Do the churches have a center of organization? When we read the New Testament, it is easy to think that Jerusalem was an organizational center. I studied in a Christian school when I was young, and I read a footnote in the Bible they published which said that Jerusalem was the headquarters of the churches. Because I was not clear about the truth, I thought it was true. As I read the Lord’s word more, I gradually became clear that the churches do not have an organizational center on the earth. Jerusalem was not the headquarters of a centralized organization. Jerusalem was a center, but it was a center not in organization but in the work. According to the Scriptures the churches do not have a center as far as organization is concerned. The churches in Jerusalem, Samaria, and Antioch were all equal. There was no center in organization, no headquarters or branches, no higher branch controlling a lower branch.
In terms of the appearance of the churches locally, there is no center; no church can control another church. However, in terms of the work and spiritual supply, there is a center. At that time Jerusalem was the center of the work in all the places. When the churches encountered spiritual problems and needed spiritual supply, Jerusalem was the center of the supply, but it was not a center in terms of organization. Jerusalem was the center of the work and of the spiritual supply. This is a basic principle in the Bible.
We need to explain four matters to the brothers and sisters. First, we do not have a financial center. We do not have a center for our money and finances. All the missions and denominations have a centralized place for their finances, and then from the center, money is distributed. This is called a financial center. According to the light and principle of the Bible, however, we do not want and dare not have a financial center, because once there is a financial center, there is an organization automatically.
We all know that money is a very strong thing. Money is related to power, and money unconsciously brings in human relationships. It is difficult for someone to receive money from another person without being under his control. Whoever has money has authority. It is precisely for this reason that we do not want a financial center. Throughout the years we have not had a financial center among us. Even today, if a brother serves the Lord full time, only he knows how much support he receives.
Sometimes a brother who is taking the lead has a good reputation and receives a greater commission. The saints may entrust him with a large sum of money and ask him to use it in the Lord. At this point, he may be led to give some to a certain brother. Only he and the Lord know of this transaction; a third person is not involved. No one should control a brother through money. If there is control, it should come from the Lord. One who serves the Lord should not consider the money he receives as a salary that he deserves. If this is the case, there is an organization, and he is under man’s control. I hope that this matter is made clear to us once and for all. There is no financial center among us.
We should never think that the church in Taipei is the headquarters and the financial center of the churches in Taiwan. If we have such a concept, we should drop it quickly because it is erroneous. It is wrong for brothers and sisters who have some financial capacity to think that their money should be sent to Taipei when they are led by the Lord to give. If they are led to send money to Taipei, that is all right; however, the saints should not have the concept that there is a financial center, because this violates the authority of the Holy Spirit. This is a great matter. If finances come to one place, an organization will emerge, and man’s control certainly will be present.
Second, many who have been shown mercy want to rise up to serve the Lord. These ones should rise up to serve the Lord, but they also should be clear that those who serve the Lord must take care of their daily needs. No one is responsible for us; neither is a church or the center of the work responsible for us. If we are shown mercy and have a desire to serve the Lord, we must deal with this matter before the Lord thoroughly and directly. If we are stricken by poverty or hunger, we should not approach people for help, because no one is responsible for us. This matter should be clearly fellowshipped at the very beginning. We have received mercy and have risen up to serve God because of His calling. Hence, the Lord is our Helper. We should receive supply from Him and not ask anyone to bear this responsibility.
If a school hires someone to be a teacher, the school is responsible for him; if the school does not pay him his salary, he can appeal to the court. However, when we rise up to serve God, we must realize that a person, center, or organization has not hired us; rather, the Lord Himself has called us. Therefore, we need to look to the Lord about the responsibility for meeting our needs,
Although there are brothers and sisters in many places who feel that they should serve the Lord full time, this does not mean that they have been hired or employed by us or that we should be responsible for their living. This is not the case. The responsible brothers in all the churches must have an accurate understanding of this matter. There is no financial center or governing center among us. I can honestly say that I do not know how much money the church in Taipei spends, because I do not control the finances of the church in Taipei.
The finances of all the churches are independent of one another. They are set before the Lord and not controlled by man. I hope that the brothers and sisters who love the Lord and that the saints who love the churches will try their best to care for the needs in the churches, including the needs of the full-time serving ones. I hope that among us no one will control or govern the matter of finances but that we will have sweet fellowship with all the churches in mutuality.
When we first rose up to serve the Lord in Taiwan, most of the brothers and sisters did not have the understanding concerning this matter; therefore, the needs of many serving ones were not taken care of in a proper way. However, the Lord has had mercy on us in this matter, and the supply is beginning to come. From now on, the churches and the saints should learn to take care of the needs of the full-time serving ones; at the same time, the serving ones should learn not to rely on man but instead to look to the Lord and live before Him. In these matters we must learn the lessons well. We need to deal with the Lord, exercising our spirit to draw near to Him and exercising our faith to trust in Him. Moreover, we need to learn to cooperate with Him in faith and to be dealt with by Him.
Third, the Lord has truly been gracious to us and has kept us so that we do not have an organizational center, and we do not have someone who controls our finances. If there is one, it is the Holy Spirit, the Lord Himself. I hope that all the full-time serving ones will learn to look to the Lord, and all those who love the Lord in the churches will learn to be led to give for the needs of the work and the workers. If a worker receives more offerings, he should not save them for his personal use but should care for the needs of other co-workers. It should be that he who gathers much has no excess, and he who gathers little has no lack. Some co-workers, who have a more prominent standing, may receive more offerings. Such ones should care for the co-workers with lesser standing. Since all the co-workers labor together for the Lord’s work, we should not think that the Lord’s abundant support is only for our personal use. We need to take care of the other co-workers.
Those who have not learned to live before the Lord like to spend on themselves rather than caring for others; they are willing to watch others suffer. Under normal circumstances, if a co-worker has received more, he should take care of others. The Lord wants us to be strong in this matter so that we will not fall under man’s control or into a sense of inferiority. This, however, does not mean that there is no center in the work or in spiritual matters. Paul was the leading one among the Gentile believers, and Peter and John were the leading ones among the Jewish believers. This was not an organization but a center as the base of the spiritual work. The Lord entrusted the work to these leading ones, and they were entrusted to do the Lord’s work.
Fourth, we must learn to walk in the proper way of the Lord without any deviation. We should not say that we can be loose because the churches are financially independent and because we do not have a center of work. This is wrong. We must take care of both aspects. In this way we will learn to have proper fellowship and spiritual supply without involving human control or methods. On the physical side, we do not rely on man, we are not under man’s control, and we do not have a center. However, on the spiritual side, regarding the work, we have a center, and none of us can act independently.
There are several principles which I hope the responsible brothers from all the churches can be clear about. First, as we fellowshipped earlier, all those who join the training must be those who have the capacity to be co-workers. Second, we need to take care of the needs of the churches in our localities and the needs of the trainees in a balanced way. We need to decide, based on the needs, who should stay in the churches and who should come and join the training. Third, those who join the training must come for the whole time. If some could come only at the beginning but cannot stay until the completion of the training, we should not consider them. Fourth, we should never push someone to leave his job to come to the training. A person should be clear whether or not he should leave his job permanently; we cannot replace the function of his conscience. It is best for the working ones to stay in their jobs, unless they themselves feel to do so and have a clear confirmation from the leading ones to leave. We need to find out if those who want to leave their jobs for the training have been persuaded by others or whether they want to do so themselves. Fifth, we need to consider people’s financial capacity. According to our budget, those who come to the training must take care of their own expenses; we have no way to take care of them. We must let them know this clearly.