THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE ELDERS
First, we will speak something concerning the matter of fellowship. If we know the principle of God’s work, we will see clearly that a basic principle for God to bestow grace is fellowship. Whether it is God’s salvation of man or His edification or raising up of a man, He does it in the principle of fellowship. Rarely can you find an example where God does a work of grace for man apart from the principle of fellowship. You cannot find a person who is saved by God directly. Although every person receives his salvation from God, he receives it indirectly, at least through one person. This receiving through man speaks of a principle of fellowship.
Hence, if the elders want to bring the management of a church up to a strong, shining, fresh, and rich condition, they must be persons of fellowship. If the elders in any place lack fellowship, they will surely be in darkness, dryness, weakness, and mistakes. Without fellowship, there is no balance. Without fellowship, you will surely dry up, and when you are dried up, you will be poor and weak. Moreover, when there is no balance, you will be biased, and you will be stuck in minor matters or will go to an extreme. This is unavoidable. If the elders will take every opportunity to fellowship, they will surely be nourishing, rich, shining, fresh, and balanced. They will not be dry and will not be driven to extremes. Hence, in speaking about the elders’ administration, we cannot talk about the coordination of the elders without talking about their fellowship.
FELLOWSHIP AMONG THE ELDERS
The elders must also fellowship with each other. This mutual fellowship must be a one hundred percent, undiscounted fellowship. In the chapter on coordination we have mentioned that to coordinate together there must be openness. This openness is the fellowship. When we serve as elders together, you cannot fellowship only ninety percent, while holding back ten percent. Anything that is held back will cause problems. When the elders serve together, they must fellowship to such an extent that not one brother is holding back anything from the other elders.
In order to manage a church, the elders must have thorough fellowship. If there are five elders, they are like five lumps of clay. They must be mingled together in water until the five lumps become one lump, and they become indistinguishable one from another. This mingling is the fellowship. The five elders should be seeking the Lord’s leading together. The thing to fear in the management of the church is not the ignorance of the elders in handling affairs but their unwillingness to fellowship. If the five brothers are willing to be mingled together and are willing to fellowship together, morning and evening, today, tomorrow, and every day, you will see the Lord’s leading there, and you will see God’s way, God’s wisdom, light, revelation, and burden all there. Through the fellowship, the burden for the gospel will come, the burden to edify the saints will come, the light from the Bible will come, and the gifts will also come. If the elders are willing to fellowship this way, at the right time some will receive the gifts.
I can guarantee all of you here that the best way to be a proper elder is to fellowship every day. Perhaps you may say that you do not have much to fellowship about. It is precisely because of this that you need to come together for fellowship. Suppose you would simply come together to talk, then pray, then talk again, about your problems, my problems, your condition before God, and my condition before God. After you have talked through everything about yourselves as the elders, you would talk about the condition of the brothers and sisters, the condition of the church, the number of sinners in your place, and the way to preach the gospel. If the elders would fellowship in this way, something will surely come out of this kind of fellowship.
The worst thing that can happen is for these five elders to meet together only once a week, while on other occasions they merely shake hands, nod their heads, exchange greetings, and talk about the weather. Whenever there is a meeting, they would come together. After the meeting they would say goodbye to one another. Everything is done merely to maintain outward harmony. Actually, they hide everything and close themselves to the others. Even their prayers issue merely from their throats. If this is the case with the elders, they will not receive guidance a single time, from the beginning of the year to the end; they will not have any burden or any light.
In order for the elders to have the light, the guidance, the wisdom, and the dealings, they must be together daily. Whenever they can, they must come together without too much regard for time. Perhaps they need to fellowship from seven in the evening until midnight, and perhaps they need to come together again for fellowship the next day. If you can fellowship in this manner for a whole month without any results—I will put it crudely—you can then come to cut off my head! Surely the burden will come, and the guidance, the light, the wisdom, the power, and the authority will all come. By that time if you suggest at the meeting that we should preach the gospel, everyone would respond. This is quite amazing. If you have not fellowshipped this way, you may propose, “Well, we have not preached the gospel for three years already. We really need to preach the gospel.” While you are making this proposal, others may be dozing off; there will be no response. This is a lifeless proposal; it is not a living proposal, because you as an elder are not enlivened within. While you are making the proposal, you are pouring cold water on the others; there is no way for you to warm the others up. Suppose the elders are first enlivened by the fellowship and are burning within, and they feel that in two weeks they should preach the gospel. When they speak to the brothers, the word will become living; there will be authority in the word, and the Holy Spirit will put His seal upon it. When others listen to it, they will feel the power and authority of the Holy Spirit in the word. This is not negotiation or a decision but a fellowship.
FELLOWSHIP WITH THE SAINTS
The elders should also do their best to contact and fellowship with all the brothers and sisters. They should fellowship with the solid ones, and they should fellowship with the backslidden ones. They should fellowship with the weak ones, and they should fellowship with the strong ones. They should fellowship with the ones who are not gifted, and they should fellowship with the gifted ones. An elder has too many things to do. Some sisters who are sitting here are housewives. Everyone knows that in a family, no matter how many children there are, there is no end to the chores. You can leave your house alone day after day, or you can put work into it day after day. The same is true with the church. You can leave it to desolation, and let it grow by itself. The elders can come once a week to discuss a little, make some decisions, and then make some announcements in the prayer meetings. You can do this. But if you want to be another kind of elder, you will see that every day there are burdens, and every day you can be so busy. If the elders have a lot of free time, it will surely mean that the church in that place has no blessing. The more blessing there is, the more the church will be busy, like a marketplace. If you make a brother alive, imagine how many people he can bring into the church life. If you do not want to be busy, you can make the church dead. One will be cold, another will be backslidden. A third will be dried up, and a fourth will be dead. In the end only you will be left, and you will not be busy at all. If you want to bring in the blessing, you will see that every day you are busy.
Some have come to me for fellowship concerning the matter of serving full time. They said that they have the heart and the burden, but they did not see the need. I told them that if they did not see the need, they did not have to force themselves to make the decision. But within me I said to myself that whether or not there is a need depends fully on yourself. If you work toward it, there will be a need. If you do not work, there will be no need. I believe the brothers and sisters understand what I mean. Try to work this way and see. If you serve the Lord by this way of fellowship, not only will one person be inadequate; even ten persons will not be adequate to meet today’s need. When you get through with every brother and sister, eventually, not only will they be raised up, but you will find out the feeling of the saints and will know where their needs are. The case of every brother and sister is thoroughly worked on by the elders. In this way, when the elders come together for fellowship, the sense will come, and the leading will come; everyone will know what to do about the church. The elders’ leading and arrangement of the church is surely produced by this kind of fellowship. If the elders do not fellowship with each other, nor with the serving ones, and if they lack the fellowship with the brothers and sisters, it will be useless to have an elders’ meeting once in a while.
长老的交通
长老的交通
开头我们先说一点关乎交通的问题。我们若是认识神作事的原则，就能清楚看见，神赐恩有一个基本的原则，就是借着交通。无论是神来救一个人，还是神来造就一个人，兴起一个人，都离不开交通的原则。很少的时候，你能找出一个例子来，神在人身上作了一件恩典的事，而里面没有交通的原则。你不能找出一个人，是神直接的救了他。虽然所有人的得救，都是从神得救的，但都是间接的，最少是借着一个人。这个借着人，就是一个交通的原则。
所以长老们若要好好的把教会治理到一个刚强、明亮、新鲜而丰富的地步，长老们必须是一个有交通的人。什么地方的长老若是缺少了交通，那地方的长老定规要黑暗、枯干、软弱，也要错误。因为没有交通，就没有平衡；没有交通，定规要枯干；一枯干了，就变作贫穷、软弱。并且缺少了平衡，就会偏于一边，或者钻了牛角，走入极端，这是没有法子避免的事。长老们若是能够尽所能的，利用一切的机会来交通，他定规是滋润、丰富、明亮、新鲜，而且是平衡的，不至于偏枯，也不至于极端。所以提起长老治会来，我们不能光注意长老们的配搭，而不说到长老们的交通。
彼此的交通
长老们还必须彼此有交通。这个彼此的交通，是百分百的，不可以折扣的。我们在配搭的那一篇里头说过，要配搭就必须敞开，这个敞开就是交通。大家彼此作长老，你不能只有百分之九十的交通，而把百分之十扣起来。凡是扣起来的，一定有毛病。长老们共同作长老，一定要交通到一个地步，没有一个人向着其他作长老的弟兄们是扣起来的。
长老治会一定要交通得透。五个长老，就如同五块泥巴一样，必须摆在水里头调，一直调到五块泥巴变作一团泥巴，根本不分了才可以。这个调就是交通。五个长老该一直在一起寻求主的引导。教会的治理，不怕长老们不知道该怎样作，只怕大家不交通。若是五个弟兄肯在一起调，肯在一起交通，早晨交通，晚上交通，今天交通，明天也交通，天天在那里交通，你看见神的引导就要来了，神的办法就要来了，神的智慧、神的亮光和神的启示、负担，统统都要来了。你会交通出传福音的引导来，你会交通出造就圣徒的负担来，你会交通出圣经里面的亮光来，你会交通出恩赐来。若是长老们肯这样交通的话，到必要的时候，会有人得着恩赐。
我今天在这里，可以向大家担保，若是你想作一个好的长老，最好的办法就是天天交通。你也许说，我们没有什么可以交通的。正是因为你们没有什么可交通的，所以才需要交通。你们就是来在一起，一直在这里谈论，谈论了祷告，祷告了再谈论；谈论你的难处，谈论我的难处，谈论你在神面前的光景，谈论我在神面前的光景；把作长老的人都谈完了、谈透了，再来谈弟兄姊妹们的光景，谈教会的情形；谈谈这里有多少罪人，这里福音传得怎么样。长老们若肯这样交通，一定会交通出故事来。
最怕的是五个长老，一周聚会一次，其他的时候，不过是见面拉拉手，点点头，或者问早，或者问饱。有聚会的时候就来在一起，聚完会再见，完全是客卿相安，都是把事情藏在里头，根本不敞开，连祷告都仅仅是从喉咙里头上来的。若是这样，这些长老们定规从年首到年终，不会有一个引导，不会有一个负担，也不会有一点亮光。
长老们若是要有亮光、引导、智慧、对付，长老们就必须天天来在一起，只要有时间就来在一起，无时无刻的；也许从晚上七点钟，一直交通到夜里十二点，第二天再来交通。若是这样交通出一个月，而没有事情发生，我说一句很野蛮的话，来杀我的头。你看见定规负担来了，引导来了，亮光来了，智慧来了，并且能力、权柄，统统来了。到这个时候，你来到聚会中，一提起说，弟兄们，我们该传福音了，立刻大家都响应，这是非常奇怪的。如果不经过这种交通，你说，哦，我们三年都没有传福音了，我们真的要传福音了，你这样题，底下直打瞌睡，没有一点响应。这是一个死的提议，不是活的提议，因为根本你这个作长老的人，里头没有点活。你来提议的时候，你只有在他们身上浇冷水，你没有法子叫他们热起来。若是作长老的人，先在那里交通活了，里头的火烧起来了，觉得再过两周该传福音了，这样当他来和弟兄们说的时候，那个话是活的，里头有权柄，圣灵也加上印证；当人在那里听的时候，也觉得到里头有圣灵的能力，有圣灵的权柄。这不是商量，不是定规，乃是交通。
与众圣徒的交通
长老们还要尽可能的和弟兄姊妹有接触，找他们交通。和站住的交通，和跌倒的交通；和软弱的交通，和刚强的交通；和没有恩赐的交通，和有恩赐的交通；作长老的事是忙不完的。在座有好些姊妹们是作主妇的，大家都知道，一个家庭里头，不管有几个孩子，事情总是作不完的。你天天把家扔在那里也可以，你天天在那里作也是作不完。教会更是如此，你任她荒凉，凭她自生自长；每周长老们来在一起，开一个会，下一个决断，祷告聚会里一报告，你这样作法也可以。如果你要作另外一种的长老，你就看见天天有负担，天天忙不完。长老若是空闲了，那里的教会定规没有祝福；越是有祝福，越是忙得如同一个商场一样。你能把一个弟兄作活了，请想看，他要带进多少的人来！你要不忙，就把教会作死了。这个也冷淡了，那个也退后了，这个也枯了，那个也死了，末了就剩下你这一个人，一点都不忙。你若是要带进神的祝福来，你就要看见，天天都是忙。
有的人来和我谈全时间事奉的问题。他说，我有这个心，有这个负担，但是觉得没有这个需要。我就说，弟兄，你若是觉得没有这个需要，就不必勉强。但是我肚子里说，需要不需要，是你自己搅出来的，你去搅就有需要，你不搅就没有需要。我信弟兄姊妹们懂得这个意思。你搅搅看，若是这样交通着来事奉神，不要说你一个人，就是十个人也不能应付今天的需要。你交通到每一个弟兄姊妹里面去，结果不光他们起来了，你还能摸着众圣徒的感觉，知道他们的需要在那里。个个弟兄姊妹都给长老们摸得透透的，这样，当长老们来在一起有交通的时后，感觉出来了，引导也出来了，大家就知道对教会该怎样作法。长老们对教会的引导和安排，定规是这样交通过而产生出来的。若是长老们彼此不交通，和服事的人也不交通，和众弟兄姊妹也缺少交通，不过到了一个时候来在一起有个长老聚会，这没有什么用。
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Session 2
Using Attendance data to shepherd the saints
Purpose and Value of Collecting Attendance Data: Collecting attendance data is more than just record-keeping; it is a vital tool for assessing the health of church life. Beyond indicating how we are shepherding and gaining increase, detailed data helps identify particular saints or groups in need of extra care. We must move beyond simply counting heads to truly knowing who is actually present.
The Need for Intentional Shepherding: We must give special attention to saints who are missing or irregular in attendance. Our goal should go beyond simply knowing why they are absent; we need to proactively shepherd them back to the flock. After identifying these ones, we should follow up, whether by visiting them ourselves or by matching them with shepherds who can help restore and care for them.
Gleaning Insights from Attendance Records
Small Group Attendance: This indicates how many are actively involved in the practical church life and in the giving and receiving of care. Healthy small groups are essential for church increase. We should aspire for small group attendance to reach 1.5 times the average LD attendance.
Prayer Meeting Attendance: This is where the main spiritual work of the church occurs. While usually attended by the most exercised and mature saints, as more grow and participate, the church’s prayer ministry and capacity for shepherding also increase. Ideally, prayer meeting attendance should be at least 1/3 of LD attendance.
Stagnant or Low Attendance:
Consistently low small group numbers may signal a need for more care, deeper fellowship, or greater outreach. Core saints should explore ways to revitalize these gatherings.
Flat attendance at the Lord’s Table can suggest inadequate care, insufficient preparation, or a lack of appreciation for the meeting. Responsible brothers should think through ways to uplift the atmosphere and encourage greater participation.