During the lawsuit, J. Gordon Melton, a theologian, testified in court on our behalf. Over twenty years ago he published the Encyclopedia of American Religions, which has a paragraph concerning us. The comments he makes are quite favorable toward us. While he was planning to publish a revised and enlarged edition, the two slanderous books against us were published. He was a supporter of that organization, but as a scholar, he believes that the goal of a writer should be to make a contribution to society. Hence, he felt that he had to do some research to find out the real story. Therefore, he bought our books and did some personal study. After reading the books, his concepts about us completely changed. Not only did he testify on our behalf in court, but after the “Statement of Decision” was issued by the judge, he also wrote an open letter, informing those in fundamental Christianity in the whole United States that our theology is based upon the orthodox theology of the Brethren Assembly and urging people to accept our beliefs.
We must realize that the highest, most fundamental, and proper theology in Christianity is the Brethren theology. The top two seminaries in the United States today are Dallas Theological Seminary and Moody Theological School in Chicago. The teachings in both schools are based upon the Brethren theology. I truly admire Dr. Melton because he was able to find out by reading my books that our theology is according to the Brethren theology. This is proof that he is indeed a devoted scholar.
My main point is that it will not be an easy matter to spread the Lord’s recovery in the United States, Europe, Australia, South America, and Africa. The truths that have been released in the Lord’s recovery are not mere repetitions of what others have said. Rather, they are all based upon the pure revelation of the Word. The United States is the top Christian country and is first-class in every aspect. It has a wealth of talent and an abundance of seminaries with many theological professors and people with doctorate degrees. However, what I have been speaking is different from what they usually speak. This is not a small matter. Dr. Melton is a reputable, educated theologian. In the beginning he stood on the ground of an opposer, but after reading our books he turned around completely. From this we can see how pure and unadulterated our study of the truth is.
Today in the twentieth century everything is improving. Although the earth itself cannot be improved, other things such as the means of transportation on the earth can be improved. Likewise, although the Bible does not change, we can advance in our knowledge and study of the Bible and in our interpretation and application of the truth. The Bible has been in the hands of Christians for almost two thousand years, and the revelation contained in it is progressing as the years go by. Today when we come to study the Bible, if we do not know how to use advanced methods to study it, we will fall behind and become out-of-date.
When we undertake a task, we must not be complacent, sticking to old ways and resisting progress. In America I read a news article saying that the population of Taiwan is equal to one-third of the population of France, yet Taiwan’s production output is higher than that of France. The reason for this lies in the success of education in Taiwan. In the last forty years the Taiwanese government’s greatest contribution to its people has been the success and spread of education, which uplifts the level of people’s intelligence and increases their capability. Hence, Taiwan has been completely transformed into an industrial society. Likewise, today if we desire to work for the Lord, we must raise our level of education. If we do not advance, we will be taken over by others and be eliminated.
I believe that in another two or three years we will have over one thousand full-timers. We must be clear that we cannot be like the outdated preachers in Christianity who study theology a little and learn about the Bible a little and then go out to be preachers with a very limited amount of Bible knowledge. We must strive to get into the depths of the Word. In the Lord’s recovery we have already had a very good beginning and have laid a very good foundation, all of which will be a big help to you. You should not think that we have finished the life-study of the entire New Testament and that there is only this much revelation in the Scriptures. No, the life-study of the Bible that we have completed is only the beginning. I have already said that if the Lord gives me another twenty to thirty years, I would like to write another set of studies on the New Testament. This task, however, has to be left for you to do. Nevertheless, I believe that what you presently have is enough to serve as an initiation. What you need now is to enter in and to study more deeply. Then you will be able to meet the need of this age.
Today we can easily attract crowds of students through our gospel preaching on the campuses because the students are quite educated and will readily receive the high gospel according to logic and reasoning. In the villages, however, it may not be that easy to preach the gospel due to the people’s shortage of knowledge and lack of understanding. In any case, human beings all have the desire to pursue knowledge. If you study the biblical truths thoroughly and then present them to people, especially to the college students, they will fully appreciate what you say. On the contrary, if you are short of the knowledge of the truth, it will be impossible for you to preach the gospel on the campuses effectively. Hence, you must strive to pursue the truth. If you still do things today in the old way—graduate from high school, study two years of theological school, and then go out to be a preacher—that will not work. That way is an outdated way and cannot meet the need of this age. You must exert some effort to be solidly equipped in the truth. This is my main burden for you.
During the training you should do your best to attend the church meetings, particularly the small group meetings. You should not stay together with your fellow trainees all the time. Rather, you should go to different groups to practice speaking for the Lord. You have already been trained for a year and should be able to speak better and more strongly than the saints who have not been trained. In practicing the change of system those who can speak for the Lord are needed the most. I have attended a few groups, and according to my observation, the greatest lack is the lack of speaking, the lack of those who can speak. You may have also noticed the same thing. Therefore, you should have the burden to go and speak in the small groups. If there are one hundred of you and each one goes to a group every week to speak for the Lord, the situation of the small groups will be dramatically changed. This will be a great help to the building up of the small groups in the church in Taipei.