Two Criteria for Judging Whether Leaders and Workers Are Up to Standard

We’ve now fellowshipped on eight of the responsibilities of leaders and workers in total, and with regard to these eight responsibilities we’ve dissected the various manifestations of false leaders. By dissecting them in this way, do you now have some discernment of false leaders? If you are a leader, can you avoid engaging in these practices of false leaders? Can you consciously perform work and fulfill the responsibilities of leaders and workers based on the responsibilities that we’ve fellowshipped on? Through the fellowship on the responsibilities of leaders and workers, you should now know in your heart how leaders and workers ought to perform their work, what details are involved in performing this work, how they ought to implement work, and how they ought to practice being up-to-standard leaders and workers. If a person’s caliber is sufficient, if they possess a certain degree of work capability, and they also bear a burden, then they should be able to avoid exhibiting these manifestations of false leaders. However, if a person has caliber and possesses a certain degree of work capability, but they do not bear a burden, are they then capable of being an up-to-standard leader and fulfilling the responsibilities of leaders and workers? (No.) It’s a bit difficult for them to do this. Suppose that a leader bears a burden and their humanity isn’t poor, but they just don’t know how to perform their work. No matter how they’re fellowshipped with, they still don’t know how to implement and participate in specific work, and they cannot find the principles or direction. They also don’t know how to provide guidance for specific professions or work. When issues occur they can’t find the essence of those problems, and they don’t know how to solve them. Consequently, they’re always very passive and slow in any work they do or in any issue they’re handling. Can such a person fulfill the responsibilities of leaders and workers? (No.) What kind of problem is this? Although this kind of person is very enthusiastic, bears a burden, and want to perform their work, their caliber is too poor, they don’t possess work capability and can’t take on the work, or perform specific work or solve specific issues; they just go through the motions when they participate in any of the work, and they are very slow-witted, numb, and passive. The result of this is that many issues arise, yet they’re incapable of beginning to work on them, they don’t know where they stem from, much less do they know how to fellowship on them and solve them, and they aren’t even able to report the issues to the Above and seek from them. Therefore, they’re not capable of fulfilling the responsibilities of leaders and workers, and even if they get selected to become a leader, they’re not a good leader—they are a false leader.

Now that we’ve fellowshipped on eight responsibilities of leaders and workers, are you able to come up with a basic definition of a false leader? How should one judge if a leader is fulfilling the responsibilities of leaders and workers, or if they are a false leader? At the most basic level, one must look at whether they are capable of doing real work, at whether or not they have this caliber. Then, one should look at whether they have the burden to do this work well. Ignore how nice the things they say sound and how much they seem to understand the doctrines, and ignore how talented and gifted they are when they handle external matters—these things are not important. What is most crucial is whether they are able to properly carry out the most fundamental items of work of the church, whether they can solve problems using the truth, and whether they can lead people into the truth reality. This is the most fundamental and essential work. If they are incapable of doing these items of real work, then no matter how good their caliber is, how talented they are, or how much they can endure hardship and pay a price, they are still a false leader. Some people say, “Forget that they don’t do any real work now. They have good caliber and they’re capable. If they train for a while, they are bound to be able to do real work. Besides, they haven’t done anything bad and they haven’t done evil or caused disruptions or disturbances—how can You say that they are a false leader?” How can we explain this? It doesn’t matter how talented you are, what level of caliber and education you possess, how many slogans you can shout, or how many words and doctrines are in your grasp; regardless of how busy you are or how exhausted you are in a day, or how far you’ve traveled, how many churches you visit, or how much risk you take and suffering you endure—none of these matter. What matters is whether you are performing your work based on the work arrangements, whether you are accurately implementing those arrangements; whether, during your leadership, you are participating in every specific work you are responsible for, and how many real issues you have actually resolved; how many individuals have come to understand the truth principles because of your leadership and guidance, and how much the church’s work has advanced and developed—what matters is whether or not you have achieved these results. Regardless of the specific work you’re involved in, what matters is whether you are consistently following up on and directing the work rather than acting high and mighty and issuing orders. Besides this, what also matters is whether or not you have life entry while doing your duty, whether you can deal with matters according to principles, whether you possess a testimony of putting the truth into practice, and whether you can handle and resolve the real issues faced by God’s chosen people. These and other similar things are all criteria for assessing whether or not a leader or worker has fulfilled their responsibilities. Would you say that these criteria are practical? And fair toward people? (Yes.) They are fair for everyone. No matter your level of education, whether you are young or old, how many years you have believed in God, your seniority, or how much of God’s word you have read, none of this is important. What matters is how well you do the church work after being chosen as a leader, how effective and efficient you are in your work, and whether each item of work progresses in an organized and effective manner, and is not delayed. These are the main things that are evaluated when measuring whether a leader or worker has or has not fulfilled their responsibilities.

Through the fellowship we just engaged in, you now have a somewhat clear understanding and knowledge of the responsibilities of leaders and workers, as well as an accurate statement about the definition and essence of a false leader. The most basic criterion for judging whether someone is a false leader is to look at whether they are capable of performing real work, and then to look at whether they actually do real work. These are the two main criteria: One is a question of whether or not they are capable, and one is a question of whether or not they are willing. Can you remember these things? Some people say, “I’m not a leader, so why should I remember these things?” Is this remark correct? (No.) Why is it incorrect? Through understanding these truths, people can in one respect come to know themselves, and in another respect, they can come to discern other people—these are the truths people should understand and possess, and it will not do to not understand them. First of all, you must measure whether you possess the caliber and ability to be a leader according to the responsibilities of leaders and workers. If you don’t possess these things, then don’t keep wanting to be a leader. If you don’t possess the caliber to be a leader but still want to be one, then that is ambition; as soon as you become a leader, you won’t be capable of performing real work, and you will inevitably become a false leader. Some people say, “I have good caliber; among everyone, I am outstanding. I often come up with some good ideas, and some clever and good suggestions. I have a knack for everything I do, and I have relatively rich knowledge, insights, and experience. Doesn’t all this mean that I can be a leader?” They should also measure themselves to see if they have a sense of responsibility and bear a burden, then. If they only have opinions on things, and only wish to do things, and always have great ambitions but can’t follow through on them, and they don’t know how to make an effort and pay the price, and aren’t willing to pay any price—if they always want their brain and heart to be in a relaxed state, if they like to be idle and unfettered, to have a comfortable life, and don’t like to worry or be busy, and fear fatigue and hardship—then they’re not suited to being a leader, and they’ll be unable to either take on or perform the work of a leader.

We just now summarized two criteria for judging whether a leader is up to standard: Whether they are capable of performing real work and whether they do real work. If people understand these two criteria, then they should be completely clear on whether they are capable of being a leader, as well as whether they are capable of doing church work well, thoroughly fulfilling their responsibilities, and being an up-to-standard leader after becoming one. To those who are currently serving as leaders and workers, do you now have some paths and some principles for how to measure whether you’ve done some real work and fulfilled the responsibilities of leaders and workers? Through fellowshipping on these eight responsibilities of leaders and workers, you should be able to gauge what manifestations false leaders exhibit and summarize exactly how leaders and workers should perform their work, as well as where in your work you are lacking, inadequate, or not specific enough, and how you should do the work from now on—you should have these insights at the very least. If you have no conclusions or insights concerning how to be a leader or worker or how to fulfill the responsibilities of leaders and workers, then that means your caliber isn’t up to the task. Moreover, if you’re totally confused about how to discern false leaders, then this shows even more that your caliber is poor. There is also a special circumstance: There are some who, despite having listened to these fellowships, have no resolve to strive for the truth or to fulfill the responsibilities of leaders and workers, who simply don’t take the matter seriously or to heart. They think, “I don’t care about who’s a false leader. In any case, if I became a leader, I’d just do whatever the Above told me to do. I wouldn’t need to make so much of an effort or to expend so much thought.” When they listen to sermons, they are just going through the motions and killing time, and they know roughly a bit of what the sermon is specifically about, but they’re too lazy to summarize what truths and God’s requirements of man are being fellowshipped on, and they’re not willing to take these things to heart. They think, “It’s too much hassle to discern these matters. In any case, I require only one thing of myself, and that is to not do evil, to not cause disruptions and disturbances, and to not stand out from the crowd, and that’s enough. It’s so simple! This is a great way to live; I don’t make high demands of myself.” This is their only perspective no matter how they listen to sermons, and no one can change them; no matter how you fellowship on the truth, what method you use to fellowship, or what you fellowship on, you cannot touch their heart; they’re not bothered about whether they listen to these words or not, to them it makes little difference. This type of person muddles through life, and they don’t take anything seriously. To say nothing of fellowshipping on eight of the responsibilities of leaders and workers—even if we fellowship on all of them, they still won’t understand and won’t be able to summarize any principles or paths. People like this don’t love positive things, they’re not interested and can’t muster up any energy when it comes to the truth or any positive things, and instead they have a certain interest in eating, drinking, and pleasure-seeking. By fellowshipping on eight of the responsibilities of leaders and workers, in one respect, we have summarized certain responsibilities of leaders and workers, as well as how to perform work and fulfill one’s responsibilities as a leader or worker; in another respect, we have summarized certain specific manifestations exhibited by false leaders. We just now concluded two basic principles, two criteria, for discerning false leaders: One is whether someone is capable of performing real work, and the other is whether they actually do real work once they’ve understood the truth principles. Using these two criteria is the simplest and most appropriate method to date for gauging whether someone is a false leader or not.

Item Nine: Accurately Communicate, Issue, and Implement the Various Work Arrangements of the House of God in Accordance With Its Requirements, Providing Guidance, Supervision, and Urging, and Inspect and Follow Up on the Status of Their Implementation (Part One)

The Definition and Specific Items of Work Arrangements

Today, we will fellowship on the ninth responsibility of leaders and workers: “Accurately communicate, issue, and implement the various work arrangements of the house of God in accordance with its requirements, providing guidance, supervision, and urging, and inspect and follow up on the status of their implementation.” Considering this responsibility as a whole, what are leaders and workers required to implement? (The various work arrangements of God’s house.) The focal point of this responsibility is how to implement the various work arrangements of God’s house—this is the most important work for leaders and workers. Regardless of what level of leader or worker one is, as a leader or worker, one will always encounter work arrangements as well as the specific work of implementing work arrangements. Implementing various work arrangements is relevant to the work of every leader and worker, and this is a very important, very specific, and very fundamental work. Considering this point, isn’t it necessary to first fellowship specifically on what work arrangements are? (Yes.) So, what then are work arrangements? What are the scope and definition of work arrangements? Some people say, “Doesn’t the scope of work arrangements just cover certain tasks and content related to church work? And aren’t work arrangements just arranging and issuing these tasks and content?” What do you think of this explanation? Isn’t it all words and doctrines? (Yes, it is.) And what does “words and doctrines” mean? It means that, although no word of this explanation sounds wrong, after you hear it, you still don’t understand it; it’s just the same as if this hadn’t been explained at all. Let’s first give a definition of work arrangements in terms of a written description, so that people can have a basic concept of it in order to understand and know what exactly work arrangements are. Work arrangements are the specific plans and requirements made by God’s house for a specific item of work; they need to be communicated and implemented by leaders and workers, and they are also the requirements, tasks, and methods issued to all members of the church for a specific item of work—this is the definition of work arrangements. And what items are covered by work arrangements? Everyone knows this noun “items,” but shouldn’t there be some specific content that’s covered within the scope of these items? (Yes.) What content do you know about? (There’s gospel work, and there’s film production work.) That’s two items. (There are also certain requirements related to the church life and establishing the church’s administrative organizations.) What other work is there? (There’s the work of cleansing the church, as well as certain work related to the church’s management systems.) The specific content of work arrangements are as follows: item one, the church’s administrative work. This is the biggest item of work, and if the administrative work is not done well, there will be no church work at all. Item two, personnel work. This is a big item of work. Item three, gospel work. This is a big item of work, too. Item four, various kinds of professional work. The scope of this work is somewhat large, and it includes film production, text-based work, translation, music, video production, art, and so on. Item five, church life. Item six, the work of asset management. Item seven, cleansing work. Item eight, external affairs. Item nine, church welfare. For example, how the church resolves difficulties that arise in the homes of brothers and sisters, and what the church does about them, as well as visiting brothers and sisters in prison and how their families are to be looked after, and so on—all this comes under church welfare. Item ten, emergency plans. Sometimes, the church will issue certain emergency measures. For example, when the pandemic occurred, the church adopted a corresponding isolation system. Plans such as these all come under emergency work. Work arrangements basically involve these ten items. Any other minor item or special circumstance is included within these ten—basically, church work involves these ten major items. These are basically the scope of the various work arrangements issued by God’s house, right? (Right.) Now that these items have been confirmed, all of you should now understand the work arrangements of God’s house a little, and know that these are the major items of work in God’s house. This is the scope of the requirements God’s house has regarding the responsibilities of leaders and workers. The implication of this is that, as a leader or worker, the scope of your work and the responsibilities that you must fulfill cannot be separated from these items that are included in work arrangements—all these items are necessary. Apart from these items of work, of the things you are willing to do, do a bit of whatever you can do well, and God’s house has no additional requirements for your performance of your duty. Therefore, while you’re performing your work, you should be pondering how to carry out these items of work, what is required by the work arrangements of God’s house, what specific work you must do, how to implement it, whether it is being implemented well, what the current progress is, whether you have followed up on the work, whether there is any item of work that hasn’t been done well or in which deviations and flaws exist, and whether everyone participating in that item of work is actually doing work—you must always be pondering these things. Now that you have understood the specific items of work involved in work arrangements, is it necessary for Me to give a simple explanation of each of these items? Or perhaps you are thinking: “We’ve been in contact with these items of work for so many years and we understand them all; there’s no need to explain them again—fellowship on something important instead. This subject isn’t so important, it doesn’t matter whether we know about it or not, and we don’t want to hear about it.” Is it necessary to explain this subject further? (Yes.) Since it is necessary, let’s talk about it in simple terms. I’ll choose some items that you are relatively unfamiliar with, that are not so specific, that are a little abstract, and fellowship on them.

I. Administrative Work

Let’s begin by fellowshipping on item one, administrative work. Administrative work is relatively abstract and not sufficiently concrete, and many people don’t understand it. In particular, those who have only believed in God for a short time don’t really know about the formation of the church and its administrative work, and they don’t know what administration is. This administration is not the same as the administrative decrees issued by God. This administrative work mainly involves the specific stipulations of God’s house on the work of establishing churches. And what is the content of these specific stipulations? They include how churches are divided, how many people are in each church, how churches are given names, and so on. It has been stipulated in the work arrangements that churches be divided according to their natural geographical environment, with 30 to 50 people living relatively close to each other being classified as a church. For instance, say that area A includes three or four villages; if these villages contain 50 believers, then they can be classified as a church. They’ll have their own times and locations for holding gatherings, they’ll have church leaders and deacons, as well as specific church work to do, and they’ll all be managed together by this church. This is the stipulation concerning the division of churches and the number of members in churches. At the same time, this church will fall under the responsibility of a certain district, depending on which one it is located in, and that district will be responsible for all the various pieces of work in that church, such as the church life there, whether leaders and deacons are suitable, distributing books of God’s words, implementing the various work arrangements, and communicating the Above’s requirements, and so on. God’s house has specific work arrangements for things like the number of churches that compose a district, and the number of districts that make a region, as well as regions being responsible for districts, and districts being responsible for churches, which are administrative units. In simple terms, this is called administrative work, and it falls within the scope of the responsibilities of leaders and workers. So, what are the responsibilities that leaders and workers should fulfill? They must divide churches based on their natural geographical environment and location according to the work arrangements. If the number of people in a church keeps increasing with time, then the church should be divided again based on the number of people and the geographical environment. For example, if a church grows from 50 to 80 people, it should be divided into two churches; if these two churches in total grow from 80 people to 150 people, then they should be divided into three churches. If a church grows to have 70, 80, or 100 people and hasn’t yet been divided into two churches, then doesn’t it show that the leaders and workers in this church don’t understand the administrative work of God’s house? (It does.) At times like these, the leaders and workers should read the work arrangements concerning this subject—the church’s handbook on work arrangements contains specific stipulations. If a church is divided into two new churches, then each church must elect necessary leaders and workers such as church leaders, deacons, and so on. So, what should leaders and workers do? They should know and have a grasp of the number of people in the church and the status of the church’s establishment. This is the church’s administrative work, and it is the biggest item of work. There should be a church wherever God’s chosen people are, and once a church is established, leaders and workers must take responsibility for every aspect of that church’s work, such as distributing books of God’s words, managing church members, implementing work arrangements so that they know what the content of the work arrangements are. Administrative work mainly involves establishing churches, as well as establishing the administrative organizations and personnel of churches—these are all specific tasks within administrative work. What people ordinarily encounter this item of work more? New believer churches, gospel teams, as well as regional leaders, district leaders, and church leaders in areas in which the gospel is being spread, all encounter this work more. Moreover, administrative work also includes a special job, which is to separate churches into full-time duty churches, part-time duty churches, ordinary churches, and B groups, and this is another job that should be done by leaders and workers. Leaders and workers should have a grasp on how to separate churches, and the principle of separating churches is to divide people into different churches based on differences in the duties they do, to separate people who do a duty from people who don’t, and people who do their duty full time from people who do their duty part time—this is another special and specific administrative job.

II. Personnel Work

Item two, personnel work. This item concerns the election, appointment, and dismissal of leaders and workers at all levels. Work arrangements provide specific stipulations for election systems, what kind of people to elect as leaders and workers, and the methods and specific requirements for elections. There are also certain special circumstances, for example, what should be done if the brothers and sisters have only just met each other and don’t know each other very well, and cannot select suitable leaders and workers through an election? In that case, people can be promoted and designated, checking who is relatively suited to being a leader, and then getting to know more about them, fellowshipping, and conducting simple checks, after which they can be appointed. Furthermore, when the Above arranges a large project or appoints several people as supervisors, this is a special work arrangement. There is another special circumstance, and that is when someone writes a report to the Above describing how such-and-such leader does not perform real work and walks the path of an antichrist, and the Above issues a work arrangement to dismiss the leader who was reported from their post after verifying this. This is another work arrangement related to personnel work. In short, work related to personnel involves the election, appointment, and dismissal of leaders and workers at all levels in the church. This item of work is relatively simple, and it is easy to understand.