Commit These to Faithful Men,
Who Will Be Competent to Teach Others Also
Once, while serving in the video training, I attended a preparation meeting for the video training at Hall One in Taipei. At that time Taiwan was right at the era when videotapes were gradually being phased out and VCDs were formally coming onto the market. Brother Wu spoke then of how Taiwan Gospel Book Room, on the principle of serving all the churches, would with a more positive and active attitude provide the saints with faster and more convenient service; therefore the video training materials would be converted from videotape into VCD form to continue supplying the churches in various places. Brother Wu also said at the time that the times were advancing very quickly, and that in the matter of serving the church we could not lag behind but must keep up with the pace of the times. He further mentioned that because of the conversion of the video training materials, he hoped the churches throughout Taiwan would comprehensively upgrade, especially in the area of equipment, in their service of the winter and summer video trainings.
Then he asked everyone whether they had any questions concerning this service. At the time I thought to myself that some halls had old, often-malfunctioning equipment that did indeed need to be replaced with new equipment to meet the demand, so I put forward a suggestion: Could the offerings for the video training be used to comprehensively upgrade the old equipment of the churches in various places, so that the equipment of the churches everywhere could be quickly renewed and upgraded? At the time I assumed Brother Wu would think such a suggestion was rather good. Brother Wu pondered for a moment, then fellowshipped with the brothers of all the churches, saying that everyone needed to have a proper understanding of the offerings for the video training. First, this offering was not a registration fee, nor was it the cost of the training materials, nor was it a venue fee; this offering was for a single, specific use, for a single, specific need—that is, for the need of the work of the ministry, for spreading the speaking of the ministry and the supply of the ministry to every place throughout the whole world. We should all have a part together in this financial fellowship. However many people attend, that much we should lay out in fellowship. We are all beneficiaries of this ministry, and we should all faithfully serve in our various places, helping the brothers and sisters to treasure such training, and teaching the brothers and sisters to learn the financial fellowship, becoming those who are one with the ministry and who bear the same yoke with the ministry. Therefore such an offering should not be diverted to any other use. The upgrading of equipment ought to be considered and renewed by each locality, but the training offerings had only one specific use—for the need of the ministry, for the supply of the ministry. These were two completely different matters, and there had to be a clear distinction. Second Timothy 2:2 says, "And the things which you have heard from me through many witnesses, these commit to faithful men, who will be competent to teach others also." This fellowship of the brother helped me very much. Seeing that the brother not only received the commission of the ministry but was also able to commit it to faithful men competent to teach others, I truly treasured how serious and faithful the brother was toward the ministry—a faithful slave and good steward of the Lord.
The brother had an excellent memory. He did not need to take notes, nor look at his phone, nor consult a cheat-sheet, because all the dates and times were in his heart. What he considered was not merely the present, immediate need; he always had a forward-looking vision, with advance preparation and planning. He always hoped that all the churches would closely follow the seven annual conferences and trainings, would keep up with the move of the Body, and would throw themselves into the flow of the Holy Spirit—especially the leading brothers in the church, who absolutely had to take the lead in being a pattern, so that the saints could follow. Because of the brother's charge and teaching, the leading brothers of all the churches have been able to continually lead the churches throughout Taiwan forward in one accord.
The brother was clear in his memory not only of the matters of the church's service, but also of the names of the brothers and sisters. Especially of the co-workers in the ranks of the full-time service, he could call almost every one of them by name. He was like a father in a family caring for the affairs of his children, concerned about everything, greeting everyone everywhere. In the scenes after many meetings, one often saw the brother always there, contacting people, talking with people—just like children gathered around their father telling him each one's situation, with the father there to comfort, to encourage, to exhort, and to teach. In 2018 I learned that I had stage-three nasopharyngeal cancer and had to be hospitalized for treatment, and almost all my meetings and service came to a stop. By the time the date of the spring full-time co-workers' perfecting training in 2019 drew near, I felt within that I needed to attend the meetings, needed to return to the ranks of the co-workers, and to receive again the supply from the Body, the Lord's speaking, and the strengthening of the elder brothers. In that training, although my body was very weak, many of the elder brothers showed concern and greeted me again and again. After a meeting ended I met Brother Wu, and Brother Wu said, "You've come back—is your body all right? You must take good care of it; the Lord still needs you, and you still need to go on together with the Body." I also said to Brother Wu, "Your body is very important too; you must take good care of it. The Lord also needs this portion that is you." At the time I also knew that Brother Wu's physical condition was perhaps even worse and more critical than mine. Yet the brother still strenuously laid himself out, being a pattern to the flock. He also showed concern for me, a member in the Lord, and prayed for me. Truly, through the brother, and through all the churches and the concern of the saints, the Lord shepherded me.
The words of teaching, exhortation, encouragement, and reminder that the elder brother spoke to us were just like the recounting and restating of the law that Moses gave to the second generation of Israel in Deuteronomy—they were our greatest help and our greatest benefit. The brother was like the many witnesses, like a cloud surrounding us, stirring us up to run with endurance the race which is set before us. Thank the Lord for giving His recovery such a faithful and prudent slave, who has become a pattern for us to imitate and follow, and a blessing to all the churches throughout the earth.