In this chapter, we must look into another aspect of the local church, that is, the government of the church. With any government there are always two sides: the responsibility and the authority. We should not only have the thought of authority when we speak of government, because authority is not the only nor the first thing. The primary matter in government is responsibility. Without responsibility, there is no authority. The brothers who are in the government of the church must realize that they are not to exercise their authority but to take up their responsibility.
If we read through the New Testament carefully, we see clearly that in the local church there must be a government with elders appointed by the apostles (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5). The Bible tells us that the elders are “the leading ones.” The King James Version renders “the leading ones” into the ones that rule, but the proper meaning of the Greek words, both in Hebrews 13:17 and Romans 12:8, means the ones who take the lead. So they are the leading ones.
We must realize that the elders in the local church are the leading ones. Have you ever seen a flock of sheep? A flock always has some sheep who take the lead; all the others follow the leading sheep. This is the real position of the elders. They must take the lead in the move of the flock. A good shepherd knows how to deal with the flock. There is no need to deal with the whole flock, but simply to deal with the leading ones. When the leading ones take the lead, all the rest will follow. The elders must be the leading ones in the local church.
Today, we are absolutely in an abnormal situation. Let me illustrate: Suppose a family, a father and mother with twelve or fourteen children, are all brought up properly and normally. In such a proper and normal family, it is easy to move in an orderly way. But now, in so many places, the beginning of the church life is not in such a normal condition. It is just as if the father and mother had died, and out of fourteen children, many have left home, and eventually only four come back to try to build up a proper family. Perhaps the oldest is only about eighteen years of age, with one sixteen, one fourteen, and one twelve. This is the present situation in the church life. In so many places, there is no father, no mother, no big brother, no big sister, and almost all the elderly ones have left. Sometimes they may come to visit in order to criticize a little, but that is all. In this kind of situation, what shall we do? Should we say that since we have no father, mother, big brother and big sister, we must forget about the family and wander on the streets? No, we must come back. Yet by coming back, we are all teenagers, and one is only twelve. But by His mercy and grace, we must come back to be the family. Many times, the youngest, who is only twelve, is the wisest, while the oldest, who is eighteen, is not so wise. And sometimes, of the four that came back, the wisest is a sister; none of the three brothers can compare with her. But to let her take the lead is not so proper. In many places, it is just like this. Those who should take the lead just cannot do it, but the sisters, who should not take the lead, are quite gifted and qualified. This is the real problem; it is absolutely abnormal.
In some places the brothers are much improved in the spirit, but they are under the influence of such problems in their background as being married twice. Of course, these things were in the past and are under the blood, but still the problem is there. A local church must be of a high standard. For some of the leading ones to be those who have a problem in the past is not good. So in this kind of abnormal situation we need more grace and more experience in life. It is just like the family of four children coming together to practice the family life. They realize their pitiful situation, yet they must come together as the family. How can they? There is a way. The oldest should realize that though he is the oldest, he is not the wisest. On one hand he must take the lead, for no one else has that position, but on the other hand he must learn to trust in his sister, knowing that she is much more capable than he. The two of them then become one. He is responsible for the position, and she is responsible for the ability. The sister realizes that she is more capable, yet she does not have the standing. So on one hand she must be faithful to the family, but on the other she must be willing to be covered by her brother. If she says anything, she must not say it directly, but by her brother. The brother does not know what to say, but she does. So through coordination, she supplies the ability, and he takes the standing. They work together.
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