I am thankful to the Lord that when I first arrived in Shanghai, Brother Nee gave me many opportunities to learn. For example, I had never done any literature work before that time, and neither had I been to his bookroom. However, he perfected me in the literature work. First, he perfected me in responding to letters. The saints and churches often wrote to Brother Nee asking him questions. Sometimes he would give me these letters and ask me to reply on his behalf. These letters contained more than greetings; they contained specific questions. Second, Brother Nee made me an editor of some of his publications, such as Collection of Newsletters. Third, he allowed me to edit articles in the magazine The Christian. After being in circulation for several years, this magazine was stopped for a period of time. When the magazine resumed publication, he asked me to bear the responsibility of the editor. He handed me the task and stood behind to train me. This is the way we should perfect others in order to produce useful ones. If we do everything by ourselves from beginning to end, there will be no one to continue the work after we die.
In order for a trade to grow and expand, it must train apprentices. Therefore, the co-workers must have a thorough change of concept. The brothers in the larger cities have been listening to messages for ten to twenty years. Hence, they should be experienced and able to handle things. The saints in the churches in Taiwan are good resources to whom we can hand over the affairs of the church. It is the Lord’s sovereignty and His mercy that we have encountered problems and suffered a loss in recent years. For nearly ten years we were engaged in a battle, both in the East and in the West, concerning the truth and ground of the church. Now the saints are finally clear in regard to the ground of the church.
I once told a brother that it was a mistake for me to accept the suggestion of some brothers and invite Brother Austin-Sparks to come to us, because his visit caused a problem. The brother said that he did not consider it a mistake, because if not for that mistake, we would not have been engaged in a battle concerning the ground of the church, and we would not be able to speak clearly concerning this matter. The churches in this country and overseas are all clear about the truth concerning the ground of the church. This brother’s words surely gave me some comfort.
A young American brother, who had not had contact with us in the United States, came to a meeting in Taipei, because he heard that our meetings were based on the teachings of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. However, he was not clear concerning the ground and the way of the church. During a Lord’s Day morning meeting, he spoke about how he came to be with us. Eventually, he said that every Christian group is the same. This statement sparked a burden in the saints. One after another, the saints stood up and testified concerning the truth with their experience. All the speaking clearly hit the points of the truth concerning the ground and the way of the church. It gave me great joy to see that the saints are so clear concerning the ground and the way of the church. We should have the assurance that after so many years of observing, listening, and learning, the saints are able to bear responsibility. We should be at peace to commit matters into their hands. The saints simply need a little guiding. As long as the co-workers and elders are willing to take the time and are determined to take this way, not only will they be able to produce capable ones, but they themselves will learn more. Teachers always learn more than their students. When we teach others, we learn more thoroughly. When we perfect others to become useful, we also become more useful.
The work, especially in East Asia, should mainly focus on large cities. We should not spread out to smaller places. Our commission from the Lord is to recover the testimony of the local churches in this age. We are not commissioned with a ministry of studying the Bible, a ministry of edifying people for the sake of spirituality, or with a ministry of preaching the gospel or doing an evangelistic work abroad. The commission that we have received from the Lord is to recover the testimony of the local churches. We must work out a strong and shining testimony of the local churches with a large number of believers. Such a testimony will allow the Lord to have more outlets.
However, we should not despise other Christians involved in other endeavors; rather, we should respect them. Whether or not they are willing to receive the ground of the church is not a problem. It is the Lord’s grace that some believers desire to preach the gospel among the aborigines. It is right that they go. Some believers are burdened to preach the gospel abroad, others desire to build up Bible-study groups, and still others are burdened for the growth in life. These activities are not in opposition to the commission that we have received from the Lord. Other believers can carry out their respective commissions, but our commission is to build up the church life in every locality. This testimony is not easy to work out, and the Lord did not commission us to do any other work. Hence, we must focus our energy on large and central places. In this way we will gain numerous people, and the testimony will be bright. The work must focus on central places.
We also need to work with students, and the co-workers who are manifested in the work should go abroad. However, this does not mean that they should move overseas and not return. While the co-workers are in Taiwan, they should help in the larger local churches. Every year they should spend nine months in Taiwan and three months abroad. At least a dozen co-workers should be able to go abroad. Some may spend a longer time abroad, maybe half a year. They will be able to work in coordination with the local churches domestically and overseas for the spread of the Lord’s testimony by training and producing useful ones.