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In 1949 we began the work in Taiwan with a small number of saints. At the time, the people whom we gained were mostly young ones, whereas today we gain mostly adults. There is a big difference between the two age groups. When the work started, the number of saints increased. However, in recent years there has not been a noticeable increase. It is worthwhile for us to study the reason for our lack of increase.
There may be many reasons for our lack of increase, but the main reason is that the co-workers, elders, and responsible ones have not been able to perfect the saints. Not being able to perfect the saints is a lack. The saints are capable, but they are not being perfected. Unintentionally, the brothers are serving in a natural way, according to their temperament. As a result, the saints are not being perfected.
For example, there is a district in Taipei with enough capable brothers to administrate ten local churches. In other words, if the saints in this district were perfected and sent to ten places to sow the seed of the gospel, after several years there would be ten local churches with a manifold increase. It is regrettable that these capable ones have still not been brought into function. The co-workers are able to work, but they do not know how to perfect the saints. The elders know how to administrate, but they do not know how to perfect the saints. The same is true with respect to the responsible ones in the districts. This indicates that the brothers know how to serve, but they do not know how to bring the saints into the service. If a father and the older siblings do all the work in a family, the generation that comes after them will follow their pattern. The basic principle in the work and in the church is the same as the principle of a family. In a family the mother cooks whether or not she knows how to cook. The church is a family, and everyone in this family has to “cook,” regardless of how well they can cook. This means that every member in this family must function. Those with greater capacity have to function according to their capacity, and those with lesser capacity should function according to their capacity. In a family even a blind member can function. The problem in the past has been that the co-workers, elders, and responsible ones in the districts served with those saints who matched their taste and not with those who were not according to their taste. Neither did they serve with the weak and less capable saints. In the end, no saint was brought into function. We must bring every saint into function.
A carpenter can use any kind of wood to make a desk. He only needs to prepare and cut the wood. If we have this kind of spirit, the work will increase. However, our situation is that we reject different saints and select only those whom we consider to be capable. Our consideration of who is capable is based on our disposition; that is, we select whom we like. This limits the number of saints who can be perfected because too many are eliminated. Hence, the co-workers, elders, and responsible ones must change their attitude.
If the co-workers, elders, and responsible ones will go elsewhere and meet, they will give other saints the opportunity to serve. If they would hand an entire district over to the saints, the doors of the meeting place would not close. The co-workers, elders, and responsible ones should be able to form teams and go out. We have information cards for thirteen thousand saints in the church in Taipei. Three thousand of these saints meet regularly, and more than ten thousand do not meet. If the co-workers, elders, and responsible ones would meet and pray for these ten thousand and leave the district meetings to the saints, letting them serve and make decisions, the result would be surprising. Even in a family, when the parents and older siblings are not present, the younger siblings take care of everything. The elders should not make any arrangements but let the saints take care of everything and see what the results will be. The co-workers, elders, and responsible ones should leave the saints who meet regularly and pray earnestly for the ten thousand who are not meeting. They should not touch the saints who meet regularly but focus on visiting the saints who have not been meeting. If we would practice this for one or two years, there would be four to five hundred more saints in the meetings. This is an obvious way to gain the increase, but it is not the best way. The best way is to take the saints who are in the meetings and form them into groups. A district with four to five hundred saints can be formed into ten groups, and these groups should go out for the gospel. There may be a few saints who are unable to go. These ones can stay in the districts. After two years of going out for the gospel, ten new local churches would be raised up.
Presently, the saints are not being brought into function, but they are all gathering together. We have many “hens occupying the roosts but not laying eggs.” If those who occupy the roosts would step aside, other hens would be able to lay eggs. This is the purpose of our fellowship. In order for the saints to be brought into function, both our concept and our disposition must change. Then the way we work will also change. When our way changes, we will be able to bring the saints into function.
We are not able to push the work forward; we can only maintain our condition. In addition, there is no possibility for the work to spread. During the past four years, we have reached our capacity. The co-workers and elders in the churches and the work have reached their capacity. The work cannot spread, because of their disposition and way of working. Consequently, the things in their hands are always limited. This is the situation of the church in Taipei. This situation will continue unless the co-workers and elders are willing to change their disposition, concept, and system. Even if they try to do more and also preach the gospel, our number will not exceed three thousand saints, because all the service is in the hands of the co-workers and elders; that is, a few hens are occupying the roosts. The co-workers and elders must change their concept. If they do not change their concept, they must at least change the system. To change the system means to remove the co-workers, elders, and responsible ones. This does not mean that the elders will no longer administrate the church. The elders will continue to administrate the church but not in the present way. If they are willing to delegate the service, others will be brought into function. The saints will spontaneously begin to handle the church affairs. When the parents are away and no one prepares dinner, spontaneously the children rise up to feed themselves. In this way, the capacity of the saints will be manifested.
The co-workers, elders, and responsible ones need to be enlightened and receive this frank word. If I do not speak frankly, I am deceiving you. We have reached our capacity. Regardless of how much harder we work, we will not increase. A container can hold only so much water. We do not need to add more water; rather, we need to expand the capacity of the container. We do not bring the saints into function, because we unconsciously think that they are limited in their capacity but that we are not. Although we do not say this explicitly, we harbor this thought unconsciously. This is the reason that the saints cannot be brought into the service. We must consider these matters before the Lord.
Furthermore, the co-workers work merely for the sake of working. They do not have a genuine burden for the work. The administration by the elders is merely organization without shepherding. This is our present situation. We recently held a conference in a gymnasium, and all the co-workers were present. That should have been an opportunity for them to serve. Since the co-workers did not bear the responsibility of giving the messages and many new ones were at the conference, the co-workers should have risen up. We must be equipped with a spirit to contact the saints immediately after a meeting. However, there was no burden for the saints. This was the case not only with the co-workers but also with the elders. The elders should be aware of the saints who have not been meeting for a long time and welcome them when they come to a meeting. For this reason, the elders should take care of visiting the saints.
Our way and our system led to our present situation. We have fallen into a state of working and doing things without a burden. Most of the saints in the conference were serving ones. It was the best opportunity for them to serve. However, no new ones were added. We use methods and have regulations to the point that no one will do anything without being directed. One day we will fall completely into organization, method, and arrangement instead of walking according to the spirit, and no one will have a living burden and do things in a living way.
The elders in the church in Taipei carry out the administration of the church in a very good way. However, they spend most of their time discussing church affairs, not shepherding and teaching. The administration of the church, according to the Bible, should focus on shepherding and teaching. The elders should spend more of their time on people, shepherding the saints and seeking the lost ones. The saints have stopped coming to the meetings because our shepherding is poor and our work is not living. In the work we should not rely on methods or arrangements. If we do, it will be difficult to propagate the work.
We do not pay enough attention to the saints’ growth in life. The elders should be aware of their own growth in life, of the growth in life of the saints, and of the growth in life of the responsible ones. This does not mean that the elders should invite the saints for fellowship or that the districts should have love feasts. These are merely methods. The elders must first learn the lessons of life, and then spontaneously and automatically they will fellowship concerning life. There will be no need for arrangements. Fellowship does not refer to making decisions about services or a meeting schedule. Such decisions do not matter. The elders need to learn genuine lessons in life. If a responsible one is not doing well, the elders should fellowship with him and supply life for his progress. Then the responsible one will be able to supply life to the saints. The saints need more growth in life.
The co-workers and elders need to spend more time in the ministry of the word. We should not assign one person to be in charge of giving messages, but a district with a regular attendance of four to five hundred saints needs the supply of a living word. Both the co-workers and the elders must be desperate to study the word so that they can minister a word of life. It is the responsibility of parents to satisfy the hunger of their children. The co-workers and elders must give their whole being to give a living word. They can at least spend time before the Lord studying our publications, which contain many messages, so that they can present the word of the Lord to the saints in a fresh and living way. Every week the elders and co-workers must supply the saints with the word so that the church can develop and be full of content. We cannot ask the saints merely to pray-read and shout. It is right to release the spirit, but to merely shout and pray-read fifty-two weeks a year is not right. We must present something solid, just as parents feed their children every day.
The churches are not progressing because we are not practicing visitation and shepherding, we are short of the supply of life, and we lack the supply of the word. In addition, the churches are not developing because the elders have not handed the services over to the saints, and the work is not advancing. Hence, we must rise up and make a radical change. The elders must give themselves to shepherding the church of God. They must find a way to shepherd the church so that the saints grow in life. The co-workers must minister the word. If the co-workers cannot minister the word, the elders must make up the lack. Please forgive me for giving such a frank word. The co-workers who are not able to supply the word should not consider themselves as co-workers. If they cannot help the saints to grow in life or supply the saints with the word, what else can the co-workers do? It may be that they can only serve with the saints. However, the saints do not need help with the service; the co-workers do not need to be involved with the services in the churches. The services should be completely turned over to the saints. The saints can do the cleaning and ushering in their spare time. They can even give hospitality. We should seriously consider these matters before the Lord.
We must have a pure motive and only take care of ministering to the saints. The co-workers do not need to lead the young people’s meeting. The young people can lead their own meetings. It is unnecessary for the co-workers to do what the saints can do. Even if there are more regular services, such as ushering during the meetings, the co-workers do not need to be involved with the services. The saints can handle the services. We often declare that the whole church should serve and that all the saints should serve. However, only a few saints are serving. We need to fellowship concerning this so that the churches have a way to go on. The full-time serving ones need to give the saints a living supply. We must change our concept. If a co-worker meets in a district where there is no supply of the word, he should immediately minister the word and not wait for others to arrange for him to supply the word. For example, at the end of the Lord’s Day morning meeting he should stand up to minister the word for twenty minutes so that the saints are fed, even if no one invites him or arranges for him to do so. If he does this, who can say that he is wrong? It does not matter whether he is assigned to take care of a district. What is important is that the district he attends is living.
When the co-workers go to serve in a locality, they should be like rainwater that can seep through any crack. They should serve with young people and also with older saints. They should serve according to the burden, whether or not they are assigned. If they serve in this way, we have hope for the future. Our attitude should be to serve wherever we are. We can always contact the saints individually. If we cannot contact the saints individually, we can contact unbelievers. Only by serving diligently can the work propagate.
The Lord does not want us to be officials in the church or in the work; rather, He desires that we always supply life, just like air always fills a container. We must change our concept, not be complicated, and supply life. If we do not have the opportunity to speak in a meeting, we can still supply life through prayer. This is the kind of spirit that we must have in our service. Our situation has come to a standstill. When the service is handed over to the responsible ones, it is restricted. When the administration of a church is handed over to the elders, the church is restricted. We should not restrict the matters that are handed over to us, nor should we fight to receive things. We should only endeavor to supply life. If we are burdened for the young people’s work, we should serve them diligently.
Please forgive me for speaking frankly. When I am in the United States, I do not serve only the church in San Francisco and the church in Los Angeles. I serve all the churches in the United States. The brothers in Taipei, however, serve in one district and are unable to travel. According to our information, there are only five to six hundred saints who regularly attend the meetings. The brothers should be able to travel. We are not changing our way. From the beginning of the work we repeatedly charged the co-workers to travel for the perfecting of the saints rather than to replace the saints or serve on their behalf.
We have been working for many years, and yet we do not have any who can follow after us. We must change our concept and pay attention to the crucial matter of ministering the word. We do not need to give useless messages; we should not speak on loving God today and denying the self tomorrow based on whims. We need the line of life, and we need to consider how to advance in the work. If we cannot produce a message, we should search for material in our publications. We do not need to give pretty messages. We need messages that meet the present need and are a supply. All the full-time serving ones should give themselves to labor in and study the word. It is a shame for us to spend our time aimlessly. Some co-workers think that they can accomplish something, but they cannot. Other co-workers stay within their measure. They are obedient but have not accomplished anything. If a certain district has four full-time brothers who neither supply life nor minister the word, the brothers are not doing a proper work. With four brothers serving full time, many things can be accomplished if they are diligent to function. They should not care for who is in charge, nor should they care for the system. They should work in order to have a result, and they should use every opportunity to supply life. All their service should be living.
Furthermore, we should not have complicated situations. We should be open and seek to improve. Only when we change our concept, our disposition, our way of doing things, and our system will we be delivered. Otherwise, with our present concept, disposition, and way of doing things, the work has reached a standstill. No matter how much more we do, we can only maintain our situation, because we do not bring the saints into function. Even if we recruit some capable saints, we do not know how to bring them into function. If we change our concept, our disposition, and our way of doing things and then bring the saints into function, the number of saints will increase, and those in the meetings will also increase. Some saints are unwilling to come to the meetings, but if we change the way we do things, they will have a desire to come to the meetings.
We should not serve as if we were government officials. The elders do not occupy the highest position in the church; instead, they are servants. May the Lord have mercy on us. The elders must give themselves to serve until there is feeding and shepherding in the church. The elders have spent enough time in the affairs of the church, but the saints are neither being supplied nor educated. This can be likened to parents who consider how to clean and upgrade their house but do not provide food for their children. There is no need to pay so much attention to “cleaning our home”; we should rather consider how to feed our children so that they can progress in a good way. This is our urgent need. The elders often spend hours discussing the business affairs of the church, but they only briefly mention matters concerning visitation, shepherding, care, and the supply of life. This also applies to the co-workers. Their service tends to be a routine. Our service must be living. In the meetings we should not follow the old way; we should be led by the Holy Spirit. The Lord can use any saint to enliven a meeting. Hence, there is no need for the co-workers to make so many arrangements. Often when the co-workers try to lead the meeting, they kill the meeting. The saints do not need arrangements in order to be enlivened.
If the young people’s meeting is led by the young people and not by co-workers, the young people will be willing to attend the meeting, and even if they do not know how to have the meeting, they will learn. The co-workers’ service must not replace the young people. The co-workers must let the young people serve. Do not even stir up the young people. The co-workers should not keep things in their hands, because this causes the young saints to be passive. Even if the young saints ask the co-workers to help, the co-workers should still not replace the saints. The co-workers must insist that the young saints serve.
The co-workers, elders, and responsible ones should not try to do everything but rather should bring the saints into function. Bringing the saints into function is the basic principle of our service. Every saint who comes to the meeting is useful, and we must perfect him. A co-worker who knows how to work would visit the saints who are not in the meetings. At least half of the saints who are in the meetings must be brought into their function.
We should be practical and make a list of the services in the district. Then we can fellowship with the responsible ones to find out who among the saints can bear responsibility. We can then arrange for the different services to be given to the saints. The details related to the services should be decided by the saints who are responsible for the service. For example, two brothers and a few sisters can be given the responsibility of hospitality. They will be responsible to find other saints to help with room and bed assignments and cleaning. This way of delegating is very simple and easy to carry out. The elders need only to have oversight and make sure that the services are properly taken care of. If a saint is not thorough, the elders need not intervene personally. They can let the responsible ones take care of the situation. When the church in Los Angeles received more than one hundred visiting saints, four brothers were responsible for serving meals. The brothers asked different saints to take care of various tasks, such as obtaining chairs and tables, preparing plates and bowls, planning menus, and making purchases. All the saints who were available were employed. The saints who were responsible for lodging arrangements sought out other saints to help them. This way of doing things is very easy. The elders did not get involved in any of the services, yet everything was carried out appropriately. In all the districts in Taipei there is an abundance of useful saints. The elders should hand over all the services to them and oversee from a distance.
The elders should spend most of their time shepherding and supplying life to the saints. The co-workers should have time to propagate the work and should study to minister the word. We cannot let the saints come to meetings week after week without receiving any supply in the word. The co-workers should study the messages that we have released and coordinate with one another to minister the word for the supply of the saints. This is the practice in several churches in the United States. In every meeting there is always the supply of the word of life. This is easy to do. Hence, the co-workers and the elders should let go of other things. They should not keep anything in their hands.
Furthermore, the co-workers and elders should not be rigid in their practice. It does not matter how the saints are formed into small groups. We are too rigid and regulated, and we rely on methods and arrangements. We must tear these down. We must let the saints have the opportunity to serve. The elders should only oversee from a distance. The co-workers should grasp the opportunity to supply the word. They should follow the leading of the Holy Spirit to release a living word. If a local church does not have a co-worker, the elders should do their best to meet the need in the word. Otherwise, the meetings will be poor, and the saints will starve. In short, the elders should oversee, and the co-workers, together with the elders, should do their best to render a supply in the word and maintain the line of life.
There are two lines in the supply of the word. One line is to bring the new believers from knowing regeneration to knowing the indwelling life, and then to following the sense of life, that is, enlivening the new ones step by step. The other line is concerning the leading of the local church. This line can be compared to blowing the trumpet. The church’s going on is dependent on the supply and leading through the word. However, in order for the word to come forth, there cannot be only a few saints functioning; all the saints need to function. Depending on regulations and methods and not doing anything without being directed prevent us from following the mingled spirit and prevent the divine life from growing.
We must do our best to let all the saints serve. Otherwise, we are old hens occupying the roost but not laying eggs. Our method and our disposition have brought us to a standstill, to a point where we have reached our capacity. Unless we change our disposition and our practice, we will have no way to go on and no way to spread; we will remain in our current situation.
Young sisters can preach the gospel to their classmates and bring them to salvation. This is very simple. We should never think that only certain qualified saints can be involved with the gospel and that only a handful are capable. Young sisters can go before the Lord in desperate prayer. They can fast and pray for their class. When two classmates are saved, the sisters can begin a meeting with them. At that time the co-workers should grasp the opportunity to supply the sisters with life. Gradually, the new ones meeting with the young sisters will increase. Our present way of serving is mechanical because we are halfhearted. We must enliven the saints. If the Lord gives a brother the burden to lead a few junior high students, he should pray for them desperately until they are burning. As a result, each of the students will bring at least one classmate to salvation, and there will be a hundredfold increase. Although the brother is serving a few junior high students, he is supplying the Lord’s Day meeting with life and thus even the young people’s meeting. He also needs to go to different districts to take care of different needs. This should be the way that we work. It is very simple.
Education begins in elementary school. If a person continues year after year, he will graduate from college or even finish with a Ph.D. Many saints have not had their function developed. They can be likened to someone who has been studying for many years and yet has not graduated from elementary school. The co-workers and elders consider the saints and feel that no one is capable; therefore, they do everything themselves. The more they do, the more experienced and skillful they become until they are the experts. The co-workers and elders are the only ones who know how to serve. Now we need to let go and let the saints serve so that they have the opportunity to learn. The church in Los Angeles is a good example. Whether in meal service or giving hospitality, the saints take care of everything without being instructed by the elders. Even if the saints make a mistake, it will not be serious.
Some co-workers said, “Those dissenting co-workers were raised up by Brother Lee’s work. If Brother Lee had been more careful, these things would not have happened.” However, if from the beginning of the work in Taiwan, I did not let the brothers serve, I would have annulled the function of many saints, and the churches would not have had much increase. I can be likened to a mother who had twenty-eight children, and although some have died, many remain. There are still many local churches in Taiwan. Therefore, let the saints make mistakes; the mistakes will not be too serious.
We need the Lord’s mercy in order to be open to this fellowship. Who is without mistakes? Which one of us always does things right and never makes a mistake? Only the Lord Jesus is without mistakes. May He have mercy on us. When we begin to serve in this way, some saints may oppose us, but we should not stop out of a desire to avoid making mistakes. We must change our concept. It is not good if we cannot accommodate others or coordinate with others. Rather than giving directions to others, we should concentrate on leading people to salvation and to loving the Lord for the spread of the church. Even if a brother does not follow this fellowship, this is not a cause for stirring up trouble. The opposers shouted slogans, saying that they had seen Christ and that Christ is everything. If they truly had worked in the principle of “Christ is everything,” there would have been no need for slogans. Everything else is trivial. However, they focused only on trivial things. We cannot do this. We should be strong in spirit, follow the leading of the Spirit, and have a pure heart. We have always worked together. There has never been the feeling that some co-workers belong to this region of the work, and others belong to another region of the work. Hence, our vision must be clear, our heart must be pure, and we must release our spirit.
If a co-worker wants to serve in a university where there are no saints, he should pray earnestly until there is at least one student there. If there are already several saints on campus, he should find them, fellowship with them, and bring them into function. Then he should let them serve. If he leads their meeting, he is replacing, not leading, them. He should supply and teach them from a distance. To use a military example, he should supply them with ammunition, teach them how to shoot, and identify a strategic plan for them. It may appear to others that the students are the ones engaged in battle and that the co-worker is doing nothing, but the work has become the burden of the students. Some co-workers said that they are not able to do this. Being able or not being able is a relative matter. Even a person who cannot speak well does not refuse to speak. Everyone, whether smart or foolish, can speak. It does not matter whether a person speaks well or speaks poorly. A person who speaks well accomplishes something, and a person who speaks poorly also accomplishes something. This is the way that things are accomplished in the work. Only when we change our concept and disposition will the work have a future.
From now on the affairs of the church should be turned over to the saints; the affairs of the church should be under their care. The co-workers must not replace the saints. There are many saints in every church. The co-workers must not give the saints directions but rather entrust them with responsibilities. The co-workers and elders should just oversee the services, rendering appropriate adjustment and encouragement. Furthermore, the co-workers in every place should bear the responsibility of ministering the word. They should not minister doctrine but should make an effort to use appropriate material and learn to give a message. If one co-worker is unable to do this, two or three can come together in coordination. They can dive into a message and study how to digest it so that they can supply the saints. Every week the co-workers should have a rich word with which to supply the saints.
The full-time co-workers should do their best to propagate the work in schools. There is no need to wait for others to make arrangements. They should spend more time with the schools and not with the church affairs. The co-workers should do their best to supply the students without leading the students’ meeting. The meetings of the church are the meetings of the saints; hence, the elders and co-workers should not lead the meetings. They should help the saints understand that the meetings belong to the saints. The elders are responsible for oversight, making sure that the meetings are carried out properly. They should teach and correct if anything is improper. The co-workers should endeavor to minister the word and supply life.
The elders should also endeavor to utilize more of their time for shepherding and less time for church affairs. Since the affairs of the church have been handed over to the saints, the elders should let the saints be responsible. These are the main points that we should grasp. We must not fall back to our old ways of keeping everything in our hands and doing everything ourselves. The elders should take care of shepherding and deal only with crucial matters, leaving the ordinary affairs to the saints. The church meetings should also be handed over to the saints. The co-workers should endeavor to supply the word. If they have more time, they should endeavor to propagate the gospel in the schools. After the services are handed over to the saints, the elders should oversee diligently. The elders should turn over the responsibility of a certain service to two or three saints who can train and instruct other saints. The elders do not have to be concerned with these details. The elders need only to oversee and observe. When there is a mistake or an act of negligence in the service, the elders should render appropriate help.
Furthermore, we should not be rigid in forming small groups by assigning someone to be responsible or someone to take the lead. Rather, we should let the saints serve voluntarily. We should let the saints endeavor to look for backslidden saints and to preach the gospel and bring in new ones. The elders should not lead in the bread-breaking meeting or the young people’s meeting. The elders should let the saints lead the meetings. The elders need only to oversee from a distance and render appropriate correction, guidance, and encouragement when needed. This is different from what we have done with small groups in the past. In the past, based on the information cards, we formed the saints into groups. As a result, only a few saints met together; most never attended the meeting. This time the saints who sign up will be formed into groups. The saints who sign up later will be formed into more groups.
The co-workers and elders must see the urgent need of shepherding, growing in life, and supplying the word. These are the three items that we lack the most. We must lead the churches into shepherding, growing in life, and the supply of the word. We want a living word, not routine messages. In every church there should be one to two meetings a week with a living word. As long as the co-workers are willing to endeavor, they will be able to meet this need. They must not carry out a routine. Concerning the church services, all the affairs in the churches should be taken care of by the saints. Not only should the saints do things, but they should take up the burden and the responsibility for the things that they do. The meetings belong to the saints. The co-workers and elders are present to render a supply. Even the spiritual services belong to the saints. Eventually, every saint will learn to shepherd and to teach.
