In the past whenever we asked certain brothers to take care of a meeting hall, those who took care of that meeting hall would compete for manpower and financial resources for that hall. Brothers, please remember that when you administrate the church, you are not administrating for that local church, but for Christ’s universal Body. If a brother in that local church has the burden to move to South America, you should not restrain him, but rather you should thank the Lord and encourage him, giving him an allowance for travel, family support, and three years’ living expenses. If you are willing to do this, the church will be blessed. When we administrate the church, we must have a Body-consciousness and not use our personal judgment to judge anything. According to our concept, Jacob was very bad, but the Lord said, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated” (Rom. 9:13; Mal. 1:2-3). According to our way, we want to administrate well the church we are in, but God wants to put South America in good order. On the whole earth there are over six hundred churches. By the Lord’s mercy, from the beginning until now I have treated every church alike without discrimination. I hope that you will also have a Body-consciousness. You are here serving the church, not for the service here but for the Lord’s Body on the whole earth. I hope that not only the co-workers and elders will have this attitude, this spirit, this feeling, and this flavor, but also that every brother and sister will have the same.
The basic principle of the Lord’s building the church is to build up the home meetings as the base. When we go to a home meeting we should never have an attitude that when we go to raise up that home meeting, we go to take the lead. You should go to a home meeting to strengthen it, to enrich it, but you should not go there to be the head. Because you go there to function, and you supply the meeting more than others, naturally in the Lord’s eyes you are a pillar in that home meeting, and that home meeting has become strong because you have functioned. But on your side, you just went to function without any thought of being the leader.
The Bible clearly shows us that the Lord did not expressly set up any person to be the head, in order that all the members would develop their own spiritual gifts. In the process of natural development, the stronger ones would bear more responsibility. It is the same in principle with respect to the home meetings, the individual meeting halls, and the church. Then the Lord can have a way here, and we can come out of organization. This light among us should be very bright. In the church, first, we have no organization; second, we have no hierarchy. We do not have the higher-ups controlling the people below, nor do we have the people below following the higher-ups. Our relationship is not that of superiors to inferiors. We have no organization, but we have contact and fellowship.
Because of our way of arranging the leadership in the past, through these few decades and through a long period of suffering we have discovered that there are many shortcomings. Not only have the brothers and sisters not been perfected, but even the leading ones have not been perfected. When I reconsider the entire New Testament concerning these things, I see that the Lord has never set up leaders. Therefore, by the Lord’s grace we should let the saints develop much in gifts. As a result of the development, some will naturally be manifested to be stronger, and some weaker. Then the stronger ones will bear more responsibility, while the weaker ones will also take care of their portion of the responsibilities. Consequently, the ones bearing more responsibility will naturally become the pillars. Now we hope that all the brothers will embrace this attitude and have this kind of spirit, to positively get into the home meetings and to function according to the gift that the Lord has measured to you. If the measure the Lord has given to you is more, then spontaneously you are the pillar in that home meeting. As long as you put forth faithfully what the Lord has given you, your function will be fulfilled. Then the Lord will gain ground in you, and the church will also receive benefit because of you.