Coordination in the church can be troublesome. There is a district meeting that is very close to the National Taiwan University and also very convenient. The responsible brothers in this district welcome young people and are zealous. This is a help to the students’ work. However, the middle-aged or older saints do not always understand the psychology of the young ones. These older saints might extinguish the fire in the young people. The help that they render may become a hindrance.
Some may say, “If this is the case, there is no need for the church’s coordination. The saints in the district labor to cook meals and spend time with the students, and all they receive is criticism.” This word is not negating the coordination and help from the church, but sometimes the result of our labor is contrary to what we hope for. A person may put a cup of hot water in the refrigerator in order to keep the water fresh, but this also causes the water to cool down. Your intention is not for the students to cool down, but because you do not understand their situation or circumstances, they become cold. I hope that you understand what I am saying. The young people’s work sounds simple, but it is not simple. The young people have their own psychology. If you understand their psychology, they will work very hard for you and do whatever you tell them to do. If you do not understand their psychology, they will not rise up even if you render them help. Some of the saints in the district do not understand the young people. Therefore, they cannot meet the need of the young people’s work.
Those who serve with the young people must be discerning. Second Timothy 4:5 says, “Be sober in all things.” Not all the saints in the district can render real help. Sometimes their help may be a hindrance. Therefore, those serving with the young people should be cautious; that is, they should be sober and consider the situation thoroughly. This does not mean that they should oppose the church’s coordination but that they should be cautious and sober-minded.
To be cautious is to be sober; it is to see things clearly. There is a fog covering every situation, which makes people unable to see things clearly. Those who are sober are able to see clearly and know what the issue will be. In such a situation the help that is needed from the responsible ones in a district may not be significant. Sometimes the work with the young people can progress without much help. Our purpose is to produce many young saints who can be set on fire. If the coordination from a district is appropriate, it will be beneficial, but if the coordination is inappropriate, it will become a hindrance. We need to be sober in our coordination with others.
One thing that is definitely helpful is to have a place for hospitality, that is, a brothers’ house or a sisters’ house. Such a place does not require much effort and will not compromise the effect of the work, because the young people do the work.
In the young people’s work we should not always mention financial matters. It is not always profitable for the church to provide the finances for the work. The situation in Hong Kong over the past few years is a good example. If it were not for the young people’s work, the testimony of the church might have been lost during the turmoil. The saints were able to maintain the Lord’s testimony because of the young people’s work. When the young people’s work began, it did not rely on financial support from the church. The elders were willing to support the work financially, but those who bore the responsibility of the young people’s work turned them down. If the serving ones had accepted their money at the time, the young people’s work would have been affected when the turmoil came. The serving ones looked to God and were not influenced. This, however, does not mean that they were independent of the church.
The financial support for the young people’s work does not have to come from the church. The proper way to deal with financial matters is to learn to depend on the Lord and to exercise our faith. Our work should not be detached from the church, but we should exercise our faith. Although the church can rise up and care for a burden, we do not need an arrangement; rather, we need to learn the lesson of faith. We must lead the young people to live before the Lord, not to rely on the church.
These are matters of our practice in the work. We should never have an organizational arrangement or depend on an organization. Rather, we should lead the young ones to look to the Lord and exercise their faith in all things. The church should also pick up the burden by faith. However, if the church does not pick up the burden, the Lord has other ways; He is living, and He cares for the needs of His children. The natural concept is to go to the schools, coordinate with the responsible ones in the districts so that they open their homes and cook for the students, and ask the church to provide the finances to support and supply the young people’s work. All these ways are natural and ineffective. We must go against this natural way and be one with the church. We must honor the church but not do a natural work. If we learn this lesson, the effect of the students’ work will be unlimited and immeasurable.