In order for the elders to be coordinated, everyone must also be willing to be broken. Without brokenness, there is still no possibility of coordination. A person cannot assert himself, protect himself, and preserve himself, and at the same time coordinate with others properly. You may be the best one in preaching, in administration, or in visitation, but even in your specialty, you have to learn to be broken. If you are only good in administration without being broken, you will not be able to coordinate with those who can preach or who can visit others. You may feel that without your administration, the preaching and visitation of others are of no use. Others may feel that without their preaching, there is no way for those who can only administrate and visit to go on. To have such a feeling means that you are absolutely not broken. This is to annul others and to exalt yourself, to set yourself up and to trample others underfoot. You should say, "Thank the Lord. Although the Lord has granted me mercy and has given me a little gift of administration, the church still needs the speaking and the visitation." Another may say, "Perhaps the Lord has given me a little gift of speaking, but there is still the need of administration and visitation." I may say, "Perhaps the Lord has given me a little gift of shepherding and visitation, but I deeply feel that without the brothers' administration and their supply in the Word, my visitation would be useless." If we say this, there will be the sense of brokenness. Here the self is overturned, yet no one has forsaken his own portion.
This is not all. Only after the elders are broken will they not argue when they discuss matters. Any argument is a sign of unbrokenness. A broken elder has no argument; he knows in what order he is set. He can speak out his feeling in a serious way, but after he speaks, if the leading elder continues with his decision, he is able to submit himself to it. It does not mean that you will not speak out your feeling when you accept the authority. Nor does it mean that when you speak out your feeling you are not accepting authority. Everyone has to learn to have no arguments and to obey. The leading ones may make wrong decisions and wrong moves. But if everyone would take this way, there will still be a coordination, and there will still be the blessing. Everyone is still fully one and in harmony. All wrong decisions and wrong moves can easily be adjusted. This is because everyone is broken and is not insisting. Once the leading one discovers that the decision is wrong, he should be able to say humbly, "Brothers, I am sorry that my decision was wrong. Let us change it right away." How beautiful this picture will be!
I hope that the brothers would see that if we insist on anything in an unbroken spirit and atmosphere, even if what we insist on is right, we have to expect a considerable problem. I am not saying that we should not insist. But we have to learn to be broken, and even if we insist on something, we still have to be broken. Some brothers are not insisting, yet they are not broken at all. My opinion may not get through in a matter. Subsequently, I will not insist. But neither will I touch the matter or inquire about it any further; I will just let it go by. Please remember that this way of not insisting is the strongest protection and preservation of oneself. Hence, all the time we must learn to be a broken person among the brothers. Of course, this requires God's grace and the work of the Holy Spirit. We must be smitten by God before we can be a broken person.