Another burden of the training, which will be brought up in subsequent fellowship, is that every full-timer should help a small group. This does not mean we will lead the small groups; we will help them. On the one hand, I am concerned that the full-timers may become proud upon hearing that they are qualified, designated, and commissioned to help the small groups. On the other hand, the brothers and sisters in the small groups may say, “Didn’t Brother Lee say that there are no responsible ones or leading ones in the small groups? Why then does he ask trainees to help us?” We need to see that in order to avoid doing things in a natural way in the small groups, the small groups need the help. In order to help the small groups, the trainees need to know the complications related to a small group.
In the Lord’s recovery our practices are not mechanical or organizational; they are organic. Hence, it is wrong for the full-time brothers and sisters to help the small groups in an organizational way. Our help must be organic. It is not easy to know what is organic and what is organizational. In the training we will be perfected to help the small groups, after which we will be assigned to a small group. If our attitude is that we know how to help people and, hence, we are the coach, what we do will become organizational. We should have the attitude of being a brother or a sister, who is a member of the Body, meeting together with our brothers and sisters in a small group. We should not feel that we are there to help others and that the other members must receive our help.
We must be organic in the small group. Even though this is not easy, if we learn, every small group will be revived. For example, in a small group gathering, if a person suddenly brings food and invites everybody for a feast, should we join them? Or should we give a message telling them that a small group meeting should not be worldly? What is the best way to handle the situation? A brother may say that we need to turn to our spirit, eat in spirit, and bring everyone into Christ through eating. This may sound good, but it is not so easy to carry out. One way to handle the situation is to not do anything. We can simply eat with them, not expecting to do anything, because there is not much we can do under that kind of atmosphere. Therefore, the best way is to not do anything and to not say anything. Just eat with them.
After we finish eating, we should not look for an opportunity to correct them. Even if we would tell them that material things are a type of spiritual things, we should speak in a careful way, because if we are not careful in our speaking, it can be insinuating. The most appropriate way is to say something uplifting when we are invited to speak. We should speak Christ but not say anything related to eating. Mentioning the food is like exposing a scar. We must avoid speaking in this way. We should only speak something inspiring so that they may get the benefit. Perhaps we will not have the opportunity to help them on that day, or even on the second or third visit. If we can endure until the fourth meeting, perhaps by then we will know how to work in a small group.
The time will come when the Holy Spirit will prepare an environment to render help in a spontaneous way. Therefore, as we go out to help people, we should not seek to be quick, nor should we focus on quick success. It may be that we visit them for half a year, and we still cannot help them. Please remember that there is no wasted effort. As long as we are going, this is better than not going.
We should realize that they are not completely without feeling concerning eating the feast. There is some feeling in them, but how deep and how strong their feeling is depends on how much weight we have before the Lord. If the apostle Paul were there, they would have a heavy feeling. Therefore, it is likely that due to our presence, they will begin to feel something. Therefore, we do not need to do something immediately. We simply need to go again and again. I believe that the Holy Spirit will give us an opportunity, and our effort will not be wasted. To learn to not do anything is an important lesson. We are doing a spiritual work, and this is the secret. May we all have this exercise. Gradually, the small groups will be delivered from the natural way of doing things, and people will receive the supply of life from us.