Concerning the matter of service, the church in Taichung has the same problems as Taipei and Kaohsiung. First, the attendance in the meetings is only about one-third of the entire church; most of the saints do not meet regularly. This is a problem. The brothers and sisters who serve in the districts and groups put more emphasis on practical affairs and are very weak on the spiritual side.
Second, there are several groups meeting in the areas around Taichung that depend on us. They truly need our help, but we feel that we are short of people and thus are unable to give them the proper help. If our service to them could be strengthened, we believe that the Lord’s testimony could be quickly raised up in those places. This is also a great lack in our service.
Third, there is a place near Taichung where the saints have been meeting for close to one year. They have been blessed by the Lord and now have about thirty people in the morning and evening meetings on the Lord’s Day. They should be established as a church and should no longer be attached to the church in Taichung, because they are outside the city boundary of Taichung. Nevertheless, the problem is that the brothers there are weak spiritually. Although two or three of them are more advanced, they do not desire to bear the responsibility of the local church before the Lord. This really troubles us. It is difficult for us to decide how to go on there.
As Brother Lin said, the church in Taichung has a great lack in spiritual service. Actually, this problem is not only in Taichung; this is the problem in many local churches in Taiwan. In the past we have said strongly that in leading the churches we should pay proper attention to the practical matters of the church. However, we also stressed that these practical matters are not the focus of our church service; they should be carried out in coordination with the church service. The practical matters of the church should match the church service. For example, when there is a move for the gospel and we come to serve, if there is not a good coordination concerning the practical matters, there will be many shortages which may even affect the spiritual matters and cause there to be a loss.
We admit that the current situation related to our practical church matters shows that the church service has received a considerable amount of coordination and benefit. However, our condition also shows that we fall short on the spiritual side. Let us use an illustration. There may be exquisite plates, bowls, and chopsticks on a table, but there may not be much food. The plates, bowls, and chopsticks should function in coordination with the food. No matter how well they are arranged, there is not much food on the table. Thus, people appreciate the plates, bowls, and chopsticks, but we do not provide enough food to eat. I am not saying that we do not have spiritual things in the church; rather, I am saying that our spiritual content is not rich enough.
Simply speaking, the primary focus of a local church is to give the brothers and sisters a step-by-step leading in the spiritual life. The Body of Christ builds itself up in love and does not necessarily depend on those who are gifts (Eph. 4:11); rather, it depends on many brothers and sisters rendering help to all the saints in their spiritual life. This is a great lack in all the local churches.
For example, if we observe the situation in the large meeting halls of the church in Taipei, we will see that they care for practical church matters more than the spiritual matters. This does not mean that they are not taking proper care of practical matters, but comparatively speaking, their attention to the spiritual side is lacking. They are short in leading and supplying the saints. Hence, their meetings are very weak, and the attendance in their meetings is very low. This is because the supply on the spiritual side is weak, and thus the sustaining power is insufficient.
Although we cannot say that every baptized one is genuinely saved, we can say that at least ninety-five percent of them are truly saved. Nonetheless, after they are baptized, they come to the meetings a few times and then stop. They stop coming because they are not receiving much supply in the meetings. Since we do not give them adequate spiritual food, they are not satisfied. We are not only short of the supply in the meetings; we are also very short in visiting, fellowshipping, shepherding, and teaching outside the meetings.
Visiting, fellowshipping, shepherding, and teaching are responsibilities that rest on the shoulders of the saints. Regrettably, all the churches are very weak in these matters. According to our observation, our visiting and fellowshipping are mainly by arrangement and in a formal way. There is very little element of burden in the spirit, inner anointing, or the work of the Spirit’s operation. Therefore, it is difficult for the saints to minister the things of life when they visit and fellowship with people. If our meetings cause people to sense and receive a spiritual supply, they will desire to come to the meetings. Rather than only feel that they should come to the meetings, they will come because they are hungry for the spiritual supply. May the Lord be merciful to all the churches and to the responsible brothers. We must deal with and resolve this matter before the Lord. However, this does not mean that we should despise practical church matters; rather, this means that we must strengthen the spiritual side of our service. From now on we should devote much time and attention to the spiritual side.