Education begins in elementary school. If a person continues year after year, he will graduate from college or even finish with a Ph.D. Many saints have not had their function developed. They can be likened to someone who has been studying for many years and yet has not graduated from elementary school. The co-workers and elders consider the saints and feel that no one is capable; therefore, they do everything themselves. The more they do, the more experienced and skillful they become until they are the experts. The co-workers and elders are the only ones who know how to serve. Now we need to let go and let the saints serve so that they have the opportunity to learn. The church in Los Angeles is a good example. Whether in meal service or giving hospitality, the saints take care of everything without being instructed by the elders. Even if the saints make a mistake, it will not be serious.
Some co-workers said, “Those dissenting co-workers were raised up by Brother Lee’s work. If Brother Lee had been more careful, these things would not have happened.” However, if from the beginning of the work in Taiwan, I did not let the brothers serve, I would have annulled the function of many saints, and the churches would not have had much increase. I can be likened to a mother who had twenty-eight children, and although some have died, many remain. There are still many local churches in Taiwan. Therefore, let the saints make mistakes; the mistakes will not be too serious.
We need the Lord’s mercy in order to be open to this fellowship. Who is without mistakes? Which one of us always does things right and never makes a mistake? Only the Lord Jesus is without mistakes. May He have mercy on us. When we begin to serve in this way, some saints may oppose us, but we should not stop out of a desire to avoid making mistakes. We must change our concept. It is not good if we cannot accommodate others or coordinate with others. Rather than giving directions to others, we should concentrate on leading people to salvation and to loving the Lord for the spread of the church. Even if a brother does not follow this fellowship, this is not a cause for stirring up trouble. The opposers shouted slogans, saying that they had seen Christ and that Christ is everything. If they truly had worked in the principle of “Christ is everything,” there would have been no need for slogans. Everything else is trivial. However, they focused only on trivial things. We cannot do this. We should be strong in spirit, follow the leading of the Spirit, and have a pure heart. We have always worked together. There has never been the feeling that some co-workers belong to this region of the work, and others belong to another region of the work. Hence, our vision must be clear, our heart must be pure, and we must release our spirit.
If a co-worker wants to serve in a university where there are no saints, he should pray earnestly until there is at least one student there. If there are already several saints on campus, he should find them, fellowship with them, and bring them into function. Then he should let them serve. If he leads their meeting, he is replacing, not leading, them. He should supply and teach them from a distance. To use a military example, he should supply them with ammunition, teach them how to shoot, and identify a strategic plan for them. It may appear to others that the students are the ones engaged in battle and that the co-worker is doing nothing, but the work has become the burden of the students. Some co-workers said that they are not able to do this. Being able or not being able is a relative matter. Even a person who cannot speak well does not refuse to speak. Everyone, whether smart or foolish, can speak. It does not matter whether a person speaks well or speaks poorly. A person who speaks well accomplishes something, and a person who speaks poorly also accomplishes something. This is the way that things are accomplished in the work. Only when we change our concept and disposition will the work have a future.
From now on the affairs of the church should be turned over to the saints; the affairs of the church should be under their care. The co-workers must not replace the saints. There are many saints in every church. The co-workers must not give the saints directions but rather entrust them with responsibilities. The co-workers and elders should just oversee the services, rendering appropriate adjustment and encouragement. Furthermore, the co-workers in every place should bear the responsibility of ministering the word. They should not minister doctrine but should make an effort to use appropriate material and learn to give a message. If one co-worker is unable to do this, two or three can come together in coordination. They can dive into a message and study how to digest it so that they can supply the saints. Every week the co-workers should have a rich word with which to supply the saints.
The full-time co-workers should do their best to propagate the work in schools. There is no need to wait for others to make arrangements. They should spend more time with the schools and not with the church affairs. The co-workers should do their best to supply the students without leading the students’ meeting. The meetings of the church are the meetings of the saints; hence, the elders and co-workers should not lead the meetings. They should help the saints understand that the meetings belong to the saints. The elders are responsible for oversight, making sure that the meetings are carried out properly. They should teach and correct if anything is improper. The co-workers should endeavor to minister the word and supply life.
The elders should also endeavor to utilize more of their time for shepherding and less time for church affairs. Since the affairs of the church have been handed over to the saints, the elders should let the saints be responsible. These are the main points that we should grasp. We must not fall back to our old ways of keeping everything in our hands and doing everything ourselves. The elders should take care of shepherding and deal only with crucial matters, leaving the ordinary affairs to the saints. The church meetings should also be handed over to the saints. The co-workers should endeavor to supply the word. If they have more time, they should endeavor to propagate the gospel in the schools. After the services are handed over to the saints, the elders should oversee diligently. The elders should turn over the responsibility of a certain service to two or three saints who can train and instruct other saints. The elders do not have to be concerned with these details. The elders need only to oversee and observe. When there is a mistake or an act of negligence in the service, the elders should render appropriate help.
Furthermore, we should not be rigid in forming small groups by assigning someone to be responsible or someone to take the lead. Rather, we should let the saints serve voluntarily. We should let the saints endeavor to look for backslidden saints and to preach the gospel and bring in new ones. The elders should not lead in the bread-breaking meeting or the young people’s meeting. The elders should let the saints lead the meetings. The elders need only to oversee from a distance and render appropriate correction, guidance, and encouragement when needed. This is different from what we have done with small groups in the past. In the past, based on the information cards, we formed the saints into groups. As a result, only a few saints met together; most never attended the meeting. This time the saints who sign up will be formed into groups. The saints who sign up later will be formed into more groups.
The co-workers and elders must see the urgent need of shepherding, growing in life, and supplying the word. These are the three items that we lack the most. We must lead the churches into shepherding, growing in life, and the supply of the word. We want a living word, not routine messages. In every church there should be one to two meetings a week with a living word. As long as the co-workers are willing to endeavor, they will be able to meet this need. They must not carry out a routine. Concerning the church services, all the affairs in the churches should be taken care of by the saints. Not only should the saints do things, but they should take up the burden and the responsibility for the things that they do. The meetings belong to the saints. The co-workers and elders are present to render a supply. Even the spiritual services belong to the saints. Eventually, every saint will learn to shepherd and to teach.