Regarding the changing of the system, the matter that I feel most heavily burdened about within is the weakness of the ministry of the word in the meetings. At the present time the new way has proven to be the right way both in the East and in the West. However, all the situations and conditions that were manifested during the experimental period have shown us that the speaking of the word in the various meetings is very weak. We are not asking that the speaking be extraordinary but that it would at least be able to meet the need. Presently, our speaking is not ideal and does not meet the need. In other words, we are like a team that cannot take the field to compete because we are not up to the standard.
I have always been heavily burdened concerning the ministry of the word, and I have been forced to carefully consider before the Lord how to deal with it. For example, consider the church in Taipei. It is a large church with over twenty meeting halls and more than four hundred small groups, yet it is clear that the ministry of the word is lacking and that there is little supply both in the big meetings and in the small meetings. This problem must be solved without further delay. Food, clothing, housing, and transportation are the great necessities of life, but the most crucial necessity is food. It does not matter that much if a person’s clothing is a little shabby or if his house leaks a little when it rains. His stomach, however, cannot go hungry. If a man in a certain place is hungry day after day, sooner or later he will leave that place because he will not be willing to simply wait until he dies. Therefore, the fact that our numbers are not multiplying is eighty percent due to the scarcity of food among us and to our inability to feed people.
Even though you may not have the experience or knowledge to lead a small group, you should be able to pick up some secrets and discover some essential points by simply trying to do it. For example, a person does not have to attend a technical school to learn how to be a carpenter. By practicing carpentry under a master carpenter from his youth, he can gain experience and eventually become a master himself. Similarly, after leading a small group for a while, you should be able to discover some secrets and essential points as you attend the small group meeting. According to my general observation, the fate of the small group depends entirely upon the ministry of the word.
First, all of the co-workers, full-timers, elders, and core members in the small groups should be prepared to bring a suitable word as the food to the small group meetings. However, when you are preparing a word, do not consider yourselves as teachers who are going to teach some students or as elders who are going to visit and edify the saints. If you do this, you will definitely fail. Although you must be prepared, in your attitude you should still consider yourselves as students because there are no teachers or leaders in the small groups.
Next, you should not go with the intention of giving the opening word in the meeting. Although it makes a difference whether the meeting starts early or late, it is not that important. The important thing is whether or not you supply the others in the meeting and bring the riches to them. If the saints do not open the meeting in a good way, if they are only chatting, or if they sing an inappropriate hymn, then you need to properly open the meeting. If they open the meeting properly, you should simply let them carry on by themselves.
Based upon the condition of the small groups, I have realized that our leading and perfecting in the past were too weak. In the past we depended on big meetings with large numbers of people. Now, after the change of system, we have small group meetings with small numbers of people, and no one knows how to meet in this way. I have gone to several group meetings, and they were all like this. The saints were good, but they simply did not know how to meet. The reason is that in the past we were not trained in this way. The saints know how to pray, how to sing, and how to read the Scriptures, but they do not know how to apply these practices once they are in the small groups.
If we had time, I would teach you how to open the meeting, that is, how to use the hymns or the life-study messages to start the meeting. For now I can only give you some principles. In order to open the meeting in a good way, you should be able to point out the crucial items of the truth that the saints are pursuing during the week. For example, suppose that this week we are pursuing Message Ten of the Life-study of Galatians, and the crucial point is that it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. If you know this, then you can take the opportunity to lead everyone to sing Hymns, #499. Once the singing starts, the meeting will open up. Therefore, before you go to the small group meeting, you should familiarize yourself with the message being pursued that week and note the crucial points in it. At the small group meeting you should learn to share the crucial points with the saints. There is no need to read the whole message. Simply grasp the crucial points and feed the saints. You can also use the Bible to open the meeting by leading everyone to read the verses related to the content being pursued for the week. If no one knows how to read properly, and the reading is disorganized and disorderly, or if they do not know how to repeat-read, emphasize-read, or pray-read, then you must be the coach and think of a way to teach and perfect them so that they may learn how to read properly.