Knowing the Commitment of the Minister (3)


	Knowing the Commitment of the Minister (3) I beseech you therefore, I, the prisoner in the Lord, to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, bearing one another in love, being diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace - Ephesians 4:1-3. Now I beseech you, brothers, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion - 1 Corinthians 1:10. Therefore let us judge one another no longer, but rather judge this: not to put a stumbling block or cause of falling before your brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself, except to him who considers something to be unclean; to that man it is unclean - Romans 14:13-14. So then let us pursue the things of peace and the things for building up one another - Romans 14:19. But we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those who are weak and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor with a view to what is good for building up - Romans 15:1-2. Avoiding Problems Caused by Not Fully Understanding the Commitment of the Minister Problem #2: Uniformity in Practices Going Beyond the Operation in Life Today in the Lord's recovery we stress the flow. This flow, according to the common understanding, has to do with uniformity of practice. The declaration, "We are in the flow," seems to mean, "We have the same practice." In the recovery, should we have our practices? Yes, we should. Should we have the same practices? Yes, we should. If there are many different voices in the recovery, it is definitely not a blessing. Within one local church, if there are many different voices, it is certainly not a blessing. In a normal situation, there should not be different voices. There should be one voice in the church. Among the churches there is also only one voice and one expression. For example, Brother Lee taught us to pray-read. It is healthy for the churches to practice pray-reading. He led us in door knocking. It is healthy for all the churches to practice door knocking. But we should be careful. If we focus on the uniformity of practice more than on the operation in life, it will produce a lot of problems. Our administration should follow the leading of the Spirit. It cannot go beyond the truth. In like manner, our practice cannot go beyond life. Instead, our practice should come out of the operation of life. Why do we pray-read? Pray-reading gives us life and helps us enjoy life. This is the reason we all practice pray-reading. No matter where you go, saints are pray-reading and are being nourished by the Word of God. How wonderful this is! But we cannot focus on a practice rather than on life. If we focus on the practice of pray-reading and neglect getting the nourishment from the Word, pray-reading will become a dividing wall to separate us from those saints who don't pray-read. The practice of pray-reading, or even a way of pray-reading, can become an issue among the churches and the saints. Apart from the Operation of Life, the Flow Becoming a Movement When the saints respond to the operation of life and it produces the same practice among the churches, we all have a sweet feeling in our spirit, for this is the flow of the Spirit. However, if the flow of the Spirit comes, and we merely seize the action and emphasize our holding the same practice, without realizing that it is life that causes us to be in one accord, the flow will produce nothing but a movement. We often fail to understand the things of life. When we follow the ministry, we may merely follow the action, or the "flow." What is the difference between following such a "flow" and following the fashion of the world? The world has its administration and its fashion. If we don't have the operation of life, but insist on following the "flow," it will only result in a movement. Brothers, I would like to speak a sober word to you. If you do not have life and the operation of life, you won't be in the flow even though you are in all the activities and movements. After participating in all the movements, nothing will remain with you but the serving ones' promoting and the saints' excited shouting. Before long, all such practices in the church life will become history. The Chinese immigrants in this country used to call those who just came from Taiwan "all-the-time-chasing." The "all-the-time-chasing" were always chasing the latest fashions. When they finally seemed to catch up, however, it was already out of style. Then they had to chase after the next new fashion. Therefore, they were always chasing something. There is a flow of the world. The hairstyles and clothing designs are following the fashion of the world. This is the manner of the world. In the Lord's recovery it may be the same. What begins as a flow of the Holy Spirit may indeed bring in a practice. But what is the difference between the flow of the Holy Spirit and the flow of the world? The flow of the world affects you in a natural way without the operation of the divine life. The flow of the Holy Spirit issues from the operation of the divine life, and our response must come from the sense of the divine life within us. In the church life you should not just follow what everyone else is doing. You won't be able to make it, and even if you are able, it will not be real to you. When the flow of the Holy Spirit comes, there will be a response and a vision. Your response and vision in life will cause you to follow the flow of the Spirit, which will bring in an action. This action will have high value. Practices beyond the Operation in Life Destroying the Burden of the Minister We all follow Brother Lee's ministry in the Lord's recovery. His ministry produces many leadings, and these leadings produce a flow. The flow then brings in practices. But brothers, we have to be careful. If we don't have the ability to bring the saints into the understanding of life, so that they can see the value of the practice according to life, we are not one with the ministry. If we merely force everyone to follow the move and promote the practice, we are tearing down what the minister is burdened for. You may think, "This is the word of the minister, and it is what he is asking us to do, so we are doing it." Yes, this is the word of the minister, and this is the thing he is asking us to do, but his word and the practice are issuing from life. You cannot ask everyone to have the same practice without considering their understanding of life and their spiritual condition. The ministry with the bountiful life supply brings in a practice. If the life doesn't operate in you bountifully and you are forced into the practice, this uniformity of practice will not benefit you at all. Instance One At an elders' meeting in Anaheim in the seventies, Brother Lee told us that according to his observation, the leadership in some of the churches was quite weak. He felt that it might be beneficial if two or three churches could meet together. After that meeting, many brothers promoted consolidation, even to the point that brothers would ask one another, "Have you consolidated yet?" Through that movement, we lost about 30 churches and hundreds of saints. In the Midwest, for example, we lost the church in Detroit, the church in Indianapolis, the church in St. Louis, the church in Minneapolis, and the church in Milwaukee. There were a good number of saints and excellent leadership in every church. I advised the leading brother in one church not to consolidate. Each time, however, the brother answered, "But Brother Lee is asking us to do so." In fact, Brother Lee did not ask them to consolidate. He merely asked some localities lacking a strong enough leadership to consolidate. If the church has a strong leadership, there is no need to consolidate. What a loss! So many good brothers and sisters were damaged because the uniformity of the practice went beyond the operation of life. After this happened, Brother Lee had no choice but to speak strongly to the brothers, saying, "Brothers, I never asked you to move like this. My English is not as good as yours. I don't even know the word 'consolidate.' You should not have told everyone that I asked you to consolidate." People like movements and activity. They don't understand that movements that lack the life supply will bring about loss to the churches and the saints. We suffered a great loss because of that consolidation. Not only did we lose many churches, but we also lost many good brothers because of that movement. Brothers, we must pay attention to the operation in life rather than the uniformity of practice. Instance Two There was another instance in which practice went beyond the operation of life. One brother had a thought that we should all move to the suburbs. There seemed to be no way to work within the city, and since most of the middle-class population lived in the suburbs, he said we should go to the suburbs to gain those people. At that time I insisted that we stay in the city. The church in Detroit must stay in Detroit. The church in Cleveland must stay in Cleveland. Why did I insist on this? It was because we would become isolated if we made such a move to the suburbs. For example, saints living anywhere in the metro-Cleveland area felt that they belonged to the church in Cleveland. If we said we were the church in Willoughby, however, the saints in Cleveland would not be able to identify themselves with the church. Willoughby cannot represent Cleveland. At that time, rather than moving, we stayed in the city of Cleveland. The schools were not good, so we established a school ourselves. However, that movement brought about a loss. Many good brothers left us as a result of that movement that entered in and replaced the operation of life. Instance Three We admire movements. There was a time when brothers were promoting "the more meeting places, the better." There was a small church in a Midwestern state. Before that movement began, there were 25 saints in the Lord's table meeting in that locality. A brother went there and told them, "I am the representative of the ministry. Now the burden of the minister is that you all break up into more meetings." They were divided into four Lord's table meetings. Three of these meetings had only one couple. As a result, some saints were discouraged and stopped meeting. The number of saints who were meeting dropped from 25 to less than ten. The leading brother there called me and asked me in tears, "Brother, what should we do?" I had nothing to say. I just had a feeling, "The servant of the Lord has given us so many riches. Why are we still so foolish in our practice?" At that time, many saints felt that this was the command of the ministry. Would the servant of the Lord do such a thing? How pitiful we are! We just love movements. When one movement is over, we can't wait for the next one to begin. There seems to be nothing we fear more than not being in the "flow." The True Understanding of the Flow of the Spirit The world has a flow, and the work of the Spirit also has a flow. The flow of the Spirit will bring in practices. But you must know that if the flow issues from the operation of the Spirit, it will operate in you as the Spirit and bring you into a deeper and richer enjoyment of life. Then, the enjoyment of life will produce an action. The clearest description of the flow of the Spirit in the Old Testament is found in Genesis 2 and Ezekiel 47. These two chapters are not focused on the flow itself, but on the healthy condition and result of the flow. Genesis 2 tells us that the healthy flow produces gold out of the growth and manifestation of the divine life. This flow also encompasses the land, which means it is inclusive. Ezekiel tells us that everything shall live, wherever the river comes. Therefore the flow is not for the action itself. It is for the life supply. In this flow, some cast the nets and some mend the nets. Some nourish and some cherish. This is the healthy situation in the flow of the Spirit. For example, Brother Lee gives us two life-study trainings every year, ten days each time. This is a flow. The saints respond in life and in their spirit. They are willing to pay the price to gain life and pursue the truth. Then the churches lead the saints according to the work of the Spirit, and the response of the saints in life is to share in the same practice. This is a healthy flow. Sometimes the saints have no response. The problem may not be with the flow. It may simply be that the saints are dead. Take the matter of vital groups for example. Brother Lee is leading us to preach the gospel and to have vital groups. This is a flow. Although the way of vital groups is the work of the Spirit, the saints may have no response. If this is the case, the problem is not with the matter of vital groups, but that the understanding and the life of the saints are unable to uphold it. A good leading brother should know the saints' situation. He should nurture, strengthen, and supply the saints with life. He has the rich life supply and the resurrection power in his spirit. Through him the saints should be so supplied that they can be one with the flow. If their life has not yet reached the level of the flow, he should be patient with them. He should not behave as a police officer enforcing the law. Sometimes we like to see an immediate effect through our serving. We are afraid that we are missing out on the "flow," so we use the "ministry" as a law and force the saints to obey. The result will be the ruin of the work of the Spirit and damage to the saints. Nothing will be left after the movement except the saints gasping their last breath, and those "all-the-time-chasing" ones getting ready for the next activity. I am really grieved when I come to this point. Brothers, we should not put Brother Lee's ministry to shame. When we do something wrong, it is Brother Lee whom people attack. We cannot destroy the work of the Spirit and damage the saints in the name of being one with the ministry. We cannot force the saints into something. We must learn to supply them to the extent that their life can be one with the move of the Spirit. As a result, the saints will spontaneously accept the leading in life. A good elder with leadership should lead the saints so that they all desire to preach the gospel and to practice the vital groups. If you serve in this way, the saints' life will match the flow and the practice of the church, which will definitely bring in the blessing of the Lord. We should not ignore or neglect the leading of the ministry. But it is not healthy to force people into a certain practice in the name of following the word and the teaching of the apostle. The apostles never demand that people do certain things. The ministry of the New Testament is of the Spirit, not of the letter. It is supplying, not condemning. Brother Lee's ministry, which is part of the New Testament ministry, supplies us. It does not force us into any practice. Brothers, your administration cannot go beyond the truth and the reality of the truth. Your practice cannot go beyond life and the operation of life. If there is a move in the recovery, you must first help the saints to be restful in life and to have the vision and understanding of the practice in life. Then you may practice according to life. Problem #3: A Practice Going Beyond the Corporate Testimony What we need is truth. What we need is life. What we need is the testimony. We shouldn't lay hold of a certain practice in a way that obscures the testimony that the Lord has committed to us. People shouldn't be more impressed with our practice than with our testimony. In other words, we cannot have a special practice that goes beyond the testimony. I have been following the Lord for many years. By the Lord's mercy I have seen something, and I serve according to the Lord's commitment. If one day I advocate a certain practice, or if you who have been helped by me simply go out and promote a practice, it will cause big problems. Suppose that out of your positive desire to see others perfected, everywhere you go you boast of how you received help from me. This would simply stir people up. They would not see the testimony. This is to advocate a practice, and it would get us into trouble. You must be very careful. Do not, by your improper testimony, damage the testimony of the whole. Not Lording It Over People's Faith In the church life we should not busy ourselves with many practices and invite the saints everywhere to come and learn from us. For instance, do not say, "Look how good our church life is: we have a love feast every day." If we say that, our practice goes beyond the testimony. We should not stress any practice more than the testimony of the Lord. When we are following the ministry, we should realize that no practice that Brother Lee ever taught us ever eclipsed the real testimony. Take baptism for example. Brother Lee told us we could baptize people in their bathtubs when we went door knocking. This was a practice at that time. We don't need to stress this practice more than the testimony. It is still fine for some churches to bring people to the meeting hall and baptize them. We shouldn't argue with them and say, "Brother Lee said we should baptize them in the bathtub. Why do you still baptize them in the hall?" Brothers, the reality of baptism is more important than the place where people get baptized. Without the reality, it is useless to get baptized either in the bathtub or in the hall. If we have the reality of baptism, it makes no difference whether it takes place in the bathtub or in the meeting hall. The way we baptize people is a practice, but baptism itself is a testimony. You brothers and sisters who came from Taiwan may have a lot of opinions. You may think, "We should do this in the sisters' house and that in the brothers' house, for this is the way we practice in Taiwan." You should know that such things are merely practices. When you go back to Taiwan, do not tell them what we practiced here in the labor. No matter how good a practice is, it is still only a practice. I don't mean that we shouldn't learn from one another. If some saints experience blessing in something, we have to humble ourselves and learn from them. If the vital groups are very successful in one locality, we need to learn from them. But there are different ways of learning. Some only learn how to practice. They learn the way that bears the effectiveness. Others learn in life. They desire to grow in life for the Lord's testimony. If you think your vital group will be successful simply by practicing a certain way, you treat spiritual things too lightly. You must know how to nourish, how to cherish, how to lead, and how to be a pattern. These are not easy matters. They are all related to life. They are all exercises for the testimony, not for the practice. If you take the lead in a vital group, it is not for the leadership, but for the Lord's testimony. We must learn the practice and at the same time tell the Lord, "Lord, in following the ministry, I am not focusing on the practice more than on Your testimony." Problem #4: Exclusiveness in Practice Among Churches Going Beyond Inclusiveness Many problems among us are really unnecessary. You love Brother Lee, and I love Brother Lee, too. We all love Brother Lee's ministry. But it is strange that we argue so much about who follows the ministry and who doesn't, who follows it truthfully and who follows it apart from truth, who follows it whole-heartedly and who follows it half-heartedly, or who follows it fast and who follows it slowly. We make the matter of following the ministry a complex issue. What is the reason? We insist upon the practice, which is secondary, more than the truth, which is primary. Many saints feel that the truth (concerning Christ, the church as the Body of Christ, and the Body of Christ expressed as the local churches) is not as important as the practices (such as the material we use or our gathering seven times a year), which are secondary. How pitiful this is! It will gradually deprive us of any new vision, new light, fresh life, or fresh testimony. If we are not careful, eventually we will become a religious institution. The Problems Caused by Insisting upon a Practice, Which Is Secondary One brother insists that, in order to be one with the ministry, we must go to Anaheim for live trainings. According to him, if you stay in your locality and watch the video, you are not following the ministry. What kind of following of the ministry is this? If you go to the live training, you are following the ministry, but if you join the video training, you are not following the ministry. What a ridiculous definition of "following the ministry"! Many problems among the churches and among the co-workers stem from such secondary practices. Such issues are really unnecessary. The co-workers should be able to fellowship freely about all things. But unconsciously we have become divided concerning the matter of following the ministry. We don't have any problem concerning the Triune God. We don't have any problem concerning the one Savior. We don't have any problem concerning one life and one dispensing of life. We don't have any problem concerning one Body and one organism. We don't have any problem concerning one testimony. We all agree on the major truths. All the problems among us concern secondary practices. We should love each other and strive together for the Lord's recovery. Why do we have so many different feelings? One possibility is that we have not yet been broken by the Lord, so we still have our own views and ideas. Another possibility is that we are insisting on the practices, which are not primary, but secondary. For example, since door knocking is a practice, it is not primary in the church life, but secondary. A church may still be healthy without practicing door knocking. Suppose there is a church with many lovely brothers and sisters. They don't practice door knocking, but they all love the Lord and bear fruit regularly. Isn't that sufficient? Will you say that they are not in the flow because they don't gather their fruit through door knocking? Isn't it good enough that people are being saved? Must you ask how they get saved? Must you insist that people get saved according to your way? We all love the ministry, and we all are willing to be one with the ministry. The trouble is that we get stuck on secondary matters or practices. We don't realize that our oneness is not based on practices, but on truth, which is primary. We should not compromise on truth. For example, we cannot compromise on the matters of one Triune God, one Savior, one life, one life dispensing, one Body, one organism, and one testimony. If someone speaks about three Gods, we should earnestly contend for the faith, since this concerns a primary truth. However, we don't have such a problem with the truth among ourselves. All the problems among us come from the secondary matter of practices. Someone had problems with my leading because I asked the saints to read the Bible before reading the Life-Studies. First, I would like to tell you that I don't make an issue of what to read first-the Bible or the Life-Studies. That is not my teaching. Second, I wonder how a person could understand the Life-Studies if he doesn't know the Bible. How could he understand Brother Lee's word? One brother even said that I was doing my own work, because I asked the saints to read the Bible first and to use the Bible to bring them to the Life-Studies. This brother thought that he loved the ministry and that by saying this he was one with the ministry. Actually, he was debasing the ministry, damaging the ministry, and misrepresenting the ministry. Brother Lee never asked us to read only his Life-Studies and not to read the Bible. We cannot go so far as to condemn someone for asking people to read the Bible. On the contrary, we must receive those brothers who know the basic truths but don't know the Life-Studies. We should fellowship with such brothers. We should love the Lord together and have the church life together. The Life-Studies cannot be used as a dividing factor among the children of God. We cannot exclude those who don't practice in the same way as we do. The Life-Studies are for us to gain life. They are not to be used to examine people. I would encourage you all not only to read the Bible, but also to gain the nourishment, supply, and revelation from the Life-Studies. They can serve to regulate and direct your Bible study so that you won't go astray. "In What Is Essential, Oneness; in What Is Not Essential, Tolerance; and in All Things, Love" Brother Nee once quoted the words of St. Augustine, "In what is essential, oneness; in what is not essential, tolerance; and in all things, love." These are indeed words of wisdom that can help us keep the oneness of the Spirit. Being in one accord is not a matter of practice, but a matter of our spiritual understanding. The saints should be free in their exercise, for the way they practice is secondary. They should have the liberty to follow the Lord and the liberty to follow the leading of the Spirit. No matter how different our practices may be, we should love one another in all things. Regardless of their practice, brothers are still our brothers, sisters are still our sisters, and co-workers are still our co-workers. Nothing should prevent us from loving one another. We should hold to the primary truths, such as the Triune God and Christ's salvation. We should give people the liberty to follow the Lord's leading in secondary things, such as the ways of having the Lord's table or the ways of baptizing. We shouldn't quarrel with others, whether regarding basic truths or regarding practices. We need to love one another in all things. The Lord's work among us is mainly through the basic truths. We cannot replace the basic truths with minor truths or practices. If we insist upon a practice, which is a secondary matter, it will unnecessarily set the brothers at variance. Even if the brothers have different views, we can teach them little by little. There is an example of this in the Bible. Apollos was fervent in spirit, but he didn't know the primary truth. He only knew the baptism of John. Aquila and Priscilla took him aside and expounded the way of God to him more accurately (Acts 18:24-26). Then Apollos was able to serve the Lord in a straightforward way, and he became a good teacher. Brothers, we need the Lord's mercy. When we begin to serve Him, we need to avoid the problems that are caused by not fully understanding the commitment of the minister. May the Lord keep us living in the reality of the truth and the operation of life, so that we may be inclusive as we receive others for the Lord's testimony. We cannot exclude others because of differences over minor truths or practices. I would like to repeat to you: we must practice, in what is essential, oneness; in what is not essential, tolerance; and in all things, love.