The migrations in the past few years have allowed a subtle practice to creep in, which we may call the transfer of elders. An elder is like a father in a family, and fathers are not transferred. There is no transfer of elders in the Old Testament. The elders in a tribe of the children of Israel were raised up from within that tribe. If the elders in one tribe were weak, other elders were not transferred in from another tribe. The elders in Judah belonged to the tribe of Judah; they could not transfer to the tribe of Dan to be elders of that tribe.
Elders are not transferable. In a migration we do not transfer anyone. In the past when large groups of saints migrated to establish new local churches, each group was already like a tribe of the children of Israel with elders who went with them. These elders were not transferred to take the lead among a new group of saints. However, because some misunderstood what happened in these migrations, the practice of transferring elders subtly crept in. This is absolutely against the biblical principle and is useful only for those who want to build up their own kingdom by manipulating the situation in order to gain control over certain local churches. Transferring elders is dangerous because it opens the door to hierarchy. The elders should be raised up locally from among the saints meeting in a church. Keeping this principle in life will prevent false ones from maneuvering according to their ambition to build up a hierarchy or personal kingdom.
The elders in some local churches may feel that they are weak and need to be helped by the addition of an elder from another locality. However, we need to keep the principle that the parents of a family are not rearranged or replaced, no matter how weak they may be. The elders who feel that they are weak and need help should pray much and get into the Word. All the leading ones can make it if they are diligent and desperate to deal with the Lord. Those who complain that they are weak are only admitting that they are slothful in seeking the Lord by praying and getting into the Word. Any young wife can eventually learn to cook as long as she tries. Even if the food she prepares does not come out perfectly at first, it will be good enough to feed her family.
The elders need to desperately seek the Lord in their care for the churches. I know this from experience. When a need arises, we should not immediately ask for help from others; instead, we should first go to the Lord over and over again. If we still are not clear regarding a certain matter after we have sought the Lord many times, we can ask others for help. We should not say that we are weak. It is true that we are weak in ourselves, but because we have the Lord, we only need to apply Him. If we are diligent and seek the Lord desperately, we will make it.
Before Brother Watchman Nee gave a message on the Lord’s Day, he would spend all of Saturday preparing—praying, fasting, seeking the Lord, getting into the Word, and considering the message. Any elder who prepares in this way can give a powerful message. What a mother cooks is not that important, as long as her children are fed and nourished.
Requesting the transfer of elders is brought about by laziness, idleness, and seeking convenience. The parents in a family may be well educated and intelligent, and the parents in another family may be uneducated and ignorant. Nevertheless, these parents should stay with their own families. It is normal for some families to be strong and others to be weak. Those in a weak local church need to try their best to learn something on their own. Transfers open the door for laziness, hierarchy, and improper kingship. If so-called spiritual giants are raised up among us, this indicates that many of us are lazy. If all the saints are diligent and desperate to seek the Lord, no “giants” will be raised up among us. If “giants” do come in, there will be no market for them to “sell their cargo.”
There are two attitudes that the elders in the local churches must avoid. On the one hand, it is wrong to be proud, thinking that because we are capable, we do not need others’ help. On the other hand, it is also wrong to be improperly humble, saying that we know nothing and need others’ help in everything. This attitude opens the door to false ones who damage the church. In the past the elders in some local churches welcomed anyone who was willing to come and help them. Because they did not exercise the proper discernment, terrible things happened. Those who have learned the necessary spiritual lessons of the Lord will not quickly agree to go to help another local church when invited. When I am invited to go somewhere, I do not immediately reply but ask for time to pray and seek the Lord for His leading in the matter. Quickness in accepting invitations is a sign of an unsound person.
We need to exercise discernment in asking others to come help us. We must avoid both the attitude of pride and the opposite attitude of excessive humility. Because we have the Lord, we are not as needy as we may think. Local churches have been damaged in the past because the elders did not exercise discernment in opening to others for help. We need to be balanced—neither proud nor excessively humble, open to the fellowship of the Body of Christ but also realizing that we are all members of the Body, each having a function and being attached to Christ the Head.
The elders must be desperate in seeking the Lord; they need to pray, fellowship, and wait on the Lord, spending much time in His presence. The elders’ capacity to help the saints in their locality does not depend on eloquence, gift, or natural ability. A certain American surgeon who taught at a renowned university in northern China was not saved when he came to China. After he had been in China for several years, one of his children passed away. This caused him to be open, and he was saved. Immediately after being saved, he became zealous in preaching the gospel, yet he was altogether not eloquent. Not only when giving sermons but even in personal conversations he could not speak easily. Nevertheless, many were saved through him because he prayed much and lived a life of loving and following the Lord and loving sinners. Others who are very eloquent but do not love or seek the Lord do not bring anyone to Him. This proves that our capacity to help others does not depend on eloquence, gift, or natural ability. In the past false ones have been able to come in and damage the local churches mainly because of their eloquence and outward ability. Hence, the elders must learn the lesson to not trust in such outward things or to rely entirely on help from outsiders. Instead, the elders should humbly trust in their own contact with the Lord in prayer.
We have seen three points concerning the elders. First, the elders should not be appointed quickly. It has been made clear in our history that the eldership in a newly established church cannot and should not be determined right away. We must wait until the situation is manifested. We should not be concerned about who will bear the responsibilities—some will spontaneously rise up to meet the needs. We must avoid premature appointment of the elders. Second, there should be no transferring of elders, because this violates the principle of life. Third, the elders in every locality can make it if they are diligent in desperately contacting the Lord in prayer.
A certain local church recently faced a big problem related to a brother’s illness. However, they did not ask for others to come and help them. They only asked others to pray for them, and they themselves prayed much. The answer to their problem came through this prayer. If the elders take every need to the Lord in desperate prayer, they will receive His answers. If a local church has a need, the best way for the elders to take care of it is not to ask brothers from other localities to come to help them but to bring the matter to the Lord and pray desperately. The Lord will grant them the supply to meet the need, perhaps by sending someone to help them. The elders must be diligent and desperate in bringing everything to the Lord in prayer.