II. False Leaders Who Are of Poor Caliber

We just fellowshipped on the manifestations a type of false leader has regarding promptly reporting and seeking how to resolve confusions and difficulties encountered in the work, along with the reasons why people like this aren’t able to fulfill the responsibilities of leaders and workers. Such people are pseudo-spiritual; because they can’t discover the confusions and difficulties in the work, they’re not able to fulfill this responsibility. This is one type of person. There is another type of person: They are the same as those pseudo-spiritual people—they also aren’t able to discover the problems that exist in the work, and that’s why they’re not able to promptly report them to the Above and seek solutions from the Above, either. Such people are busy with work as well, they busy themselves all day without being idle. They’re busy giving sermons, busy calling in on brothers and sisters in various places, busy making arrangements for the work, and even busy buying all sorts of items for the church work. If someone gets sick, they help them find a doctor; if someone has difficulties at home, they help them by arranging financial relief; if someone is in a bad state, they take the initiative to support them and actively help resolve their problems. In short, they’re always busy with some general affairs work. They’re indifferent to the real work of the church, the gospel work, and problems in church life. Every day, they tire themselves out rushing around, and they keep themselves busy handling and resolving the affairs of the church and the private matters of brothers and sisters. They think that, as leaders, they should perform these tasks, but they never realize what the essential work of a leader is, and no matter how hard they work, they still can’t find the real and critical problems that exist in the church. And so, when disturbances and obstacles arise in church life, and when God’s chosen people encounter difficulties in life entry, these leaders aren’t able to promptly resolve these things. Although they’re busy working and go every day without being idle, what can they even achieve by being this busy? There are many problems present in the church work, but they aren’t able to discover them. From the outside, they appear to be diligent, conscientious, and not idle, yet one problem after another arises in the work, and they’re busy patching up holes, busy resolving all manner of “complex and difficult problems” and dealing with all kinds of evil people and people who cause disturbances and disruptions that appear in the church. They busy themselves with work like this, yet they aren’t able to discern even the most basic problems. They aren’t able to discern clearly what good humanity is and what bad humanity is, what good caliber is and what poor caliber is, what possessing real talent and knowledge is and what having gifts is. They also cannot see through to which kinds of people God’s house cultivates and which kinds it eliminates, which people pursue the truth and which don’t, which people willingly do their duty and which don’t do their duty, which people can be perfected into God’s people, and which people are laborers, and so on. They treat those who can talk big and spout empty theories, but cannot do real work, as key targets for cultivation, and they arrange for them to perform and entrust them with important work, whereas they delay the promotion and cultivation of those who have pure comprehension, caliber, and the ability to understand the truth, just because those people haven’t believed in God for very long or have revealed an arrogant disposition. Problems like this often arise in the church and this has an impact on the progress of the church work. These are the true problems, and yet this type of leader can’t see or discover them and is even totally unaware of them. When evil people cause disturbances and disruptions, they give them a chance to undergo observation and reflect on themselves, whereas when others, who are not evil people, occasionally make some small errors because they’re young and ignorant and act without principles—errors that are not issues of principle—this type of leader treats these errors as unforgivable sins and sends these people home. This type of false leader is busy with work every day and, from the outside, they appear to be putting in a lot of effort and spending a lot of their time, yet no matter how they work, no one receives true life provision from it. No matter what problems and difficulties God’s chosen people have, this type of false leader can’t resolve them by fellowshipping on the truth, and all they can do is exhort them with a loving heart, and preach words and doctrines to encourage God’s chosen people. Therefore, under the leadership of such people, God’s chosen people receive no life provision, they just believe in God and do their duties based on enthusiasm, and achieve no life entry—how long can they go on like this for? As a result, some people are often negative and weak and always longing for the day of God to arrive, and the visions become more and more unclear to them, and when they encounter issues, they come to have notions and misunderstandings about God, and some even come to doubt God and guard against Him. False leaders, when faced with these problems, are totally unable to resolve them, and all they do is evade them. They never read God’s words or pray to God with God’s chosen people to seek the truth and resolve issues—they never perform this work. Every day, they just busy themselves with some general affairs work and certain external matters, matters that have nothing to do with life entry or the truth. They think that as long as they’re busy doing things, then this means they’re doing their duty and fulfilling their responsibilities, and that they can’t possibly be false leaders. In fact, them busying themselves with these general affairs does not help the brothers and sisters progress in life at all, much less enable God’s chosen people to enter the truth reality. Tell Me, is there not a problem with the caliber of this type of false leader? They can’t see through to anything, and they think that so long as they are busy working, then all problems will just disappear, and get resolved indirectly. Aren’t these people so very muddled? Isn’t their caliber so very poor? They can’t see through to anything, they can’t do any real work, and this makes them bona fide false leaders and false workers. This is a matter that is easiest to discern.

False leaders and false workers are present now in churches everywhere. They just rely on their enthusiasm to work and have no understanding of the truth at all. They don’t know what the work of a leader or worker is, nor are they capable of fellowshipping on the truth to resolve issues—they just spend all day blindly busying themselves with some general affairs work. For instance, say the church needs to purchase an item. This is not a big task; someone who is knowledgeable in the relevant area just needs to be arranged to go buy it. A false leader, however, was afraid of spending too much money, and so they arranged for someone to visit several places to purchase the cheapest one. The result of this was that they bought a cheap product which broke after just a few days of being used, and they needed to go buy another one. Not only did they not save money but, conversely, they ended up spending more. Is this a principled way to handle the task? There’s no need to buy a famous brand when making a purchase, but the appropriate thing to do is to at least buy something that is of suitable quality and usable. False leaders worry a lot about general affairs work, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, they don’t take the critical work of God’s house seriously, and this is a big mistake; it is them not performing essential work. Items of work such as gospel work, film production work, text-based work, experiential testimony video work, and the work of adjusting the duties of leaders and workers, are all crucial, and yet false leaders don’t think they are important, and they put these items of work to one side and ignore them. They are of insufficient caliber and don’t know how to do the work, but they don’t try to learn either, instead thinking, “It’s fine as long as there is someone in charge of this work. Surely I’m not needed as well? I handle the important jobs. These are just minor things that I don’t need to bother with. Once I’ve told them the principles, then that’s my job done.” False leaders appear on the outside to be very busy, but when you look at the things they’re busy working on, not one of them is a critical piece of church work, not one of them is a piece of work that provides for people’s lives, and not one of them is a piece of work that involves using the truth to resolve issues. The things they busy themselves with have no value whatsoever, and these false leaders are simply blindly keeping busy. They don’t know what work leaders and workers should do in order to accord with God’s intentions; they just rely on their enthusiasm to busy themselves with certain tasks they enjoy doing. They make detailed inquiries about trivial matters unrelated to the church work, such as what clothes brothers and sisters wear, what hairstyles they have, how they interact with others, and how they talk and behave. They think this is them being amiable and approachable, and that resolving the issues in people’s real lives is something a leader ought to do, something normal humanity should possess. And yet they don’t take seriously the critical work of gospel work, film production work, hymn work, text-based work, administrative work, the work of watering new believers, the work of establishing churches, the work of promoting and cultivating people, and so on. They don’t participate in any of this work, and they don’t follow up on it; it’s as though this work has nothing to do with them. These false leaders don’t resolve the many problems that are accumulating in the church, they don’t dismiss the false leaders they should dismiss, they don’t restrict or handle evil people who do evil and run amok doing bad things, and they don’t fellowship on the truth to resolve the issue of some people being perfunctory, unrestrained and undisciplined, and dragging their heels in the performance of their duties. What problem is this? They don’t seek the truth to resolve these actual problems—are they people who do real work? The insignificant and irrelevant tasks they perform feel crucial and important to them in their hearts. They busy themselves with those worthless things all day, believing that they are fulfilling their responsibilities and being loyal, but they don’t do a single essential item of work that God has entrusted to them—aren’t people such as these false leaders? They’re the equivalent of directors of sub-district offices in society, they are simply neighborhood busybodies—are they still the leaders and workers of God’s house then? They are bona fide false leaders and false workers. For what reason are these people characterized as false leaders and false workers? (Because their caliber is too poor, they can’t do real work, and all they can do is handle some trivial matters.) This is the specific reason. The caliber of these people is too poor; no matter how many sermons they listen to, how many work arrangements they read, how many years they do their duty for in God’s house, or how many years they are leaders for, they never know what they’re doing, whether what they’re doing is right or wrong, or whether they’re fulfilling the responsibilities they should fulfill. Their definition of the label and title of leaders and workers is that it’s fine so long as they’re busy. Like a donkey turning a millstone, they keep pulling until they can’t move anymore, and they consider this to be fulfilling their responsibilities. No matter which direction they pull in, and no matter whether the energy they put into pulling is correct or not, to them they are fulfilling their responsibilities. There are many issues that they aren’t able to see through, and they don’t try to resolve them or report them to the Above and seek solutions from the Above. Regardless of how many years they work for or how many years they’re in contact with people for, they don’t even know if a person’s manifestations are those of a new believer who has a shallow foundation in their faith and doesn’t understand the truth or if they are those of a disbeliever, and they also don’t know how they should discern or characterize them. When there are two people who are both in a negative state, they don’t know which of them is worth cultivating and which of them isn’t; when two people are somewhat perfunctory in doing their duties, they can’t tell which of them is a pursuer of the truth and which of them is a laborer, which of them is capable of entering the truth reality and which of them has no truth reality. They don’t know which people will potentially follow the path of antichrists once they become leaders, even if they’ve associated with these people for years. No matter how many pointless exercises they engage in or how many useless jobs they perform or how many problems there are around them, they are unaware of it, and they do not realize these are issues. Because such people are of poor caliber, muddled in thought, and incapable of performing work, it is very difficult for them to fulfill the responsibilities of a leader or worker. Apart from being able to do some simple general affairs work, these leaders and workers aren’t capable of doing anything related to the essential work of the church, and they aren’t able to see or resolve any real problems in the work. Can this kind of leader with this sort of caliber be worth cultivating? They don’t even know what confusions or difficulties are, and they fall even shorter of handling them according to the principles. Even if the problems encountered in the church work are ones that are very common, they still can’t summarize and classify them, nor do they know how to fellowship on the truth to resolve them—this type of false leader is uniformly unable to handle or resolve these problems that often arise in the church. Their biggest issue is not that they’re unwilling to pay a price, or that they fear being busy and feeling tired, but rather it is that they have poor caliber, an unclear mind, and they aren’t able to do the important work and real work of the church. Instead they just do some general affairs work or enjoy concerning themselves with some irrelevant things, and then they want to play the role of leaders and workers—aren’t they muddled people with ambitions and desires that are too great? Leaders with poor caliber are uniformly incapable of doing the core work of the church, which is work that involves the truth principles, or complicated professional work, such as the work of spreading the gospel, the work of watering new believers in the church, film production work, text-based work, and personnel work that involves leaders and workers at various levels. Why are they incapable of doing this work? It’s because their caliber is too poor and they can’t grasp the principles; they uniformly fall short of all this work and are incapable of learning how to do it. For instance, say that a leader like this is given five people and asked to allocate work to these five people based on their level of education, their caliber and strengths, and their character. Is this an easy task to perform? Does this have anything to do with the caliber of leaders and workers? (Yes.) Leaders and workers of average caliber will allocate work relatively accurately after spending some time observing, associating with, and getting to know the five people. Leaders and workers of poor caliber will think that five people is too many; when there are too many people, they become confused and don’t know how to allocate work to them, and even if they do allocate them work, they won’t know in their hearts whether they’re doing it in an appropriate manner or not. This is in terms of the personnel aspect. When it comes to handling matters, for example, if they need to handle and resolve two or three matters simultaneously, they won’t know how to judge and discern the relationship between these matters, nor will they be able to weigh up which problem they ought to solve first, and which problem can be solved after without any delays being caused. That is to say, they don’t know how to weigh up pros and cons, they don’t know how to prioritize tasks in order of importance and urgency, and they don’t know how to solve problems. However, because they are leaders and workers, even though they don’t understand something they must pretend that they do, even though they don’t comprehend something they must pretend that they do, and there is nothing they can do except hang in there and preach some doctrines to muddle through, and say a few pleasant-sounding words and hastily wrap things up. They are perfectly clear on whether what they say is accurate or not, on whether it accords with the principles or not, on whether it can resolve issues or not, but they just want to muddle through. They know very well that they won’t be able to resolve issues with what they’re doing, but they still don’t report the problems to the Above, and so they end up causing delays to the work and being dismissed. Tell Me, aren’t these people fools? When some leaders and workers report problems, they recount all the old, unimportant events that have passed right up to the present day, and after they’ve said a bunch of stuff, you still have to help them analyze and judge what problems are present. They don’t even understand how to raise an issue, and they can talk for hours without explaining clearly what the focus and essence of an issue are. Everything they say just relates to surface-level things and is just a lot of nonsense! Isn’t this a case of their caliber being too poor and them being a few cards short of a full deck? Are people with caliber willing to listen to these things? The person they’re speaking to just wants to know what the current situation and manifestations of the person they’re reporting are, and what state they’re confused about and unable to resolve. And yet, these people always talk about what work that person did in the past, and they don’t talk about that person’s present situation, or say what confusions and problems they themselves have. They say a bunch of stuff, and no one can tell exactly what it is they’re talking about. Even if they want to ask a question, they don’t know where to start, they don’t know how to express it in a way that can be effective and allow people to understand them—they don’t even have the ability to organize their language. Isn’t this a manifestation of having extremely poor caliber? Some false leaders have poor caliber, and when they report an issue, they say a load of nonsensical and unintelligible things, and then they think, “I’ve given you a sufficiently large amount of information, right? I’ve even told you everything past and present about this issue, so can’t you tell now what the question is that I want to ask?” No matter what you ask them or how you guide them, they don’t know what to say and can never say the key point of the issue. It’s not that they lack the words to express themselves or that they have a low level of education, but rather it is that their caliber is poor and they’re brainless, so they don’t know how to express these things, their minds are muddled, and they can’t explain themselves clearly so that others can understand them. They have some sense of burden, and as time goes on, they come to have some awareness of certain issues, but they don’t know how to express them, they’re not able to comprehend what the essence of the issues is, much less can they summarize the issues. Can people whose caliber is this poor do work? Can they fulfill the responsibilities of leaders and workers? No, they can’t. Even if you give them time and opportunities and allow them to report and describe the problems, they can’t do it, so can you still have a conversation with such people? Can they still be used? (No.) Why can’t they be used? They can’t even speak clearly, and they don’t even have the bare minimum instinct of a human being to use language to express their thoughts, ideas, and attitudes, so what work can they do? Although they may have some strength, genuine enthusiasm, a bit of a sense of responsibility, and quite an upright heart, their caliber is too poor, they can’t learn anything no matter how you teach them, and even if you teach them how to talk they won’t be able to get the hang of it, and so you will get agitated and angry. When they speak, they make a mess of it, leaving you confused; they can’t say anything clearly, and what they say is simply a load of nonsense. The most pitiful thing about them is that they don’t understand human language and yet they still keep acting blindly, they still think they’re capable, and they are defiant when you prune them. How can they do a leader’s work well? When a leader’s or worker’s caliber is so poor that they have no ability to express themselves in language, can they still be competent in the work? (No.) And what does not being competent in their work signify? It signifies that they’re incapable of promptly discovering the difficulties and problems encountered in the work and, of course, it signifies that no matter what issues arise in the work, they can never resolve them promptly, nor can they promptly report them to the Above and seek solutions from the Above—this is too difficult for them, and they are incapable of doing it. When it comes to people such as these who possess poor caliber, this work is extremely difficult for them; it’s like trying to get a duck to sit on a perch or a donkey to dance—it is very strenuous.

Some say, “I feel bad for those people. They bustle around so much handling all sorts of tasks, and they end up being characterized as false leaders because of their poor caliber. So, does that mean that the suffering they’ve endured has all been in vain? Isn’t that treating people unjustly?” Dismissing false leaders means taking responsibility for God’s chosen people and for the work of the church, so how can it be treating people unjustly? If these people insist on letting false leaders continue in their role as leaders, isn’t this harming God’s chosen people? Do they mean to say that harming God’s chosen people isn’t treating people unjustly? By dismissing a false leader, God’s house is not condemning that false leader, nor is it sending that false leader down to hell, but instead it is giving that person a chance to attain salvation. Can they attain salvation if they continue to be a false leader? What will their final outcome be? Why don’t these people consider the issue in this way? Moreover, what is the purpose of believing in God? Surely being a leader isn’t the only way forward? Are there no other duties to do if one is not a leader? Is there no path for survival for those who aren’t leaders and possess poor caliber? (No, that’s not true.) So, what then is the path of practice? What we are now dissecting are the manifestations of and the problems that exist in this type of false leader who is of poor caliber; we are not condemning or cursing them, we are just dissecting them. The purpose of dissecting them is to get this type of person to accurately know and orient themselves, to know their own measure, and to accurately understand what leaders and workers are, what work leaders and workers should do, and then compare these things with themselves to see whether they are suited to being a leader or worker. If their caliber really is very poor, so poor that they don’t have the ability to express themselves in language, or the ability to express their thoughts and views, or the ability to discover problems, then they are not suited to being a leader or worker, they are not competent to do the duty of a leader or worker, and they are incapable of doing the work of a leader or worker. And since they are of poor caliber, they must have this kind of self-awareness. Some people say, “My caliber is poor—well, so what? I have good humanity, so I should be a leader.” Is this the principle? Others say, “Besides having good humanity, I’m also willing to endure suffering and pay a price, I can preach sermons, I have a foundation in my faith, and I’ve been imprisoned for my belief in God. Don’t these things count as capital for me to be a leader or worker?” Is it the truth that one must have capital to be a leader or worker? (No.) What we’re discussing now are the responsibilities of leaders and workers and, within this topic, we’re talking about the issue of caliber. If their caliber is poor and they aren’t able to fulfill these responsibilities, then the self-awareness they should have is: “I don’t have this caliber and I can’t be a leader or worker. Whatever capital I have, it’s of no use.” They say that they have good humanity, that they’re reliable, that they have the resolve to endure suffering, and that they’re willing to pay a price—has God’s house treated them unfairly then? God’s house uses people in such a way as to put everyone to their best use, tailoring roles to suit each person, and does so in a way that is just right. If these people have good humanity but their caliber is poor, then they should do their duty well with all their heart and strength; it’s not the case that a person must be a leader or worker in order to be approved of by God. Even though they’re willing to trouble themselves, they’re not able to trouble themselves in the way that a leader must, and they don’t possess the caliber they should have to be a leader, and they fall short of it, what can they then do? They shouldn’t force themselves or make things hard for themselves; if they can carry 25 kilos, then they should carry 25 kilos. They shouldn’t try to show off by pushing themselves beyond their limits, saying, “25 kilos isn’t enough. I want to carry even more. I want to carry 50 kilos. I’m willing to do it even if I die from exhaustion!” They’re not capable of being a leader or worker, but if they still keep pushing themselves beyond their limits to show off, though they won’t get worn out, they will cause delays to the church work, they will affect the progress and efficiency of the work, and they will delay the life progress of many people—this is not a responsibility that they can afford to bear. Because they are of insufficient caliber, if they have self-awareness, they should proactively offer to resign and nominate someone of good caliber, who loves the truth, and who is more responsible than them to be a leader or worker. This would be the sensible thing to do, and only in so doing would they be someone who really has humanity and reason, and someone who really understands and practices the truth. If they resign from their post because they’re incapable of doing the work of a leader, and they then choose a duty that suits them and offer up their loyalty so that they can be approved of by God, then they are an exceptionally smart person. These people always think, “Although I am of poor caliber, I have good humanity, I’m willing to trouble myself, endure suffering, and pay a price, I have resolve, I’m more resilient than all of you in everything I do, and I’m broadminded and not afraid of being pruned or tried. Even though my caliber is a little poor, I can still be a leader.” Having poor caliber is not a problem. This is not meant as a condemnation of these people, it is just meant to classify them and to get them to understand clearly exactly what they can do and what kind of duty they are suited to. The current issue, however, is that their caliber is poor and they aren’t capable of being a leader or worker. Even though they’ve been elected to be a leader or worker, they aren’t able to do this work well, and all they are able to do is mess the work up. If these people have good humanity, if they have conscience and reason, and they’re willing to trouble themselves and pay a price, then there will be a job that they are suited to do and a duty they should do, and God’s house will make reasonable arrangements for them. Not permitting them to be a leader is based on the regulations and principles of God’s house. However, God’s house absolutely will not deny them their right to do a duty or their right to believe in and follow God because they are of poor caliber. Isn’t this appropriate? (Yes, it is.) Is it necessary for us to fellowship on this matter in more detail? Some people with poor caliber hear this and ponder, “Don’t fellowship on this anymore. I feel too ashamed to face anybody. I know I am of poor caliber, and I won’t be a church leader or worker anymore. I’ll just be a team leader or supervisor, or else I’ll do odd jobs, cooking, or cleaning. Anything is fine. I’ll bear the hardship of my post without complaint, submit to the arrangements of God’s house, and submit to God’s orchestrations. My being of poor caliber is by the grace of God, and God’s good intentions are in it. Everything God does is right.” If they can see things this way, then that’s good, and it means they have some self-awareness. I won’t fellowship on this issue at length. In sum, in terms of these people with poor caliber, we’re just dissecting the problem and exposing the truth of the facts so that more people have the correct attitude and perspective regarding these people, and so that these people have the correct attitude and perspective regarding the issue of their own poor caliber, and can then accurately orient themselves, find a position and duty which suits them, allowing their perseverance in paying a price and their resolve to endure suffering to be reasonably put to use and brought into play. This does not impact them understanding the truth and practicing the truth, nor does it impact their image in God’s house.