Coordination in service is a matter of our need for the Lord’s mercy; it is not a matter of doctrine. We need the Lord’s mercy so that as serving ones we would be willing to receive the inward shining and breaking before the Lord. Any kind of method, instruction, organization, and even arrangement cannot cause us to have a good coordination. Only when we are willing to receive the breaking of the Holy Spirit can we have real coordination. All the brothers and sisters are clear about this in theory, but I am afraid that we lack a heart of desiring mercy and receiving mercy. Thus, we miss the opportunity to experience coordination.
As long as we have a heart and are willing to receive mercy and the breaking and shining, our coordination will not be a difficult matter. Because the saints have all learned some lessons in the church life, they do not desire to contend and dare not contend. However, because there is not enough shining, although there is no outward contention or argument, they are unable to get through within. This is to be short of mercy. Any kind of speaking and exhortation is useless; we need God’s mercy. Our responsibility is to allow the Lord to be merciful to us and to receive His shining in the meeting.
We often do not have a sense of spiritual responsibility in the meetings. There may be several reasons for this. Sometimes too many practical church matters occupy us. As much as possible, we should reduce our involvement in these matters so that we have time to prepare for spiritual matters. For example, instead of putting their time and heart into spiritual matters, some full-time serving brothers and sisters are busy mostly with practical church matters. So when they come to a meeting, they are very low in their spirit and over time become indifferent. They would tell themselves, “I will let the Holy Spirit move others. I will let others bear the burden. I am too tired. This is my resting time.” The main reason for this is that they are busy with too many practical church matters.
Besides not allowing ourselves to be entangled by practical church matters, we also must be able to receive the Lord’s commission. This is a matter of receiving mercy. We must be willing to receive mercy in order to receive the Lord’s burden, the Lord’s commission. Take the church in Taipei as an example. Some brothers are indifferent in the meetings, not bearing any burden, and they merely sit and rest. However, when they are not in the meetings, they are busy, working unceasingly. It seems as if the meeting time is their Sabbath. During the other six days they are constantly busy, and on the seventh day they rest. Do not think that I am joking. This is a fact. However, if such a brother moves to a new place and becomes a responsible one, he will be unable to sleep at night because the burdens are too heavy. When he comes to the meetings, he will pray, select hymns, and exhort others. What is this? This shows that he has begun to have a sense of responsibility and to bear the burden of the meeting.
Consider the example of the brother who traveled from another locality and put his luggage in the courtyard of the meeting hall, while the full-time serving ones and deacons did nothing. If we send these full-time serving ones and deacons to a small locality as responsible ones, I believe that they would regard this visiting brother as an angel and would rejoice greatly. They would receive this brother warmly because they have a sense of responsibility.
Another reason can be that in such a big family as the church in Taipei, because there are many capable and experienced ones, we do not think that we need to be responsible. If we try to be responsible, we might cause trouble. If we do a good job, it is out of duty, but if we do a bad job, we will be rebuked. Therefore, it seems better to be wise and indifferent. In this way, we think we are avoiding many problems and causing less trouble. However, if we go to a small locality, everyone must bear responsibility and make decisions. If we do a bad job, no one rebukes us, and if we do a good job, we receive all the credit. This is totally different from being in a big church, where if we do a good job, all the credit seems to go to the responsible brothers, but if we do a bad job, we are rebuked. Although we may fall into this condition unconsciously, this is an abnormal situation.
Please keep in mind that if a serving one can bear responsibility only when he goes to a certain place, his responsibility is of the flesh. His bearing of responsibility only when he gets to a place where he can be “responsible” is of the flesh. Everyone who serves the Lord needs to learn a deep lesson before the Lord. We should learn not to hold on to any work that has been committed to us. At any time and at any place we must be able to receive the Lord’s commission. Whether there is an arrangement or authority, our fellowship with the Lord, our concern for people, and our care for souls should be the same.
Suppose a brother arrives at the meeting hall and puts his luggage in the courtyard. If we are in fellowship with the Lord and care for people, we will go and serve him. This is not a matter of authority or responsibility. We should ask him kindly, “Where do you come from? May I help you put your luggage inside the hall?” This is a matter of spiritual life and not a matter of responsibility or authority. It is probably not life if we take care of things only because we are responsible. Not having the expression of life in one place but doing something out of responsibility in another place is not of life.
If we love the Lord and love people, we will definitely contact people before and after the meeting. Before a gospel preaching meeting, we will go and find people. Before and after other meetings, we will fellowship with the brothers and sisters. We should always receive a commission from the Lord when we contact people, either receiving help from others or rendering help to them. We should conduct ourselves the same way in a large locality as in a small locality. No matter where we are, we should be the same. In this way, what we do will most likely be of life. These matters do not depend upon exhortation, arrangement, or encouragement; they depend upon our willingness to receive mercy and the Lord’s shining.
There is often no outward contention among the churches in matters related to spiritual supply or practical help, but there is much inward contention. This shows that something is still hidden within us, and we have not been broken in our service. Our natural being remains, and the service entrusted to us is strongly attached to us. This problem does not exist only among the churches; it exists even among different halls within the same church. For example, a certain co-worker who is capable of supplying the saints may be available one Lord’s day to go to one of the halls and minister to the saints. When the responsible brothers of the various halls learn of this, they may begin to negotiate among themselves. The first hall may say that the second hall is strong and does not need any extra help; the second hall may say that the third hall has only a few saints and thus has no need for the co-worker to go there. After much negotiation, each one retains his own understanding, and no one has been struck down in their inner being.
It is the same in matters related to help in practical affairs. Everyone may appear outwardly courteous, but inwardly everyone has his own opinion. This proves that we have not prostrated ourselves before the Lord. We should not be happy simply because the church in our locality is strong; we can have real joy only when the church of the Lord is strong. Although we have been entrusted with responsibility, we should not be attached to the responsibility. We should be faithful unto death, but we should not be attached to the service. We should not feel happy and satisfied because the hall where we are responsible is strong; rather, we should feel happy and satisfied because the Lord’s church is strong.
We must see that man is selfish and that even in spiritual matters man can express the selfishness of the flesh. Sometimes, this selfishness is hidden; instead of contending for ourselves, we contend for the work for which we bear responsibility, and we even openly contend, thinking it is justifiable. We need to see that even in the responsibility that the Lord entrusted to us, we should not have any selfishness; we must prostrate ourselves before the Lord. There is no method that can solve this problem. This problem is dealt with only by receiving the Lord’s mercy and allowing the Holy Spirit to do a breaking work in us.