C. Principles to Follow When Dispatching People to Preach the Gospel

In terms of protecting the safety of those doing important duties, there is another area of work that leaders and workers must attend to, which is to protect the safety of those going out to do their duty. What principles should be followed when dispatching people to go out and do their duty? First, consideration should be given to people’s age and gender, as well as their insight and experience of life—leaders and workers cannot be muddleheaded or casual in this regard. For example, if you are dispatching gospel workers to preach the gospel in an unfamiliar place, what kind of people would be suitable to dispatch? (People with some insight and wisdom.) If a certain church does not have many suitable people, with most being young people who lack experience of life and insight, who do not know how to handle situations—especially challenging problems—when they encounter them, who speak without principles, and who also lack wisdom, then they would be unable to do the work. If such people are dispatched, not only will they be unable to solve problems, but they are also likely to impact and delay the work. Therefore, when dispatching people to go out and do their duty, it is necessary to choose those with mature humanity and wisdom—only such people are suitable. If there are not enough suitable people, then let young people pair up with older people to go do their duty. For example, suppose there’s a young sister around 25 or 26 years old who, despite having believed in God for quite some time, possessing faith and stature, and having done her duty for a long time, would not know how to keep herself safe if sent to do her duty in an unfamiliar place—in such a case, it would be necessary to find a local brother or sister with experience in society to pair up with her to do the duty. Of course, if the location of a duty is a familiar area or a place where there is already a church, then young brothers and sisters can go. However, if people are going to an unfamiliar place, especially one with poor public security, to preach the gospel or do other work, then their personal safety must be considered. For leaders and workers, no matter whom they are dispatching to go out and do work, safety is the first consideration. If it is unclear what kind of people the potential gospel recipients are, or whether these people might do inappropriate things, then caution should be exercised when dispatching people to preach the gospel. In the past, I heard that some leaders and workers would often dispatch young sisters—around 18 or 19, or in their early 20s—to unfamiliar places to preach the gospel, and reportedly, some unfortunate incidents occurred. Regardless of what actually happened, ultimately it was related to the leaders and workers not being thorough in their considerations when doing the work. Leaders and workers should take these factors into account in their work and should not casually assign very young sisters or brothers to unfamiliar and dangerous places to do their duty. There was a leader who once arranged for two sisters, aged 18 or 19, to go preach the gospel. When someone said they were too young and unsuitable for this, the leader then found a 21-year-old sister to go instead, thinking, “You said 19 is too young, so I found someone who’s 21. That’s older, isn’t it?” What was this leader’s caliber like? They were prone to distortions, weren’t they? (Yes.) Being only two years older than 19—could she have had experience of life? Could she have had experience in society? When facing difficulties or dangerous situations, might she have ended up crying? Although she was two years older, in terms of age, she was still too young and not capable of taking on this work. At the very least, it is necessary to find a brother or sister who is in their 30s or 40s, or their 50s or 60s—they are older and have experience in society; when encountering situations, they have the wisdom to handle them, preventing any dangerous situations from occurring. Young people have not seen or experienced many things and do not know how to handle them; when encountering danger, they may not even realize it, which makes it easy for incidents to occur. Older people, having seen more of the wickedness in this society and this humankind, tend to be more alert to people. Based on their experience in society and knowledge from real life, they can make some reasonable judgments about what kind of danger might arise in certain situations, how high the level of danger is, which individuals are evil people, and what kinds of things certain people might do. When encountering dangerous situations, they also have the wisdom to escape danger. Young people, on the other hand, lack experience. When encountering situations, they cannot perceive the potential dangerous consequences. Therefore, when it comes to safety issues, older people are more thorough in their considerations than young people. When leaders and workers arrange for people to go out and do their duty, they should consider the local conditions and arrange for relatively older people with some wisdom and experience to partner with young people to do their duty. Leaders and workers must be thorough in their considerations of these matters.

No matter in which country church work is done, ensuring the safety of those doing their duties is an item of work that leaders and workers must pay close attention to. No matter who is dispatched to do which work, they must possess a certain caliber and have some capability in order to be competent for the work and so that their safety can be ensured; in particular, this is even more so the case in areas or countries with poor public security. Leaders and workers should regard the safety of those doing their duty as the primary consideration, not carelessly disregard it. Some people say, “It’s fine. What we are doing is performing duties in God’s house—we have God’s protection, so no one will die. What could possibly go wrong?” Is it right for them to say this? (No.) Why not? (Speaking this way is irresponsible, and this viewpoint is also very detached from reality.) People should do their utmost to fulfill the responsibilities they are able to fulfill and attend to what they are able to consider; they should not test God, or gamble with the safety of the brothers and sisters. God can protect people, but if you do not consider the problems that you are able to consider, and you use the safety of the brothers and sisters as a wager to test God, God will reveal you—who made you so extremely foolish, doing such idiotic things! Therefore, leaders and workers should not use this kind of talk as an excuse to do irresponsible things; ensuring the safety of those doing their duties is your responsibility, and you should fulfill your own responsibility. Having attended to everything you are able to consider and able to do, then as for what you have not considered, how God will act in that regard is God’s own matter and has nothing to do with you. Some people indiscriminately push all responsibility onto God, saying, “God is responsible for people’s safety, we don’t need to be afraid; we can preach however we want. With God, all is free and liberated; we don’t need to worry about those things!” Is this kind of statement correct? (No.) According to this kind of statement, people do not need to seek principles when things happen; if that were the case, what would be the use of the truth that God has expressed? It would be useless. Over these years, God has patiently and painstakingly spoken so many words to teach people, with the purpose of enabling His chosen people to know how to survive, how to pursue the truth, and how to conduct themselves in this evil world and among this evil humankind, so as to accord with God’s intentions. It is not for you to test God, nor is it for you to act however you wish according to words and doctrines and without principles. For leaders and workers to do a good job in the work of preaching the gospel, they must first and foremost guarantee people’s safety. In order to do so, they must first find out and grasp the specific circumstances of those doing their duty, dispatch suitable people, and also understand what to do in various situations to guarantee people’s safety. If a location is particularly chaotic, no one has acquaintances there, and the safety of whoever goes there to preach the gospel cannot be guaranteed, then do not dispatch people there for the time being; do not take this risk, do not make unnecessary sacrifices. No matter which duty is being done or which work is undertaken, it does not need you to strike out into the world or risk your life, nor does it need you to wager your safety or your life. Of course, in the environment of China, taking risks to do one’s duty is unavoidable. The government persecutes those who believe in God, and even knowing full well that there is danger, you must still believe in God, follow God, and do your duty; you cannot abandon your duty, and no work can be stopped. The situations in overseas countries are all different—some are authoritarian countries similar to China, while others have democratic systems. In countries with democratic systems, the work of preaching the gospel can proceed smoothly, and various items of work can also be carried out more smoothly. But in some countries with authoritarian characteristics, the people are both barbaric and backward, and it is not easy for them to accept the true way. When the gospel is preached to them, not only do they not investigate it, but they can blindly condemn it, and might even report the situation to the police. In such cases, do not dispatch people to preach the gospel there; instead, choose places where safety can be ensured to carry out the work. These are all things that leaders and workers should consider carefully. For example, in countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, or India, which have very complex religious backgrounds, certain religious denominations have great influence and control the entire society, to the extent that even the governments yield to the influence of these religions. In such countries, then, do not dispatch additional people to preach the gospel there; it is sufficient for only local churches to preach the gospel. In some countries, the situation varies across different states or provinces, and the local laws and regulations differ from the national laws and regulations. For example, certain regions have special religious backgrounds, and in those regions, church and state are unified. In some cases, the religious leaders have even greater authority than local government officials and can openly violate some national policies. If you preach the gospel in such regions, there will be potential safety risks. These potential risks are not limited to fabricating rumors about you or to driving you away—they could also arrest you, lock you up in prison without charge, and even subject you to torture, crippling or killing you, and the government wouldn’t intervene. In fact, the leaders of most religious denominations hate outside religions. Because their influence is too great and they are not restrained by the law whatsoever, no one dares to hold them accountable no matter how savagely they persecute the gospel workers, and even local government officials are unwilling to offend them. Once you start preaching the gospel in their territory, they can torment you however they wish. Therefore, leaders and workers must be especially cautious when dispatching people to preach the gospel somewhere. First, they must investigate and learn about the situation in that place—whether there is freedom of belief, how powerful the religious forces are, and what consequences might occur if people preaching the gospel there are reported. These matters must be clearly understood before determining whether or not to dispatch people there. If, after learning about some place, it is determined that it is unsuitable for preaching the gospel, then no one is permitted to dispatch people there to preach. This is also a part of the work that should be done to ensure the safety of the gospel workers. Some leaders and workers have a distorted comprehension, and say, “It’s fine; God will protect us. The tougher the challenge, the more we should take it on. There are so many people who believe in the Lord in that place, so why shouldn’t we go preach the gospel there?” Someone tells them, “There are private prisons there. If we go there to preach the gospel, not only will we be detained, but we might even die there. We can’t go!” Those foolish false leaders think this over, “The great red dragon has so many prisons, but we don’t fear it—so why should we fear a bunch of private prisons over there? Prisons can hold our bodies but cannot hold our hearts! Don’t be afraid—just go!” They then dispatch wave after wave of people, and in the end, none of them return; they are all detained. The false leaders are dumbfounded. What is the problem here? (Such false leaders are blockheads.) Such false leaders are scoundrels; they are irresponsible, sending people into the jaws of danger. Why don’t they go themselves? Since they are not afraid of danger, then they should go first. If they go, return safely, and gain people, then others can go after them. No matter what, people’s safety must be guaranteed in preaching the gospel. Absolutely do not take risks in areas where it is dangerous and unsuitable for preaching the gospel. Do not assume that any place outside mainland China is safe; this is an illusion, a distorted understanding. Only ignorant people think this way—such people understand far too little about this world! Do not assume that because most Western countries have freedom of belief and there are relatively many people who believe in the Lord, you can openly preach the gospel and openly express various statements exposing how dark and evil the religious community is; if you do this, the consequences will be unimaginable. You must understand that when preaching the gospel, whether to religious people or to nonbelievers, you are facing corrupt humankind, humankind that resists God. Do not think of this matter too simplistically.

If leaders and workers want to guarantee the safety of gospel workers, they must thoroughly consider all aspects of the issue, and in the event that any problem arises, it should be promptly handled, and afterward, experiences and lessons should be summarized to find the principles and path of practice, determining how to practice going forward—this is also an important item of work that must be done. There are some matters that leaders and workers have not considered or encountered before; after problems arise, they should summarize: “Should we still go to that kind of place? Is this way of dispatching people correct? Should we adjust the plans, strategy, or direction for the next steps in preaching the gospel or doing any other important work?” In the continual process of summarizing, the leaders and workers should gradually determine the methods and principles of the work, so that the more they do the work, the more specific it is and the more it reaches the expected standard, with fewer contingencies occurring, or no contingencies occurring, or even, without making important work personnel take on any risks. To achieve this result, leaders and workers should frequently summarize experiences and gain an understanding of the various environments and situations that are faced in various regions when preaching the gospel. The more information they obtain and the more accurate it is, the more accurate the principles and plans for handling matters will be, ultimately achieving the result of ensuring people’s safety. In this way, it can be ensured that the work of preaching the gospel proceeds in an orderly manner.

III. How to Deal with Leaders and Workers Who Do Not Pay Attention to Safety Work

Some leaders and workers have poor caliber and lack a sense of responsibility; they are unable to do real work and are also too lazy to do real work. In the areas they are responsible for, those doing important duties frequently encounter safety risks, requiring them to move or relocate, making them unable to do their duty with peace of mind. Even matters that should not occur happen frequently. For example, some leader or worker finds a host house which is situated in a low-lying area. When heavy rain and flooding are expected, fearing the house will be submerged, the brothers and sisters staying there need to move in advance—taking work equipment, pots, pans, and everything else, moving for two days straight. This makes everyone terribly exhausted, with their heads hanging low in despair. They say, “We’re moving every few days, always on the run. When will this end? Can’t we find a safe and reliable house where we can do our duty normally?” Such leaders and workers cannot even shoulder this bit of work; the brothers and sisters under them can neither eat nor sleep well, nor do they have adequate accommodations. Their living conditions are always temporary, with everyone prepared to flee disaster at any time. Once they finish using their everyday items, they quickly pack them away, since at any moment the situation might arise where a household registration check is announced. In fact, everyone knows this means checking for those who believe in God, so they must be ready to relocate at any time. Consequently, those doing duty are always fearful and have no sense of security. Doesn’t this impact the results of their duty? Isn’t this related to the work that the leaders and workers are doing? (Yes.) How are they doing with this work? (They are doing it poorly, not fulfilling their responsibility.) Some leaders and workers are irresponsible and lack dedication. They themselves do not have high standards for living conditions; as long as there is a place to shield them from the wind and rain, that is enough. Therefore, they also do not make every effort to find a safe and stable place for the brothers and sisters to live. Some leaders and workers have poor caliber; they do not know what kind of environment is quiet and suitable for living, or suitable for brothers and sisters to do their duty. They rent a low-lying house that no one else wants to rent, and after the brothers and sisters move in, within a few days they develop eczema, itching all over. What is going on? The house is too damp, with water seeping up from the floor. Can anyone live in such a place? Such leaders and workers cannot even solve this problem, they cannot find a house suitable for doing duty—what kind of caliber is this? Some other leaders and workers rent houses that constantly leak rain, let in drafts, have no soundproofing, or lack internet, water, or electricity—how can anyone live there? They ignore good houses and insist on renting these deficient ones—doesn’t this impede matters? Although the brothers and sisters aren’t roughing it outdoors, many basic facilities of the house are missing; they would be better off living in a tent. Even if most brothers and sisters are accustomed to hardship, feel that enduring this level of hardship is nothing extreme, and they can tolerate it, doesn’t constantly being tormented like this every few days affect their performance of duty? Therefore, if leaders and workers have poor caliber and lack a sense of responsibility, they cannot shoulder this work; they should promptly resign and recommend someone who can do this work well to take over, so that they don’t impact the lives and the performance of duty of the majority of important work personnel. Arranging placements for those doing important duties does not require considering every single aspect, but the basic living environment must at least be ensured. Only when there is assurance in this regard will the church’s work not be affected. Is this work easy to do? (Yes.) It’s simple to just say it’s easy to do, but if leaders and workers are muddled people with poor caliber and lack any sense of responsibility, they simply cannot do it. When leaders and workers cannot do this work or cannot do it well, so many people end up suffering the consequences, living every day as if they are fleeing a famine—how can they do their duty like this? Some false leaders do not understand the truth principles yet still like to be in the limelight. They cannot do the work well but refuse to step down, clinging to their position and not leaving. How should such leaders be dealt with? (They should be dismissed.) Dismissing them is easy; the problem is whether there is someone better to take over their work. If there isn’t, can you shoulder this work? Can you guarantee that important work personnel have a stable living environment? If one person cannot handle it, can the three or five of you coordinate together to shoulder this work? If you also cannot manage this work—if you cannot even do such a simple task, being unable to even ensure a basic living environment—then you must temporarily endure a bit more hardship and suffering. If you can still persist in doing your duty, and God, seeing that your resolve to endure hardship is sufficiently firm, sends someone who handles things reliably and who can resolve problems to do the work, then your days of suffering will be over and replaced by good times. If no one like this comes to resolve these problems, then you must accept your fate—you are destined to endure hardship, you are meant to endure it; you must settle your heart and endure it. In fact, enduring this bit of hardship is worthwhile; it is much better than being in prison and suffering torture. At least you are not subjected to torture or interrogation; you can still read God’s words, do your duty, and live church life together with the brothers and sisters. Although there are some scares, setbacks, and bumps in the road, and you frequently have to relocate, this is still an extraordinary experience in your life, from which you can learn lessons and gain something. Isn’t this quite good? (Yes.) People should have the resolve to endure hardship, and let God orchestrate as He wills. If you truly cannot endure this hardship, you may earnestly pray to God in your hearts: “God, we ask You to look upon us who are suffering—how pitiable we are! We follow You with no complaints or regrets! We ask You, in view of our unwavering loyalty to You, to bring an end to this life of hardship! We ask You to send a suitable leader or worker to find us a suitable place! We are constantly roughing it outdoors, moving from place to place every day, and we don’t know how long this will continue. We don’t want to be displaced any longer—please find us a stable dwelling!” Is it appropriate to pray in this way? You may pray this way; based on the needs of the environment, you should pray this way.

Enduring hardship, when looked at from another angle, is not such a bad thing; enduring some hardship can hone your will. What does it mean to hone your will? It means that through constantly enduring this hardship, you become numb to it and no longer recognize it as hardship; no matter how much hardship you endure, you no longer feel pained. However, when confronted with situations, you must learn some lessons, gain some insight, and learn how to discern people. If a leader or worker has extremely poor caliber and cannot even do the work of arranging placements properly, how could they provide for and lead God’s chosen people? Such people are not fit to be leaders or workers. God’s house is not without money to rent houses, and it is not willing to see brothers and sisters constantly without a fixed place to live. God’s house does not advocate for people to always endure hardship or live difficult lives every day, though of course it does not shy away from people enduring any hardship either. But if leaders and workers cannot even handle the work of arranging placements, and doing anything proper is truly a struggle for them, then what is there left for them to boast about? Each and every one of them looks presentable, has diplomas, and is a person of status, yet handling this small matter is such a struggle for them. In that case, there’s nothing to be done—you can only accept it from God. This is the hardship people ought to endure; you should let God orchestrate as He wills. This is correct. Perhaps one day, this hardship will be followed by better days, and this kind of life will no longer continue. No matter what kind of environment you are in, you should maintain an attitude of submission and avoid complaining. If a certain leader or worker is unreliable and does not do the work well, do not let it affect your sincerity and loyalty to God, and do not let it affect your submission to God and attitude of submission toward God. In this way, you will have stood firm in this matter. Leaders and workers are just ordinary people. If they have poor caliber and cannot do the work, or if they are false leaders who do not fulfill their responsibility, that is their personal problem and has nothing to do with God’s house. It is not God’s house that instructed them to act this way; it is merely that they have been revealed because of their irresponsibility. They cannot complete the work entrusted to them by God’s house, and thus can only be dismissed and eliminated. In such circumstances, when God’s chosen people endure this hardship, they must accept it from God and let God orchestrate as He wills. Even if leaders and workers have not done the work well or they have any problems, the fact that God is the truth, the way, and life is forever unchanging. Your following God, submitting to God, and accepting God’s words should never change. These are eternal truths. While doing your duty, no matter what unpleasant matters arise, you should accept them from God and learn the lessons within. You should quiet yourself before God and pray to Him, and not let yourself be affected by the outside world. You must learn to adapt to various environments and learn to experience God’s work in all kinds of environments. Only in this way can you achieve life entry. Some people have small stature; when hardship arises, they complain and become worried, feeling distressed and losing faith in God—this is extremely foolish and ignorant! Leaders and workers who do not do real work have been revealed and eliminated, but what does that have to do with you? Why would you become negative and distant from God just because they arranged things inappropriately? Isn’t this utterly rebellious? (It is.) When people do something wrong, you may discern and reject them, but do not reject God or reject the truth. The truth is not wrong, God is not wrong. God’s original intent is not for people to endure such hardship; but for corrupt humankind, enduring some hardship is indeed necessary. Enduring a bit of hardship is beneficial to you; the benefit is that you learn lessons and learn to seek the truth to resolve problems. If you are able to endure various hardships, you gain some endurance, and become able to stand firm in your testimony in all kinds of environments. Being able to endure hardship hones your resolve to submit to God. This is God’s original intent and the result God wants to see in you. If you can understand God’s intentions and act and practice according to God’s intentions; if you can refrain from abandoning God no matter what kind of people or environments you encounter; and if you can learn to practice the truth, have submission to God, have a correct comprehension and attitude, maintain unchanging faith in God, and refrain from complaining about God or distancing yourself from Him in your heart, regardless of how much suffering your flesh endures; then you have stature.

Leaders and workers must protect the safety of those doing important duties, shielding them from the interference of the outside world. This work involves many details. For one thing, leaders and workers should understand how to specifically implement these detailed tasks. Additionally, when encountering certain special situations, they must make accurate judgments, then find the appropriate principles and develop specific plans for handling the situations. The ultimate goal is to ensure the safety of all sorts of important work personnel. Only in this way can it be guaranteed that the work of preaching the gospel proceeds in an orderly manner. Adhering to this principle is correct; this is the goal and principle of leaders and workers in doing this work. If leaders and workers adhere to this goal and principle accurately, then they are basically up to standard in doing this work. What other problems are involved in this work? Some people say, “I’ve never been a leader or worker before, nor have I encountered these kinds of matters. I don’t know what I should do in this work, and I don’t know how to do it. So, I don’t have to do it—who cares whether you’re safe or not? You handle it yourselves.” Is it acceptable for them to simply wash their hands of the matter? (No, it isn’t.) Such leaders and workers should be removed. If you don’t do real work, what use are you? Do we keep you around as a decoration because you look good? Leaders and workers like this must be dismissed and eliminated; they should not be allowed to occupy a position without doing any work. False leaders do not do real work—they don’t have a conscience or reason, do they? If they truly had a conscience and reason, why would they not seek the truth to resolve problems when they arise? No one is born knowing everything; everyone learns as they go. If you can seek the truth, you will find a way to do the work well. If you have a sense of responsibility, you will think of a way to do the work well. Doing leadership work is actually not difficult; as long as one can seek the truth, it is easy to do the work well. Additionally, leaders and workers have partners; as long as two or three people are of one heart and mind, any work is easy to accomplish. Currently, many leaders and workers are training; they are training in seeking the truth in all things to resolve problems. At this point, at least some leaders and workers are competent in leadership work and are fully capable of doing the work of spreading the gospel well, right? (Right.) So, we’ll fellowship up to this point for today. Goodbye!

July 20, 2024