What I have said to the co-workers, elders, and all of you during the last week or two comes down to two things: the small groups and the prophesying. Tonight we want to see the four things related to the organic practice of the new way. They are begetting, nourishing, teaching, and building. To beget is to preach the gospel to gain the new ones (1 Cor. 9:22-23). To nourish is to have the home meetings and to be nursing mothers in the homes of the new ones (1 Thes. 2:7). To teach is to have the small group meetings for the perfecting of the saints (Eph. 4:11-12), and to build is to prophesy in the district meetings for the building up of the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 14:31).
Tonight I feel that I cannot go on speaking in the same way. The reason for this is that in the past few meetings what we did here was like lecturing in the classroom, with some research done. But when I went down to the actual work site, I realized that either we have not started building, or we were not working according to plan. For this reason, I will make the matter very clear by speaking in another way. This does not mean that I have changed again. I must declare that I have not changed at all. We are still on begetting, nourishing, teaching, and building, and the gospel, the homes, the small groups, and the districts. The gospel is for the begetting. The home is for the nourishing. The small groups are for the teaching, and the teaching is for the prophesying, resulting in the building up of the church. This blueprint has been drawn out clearly since last fall. However, all we had was simply a blueprint. Everyone seemed to be busy. But no one was busy according to the blueprint. Some have not even started on the work yet. Therefore, from this week on, all of you have to start working. While you are building, your blueprint must be accurate. You must not build something rectangular when the blueprint calls for something circular. If you do, you will have to rebuild everything.
For this reason, I will consider carefully with all of you the detailed way for the carrying out of this work. I hope that I can speak in a thorough way and that you can listen to my speaking in a sober way. We have to make the way to carry out this work very clear. Every week, over five thousand people are meeting in the church in Taipei. Among them, at least two to three thousand are active in service. This is quite a large number. Unfortunately, due to the fact that the blueprint was not clear and that many have not actually started building, we have been moving around a lot, but accomplishing little according to the plan. I realize that we cannot go on wasting our time like this. Hence, I want to say that from now on, every way must be stopped. We have to listen carefully first before proceeding on with the work.
The first item in carrying out the work is to divide up the small groups. All the meeting halls have to make a proper division of the small groups. This does not mean that the elders and co-workers divide them up for everyone else. Rather, they are there just to assist the saints in dividing among themselves. When you divide up, there is no need to be too legal. Respect the wish of each individual. At any rate, everyone must belong to a small group meeting. If you do not have one, you are not qualified. Even if we have to give up our sleep and meals, we have to meet in the small groups. As to the number in the small groups, it must not be less than twelve and must not be more than twenty. Each small group should be from twelve to twenty in number. I hope that you will clearly settle this matter of the division of the small groups within two weeks. Every one has to be identified with one small group.