THE PRACTICE HANDBOOK FOR THE DISTRICT SERVING ONES
SERIES ONE
BASIC PRINCIPLES FOR THE DISTRICT SERVING ONES
Message Two
The Responsibility of the Responsible Ones in the Districts
Mark 6:40 And they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties.
Rom. 12:11 Do not be slothful in zeal, but be burning in spirit, serving the Lord.
DISTRICT MEETINGS
If the locality of a church is large and also has many saints, district meetings become a necessary arrangement. We do not believe as the Congregationalists do that each congregation is a unit, for that is not the teaching of the Bible. The teaching of the Bible does not allow for taking a congregation as the unit, but a locality as the unit. For example, Corinth was a locality, and Rome was a locality. Therefore, if the number of brothers and sisters in a locality is quite large, as in the case of Jerusalem, which had tens of thousands of believers, you will realize that it is impossible to meet in one place. Moreover, there were already three thousand or five thousand saved in the first few days in Jerusalem; perhaps they were unable to meet in one place within the first few days. Therefore, we see clearly that there must be some kind of arrangement for the meetings.
Fifty in a Group or One Hundred in a Group
We are not taking the following section of the Bible as the basis; we are only taking this section of the Bible as our guide; it leads us and guides us. Remember the occasions when the Lord Jesus fed the five thousand and the four thousand. The Lord could not distribute the bread to the people because of the large number. Spontaneously, the Lord made an arrangement either with fifty in a group or with one hundred in a group. Today we accept the principle of this arrangement of the Lord. When the number of saints is quite large in a certain place, we can learn from the way of the Lord to divide people into groups of fifty or one hundred.
Based upon this principle, I think that the responsible brothers in all the localities should learn to make arrangements to have the people divided into districts whenever their number becomes large. The number could be fifty, one hundred, or a little more than one hundred. In any case we should begin to have district meetings when those meetings reach these two numbers. This kind of meeting is most convenient because it is easy to take care of the saints and visit them when the number is small. There is also more opportunity for the saints to function in the meeting when the number is small. Numbers between fifty and one hundred are very good for meeting. They are very convenient in every way.
Meeting Separately in Districts
The gospel preaching meeting as well as the prayer meeting and the new believers’ meeting may be carried out in the different districts. If we want to do so, even the edification meeting can be carried out by separate districts. If we wish to combine some meetings together, I think that the edification meeting would be a good one to combine and perhaps the gospel preaching meeting as well. If there are brothers who are workers in this region and if they want to have some message meetings for the brothers and sisters, it is obvious that combining them is more convenient. All the other meetings may be held separately—the prayer meeting, the bread-breaking meeting, and the new believers’ meeting. All these may be held in the districts.
Caring for the Saints by Districts
In this way we can care for the saints by districts. If there are meetings by districts in a locality, the responsible brothers should learn to make arrangements so that there will be someone bearing responsibility in every district. The responsible ones in every district should listen to the overseers. The responsible ones need to learn to bear responsibility and to take care of the whole spiritual situation in every district. They should concern themselves with all the work and take care of it. These are their responsibilities.
Having Balanced Growth
If the number of people in any church has increased, the area has been well divided into districts, and there has been adequate caring in each district, then you will see that all the saints will be involved in the meetings. This is because many people will be able to have balanced growth, and they will all be able to pray and fellowship before God. As long as the number is small, there is no need to divide into districts. When the number is large, there is such a need.
MEETING BY DISTRICTS IN JERUSALEM
The Bible does not show us how Jerusalem was divided into districts. When we read the book of Acts, we know that there were districts, although they did not use our terminology. The prayer meetings were in individual homes. When Peter was put into prison, as you recall from the story of Rhoda, the house of Mark was a place of prayer. Let me repeat that the Bible does not give us all the particular detailed items of the affairs of the church, because God is not pleased when everything is structured. However, in the Bible there are some clues concerning the arrangement of all the affairs. These clues are placed in the Bible. This causes the church in every generation to learn to seek God and to make arrangements according to the Lord even though the church encounters the same situations again and again.
According to the actual situation, it would have been impossible for all the brothers and sisters in Jerusalem to meet together to break bread. It would have been impossible in practice. If there had been only one cup, how large should that cup have been? If there had been only one bread, how would you have distributed that bread? How much time would you have needed to spend to pass the bread to several thousand people? Later, the number became tens of thousands. Passing the bread to so many people would be impossible. Even if they took all seven days of the week to meet, it would nevertheless be very hard to distribute the bread and pass the cup in a good way. Therefore, we can see very clearly that they met by districts in those days. The house of Mark was a house among many houses.
I wish you would remember this principle—the Bible does not keep anything from us regarding spiritual things. It speaks in a very detailed way. However, concerning the aspect of practical affairs, concerning the Levitical service (in matters of serving God, there is service in the nature of the Levites), the Bible gives us only clues, not regulations. It shows us that there are such matters, but it does not show us how these matters are carried out. Today when you are going to carry them out, you will find that the Holy Spirit has not left you, that the Holy Spirit is still in the church, and that Christ is still the Head of the church through the Holy Spirit. In order to know this matter, you can wait and pray. Then you will be able to gain the light. I hope that the brothers will see the matter of meeting by districts and practice according to this principle. (CWWN, vol. 51, “Church Affairs,” msg. 7)
THE NEED FOR THE CHURCH
TO SUBDIVIDE INTO DISTRICTS
Witness Lee: According to the Bible, a church should be local. The boundary of the locality is determined by the boundary of its civic administrative unit. The Bible shows us local churches, but it does not have churches on a street or churches in a district. The justification for starting a church is not based on its number of members. A local church may cover a large geographical area and may have a large number of people, but it is still one church. Of course, it is hard for a church that is large geographically or numerically to take care of the needs of every brother and sister. The church in Jerusalem began with three thousand and then five thousand saved ones. When Paul returned to Jerusalem to meet James, there were tens of thousands of believers in that city (Acts 2:41; 4:4; 21:20). It is not an easy thing for a church of this size to carry out something or to meet the needs of every brother and sister. Therefore, there is the need to subdivide such a church into districts to facilitate the work and to reach and visit the saints easily. The districts are not the church, but they are almost like mini local churches; they fulfill many of the functions of a church. They have their own meetings, they cover many practical affairs, and they exercise care over all the brothers and sisters.
THE RESPONSIBLE ONES IN THE DISTRICTS
Caring for and Cherishing the Saints like Elders
The districts have responsible ones. This is an important function. On the one hand, these responsible ones have to care for the saints like elders. On the other hand, they have to be diligent like the deacons. The responsible ones in a district must make proper arrangements before the meetings, take the lead during the meetings, and clean up after the meetings. In short they have to act as the elders in the districts. This is a manner of speaking only; it does not mean that they actually carry the title of elder. If you are a responsible one in a district, you bear a much heavier responsibility for the souls of the people than the elders bear. It is not possible for the elders to know all the brothers and sisters. But as a responsible brother in a district, you have to know every brother and sister in your district. You have to take up the spiritual burden of all the saints in your district. If we cannot do this, we are merely splitting our meetings into districts; we have not fulfilled the real purpose of subdivision, which is to spread the care to the districts.
The responsible brothers have to make proper arrangements in the districts for the follow-up work of all the ones received into our bread-breaking meeting. You cannot let one name slip away. If a brother or sister has been assigned to your district, you have to exercise care over him or her in a proper way. First, you have to know the names of all the brothers and sisters. Second, you have to know their faces. You must recognize them and must not let them go away easily. Third, you have to know their background, including their school, family, and environment. Fourth, you have to know their spiritual condition. For example, you have to know how long they have been saved, whether or not they are meeting regularly, whether they have the experience of loving the Lord, and whether they are zealous for the gospel. Perhaps you have to ask them, “You have been saved for a long time already. Have you led anyone to the Lord?”
The responsible ones in a district have to be like the elders; they have to care for the brothers and sisters, to cherish them and nourish them with the heart of a father. They have to open up their hearts to the brothers and sisters. They have to exercise a fatherly concern for them. Whether or not God’s work will prosper among us depends not so much on the procedures and methods but on the amount of care we pour out on the saints. It depends on the fatherly and motherly compassion we exercise over God’s children.
Working under the Elders like Deacons
A local church can be subdivided into districts based on number or on need, but its administration cannot be divided. A few people in a district cannot decide what that district should do or how they should do it; they cannot take things into their own hand and work independently. The administration of the church is based on its locality. The business affairs, the shepherding, the care, and the perfecting of the saints in a church can be conducted in the districts, but first they must be discussed in fellowship with the church as a whole. The responsible ones in a district have to pay attention to one thing more than the elders: They have to learn to ask before they do anything. This is similar to what the deacons have to do. This applies not only to the care of the meetings, to the management of business affairs, but to the heading up of the work as well.
The responsible ones in a district are almost like elders, and yet they are not exactly the same as the elders of a local church. For this reason the responsible brothers in a district have to learn to refer matters to the elders. This is beneficial to them in more than one sense. The main emphasis of the church should not be business affairs, but spiritual affairs. The responsible ones in a district have to learn not to make any decisions in the districts. In everything they first must fellowship with the elders. They must receive orders from the elders. If the business decisions and methods of the elders do not work, they should first go back to the elders. Never make any changes independently. We are humans, and even the elders can make mistakes. Of course, they have learned more lessons from God, and it is less likely for them to make mistakes. Here you have to learn the lessons. If something is wrong, you have to refer back to the elders. This will force the elders to go to God and come up with the right way. If you deliberate and act independently, you will only bring damage to the church, not profit. A district is not a stand-alone local church.
Arrangements to Be Made in the Districts
Visitation of the saints should be carried out in the districts. There is the need of careful arrangement in this matter. The districts should also make decisions concerning their business affairs. For example, we may have to borrow a saint’s home for the district meeting. In so doing we should use such a home for our meeting only; we should not overburden that saint’s household. We should set up the place ourselves and make the proper arrangements before and after the meetings. We should even prepare the drinking water by boiling it ahead of time. Every matter—great or small, general or specific—that goes on in the districts should be listed. Either the responsible brothers have to take care of it themselves, or they have to assign the brothers and sisters to take care of it. Gospel visitation should also be conducted in the districts under the direction and supervision of the districts.
PRINCIPLES GOVERNING THE SERVICE
OF THE RESPONSIBLE ONES IN A DISTRICT
Not Acting according to Emotions
The responsible ones in a district should work like a machine. This is especially true in their coordination with the brothers and sisters. You have to function like a machine. You cannot work according to your own emotions, preference, or temperament. As a responsible one in a district, you cannot work according to your own likes, preferences, or disposition. You have to be like a machine, running or stopping according to the on-off switch, not according to your own likes and dislikes. As soon as the switch turns on, you operate mechanically.
In the church we do not want anyone to do anything out of a good heart or out of his own zeal. When a person acts according to his emotion, he is like a thermometer that has no calibration at all. Parents cannot stop feeding and clothing their children just because they misbehave. If you deal with your children according to just your emotion, you are not qualified to be a parent. Some people scorch others when they are zealous but put others into the freezer when they are cold. Suppose Brother Nee has a cook who acts according to his own preference. When our brother wants noodles, the cook serves porridge. What can he do to such a cook except discharge him? Such a cook can only be a master; he can never be a servant. If a man acts according to his emotion, he will damage others when he is emotionally high, and he will damage others when he is emotionally low.
You have to go to the Lord all the time to find out how much you love Him. You have to say to Him, “Lord, I am willing to put my temperament, preference, and emotions on the altar.” When children provoke their parents to anger, the parents often consider giving up on their children. But they are compelled to go on because they love their children. We have to be brought to the point where we work all the time, whether or not we like it. We do it because the Lord loves us and because we love Him. If we work only when we feel like working, we are like an unreliable thermometer. Others will not know what clothes to wear when they read us.
One passage in the Old Testament touches me very much. When Aaron’s two sons died before the Lord because they offered strange fire, Moses ordered Aaron not to mourn (Lev. 10:1-7). Moses was a faithful servant of God. Aaron also knew God very well. Their work was to serve God in His presence. God required that they not mix their own personal affections with His work. When God says that no one should mourn, no one can mourn. Even if a person wants to cry, he can only swallow his tears. Whatever you have to do, you should do it. You cannot overstretch your hands when you feel like it or stop working when you do not feel like it. Your likes and dislikes should not affect the way you work. Let emotions rise and fall. With the Lord’s grace in us, we can continue with our work all the time.
Rejecting Natural Affections
The responsible ones in a district should also be on the alert against the encroachment of natural affections; they should guard against acting by their own emotions. Among the brothers and sisters, they should only exercise a love that is in Christ. They should not develop any natural affection through their service. The more divine love there is, the better it is. Natural affection must be denied. Two people become friends through working together and developing an affinity for each other. In the church we should condemn natural affection; it is something loathsome. Some good brothers and sisters have fallen by the wayside just because they were not careful in this matter. Natural affection can kill the church life. In the Old Testament God ordained that the meal offering must be free from honey (Lev. 2:11). Both leaven and honey kill the church life.
Brother Chao Ching-hwai and I have been coordinating with each other for over twenty years. During those years, except for the purpose of discussing spiritual work and meeting various needs related to our service, I never visited his home. I was afraid that human love would be mixed in with our love in the Lord. In order to maintain the boundary that the Lord has laid down, I even went out of my way to guard against visiting his home. I can testify that we only maintain a divine love in the Lord; we have not developed a natural affection outside the Lord. Today many brothers and sisters get into trouble when they develop some affections through living together or coordinating together. We must have much spiritual fellowship, but we should guard against pitfalls.
Watchman Nee: Christians have no friendships; they only have brothers. Their relationships with each other are brotherly relationships. Whenever we fall from a brotherly relationship to friends, our Christian life is finished. The New Testament contains all kinds of teachings. It speaks of relationships between masters and slaves, parents and children, and husbands and wives. But it does not say anything about friendships. This is the most peculiar thing about Christianity. You can have only worldly friends, not spiritual friends. We should replace our friends in the world with brothers and sisters in the Lord. Our contact with each other should only be in the form of coordination, service, and fellowship. We should not have any other kind of unnecessary contact. The Lord charges us to love one another as He loves us. We should lay down our lives for our brothers (cf. John 15:13). This love transcends any kind of friendship. The love we experience in our coordination is beyond any kind of human love.
The Importance of Visiting New Ones
We have to take care of visiting new believers in a proper way. This is a very important work. If a hired worker takes care of another person’s sheep in Kuling and the sheep begets an ewe, the hired hand can claim half of the ewe. If the mother lamb begets two ewes, the hired worker can claim one of them, but if the sheep dies, he will have to pay for the loss. The master will only accept more when he receives back his entrustment; he cannot settle for less. In the future we will have to give an account at the judgment seat of Christ. The Lord has entrusted a certain number of people to the church. We should hand back at least that many people to Him. The elders must charge the responsible ones in a district to make proper arrangements for visiting new believers. They must never lose or drop anyone. The Lord has entrusted men to the church, not just to the elders. The brothers in all the districts should have this kind of feeling. They should feel the pressure to not lose anyone, realizing that they will have to give an account to the Lord.
A Love for the Brothers
It is not a happy thing to see a brother stumble. It is neither something to be angry about. We feel sorry and sad at the loss of any brother. Do not think that it is a light thing to lose a brother. Over ten years ago, a group of brothers and sisters wept continuously for six full days over the excommunication of a co-worker. Their tears were more bitter than anything they had experienced previously. Eventually, they decided to carry through with the excommunication. The excommunicated one was very angry. He wrote a long letter rebuking me. I only answered with a few words. I told him that while he was rebuking us, we were weeping for him for six full days. He was in wrath, but the brothers and sisters were in sorrow. We were hoping that this brother would turn, and we grieved over his excommunication. Our hearts were sad over this loss.
If a church builds up itself in love (Eph. 4:16), it will become a channel through which God will save all men. It will be able to look beyond itself to save other souls. If a church rises up and is up to the standard, many men will be brought in, and God will save many. For this reason we all have to learn to love the brothers, care for them, help them, and perfect them. We should do everything we can to gain every brother. (CWWN, vol. 62, “Matured Leadings in the Lord’s Recovery (2),” msg. 25)
Having Spiritual Feelings
The responsible brothers in a district should only bear responsibility for spiritual matters. They should step forward only when the other brothers and sisters cannot fulfill their functions. Even then they should not monopolize everything. The meetings should be under the control of the Holy Spirit. Whether they act or not, they have to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. For this reason the elders must have spiritual feelings and must be able to direct the meetings in the right direction. All the other brothers and sisters should be trained and taught how to meet. In the meetings the sisters cannot teach, but they can call hymns and testify. In the prayer meetings and bread-breaking meetings, the sisters should pray in the middle of the meeting. They should not initiate or conclude the meetings with their prayers. They should also avoid calling hymns as much as possible, unless they are clear they have the prompting of the Spirit. If anyone makes a mistake in the meeting, there is no need to correct him immediately unless, of course, the mistake is very serious. After the meeting those who made the mistakes should be given some fellowship in love. If a brother does something wrong in the meeting, it is improper for others to keep silent in the meeting yet speak behind his back after the meeting. We should speak to the erring one. But it is not love when we speak behind his back, not to his face. It is inevitable for some to make mistakes in the meetings. The only way we can be sure that everything is right is if we call the hymns, pray, and do everything ourselves. But then we will monopolize the entire meeting. On the one hand, we have to allow the brothers and sisters to function. On the other hand, all of them need to be adjusted and perfected. Otherwise, they will never learn. (CWWN, vol. 62, “Matured Leadings in the Lord’s Recovery (2),” msg. 34)
EVERY DISTRICT MEETING NEEDING TO HAVE
RICH CONTENT IN ORDER TO SUPPLY THE SAINTS
The district meetings are generally fresh and living and are different from the past; more saints are speaking in the meetings, and the atmosphere is more open. However, as a whole, the speaking is not rich enough, so the content of the meetings is rather poor; this is a shortcoming that requires our further study.
I hope that the saints will make progress in the matter of prophesying. Although we all speak in the meetings, we still need to improve. What we lack is rich content in our speaking. This can be compared to a ball game. Sometimes though every player is capable, because of the weather conditions, everyone feels spiritless on the field, and in the end they lose the game. We have at most fifty people in each district meeting. If all fifty would speak, the meetings would be marvelous. However, one of the responsible brothers may not be happy when he gets up in the morning, another brother may be upset, and many others may have their own situations. In the end, although everyone speaks, every person’s speaking was poor, and the entire meeting was flavorless.
At such times, if one of the brothers is watchful, he will be able to turn the condition of the meeting. In a basketball game, when there are only fifteen seconds left and the result has not yet been determined, the coach will ask for a time out to instruct the players, presenting them with a strategy so that they can score in the last fifteen seconds. Sometimes, because of the speaking during the time out, the team gains the final victory. It is the same with the condition of the meetings. Someone must be on the alert and speak something in spirit so that we all can learn and be encouraged.
Learning to Direct the Rudder in the Meeting
When we older ones first began to serve in the church, we led in this way; that is, we exercised to be alert. Fifty years ago we learned to “direct the rudder” in the meeting; though the directing may have not been visible outwardly, we were absolutely in control of the rudder in a hidden way. For example, when a prayer in the meeting was off the mark, we would inwardly ask the Lord to bring the prayer back to the burden. When some saints were not functioning properly, we would ask the Lord to find someone to uplift the meeting. The Lord always answers this kind of prayer. Today in the process of changing the system, we must be on the alert while directing the rudder of the meeting. When we see that the condition of the meeting is not proper and that there are only three or five minutes remaining, we should stand up and speak a word to supply the saints. This depends on our labor in our daily life. If we speak well, we will be able to supply others. Our meetings must be like a feast to which we all gather. On the table there is food, not empty bowls and plates; however, the food may be tasteless. Nevertheless, if in the last few minutes someone would open his mouth to speak the Lord’s word, everyone will be supplied. The Lord has revealed this way to us, and if we take it, every group meeting and district meeting will be enriched. This requires that we all labor.
We must labor over the Lord’s word, grasping every opportunity to redeem the time and get into the riches in the Lord’s word. After we have prepared a ten-minute prophecy, we can practice by speaking it to people. If we do not have a person to speak to, we can speak to the wall. We need to practice unceasingly so that we can quickly learn to speak the Lord’s word in the meetings with a rich content. The sisters should not think that because they are sisters, they do not have a responsibility. Although the sisters cannot be elders, they should be prophets who prophesy for the Lord. There were many prophetesses in the Old Testament. For instance, the first one who took the lead to praise God after the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea was Miriam, a prophetess (Exo. 15:20-21). There are also prophetesses in the New Testament. According to Acts, Philip the evangelist had four daughters who prophesied (21:9); this, I believe, was due to Philip’s family being a learned family. Hence, we see that the habit of prophesying must be promoted.
In 1 Corinthians 14 Paul exhorts the brothers and sisters to desire earnestly to prophesy; he exhorts them to desire not only the Lord but to speak for the Lord and to speak forth the Lord. All the trainees should practice much in this matter; like the pious Mary, they need to consecrate themselves to love the Lord, study the Lord’s word, and not waste time. If we waste time doing other things, we will not be right with ourself, and even more we will not be right with our parents. Our parents have the expectation that we will not waste our time, and we should not let them down; therefore, we must also firmly grasp the time and diligently exercise in every matter. We not only need to be familiar with the Bible, but we also need to thoroughly know the outlines and footnotes of every book. If the majority of us have this kind of spirit, what is within us will be manifested outwardly when we come to the meetings. We will be able to put forth what we have when the opportunity comes. This is to have our human work cooperate with God’s work to speak forth God’s word and speak it into people so that they may be supplied. How rich such a meeting will be!
Directing the Rudder and Supplying in the District Meetings
From now on, all the responsible ones in the district meetings need to direct the rudder and supply the meetings; otherwise, they cannot be considered responsible ones. To be a responsible one in the district meetings means to be one who prepares a “dish” in case everyone else fails to bring their “dishes” to the meeting. It also means being one who can put out some “dessert” even if everyone else has brought something. The responsible ones need not be in a hurry to prophesy; they can save their prophecy for the end and give priority to others. In this way the district meetings will not be poor. A long message cannot supply people; everyone functioning is what supplies people.
A lengthy message may not supply people, but if in the last ten minutes of the district meeting a responsible one rises up to speak a finishing prophecy, it will be most edifying. The food we offer to people when they are hungry is the most delicious. They may be listening for forty-five minutes without receiving anything, but when a responsible one stands up to speak eight minutes, he can give them a sense of freshness and of being full of supply. I truly believe and have the assurance that this can be attained to.
Through this kind of fellowship, I hope that we are all clear and understand the direction we should take from now on. We are serving the churches; if we receive this burden, the meetings in all the churches will not be a problem. Furthermore, I hope that we can study and come together for fellowship concerning the increase or decrease in number within the ninety-six districts in the church in Taipei. In this way we can receive the light for the future progress of our meetings. We are still in the process of investigation and improvement, and we want to receive help and revelation from these words of fellowship so that the churches may reap a great benefit. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 2, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 2: Leading the Saints to Practice the New Way Ordained by the Lord,” msg. 6)
