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Prayer: Lord, You are the sin offering and also the trespass offering. We rely on You as the offerings to approach You again. Lord, we acknowledge that we have many shortcomings and weaknesses; we have offended You in many areas. We have been defiled. We have worldly defilements, fleshly defilements, and also natural defilements. Lord, all these require much cleansing by Your blood. We need Your presence, Your anointing. Lord, appear to us and speak to us. We admit that we are useless servants. Even though we have done some work, there are many shortcomings. Lord, we look to Your mercy. We praise and worship You; we thank You for Your recovery from the depth of our being. We also thank You for caring for Your recovery for so many years. We thank You for placing us on this path, opening Your word to us, showing us Your way, and revealing Your eternal will and economy to us. Lord, we admit that we have seen the vision; we cannot disobey the heavenly vision.
Lord, we long to see and receive something more from You. Thank You for choosing us from among all people and placing a willing heart within us so that we would receive Your burden and coordinate with all the saints in Your Body. Lord, bring each one of us into the depths, into Your Spirit, so that our spirit responds to the Spirit. Lord, we are groping in the dark; shine in us when we open ourselves to You and cause us to touch You. Lord, we ask that You would not only direct us to Your way, but even more, grant us ears that we can hear Your speaking and receive Your life supply. Lord, Your word is Yourself; it is spirit and life to us as our supply. Lord, we are Your slaves; we are people under You. Grant us wisdom, grant us faithfulness, and grant us discernment.
Lord, we do not want to be unworthy of Your grace, waste the time of the saints, and delay Your work. Remember that the church here was established by You. You have a commission here; cause each one of us to enter into Your commission. Gospelizing Taiwan is a need, and building a big meeting hall is a must. You know every aspect of the service and every aspect of the spiritual work. Lord, cause us to know Your way more clearly day by day and year after year. We are not an organization, and we do not want to be an organization. We need the organic function so that we can all manifest our function organically. Lord, lead us to speak an appropriate word. Grant us an open fellowship and a clear sky so that there will be no barrier between one another. Lord, lead us.
Before the Lord we must learn together how to bear responsibility for the financial matters of the local churches. In speaking of financial matters, we must realize that material riches involve material matters. Whenever we deal with anything on the earth, we cannot avoid material things. Therefore, before the Lord, we must learn how to manage financial matters. True spirituality is manifested in the management of practical material matters. Practically speaking, we are living in degradation because we are fallen, having been born into and having grown up in degradation. Hence, material riches test our spiritual condition before the Lord the most.
The Bible refers to money as the “mammon of unrighteousness” (Luke 16:9), indicating that money is intrinsically unrighteous. Nevertheless, our wise God does not tell us to completely ignore material riches in matters related to serving Him but that we need to consider the matter of material riches. In the Gospels the Lord Jesus spoke of the unrighteousness associated with material riches, but in the Epistles the Holy Spirit indicates that material things can become a sweet-smelling sacrifice offered to God. In Philippians 4:15-16 Paul reminded the believers in Philippi that they had sent material supplies to him once and again to meet his needs. Paul received their gifts as a sweet-smelling savor, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God (vv. 17-18). There are two aspects related to money. First, money belongs to the satanic world and is unrighteous in position and existence. Second, the saints can use this unrighteous money for the Lord’s interest by supplying the Lord’s servants or the work of the gospel so that this money becomes a sweet-smelling sacrifice acceptable to God.
The financial matters of the church are not an individual but a corporate matter, and it is not easy to deal with any corporate matter. In a big church there are various needs, including general needs and needs associated with various aspects of the spiritual work. If we listed all these needs, we would realize the complicated nature of the financial matters of the church. There are also complications related to human factors. Dealing with financial matters truly requires much wisdom. If there is a shortage of wisdom, there will be opportunities for the enemy to damage and defile our service to the Lord.
The management of a family’s finances is an indication of how a man leads his family, and just as the management of a family’s finances is not easy and simple, the financial matters of the church are not easy and simple. We must humble ourselves and learn the lesson before the Lord of bearing not only our own burden but also the burden of others. Such a complete service will bring in the Lord’s blessing.
We need to pray concerning practical financial matters; they test the extent to which we believe in God. Many matters can be vague and uncertain, but financial matters are uniquely unambiguous. Therefore, we must learn to pray and to look to the Lord. In the biographies of many spiritual people, the experiences of God in financial matters often impress others deeply. For example, Sister M. E. Barber was a British missionary who was called to China to work for the Lord. When she came the second time, she was not sent by any mission and did not have the backing of a mission for financial support. She believed directly in God, looked to God, and came to China to work.
Almost seventy years ago, the Chinese had a custom of paying back all debts at the end of a year. At the end of one year Sister M. E. Barber calculated the amount that she owed and found that she was short by one hundred twenty dollars. She then prayed specifically about this, looking for the Lord’s leading. In the final few days of the year she received a notice from a bank in Nantai, outside of the city of Foochow, saying that they received a telegraph transfer of one hundred twenty dollars for her from London, England. This met her need. Neither the brothers and sisters in England nor the brothers and sisters in China knew of her need. She did not tell anyone how much money she needed. It is amazing that the bank received a transfer of exactly one hundred twenty dollars. This incident proved that the Lord heard her prayer.
In the matter of finances we must learn a practical lesson: We should not presume at the end of a meeting that we simply have to make an announcement concerning a need because the brothers and sisters in the church will be the source to meet this need. Outwardly, there is nothing seemingly wrong with this, but it must be our intention to learn to look to the Lord. In matters for which we bear responsibility, whether it is the Lord’s work or the practical needs of the church, we must exercise faith before the Lord.
From July 1932 the church started to meet in my hometown of Chefoo. I have learned many lessons related to finances, and in the matter of financial need, I have experienced the Lord’s provision. I have truly seen that the Lord as the Head bears responsibility for the church’s financial needs. We have many testimonies of this. I hope that the brothers will learn to have faith in the Lord’s provision for the service of the church.
The construction of the Anaheim meeting hall is a good example. We experienced many lessons related to faith in both big and small matters regarding its construction. The Lord was working in every detail. From the time that the brothers and sisters moved to Anaheim, they searched for land to build a big meeting hall. The land on Ball Road was the only piece that was relatively acceptable; it was one hundred five thousand square feet, and there were also three small lots nearby. At first, we did not consider the small lots, but during the construction of the meeting hall, the brothers suggested that we find a place for a residence in the neighborhood. When we inquired about the smaller lots, we were able to purchase them the very next day.
In the process of purchasing land for the meeting hall, the Lord’s provision was surely present. The seller was a retired man who sold us the land for a little over two hundred twenty thousand dollars. He said, “I trust your church. Just give me twenty thousand dollars as a down payment, and then pay me twenty thousand dollars every year until it is paid in full. This comes to about one thousand seven hundred dollars a month.” At that time we did not have much cash; in fact, we had only a little more than twenty thousand dollars, so we could pay only monthly. When the building of the meeting hall was completed, there was more provision from the Lord, and we wanted to pay the remaining two hundred thousand dollars, but the owner of the land still wanted us to pay just twenty thousand dollars a year. This was our experience in constructing the meeting hall in Anaheim. The Lord truly bears the responsibility for the financial needs of the churches not only in the Far East but also in the United States.
If the owner had charged interest on the two hundred thousand dollars, we would not have been able to cover the amount that we owed, even if we paid twenty thousand dollars annually for twenty years. It is hard to believe that we bought that piece of land in this way. Even when we started to look for land, we did not have any money, but the Lord provided for our needs. After purchasing the land, we needed to build. As news spread, many brothers from all over the United States, mostly young students, came willingly to coordinate in the service. There were about eighty people who consecrated for a six-month period of time to build the meeting hall. Most of the young brothers had never done any construction work, but they all came to learn together. Everyone was truly serving in oneness, and within seven months the construction of the meeting hall was completed.
The meeting hall is one hundred twenty feet wide and two hundred twenty feet long, and it can accommodate up to four thousand people. Through offerings made by the saints and the churches in various places, including the overseas churches, the cost of the building materials was also covered. After the hall was completed, there was no outstanding cost for material; everything was paid in full. This was wonderful; it was not according to man’s planning. As responsible brothers in every locality who are bearing a heavy responsibility to lead the churches onward, we must learn the lesson of not viewing matters from man’s perspective but from God’s perspective. We should learn to be in His will, seek Him, and trust in Him; He will do a wonderful work without our knowing.
A few years ago the brothers felt that there was the need for a ministry station in the southern United States, especially in Texas; thus, we acted on this matter and experienced many wonderful things, all of which were done by the Lord Himself. The land we bought in Texas was five times larger than the land for the Anaheim meeting hall. The land for the Anaheim meeting hall was only one hundred five thousand square feet, but the land in Texas was over five hundred thousand square feet. This was given to us by the Lord. I mention these testimonies in the hope that when we touch financial matters, we would learn to look to the Lord and trust in Him.
The financial matters of the church are surely big items. Our eyes must look to the Lord, and we must learn to trust in Him. When there is a need, we should not assess the situation according to the outward environment but instead rely on Him; He will care for us. This is the first aspect. Next, we should never be muddled in our thinking; neither should we be superstitious or take risks. We should learn to exercise wisdom and discernment and also to plan for unexpected needs. We should not wait until a need arises to take action; we must make preparations before a need arises.
To illustrate, there are more than twenty meeting halls in Taipei, and there are six to seven aspects of our spiritual work. Each meeting hall and each item of our spiritual work can be considered as a financial “unit.” Together, we have twenty to thirty financial units. The responsible ones for each financial unit must learn to prepare for unexpected needs so that they do not have to act at the last moment. We should not nap peacefully on ordinary days and dig a well only when there is a need for water; this is wrong.
Regardless of who bears responsibility, we must look ahead, look to the Lord, and pray to the Lord. We should have a budget for the whole year, covering the monthly expenses of every meeting hall. The elders should carefully consider how to lead and move forward.
God is the only One who can create; we cannot create. Furthermore, God does not want us to create; He wants us to cooperate with Him and experience the principle of incarnation. Therefore, we must earnestly seek Him in matters related to each hall in order to know how to coordinate with Him.
The responsible brothers in each locality who have a commission related to various aspects of the spiritual work must be willing to spend time and effort to consider finances and expenses. For example, if the brothers are involved in the gospel on the campuses, they should think about the things that will be encountered in the future. They should not think that there is no need to do anything further once a budget has been approved by the elders. The brothers should consider areas in planning and expenses. They must grasp the opportunity at the monthly elders’ gathering to discuss these matters. For example, if there is an elders’ meeting early next month, the brothers should consider needs that will be coming up in the next month or even in the following two to three months in order to bring them up for discussion at the elders’ meeting. Without such planning, there will be nothing to bring to the elders’ meeting, and then there may be a need for last-minute adjustments that are both inconvenient and inappropriate. The brothers must have a view to long-term planning, widening their perspective to consider how matters will develop. With such preparation everyone will be able to work in a smooth, harmonious, sweet, and pleasant atmosphere, and there will not be conflicts or delays.
When all the elders come together, each financial unit should grasp the opportunity to propose a budget. We should never look to a certain brother to gain his private approval outside of the elders’ meeting. This is very much against the principle of fellowship, and it is also improper behavior. In the past we may have done things in this way, but this should not be allowed.
In the churches of the Lord’s recovery, every penny that is spent must be approved at a meeting of all the elders and then executed. This is a matter of life. Without this, our service will be devoid of life, and it will not be easy to have good results. This is not an individual matter but a corporate matter. Every person must keep this principle. We should spend more time and effort to have a budget for every matter. Then when all the elders gather together, we should grasp the opportunity to bring up these matters and ask for resolutions related to the proposed budget. It is useless to have a proposal without a resolution. Furthermore, after a resolution there must be a thorough execution. Thus, we must pay attention to the work that follows, including how to execute the resolution, who will execute it, where to execute it, and so forth. These are all opportunities for us to learn to work.
There should never be a situation in which we feel perplexed, not knowing how to deal with a matter after meeting with the elders. Not bringing up a matter is one thing, but not pressing for a resolution is another thing. If at all possible, the matter should be decided at that time in the elders’ meeting. Furthermore, records should be kept so that matters can be verified later.
When someone brings up a financial need or a budget in the meeting of all the elders, everyone must listen carefully because this matter relates to the whole church. All the elders must carefully listen and look to the Lord for a spirit of discernment related to every decision, no matter how great or small the need. In regard to any subject raised for discussion, elders can ask questions; for example, they may ask, “Why is so much money needed?” The one who raised the subject should not be afraid of such questions or feel that the elders are too controlling, thereby inwardly complaining and grumbling. This kind of attitude deeply injures a person; ground must not be given to such things. Money matters touch a person the most and test a person’s spirituality the most.
The person who raises a subject for discussion should not be concerned that the matter may not be approved by the elders. Neither should he be overjoyed if the elders approve of a matter, because he feels that he has been highly regarded. All these thoughts should be rejected. If an elder asks questions, we should not feel that he is too much. Asking questions and answering questions are ordinary matters. We must learn to look at the financial situation together before the Lord. If we do this, we will not be like a worldly legislature that is full of man’s opinion. We should not have such a flavor, because we are working to get things done, and we are seeking to please only the Lord. Hence, in the meeting, if our proposal is approved, we should not be overly pleased, and if it is not approved, we should not be overly sad. If we are asked further questions, there is no need to complain in our heart, and if we ask questions of others, we should not have the intention of exposing others. All these thoughts must be rejected; otherwise, we will not be spiritual, and we will not be able to say that we are bearing one testimony as the church.
I hope that we will accept these few points in the Spirit and practice them so that there will be no difficulties when there is a resolution related to a financial need in the elders’ meeting. Otherwise, we will have many feelings and complaints, and this will destroy our harmony. For the administration of the church we need business meetings because finances are a matter that concerns everyone. This requires that we all bear responsibility and together execute matters thoroughly. If we do not follow these principles, it will be difficult for the responsible brothers to know the matters of the church, and it will be difficult to say that we are bearing one testimony together.
The monetary needs for every specific category of service, such as the young people’s work and the community gospel, must be brought up for fellowship in a meeting of all the elders, and no money should be expended until a decision has been made. In principle, half of the offerings received in each hall should be used for the regular expenses of the hall, and the other half should be handed over to the main business office for use by the whole church.
If there is a special request from any hall, it should also be brought up for fellowship at a meeting of the entire eldership. As an illustration, hall three may need to purchase a grand piano, requiring approximately one million Taiwan dollars. Since this is not a small amount, the elders in hall three cannot decide on their own; instead, it should be resolved in a meeting of the entire eldership. After a decision has been made, the elders can announce it to the saints in hall three. Even if there is a decision to purchase a piano of lesser quality, two to three hundred thousand Taiwan dollars would be needed. This is not a small amount, so it must be resolved and confirmed by all the elders. In conclusion, the need for every specific category of work as well as special requests by individual halls must be decided by all the elders, not by any one hall on its own.
There should be at least a half-year budget for every specific item and for the regular expenses related to the services in the church. If these budgets are approved by the entire eldership, they will become regular expenses. In this way many inconveniences and much unnecessary talk will be avoided. In the future, whenever we need to do something or have a large expense, all these matters must be proposed and decided on in a meeting of the entire eldership, and then they should be executed by all the elders. In this way matters will be simplified.
Once financial matters reach my hands, I simplify the matters and accomplish them one by one. If the brothers accept my fellowship on the principles of managing financial matters, many matters will be simplified. Today many things are not simple, because we create problems for ourselves. Without these principles we will do things according to our wishes, and there will be problems. If all the members of a family do things according to their own wishes, there will be trouble, no matter how things are done. However, if they decide on a principle and do things according to the principle, matters will be accomplished easily. In the past the elders’ meetings did not establish any principles; in the future there must be principles to follow. The total number of elders, co-workers, and ones with the heart to serve is not small. If we decide on a principle and follow it, there will not be any problem in many of the matters. If we do not act according to a principle, then every step will be a problem.
This is the principle: No money should be spent unless it has been approved at a meeting of the entire eldership. In order for a decision to be made, the proposals must be stated clearly one by one. Furthermore, all the elders must consider carefully, discern clearly, and verify each matter in detail. If there is anything not according to this principle, the matter should not be approved. Everyone must abide properly by this principle so that there will not be any trouble in the future.
From now on there should not be any unmanaged situations, such as looking for the elders only when money is needed immediately. For example, when money was needed in the past, a certain elder may have been out of the country, another elder may have been at work, and yet another elder may have said, “I am not in charge of this matter. No one has given me any money. Who should I ask to pay for this need?” Such a situation indicates that there is no management. Therefore, there must be a budget that goes through an approval process. After a decision has been reached, there is still a need to consider and decide how to carry it out.
Question: A brother has made an offering of more than two million Taiwan dollars to purchase chairs for the meeting hall. How should this money be handled?
Answer: This is a noble deed. When a meeting hall receives this kind of offering, the matter should be announced in the next meeting of all the elders. Even in such a matter, the deciding authority is in the meeting of all the elders. Even though a brother has offered over two million Taiwan dollars, we still need to ask the elders in that meeting hall how many chairs the hall can hold and what kind of chairs they intend to purchase. If there is some remaining money after the necessary calculations have been made, we should ask the elders of the meeting hall to fellowship with the offering brother to let him know that the chairs did not cost as much as was given. In this fellowship we should not give him the impression that the church is rejecting his offering but that we have a proper and decent way of doing things. The chairs must complement the church meetings; they cannot be too crude or too luxurious, falling short of the propriety and decency of the church. In addition, we must tell the brother, “Your offering has been accepted by the Lord, but we need your consent to use the remaining money. We have a need for a big meeting hall. Should this be used for the big meeting hall or for something else?” After we have fellowshipped with him, I believe that he will be very happy. This is the proper way of doing things, and this is a lesson we must learn.
Question: When specific works incur expenses, how should the fees be paid?
Answer: A good farmer does not begin to think about planting next year’s crops only after he has eaten the last dinner of the year. He starts to think about planting the next year’s crop as soon as he completes the arrangements for the fall harvest. He considers what land should be cultivated or which trees should be pruned. All these matters require general planning. In the same principle, a hall or church should determine next year’s budget before the end of the year. All the expenses related to specific spiritual work as well as the services of the meeting halls should be included in the budget. This is what we mean by planning ahead.
Chinese people have a famous saying: “Planning for the year is in spring, planning for the day is in the morning.” This indicates that when spring comes, we must begin to plan how the work should move forward. The work in each meeting hall should not be based on inspiration. This is not the way to work. We must consider and make a budget before starting anything and then bring the budget to the meeting of the entire eldership so that there can be ample fellowship prior to making a decision and setting up a process to execute the decision. We should not spend money without following this way.
Question: If a budget for a hall is approved at the elders’ meeting, but the offerings are insufficient to meet the need, what should we do about the shortfall?
Answer: There are two matters to consider. If such a situation occurs in a hall, something is wrong spiritually in the leadership. If the leading is proper, there should not be such a condition. If this situation exists, then we need to remedy it. An emergency elders’ meeting can be suggested, but if the main business office feels that nothing can be done, we need to ask for help. This should be workable.
If I were a responsible one in the church, I would prefer not to ask for help from the general business office; I would rather use my own money to pay for the shortfall, putting it in the offering box. Nevertheless, we also need to learn lessons, pray earnestly, lead the brothers and sisters, fellowship with them, and let them know the full picture related to offerings. If there is proper leading, such matters will not occur. There will be a shortfall only if our initial budget is careless or inaccurate or if our subsequent leading is inadequate. Gradually, we will learn by doing.
