Now we will consider several aspects of how we should conduct ourselves in a meeting.
When we come to a meeting, we must first put aside our personal feelings. If we have lost our temper before a meeting, we should put aside our anger when we come to the meeting. Otherwise, we will be fully occupied with our feelings throughout the meeting. A brother may be provoked to anger by his wife and then bring his anger to a meeting. Then when he prays in the meeting, his anger can be sensed in his prayer. He does not care for the nature or the atmosphere of the meeting. His only concern is that his wife has provoked him, and his prayer in the meeting is used as an outlet.
Besides this negative example, there are also positive examples. A brother is filled with light and joy through reading the Bible at home and is singing Hallelujahs before a meeting. At the meeting he excitedly speaks of the light he received at home, disregarding the atmosphere of the meeting. This shows that he has not put aside his personal feeling; thus, he cannot touch the atmosphere of the meeting.
This does not only apply to the meetings. Although someone may speak with us for five minutes, and we nod our head in agreement, we may not hear a word of what he said. This is because we did not put aside our personal thoughts. If we are anxiously waiting for an opportunity to speak, we will not hear what others have to say. In order to hear what others are saying and realize what they mean, we must put aside our personal thoughts. In the same way, in order to touch the feeling of a meeting, we must put aside our personal feelings. Whether we are angry or happy, we need to put aside our feeling. Only in this way can we touch the feeling of a meeting.
A closed person can never touch the feeling of a meeting. Some people come to a meeting with a closed spirit. They come as spectators to watch others perform. They criticize when others perform poorly and applaud when they perform well. Such behavior is from a closed spirit. We must not be like this. When we come to a meeting, we must open our spirit and be prepared to receive the leading of the Holy Spirit.
When we put aside our personal feelings and open our spirit, we are qualified to exercise our spirit and touch the feeling of a meeting. Once we touch the feeling of a meeting, we should function accordingly.
It is very important that we be able to touch the feeling of a meeting. If we cannot touch the feeling, we cannot enter into the flow of the meeting and be mingled with the meeting. Since our gathering together is the meeting, we cannot have a personal agenda; rather, we should all move together. Hence, we must touch the atmosphere of a meeting and enter into the flow of the meeting.
There is a progression in all meetings: a beginning, a process, and an end. A person who knows how to meet knows the purpose of meeting, prepares himself before a meeting, can sense the feeling of a meeting, and knows the progression of a meeting. There are many points to be considered concerning how a meeting begins, the steps it passes through, and how it ends.
Strictly speaking, a good meeting progresses through eight steps. It may be acceptable for a meeting not to pass through two or three of these steps; however, not passing through more than two or three of these steps will result in a poor meeting. We cannot have a meeting that has a beginning and an end but only a brief progression in between.
Let us briefly explain the eight steps through which a meeting progresses.
The opening of a meeting is to begin the meeting. It is not easy to begin a meeting; in fact, the most difficult part of a meeting is the beginning. If the opening is strong, the whole meeting will be strong. If the opening is weak, it will be difficult to strengthen the meeting later. Sometimes a person selects an “inappropriate” hymn at the beginning and kills the entire meeting. If another person adds a deadening prayer, the meeting will be “put in a coffin.” Hence, it is not easy to begin a meeting.
In order to have a good opening, we must accurately touch the feeling of the meeting. Once we touch the feeling, it is easier to begin the meeting. We can begin by selecting an appropriate hymn, offering a prayer, or speaking a few words. Some people are very good at opening a meeting, and the meeting is lively from the beginning. Other people, on the contrary, seem to have the “capability” of deadening any meeting they begin. This is like selecting Hymns, #183, “Come, let us join our cheerful songs,” or Hymns, #127, “Hark! ten thousand voices crying,” in a funeral meeting. The meeting will be ruined if it is opened in this way. This is the same as singing Hymns, #974, “He looked for a city and lived in a tent,” at the beginning of a wedding meeting; this is basically a wrong opening. A wrong opening deadens the entire meeting. The opening of a meeting is very important and requires much practice.