SUGGESTIONS! DO 124 11/71
QUALIFICATIONS TO BE A LEADERSHIP TRAINEE!
1. THE AGE & QUALITY OF LEADERSHIP TRAINEES, COMMONLY KNOWN AS OLDER BROTHERS, WILL VARY ACCORDING TO HOME & COUNTRY, so we have found that we cannot set any definite age limit as to length of service. What it takes to do in about six months in the States, it only seems to take a few weeks in other countries, as even our Babes abroad seem more mature & trustworthy, sincere & dedicated, & already more accustomed to responsibility & hard work than the average happy-go-lucky, spoiled, egotistical & easy-going American kid.
2. THEREFORE, YOU LEADERS OF EACH HOME WILL HAVE TO DETERMINE ACCORDING TO THE ACTUAL QUALITY & THE AMOUNT OF RESPONSIBILITY WITH WHICH THEY CAN BE TRUSTED as far as the age or spiritual experience of your Leadership Trainees or Older Brothers are concerned, & this includes sisters also, as this may vary greatly from Home to Home & country to country. Therefore Letters addressed to Leadership Trainees may be read to whomever you think is able to handle them, according to their quality & maturity & responsibility in your particular Home.
3. KEEP IN MIND PARTICULARLY IN THIS RESPECT THE VERY IMPORTANT MATTER OF SECURITY as to what these Trainees will be hearing & whether you think they are strong enough, mature enough, loyal enough & faithful enough not to backslide with possibly dangerous or damaging information, which they might turn over to the System to use against us, as some have recently. TIME is a great TESTER; therefore, usually the longer they've been with us, the more likely you are to be able to trust them, although this is not always true in every case. As a general rule, Leadership Trainees would not be Leadership Trainees unless they had already passed this initial test & been entrusted with training for positions of leadership themselves.
POLICY ON SECURITY OF BOOKS OF MO LETTERS & NOTEBOOKS
4. NOTEBOOKS & BOOKS OF MO LETTERS: It is vitally essen tial that all notebooks given to new Trainees, especially Babes, be checked in at night before retiring, at the secretary's office, and kept under lock and key until checked out in the morning, and perhaps also during witnessing, when they should only carry a Bible--to prevent loss or theft by carelessness or backsliding. There have been some serious losses in this regard and some of our materials are now being used against us by the Enemy. Some of our statements therein when taken out of context and twisted could have damaging results. We've discovered most of our backsliders usually slip away at night or while out witnessing, so checking them in at night and making them leave them at home may help prevent this. I would say this goes for all Babes and even Leadership Trainees.
TIPS ON CHECKING ON BABES
5. BABES: THESE, OF COURSE, ARE YOUR NEW DISCIPLES, NEW TRAINEES, WHO HAVE NOT YET REACHED THE STATUS OF LEADERSHIP TRAINEE. BE PARTICULARLY CAUTIOUS ABOUT THE MATERIALS THAT YOU GIVE THEM in print, that it is only that which is designed for Babes, & that no materials classified for "Leadership Trainees Only" fall into their hands until they are proven LT's themselves, especially Mo Letters! Some of these of a highly critical nature could be misused to our disadvantage. Remember also, that as a matter of security, no new disciple, if he's a genuine sincere disciple, should object to a thorough search of both his person & his belongings before he enters a new Home for any items which might be incriminating or dangerous to your Home, such as drugs, weapons or pornographic materials etc. Better safe than sorry! A responsible leader should also check him or her out thoroughly as to their spiritual experience, as we have discovered some babes in some Homes who are not even saved yet! A word to the wise is sufficient! We still also cannot accept underage children without written, & preferably notarized permission, nor those with legal problems which might endanger your whole Home. Again, I say, we cannot risk the whole Army for one soldier's personal problems!
WINNING & TRAINING LEADERS IS OUR MAIN TASK
6. ALSO REMEMBER THAT WE ARE STILL LOOKING FOR LEADERS & THIS IS OUR PRINCIPAL PURPOSE at this stage. We must have QUALITY more than QUANTITY. If we have quality now, the quantity is bound to come later. Just to rake in all the riffraff to give them free room & board is not our goal. Even though Jesus' disciples were unlearned & ignorant men, they were every one a potential leader, as proven afterward. If we get ourselves so loaded down with Babes now who are never going to be leaders, we're going to find our hands full with orphanages & nurseries & schools for the retarded, like the churches, instead of an Officers' Training school developing a qualified cadre to lead a worldwide spiritual Revolution!
LEADERS NOT TO MARRY BABES
7. LEADERS SHOULD NOT MARRY BABES unless they have unusually strong leadership potential, which is obvious & already in use. This has already caused problems for some of our best leaders! "Not a novice!" Experience is still the best teacher & no one should be placed in a position of top leadership or even near the top unless they've already had considerable time & experience in other positions of leadership.
NO ONE TO LEAD WITHOUT TRAINING & APPROVAL
8. NO ONE SHOULD BE LEFT IN CHARGE OF ANY HOME, HOWEVER SMALL, MUCH LESS LARGE ONES, WHO HAS NOT BEEN WITH US AT LEAST A YEAR AS A GENERAL RULE & HAS ALREADY WORKED NEAR THE TOP as a top leader's assistant or proven himself in a position of heavy responsibility already in some Home. We have even had some good men backslide who were put in positions of TOO GREAT responsibility, whose pressure they just couldn't handle, & one even ran away after being appointed to such a job because he knew better than the leader who appointed him that he was not qualified for it! Some men may make good top sergeants or executive right hands & still not be able to stand the full pressure of total responsibility without immediate supervision! Don't expect too much!
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family