LETTERS 1!
DO 51
2/71
IMPORTANCE OF THE MINISTRY OF THE MAIL
1. THE MINISTRY OF THE MAIL IS NOT TO BE UNDERESTIMATED! It has become one of the largest ministries of some groups & Christian leaders in recent years & IS LINKED VERY TIGHTLY WITH THE PUBLICATIONS MINISTRY AS WELL! ALL IN ALL, IT IS THE MINISTRY OF THE WRITTEN WORD & where would we be today without it!
2. I DON'T BELIEVE WE HAVE BEGUN TO SCRATCH THE SURFACE OF THE POSSIBILITIES OF THIS MINISTRY--they're as limitless as the Kingdom of God, as boundless as the needs of Mankind! We cannot possibly minister to them all personally. This is no more possible for us than it was for Jesus when He was here in the flesh, or for Paul, or the other Apostles, Prophets & men & women of God throughout all time! THERE HAS TO BE A WAY TO MULTIPLY OURSELVES MANYFOLD.
3. SO WE MUST DUPLICATE & MULTIPLY OURSELVES & PROPAGATE, not only through personal disciples & those reached through personal contact, but also through the mighty & massive ministry of the printed Word--a means at our own disposal & under our own control!--Such as the Words of God in the Bible in publications containing His Truth as we see it, explanatory brochures & pamphlets regarding our history, ministry & purpose, designed to make it simple & clear to the outsider, understandable even to the systemite!
4. NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE MINISTRY OF LETTERS! Consider the Epistles of the Apostles & the billions to whom they have ministered, since they were first written with such humble beginnings! We don't have that much time left, which means we must work even harder & faster than they, to reach our own generation & get the job done before Jesus comes!
5. THANK GOD FOR THE POSTAL SERVICE! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW VALUABLE IT IS! Our present ministry would be impossible without the use of the mails & we cannot afford to be anywhere where we cannot keep in touch with you by post! Mail is important! The World's business depends on the mails & God's business depends largely on the mails & the mail! We could hardly live without it! Thank God for it! Use it!
6. AS IN THE STORY OF TOMMY, THE LITTLE CRIPPLED BOY, I DETERMINED THAT BY THE GRACE OF GOD IN MY OWN LIFE, I WOULD ALWAYS TRY NEVER TO LIVE ANYWHERE THAT PEOPLE COULD NOT PASS UNDER THE WINDOW OF THE MINISTRY OF GOD'S LOVE IN MY OWN LIFE! Could you? Having once met the man Who went about everywhere doing good to those who passed under the window of HIS life, including me, how could I ever live selfishly again, where people could not pass under MY window & receive the same! "Freely ye have received, also freely give" (Mat.10:8)...& "unto whom much hath been given, of the same shall much be required"!--Luke 12:48. ARE YOU LIVING WHERE PEOPLE CAN PASS UNDER YOUR WINDOW? ARE YOU MINISTERING TO THOSE WHO DO? Such is the ministry of the mail! There are people passing under our window out there! Are they going to receive what they need?
7. HAS HIS LOVE SHOWED YOU HOW YOU CAN HELP THEM? He will, if you want to, no matter what the conditions or your limitations--for God has a window too, & He has promised that, if we obey Him & open the windows of our lives upon others, He "will open the windows of Heaven & pour out such a blessing, there will not be room enough to hold it."--Mal.3:10. PTL!
POURING OUT--WITNESSING BY MAIL
8. THAT'S THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN STAY FRESH & FULL, IS TO KEEP OVERFLOWING ON OTHERS, AS HE POURS IN! Otherwise, what little you have will dry up & blow away & there won't even be enough left for you, like the dead churches of today--empty, dead & dry, with nothing left to give, not even life in themselves, because they failed to pour out when they had it! MAY GOD FORBID THAT WE SHOULD FAIL IN CEASING, LIKEWISE, TO POUR OUT UPON OTHERS SUFFICIENT FOR THEIR NEEDS, OR GOD WILL STOP POURING UPON US these marvellous blessings of His Spirit, these glories of His incomparable Kingdom, these overflowing surpluses of His abundant supply, these thrilling new disciples, these glowing new opportunities, these glorious open doors & all that He is offering us, everywhere we are needed!
9. DON'T WORRY, GOD WILL CONTINUE TO POUR IN MUCH MORE THAN YOU'RE ABLE TO HOLD, & the only way to keep the blessings flowing is to keep them pouring out as fast as you can! Otherwise you'll become a dead sea, stinking & unable to sustain life, a cesspool of iniquity, because you have no outlet, no overflow, no ministry! But if you will continue to overflow, God will continue to overflow upon you & keep the waters of His blessings, His Spirit & our ministry, fresh & alive, & out of our innermost parts shall flow forth rivers of living water, as God pours in & we pour out!--Jn.7:38.
10. ARE WE BEING FAITHFUL IN ALL THE WINDOWS OF OUR MINISTRY, & IN THIS CASE, THE MINISTRY OF THE MAIL? Are we feeding His sheep, are we giving them green pastures, still waters & the sunshine of His Love through the windows of His Word & our words to them--this window of the mail? We dare not fail them! We MUST give them what they need! How are we to do it? WHAT CAN WE DO MORE THAN WE ARE NOW DOING? WE CAN POUR OUT MORE! WE CAN GIVE MORE! WE CAN WRITE MORE! WE CAN ANSWER MORE! WE CAN SEND MORE--& God will send us more--in blessing, fruitfulness, ministration, support, helpers, labourers & new disciples for His Kingdom! We cannot stop!
11. THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS STANDING STILL! WE'RE EITHER GOING AHEAD OR FALLING BEHIND! We must keep going! We must go even faster! We must pour out even more, as we work the works of Him that hath sent us, while it is yet day, 'ere the night come, when no man can work!--Jn.9:4. Redeem the time, for the days are evil! Pour more, witness more, send more, mail more.--And God Himself will do more than we ever dreamed!
12. BUT IT'S GOING TO COST SOMETHING! As King David once said, "I will not give unto the Lord of that which hath cost me nothing"!--2 Sam.24:24. You have to give something; you have to pour out; you have to live by a window; & you have to be faithful.--And, in this case, that window is the mail! You have to put something into it, to get something out of it! You have to give to get, pour to receive, sow to reap, invest to profit, die to live & bury to resurrect!--Just as you do in any witnessing.
HOW TO BEGIN YOUR LOCAL HOME MAIL MINISTRY
13. (1) GETTING A POST OFFICE BOX: RENT A BOX AT THE POST OFFICE. This is the simplest, easiest, quickest & safest way to get your mail, regardless of your local address. For years, we kept the same box number, regardless of how often we personally moved around, SO THAT OUR CORRESPONDENTS WOULD NOT BE CONFUSED BY FREQUENT CHANGES OF ADDRESS, WHICH ARE SO COMMON IN THE LORD'S SERVICE! Even while on the road, we kept this box number & had our mail forwarded from it, from place to place! It was the only sure way of getting our mail & making sure our correspondents did not forget our address. IT ALSO HELPED AS A MATTER OF SECURITY WHERE NECESSARY, TO KEEP OUR ACTUAL LOCAL RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS A PRIVATE MATTER, known only to the chosen few who were working with us or truly interested friends, disciples etc. A POST OFFICE BOX NUMBER ACTS AS A BUFFER BETWEEN YOU & THE SYSTEM & EVEN YOUR ENEMIES, so they don't always know where to get their hands on you at a moment's notice & to your surprise! It also SIFTS OUT UNWELCOME CORRESPONDENTS, visitors & unnecessary callers & the like, who must write your box first to find out what they want to know! THIS POST OFFICE BOX NUMBER IS ALSO A PRESTIGE ADDRESS, since the local post office will not rent it to you unless they know & verify, by means of the local postman, that you have another, local, legitimate, residential or business address & are, what they consider therefore, a reliable & reputable local resident or concern!
14. THIS BOX NUMBER IS USED AS YOUR ONLY PUBLICLY-KNOWN ADDRESS on such items as business cards, checks, radio, TV or newspaper/magazine announcements (if possible) & ALL ITEMS OF PUBLICITY, LITERATURE ETC., so that if they want to know anything further, they can write to the box & it will be processed in due season, in all decency & in order, being diligent in business! THE ONLY POSSIBLE EXCEPTION TO THIS RULE, MIGHT BE PERSONAL INVITATIONS GIVEN BY PERSONAL WITNESSES, to a pre-selected, carefully chosen, highly-trusted clientele, SUCH AS THOSE TO WHOM YOU PERSONALLY WITNESS, WIN TO THE LORD & FEEL YOU CAN TRUST TO INVITE TO YOUR HOME BASE FOR FURTHER FELLOWSHIP & INSTRUCTION!
15. YOU SHOULD REQUEST TO SEE, IF POSSIBLE, A LIST OF THE AVAILABLE BOX NUMBERS, IN ORDER TO CHOOSE A SIMPLE & EASY ONE TO REMEMBER, for both you & your correspondents, either a small number, usually already taken by others & hard to get, such as 1..2..3..4 etc., or a consecutive number, such as Box 111, Box 222, Box 333, as much as possible.
16. (2) YOUR HOME MAILMAN! THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS YOUR OWN PERSONAL MAILMAN--the one who carries the key to the box & goes to the post office to pick up your highly personal, classified, important & valuable mail. HAVE AT LEAST TWO OF YOUR MOST TRUSTED PERSONNEL PICK IT UP TOGETHER, PLACING IT IN A SEALED MAILBAG OR CONTAINER, SO THAT NONE OF IT IS ACCIDENTALLY DROPPED OR LOST, strayed or stolen, & each piece is accounted for. If you have someone who can be trusted, it would save you personal face-to-face confrontations & becoming personally known by sight, so that you personally, the top leadership, will remain unknown & unseen as much as possible at the government post office!
(3) MORE ON POST OFFICE BOX
17. ONE MORE ADVANTAGE OF A POST OFFICE BOX, & I worked in the post office & I know, IS THAT YOUR MAIL IS THE FIRST TO BE PUT UP, at all hours of the day or night, because your box is right there within firing distance of the sorting clerks & box mail always goes up first, even in the wee hours of the morning, which means, one last, but not least advantage, that in most post offices, the box section is open & available to its box holder at any hour of the day or night--& you, therefore, can also pick it up there at such odd hours, as not to be too conspicuous & whenever convenient for you & when the least number of observers are apt to be on duty, if at all.
18. AND, OH YES, TRY TO GET A KEY BOX, IF POSSIBLE, NOT A COMBINATION! You're apt to forget it, get confused & take too long to open the box, & the longer you stand there twiddling with the knob, the more conspicuous you are! You will have to pay a deposit for each key & they usually give you two keys, & it's certainly not wise to have more than two floating around! You know you have one key & you should always know exactly where the other one is at all times, & NEITHER KEY SHOULD EVER BE IN ANY LESS SAFE PLACE THAN YOUR OWN PERSONAL PANTS POCKET, kept under your pillow at night or your wife's purse, or kept by her side at all times! If, in case of any dire emergency, you should ever have to let either of these keys out of your personal possession, be sure to get it back IMMEDIATELY with the return mail in YOUR hand without delay!
19. THAT BOX IS ONE OF YOUR LIFELINES, WHICH COULD BE SEVERED BY AN ENEMY! IF AT ANY TIME A KEY IS LOST, TAKE THE REMAINING KEY IMMEDIATELY TO THE POST OFFICE & REQUEST THAT THEY CHANGE THE LOCK ON YOUR BOX ON THE SPOT WHILE YOU WAIT & exchange the remaining key for two new keys to the new lock on your same box, which they will usually do immediately! Whatever you do, try not to change boxes if you can help it! This will only add to the confusion! You will, of course, have to pay an additional deposit for the extra key, to replace the one you lost! Don't let it happen to you! I never lost a mailbox key, but it seems the people I loaned them to almost always did! God save the box!--AND key!
20. TRANSPORTATION OF MAIL FROM THE BOX TO YOUR OFFICE should therefore be done only by you or the one supposed to pick it up! IT SHOULD NOT BE LEFT CARELESSLY LYING AROUND DURING TRANSIT, SUCH AS ON A FRONT SEAT OF AN AUTOMOBILE where a thief might be tempted to break a window to steal what looks valuable! Lock it in the glove compartment of your car or trunk, or hide it under the seat or carry it in your hand. Don't advertise the fact that you're carrying the mail at all! Hide it in your pocket, or sneak in the back door with it! The less you let others know about the Lord's private business, the better!
21. WE ARE RECOMMENDING BOXES PRIMARILY FOR THE LARGER, BUSIER HOMES IN METROPOLITAN AREAS which are apt to receive a fairly large volume of mail or even move occasionally from address to address in the same city, & to make their business a little less known & their leadership a little more inaccessible to the larger general public surrounding them nearby, & where the multitude of postal clerks of a large downtown post office, handling millions of pieces of mail are not as apt to take a personal interest in your particular mail, as would the local postman on the neighbourhood beat, who sees you & knows where you live & what you're doing every day & is more apt to be curious about you than necessary!
PIONEERING RURAL OUTPOSTS & HOUSING--NOT ALL DOORS ARE OF THE LORD
22. A SMALL TEAM STAKED OUT IN A REMOTE CONSERVATIVE RURAL AREA IS APT TO DRAW MORE ATTENTION of the ultra-conservative, overly-curious & inclined to be antagonistic, local populace THAN EVEN THE LARGE TEAM IN THE LARGE LIBERAL CITY! Small town folk are notoriously clannish, narrow-minded, ultra-conservative, anti-youth, anti-change, pro-traditional, churchy & inclined to resist, dislike & even fight anything they don't understand, particularly outsiders!
23. NOT ALL DOORS ARE OF THE LORD. SOME OF THEM CAN BE TRICKS OF THE DEVIL, decoys, blind alleys, red herrings, sidetracks & downright disasters! Again, I say, THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS TO EVERY RULE & THERE WILL BE PLACES OFFERED WHICH SHOULD NOT BE OCCUPIED & could even be suicidal.
24. HOUSING IS NOT OUR MAJOR CONCERN! We're not in the business just to house people; not just to find some place, even any place, to put them. Seek first the Kingdom of God & His righteousness & all these other THINGS shall be added unto you (Mat.6:33)--including housing. DON'T PUT THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE, like the churches have done!
25. JUST BECAUSE A PLACE IS OFFERED US, DOES NOT MEAN WE HAVE TO OCCUPY IT, if it may mean the annihilation of its crew or, to say the least, a waste of talent & manpower. THE PURPOSE OF SENDING OUT NEW TEAMS IN THE FIRST PLACE IS TO GET THEM WHERE THEY'RE NEEDED, where there's a ripe harvest field & a receptive response. I'm not particularly fond of RURAL OUTPOSTS, just because they're offered us, UNLESS THEY ARE STRATEGICALLY LOCATED, NOT TOO FAR FROM MAJOR WITNESSING AREAS, NEEDY areas, liberal, lenient & tolerant areas, areas full of open-minded youth, the disillusioned generation, ready & hungry for the Answer!
26. THE ONLY OTHER POSSIBLE EXCUSE FOR A REMOTE RURAL OUTPOST MIGHT BE FOR SOME KIND OF RETREAT OR HIDEAWAY, FOR A SECLUDED REST FOR WEARY LEADERSHIP; but actually in such locations, you're more conspicuous & subject to more nosey curiosity of inquisitive local-yokels who have nothing else to do but be nosey, than you would be lost in the crowd of the big city--so they don't even make very good retreats.
27. LET'S TRY TO STICK TO THE KIND OF TERRITORY WHERE WE USUALLY THRIVE, liberal land, youth country, the big city affluent society, where the kids have already had it & know it doesn't satisfy. These kids on the farms never had it so good, but they don't know it. You've got to wait till they find it out. City kids sometimes find it out even before they leave home, like some of you, because they're right where it's at & have already found out that's not where it's at! But these rural kids are still dreaming they'll find it somewhere else & won't believe it till they try.
SUGGESTIONS OF LOCATING HOUSING FOR NEW HOMES
28. DON'T GET TIED DOWN, PARTICULARLY IN A PLACE WITH OWNERSHIP OR LONG-TERM HEAVY LEASES, or a lot of high rent that's gonna be hard to raise, hard to use & hard to dump! Just camp out & remain as mobile as possible, with as little invested as possible, so it won't be hard to leave. DON'T LET YOUR ROOTS GROW DOWN TOO DEEP, SO IT WILL TEAR YOUR HEART OUT WHEN YOU HAVE TO PULL UP STAKES!
29. DON'T GET STUCK WITH SOMETHING YOU CAN'T GET RID OF OR THAT WILL COST YOU MORE THAN IT'S WORTH, when you do. Camp out! Stay mobile! Be ready to move at a moment's notice. Don't get too tied up or tied down, or you're apt to get run out anytime. They can pull laws on you if they want to. They can make you move out in 24 hours if you're a so-called "threat to public health & safety"! If they don't like us, all they have to do is say we are & nobody's going to stop them! Or they can even say you're conducting a business in a residential neighbourhood & close you down immediately! I'm not trying to scare you, just advise you to have good sense.
30. DON'T START BUILDING A TOWER THAT YOU CAN'T FINISH, first sit down & count the cost--or you'll start a war you can't win.--Luk.14:28-32. That was Jesus' advice. BE SURE IT'S RIGHT & GO AHEAD--THE RIGHT PLACE, THE RIGHT TIME, THE RIGHT PEOPLE--GOD'S WILL! HE WILL LEAD, IF YOU'LL FOLLOW. DON'T RUN OFF ON YOUR OWN. JUST BECAUSE IT LOOKS GOOD TO YOU. Keep in line with His blessings & don't make exceptions to these rules.--Just be sure it is!
31. THERE ARE AN INFINITE VARIETY OF OPENINGS THAT GOD IS MAKING FOR US, BUT JUST BE SURE YOURS IS GOD'S & not some trick of the Enemy to get you down off the wall where he can tear you to pieces!--Neh.6:3. Don't waste time on one of his decoys or traps! You can even scatter your team in the pri vate homes of friends, if you have to, & let them foot the bill, pay the rent & feed you, not to speak of all those utilities, one of our biggest expenses--if the Lord so leads. But just be sure you have some place to meet for classes & meetings, even in one or more of the homes for your own fellowship & the instruction of babes. This is not the best setup, but it could be a temporary fill in between your campsite & the local park & a place of your own. This is what Jesus advised in Matthew 10.
(4) OPENING THE MAIL: KEEPING QUIET ON CONFIDENTIAL MATTERS
32. THIS SHOULD BE DONE ONLY IN PRIVACY. Do not open it while standing in the post office or waiting in the market for your shopping wife, while you scatter checks & confidential information around on the counter or floor & lose something important, or have somebody read it over your shoulder. IF YOU MUST READ IT WHILE WAITING, DO SO IN THE CAR WITH NO OTHERS PRESENT. Some of the worst mistakes some men of God that I know ever made, was to let every Tom, Dick & Harry, or some little office chick, open all his confidential mail & know all his classified business & spread it to the general public, including an exaggeration of his financial condition, complaints & criticisms of enemies or just generally distorted gossip. SOMETIMES A HALF TRUTH CAN BE MORE DANGEROUS THAN NONE AT ALL, & one of your own co-worker's distortions can be more damaging, because they're supposed to know, than the slander of outside enemies, who couldn't be expected to know inside facts.
33. DON'T LET BABES IN ON CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION. They might not intentionally, but possibly, quite accidentally, let it slip out to the wrong people at the wrong time or place. Even Jesus said He had a lot of things to tell which they weren't yet able to bear, & He spoke in parables to deliberately conceal the truth from those who wouldn't have received or believed it anyhow, but only use it against Him, as they did, in some cases.--Jn.16:12; Luk.8:10.
34. SOME PEOPLE'S MOUTHS ARE LIKE THE BUNGHOLE ON A BARREL. The minute they open their mouths, everything in their head runs out & they don't even know it. It's happened--that big mouth can get you if you don't watch out! Some people know so little, they like to tell everything they know, & since that doesn't take very long, they make up a few. It only takes a year or two to learn how to talk, but all the rest of your life to learn how to keep your mouth shut about business & confidential mail, because it doesn't matter how you explain it, some nut will misunderstand or misinterpret. For example, when it comes to finances, no matter what your income, some guys will know it's not enough & others will be sure it's too much. It's all a matter of relativity & whether they're looking up or down, in or out! So just shut up!
(5) GIFTS OR DONATIONS
35. WHAT GIFTS YOU DO RECEIVE MUST BE HANDLED VERY WISELY! In fact, the first thing you need to do, as soon as you get your box number, is to go open a checking account. You can make this so that two of you must sign together or countersign, to prevent one person from spending anything he shouldn't, or running off with the money without somebody else okaying it.
36. FOR YOUR OWN PROTECTION, IT'S BETTER FOR YOU TOP LEADERS NOT TO HANDLE THE MONEY AT ALL IF YOU CAN HELP IT, if you have an assistant director, wife, business manager or secretary that can handle it for you. This takes you off the hook & you can say, "I only work here", if any financial problems arise or criticisms are voiced. They can work under your direct supervision & you can hang on to all the checks yourself, if necessary, & only let them sign them, if you want to, or you can turn the whole works over to them, if you can trust them.
37. BUT WHATEVER YOU DO, YOU TOP LEADERS TRY TO KEEP YOURSELF OUT OF THE FINANCIAL & BUSINESS END AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, for your own protection & the protection of God's Work. Don't tend tables if you can help it. The apostles & elders should let the deacons do it. APOSTLES & ELDERS SHOULD DIRECT THE SPIRITUAL AFFAIRS & LET THE DEACONS HANDLE THE MATERIAL, IF POSSIBLE. It's not always possible, until God sends you a good man, but when He does, let'm do it.
38. AS YOU OPEN THE MAIL, IF THERE IS A GIFT OR CHECK IN IT, BE SURE TO MAKE A NOTATION OF ITS AMOUNT on the letter inside or the outside of the envelope, whichever is easiest, according to your own office practices, so that your secretary will be sure to SEND THEM A RECEIPT WITH LETTER OF THANKS IMMEDIATELY. These receipts should be nicely printed up in the name of the organisation if possible, but you can use a book of receipts bought at the dime store if you have to & stamp them with your official stamp--even the rubber stamp with your Home's name & post office box on it will do. 39. DO NOT USE THE WORDS "INCOME TAX DEDUCTIBLE" ON ANY OF YOUR LITERATURE, letters, receipts or otherwise, unless you really are officially approved & listed as such in tax records, because if you're not & they don't allow your receipt for your donor's deductions, he can sue you for the consequences. But as long as you don't claim it's income tax deductible & just say you are sending them an official receipt for their donation, enclosing it to the donor, that is, with a letter of thanks, he will probably be impressed--& if it looks good enough, it may even impress the tax man enough to not look it up. And you haven't promised anything except God's blessing & everybody's happy! THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT, AS YOU DON'T WANT TO PROMISE SOMETHING YOU CAN'T DELIVER.
40. BUT EVEN IF YOU'RE CAMPING OUT, A BOX NUMBER ON YOUR LETTERS, LITERATURE & RECEIPTS CERTAINLY LOOKS BETTER than the local tin-can tourist campground. You can even use your friend's home address for a residency reference, if he'll vouch for you when the mailman comes, in order to get a box number; but even his address might not look too good on your literature & could cause him a lot of reaction if there's any trouble--like when they couldn't find Paul, they attacked the house of Jason where he'd been staying & fined him instead.
(6) KEEP ACCURATE ACCOUNTS
41. KEEP ACCURATE ACCOUNTS OF EVERY PENNY THAT COMES IN, ESPECIALLY BY CHECK, & of all expenditures, including all the receipts you can collect, itemised, naming the thing you paid or bought, both in your books & on the receipt & save them diligently, protect them prayerfully & hope you won't ever have to use them in any legal or financial or tax hassles, but they could come in mighty handy if you had to, to prove where the money came from & what it was spent for. Incidentally, gifts & donations are not supposed to be taxable, & according to the tax instructions, do not even have to be reported as income, so you should be in the clear on that score; but in case anybody ever tries to make you prove it, you'd better have those records & receipts of who & where it went, for your own protection. AND AN ACCURATE CHECK RECORD, IF KEPT IN DETAIL & COMPLETE, SHOWING BOTH DEPOSITS WITH THE NAMES OF THE DONORS AS WELL AS ALL ITEMS OF EXPENDITURE, COULD BE A GREAT ASSET IF THEY SHOULD EVER HASSLE YOU.
42. THIS IS ANOTHER REASON WHY EACH UNIT, EACH TEAM, SHOULD WORK COMPLETELY INDEPENDENTLY FINANCIALLY, if possible, so that its finances & business have as little to do with the others as possible, so that if anyone has any problems, it won't reflect on the rest & they can't be held responsible. This is also why all vehicles & properties & bank accounts should each be held strictly in your own names of your own individual organisation, INDEPENDENT OF THE OTHERS, IN EVERY WAY EXCEPT SPIRITUALLY OR IN CASES OF EMERGENCY OCCASIONALLY IN TIME OF NEED.
43. THIS IS SO THAT YOU MAY NOT ONLY LEARN TO BE UTTERLY DEPENDENT ON THE LORD, stand on your own two feet by faith & trust God to supply all your needs according to His riches in glory, but also to protect the whole body from being killed by an attack on one member. This is very revolutionary, as MOST GROUPS INSIST ON SOME KIND OF FINANCIAL BONDAGE to the denomination, so that no unit can break away with any property or money & the big wigs can get their cut. BUT WE JUST DON'T DO IT THAT WAY. ALL OF YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN, INDEPENDENT EXCEPT IN FELLOWSHIP, VISION, LIKE-MINDEDNESS, SPEAKING THE SAME THING & CALLING, AS WELL AS MODES OF OPERATION, LIKE THE EARLY CHURCH, BUT NO LEGAL OR FINANCIAL TIES THAT COULD BIND OR CHOKE THE WHOLE!
GOD'S FREE TRIP! HEAVENLY ORGANISATION!
44. THIS IS A FANTASTIC SETUP, for not only your weapons are not carnal, but spiritual (2Cor.10:4), but so is our personal & organisational association; so they'll not be able to blame any one of you for the sins of the other--strike you & fell your brother with you--but every man shall give an account of himself, & owe no man anything save to love him.-Rom.14:12; 13:8. WE WILL HELP EACH OTHER AS NEEDED, BUT THIS IS STRICTLY VOLUNTARY, NOT AN ORGANISATIONAL COMPULSION. Each of you is on his own or the Lord's Own, just as your leaders must trust God for THEIR needs.
45. NOBODY GETS PAID. ALL ANY OF US GET IS OUR ROOM & BOARD, & SUCH OTHER NEEDS AS THE LORD SUPPLIES. I love it that way, because there's no limit to what God can supply, it's better than a salary & God knows exactly what you NEED, & every Home's needs & individual's needs can vary with the situation & God is not limited in supplying whatever's necessary, Praise God! Hallelujah! I've lived this way most of my life & He's never failed once. He never makes a mistake. He never gives me too much or too little. I've never saved anything, but I've never run short. I don't own anything, but I have everything I need & the same should be true of you. WHY HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITIES & HEADACHES OF OWNERSHIP, along with its legal problems, when all you need to do is use it! Let the other guy own it & worry about it! Let's just use it! "This World is not my home: I'm just a-passin' through!" Let him keep it, as long as I can use it! Hallelujah!
46. WHAT FREEDOM! YOU OWN NOTHING & NOTHING OWNS YOU--BUT THE LORD! Praise God! What glorious liberty from the bondage of THINGS. That guy in the Bible who wanted to build more barns to hold all the junk he didn't want to share with others couldn't take it with him.--Luk.12:16-21. His biggest problem was the barniness of his own soul.
47. YOU GOTTA GET THE THINGS OUT OF YOU, AS WELL AS GET YOU OUT OF THE THINGS or they become part of you & you get barney too! The only things you can take with you are the souls you win for the Lord--& those you'll enjoy for all eternity, immortal, indestructible, imperishable, everlasting! Isn't that great? That's the most, Man! That's the Eternal Trip! We're Free!...Free!...Free! Free at last & everything we've got is free: Free Salvation, free room-&-board, free instruction, free Truth, free peace, free labour & free love, free happiness, free spirits! Freedom is our business--& it's free! Hallelujah!
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family