Additional Quotes about the Local Church by Witness Lee and Watchman Nee

When the elders are taking a proper lead, the saints should not merely say, “Praise the Lord for the diligent elders who do everything for us! They sweep the yard, vacuum the carpet, and clean the rest rooms. There is nothing left for us to do but enjoy the Lord.” Sometimes the saints may even criticize or condemn the elders. Certain saints do not want to do anything. They prefer to let the elders do everything. This is abnormal. The elders should take the lead humbly and set an example, and all the saints should follow them. If the elders clean the meeting hall or mow the lawn, the saints should do the same. This is what the Bible means when it says for us to obey the leading ones and to submit to them. If the elders set an example and establish the lead and the saints follow them, the Lord’s testimony will spread, and all the saints will be brought into function. This is the correct understanding of leadership in the New Testament.

(Witness Lee, Spirit and the Body, 224)

From the very beginning of the Lord’s recovery, we have seen very clearly that the practice of the local churches depends upon two things—the teaching and the eldership. The New Testament shows us clearly that the building up of Christ’s Body is based upon the apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:42)….The New Testament shows us that the building up of the Body of Christ, including all the local churches, involves the gifted persons—the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers (Eph. 4:11-12). These are the ones who give the apostles’ teaching. The building up of the Body of Christ also involves the elders. It is the elders who put the apostles’ teaching into practice. The apostles teach not only the saints in the churches but also the elders of the churches. Then the elders put the apostles’ teaching into practice. The elders should never separate themselves from the apostles’ teaching. For the building up of the church, we need the apostles’ teaching and the eldership to practice it….The eldership is altogether a matter of shepherding. The elders should shepherd the church and take care of the church according to the apostles’ teaching.

(Witness Lee, God-Ordained Way, 20-23)

Titus 1:9

¹Holding to the faithful word, which is according to the teaching of the apostles, that he may be able both to exhort by the healthy teaching and to convict those who oppose.

Titus 1:9¹

The elders are appointed to administrate God’s government in a local church that good order may be maintained in the church. To accomplish this, the elders need to hold to the faithful word, which is according to the apostles’ teaching, that they may be able to stop troublesome talkers and calm a tumultuous situation (vv. 9-14).

(Witness Lee, Footnotes, 1012)

A person who has no concern for others cannot serve the Lord, much less be an elder. If an elder is afraid of being bothered, it is best for him not to be an elder. An elder is like a father or mother in a family. Parenthood is the most bothersome responsibility. The more an elder is willing to be bothered, the better he will function. If a brother comes to you today, a sister comes tomorrow, an unemployed person the third day, and if people come to you when they quarrel, when they are sick, when they need to buy a coffin, or a grave site, or when they do not know how to read the Bible or cannot have their prayers answered—if all these ones come to you—you are functioning quite well as an elder. But if no one ever comes to you, I think you should not be an elder any longer.

The secret to having others come to you is to have a concern for them. Once you have a concern for others, they will surely come to you….The right way is for us to learn the lesson before the Lord and to accept a burden to be a shepherd among His children, one who cares for the souls of men. It is because you love them and are concerned for them that you have such a burden upon you. If an elder can do this, the church will surely be blessed. Today, the greatest lack in every local church is this kind of elders. Such ones are not inquisitive concerning others’ affairs, but they do have a character of being concerned for others. This is the right character that an elder should have in his shepherding and teaching of the church.

(Witness Lee, Elders’ Management, 63-66)

Brothers, let me repeat that it is not a simple thing to be an elder in the church. If we miss a little, we lose a soul. If we are off a little, a hundred will not be saved. You can see the seriousness here. Salvation and perdition hinge on the one thought of the elders. How then can you act properly and judge accurately? It all depends on your ability to discern. If you have discernment, the church will be brought onto the proper track. Only then will you have the real administration….

When I was young, I once heard a brother who was leading us answer a question involving the truth. I could not help but admire him. A problem arose; two things were very similar, and it was difficult to separate them. But, as soon as the question was raised, he immediately gave the answer and separated the two things clearly one from the other. No matter how many smoke screens there were in the question, once it was asked, he was clear already. His ability to discern truth had reached such an extent that when you asked him a question, he would know immediately what your next question would be. Many people could testify that they had originally intended to ask another question, but the answer to the first question stopped their mouths, and they no longer had any need for further questions. His discerning ability was so keen that no one could be sloppy before him.

In the local church there are also many difficulties and problems; they all appear ambiguous. If we do not have the discernment, we have no way to deal with them; the only thing we can do is let them go on.

(Witness Lee, Elders’ Management, 109-111)

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