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Acts 9:31 says, “The church throughout the whole of Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it was multiplied.” Verse 47 of chapter 2 gives a description of the early believers in Jerusalem: they were “praising God and having grace with all the people. And the Lord added together day by day those who were being saved.” The situation of the churches in Taiwan is similar to that of the early believers in Acts. We have peace, we are being built up, we fear the Lord, we have the comfort of the Holy Spirit, and we are praising God. However, there is one thing that does not seem to match the situation. In Acts the Lord “added together day by day those who were being saved”; that is, the number of believers increased day by day. In recent years our numbers do not seem to have increased. Our present rate of increase cannot compare to the increase that we experienced during our first eight years in Taiwan.
In 1949 there were about five hundred saints in Taiwan who had come from the mainland. Later these saints spread to various places on the island. In 1955 there were close to twenty thousand saints in Taiwan. These figures indicate that we had a rapid rate of increase. In the last ten years, however, our increase has slowed down. During this period, there was a turmoil among us; hence, it was not so easy for the work to advance. Even though the churches in Taiwan have been in harmony and oneness for the last two to three years and the co-workers have also been in one accord, our rate of increase has been very slow. The church in Taipei has not experienced a ten-percent increase during the past three years. Although the number of districts has increased, the total number of saints in attendance has not. I believe that this is the situation in all the churches.
The churches today have more provisions than we had twenty years ago. At that time, the saints were young, and our financial capability was less than a tenth of what it is today. In spite of all these factors, our present rate of increase is very slow. This situation is worthy of our study and examination before the Lord.
Furthermore, very few new co-workers are being gained. This means that very few saints are answering the Lord’s calling to be set apart by the Lord and be useful in full-time service. We cannot use human methods, such as opening a kind of school to recruit young people in order to cultivate and produce some useful ones. Such a method is useless. Our situation should be that year after year new ones are called by the Lord, raised up by Him, and set apart by Him. Regrettably, we do not have such a situation among us.
At present the work is not spreading. It seems as though we are only maintaining the status quo among existing local churches. This is in contrast to our situation a few years ago when the work was always spreading and opening new areas. Now only a few local churches are being raised up. One reason for this may be that churches have already been established in most of the major cities. Furthermore, most of the serving ones are in the major cities, and it is not so easy for them to go to smaller places. Initially, the scattered brothers and sisters moved to the major cities for the raising up of local churches. Now it is not common for the saints to move to smaller places. People tend to concentrate in large cities rather than small towns. For this reason, it is not easy to raise up more churches. In view of this situation, we must rely on the workers going out rather than on the saints being scattered in order to raise up new churches.
In the Bible there are two ways for the work to spread. The first way is for workers to go forth and establish churches in various places (Acts 13:2). The second way is through the scattering of the saints (8:1-4). We cannot rely on the saints being scattered to smaller towns. Hence, the spread of the work depends on the co-workers’ going out. Since the co-workers have been unable to go out, it has been difficult for the work to spread. As a result, the work and the testimony of the church are limited to large cities. This point is worthy of our study.
There are three matters that require our attention: the slow rate of increase in the churches, the lack of new co-workers being produced in the work, and the way to spread the work of the Lord’s testimony from large cities to smaller cities and from smaller cities to towns and even to villages. We must examine these three matters before the Lord. An additional matter that is also worthy of our attention is that very few who were baptized have remained.
Some saints have said that the work in Taiwan has not developed in recent years because I spend most of my time in the United States. This word is not correct. We cannot continue the work in the United States if I am required to spend half of my time in Taiwan. The work in Taiwan has been going on for twenty-one years, from the second half of 1949 until now. The foundation for many aspects of the work has been laid in Taiwan, but the work in the United States is altogether in the initial stage. If we do not labor in the United States, no fruit will come forth. The work will advance only as far as we labor. There is a good foundation in Taiwan, but it is regrettable that we have not developed it. The condition of Taiwan’s society is far more advantageous to the Lord’s work than it was twenty years ago. The living conditions in Taiwan are stable because of a prosperous economy and a well-developed education system. We must make use of these provisions. When Western missionaries went to China to preach the gospel, they had to establish schools, because education helps the spread of the gospel. Today there is no need for us to establish schools in Taiwan. There are schools established by the government everywhere. This is an excellent provision. In addition, the environment in Taiwan is safe and secure, and the government grants people freedom of religion. As long as a person does not violate the law, no one will interfere in his religious activities. All of these are excellent provisions, but we have not utilized them.
The United States has a similar situation. The environment there is suitable, but we have not yet laid a solid foundation for the work. The work is only in the initial stage. Hence, if we do not continue to labor, the work will suffer, but if we labor, the work will spread. If I spend six months in the United States and the other six months in Taiwan, the work will not develop in the United States. In order for the work to develop, I must spend more time there. We must have a broader view concerning the work in the United States. Although there are many local churches in Taiwan, and there are many saints fellowshipping in the churches, the impact and potential spread of the work in Taiwan cannot be compared to the United States. For example, The Ministry of the Word magazine has been in publication for twenty years, but there are only approximately three thousand eight hundred readers. However, The Stream magazine, which is in English, has ten thousand readers. This means that there are less than four thousand Chinese readers, but there are close to ten thousand English-speaking readers. Although the number of local churches in the United States and the number of saints in fellowship with us are few, the number of people who receive help from this work is not small.
In the United States there are close to a hundred million Christians, of which forty million are Catholics and sixty million are Protestants. If the work influences only one percent of the sixty million Protestants, this would be six hundred thousand people. If we lower the percentage to only one-tenth of one percent, we would still reach sixty thousand people. Hence, it is worthwhile to labor in the United States. Furthermore, in addition to the believers in the United States, believers in places such as India, Australia, New Zealand, and West Germany are also influenced by this ministry. As far as the numbers are concerned, the work in the United States cannot be compared to the work in Taiwan; however, as far as impact is concerned, the work in Taiwan cannot compare to the work in the United States. The influence of the work here is mostly in East Asia, and it is limited to the Chinese-speaking world. Outside of the Chinese-speaking world, the influence is limited. Therefore, if we have a broader view, a global view, the importance of the work in Taiwan cannot be compared to the importance of the work in the United States. If we reduce the labor in the United States by half, we may not be able to compensate for the loss. Without the work in the United States, I could spend all my energy in Taiwan, and there would be much work here. However, the work must spread in the United States. For this reason I hope that you will labor diligently to spread the work here in my absence.
Concerning the propagation work overseas, Taiwan has rendered some help. However, there are many local churches and a good number of saints in Taiwan, so we should be able to render substantial help by sending more saints out. The work needs to be developed in Japan, South Korea, and many other countries. Saints need to be sent to these places. Three or four co-workers are not enough to begin the work in Indonesia. We must be willing to send saints. The work must advance in Taiwan, but we must also supply other places. The brothers should endeavor to go forward.
The work needs leadership, but the co-workers cannot depend solely on the leadership. The foundation has been laid, and churches have also been established in many places. The co-workers should exercise to function in the work. We are not an organization, nor do we have a constitution. The co-workers in Tainan are free to develop the work in Tainan, but they must not interfere with the work in other churches. A co-worker in Taipei must first fellowship with the co-workers and elders in Taipei regarding his service in a particular district, and then he should labor diligently. While he should follow the direction of the work, he should not wait passively. However, it is a fundamental mistake for the work to direct the day-to-day activities of the workers. If the work directs the workers in this way, the work should be fundamentally adjusted. At the most, the work should make some initial arrangements for the co-workers concerning their service. In the church in Taipei there are many district halls. The work can arrange for a worker to serve in a particular district, but once a worker is assigned to serve in a place, the work should give him total freedom. The work does not have a central command unit. The co-workers must not hold such a concept.
The co-workers must not give their responsibilities to someone else. If a country has the best president, but none of its ministers work diligently, sooner or later that country will fall. But if the ministers do their best, even if the president is not intelligent, that country will become stronger. Hence, in a sense, the work needs leadership, but in another sense, the work does not need a leader or leaders, because we are not an organization. A co-worker serving in a certain place should have some amount of freedom. Some co-workers are restricted because the elders in their locality exercise too much control. These elders need a change of concept.
We do not control, rule over, or restrict the co-workers. If a co-worker is serving in Keelung but fails to accomplish anything, he should not blame anything or anyone, because he was perfected by the work and given freedom in his service. Therefore, the co-workers need a change in concept. Once they are serving in a certain place, whether large or small, they should work until that place becomes a “New Jerusalem.” The place of our service does not matter; what matters is that we accomplish something. There is no need for a commander-in-chief in Taiwan. We simply need to labor where we are.
The work does not need a commander-in-chief, nor does a district meeting or a group meeting need a commander-in-chief. We should remove all the leaders, and let everyone be a leader. A co-worker should take the lead in the work by concentrating on nothing else but working diligently. This is the right concept. If he is not controlled, he cannot blame anyone but himself for the outcome of his labor. If the result is good, it is to his credit; if the result is poor, it is his fault.
Hence, the workers must change their concept. There is no organization in the work. We are not like a government office. Every co-worker works according to the grace he has received. If the grace he has received is comparable to what Paul received, his work will be comparable to Paul’s. If the grace he has received is similar to what Barnabas received, his work will be comparable to the work of Barnabas. Whether or not the work tries to control him will not change the fact that he is a Paul or a Barnabas. It will only impact the effectiveness of his service. In Acts the work was not under anyone’s rule. Once an aspect of the work is placed in our hands, we should exercise to function; we should not wait for “instructions” from a leader. This fellowship is related to the co-workers.
The elders must seek the Lord’s grace so that they are able to bear the burden of the church. In the initial stage of the church, when it is still weak, the co-workers’ help is needed. However, in some local churches the co-workers have been helping for more than twenty years. It is not reasonable for these churches to continue to ask for the help of the co-workers. It is the elders who should bear the burden of the church. However, the elders must not have the concept of being an elder forever. If the church does not advance or spread, the elders should go before the Lord and see if there are others who are more useful. If there are such brothers, the elders should consider giving up their service. The elders do not have a specific term of service, like the president who serves for four years and the legislators who serve for two years. There is no term limit related to the eldership. However, if an elder cannot bear the responsibility in a locality, and there is a brother who is more mature and more capable, then the elder should consider giving up his service. We should bring such matters before the Lord.
As elders, we should bear the burden of the church in our locality. If the situation of the church is poor, we can fellowship and ask the work to send co-workers to assist us. However, it is not easy, even for the co-workers, to produce elders. This is because the more a co-worker serves, the more he can keep things in his own hands. This results in limited opportunities for others to serve and learn. After a co-worker works in a place for two or three years, elders should be raised up from among the saints, and the burden of the church can be handed over to them. It is often the case that some local brothers show signs of being an elder, but after a co-worker arrives and works in the locality for three years, these brothers no longer show any signs of being an elder. This is because the co-worker assumes all the responsibilities in the church. When the co-worker serves directly, he does not know how to train others and even believes that he is the only one who can carry out the work. The longer he takes care of things, the less capable others become. This is a problem. The church can become a trap to a co-worker if he thinks that he is indispensable. When a co-worker goes to a place where there are no elders, he should train the local brothers with the aim of producing elders. After three years some local brothers who can be given the responsibilities of an elder will be manifested. Then the local brothers should be appointed as elders. In this way, the co-worker will be freed to move to another locality. This situation is normal.
At present, however, the elders do not bear the burden of the churches, because the co-workers are still bearing the burden of the elders. No new elders have been raised up, and not many elders have manifested their function. I hope that the elders will go before the Lord, examine themselves anew, and have a new beginning in the Lord’s light. They should determine whether or not they can advance or whether or not others are more suitable to be elders. If there are no suitable brothers, we can fellowship with the work.
Many new believers have not remained after being baptized, because we have not spent enough time to care for them. Our service has focused on maintaining the meetings. We rely on meetings to shepherd the saints. Most of the serving ones focus on maintaining the meetings. We spend our time and energy on the meetings. As a result, the service related to shepherding, teaching, visiting, and comforting does not exist. This means that after a person is baptized, no one cares for him or nourishes him. It is regrettable that some new believers have even been lost.
We need to examine our situation and consider whether we can change the way we do things. The responsibility for this matter lies with the elders. They should change the system by spending more of their time shepherding. Not only should the elders spend more time shepherding, but the responsible ones in the districts and the serving ones should shepherd more. In particular, the saints who meet regularly should also do the work of shepherding. It would be good to drop one weekly meeting and use that time for visiting and shepherding. The elders and responsible ones in the districts should reduce the church business affairs; they should not spend too much time on the business affairs.
The church life should not depend on those taking the lead. Rather, we should simplify our meetings as well as the administrative affairs so that there is more time for visiting and shepherding the saints. The elders’ meeting should also be simplified. In this way much time can be saved and used for shepherding the saints. In short, elders should do more shepherding and visiting. They should also bring the responsible saints in the districts and small groups into shepherding and visiting.
Furthermore, we should make a list of all the saints in the meetings and then arrange the saints into small groups. There should be one weekly meeting in the meeting hall, and the rest of the time can be used for small group meetings. A group of five saints may decide to visit another saint, or they may invite another saint to fellowship with them, or they may preach the gospel. These things are all good. Whatever the saints in a group desire to do, they may do. They can meet two times a week, but it would be best to meet three times so that they can also shepherd and care for other saints. Two groups may decide to come together and fellowship. This is also good. Such matters do not need to be brought to the elders’ meeting for fellowship. The saints should have the freedom to carry out such matters with each member participating. The elders oversee the church. They should observe how the groups are progressing, how many new ones are being gained, and how many backslidden ones are being recovered.
I feel that it is worthwhile for us to change the system. In particular, the elders and the responsible ones in the districts and the small groups should have a turn. It would be best if the business affairs took up only one-tenth of our time and visiting and shepherding took up nine-tenths of our time. We should spend more time and energy visiting the saints. Visiting is not the responsibility of only the elders; all the saints should be involved. We need more fellowship concerning this matter. Changing a system is not a revolution, but it requires more effort than a revolution, because it is possible to have a revolution but still maintain the old system. Therefore, to have a change of system requires more effort.
We must also pay attention to supplying the Lord’s Day meeting. I attended a Lord’s Day meeting in which the saints merely sang hymns, prayed, and gave testimonies. That is not the best use of our time in the Lord’s Day meeting. Some of the testimonies encouraged the saints. The meeting was not in the hands of the elders; in other words, the elders did not consider the meeting to be their responsibility. This situation can be likened to inviting guests for a meal but not preparing anything. We need to have a plan. We must be determined to have some “food” for supplying the saints during the Lord’s Day meeting.
If I bore responsibility in a district, I would do everything in order to get a supply to meet the need of the Lord’s Day meeting. Otherwise, several hundred saints will come together for one and a half hours every week without receiving a supply. After a few weeks some will feel that they are wasting their time and energy. Hence, the elders must labor desperately. They should bear a heavier burden for the Lord’s Day meeting. Instead of relying on the co-workers, the elders should labor and pay the price to receive a supply for the Lord’s Day meeting.
A two-hour meeting on the Lord’s Day is not long. There should always be a good, suitable, and living supply rendered to the brothers and sisters. We should not fill the time with things that do not supply the saints. If an elder cannot fulfill this need, he should ask another brother to take care of it. We must set aside some time in the Lord’s Day morning meeting to render an adequate supply to the saints. Another period of time should be set aside for the saints to fellowship and give testimonies. These are also necessary. In every Lord’s Day morning meeting we should render a supply to the saints for their edification, and all the saints should have mutual fellowship.
Furthermore, we should set aside two evenings a week for the saints to take care of their household affairs, which have nothing to do with spiritual things or church service. The saints can meet in the hall for their edification on any other evening. The focus of the meeting in the hall should be for the edification of the saints. The small groups can decide how to use the rest of the evenings in the week; they should include a prayer meeting. The elders should not decide the location of the small group meetings. Every group can make that decision. The saints in a group may decide to pray in the home of one saint this week and in the home of a different saint next week. A small group can consist of five saints, ten saints, or even twenty saints. However, all the saints in a group should live nearby and be in the same district. Two groups may even decide to meet together.
The activities of a group may include meeting, fellowshipping, finding and visiting backslidden saints, and preaching the gospel to lead people to salvation. The responsibility for this service can be placed on the shoulders of the saints. In this way the church is responsible only for taking care of the meeting on Lord’s Day morning and the mid-week meeting. The mid-week meeting can be on a Wednesday or Thursday, and each small group can decide whether to visit or to shepherd on other evenings. The elders should charge the saints to come together to pray, fellowship, visit and recover the backslidden saints, strengthen the weak saints, comfort the disheartened saints, and lead people to salvation. Every group can participate in these activities. When the number of saints in a group increases, the group can split into two new groups.
There should be two meetings a week to edify and supply saints. These meetings should be in the district halls, one on the Lord’s Day morning and the other during the week. If the elders cannot give good messages, they can coordinate together to select a few messages and digest them. They can select a message from The Ministry of the Word magazine. The brothers should read, digest, and fellowship concerning the message. They can then use this to supply the saints on the Lord’s Day.
The elders should always have something with which to supply the saints. They should never be empty-handed. We should not be like an irresponsible mother, who does not consider how to feed her children.
The elders must bear this responsibility. Every Lord’s Day morning when the saints come together, the elders should supply them in a proper way with “food.” No matter how poor the elders think that they are, they must always be ready to supply and nourish the saints. This is the proper way.
In the small groups we should introduce the saints to spiritual books for their study and encourage them to fellowship mutually in the meetings. A small group can use one evening to read spiritual books and pray. About ten saints can gather together and use half the time to read and the other half to pray. A group can use two evenings to visit saints or preach the gospel. If we can practice this consistently, over a period of time we will see results.
The information concerning gospel friends does not have to be taken care of in a central location. This information should be taken care of by the small groups. We also need to consider certain matters such as baptisms. Such matters do not necessarily need to be done in the halls. Baptisms can be taken care of by the small groups. A small group can baptize its gospel friends who have received the Lord. In this way the church life is simplified.
We should make a new list of the saints who are in the meetings. Based on this list saints can be formed into groups. We should not designate one saint as the responsible one, because every saint is a responsible one. Even if twenty saints come together, every saint is responsible. These saints should take care of one another. They can preach the gospel together and edify one another; all the saints should be responsible.
Because there seems to be a hint of bureaucracy among us, no one should be assigned to be a leading one in a small group. Every saint should take the lead and take care of the group. If the saints do not take care of themselves, they will die. We need an atmosphere of mutual care. We must not let the districts administrate the small groups. Such an administration would annul the function of the saints. The more we try to administrate, the more problems there will be. We should eliminate any administration through the districts by letting the saints serve and take care of their activities.
When the saints meet on the Lord’s Day morning, it is the responsibility of the elders, the “fathers and mothers,” to give them something to eat. Do not control the saints; instead, feed them. The districts should not seek to control the saints. The oversight of the elders in the districts is a sufficient responsibility for the elders. The administration in a district must be reduced.
In a local church the responsibility of the elders is mainly in feeding and teaching. When the saints gather together on the Lord’s Day morning, the elders should give them food. The genuine administrative responsibility of the elders is to give food to the saints. If people are fed, there will be no problems. This principle also applies to the administration of a nation. If a nation is fed and satisfied, there will be no problems. Hence, we must feed and satisfy the saints. If the saints are not fed, our administration will bring in confusion. If the saints are fed, our administration will bring in order.
A hall that stresses only administration of outward matters is like a “cake not turned” (Hosea 7:8). Some may think that it is a risk to reduce the administrative involvement of the elders. We need to run this risk and see what happens. We should not feel a need to direct every matter in a group meeting. This will enable the function of the saints to be developed. If the saints in a small group are quarreling, we should not be quick to intervene with their quarreling. If a small group becomes desolate because of incessant quarreling, let it be so. Eventually, the Lord will open a door for the consecrated saints to address the real need of the group, and the quarreling will stop. Perhaps I am too much in my speaking, but I am greatly disturbed by the situation here. In my forty years of service, I have never seen such a situation where there is so much administration. It puts a “shackle” on the church life. We must remove the concept of having responsible ones in the groups. Let the saints meet and serve.
I believe that if there were less administration in a district, the saints would come forth to serve. Our situation can be compared to a family in which the elderly father and older siblings restrict the younger siblings from doing anything. Too much administration can cause the saints to lose the spirit to serve. I do have a basis for saying this. Many saints give up inwardly and no longer want to serve, because they were merely maintaining a façade. If we reduce the administration, the saints will be enlivened.
The elders and responsible ones must not shackle the saints; instead, they must supply the saints so that the saints come forth to serve. The saints need to be free in their spirit. According to the Bible, the co-workers and elders are raised up to meet a need. If they become a system or an organization to control and rule over the church, they should be removed.
Although it is not appropriate for the elders to choke the workers so severely, the co-workers should be “choke-proof.” A brother who serves in a locality should not stop doing something simply because he feels that the elders are not fully supportive. The elders should not control him, but the brother should still be able to coordinate with the elders. However, the elders should not direct him in his service, whether it is giving messages, working with young people, working on the campuses, or contacting saints.
While the elders should not restrict the co-workers, the co-workers should not blame the elders. Instead, the co-workers should supply others. If the co-workers have something, they will supply life in the meetings, and whenever they open their mouths, the saints will be enlivened. Who would restrict the co-workers if they supply the saints? The co-workers should always have the supply. They should be like a river. The co-workers should forget about any restrictions and instead have a ready supply.
I would advise the elders to administrate less but exercise discernment. They should see whether a brother has a genuine supply. If a brother has the supply, he should be encouraged to serve. The brothers can testify that our work has never restricted the saints. In the work there is only leading, supplying, and supporting. We must reduce the administration. In the church life no one is useless; rather, everyone is useful. In any case, a person’s usefulness depends on whether or not he is used.
A co-worker should not allow himself to be useless. At the very least, he can preach the gospel to one person a day. He can distribute two hundred tracts every day. If we are useless, we bear the blame. We should not say that we are useless. Even a person who is mute and cannot speak can distribute tracts. The co-workers have many functions. A co-worker with no function has not developed his function.
It is not good for the co-workers to delegate everything to others and then merely attend the meetings. The co-workers should never be useless; instead, they should always advance and look for opportunities to develop their function. No saint is useless. To be useless means that we have not worked to develop our function. We should not blame our environment. We must develop our function. The Lord’s work cannot be restricted. The Lord’s work cannot be stopped. There is always work to do. We must labor to the extent that all the saints are stirred up.
We must have a long-range view. We must have a change of concept and let go of any thought of controlling the church. The church life will not become worse from a lack of control. Twenty years ago I would not have dared to say this. However, today I can say this. We should not control out of fear that the saints will make mistakes.
Last year in Los Angeles three young top serving brothers volunteered to labor with the young people. The more they worked, the less the young people came to the meetings. One day they came to fellowship with me. I told them that they should no longer work with the young ones; rather, they should let students work with students. I also said that those who are not in school should not work with students. Thus, the work with the young saints was put into the hands of the students. I even told the elders not to check how the students’ work was progressing. Even in a young people’s conference during the Thanksgiving holidays, the young students bore the responsibility of the meetings.
Before the conference, the young saints heard that no one would be overseeing the conference, and they were afraid that they might make mistakes. So a few of them made a plan for the conference and brought it to me. Instead of reviewing their plan, I told them to hold the conference and that it would not matter if they made mistakes. I can testify that that young people’s conference was blessed. The young people did an excellent job. This subdued the brothers who were ambitious to work with the students. The young people are qualified to take care of other young people. The young ones who thought they were incapable of doing a good work were quite capable in the end. We later asked the young people to take care of another conference, and two hundred and twenty-five young people were baptized. We should let go and let the saints serve. We should be bold and let them do the work.
