THE PRACTICE HANDBOOK FOR THE DISTRICT SERVING ONES
SERIES TWO
THE GOD-ORDAINED WAY AND VARIOUS KINDS OF MEETINGS
Message Twelve
Conferences, Trainings, and Truth Education
Eph. 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ.
Acts 20:20 How I did not withhold any of those things that are profitable by not declaring them to you and by not teaching you publicly and from house to house.
THE NEED OF PERIODIC CONFERENCES
We have to anticipate that as we cooperate with the Lord to carry out His ordained way, we will gain a substantial increase. This is why we need the meeting halls. When our number is low, we do not need a hall, but when we gain a certain amount of increase, it is good for all the saints to gather together. When we gain the proper increase, our meeting halls will become very useful. Regardless of how large a local church becomes, there is still the need for the whole church to come together periodically. Such a gathering will be a great stirring up and encouragement to the saints.
In the Lord’s new move in the churches, we need the home meetings, the truth lessons, the Lord’s table, and the prayer meeting, and we also need big meetings periodically to gather all the new ones together. We need periodic conferences with all the new converts. For the new ones just to meet in homes to receive nourishment and to learn the truth in the group meetings will not be fully adequate to make them so living and equipped to bear more burden for the Lord. For the long run, they also need to be gathered together for a conference with all the saints. This kind of gathering stirs up and encourages the saints. This opens the eyes of the seeking ones to see something further. Otherwise, they will remain in their homes, and they will not receive a broader view of the Lord’s move. (CWWL, 1986, vol. 3, “Elders’ Training, Book 9: The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (1),” ch. 1)
College Conferences in the Summer and Winter
We need to take the college students to the mountains many times, at least twice a year. The mountain trip can last longer than the trip for the younger students. The conference for the junior-high-school students can be two to three days, but for the college students it is best to have at least one more day. There should be a college conference during the winter holidays and during the summer vacation. The college conference should be by region. The churches in northern Taiwan can have a joint college conference, the churches in central Taiwan can have a conference, and the churches in southern Taiwan can also have a conference. Every region should have a college conference instead of one large conference for the whole island. A large conference will use too many resources and will not be as fruitful. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 1, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 5: Concerning Various Aspects of Church Service,” msg. 2)
Perfecting Training for Core Members
A change in system is always difficult. At first we may think that every small group must have some so-called “core members” to bear the responsibility. However, if this is our thought, the small group will collapse once these “core members” are not doing well. On the other hand, if all the saints are willing to bear the responsibility, everyone will be a core member. When we divide the group, making the number smaller, each group will be strong and propagating, even if it is weak temporarily.
To bring up the matter of “core members” shows that this religious concept is still in our blood. We cannot give our flesh any opportunity. Once we give a little ground to our flesh, religion will immediately come forth. Whoever thinks that only a few saints are “core members” is religious. If the church has a “perfecting training for core members,” who would be the candidates? Every saint would be a candidate! We all are core members. (CWWL, 1986, vol. 2, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 1: The Vision and Definite Steps for the Practice of the New Way,” msg. 2)
The Location for the Conference Needing to Be Carefully Considered
The location for the college conference needs to be carefully considered. We must seek the Lord’s leading. The church in Taipei does not have an adequate facility. Hall one is not large enough for the whole church. The church in Taipei does not have a meeting place where the whole church can gather. It has to rent a place when the whole church comes together. This is inconvenient. If the conference site is not adequate and does not provide sufficient accommodation, some students may have to stay in either the meeting halls or in the saints’ homes. Even if the messages are uplifting, the time that it takes to travel between the meeting place and their hospitality would be a distraction to the students and will reduce the effectiveness of the conference.
The practice of the saints in Brazil is quite good. For their gatherings, they purchased a piece of property that is about one hundred acres. In order to do a long-term work, we need property. If it is not easy to find such a place in the city of Taipei, it is better to look in the suburbs. Every six months there should be a weeklong college conference. Not more than two thousand college students can gather together for a week and be trained in life, truth, and the gospel. We do not need to have only one speaker for the college conference. Several co-workers can coordinate together for the speaking. We have much material that can be used. If we have a proper place, we can be certain that we will have results. All those in the college conference will be fed spiritual meals for seven days and will be satisfied. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 1, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 5: Concerning Various Aspects of Church Service,” msg. 2)
THE NEED FOR THE TRAINING IN THE LORD’S RECOVERY
A training in the Lord’s recovery is very crucial, and we must bear the burden to pray for it. Without a training the church cannot be prevailing. Because of the training, a number of saints who have been in the church life for only a short time have been growing quickly. Without a training, however, we may all be common Christians, simply attending the meetings year after year. To be trained makes a great difference in our Christian life. After a few months of training we will never be the same. The regular church meetings help us only in a general way. The training, however, helps us in particular ways. To be trained is to become more useful in the Lord’s hands. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 3, “The Exercise and Practice of the God-ordained Way,” msg. 30)
We need to be trained for the practice of the church life. This means that the training should enrich and uplift our practice of the church life. Although the help given to the saints thus far is far from adequate, we cannot deny the fact that since coming into the Lord’s recovery many saints have undergone some training. This is evident as we listen to them testify or pray in the meetings. However, the need remains for more thorough and complete training. My burden is that after a period of time, perhaps after three or four years, virtually all the saints in the Lord’s recovery in this country will have been adequately trained.
To be trained is to have the rich supply of Christ ministered to us that we may grow, and it is to be equipped that we may be skillful in speaking, in contacting new ones, in shepherding, and in preaching and teaching. ( Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 41)
The Content of the Training
The Pursuit of the Truth
The best reference books for the young ones to study are the Recovery Version with the footnotes and the Life-study messages. If they still have time, they can get into the cross references. If they use this material, they will get into the proper knowledge of God’s New Testament revelation. We must train the saints to get into this material to have themselves equipped with the proper understanding of God’s Word. (CWWL, 1986, vol. 1, “Elders’ Training, Book 8: The Life Pulse of the Lord’s Present Move,” ch. 11)
The Growth in Life
Once when I was visiting a certain place which was regarded as being rather spiritual, I was asked why we conduct trainings in the Lord’s recovery. I replied that as human beings we need to grow and we need also to learn. If we do not grow, we shall not have the stature required to do certain things. If we do not learn, we shall be “barbarians.”
In spiritual things we need the maturity, the growth in life, and we also need the skill. The maturity comes from growth, and the skill comes from training. Therefore, in order to perfect the saints, we need to feed them with spiritual food that they may grow, and we also need to train them to develop certain skills. (Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 41)
The Gospel
The gospel of God is all-inclusive. As the New Testament priests, we are handling the gospel of God to save sinners, to raise them up, and to perfect them until they can prophesy.
We may only have the thought of edifying some of the saints to build them up as Christians. We do not have much thought concerning the direct building up of the church as the organic Body of Christ. The perfecting of the saints and prophesying for the building up of the church are missing among us. The Lord desires to recover these items for the building up of His organic Body. (CWWL, 1986, vol. 3, “Elders’ Training, Book 9: The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (1),” ch. 10)
Building Up Their Character
Another basic thing we like to train our young people in is their character. We have a little book with thirty aspects of human character. It is worthwhile to train them in this way. I consider this as something basic.
I told the saints that if they did not build up their character, they could never read the Bible properly. A loose person in character could never understand the Bible in the right way. (CWWL, 1986, vol. 1, “Elders’ Training, Book 8: The Life Pulse of the Lord’s Present Move,” ch. 11)
The Issue of Training
I believe the issue of this kind of training will be quite promising. Through this kind of training, most of the saints would be filled with the knowledge of the truth. When they need to talk to people about the gospel, they will have the utterance, the expression, and the material. They will not need to prepare anything. When the need comes, they will be able to teach the truth to the saved ones. When the time comes, they will also be able to minister life to the seeking Christians who do not meet with us. They will also be enabled to preach the gospel to the unsaved. Then it will be easy for the church to encourage all the saints in the offices, in the schools, in the neighborhoods, and among their relatives to either preach the gospel, teach the truth, or minister life. This will be the living testimony of the Lord Jesus. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 2, “Elders’ Training, Book 3: The Way to Carry Out the Vision,” ch. 11)
THE NEED OF THE TRUTH EDUCATION
The problem today is that our knowledge of the truth is not sufficient and that we do not know how to introduce the truth to people. People who have been to Hong Kong know that the merchants selling precious stones there bring out their expensive jewelry to show to the customer, and when the customer’s heart is touched, he naturally pays a high price to buy it. We Christians often are very foolish because we do not know how to bring out the treasures in the Bible to show to people. We have plenty of treasures at home, but we do not know how to bring them out. This is due to our lack in our daily pursuing and being equipped.
For this reason we definitely have to schedule all kinds of educational courses in the church meetings to teach the brothers and sisters so that they may be built up in the truth. Then when they go out to contact people, everyone will have his function. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “Speaking for God,” msg. 7)
Consider today’s educational system as an example. When a child reaches the age of four or five, he goes to kindergarten to learn some basic knowledge so that he may formally go to the regular school. When he is six years old, he begins to learn the lessons in the first grade, then second grade, third grade, fourth grade, fifth grade, and sixth grade, until he graduates from elementary school. Then he can take courses in junior high school. If there were no such system of going to classes but only lectures given by famous guest speakers, then after listening for eight, nine, or even ten years, the children would not even be able to pass the entrance exam to middle school because they would not have the specific, orderly, and thorough knowledge of the contents of what they heard.
This matter has delayed us in many respects and has also deeply affected our spreading, increase, and multiplication. From the time we started the work here in Taiwan in 1949 to the present time, we have baptized more than 100,000 people, yet the number of those who remain and are meeting regularly is less than 10,000 in all of Taiwan.
This is because we have not had the proper education in the truth; as a result, we have not been able to take care of the newly saved ones nor retain them in a proper way. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “Speaking for God,” msg. 7)
Turning Our Meetings into Meetings of Education
We have to consider or reconsider the way of our meeting. We must find the best way to turn our meetings into meetings of education. The saints who are meeting with us all the time need to be educated. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 2, “Elders’ Training, Book 3: The Way to Carry Out the Vision,” ch. 9)
In the big meetings we should emphasize teaching; therefore, the truth must be rich. The small groups are for retaining people in order for our numbers to increase, and the big meetings are for teaching the truth in order for the saints to be perfected. In addition, we should not neglect the cultivation of life. According to the need, each locality can use the time after the Lord’s table meeting to bring the saints into a message on life. We have much material on life for the elders to select from. If we do this once a week, we will have fifty-two messages in one year. After the prayer meeting we can read a message on service and perfecting as a spiritual supply. The materials used after the Lord’s table meeting and the prayer meeting must be spiritual. The material used after the Lord’s table meeting should emphasize life, and the material used after the prayer meeting should emphasize service. The truth lessons on the Lord’s Day mornings are for truth education, for teaching the saints the truth, not for a spiritual supply. The different meetings have different goals and cover truth education, the principles of spiritual life, and the principles of service. The Life-studies can be used for the content of the small group meetings. However, they should be used in a flexible rather than rigid way. We must be willing to change according to the different needs of the saints. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 4, “Practicing the God-ordained Way with One Accord,” msg. 3)
Producing Teachers of the Truth
In order to use Truth Lessons, we must first produce teachers of the truth. We should not think that it is so difficult to be a teacher of the truth and that only a few people can be teachers. Everyone can be a teacher of the truth. (CWWL, 1986, vol. 1, “Three Crucial Matters for the Increase and Building Up of the Church—Begetting, Nourishing, and Teaching,” msg. 2)
Knowing the Truth First
The foremost thing is that we need to know the truth. This is like teaching mathematics; if we are not good in mathematics, it is very difficult to teach it. The truth that we must know is first the truth concerning the church. We should help others to know the church in a thorough way.
Speaking the Truth
in a Simplified and Concise Way
When we teach others, we need to make everything simple. Again we can compare this to a coach teaching his players. The coach first needs to teach them the basic movements, expecting that they would practice these basic matters thoroughly. When they play on the field, they do not need to perform every move that the coach taught them. They need only to apply them with flexibility according to the real situation with the goal of shooting the ball into the basket. I hope that we all understand these two sides. On one side, we need to know and be equipped with the truth; on the other side, we need to speak the truth in a simplified and concise way, presenting it clearly to the new believers. (CWWL, 1987, vol. 1, “Bearing Remaining Fruit,” msg. 8)
Transmitting the Spirit and Life
One point needs special attention: In selecting the reading material, we should precede each portion with a few crucial verses. Every time we meet together, we should first have the attendants pray-read the verses. This will plant the Lord’s word into man’s heart. His word is living, operative, and full of power. We hope that those who come to the meeting will receive nourishment and truth and will testify that we are here for the spreading of the gospel and the presenting of the truth. (CWWL, 1986, vol. 2, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 1: The Vision and Definite Steps for the Practice of the New Way,” msg. 11)
Both the Spirit and life are in the truth. The reality of the truth is spirit and life (John 6:63). The real teaching of the truth is the transmitting and dispensing of the Spirit and life that is in the truth into people. For this reason we must be those who live in the Spirit and in life.
Taking the Lead to Learn and to Read
The teachers should take the lead to learn. The teachers should have this attitude: “I am not a teacher. I am a student who is learning with everyone else.” If the teachers take the lead to learn and to lead the saints to read and absorb the lines, main points, outlines, big headings, and small items in Truth Lessons, what is read will become a supply to the saints. This is the reason I say, “Do not expound; simply read.” However, the reading should not be done in a dead way but in spirit.
Releasing the Spirit
The teachers must release their spirit. They should not be shy or cowardly. Their spirit must come out to stir up the spirit of the saints so that everyone will not be loose but will enter into the lesson seriously and receive a transfusion. (CWWL, 1986, vol. 2, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 1: The Vision and Definite Steps for the Practice of the New Way,” msg. 15)
THE TRUTH EDUCATION IN THE STEPS
OF PRACTING THE NEW WAY
Presenting the Truth in the Gospel Preaching
Do not just tell people, “Believing in Jesus is so good! Everyone is sinful, and he who does not believe in Jesus will go to hell.” If we speak only such things, then people will be disgusted and will have a negative reaction; besides, these things are too low and shallow. Therefore, we have to learn the truth so that we can speak God’s word outside of the meetings to the unbelievers. This depends on whether or not we have the burden and whether or not we have the heart to do it. If we have the heart, then the more we do it, the more we will have the burden. The more burden we have, the more results we will have, and the more results we have, the more we will be encouraged. To preach the gospel to bring people to salvation is not too difficult a matter. This requires us to learn the truth and to learn to speak outside of the meetings to the unbelievers. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “Speaking for God,” msg. 7)
The Family Education in Feeding
After the saints have grown to a certain measure, there is the need of teaching. A good part of the perfecting at that point will be the teaching. The saints are then like the child who has reached school age. Such a child should go to school to receive his education, but that does not mean that the parents no longer supervise the child. When a child is sent to school to receive a proper education, he must still have a good family to match his training at school. Only then will he be properly perfected. Our problem today is that we talk too much yet feed too little. The feeding and the education are not well coordinated. I hope that from now on the co-workers in the various places would talk less and feed more. They should do their best to shepherd and care for the saints. As soon as we hear of anyone sick or of anyone encountering problems, we must be concerned for him, pray for him, and go to visit him. The impact that this little bit of concern, prayer, and visiting affords is far more powerful than ten messages. Although the long messages are nice to listen to, they are far inferior to the care we can give to others in their daily lives. Care can touch people’s feeling in a far deeper way than messages can. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 4, “A Timely Trumpeting and the Present Need,” msg. 4)
One-on-one Nurturing
We should not drag people to meetings anymore. Instead, we should go to their homes to give injections. They cannot come to the meetings because they do not have time. But if you would go to them every week to give them an injection, in the long run you will undoubtedly see results. Before we go out to practice one-on-one, we must first learn the truth. In the church we must first be supplied with messages of life four or five times a week. Only then can we supply others, and only then can those whom we beget be preserved and nurtured. Formerly, many were baptized among us, but few of them remained. This is because we did not have the proper way to nurture them. Or to put it simply, we did not know how to raise them up. Now we need to mend this hole. Not only do we have to beget, but we must nurture as well. And after the nurturing there is still the need for educating. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 4, “Key Points on the Home Meetings,” msg. 7)
Learning to Speak by Seizing the Opportunity
We cannot look merely at the present condition. We need to believe that our work is a work of life; it has eternal value. What we speak is the truth of the Bible, and life will follow this truth and work on man. We must learn to speak in an organic way. We should not preach in a dead way.
For example, we can say to a sister who is lying on a sick bed, “Sister, 1 Peter 2:24 says that the Lord Jesus bore up our sins in His body on the tree, and by His bruise we are healed. Simply call on His name, and He will deliver you from your sickness.” We may not have the absolute assurance that she will be healed, but we should believe that she will be comforted by the Lord’s word. After this we can lead her to pray, “Lord, I commit my sickness to You. You know my pains. Have mercy on me.” If we seize the opportunity in this way, there will be a perfecting work in her.
Concerning the truth, we must be absolute. We cannot discount anything with regard to God’s truth, and we cannot discredit God’s word, but in our practice we need to be flexible and skillful. (CWWL, 1986, vol. 2, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 1: The Vision and Definite Steps for the Practice of the New Way,” msg. 8)
Discussion:
1. How to prepare and hold a conference?
2. How to conduct a training to perfect saints?
3. How to conduct truth education according to saints’ need in the church life？
g in the recovery is that here we have genuine oneness. We experience this oneness and the harmony in the Spirit not only when the churches come together for a conference, but also in the meetings of the various local churches. In the meetings we have the Lord’s speaking, and we are edified, nourished, and enlightened. When the peace of Christ arbitrates in us and keeps us in a situation full of oneness and harmony, we become the place of God’s speaking, His oracle. Deep in my spirit I realize that the meetings are an oracle, a place where God can come in to speak. (Life-study of Colossians, msg. 64)
THE UP-TO-DATE WAY TO FULFILL THE LORD’S MINISTRY—
MANY BROTHERS SERVING IN A BLENDED WAY
As the Lord provides me the strength and time, I intend to continue to serve and speak in the coming days. The Lord has shown me that He has prepared many brothers who will serve as fellow slaves with me in a blended way. I feel that this is the Lord’s sovereign provision for His Body, and the up-to-date way to fulfill His ministry. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “A Letter of Fellowship with Thanks”)
SEEING THE MINISTRY OF THE AGE
In the Old Testament both Solomon and David represented the Lord. The two persons represented the one ministry in two separate ways. In the Old Testament there were many ministries. After Moses, the judges were raised up. After that, there was Solomon, the kings, and the prophets. After the Israelites were taken into captivity, the vessels for the recovery were raised up. The Old Testament is filled with different kinds of ministries. In every age there is the ministry of that age. These ministries of the ages are different from the local ministers. Luther was a minister of his age. Darby was also a minister of his age. In every age the Lord has special things that He wants to accomplish. He has His own recoveries and His own works to do. The particular recovery and work that He does in one age is the ministry of that age.
Jonathan stood between Saul and David. He was one man standing between two ministries. He should have followed the second ministry. However, because Jonathan’s relationship with the first ministry was too deep, he could not disentangle himself. In order to catch up with the ministry of the age, there is the need for us to see the vision. Michal was married to David, yet she did not see anything. She only saw David’s condition before God, and she could not tolerate it. As a result, she was left behind (2 Sam. 6:16, 20-23).
All Being a Matter of God’s Mercy
It is God’s mercy that a person can see and come into contact with the ministry of that age. Yet it is altogether a different thing for a man to take up the courage to forsake the past ministry. It is a precious thing to see, and it is a blessed thing to come into contact with something. Yet whether or not one can set aside his past ministry is entirely up to God’s mercy. (CWWN, vol. 57, “The Resumption of Watchman Nee’s Ministry,” msg. 25)
A Christian Needing to Be in the Lord’s Ministry in This Age
Now we have already seen clearly that the ministry spoken of in the Bible does not refer to a person but to God’s building work. Moreover, in God’s building ministry there are those who take the lead in that ministry in every age. May the Lord open our eyes to see that as long as we are human beings, we should be Christians; as long as we are Christians, we should enter into the Lord’s ministry in this age.
Today there are thousands of people who believe in the Lord Jesus and are saved, but not many have entered into the Lord’s ministry of building the church. It is just like the situation in Noah’s age. There were thousands of people on the earth, but only a small number were building the ark with Noah. This is why Philippians 2:12 says, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” What Noah and those who built the ark with him were doing was to work out their own salvation. Yes, it was God who had saved them, but the ark that delivered them was built with their own hands by God’s grace. Today, we also need to be in God’s building ministry to work out our own salvation, that is, to bring our salvation to its ultimate conclusion so that we can be exalted by God in glory as the Lord Jesus was. (CWWL, 1987, vol. 2, “Words of Training for the New Way,” msg. 2)
THE SPREAD OF THE LORD’S RECOVERY
RELYING HEAVILY ON PUBLICATIONS
AND ON AUDIOTAPES AND VIDEOTAPES
After World War II, due to the worldwide economic prosperity, the ease of transportation, and the improvement in communication media, we have been enjoying a greater convenience than before in transmitting information. Formerly, it took half a day to make an overseas phone call, but now through the international long distance telephone, in a short time we can have a thorough discussion of affairs among a number of overseas churches. In the past, when Brother Nee released messages, there were no microphones, nor any tape recordings. The messages were recorded in shorthand, which often was not perfect. Today, we have both audiotape and videotape recordings; all the messages can be conveniently preserved. In 1958 I began to visit the Western world. Although for the most part I have worked in the United States, through the publications, audiotapes, and videotapes, the messages in the Lord’s recovery have been spread to the six major continents of the earth. Many seeking ones in different countries have received supplies of these publications, audiotapes, and videotapes.
We compiled some statistics three years ago that showed there were altogether over six hundred churches in the Lord’s recovery throughout the whole earth. Recently, we estimated that the number of churches has increased to over nine hundred. Within this three-year period, most of the three hundred newly added churches were outside of the Far East. The raising up of the church in each place was mainly through the issuing of publications and the distribution of audiotapes and videotapes, not through the co-workers’ going out to work. The videotapes, at present, are the most practical. In Mexico we have eight or nine video stations. Through the release of the messages station by station, about twenty churches have been raised up. Although the Spanish-speaking saints also emphasize publications, regrettably the Spanish translation work is still falling behind due to the limitation of time and manpower.
Recently, I received a letter from Paraguay in South America requesting two hundred fifty sets of Life-studies at one time. Another letter came from a brother who was a preacher in the Republic of Ecuador in South America. This brother’s work was quite effective. He had already baptized over two thousand people and had established over twenty churches. He said that his sister had led him to see this way, and now he needed the truth materials to supply those under his leading. He presented this need to us and asked us to supply him. Even people from India have also requested our publications. It has been due to the supply of these publications and videotapes that the Lord’s recovery has been able to spread rapidly to the six major continents.
Causing People to Receive the Supply in Life
and Edification in the Truth
Today, on the spiritual side, there is drought, desolation, and famine over the whole earth. This is the main reason that all the saints in every place over the whole globe are so thirsty for the publications and videotapes in the Lord’s recovery. In 1962 I spoke publicly in the United States, saying, “Since the end of World War II, whether in Europe or America, not many spiritual books have been published that have spiritual light and spiritual weight such that people can receive the supply in life and edification in the truth.” In the last century, especially in England, spiritual books were mushrooming like bamboo shoots after rain, being published in bundles. However, after World War II it has no longer been the same.
Among us today there are a good number of brothers from the United States; they all have to admit that even in such a vast Christian country as the United States, people are suffering spiritual famine. The Lord’s recovery has been able to spread overseas mainly because of the truth. Besides the churches in the Far East, the raising up of over five hundred other churches has been for the most part due to the issuing of publications, audiotapes, and videotapes in the Lord’s recovery.
Establishing the Ministry Station
for the Propagation of the Truth
For this reason the ministry station needs many more people to come to serve. At the beginning of April this year, I was writing Life Lessons in Taipei. Originally, I only hoped that the Chinese edition could be quickly translated into English after it was issued; that would have been good enough. Never would I have thought that among the trainees who came to Taipei from different countries, we could find some translators who could together translate The Mystery of Human Life from Chinese into thirty-four different languages. At present, some of them are still continuing the translation work and beginning to translate the forty-eight lessons of Life Lessons into twenty-seven languages. Of these, about eighteen languages have already been completed in order to meet the needs of different countries. A few years ago in the ministry station we considered gathering all the editors into one place so that as soon as the messages come out, they could immediately be translated into different languages so that the truths could be quickly spread abroad. Our purpose in establishing the ministry station was for the propagation of the truths. In this respect we have already seen a great effect at the present time.
Today the Lord’s speaking is clearly in His recovery. The saved ones in every place and many who are hungry for the Lord desire the truth and the understanding of the Bible. Therefore, when our publications went into places such as North and South Africa and Central and South America, those who pursue the truth were eager to receive them. The greatest need now is for the ministry station to quickly put out the publications, audiotapes, and videotapes. The audiotapes and videotapes are being used extensively, and the results they produce are also very significant.
At present we are promoting the new way of going out to preach the gospel by door-to-door visitation and establishing home meetings. This has created a very great need. When we go to preach the gospel by knocking on doors and go to lead home meetings, it is not adequate only to speak with our mouths; it is best to give each one a book and lead him to read it. It is even better to give him an audiotape so that he can listen to it again and again. If there are publications available for reading and audiotapes for listening, it will be easy for people to get into the truths. Our ministry station needs to do its best to supply people with publications and audiotapes.
In the New Testament Paul also had a group of people serving him, although he did not use the term ministry station. It was the same with the Lord Jesus when He was on the earth; even His food supply was taken care of by that group of serving ones. Now the Lord’s recovery has spread to the six major continents; there are those everywhere who love the Lord and hunger after the Lord’s truth. This urgent need is something that we have no way to take care of fully. It does not mean that we have no supply; rather, we have the top supply here, but these supplies are not fully distributed yet.
The Cooperation of the Church with the Ministry
The raising up of the work of the ministry and of the ministry station is entirely for the establishing of churches. If the churches cooperate with the ministry and the ministry station, their effectiveness will definitely increase significantly. Due to the extensive need, the ministry must have a group of serving ones. Today the ministry station is set up in three places: Anaheim, Irving, and Taipei, with over sixty brothers and sisters altogether. They are a group of serving ones serving the ministry, cooperating with the ministry to distribute the truths and the publications. We expect to find many more capable ones in order to meet this urgent need.
Besides these needs, there is now the full-time training being held here in Taipei. More than five hundred attended this training last semester, and over one thousand this semester. Over three hundred came from abroad, from approximately twenty-three countries. In order to meet the need for dormitories, we even purchased eleven units in the building next to hall three and spent a total of fifty million Taiwan dollars. This amount was offered mainly by the overseas Chinese-speaking brothers. We really saw the Lord’s confirmation in that, although the expenses were great, the Lord’s supply was abundant. In order to cooperate with this training, the main personnel of the two ministry stations in the United States were transferred to Taipei for remodeling hall three and hall one to meet the urgent need. Although we tried our best to avoid entangling the church, we had no other way, because we needed to use the church property as a training facility and the church members as coordinating personnel. I thank the Lord that the local churches are indeed cooperative. Not only did they send people to coordinate and serve, but they also allowed the training to have the full use of the facilities.
Everything the Work of the Ministry Accomplishes
Being for the Benefit of the Churches
The training here in Taipei has been set up by the ministry for the perfecting of the churches. We need the whole church to rise up to coordinate for the goal of gospelizing Taiwan in five years. Everything the work of the ministry accomplishes is for the benefit of the churches. Whatever is carried out here by this training belongs one hundred percent to the churches in Taiwan. There is no difference whether you come from the churches or the ministry station; we all need to put our shoulders to the work. We are in one accord doing whatever needs to be done in every aspect spontaneously and automatically.
I would let you all know that the reason we have such an effect today is not due to the labor of one person but is the result of continual development through the past sixty years. The greater part of my work is a continuation of that of Brother Watchman Nee. It was the Gospel Book Room that served him in his ministry. Besides that, no one else served him and his ministry.
In 1950 Brother Nee arrived in Hong Kong and wanted me to come from Taiwan to see him. When he fellowshipped about the matter of issuing publications, he took the opportunity to make some arrangements. It was decided that the Gospel Book Room would remain one, yet due to the political situations, it had to conduct business separately in three places: Shanghai, Taipei, and Hong Kong. Brother Nee was responsible for the bookroom in Shanghai, I was responsible for the one in Taipei, and Brother Weigh was responsible for the one in Hong Kong. However, Brother Nee wanted me also to take care of the responsibility for the publications of the Hong Kong bookroom. In addition, he made it clear that the finances of the bookroom in each place should be taken care of by each respective place. Also, he provided a very clear leading from the beginning that all the finances related to the ministry should be clearly separated from those of the church; they should not be mixed together. The ministry does not interfere with the finances of the church, and the church does not interfere with the finances of the bookroom. What is of the bookroom is altogether related to the ministry and not to the church. Therefore, when we first started the work here on Ren Ai Road, we made very clear and appropriate arrangements regarding the usage of the meeting hall by both the bookroom and the church as well as the division of the property rights. (CWWL, 1987, vol. 2, “Words of Training for the New Way,” msg. 3)
Taking the Way of Holding Trainings
In 1962, when I began the work in the United States, I constantly held conferences. A conference in 1970 was attended by about ninety-five percent of the saints who were fellowshipping with us from all over the United States, and more than two hundred saints from abroad joined them. In that year we migrated out of Los Angeles, and our numbers increased in great waves. In 1973 we held a conference in the Los Angeles Convention Center, and we filled a room that could seat three thousand. Additionally, we had to open up two or three smaller rooms where more brothers and sisters watched on closed-circuit television. Many of the young people attending that conference were newly saved, and the situation appeared to be quite chaotic because of the number of attendees. As we were seeking the Lord concerning the situation, we saw that we could not continue in the way of holding only conferences. Our number was increasing every year, and anyone could come to the conferences without any restriction. As a result, the condition of the meetings was not ideal. Therefore, we felt that we needed to change from the way of conferences to the way of trainings. If we changed to the way of conducting trainings, the attendants would have to register first and be approved. Hence, there would be a kind of restriction. Thus, I decided to take the way of holding trainings and asked that each respective church approve the saints registering for the trainings. Every year since then, there have been two trainings—one in the winter and one in the summer.
In the beginning the trainings were controlled very strictly. Anyone under the age of sixteen or over the age of sixty was not allowed to register, and anyone who was ill or in a poor spiritual condition was not; allowed to come. Moreover, after the trainees arrived, their living was under the training twenty-four hours a day; they were not allowed to visit people loosely or to go out shopping. As soon as the trainees arrived at the registration window, they had to begin living according to the training schedule, including when to rise up in the morning and when to go to bed. They were required to arrive five minutes early for the meetings, and the doors were closed promptly at the meeting time. If anyone was late three times, he was automatically dismissed from the training. The trainees were required to prepare to be tested, and if they failed the test three times, they were asked to leave the training.
By carrying out the trainings in this way, everyone was brought onto the proper track. When the trainees entered into the meeting place of the training, they crossed over a clear dividing line, and no one was loose. Everyone’s spirit was girded up, and the result was very different from the conferences. The saints have strictly adhered to the training regulations. As the one who ministers the word, I have been greatly encouraged, and the winter and summer trainings have been able to continue over quite a long period of time. Year after year I have not had any physical problems, and the number of people attending the trainings has continually increased. Through the trainings, the truth has been constantly spreading throughout the Western world. This is not a small matter. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 5, “The Faithful and Diligent Spreading of the Truth—concerning the Publication Service,” msg. 2)
The Living Stream Ministry Office
Putting Out the Word of God through Video Tapes
The Living Stream Ministry office is only a business office to serve my ministry for two things: to publish the messages in book form and to distribute these messages in both video and audio tapes. That is all the ministry office should do and nothing else. I did not have much time to check on everything related to the office in the past, but the ministry office has always had this specific function and no other function. This little office is a Levitical service, serving my ministry to put out the word of God in print and through video and audio tapes. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 3, “A Timely Word,” ch. 3)
Needing to Keep Living Stream Ministry’s Regulations
If a locality wants to have the video trainings, it must keep Living Stream Ministry’s regulations; this is the proper way to do things. The reason the ministry is so strict is that we hope the saints would be willing to take twenty days a year and give them to the Lord to be properly trained in His Word. We also hope that the trainees would have some exercise for the development of their character so that they would not be loose, sometimes coming early to the meetings and sometimes coming late, looking all around the room while in the meetings, and greeting people loudly and loosely. We hope that we can give the attendants in our trainings some exercise for their character to teach them how to meet and how to study the Lord’s Word.
We hope that all the responsible brothers in all the churches will cooperate with us, since you are the “parents” in each locality. Because the church is your home and you are sending your children to be trained, as “parents” you must cooperate with the training so that it may be successful. If the “parents” have an indifferent attitude, the video trainings will not be of any benefit. We are very happy that there are saints who desire to receive the blessing through the video trainings, and we are willing to serve them, but we would ask the “parents” in all the local churches to cooperate with our “school.” You must do this if we are to be able to accept your children as students and if the video trainings are to be effective.
The Donation for the Video Trainings
After holding the trainings for a few years, we discovered that the burden of providing hospitality was too heavy for the saints in Anaheim and the neighboring churches. Approximately one thousand saints were offering hospitality to fifteen hundred guests for more than ten days twice a year. Therefore, we decided to videotape the trainings and limit the number attending the live training to about seventeen hundred. The rest of the saints in faraway places remained in their localities to take the video training. Later, many other countries were also eager to participate and wanted to hold video trainings. In this way they could save money, and they did not have to suffer the hardships of long-distance travel and trying to obtain sufficient vacation time. Nevertheless, we required the churches holding video trainings to maintain the regulations of the live trainings in order to preserve the standard of the training.
All the attendees of the video trainings are required to give a donation equivalent to ten percent of the average monthly income for their respective countries. For example, in the beginning of the video trainings in Taiwan, the donation was ten U.S. dollars. Furthermore, there had to be at least twenty participants for a locality to hold the training. Some local churches thought that if they could collect donations for twenty participants and turn in the two hundred dollars, they could hold the video trainings without being concerned about how many people actually attended the meetings. Eventually, some people came late, and others left early. Some churches did not carry out the testing, nor did the trainees testify after the messages. They conducted the trainings very loosely. This way of doing things is wrong. If this kind of situation does not improve, these churches will not be allowed to hold the video training. Not one penny of the donations collected for the overseas video trainings enters Living Stream Ministry’s accounts. We use this money for expanding the overseas video trainings and to provide financial assistance to localities that need it.
Encouraging the Trainees to Pay Attention in the Meetings
The donations required for the video trainings are merely a means of regulating the situation and for the purpose of encouraging the trainees to pay attention in the meetings. The elders and co-workers in all the churches should help the brothers and sisters to have a heart for the video trainings. If some saints truly are not able to pay the donation, each locality can take this into consideration and decide how to handle it. In the United States some students truly could not afford the donation, and after considering the matter, we told them that they did not have to offer anything. Moreover, Living Stream Ministry specially prepares places for these students to stay and provides their meals during the trainings. Therefore, each locality can fellowship with us concerning saints who truly cannot afford the donation but who would still like to attend the trainings, and we will agree that they do not have to offer anything. But our consideration concerning this must be strict. We have the responsibility to make these saints realize that they themselves must bear some responsibility and that even though they are not required to make the donation, they must have an even stronger spirit to keep the regulations. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 5, “The Faithful and Diligent Spreading of the Truth—concerning the Publication Service,” msg. 2)
SPEAKING THE SAME THING AND
KEEPING THE ONENESS OF THE LORD’S RECOVERY
We all need to endeavor to speak the same thing by the Lord’s mercy and grace (1 Cor. 1:10). There is absolutely no heresy among us. We do not have any basic problems among us, so it should be easy for us to avoid speaking different things and speak the same thing. Also, by His mercy we do not have any organization. No one can control the local churches. No one can control anything, because we do not have organization among us. I do not control, and the Living Stream Ministry office does not control. Mistakes may have been made in the past. But let us live in today and forget about yesterday. We do not even have tomorrow. We have only today in which to live. What happened yesterday is over. If anything was wrong in the past, we need the cleansing blood of Christ as the trespass offering. Past mistakes that have been confessed to the Lord are under the cleansing blood. We need to forget the past and go on. We should not even have any expectation about what will happen tomorrow. We do not need to worry about tomorrow. We live today. No one controls you. All the local churches have the full freedom to go on. As long as you do not do anything against our New Testament constitution, no one would bother you. Among us in the Lord’s recovery there is nothing worth worrying about because basically we do not have any heresy or any kind of organizational control. Everyone in every church has the full freedom to go on. I hope that we would be so faithful and loyal to the Lord’s recovery. We should mean business with the Lord that the Lord’s recovery will be prevailing and even flourishing on the earth for the Lord’s purpose. (CWWL, 1986, vol. 3, “Elders’ Training, Book 9: The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (1),” ch. 5)
Discussion:
1. How to serve in the video training?
2. How to encourage saints to attend the video training?
