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Additional Quotes about the Local Church by Witness Lee and Watchman NeeWe have seen that God has His government in the universe. We have to see that there is government also in the church. The New Testament revelation shows us that the government of the church is very simple and practical: All the government of a church is entrusted to the elders. The elders are the government of the church. According to their spiritual stature, the elders are those who are mature and older. According to the affairs they handle, they are the overseers, which speaks of government and administration. Many times, we consider the elders to be the leading ones, the shepherds, and those who take care of others. Seldom do we consider them to be the ones responsible for government. Please remember that shepherding, exercising care, and leading are all for government. The Bible has not called the elders teachers or shepherds. Although 1 Peter says that the elders should shepherd the flock, it does not call them shepherds. However, the Bible clearly calls the elders overseers (Phil. 1:1). Teacher is not a title ascribed to the elders, nor is shepherd a title ascribed to the elders. Only overseer is a title ascribed to the elders. The reason for this is that the elders are those responsible for government and administration. God set up elders in the church in order that they would manage and govern the church. I would like the brothers and sisters to know that if the elders are truly managing and governing the church, the church will surely be strong. If the elders only shepherd and teach without managing, or if they are incapable of managing, the church will be weak. Even if it is strong and living for a while, the situation is not reliable and will not last long. In order for a local church to be strong, living, reliable, and stable, the elders must be able to govern and administer. Perhaps the brothers would ask where in the Bible can we find the elders managing the church. In the New Testament, not only do we have examples, but we have the definite teaching as well. First Corinthians talks about the matter of excommunication. This is a matter of administration. First Timothy chapter three says clearly that the elders are those who take care of, or manage the church. First Corinthians chapter twelve says that God appoints in the church apostles, prophets, and other kinds of people, including one kind that is for administration. Romans chapter twelve says that those who lead should do so in diligence. The management and administration here speak of government. In a locality where saints begin to meet, under normal circumstances, elders should be set up as soon as possible. This is the example of Acts chapter fourteen. Not long after Paul had preached in Asia, he appointed elders in those churches. Without the elders, there will be no government in the church, and there will be no administration. The church will then be in confusion and will not be strong. (Witness Lee, Elders’ Management, 17-18) f. Characteristics, Virtues, and Qualities of Elders Needless to say, there are a number of characteristics and virtues that qualify a brother to be an elder in a local church. Watchman Nee and Witness Lee expound on some of the most important ones: The characteristic of an elder is not that he is a “full-time Christian worker.” It is merely that, as a local brother, he bears responsibility in the local church. Locality determines the boundary of a church, and it is for that reason that the elders are always chosen from among the more mature believers in any place, and not transferred from other places. Thus, the local character of the churches of God is preserved, and consequently also their independent government and spiritual unity. (Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 2, Vol. 30, 41-42) There is no requirement for the elders to drop their jobs, although the apostles provide an example of dropping their jobs. Some elders also need the support from the church. Because they put most or all of their time into church affairs in a local church, they have no income. In such a case, the elders truly should receive double honor. Part of this honor is financial. But requiring the elders to drop their jobs is a different matter. In the Bible there is neither such a command nor such a pattern. (Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 3, Vol. 51, 184-185) There are two points in connection with the elders that call for special attention. First, they are chosen from among the common brethren. They are not workers who have a special call from God to devote themselves exclusively to spiritual work. As a rule they have their families, and their business duties, and are just ordinary believers of good reputation. Second, elders are chosen from among the local brethren. They are not transferred from other places, but are set apart just in the place where they live, and they are not called to leave their ordinary occupations, but simply to devote their spare time to the responsibilities of the church. The members of the church are local men, and as elders are chosen from among the ordinary members, it follows that they are also local men (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5). (Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 2, Vol. 30, 164-165) In 1 Timothy 3, Paul gives us the qualifications of an elder. He does not say that to be an adequate elder you must have power, with all the gifts and miracles. No, in his writings concerning the qualifications of an elder, he does not even mention these things. Listen to what he says: “The overseer then must be without reproach, husband of one wife, temperate, of a sober mind, orderly, hospitable, apt to teach, not an excessive drinker, not a striker, but forbearing, not contentious, not fond of money” (1 Tim. 3:2-3). All these qualifications are the virtues of humanity which are so necessary for the eldership. Paul did not say a word about power and gifts. In the past years of my Christian life and work, I have seen a good number of able persons with miraculous gifts and power. But eventually what they were and what they did became a distraction and damage to the building up of the local church. In the long run, the local church can only be built up by persons like those whom Paul has described in this chapter. (Witness Lee, Christ as the Reality, 138) | ||||