How to Take Care of the Affairs

THE PRACTICE HANDBOOK FOR THE DISTRICT SERVING ONES

SERIES THREE
PRACTICAL SERVICES

Message One
How to Take Care of the Affairs

Rom. 12:7     Or service, let us be faithful in that service; or he who teaches, in that teaching.

1 Cor. 15:58  Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWING MATTERS

In this chapter we will consider different matters that we should know. For the building up of the church, we must know people and different matters. If we simply want to be zealous ones who preach the gospel to save sinners and speak the truth to perfect the saints, there is no need for us to have a knowledge concerning various matters. However, in order to build up the church, we should know people and matters. We need to know those whom we contact and those who desire to serve the Lord. We need to know their motives, whether their flesh has been dealt with, and their spirit. We also need to know the nature, outcome, relationship, and impact of these matters.

There are many aspects of the things we need to know. For example, a brother who loves the Lord may say that the Lord has moved him to give ten thousand dollars to the church. On the one hand, we should thank the Lord and rejoice that this brother is willing to be used in this way by the Lord. On the other hand, we should realize that this is not a simple matter. We need to have some understanding related to the matter of giving. This means that we should understand the motive, nature, method, and purpose of the brother’s giving. We also need to know the possible results and influence of his offering. If we simply thank the Lord and accept the offering, our work is not for the building up of the church; rather, it will tear down the church.

We must seek to be enlightened by the Lord through prayer and consideration in order to examine the history and background of the person who is giving the gift. We should consider his reputation and standing in society and the source of the money he is offering. We should also consider his intentions before the Lord and the spirit of his giving. When the elders receive a large sum of money as a gift to the church, they must take the time to understand how such a large sum of money was obtained. Moreover, they must seriously consider the potential effect, directly or indirectly, of the offering. In other words, the elders need a basic knowledge concerning this matter.

If We Want to Learn to Build Up the Church,
We Having to Learn to Discern Matters

Suppose another brother says that he wants to offer fifty thousand dollars to help the brothers in poverty. Although this is good, it is not so simple. We should not simply thank the Lord for this brother, thinking that this is a timely offering to help the saints in need. We should not think that simply by distributing the fifty thousand dollars to the poor the church will be built up. On the contrary, we need to consider whether the offering can cause the church to be torn down. This can be compared to a surgery that causes a person to lose his life instead of healing him or to food that causes a person to become sick rather than nourishing him. In order to build up the church, we should not be simple persons. We need to learn to fully understand the situation we are facing. Then we can determine what we should do and how we should do it.

Discerning matters is related not only to the administration of the church but even to the ministry of the word. We may give a message to discourage instead of a message to encourage if we lack knowledge concerning a certain matter. Hence, if we want to learn to build up the church, we must learn to discern matters. We must learn to know every matter that is directly or indirectly related to the church, as long as it is something we can inquire into and something we can touch. Our ability to administrate the church depends on whether we are able to know people and matters. Our ability to preach the word and work for the Lord depends on whether we know people and matters. Even our ability to visit and help people depends on such knowledge.

Acting Inappropriately in the Administration of the Church
Because of an Inadequate Knowledge
Concerning Different Matters

Some responsible brothers act inappropriately in the administration of the church because they are short of knowledge concerning different matters. Some messages may edify the saints but result in tearing down rather than building up. This is the result of an inadequate knowledge concerning matters. A lack of knowledge can also cause us to tear down the church while we are trying to build it up.

HOW TO KNOW MATTERS

In our contact with people we must discern matters. Although we cannot interfere in the matters that do not involve us, we should not neglect the matters that involve us. Hence, we must learn to discern matters. However, our learning should be gradual, not in haste.

Behind Every Matter Being a Person

In learning to know matters, several points require our attention. First, behind every matter is a person. When the person is right, the matter is often right. For this reason we should always know who is the source of a matter. We need to know the initiator, the sponsor, of the matter. If there is a problem with the source, there will be problems even if the matter appears right. We need to get to the bottom of every matter.

Knowing the Motive Behind a Matter

Second, we need to know the motive behind a matter. A person may donate ten thousand dollars to win the praise of others. Another person may give ten thousand dollars because others rebuked him for not giving. The motive is wrong in both situations. We should pay attention to people’s motives. This does not mean that everything is right when the motive is right. We also need to know if the nature is right. For example, a brother who desires something improper may receive help from another brother. Although the helping brother may be motivated by love, the object of his help is something that is improper.

Knowing if the Way is Right

Third, even if the nature is right, we need to know if the way of carrying it out is right. For instance, a brother who wants to make an offering of ten thousand dollars may simply present the money to us. We should help him to understand that this is not the right way. He should put the money in the offering box. We should teach him to pray in order to know the needs in the church. Then he will see that his offering is not for one individual or for one purpose. We teach him by fellowshipping with him. When he goes to the Lord, the church will be built up. On the one hand, we should not simply think that an offering of ten thousand dollars is wonderful; on the other hand, we should not casually reject him. We must learn the best way to take care of this matter and be aware of the result.

The Result of a Matter

Fourth, we must know what the result of a matter will be. The way something is carried out may be good, but the effect might not be good. If the effect is not good, the matter should not be touched. This is only a brief sketch. The administration of the church, the ministry of the word, and the visiting of the saints should be carried out according to these considerations. If we practice this, it will be easy for us to discern matters. When we discern matters in this way, we will build up rather than damage the church. Therefore, we must learn to know the source and nature of a matter so that we can find an appropriate way to handle it for the building up of the church.

If there is a problem with the offering one, we should help him with his person. If he has a wrong motive, we should help him. If there is a problem with the way it is carried out, its result, or its effect, we should neither ignore the problem nor handle it casually, because it impacts the building up of the church. We should help the brother with the appropriate adjustment, help, and teaching. This will build up the church.

Understanding Every Matter that Comes to us and
Grasping the Opportunity to Edify and Teach
Those Who Are Involved

If we handle matters carelessly or neglect them, we will miss the opportunity to build up the church. We should understand every matter that comes to us, and we should grasp the opportunity to edify and teach those who are involved. This will build up the church. If the saints can receive the help from us in the matter of material offering, they will be genuinely edified. They will also be built into the church.

In our work and service we must realize that being proud is meaningless and that considering ourselves inferior is even worse. There is no value in thinking that we are always right; neither is there any value in thinking that we are always wrong. Both are incorrect and worthless. Whenever we encounter a person or a matter, we should learn to know the strengths and weaknesses of the person as well as the source and nature of the matters. In this way we will know how to help a person be built up into the church; we will know also how to handle the matter. This is building. (CWWL, 1957, vol. 2, “The Administration of the Church and the Ministry of the Word,” msg. 8)

HOW TO MANAGE AFFAIRS

In order to be a worker of the Lord, the first thing we have to learn is to manage affairs in a proper way. Those who cannot manage affairs can never work for the Lord. Everyone who is good at the Lord’s work is also good at managing affairs. Beginners in the Lord’s work should learn in particular how to manage affairs properly. We will mention seven things in connection with the management of affairs.

Never Considering Business Affairs
to Be Something Unspiritual

Those who are involved in management of business must be clear first of all that this activity is by no means unspiritual. Even Peter and John were involved in the distribution of food at one time. Stephen, who was filled with the Holy Spirit, was also a server of tables. The proper management of affairs is a necessary lesson that a beginner in the Lord’s work must learn. If a man cannot manage affairs properly, he cannot work effectively. A young person must not offer himself simply “in prayer and in the ministry of the word.” In many cases this is an excuse for idleness under the name of “prayer and ministry of the word.” We have to uproot this. A person who is learning to serve the Lord should learn to “serve tables”. Otherwise, he will not be able to do anything except preach. A learner in the Lord’s work must learn to handle business properly, or else he will give ground to disdain and contempt. We must never consider the management of affairs as something unspiritual. It is something that a servant of the Lord must learn.

Thinking Things Over

Second, before we touch any matter, we have to know that it is God who has placed us there, and that we have to put our heart to the task. Those who are lazy with their hands are useless, and those who are lazy with their brain are also useless. Some people never give enough consideration to what they are about to do. It is harder to ask them to think about what they are going to do than to ask them to give up their lives. Such ones never accomplish anything. We have to consider carefully everything that pertains to the church. This does not mean that we must have an opinion about everything, but it does mean that we must be mindful of everything. Those who have not considered but who are quick to give opinions are counselors; they are not believers. Expressing an opinion means making proposals and having an instant reaction to matters. Being mindful of matters means to consider the causes and consequences of everything in a thorough way. Unless we think things over carefully, we will encounter many problems. In managing affairs, the more we think things over, the less problems we will face. Anything that we have considered well beforehand is handled judiciously. We should not be hasty in our opinions concerning any matter. We should not react lightly or propose quickly. Instead, we have to sit down and think things over carefully. No one should do anything without first considering and planning. Before a man builds a house, he must first sit down and plan. We have to be careful and sober in dealing with matters, and we should strive to glorify God in managing these affairs. Those who are careless in handling business affairs will be careless in preaching and studying the Scripture as well. The first thing we should do when we face a situation is to think the whole thing over. Those who are lazy in thinking are lazy in everything. In order to learn to serve God, we can never be lazy in our thinking.

Budgeting Time, Money, and Personnel

After we have thought over the whole matter, we have to make a plan and write this plan down. Thinking enables us to understand the problem at hand, and planning enables us to come up with a solution to deal with the problem. The first thing to plan is our time, next is money, and third is the manpower needed to do the work. Whenever a job comes to us, we have to budget the time, money, and number of people needed. For example, if a man wants to build a house, he has to calculate the time, money, and number of workers needed to finish the job. He must also factor in all the possible changes that may occur throughout the course of the project. This planning provides the necessary information for building his house.

Making Arrangements

Fourth, in addition to being mindful of possible problems that one may encounter and counting the cost, one has to make constant decisions. He has to be clear in his mind as to how he should place the right people in the right place, and what they should do. The previous point deals with gathering information; one estimates the time, money, and manpower necessary to do a job. All these are information. They give us an idea of the different kinds of problems that need to be solved before we can accomplish a task. We must write down these points one by one. For example, if we are going to leave the mountain now, we have to find out how many people need to leave on sedan chairs and how many chairs we now have. We need an accurate count of all these things. When all the facts are in place, we can go on to the fourth point, which is to make the proper arrangements. If the facts are wrong in the first place, it is impossible to make the right judgments. Therefore, before we can talk about a proper arrangement, we must have reliable facts. This means that there is the need for much thinking and deliberation. No one can accomplish anything without giving thought to his work. The Lord Jesus taught His disciples how to manage business affairs when He was on the earth. Once He asked them to distribute bread to five thousand people. Another time He asked them to distribute bread to four thousand people. This is the reason they were able to baptize three thousand and then five thousand people at Pentecost. In feeding the five thousand, the Lord asked them to arrange the crowd into rows; there was no confusion. At that time the crowd was hungry, and if the people had pressed against one another, it would have been chaos. The Lord asked them all to sit down so that there would not be any confusion. He made them sit down in groups of fifty and one hundred. There was no confusion, and there was no monotonous repetition; everything was in order. After the disciples learned this, they repeated the lesson again at a later time. This is the reason that there was no confusion at Pentecost, even though three thousand and later five thousand were baptized. They had a pattern to follow. The multiplication of the bread was a miracle, but the distribution and consumption of the bread depended on human arrangement. The Lord performed a miracle in the multiplication of the bread, but He did not perform a miracle in the distribution and consumption of it. He did not perform a miracle by dropping the bread into each person’s stomach directly. He trained the disciples to do things in the proper way.

In doing things we must first find out the facts in a detailed way and then make arrangements accordingly. When we face a task, the first thing we should do is think it over and then find the proper way. Only after we have taken these steps should we make the proper arrangements. Many people fail to get things done because they have never come up with the proper way. We must first think things over carefully and then do a detailed analysis. After we are clear about all the facts, we have to pray much. We have to ask the Lord what we should do with all the things that are laid before us. The Lord told the five thousand to sit down. Once they sat down, they became stationary. This was wisdom on the Lord’s part. The crowd was already trampling upon one another when they listened to the word. How much more would they have trampled each other if they had started squabbling for the bread! The Lord told them to sit down. Once they sat down, all the problems were solved. The Lord was very wise in making these arrangements. In making arrangements there is much need of prayer. We have to pray until we get wisdom. The Lord’s arrangement not only allowed the crowd to eat in an orderly fashion but also took care of all the crumbs expeditiously. Hence, in doing things we have to know how to make proper arrangements. We should never leave anything to chance, and it is not enough to exercise just our mouth. In finding the proper way of doing things, it is better to be as specific as possible; one should not be general in anything.

Executing Things Properly and
Giving Adequate Explanation

The fifth crucial thing to remember in doing things is that we need a good plan of execution. Before carrying out a job, we must first have enough information, and this information must be accurate and reliable. Our assignment of personnel must be suitable; everyone should have his or her own responsibility, and there must not be confusion of any kind. In building a house, we put one stone upon another. If one stone falls, all the ones attached to it will fall as well. Those making the arrangements should consider who is capable of doing each aspect. The arrangements should suit the capacity and aspiration of each person. It is important that in charging anyone to do anything, we have to speak to them ahead of time. Everyone should understand what they are supposed to do. We should not assume that others understand; we should explain with our own words. We should not be afraid of being repetitious. It is not a matter of how many times we repeat a statement, but a matter of how much the charged ones have understood. We should not wait until others encounter problems in the work before opening our mouth. Rather, we should clearly explain the method and the way ahead of time and then assign the jobs. Those who are giving orders are responsible for making perfectly clear what the charged ones are supposed to do. If the ones giving the orders are not explicit in their explanation, they bear the responsibility for any failure. If a leader does not have the assurance that he can take the lead, he should not be a leader in the first place.

Practicing

Explaining things clearly and making the assignments is not enough. We have to arrange for drills and practices. Others should not only understand what to do, but they must also be given the opportunity to practice and make trial runs. This is very important. A worker must not only be capable of working by himself but must also be able to direct others to the work. The work of “prayer and the ministry of the word” is not for everyone. Even Stephen had to remain a server of tables. Hence, every one of us has to practice doing things in the proper way. This is particularly true for doing things which are difficult, unfamiliar, and new; there is the need to have practice sessions ahead of time.

Dealing with Those Who Have Committed Mistakes

Some may ask, “What should we do with those who have committed mistakes?” There are two kinds of people who make mistakes. The first are the lazy ones; those who are lazy often make mistakes. The second are the proud ones; those who are proud also make mistakes easily. A lazy person is uncaring and unconcerned, while a proud person thinks that he can do everything. Those who are proud should be given some form of punishment when they make a mistake. They can be told that they will no longer be assigned such a responsibility. Everyone else will have an assignment in the service; they alone will be left out. They must humble themselves before they will be given another assignment. If a lazy person commits a mistake, he should be exhorted; he must not be allowed to give up. The more he wants to give up, the more we have to force him to do it. We have to perfect him. If he makes a mistake again, we have to go to him again. We have to force him to take up responsibilities; he cannot remain an uncaring and irresponsible person. The prouder a person is, the less he should be assigned responsibility, but the lazier a person is, the more he should be assigned work. It is a sign of laziness to refuse to work by using preaching as an excuse. More than half of the reason for neglect among the co-workers is laziness.

The above seven guidelines are principles of managing affairs. They are methods of doing things. If we follow these principles and carry them out properly, we will be of great use to the Lord’s work. There is always room for more learning in the church. (CWWN, vol. 60, “Miscellaneous Records of the Kuling Training (2),” msg. 19)

FOCUSING ON WHAT WE DO

We must learn to focus on what we do, and we should not analyze whether or not we are able to accomplish a job. We should not give ourselves the excuse of saying that we do not understand what we are doing. We should simply work, and there will be a result. We should not say that the church in Taipei is too large and that we do not know what to do; we simply need to work. If our service is to clean the restrooms, we should clean the restrooms so that they are spotless. If we are on meal service, what we prepare should be delicious. When I was in Chefoo, I took the lead to clean the restrooms, and I cleaned them in such a way that everyone admired them and tried to keep them clean.

We should not think that it is easy to be successful in taking care of the church in Taipei. It might not be easy for even the apostle Paul to work in a church as large as the church in Taipei. Instead of trying to be successful, we simply need to work. If we are asked to speak concerning gospel truths, our speaking should be very clear, attracting, and inspiring. We should not complain and ask why others are asked to give messages to edify the saints, but we are assigned to speak concerning the truth of the gospel. We should learn to accept in submission and have no opinion concerning any arrangement made by the church. If the brothers ask us to speak concerning gospel truths, we should do it. If they tell us to clean the restrooms, we should clean the restrooms. If they assign us to hall one, we should go there. If every one of us serves in this way, the church will be blessed and strengthened.

LABORING IN A PRACTICAL WAY,
HAVING NO OPINIONS,
AND TAKING THE BODY AS OUR GOAL

We need an attitude of being willing to labor. For example, if the brothers tell us to sweep the floor of the meeting hall, we should sweep it thoroughly so that it is very clean. When I was in the church in Chefoo, I took the lead to clean the hall. Even though it was an old house, it was kept spotless and attractive. Every guest room had a different color scheme. For example, for the white guest room, every item from the bedding to the decorations was white; for the yellow guest room, every item was yellow. At that time those who were responsible for taking care of the guest rooms were perfected by me. We should always seek to improve so that there is an atmosphere of freshness. In Chefoo I designed the church’s meeting hall, the sisters’ prayer room, and the brothers’ prayer room. However, I would often rearrange the furniture in the meeting hall, because I always sought to make improvements. In this way, when people came into the hall, they would have a sense of newness and realize that we had made improvements. This is the proper way to administrate the church. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 4, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 3: The Future of the Lord’s Recovery and the Building Up of the Organic Service,” msg. 6)

Discussion:

1.    How to make a plan (budgeting time and money) beforehand?

2.    How to determine the coordinating persons and how to fellowship with them?

3.    How to carry out the plan?