Question: What is the best place in which to hold the meetings of the church? Are the homes the best place?
Answer: From the Scriptures and from our experience, we have seen that there are two places in which we should have the meetings. The first place is in the homes. Without home meetings the saints will never have the opportunity to fellowship together in a thorough way. In addition to the homes, there is the need for a location where all the saints can come together to meet. This location can be either large or small. The book of Acts tells us that at times the saints in Jerusalem were separated into different meetings in their homes and that at other times all the saints assembled together (2:46; 12:12; 20:7-8).
Question: How often should the assembling of the whole church together take place?
Answer: This depends on the situation and the need. The whole church may assemble together weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. At a minimum, all the saints should come together quarterly. The Scriptures reveal that the whole church should come together (1 Cor. 14:23, 26). There is definitely a need for this. In the church in Taipei this is our practice. At present we have thirty-seven district meetings in the church in Taipei during the week. On the Lord’s Day the saints meet in nine different halls throughout the city. Then from time to time all the saints in Taipei will come together for a specific purpose—either to have some particular fellowship, to hear a message, or for a conference. Sometimes the whole church comes together to have the Lord’s table. Most of the time we have the Lord’s table in the homes, less often we have the Lord’s table in the nine halls, and periodically we have the Lord’s table all together in one place. Sometimes several thousand attend this meeting.
Question: If there are thirty-seven district meetings, how do all of the saints know where they are supposed to meet?
Answer: All the saints know where they should go to meet because there is some church government. After a new convert has been baptized, the church assigns him to a certain district. This assignment is based upon where this new convert lives, so that it is convenient for him to attend the meetings and for the church to take care of him. Once the saints in the church grow in life and the church government is arranged in a proper way, the handling of these kinds of practical matters becomes very easy. The only problem that we have in the church in Taipei is that we have too many new converts. We are like a family that has too many children and no one to take care of all of them. As a result, the brothers and sisters are hesitant to preach the gospel because they already have so many children. Those who are saved into the church respect the government of the church very much.
Question: Do you think that those who are saved respect the government of the church as a result of the way that people are raised in the East? People in the West are very independent. They do not like to be told what to do.
Answer: I do not think that this is the reason. In fact, I believe that the people in the West will respect the government of the church more than those in the East. The most important thing is that there is a proper government in the church. When there is a proper government, there will be the presence of the Lord, and everyone will respect the presence of the Lord.
When a proper government is raised up in a local church, the Lord honors it. Then if someone decides to rebel against the government of the church, the Lord’s hand will come in. The Lord will take action in a clear way and deal with the situation. When some rebelled against Moses in the Old Testament, the Lord came in to vindicate Moses’ authority (Num. 12:1-15; 16:1—17:13). Today those who rebel against God’s government will face a similar fate in that they will become spiritually dead.
Question: I am from a Presbyterian background. In the Presbyterian denomination all the pastors are hired. How do you find someone to preach the messages if you do not hire someone?
Answer: First, a proper church is like a home, a family. We all know how dear our home is to us. Second, a proper church is like a school, where we can learn many things. The church takes care of our spiritual education. Third, a proper church is like a factory, where we learn to work and manufacture and can practice what we have been taught. Fourth, a proper church is like a field, where we learn how to farm. Fifth, the church is like a battlefield; we learn to fight the battle in the church. Sixth, a proper church is like a hospital, a place where all those who are sick can receive care. Thus, the church is all-inclusive. In such an all-inclusive environment, the members who are gifted will gradually be manifested and will begin to minister. After having been saved and having sought the Lord in a definite way in the church for eight to ten years, some will be manifested as having a ministry.
Question: Since it takes eight to ten years for a minister to be raised up, do you recommend that the church have an apostle or missionary during this time to care for the church?
Answer: This depends on the situation. In some places there may be the need for an apostle to stay for a period of time. In other places there may not be such a need.
Question: Would you say that it is necessary to have as a nucleus a few who see the proper way of the church?
Answer: Yes, this is necessary. We know that with anything, a good beginning is needed. If there is a good beginning, there can be a good continuation. In order for a local church to have a good beginning, there is a need for a nucleus of saints to stay in a certain place to lay a foundation. Once a foundation is laid, others will be able to follow more easily. We can see this in modern production processes. The most difficult matter in the manufacturing process is getting it started. However, once you have a factory in place and have begun production, it is easy to continue. Later, improvements can be made, but the key is to have a good beginning. As long as you have a good beginning, things will proceed automatically.
In the church life it is easy for some to be trained both practically and in life to become ministers for the Lord. When a new one comes into a proper church that has a proper government, after eight or so years this one, if he has a ministry, will be manifested as a minister. This is the right way to produce gifted ones. The right way to produce gifted ones is not through Bible institutes or seminaries; the right way is through the church. This is another reason why the church must be inclusive. The church must be inclusive so that all the new believers may be educated in many things. Those who come into the church in the Far East learn a great deal of the truth because we have many different studies in the church. Sometimes we study a book of the Bible, sometimes we study a particular topic, and at other times we study a special line of truth. In this way the new believers are able to receive a good spiritual education.
Question: Is the baptism in the Spirit an experience that a believer should particularly seek at the beginning of his Christian life, or is it something that a believer will experience without seeking?
Answer: The baptism in the Spirit is not an experience that is only for new believers. This experience is for all believers and is for our entire Christian life. We need to continually experience the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
The baptism in the Spirit is not a life matter but a matter related to power. This is seen very clearly in the life of the Lord Jesus. When the Lord was thirty years old, He came forth to serve the Lord, but before He began His service, He was baptized in water. Immediately following this baptism, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove (Matt. 3:16). This was the Lord’s experience of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. For the first thirty years of His life before He received the baptism in the Holy Spirit, the Lord was surely living with God and before God. He was definitely One who was full of the divine life. We cannot say that prior to receiving the baptism in the Spirit, the Lord did not have the fullness of the divine life. The Lord surely had the divine life, but for His service He needed the Spirit to descend upon Him. This is a matter of power. Regrettably, many Christians today confuse these matters, thinking that the baptism in the Spirit is something related to life. Thus, they misunderstand this matter and misuse it.