However, the most basic work of the elders is to impart life to the saints; in order to do this the elders need to be desperate to have life themselves. Although some saints love the Lord, they have little growth in life and limited experience and knowledge of Christ. The elders should be desperate to impart the life supply to them. If most of the saints in a locality are progressing, the elder should not give ordinary messages or do an ordinary work. He should do his best to supply the saints with what they need at that point. No one can do this for him. For example, a mathematics teacher must think of ways to teach his students multiplication and division. Then the students will advance to a higher level. Once the students learn multiplication and division, the teacher must teach them something new. If the teacher has nothing left to teach the students, he must quickly learn something new. If he is unable to learn, he should ask someone to come and assist him. The elders should lead all the saints to grow in life. If the elders endeavor in this matter, the church will advance. Since we are short in our own growth in life, it is very difficult for us to lead the church to grow in life. This is the second item of our work.
The third item is that the co-workers must be desperate to have the supply of the word. A local church always needs the word; doctrines are useless. There must be the supply of the living word. A local church should have two messages every week to meet two kinds of need. One message should be simple, and the other should be deeper. This will require the co-workers to labor. In the past, one brother would give a message, another brother would call the hymns, and still another brother would pray, and then the meeting would be dismissed. This kind of meeting is not proper. The meetings should enliven the saints and cause them to release their spirit. However, if in every meeting the saints only release their spirit and there is no living word and no substantive supply in the word, the saints will not receive a solid supply from the meetings. In a good meeting at least half an hour to forty minutes must be used for supplying the word. Therefore, the co-workers should have a supply of the word to impart into the saints. This will cause the saints to grow in life.
Some co-workers said that they do not have the gift of speaking. It is not fitting for them to say this; it is also not fitting for someone to say that he does not have the gift of eating. Only the dead do not have the gift of eating. We can all speak, just as we can all eat. Some may say that they do not have the gift of cooking. This is also not right. In the New Testament Paul says, “Having gifts...according to the grace given to us” (Rom. 12:6). Whether we cook well or not, we all can cook. It all depends on whether we are desperate and whether we do something with our heart and our strength. We are too kind to ourselves, and we have not been strict with ourselves. If, as a co-worker, I do not have a supply of the word, I should be diligent and desperate to produce a living word. If I cannot do it myself, there are other full-timers serving with me. I can ask them to endeavor with me. We must endeavor so that we always have a living word, a living supply, for the saints.
There are three crucial points that we should focus on. First, the business affairs of a local church must be delegated to the saints. Second, we must be desperate for the saints to grow in life. Third, we must endeavor to have the supply of the word. Nothing is impossible to accomplish to those who are determined. As long as we are determined, we will accomplish something. The Lord will give us grace.
If we are determined, we will find a way to go on. A co-worker serving in a locality should carefully observe the situation in the church and pray. He may observe that the saints love the Lord, attend the meetings regularly, and tithe, but they do not have a good foundation in life. He should find a way to give them a foundation in life. Perhaps he realizes that the saints do not adequately know the meaning of regeneration. They have been regenerated, but they do not have sufficient knowledge concerning regeneration and do not know the experience of regeneration. Some co-workers may tell the saints to read books such as The Knowledge of Life,The Experience of Life, Messages for Building Up New Believers, and Lessons for New Believers. This approach can be likened to buying groceries and then putting them on the table for people to eat. The groceries still need to be processed. The co-workers cannot expect the saints to receive the supply simply by reading spiritual books. In order to fellowship from Lesson 8 in Messages for Building Up New Believers, they must first digest the lesson and then present it to the saints. Even if the co-workers are not eloquent, their words will touch the saints. If a co-worker cannot digest a lesson by himself, he should ask a few of his companions for help. Then the saints will receive the help and be supplied.
Managing a family depends more on diligence than on competence. The Chinese are smart and capable, but they like to take shortcuts. A Chinese person may take an hour to finish a job, but a Japanese person will take three hours. From this we can see the diligence of the Japanese. Herein lies the success of the Japanese industries; no one can compete with them in this aspect. The Americans seek efficiency, the Chinese search for shortcuts, and the Japanese strive for perfection. The disposition of the Chinese people has not been rooted out of the saints. As soon as we speak of ministering the word, the co-workers think of doing a quick job or depending on others. As a result, the work does not have much effect, nothing substantial is built up, there is not much growth in life, and there is very little supply of the word. Such work is like that of a pastor maintaining a congregation, and it is not of much use.