Concerning the brothers who are weak and not strong enough to bear responsibility in a locality, their being strong or weak is not an absolute matter. For example, is it impossible for Christians in Fengyuan to meet as the church if there is no church meeting in Taichung? Of course not. Simply speaking, being a responsible one in a locality is a relative matter, not an absolute one. A brother may not be qualified to take the lead in Taipei, but he may take the lead when he moves to Tamsui. This condition is relative and not absolute. Certain brothers may be elders in one local church, but when they move to another local church, they are no longer elders; this is a relative matter, not an absolute one.
In principle, when there are twenty to thirty people meeting in a locality, there should be a local church there. If we must wait until the saints are strong enough to establish the church, I am afraid that it will not be easy for them to become strong. Mothers always give their children the opportunity to walk after they are ten months old. Some mothers let their children learn to walk using a baby walker. It may seem as if the child is merely sitting there, yet this is not the case. Eventually, the child learns to walk. Strictly speaking, no matter how weak a group of brothers and sisters are in a locality, we should always give them the opportunity. Much of our strength is the result of falling down; a great percentage of our insight is developed through our constant mistakes. We should not be afraid to make mistakes; we should have faith just as God has faith. The garden of Eden did not have a wall, barbed wire, or an electric fence; the garden of Eden was open.
We often do not trust others and are afraid that if we commit things to them, they will make mistakes or that the result will be unsatisfactory. We seem to think that only the things that we do can be done correctly; thus, we do not easily let go of things. We each have this kind of disposition, more or less. Therefore, if the only place in the world with a meeting is in Fengyuan with its twenty weak brothers and sisters, Fengyuan can still be a local church. The Lord would not say that they cannot be established as a local church because they are weak nor that they must wait until they are strong to be established. When the saints in a locality gather together in the Lord’s name and exhibit Christ together, that is an expression of the church. This expression of the church should allow the brothers and sisters in that locality to have the freedom in the Holy Spirit. If they still desire to depend on us, we need to encourage them that they must bear this responsibility before the Lord. We should not give them the impression that the meeting in their locality is our responsibility.
The church in Taichung should not give the church in Fengyuan the impression that the meeting in Fengyuan is Taichung’s responsibility, or that Taichung is in charge and bearing the burden. The responsible ones in Taichung should not think that they should determine when it is right for Fengyuan to meet on their own, nor should those in Taichung think that they will continue to bear the burden until they decide to hand over responsibility to the saints in Fengyuan. Instead, the church in Taichung should always give the saints in Fengyuan the impression that the meeting is the responsibility of Fengyuan. It is their responsibility to rise up, and the strength or weakness of the meeting is their responsibility. If the church in Taichung always conveys this impression, the church in Fengyuan will have more opportunity to contact the Lord and even will be forced to have more direct contact with Him. When they contact the Lord in this way, they will become strong spontaneously. When they contact the Lord with this burden, they will become strong and rise up. Actually, even if a place has only eight or ten saints, we should still encourage the saints to be strong and rise up to properly start a meeting in their locality and to bear the Lord’s testimony.
The requirement for the responsible ones among them is comparative and relative. We should look for someone who is older and more experienced among them. This is similar to our family. Sometimes when the parents are absent, one of the children will rise up to take the lead. The oldest brother or sister may say, “You should listen to me.” When the oldest brother or sister leaves, the second oldest brother or sister will rise up. Marvelously, even the youngest child knows this. For example, he may say, “Since my oldest sister is not home today, I will listen to my second oldest sister.” But when the oldest sister returns, he will say, “My oldest sister is now here. I will listen to her now.” It is not always the ones who are as old as a father who must bear responsibility in a family. When the father is not home, the one who bears responsibility may be only seventeen years old. This is because the other brothers or sisters in the family may be only thirteen or fifteen years old; thus, the seventeen year old is the most senior and experienced among them. However, he would be considered one of the youngest if there were others in their twenties in the family. Responsibility is relative and determined by the natural order of the family. We who are sent by God simply appoint responsible ones according to their level of life. In this way, the church will flourish, and the brothers will have the opportunity to contact God and receive grace from Him.
The problems in all of our localities are about the same. These problems are mainly with the serving ones, not with the service itself. The problem in our service simply reflects what the serving ones have learned before the Lord. The more we serve, the more our shortages and problems are exposed. During the process of being exposed, we struggle within, and even though we know what we should do, we often do not manifest it. We should obey the Lord, yet we have many rebellious situations among us. We know what the Lord desires, but we cannot meet the demand or are unable to measure up to the standard of the Lord. Therefore, the major problem in our service is our person. We should learn quickly, advance, and be quite transformed, but even after many years these problems are still with us. Because our person still exists, either we cannot advance in our service or our progress is not obvious. The main reason for this problem is our disobedience to the Lord.
We cannot say that we have not seen the vision of the Lord’s work, but we often fall short, are unable to supply others, and cannot meet the need. This is a great lack in our service. Sometimes we know that certain brothers should bear more responsibility before the Lord, but it seems that this is only a desire, without the ability. Thus, the condition in the meetings is always low, and there is a shortage in the ministry of the word. Another example is preaching the gospel. Although we do this several times a year, we frequently become lax and negligent in caring for and perfecting the brothers and sisters. Therefore, when a group of new ones is brought in, a group of old ones is lost. This problem has been troubling us. We must preach the gospel, but when we do, we drop the shepherding of the saints. This is a problem.
There is also a problem with newly saved brothers and sisters. After they are saved initially, we give them some basic perfecting and then bring them to the big meetings. However, because the general nature of the big meetings cannot give them a specific word, it seems that they are unable to receive the supply in the big meetings. Consequently, after a while they also fall away.