The elders should know the place the Lord has put them in, whether as the authority, or as those under authority. They should know in what order the Lord has placed them, whether they are the first or the second. They should know the order here. To know the order is to know authority. You have to accept this authority. Otherwise, there will be no possibility for the elders to be coordinated together. If you feel that you are an elder and that others are also the elders, and if everybody feels the same way, what you have is just like a board of directors in the world. You are a director, and I am a director. All directors are equal. The chairman of the board is no higher than other directors; he merely possesses a little power in convening others and in representing them. All matters are still decided by everyone. This is the way of the world. The elders are not a board of directors. They live in the spirit, accept the authority, and know in what order they are placed. If the elders do not do these things, their coordination will never be solid.

However, the coordination of the elders not only requires some to submit to authority, but some to be the authority as well. If no one assumes any authority, the coordination will not be normal either. Suppose in a local church there are five elders. One of them is obviously the authority; he is obviously the first. But in all the discussions, this number one elder is shy and withdrawn, and he tries purposely to show everyone that he has not assumed any authority, that he is allowing the Lord to be the Lord, and that he is not assuming any lordship. A matter can drag on and on in discussion without any conclusion. In the end, when no conclusion can be reached, he will say, "Since everybody feels this way, shall we decide the matter this way?" Not until everyone says that this is good is the matter settled. This is a very ugly scene, for no one is the authority here. This is not humility. This is another expression of the flesh. It is the flesh transformed into another appearance.

A person who knows the order and who truly represents authority is not like this. Suppose here is a matter to be handled. At the beginning, he would allow the brothers to speak about their feelings. One brother may feel one thing, and another brother may feel another thing. Every brother would speak out what he feels. If I am the one who should act as the head, I should fear God. I should not have any preconception, prejudice, or bias, but should simply touch everyone's feeling. In the end, when I am clear within and am peaceful, I will say, "Brothers, if that is the case, let us make such-and-such a decision." Every time we discuss any matter, we should learn not to have any arguments, nor to ignore any inward feelings. If any of the brothers feel there is something wrong with the decision, he can still speak out his feeling. The leading one should still listen to this feeling in a serious way and should still consider it. This is the way for the elders to coordinate in the church. Among the elders there is no democracy or autocracy; everyone submits to the authority of the Holy Spirit. No one is too aggressive, or at all passive. Instead everyone places himself fully among the elders. Everyone knows in what order he is placed, and everyone accepts the authority without insisting on anything or resisting any responsibility. This is the way to coordinate together.

Hence, the coordination of the elders in the church requires that everyone be free from the self, fear God, and live in the Holy Spirit. It requires that none be too assertive, and none be at all withdrawn. There should be no pretense of humility, and no element of overstepping the Lord. Everyone should live before the Lord in fear and trembling; everyone should stay in his place. All of the elders should fellowship together according to their inner sense and should arrive at an accurate feeling based on this. We should believe that this kind of feeling is of the Lord. Hence, the accepting of authority and the knowledge of order is a necessary point in our coordination.