Building and perfecting the home meetings are the key to the success of the practice of the new way. The following are some important points that can help us build up and perfect the home meetings.
First of all, we must prepare ourselves before going out to visit people. This preparation is nothing less than prayer. Prayer is indispensable in our Christian service. Before serving in any aspect, we must first pray, confess, and ask to be cleansed and filled. If we do not first pray, our going to visit people in a hasty way will definitely be futile. We must have some good prayer before we can go out to fight the spiritual battle, asking the Lord to cleanse and to fill us.
Next, we must exercise our spirit. We human beings have three parts—spirit, soul, and body. Because of man’s fall, the common people can use only two parts, which are their soul and body. However, since we Christians are regenerated in our spirit, we should exercise our spirit. The most important thing in our preaching the gospel and serving the Lord is for us to use our spirit. Although the activity of our body is involved in every kind of service, and the soul also must be in its function, the most important and crucial part is still our spirit. Therefore, we must learn to exercise and follow the spirit.
Some may ask, “How do I know that the spirit is leading me within? How do I know if I am following the spirit?” We may not know what it is to be in spirit, but we certainly know what it is to not be in spirit. For instance, when we are about to lose our temper, or when we have already lost our temper, then we are certain that we have not been in spirit and that our actions were not out from the spirit. Then what is it to follow the spirit? Simply speaking, to follow the spirit is to not do what we sense is not of the spirit. Whatever we sense is not of the spirit, we should not do. Now some may ask, “How can we not do anything? If we don’t do anything, nothing will happen.” For an unbeliever to not do that which is not of the spirit means that nothing remains, because their spirit is not in function. However, when we who serve the Lord pray and then not do all the things that we sense are not of the spirit, what remains is all of the spirit. This is very simple and clear. After we pray, we must exercise our spirit wherever we go. As to what we should say to people, we also have to exercise our spirit. Whatever we feel that is not of the spirit, we should not do it. Then the rest will all be of the spirit.
Moreover, we have to be delivered from religious rituals. Since religious concepts have been planted deeply in man’s heart, the secular people regard Christianity as a kind of religion, thinking that Christianity is merely for people to worship God. Therefore, if we want to establish a meeting in people’s homes after they are saved, they will think that we are leading them to have a “Sunday service.” They will see us as pastors and preachers. The saints from abroad, in particular, will be considered foreign missionaries. If we are not careful, we may behave as if we were pastors. The new ones will then “ordain” us and accept whatever we say. Then the more they accept us, the happier we will be, and the happier we become, the more we will be like pastors. As a result, a religious service will come into being. We do not need to hang out a sign to tell people that the church is special and is different from the denominations, that we do not have pastors or any religious rituals. It is useless merely to say these things. What is useful is the way we conduct ourselves, how we talk and behave in their homes. This is the most crucial pattern for the home meetings.
When we meet in the homes, we should never presumptuously tell people that we are there to teach them. We must not have any such presumption. Rather, we should simply be ordinary Christians who meet with them. The first thing we must do is break the heritage and tradition of holding “services” in the way of Christianity. After we come to someone’s home, we should not first arrange the chairs as if we are going to have a Sunday service. The more the chairs are arranged in a normal way, the better it is. Never go and arrange the seats like someone who takes care of a chapel. In addition, do not choose a special seat for yourselves as the pastors do, and even the more, do not assume the responsibility of reading the Scriptures like the preachers do. Simply sit in a normal way in an ordinary seat. If after arriving in a home we feel the chairs are too messy, we busy ourselves arranging them, and then we choose a place to sit and call a hymn, we will successfully conduct a “Sunday service.” Hence, we should never do these things.
Perhaps someone will ask, “If arranging seats makes us chapel keepers, calling hymns makes us pastors, praying makes us junior pastors, and reading the Scriptures makes us preachers, then what should we do in the home meetings?” The problem of religious concepts is the reason it is better not to prematurely bring the new ones to meet in the meeting hall. By bringing them too early they may soon be “contaminated,” and the poison of religion will get into them. Since we have not been entirely delivered from the rituals and traditions of the old religion, we should not bring the newly saved ones to the meetings in the old way.
When it comes to the time in the home meetings that we usually call a hymn, it may be better not to call one. Rather, we may talk with them about their daily matters. We may ask them how many children they have, or whether they know what to do in a meeting. They may say that they do not know, or they may know only a little. No matter how they answer, we can take the opportunity to fellowship with them about walking by the spirit. We should not be like those who learn to box according to rigid rules about which punch to use first and which to use second. Blindly following a set pattern is of little effect.
After leading them in this way one or two times, they will have learned something. Then when we visit them the third time, we can say, “Brother, what should we do now?” The new one may say, “Let’s pray.” We may ask him, “Who should pray?” If he says, “You should pray,” we can tell him, “Brother, I don’t want to be a pastor. I don’t want to pray first. Perhaps you can pray.” Gradually, we have to let them know that a meeting is not a matter of forms or rituals but a matter of following the spirit. Although we may have set the meeting time for 7:30 P.M., we may not need to wait until then to start the meeting. This is a meeting in their home. After they finish dinner at 6:45 P.M. and are cleaning up together, the little brother can pray to begin the meeting while the mother is still washing the dishes. Then the older brother can sing, “We need Jesus, we need Jesus.” In this way the home meeting begins.
If we practice this from the beginning of a home meeting, we can break the concept of having a Sunday service. It is not necessary to start the meeting by reading the Word or by praying. It is not even a requirement to start the meeting at a fixed time. The meeting may not begin in the living room; it may simply begin in the kitchen. After finishing dinner, while it is still early, someone can wash the dishes and sing, “Since Jesus came into my heart.” Then the young son in the next room may echo, “Amen, hallelujah!” In this way the meeting can begin. Let them know that there are no forms or rituals in the meetings. There is only the Spirit, only the presence of the Lord. If we understand home meetings to this extent, then when we go and help the home meetings, we can bring people to be delivered from religion. This is the way to break the tradition of Christianity, and this is also the new way and living way we must take.
In the meetings, regardless of whether the new ones are reading verses, giving a testimony, or speaking something, do not correct them. If there is definitely something improper, adjust them privately, or wait until the next time. Never correct them on the spot, because this will quench their spirit and ordinances will then come in. If a point comes when they do not do anything, we may then lead them a little by asking, “Should we read some verses now?” Then we can ask them where we should read. Perhaps we have decided to read Revelation, but they want to read Genesis. We should not say no. Rather, we should read Genesis with them. After reading, we can explain it to them a little. Then we can ask them to tell us why they wanted to read this portion. In this way they will know how to read the Bible, how to share, and how to give a testimony. There are many ways to practice, but it is sufficient if we can grasp the principle.
However, this does not mean that we should forget about our burden. After they have met for fifteen to twenty minutes, and after they all have learned a little, we can, in the form of fellowship, suggest a portion of the Bible according to our burden. After reading it, we should not speak immediately. We can ask them whether this portion is good. For example, the portion we read may be John 1:29: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” We may ask them, “Is this portion of the Word good? Which phrase is the best? Which point is the best?” This is to inspire them, and in this inspiring we can release our burden to them. Finally, we can lead everyone to memorize the verse. If we help the home meeting in this way, the new ones will not think that we have come to conduct a Sunday service with them. Although we do not need a certain pattern, we must have a definite burden within. Nevertheless, we should not bother too much about what we need to do. We should simply give them an impression in a flexible way that we are going there to have fellowship with them.