When the co-workers travel and hold conferences in different places, it renders some help, but the long-term result is minimal. We have rendered only this kind of help in the past years, and we know the results. Hence, we need to be awakened.
I praise the Lord for His mercy that I have been able to give my entire life to God’s economy. Before I was saved, I had to work hard in order to advance because I was born into a poor family. However, just as I was beginning to prosper, the Lord saved me. I answered the Lord’s calling and offered myself to Him. I did not care for anything else. Because of the Lord’s blessing, the whole earth has been opened to the Lord’s recovery. My heart is set on this work, not only in Asia but also in Africa and Australia. However, the place that I consider the most is Taiwan. The Lord’s move in Taiwan has been truly blessed, but it has come to a standstill.
According to statistics, there is nothing in our current situation that is worthy of praise. I have no way to express the sadness and pain inside of me. We have such big “assets” among us, but we do not use them. Hence, we must change. If a pillar is blocking a door and hindering us from going in or out, we should not continue to try to go through that door. We can open another door, a more convenient door. If we do not see any results from the way that we have employed for twenty-eight years, we need to look for another way. I am speaking a heavy word, yet some of the co-workers seem indifferent, and this is not encouraging. The Lord knows that I do not blame you, but I marvel that you do not have a thorough vision. If you had a thorough vision, you would have a certain attitude: We must stir up all the churches to labor on building up the small groups. This is to fight the warfare together.
We can no longer use our former way of working, because there have been no results. We need to change our way. Although we do not want to hold on to an old way of laboring and of meeting, this does not mean that we should rise up and rebel. We should hold on to whatever has been beneficial. Nevertheless, if we have a change only in form but not in substance, we will keep the old way of doing things. I hope that we all would have a definite awakening to see that we cannot use the old way any longer. We need to change. We need to change, and our next generation also needs to change. Everyone needs to change.
Actually, the new way is not really new; it is in the Bible. We have even tried it before, but we gradually put it aside. Therefore, the elders should have a burden to pray day and night for the building up of the small groups in every place. Then we need to labor even more on the Lord’s word so that our speaking will be rich and have a central point and so that the speaking in the small groups will be rich and full of content. In this way the new way will be one hundred percent successful, and the Lord will have a way to go on. This work is unlimited.
Because of the Lord’s mercy, all the six major continents are open to us. This is also because we have the Lord’s word. If we lay a good foundation and promote the new way, the whole earth will be blessed. The word needs to go out, and the small groups need to be worked out so that the Lord will have a way to go on. Brothers, I hope that we will consider this matter; otherwise, the result of our labor in Taiwan over the past thirty or so years will be unsatisfactory. According to the progression of our history and our current situation, we need to stop what we have been doing. We cannot continue to go down this path. We must reform our ways so that the Lord’s recovery on the earth will satisfy His heart’s desire.
The elders must spend the time to go to every small group meeting to help the saints. This cannot be done carelessly or sloppily. You should not visit just once and immediately make adjustments based on the condition of the saints. You have to do this slowly, visiting once and then again. After visiting, a few responsible elders need to fellowship together, pray with each other, and seek the Lord’s leading so that the goal of building up the small groups with the rich supply of the word can be reached.
Question: Should we hold a conference to encourage the working saints to have a burden for the small groups?
Answer: A one-time conference will not determine whether or not the working saints can be useful in the small groups; rather, this depends on the elders going to each small group to understand its situation and paying attention to who attends and who does not so that they can labor on these saints. This will require several months before something can be fully worked out. For example, the elders can visit the groups on Saturday evening and then come together on the Lord’s Day to fellowship about how to improve the small groups. In this way the elders can observe and work simultaneously.
This is a matter of the elders going to each small group to observe. After observing, they need to fellowship with the working saints one by one. The elders need to pay attention to how many of these saints have never attended a small group meeting and to how many have attended but are not interested. Then they need to fellowship with them one by one. Whether this will succeed depends altogether on the elders’ feelings. If the elders feel that they must get through and obtain a good result, there will be success. Working in a casual way will not result in anything.
Question: We need a strong beginning for the preparatory meeting for the small groups, but if we meet separately in each hall, it may not be strong enough, and the saints may not be zealous enough. Can several halls join together two to three times and have brothers act as coaches to lead us? Then every hall will know how to carry it out.
Answer: In the beginning there may be a need for a demonstration, but for the long term each hall should do it themselves. It is not easy for brothers and sisters who usually meet in their halls to suddenly go to a different hall to be trained. Hence, in order to be practical and for the sake of convenience, every hall should do it themselves. Going to a different hall can be compared to both cooking and eating in another person’s home; this can be done a few times, but for the long term it is better to cook for ourselves.
Question: Can the first preparatory meeting be a corporate meeting? Holding the first meeting in each hall may not have much drawing power or have an impact on the young people. The atmosphere also may not be so strong. If we meet corporately the first week, both the atmosphere and the influence will be stronger, and we will have a model that we can work out in each hall. Would this be better?
Answer: Surely we can do this, but the crucial matter is the labor that needs to come after such a meeting. We cannot rely on others helping us three or five times in order to have a success in this matter. At most, others can be “coaches and professors.” Each hall needs to manage its own “school.” No coach or professor can establish a school; you have to establish your own school. It is possible to have a meeting for the sake of demonstration, but I do not have much confidence that the working saints will attend. After this meeting, we must labor on each one of them in each hall.
