The work needs leadership, but the co-workers cannot depend solely on the leadership. The foundation has been laid, and churches have also been established in many places. The co-workers should exercise to function in the work. We are not an organization, nor do we have a constitution. The co-workers in Tainan are free to develop the work in Tainan, but they must not interfere with the work in other churches. A co-worker in Taipei must first fellowship with the co-workers and elders in Taipei regarding his service in a particular district, and then he should labor diligently. While he should follow the direction of the work, he should not wait passively. However, it is a fundamental mistake for the work to direct the day-to-day activities of the workers. If the work directs the workers in this way, the work should be fundamentally adjusted. At the most, the work should make some initial arrangements for the co-workers concerning their service. In the church in Taipei there are many district halls. The work can arrange for a worker to serve in a particular district, but once a worker is assigned to serve in a place, the work should give him total freedom. The work does not have a central command unit. The co-workers must not hold such a concept.
The co-workers must not give their responsibilities to someone else. If a country has the best president, but none of its ministers work diligently, sooner or later that country will fall. But if the ministers do their best, even if the president is not intelligent, that country will become stronger. Hence, in a sense, the work needs leadership, but in another sense, the work does not need a leader or leaders, because we are not an organization. A co-worker serving in a certain place should have some amount of freedom. Some co-workers are restricted because the elders in their locality exercise too much control. These elders need a change of concept.
We do not control, rule over, or restrict the co-workers. If a co-worker is serving in Keelung but fails to accomplish anything, he should not blame anything or anyone, because he was perfected by the work and given freedom in his service. Therefore, the co-workers need a change in concept. Once they are serving in a certain place, whether large or small, they should work until that place becomes a “New Jerusalem.” The place of our service does not matter; what matters is that we accomplish something. There is no need for a commander-in-chief in Taiwan. We simply need to labor where we are.
The work does not need a commander-in-chief, nor does a district meeting or a group meeting need a commander-in-chief. We should remove all the leaders, and let everyone be a leader. A co-worker should take the lead in the work by concentrating on nothing else but working diligently. This is the right concept. If he is not controlled, he cannot blame anyone but himself for the outcome of his labor. If the result is good, it is to his credit; if the result is poor, it is his fault.
Hence, the workers must change their concept. There is no organization in the work. We are not like a government office. Every co-worker works according to the grace he has received. If the grace he has received is comparable to what Paul received, his work will be comparable to Paul’s. If the grace he has received is similar to what Barnabas received, his work will be comparable to the work of Barnabas. Whether or not the work tries to control him will not change the fact that he is a Paul or a Barnabas. It will only impact the effectiveness of his service. In Acts the work was not under anyone’s rule. Once an aspect of the work is placed in our hands, we should exercise to function; we should not wait for “instructions” from a leader. This fellowship is related to the co-workers.
The elders must seek the Lord’s grace so that they are able to bear the burden of the church. In the initial stage of the church, when it is still weak, the co-workers’ help is needed. However, in some local churches the co-workers have been helping for more than twenty years. It is not reasonable for these churches to continue to ask for the help of the co-workers. It is the elders who should bear the burden of the church. However, the elders must not have the concept of being an elder forever. If the church does not advance or spread, the elders should go before the Lord and see if there are others who are more useful. If there are such brothers, the elders should consider giving up their service. The elders do not have a specific term of service, like the president who serves for four years and the legislators who serve for two years. There is no term limit related to the eldership. However, if an elder cannot bear the responsibility in a locality, and there is a brother who is more mature and more capable, then the elder should consider giving up his service. We should bring such matters before the Lord.
As elders, we should bear the burden of the church in our locality. If the situation of the church is poor, we can fellowship and ask the work to send co-workers to assist us. However, it is not easy, even for the co-workers, to produce elders. This is because the more a co-worker serves, the more he can keep things in his own hands. This results in limited opportunities for others to serve and learn. After a co-worker works in a place for two or three years, elders should be raised up from among the saints, and the burden of the church can be handed over to them. It is often the case that some local brothers show signs of being an elder, but after a co-worker arrives and works in the locality for three years, these brothers no longer show any signs of being an elder. This is because the co-worker assumes all the responsibilities in the church. When the co-worker serves directly, he does not know how to train others and even believes that he is the only one who can carry out the work. The longer he takes care of things, the less capable others become. This is a problem. The church can become a trap to a co-worker if he thinks that he is indispensable. When a co-worker goes to a place where there are no elders, he should train the local brothers with the aim of producing elders. After three years some local brothers who can be given the responsibilities of an elder will be manifested. Then the local brothers should be appointed as elders. In this way, the co-worker will be freed to move to another locality. This situation is normal.
At present, however, the elders do not bear the burden of the churches, because the co-workers are still bearing the burden of the elders. No new elders have been raised up, and not many elders have manifested their function. I hope that the elders will go before the Lord, examine themselves anew, and have a new beginning in the Lord’s light. They should determine whether or not they can advance or whether or not others are more suitable to be elders. If there are no suitable brothers, we can fellowship with the work.