Several full-time serving brothers have moved to a certain place. It has been said that this particular locality “wastes” the most number of people in Taiwan, meaning that many people are not actually being used in God’s work. It seems as if they are squandering their time day after day even though there are at least three and a half full-timers. I have often considered how to reduce the expenses there. I have been there a few times, and I have seen that the living of the saints is quite comfortable. It will be difficult to accomplish some kind of work there. We must let the saints see that many things are upon us and that we are not able to cope; rather, we need their help. When the saints are busy cleaning the meeting hall, we should not be standing around and doing nothing. If we do this, it will prove that we do not know how to work and that we do not know the brothers and sisters.
We should not think that giving our time means that we are able to work. We must have much more learning before we are able to work. In particular, young brothers must learn. If a young brother who is serving full time lives in the meeting hall, he should take care of cleaning the meeting hall so that he can boldly tell the saints, “Dear brothers and sisters, I have been doing the cleaning, but I am not able to take care of many other things, so please come and help me.” If this is the case, no one in the church will say, “Why do the young serving ones not do anything but live on the church’s support?” When all the saints are doing something, but we are standing around and doing nothing, what kind of feeling will they have? When they come to the Lord’s Day meeting and see that we are reading Genesis 28, inwardly they may say, “Why does he not find a job? Why is he simply receiving financial support from the church?” This shows that we are immature and do not know how to conduct ourselves in the church. One time I was truly bothered. In the meeting hall some saints were cleaning, some were preparing the meeting area, and some were preparing meals. Even though everyone was busy, a full-time serving brother was sitting and playing the piano. Everyone was busy and sweating, but he was sitting comfortably and playing the piano for amusement. Can such a person truly work for the Lord? We should never think that we can serve God as long as we do not watch movies, play mah-jongg, or quarrel with people. This is not the case. If the sweat of the saints cannot affect us, how can we serve God?
Neither doctrine nor theology counts; only our actual living before the Lord counts. We must have some basic knowledge regarding how to conduct ourselves. When the sisters are busy serving a meal, should we be enjoying some leisurely activity? When the brothers are laboring and sweating during the cleaning, do we not have a proper sense of things? This shows that we lack a feeling concerning how to work, how to take care of matters, and how to conduct ourselves. I mention these situations so that we can have a feeling in regard to these matters. We need a daily exercise. I am sharing so much because I hope that we will not only hear some doctrine but will truly learn something. In this way we will be useful.
We will have a regular training for the responsible brothers and sisters from various churches and district meetings. We will not have an open registration; therefore, we ask the responsible brothers in all the churches to recommend and register the saints from their localities. As far as qualifications are concerned, elders who want to join the training from all the churches will be accepted in principle. I hope that the churches will recommend those who are willing to learn and have a great ability to learn. University students or those who have just graduated from universities are the most suitable. We expect that such ones would have a desire to serve the Lord for their whole life; therefore, we would encourage them to first receive some training and then decide whether or not they should get a job in the future. We also will accept the stronger ones among the deacons. If other saints want to participate, they can audit the classes, but we will not correct their mistakes or give them the opportunity to exercise. It is best if we have only sixty to eighty people at the most. We will lead them to minister the word, to visit people, to take care of practical matters, and to read the Bible. We will also give them homework and require them to practice and exercise in a strict way. Then we will evaluate and adjust them.
In addition, I need to make a statement concerning three matters. First, the fact that we accept the saints to the training does not mean that they will become workers. This is merely a training for serving the Lord. Accepting someone to be trained does not mean that we acknowledge him as a co-worker. When the training is over, some may still need to find a job, and some who quit their jobs for the training may need to go back to their careers after the training. Second, we are not responsible for the living of the trainees after the training. Third, I hope the halls in Taipei will arrange accommodations for those who live in Taipei. For those who are from other places, I hope that the work will make arrangements for them. The auditors must make arrangements for themselves.