If the church where you are has been properly managed, once it preaches the gospel, others will be able to tell that the preaching here is different, that it is the result of training, and that it is not wild. This is like the arrangement of flowers. If you have learned the art of flower arrangement, and I walk into your home, I will be able to tell right away that your flowers are not arranged in an ordinary way, but they are arranged as a result of training.

Some time ago, some brothers in Southeast Asia heard that we baptized a few hundred people at a time in Taipei. They wondered how we could have done it. They said that for them to baptize ten or twenty people alone would throw the meeting hall into disorder and their people into chaos. No doubt, I have seen that in some places confusion begins once their baptism begins, and that the confusion is over when their baptism is over. If a matter as small as a baptism is so disorganized in administration, how can the church be clear in the big matters? This will be like having no management at all. If a church is properly managed, once there is confusion in the baptism, a gathering will be held the next day to study the reason for the confusion and the way to overcome it. This is the way to manage the church.

Church management requires labor with perseverance. No one endeavoring in a factory, a business, or an enterprise can succeed easily. If a person loses money in a business deal, he will surely not be able to sleep well. He will surely study hard and try to change his method the next time. But the church has been running a losing business for a long time. The first time there was a gospel meeting, fifteen or sixteen were baptized. The next time there were twelve or thirteen. One more time and there are only eight or nine. The number becomes smaller and smaller. Where is the problem? In order to manage well, you must change.

The housewives who manage their houses know that no one can substitute for them in the housework. They have to do everything themselves. If the piano has broken down and they do not know how to fix it, they can call in the experts to fix it. However, whether or not to fix it still must be decided by them; no one else can decide for them. The same is true with the management of the church. You have to do everything yourself.

Some are prejudiced to think that as long as they know a little bit of the truth and teach the brothers a little bit of the truth, everything will be all right. But you have to see that this is only one part of the job. The church is a home and a body. Not only does it need vitamin A, but it needs all kinds of vitamins as well. The Body needs all kinds of supply. The eyes have their needs. The ears have their needs. The nose has its need. There are all kinds of needs. Thank God that He has given you a portion of grace and a commission, but you should not be satisfied with what you have. It is very important that some have learned some spiritual lessons, but the needs of the church are varied. You have to give others a place and a chance to minister their portion. No one can meet the needs of the church by himself. There is the need for multifaceted management.

This is like a home. The needs there are varied. Someone has to cook in the kitchen. Some have to do the laundry. The older children have to do some work. The younger ones have to go to school. Only the youngest ones play. There is the need for electrical maintenance, tailoring, and gardening. This is only a small illustration. To manage a church, a person has to be broad in his heart and farsighted in his view. He has to see that this is not his work; this is the house of God. If it is only my work, I can work by myself alone. But this is the house of God, the Body of Christ. As such, there is the need for all kinds of management. In church history, the mystics have no descendants. This is because they paid too much attention to the individual pursuit; they did not see the church. No matter how much we love the Lord, how zealous and spiritual we are, no one can replace the church. What God is after today is the church, not individuals.