March 7, 2005
(ML #3534, GN 1125)
FD/MM/FM August 2004
ML #4:1–28, DB 4
1. IT JUST THRILLS US TO SEE HOW IT'S GOD WHO IS DOING ALL THIS!—No one in particular‚ no personality cult‚ no individual who has to be there, but the LORD by the power of His Holy SPIRIT! So it's thrilling to us how the Lord is working & that God has started this, God is keeping it going & He is going to conclude it in His time.
2. YOU CANNOT LOOK TO YOUR OWN WISDOM, you cannot rest in your own understanding, you must look for the supernatural‚ miraculous & powerful leading & guidance of the Holy Spirit. It's IMPOSSIBLE to solve these problems on your own. Lean not to your OWN understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge HIM & HE shall direct your paths.
3. SO REMEMBER THAT YOU CANNOT POSSIBLY SOLVE THESE PROBLEMS IN YOUR OWN WISDOM, your own strength, your own mind, your own understanding, your own trying to put two & two together. But you're going to have to ask the Lord by the supernatural, miraculous power of the Holy Spirit, to give you downright, outright, upright revelations, HEAVEN-RIGHT, straight from Him, to show you exactly what to do.
4. NOW THIS IS WHAT WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN DEPENDENT UPON: HE'S THE ONE we've always had to look to for leadership in all the former decisions & in the laying of plans & programs. Some of you know me well enough, you've lived with me long enough‚ you've watched me in operation long enough to know that I never make a decision on my own if I can possibly help it.
5. I NEVER EVER MAKE A SNAP JUDGEMENT OR USUALLY EVEN A QUICK DECISION. Some people get very impatient with me because they think I'm so slow, because I can't give an immediate answer. This is because they're giving too much credit where credit is not due, & that's to ME—that I am the one that ought to know & I'M the one that is making the decision. But you know me well enough by this time, & you know by our history for years now that this is not so.
6. MOST OF THE TIME I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. We always have to ask GOD & look to HIM for HIS direct revelation, or His impression‚ or His leading, or His burden, or His guidance, with it being confirmed by the mouth of two or three witnesses, or by His Word, or by some fleece, or by some revelation, or by some leading. God has always worked with us that way.
7. WE'VE TRIED NEVER TO DEPEND UPON OUR OWN WISDOM, our own understanding, or what we think is the thing to do, but to look directly to Him & expect His direct revelatory, revolutionary, immediate guidance.
8. BUT I WANT TO TELL YOU, THIS IS GOD'S WORK, & if this thing be of GOD, NO man can stand against it & it's not dependent on ANY man, you understand? It is not dependent on ANY man or even any GROUP of us. If this thing be of God, no man is going to affect it one way or the other. But if it were of MAN, then the whole thing would come to naught!
9. DON'T FOR ONE MOMENT GIVE YOURSELF THE CREDIT FOR ONE LITTLE THING YOU'VE DONE‚ or say‚ "Look how big WE are, look how WE'RE growing!" lest you get like the people of the tower of Babel & God has to come down & strike & confuse & scatter! Because the moment you get the slightest bit proud of your SELF, or you think YOU'RE doing something or accomplishing something, watch out!
10. GOD WILL REALLY SET YOU BACK ON YOUR HEELS & SHOW YOU WHO'S THE BOSS! GOD is the One Who is doing all this, & if we follow HIM we can't fail! If we follow the LORD, it's IMPOSSIBLE for us to fail, because HE is the One Who's doing it!
11. DON'T THINK YOU HAVE TO COMPLETE IT. Don't think, "Well, I know God STARTED this thing, but now we're going to have to FINISH it." You'd better get that idea out of your head right now, because we CAN'T finish it!
12. POWER, POPULARITY & PLENTY ARE DANGEROUS, SO WATCH OUT! As long as we're still struggling for every penny & for every need, & as long as we're still weak & utterly dependent on God, & as long as we're still persecuted & unpopular there's hope, because all we've got is God & He's the only One that can possibly see us through.
13. WE HAVE TO UTTERLY DEPEND ON THE LORD as long as we are still persecuted instead of popular, as long as we are still weak instead of powerful, as long as we are still poor instead of too plentiful. Then I'm not too worried about us going astray, because we'll look to God for every little decision, we'll not make a single decision on our own, because WE don't know WHAT to do.
14. IT'S ONLY WHEN YOU GET BIG & POWERFUL & POPULAR & PLENTIFUL THAT YOU THINK YOU CAN MAKE DECISIONS ON YOUR OWN‚ & you think you know what to do, & you think you can get along without God.—And that's where you run into a stone wall! That's where you crash! That's where you make your mistakes, & watch out for that.
15. THE LORD SELDOM SEEMS TO OPERATE ACCORDING TO "NATURAL" EXPECTATION. It takes an impossible situation for God to do a miracle, & time after time we have gotten in such impossible situations that it had to take a miracle to get us out of it!—Or where we had to get in some place, God had to do a miracle to get us in!
16. SO QUIT TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT YOURSELF & to reason it out & to do it in your own understanding. Get down on your prayer bones & get desperate in prayer before God! Get your leaders together & fast & pray & cry out to God as Moses & his disciples did‚ & as I'm sure Noah & his family did‚ & as David & his family did. You can read their prayers & outcrys in the Bible as the Prophets of God & their little groups of disciples cried out to God.
17. GOD HAD TO DO THE WHOLE THING! GOD ALONE is the One Who could do it, for GOD is the One Who wants to get the credit. GOD is the One Who wants to get the glory & GOD is the only One Who can do it. Then He wants you to praise & thank Him & glorify Him because He did it. 'Cause if YOU could do it, you could pat YOURSELF on the back for it, & say,
18. "WELL, LOOK WHAT WE'VE DONE! LOOK HOW GREAT WE ARE! Look how wonderful we're doing!" Watch out when you talk like that, you're headed for trouble! You'd better keep saying, "Wow, look what GOD has done! Look what the LORD'S doing! Look how great HE'S working! Look how many disciples HE'S getting!"
19. GIVE GOD ALL THE CREDIT ALL THE TIME AT EVERY TURN FOR EVERY LITTLE THING, & He will never fail to continue to prosper you, empower you, protect you, keep you, multiply you & do all things just like He did for the Early Church!
20. WE'RE GOING TO FIND OUT IT'S STILL NOTHING BUT GOD! God alone can do it & God alone can show us what to do, how to do it, & protect us in doing it, supply the needs & lead & guide us EVERY STEP of the way. So don't try to figure it out for yourself. Get down in desperate prayer & desperation together. Cry out to God & ask God for the solution, & God will never fail.
21. HAS HE EVER FAILED US? HAS HE EVER FAILED TO SHOW US WHAT TO DO? Even if He didn't show us right then what to do‚ He went ahead & did it Himself. Even if He didn't tell us what He was going to do, HE did it. We sometimes didn't find out what He'd done until after He'd done it. So you don't even always have to KNOW what He's going to do.
22. YOU DON'T ALWAYS HAVE TO KNOW ALL THE ANSWERS. Someone recently asked, "Well, what shall we say when they ask this? What shall we say when they ask us that?" Well, one of the best answers is, as Dr. Irwin Moon said: "I can answer any question you ask me, only MOST of my answers are going to be: 'I don't know, I don't know!'" So, why don't you get smart & just say, "I don't know"? Just be honest, say, "I don't know, let's ask God." The quicker you learn that you don't know, the better off you're going to be, because only God has the answers!
23. ONLY GOD KNOWS WHAT TO DO, & only God knows what He wants done & only God can DO it. Do you get the point?—Now don't forget it! God has His OWN plan. God has His OWN way. God knows what He's doing. So for God's sake let Him do it & just look to Him to find out what He's doing‚ & what He wants YOU to do, & which way HE'S going!
24. SO FOR GOD'S SAKE‚ FOLLOW GOD!—Not yourself, not your own ideas, not your own plans & programs, but for God's sake follow GOD! If I was going to entitle this little talk anything I guess that would have to be the title: "For God's Sake, Follow God!"
25. DON'T TRY TO REASON AROUND WITH YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING, but get down in prayer & cry out to God with strong crying & tears & desperation, & look to HIM ALONE for the answers. GOD ALONE has the answers & God alone can DO it. It's HIS business, HIS program & HIS plan. We're HIS people‚ it's HIS World‚ it's HIS idea & it's got to be HIS WHOLE LEADING, HIS decision. It's got to be HIS protection. It's got to be HIS provision.
26. HE'S THE ONE WHO HAS GOT TO LEAD, BECAUSE ONLY HE CAN! He's got the PROGRAMME, He's got the PROVISION, He's got the PROTECTION & He's got the PREVISION to see the future & to lead & guide us. So don't try to figure it out on your own. You've got to get together in prayer.
27. IT'S WONDERFUL, IT'S THRILLING WHEN YOU REALISE THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO IT! It's GOD'S business & it's HIS problem, so it's got to be HIS provision & HIS protection & it HAS come to THAT‚ you have just GOT to trust the LORD!
28. FOR GOD'S SAKE YOU'VE GOT TO SEE GOD! He's the only way you'll ever survive, & the only way you'll ever be able to heave that sigh of relief & say, "Well‚ thank God I DON'T have to solve it! Thank God I DON'T have to know what to do! When the time comes, GOD will do it."
ML #126, DB 4
2. WE HAVE DISCOVERED SEVERAL HOMES LATELY WHO SEEM TO THINK THEY CAN GET ALONG WITHOUT GOD! They seem to think that all they need to take care of them is their Provisioners, Prayer Letters & New Disciples! They didn't need Leadership Meetings, Daily Prayer Meetings or even Mo Letters! They didn't need to counsel together, pray together or seek the Will of God together! In one of our largest Homes, leaders were all going each their own way & doing their own thing–what was right in their own eyes!
3. IN A FEW SHORT WEEKS, under changing & weak leadership‚ they had gotten into the same condition that it took the Early Church about two hundred years to get into! They had strayed so far from the Lord that they had become virtually like the churches that they themselves have condemned: Each going his own way most of the time, not desperately seeking the Lord or His Will, & depending on the arm of the flesh to save them & keep them going instead of the power of God!
4. THEY'VE BEEN DOING EXACTLY WHAT THE OTHER CHURCHES HAVE BEEN DOING now for hundreds of years: They thought they had such a nice little organization, such a good plan & method & such cute little schemes & it was all so Scriptural that now they could do without the Lord!
5. IT TOOK THE CHURCHES YEARS TO FIGURE OUT WAYS OF GETTING ALONG WITHOUT GOD—a lot of organization, a lot of education, a lot of training, a lot of building, a lot of experience, a lot of money, a tremendous number of people & a lot of political power & influence, so they could lean on Man instead of the Lord! It takes quite a bit of doing of your own works in your own flesh to figure out how to get along without God, & they've finally learned how to survive without Him!—But entirely & completely out of His Will!
6. THEY WIST NOT EVEN THAT THE SPIRIT HATH DEPARTED FROM THEM‚ LIKE SAUL! Like this former major Home, they didn't even know anything was wrong, until the Lord began to withdraw His provision & protection & let them suffer some attacks of the Enemy, not necessarily for their own righteousness' sake but because of their own stupidity‚ independence, self-confidence & spiritual lethargy!
7. NOT ALL PERSECUTION IS THE ENEMY'S FAULT! SOME OF IT IS YOUR OWN FAULT, for your own stupid mistakes, your own lack of prayer, unity & dependence on God in spite of all that we have warned you! Some still think they can get along without God, without desperate united prayer together & heeding God's voice!
8. WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY THE MICE WILL PLAY! That's one way you tell the difference between cats & mice, who the real cool cats are, the genuine leaders with serious concern for the sheep & God's Work or the mere mice who goof off as soon as nobody's looking!—Who either don't attend the meetings that are held or don't care if the meetings aren't called, who couldn't care less when the last Mo Letter was read, the last united prayer meeting was held or the last serious discussion of needs & problems! They've just gone to sleep & left the engine running! And you know what happens when you do that?—The engine soon runs out of steam, out of fuel, the power of God & the oil of His Spirit, & overheats from friction, slows & stops!
9. OR IT BECOMES SO DISORGANISED, SO INCOHERENT & UNCOORDINATED WITHOUT A GOOD DRIVER & without proper maintenance that it just goes to pieces or completely crashes to a near total standstill, with no direction, no guidance, no plan, no purpose‚ no awareness‚ no repairs, no power, no lubrication, no attention & pretty soon no useful motion‚ fit only for God's junk pile!
10. THIS SAME HOME COULDN'T EVEN REMEMBER WHEN IT HAD READ THE LAST MO LETTER together or had a prayer meeting of any kind‚ it had been so many weeks! I'll grant you they were laboring under a difficult situation with scattered & inadequate facilities & poor leadership, but this is no excuse for prayerlessness‚ disobedience & unconcern! Somebody could have stood up & tried to jolt the conscience of the community, but nobody did—not one—not even a little one—because nobody really CARED!
11. "THE GOOD SHEPHERD CARETH FOR THE SHEEP, BUT THE HIRELING FLEETH", caring only for himself! He's not concerned about the condition of the sheep or the threat of the wolves or the lack of pastorage or the shortage of water! He's content as long as he has his own! Sometimes the hireling is not even conscious of the danger, due to his lack of watchfulness, prayerfulness & his own lack of concern about the Shepherd's instructions. This Home was not getting its leadership together for either Mo Letters or prayer! They only ate together—that's all! No wonder they fell apart! The family that prays together stays together! This one didn't!
12. NOW LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING! The huge governments‚ corporations, colleges & systems of this World spend years & years educating, developing, organizing, training & preparing their personnel for leadership & highly technical jobs, be cause they have to depend on themselves & not the Lord! But the Lord is able to take a group out of all walks of life & levels of education or no education, with little or no training or experience & inadequate leadership, & throw them together from everywhere & make a well-organized team out of them, if they will just seek & listen to His leadership & obey‚ since they don't know anything themselves & have never done it before!
13. IT'S LIKE YOU'D TAKE 2000 UNSKILLED LABOURERS & throw them all into an automobile factory suddenly & say: "Make cars!" Without training & experience this would be impossible, of course, especially without guidance or instructions! It would be nothing but chaos, every man with his own ideas‚ going his own way & doing his own thing. It might even be a very elaborate, intricate & complicated machine, but without coordination, purpose or guidance, it would get nowhere, like this Home with no prayer nor Mo Letters!
14. BUT IF YOU WOULD TELL THESE FACTORY WORKERS: "Now, see here! You don't know anything & you never made a car before, but if you'll just listen to the instructions of our Central Computer on your little radio sets through your earphones, each one of you will know exactly what to do & when & how to do it! Just LISTEN & OBEY instructions!"—And they might actually be able to make a car with a little time, patience & experience!—For the COMPUTER knows how!
15. BUT IF THE WORKERS DECIDED THEY DIDN'T NEED THE COMPUTER, they'd rather figure it out for themselves, so they turned off their radios & laid aside their headsets, because they were so busy & didn't want to be bothered with having to listen, they would soon have nothing but confusion, frustration & failure—like this Home! So beware!
16. HERE WE ARE, A BUNCH OF YOUNG KIDS THROWN TOGETHER with no previous training in our field‚ yet we're the Lord's Army, with this huge job thrown in our laps! Only God can synchronize us into anything at all effective‚ & unless the leadership meets together every day for desperate prayer, they'll fall flat on their faces, because they're not getting God's instructions! They're not listening to the Lord or their leader or even to each other! They're bound to fail!
17. THESE PEOPLE WHO LOOK ONLY TO NEW DISCIPLES, BETTER PRAYER LETTERS OR MORE PROVISIONING to meet their needs instead of looking to the LORD are going to fall flat on their faces! If you think you can get by leaning entirely on the arm of flesh instead of the Lord, you're going to fail! You'll get just like the churches: "Let's work harder, get more sheep, think up new schemes of raising money so we can do without the Lord! Then we won't have to stay in His Will or listen or obey! We can get along on our own without God! We'll depend on Man instead of the Lord!" You'd better get your eyes off Man & back on God or you're going to fail! But Jesus NEVER fails! Look to JESUS!
18. GOD USUALLY USES PEOPLE TO HELP US, but if you start getting your eyes on Man, the gift & the giver instead of the One Who inspires him to give—the Lord—your givers may soon lose their inspiration & you'll be doomed to disappointment! God wants you to look to HIM, ask Him‚ follow Him & obey Him! THEN He'll bless your means of supply! But if you lean mostly on the means & the man instead of the Maker, you'll soon be in a mess!
19. GOD SAYS‚ "I THE LORD THY GOD AM A JEALOUS GOD & I WILL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME!" He doesn't want you getting your eyes on anything else more than Him! And God doesn't have to have anything to begin on! Some of you say‚ "Now‚ we can't go to that town because the conditions there are not right, the Provisioning is no good or it's too dangerous!" But if God says "Go!" & it's His Will, you'd better go, no matter what, & He'll take care of you! Don't look at the waves! Keep your eyes on Jesus! Obey Him!
20. BUT TO DO THIS, YOU HAVE TO KEEP IN TOUCH WITH HIM, KEEP YOUR SPIRITUAL RADIO ON & FOLLOW HIS DIRECTIONS! He's not limited by many or by few! He doesn't have to have anything to begin on! He made the World out of nothing.—Pretty good old World, isn't it? He hung it on nothing.—Hangs pretty good‚ doesn't it? And He can make something out of nothing—even YOU‚ if you'll LISTEN, TRUST & OBEY, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust & obey! Are you doing both? The one cannot go without the other! You can't obey without trusting & you can't trust without obeying! It's a two-way street! And you've got to LISTEN to do both!
21. AND AS FAR AS MO LETTERS ARE CONCERNED, YOU DON'T HAVE TO READ THEM or listen to them, if you're not interested in the score or winning! You can let them stack up on your desk & put them aside until you have time, because you'll never have time! You have to MAKE time to both pray & to read Mo Letters! You've got to MAKE time to listen! You've got to set a definite time every day for your leadership prayer meetings & conferences & Mo Letters!
22. LET ME TELL YOU RIGHT NOW, IF YOU DON'T READ THOSE MO LETTERS TOGETHER with the people for whom they're addressed, you're going to be sorry! You're going to be like the guy who dropped his pencil during an Army crash course in Mathematics & missed a whole year of Calculus!—Or the battlefield general who's still going by last year's Battle Plan or even last month's or last week's—or even yesterday's!
23. THE LORD INSPIRES ME TO WRITE YOU, much of the time, what you need at the moment—& if you don't use it today, like God's manna, it may be no good for tomorrow! If you let them stack up on your desk instead of sharing them with the shepherds &/or the sheep‚ you might as well forget it, & even forget being a Home Shepherd too, & even forget being a Home! You'll wind up like the one we've been talking about, because that's what they did!
25. HERE AGAIN, THE SMALL HOMES ALWAYS DO BEST, appreciate the Letters the most, talk the most about them & how they helped them & are so thankful for them, because the small Homes KNOW they don't know anything & KNOW they need leadership, guidance, counsel, help & advice! So they listen & try to obey & God blesses them! But when they get big & powerful, they think they know everything & don't have to be told anything & can get along without me OR the Lord! They know it all!—And fall flat on their faces & disappear! How about YOU?
ML #3352:69-85, 130-135, GN 949
69. (Peter:) The basic idea behind the boards is to find those who are gifted within each of these particular pillars/ministries, and use their expertise, or the talents and anointing the Lord has given them, to serve the Family. You probably know someone(s) in your country or area who is particularly gifted in childcare, education, working with young people, follow-up or outreach. These folks may or may not be very good people-handlers or shepherding types, but one thing is certain: they're gifted in their particular ministry. Today, their gifts are most likely limited to their particular Home‚ or if their city has a functioning and active City Council, maybe they are able to benefit the small circle of Homes around them.
70. Under the board structure, such a person could sit on the national board for the pillar that they're best suited for. That person would be in phone and e-mail communication with, as well as meet on a regular basis (at least once every few months)‚ together with other board members from their national area who are also gifted in that particular ministry.
71. If this person, for example, sits on the Children and Parenting board‚ when he or she communicates with or meets with the other members of the national Children and Parenting board, they would discuss the needs of the children and parents in their national area. They may discover that there are a number of young mothers in their national area who need help and counsel regarding baby care, and they may agree that that is a topic that needs to be addressed.
72. As the national board‚ they might pray about and discuss the possibility of holding a seminar for new mothers. They could put together a two-day seminar and invite the new moms from their area to come together and give them classes on baby care, etc. Or they might invite other experienced mothers to come help give some classes or workshops. By discussing the needs of their area and praying about ideas and ways to help meet the needs, the national Children and Parenting board would be directly benefiting their area, within their particular ministry.
73. As another example, the members of the national JETT/Teen board might realize that a number of the young people in their area have a common problem of being bored. Therefore they would pray about the situation and seek the Lord for something that they could do to help alleviate the problem. Perhaps the Lord would show them that organizing weekend get–togethers once a month with as many of the young people as can attend from the area for united inspiration and a witnessing excursion would help to alleviate some of the teens' boredom. They could plan it out and confer with the Homes; if there is agreement from the Homes in the area, the plan could be instituted on the national level. In some cases, where a national area consists of a number of countries and it is not possible for the young people of the area to go out together‚ the board might recommend that each city which has a substantial number of young people try to hold a monthly witnessing excursion for their youth.
74. The idea is to get the people together who are gifted in a particular ministry and give them the responsibility to think about, discuss, and pray about the needs of that particular ministry within their national area. As it stands today, the CROs and VSs are only able to focus their attention on the most pressing matters at hand—the daily emergencies. We've lacked people in positions of responsibility who could focus their time and energy on just one aspect of our Family life, and we hope that this board structure will allow for this focus.
75. Presently if the young people in an area are bored, it's basically up to the Home itself to figure out what to do about it, or a few Homes in an area which band together to tackle the problem. For the most part there is very little help provided from outside their Home. If a VS happens to visit and is attuned to young people, he may have some good counsel to give the Home. But in most cases, the VSs only come around once in a great while, and the rest of the time that Home is faced with trying to solve that problem more or less on their own. If there's nobody in the Home who is particularly gifted in working with or inspiring young people, then the young people will most likely continue to be bored. The VSs and CROs do try to organize things for the young people in their areas, but with their time being divided between so many facets of Family life, they are very limited in what they can do.
76. The Home may want to change the situation and may be seeking the Lord for solutions to their young people's boredom. They may even write their CROs to ask for help and counsel. The problem is that the CROs aren't in a position to focus so much on an individual Home and its needs. The CROs have to be concerned not only with the young people, but with the education of our children, the childcare set-up, the overall outreach and Activated progress, the NPC, the Office, the SC, a myriad of business details, and all the rest! So under our present system, it's very difficult for that Home seeking solutions for their young people to get the help that it needs.
77. It is our hope that with the board structure in place, when a problem like this arises‚ those on the national board will be able to tune into it, pray about it, communicate with the Homes about it, make suggestions to the Homes for possible solutions and assist in any way they can.
78. Naturally, the boards will be limited in what they can do, as being a board member will not be their full-time job, finances for the boards will be extremely limited, and logistically it won't be possible to give each Home in a national area the exact same services. The services the boards are able to provide may vary from area to area or city to city. If the national area consists of a large number of Homes that are geographically close together and one or two which are a great distance away‚ then the Homes that are far away might receive less services than the nearby Homes, since, for example, they won't be able to afford to send their young people a long distance each month to attend a witnessing excursion. On the other hand, the national board might give the distant Homes a different service such as writing them much more often than they would the Homes which are close by.
79. It's important to realize right from the start that the boards are not going to solve every individual Home's problems, nor are they responsible to solve the problems; they're just responsible to be of service to the Homes in that particular sphere of Family life. However, in this case‚ the national JETT/Teen board, when discussing and praying about their area, might be able to find a solution that not only helps one individual Home to alleviate the problem with their young people being bored‚ but other Homes as well.
80. National board members are meant to be people who are gifted in that specific ministry. These people should be thinking and praying about that ministry in relation to the specific Homes in their national area. These national board members live in that national area and they're in a better position than the CROs to offer some sort of service or counsel to the Homes in regards to that ministry, and to pioneer local initiatives within that ministry.
81. What we're hoping and praying for with the implementation of the board vision is that there will be people in your national area who will be praying and thinking about the young people in your national area. Other Family members within your national area will be thinking, praying, and seeking the Lord for solutions and ideas concerning the education of the children in your national area. Similarly, there will be people who are focused on the national area's outreach programs, who are thinking about it and discussing it with other like–minded people, and who are trying to find ways to help the Homes advance in Activated and outreach.
82. Of course, these board members will have other responsibilities as Home members, and the board won't be their full-time job. However, between them they will be thinking and praying and trying to do what they can to help the Family in their respective spheres of responsibility.
83. National board members will meet every few months for discussion and prayer. They will most likely communicate with each other in between their meetings, but they will only officially be required to meet every three months or so. It is during these meetings that they will pray about and discuss their ministry, and make decisions as to what they feel they can do to help the Homes in their national area. In some instances this will be the extent of their involvement; in other cases they will get more involved and will put more time into it. For example, if a national board meeting is held at the beginning of the winter months, they may pray about and discuss problems, solutions and ideas. However, during the course of their meeting they may decide that no new programs or initiatives will be undertaken for the next three months because it's difficult to do so in the winter. So for the next three months the board members might not have many board duties. Whereas if they meet right before summer‚ they may suggest holding a seminar during the summer months, which would necessitate their putting more time into their duties, preparing and planning for the seminar.
84. The chairperson of the national board will have more work than the other members of the board, as he or she will be the one communicating with the other board members and will be responsible for more of the business of the board. The chairperson will probably play a larger role in helping to implement the decisions of the board.
85. We are looking for people who are gifted in any one of these pillars, who have a burden for that particular ministry or age group, who can help to offer related services to the Homes in their national area. We need people who will be thinking, praying, discussing, and seeking the Lord for answers to the problems, for ways to move forward. We need people who have the faith and vision to act and be part of the solution, rather than waiting for solutions to come from WS or from the CROs. We need people who are willing to sacrifice their own time to help bear the responsibility for these vital pillars of Family life and help move the Family forward.
130. We believe that by having a large number of people throughout the world thinking and praying about each of these pillars, and having a clearly defined line of where their ideas and suggestions should go—from the national level, to the regional level, to the international level—that the Lord will use it to help us to find the solutions that we need. Having this talent pool of individuals focusing on each pillar will also create new initiatives that are so necessary. It will also help WS to serve you better‚ because we'll be hearing directly from you through the boards as to what your specific needs are, and what specific pubs or policies need to be created.
131. But the best part is that right at the ground level, right there where you live in your national area, there will be people who are knowledgeable, gifted‚ and skilled in those ministries who are communicating, meeting together, thinking, discussing and praying about the needs of each pillar within your national area.
132. It is our hope, prayer, burden and belief that by having people focus on a single pillar at the national level, that many new ideas, initiatives and programs will blossom to benefit the Homes and Family members in each national area. And those programs and initiatives and ideas that are really good and that really work can then be used throughout the whole region‚ and once they reach the international boards, perhaps they can be spread throughout the whole world.
133. It's time to spread the load. We can't expect or hope that WS can come up with all the ideas and the solutions to all the problems. It's unrealistic to think that the COs and VSs are going to be able to solve all the problems, figure out all the programs, and keep everyone moving forward within each of these pillars of our Family. Counsel, prayer‚ decision-making and progress have to happen at the local level.
134. To make this happen we need people who are gifted, who are willing to go the extra mile, do the extra work‚ get involved, sit on these national boards and think‚ pray, and discuss together‚ and to take the initiative to offer various services to the Homes within their pillars that will help and benefit their national area, or to give advice and counsel to the Homes who request it‚ within their realm of responsibility.
135. If we can fill this board structure with people who have the needed gifts and the burden to work together, pray together, and to create services or programs for their national area, then we will be miles ahead, because the load and the burden of problem-solving and raising the inspiration level will no longer fall on the shoulders of just a few, but will be spread out amongst the many. If we can achieve this, we will be in a much better position to move forward, to take bold new steps, and to go to the places the Lord wants to take us to. Our present leadership structure cannot carry this weight alone. It has to be distributed throughout these pillars and be borne on the shoulders of many. If we can do that, we believe the Lord will mightily anoint it and help us to move forward like never before.
ML #3353:6-13, GN 950
6. (Peter:) Each of the board pillars has specific responsibilities and authority to carry out their duties. For example‚ the national JETT/Teen board members have the authority to organize fellowships‚ suggest outreach pushes, help the young people get training in ministries, etc. The fact that the board members are on the JETT/Teen board gives them the authority to make these types of decisions which will help to provide the services or avenues for training and progress in their particular field. This is the case for all the boards. However, they don't have authority over the Homes. For example, they cannot require Homes to attend the fellowships or participate in certain pushes, or require certain young people to get training, or discipline Homes for not complying with their recommendations, etc.
7. In order for the boards to be effective, they have to have both the responsibility of the job and the authority to do the job. Then, of course‚ they also have the accountability that goes with the job. If they don't do the job‚ they will be held accountable, and individual members can lose their position on the board, or the whole board could be dismissed and a new board instituted.
8. While each board has the authority to vote and make decisions regarding the ministry that their board represents, they do not have authority over the Homes themselves. The one exception to this is the VS board‚ whose responsibility it is to visit the Homes and to shepherd them spiritually, along with making sure they're upholding the Charter standard. The VSs (Area Officers) and Continental Officers will continue to have the authority over the Homes and our Family members which is outlined in the Charter.
9. Each board is accountable to do its respective job the best it can‚ but they're not accountable for the actions of the Homes. In other words, if the board is doing its job by providing opportunities for the Homes to get the help they need‚ and certain Homes don't want to participate or be involved or receive the counsel or actions suggested to them‚ then that's not the board's fault—they're still doing their job. If the Home's standard in the particular area that a board is responsible for—say childcare—is not what it should be, it's the Home that is held accountable under the Charter, not the Children and Parenting board. Of course, if a board is not making any effort to assist the Home, then they would be held accountable for not doing their part. But the responsibility and accountability for the Home to keep the standard according to the Charter requirements remains with the Home and its members, along with the VS board and Continental Council, not with the other boards.
10. It's important to understand that while the boards exist to assist the Homes to the best of their ability, the responsibility to meet the Charter requirements is still the Home's responsibility. If, for example, a child in a Home isn't up to par educationally according to the Charter, the Home can't blame the FED board for this problem. It's the Home's problem and they are at fault‚ as the Charter clearly states that it's the parents' and the Home's responsibility to supply the child with an adequate education. The FED board is there to help make your job of educating your children easier‚ but they are not responsible to provide that education; that remains the responsibility of the Home and the child's parents.
11. Some of you might get the impression that the boards are there to solve all of your personal and Home problems, but that's not the case. Our hope is that the boards will be able to help everyone move forward—to do new things, come up with new solutions, without getting bogged down by individual Homes or personal problems.
12. Our hope is that each Home will endeavor to find solutions to its own problems by praying about them, searching for the answers in the Word, hearing from the Lord in prophecy, and then implementing what the Lord shows them. That's the first step you need to take when you're faced with challenges and needs within your Home. The board vision doesn't change that.
13. The national boards are there to assist you in any way they can, but they aren't responsible to solve your Home's problems. Their mandate is to focus and pray about the needs of the national area, and to offer suggestions and help that will enable the national area as a whole to progress. They will do what they can to help those in need, but the first step to problem solving will still have to be taken at the individual and Home level. (For some good guidelines on how to solve problems, see "Problem-solving Steps" in GN 908, page 26-28.)
ML #3387:12-31, 196-200, GN 983
12. (Peter:) Let's take a look at some of the main reasons why we're making this big change and implementing the board structure. Keeping these points in mind as you read the prophecies which follow will help you to better understand some of the Lord's counsel.
13. The Lord has given us the board structure plan in order:
¸to spread out the load so that the COs don't have to bear such a heavy load
¸to raise up others who can bear some of the responsibility, and to use more people's gifts and talents in a greater way
¸to spread out the decision-making power and the authority
¸to take responsibility out of the hands of a few, and spread it amongst many
¸to draw more people into leadership and deacon responsibilities of leadership, to make progress happen
¸to use those particularly gifted in a certain ministry, to acknowledge their gifts, even if they aren't leadership-oriented
¸to facilitate not only the era of action, but the era of responsibility
¸to free the COs to teach‚ train‚ guide, direct, and strengthen those who will help them to bear the load
¸to free the COs to be able to accomplish more, and enable them to focus on the area of their main talent(s) or what only they can do
¸to help the Family move forward into the future in a stronger way
¸to create a new revolution, to keep the Family as part of the cycle of empowerment of the greater body of believers
¸to make the Family better able to handle the load of shepherding, teaching and training the new converts coming, and eventually the multitudes
¸to help answer the Family's prayers, to fill the lacks, solve the problems, strengthen the weak areas, and serve the field better and more immediately
¸to help the COs spend more time with the Lord, enabling the Lord to give them originality and insightful understanding of the needs of their area and flock
¸to answer the bleating of the sheep everywhere—to meet the Family's needs
¸to unite the Family
¸to strengthen those whose hope and faith need to be rekindled
¸to generate initiative, faith, and prayerfulness all the way down the line within the Family
¸to help Family members feel more involved‚ and more a part of the leadership of the Family
¸to open up conduits for Family members to channel their good ideas through, to enable those ideas to be implemented
¸to create an atmosphere of moving forward‚ of modernizing, of opening the company to its employees so they're part owners
¸to utilize the keys to the Kingdom—keys to big doors of opportunity, greater fruitfulness, more efficiency in serving others, and working smarter
The All–Encompassing Goal
Of the Board Structure
14. (Jesus: ) Setting up the boards will greatly affect all of your lives. It is a monumental change in the modus operandi of the Family.
15. In all of this, remember that the board structure is just that: a structure—nothing more, nothing less. It is a means to an end. It is the way to reach your goal. And that end, that goal, is to reach My lost sheep and to create My Endtime church.
16. So as you set up the board structure, don't lose sight of the goal, which is to reach My lost sheep. As you commence this new method of operating—the board structure—as you look at it and examine the way it's built, as you strive to build it into your area, remember that it's just a means to an end.
17. It's as if you're picking up a new powerful bow and arrow. You examine the tautness of the string. You test the strength of the bow. You look at the straightness of the arrow, the sharpness of the point, the placement of the feathers. In all of this, remember that although the weapon is new and powerful‚ and though the feel of it in your hands is different and something you must get used to using, nevertheless, the utmost priority is to use it to hit the goal, the target, to reach My lost souls through Activated.
18. Though you must spend time now applying this bow and arrow to your lives, remember its aim‚ its target, its goal: to reach lost souls through Activated. Yes, there are many and varied aspects of the board structure, involving not only outreach and GP productions, but shepherding, childcare and parenting, education, young people, media and legal affairs. Still, in each aspect of the board structure, the overall goal of this coordination of effort throughout the Family is to enable the Family to become a better reaping machine. Every day you must make an effort to attune your part of the board structure toward this goal. Every day be sure to keep your eyes on the target. Keep the vision, and aim all that you do in the right direction.
19. The Family is not a static structure. The Family is a living, moving‚ reaping machine that I have commissioned with the purpose of garnering My Endtime church‚ to find the lost souls, to lead the millions with My light. So although each board will be focusing and pushing for progress in their respective area of the board structure, make sure all are pushing in the right direction, toward the right goal: Activated to reap My Endtime church.
Why the Boards Are Vital
To Our Survival
20. I have been leading step by step toward the vision of the board structure—first with the Charter, then increasing the number of COs and VSs, and now moving you into the era of action‚ and the present Activated push.
21. It is imperative that the Family's present leadership push down much of the responsibility, decision-making, and innovation to all levels. If you don't move forward with this, the Family will be hamstrung and ineffective in caring for the multitude of hungry sheep I wish to send your way. I will not be able to send the sheep to you unless you push through with this vision and its implementation.
22. Setting up the boards will take a great deal of hard work—logistics, reorganization, financial planning, etc.—but in the long run it will pay off with increased productivity‚ organization of portfolios, greater fulfillment for Family members, and greater care of My sheep.
23. At first this will seem to be a step backward, but almost every revolution and reorganization causes an initial slowdown. As I have shown many times over the years in the Family‚ every revolution and reorganization that I have had the Family go through has brought about the long-term result of great strides forward.
24. The boards are also imperative, because WS and the COs will no longer be able to carry the leadership and final decision-making load alone; it's too heavy. The Family has become too diversified for the present leadership structure to manage it effectively. WS and the COs alone will no longer be able to both receive the vision and implement it. They will wear themselves out completely by trying.
25. I wish to pour out in great abundance and give ideas, goals, and plans to many so that your ministries might grow and blossom! To do this, establishing boards to carry out the greater amount of work, decision-making‚ and implementation is a must.
26. You will see results and the expansion of the Family through this greater knowledge, experience, understanding, counsel, and workforce. With wise counsel amongst you all shall purposes be established. The Family will begin to grow rapidly. This revolution will cause a great explosion of new disciples, and a greater effectiveness of the Family in all ministries across the board.
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27. I plan to bring the Family through much change over the next months and years, and the foundation of that change is being laid now. The changes that I'm making will propel the Family into a very fruitful future, one which will be much more problem-free. Part of this future is a greater spreading of the workload and the responsibility, and that is what these boards are designed to do.
28. The boards are as pillars holding up the structure of the Family. They need to be strong, firm pillars, as these boards will help to govern the Family, and will be conduits for the free flow of ideas, of people power‚ and of prayers—focused prayers on those particular ministries.
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29. I have shown you how one leader cannot be responsible for all the facets of Family life in the country or area that he or she is overseeing. Therefore you must change the structure so that each leader is responsible for certain ministries which I have gifted him or her for.
30. Rather than a group of leaders working together to handle all the aspects of an area‚ as you have had with the CO structure, each group of leaders—or people gifted in that ministry—will be working together to ensure that the Family's needs are being met in that particular area of responsibility. They will not have to worry about the other areas of responsibility, though they will of course support the other boards through prayer and whatever help they may offer. But in order to spread the load, they will be attuned primarily to their particular ministry.
31. This means that the structure will be quite different than what you have now. No longer will you have a CO teamwork that is responsible for all aspects of Family life in their continent. Instead, there will be a set of boards, each responsible for one ministry within the CO area.
196. (Jesus:) One danger of implementing the board vision is that because a number of counselors will be added to each pillar, some people will automatically assume that the focus is more on the counseling and the talk than on hearing from Me. People may tend to lose the vision of asking Me everything, and feel that discussing, hashing things out, and leaning to the wisdom of man is the way to go, the most effective way, and even the whole reason why the boards are being put into place, because people are needed—input, talk‚ discussion, and so on. It is true that people are needed, and input, talking, discussion, and counsel are vital—but not above hearing from Me.
197. With wise plans I make My war‚ and My war for the Family's survival and future growth is two-pronged. One prong is the new weapon of hearing from Me in prophecy and bathing every move in prayer; the other prong is to gather My children who have knowledge and resources on a subject, and have them brainstorm and put their heads together to make plans and design projects and have them become a reality. But I must still be the inspiration behind it all. Without Me and My leading, the other will not work. This must be made very clear to all, otherwise people will be looking to man and expecting great new things to happen, because finally there is a team of "smart people" working on the various fronts. If that happens‚ because their eyes are misplaced, I will not be able to lead or bless.
198. It is vital for the success of the board vision that people have their eyes on Me and that I am not neglected. I will work through people and use them and their talents and gifts in a united, concerted‚ full effort. But if you were to compare the two, it's better for the input of the people to be lacking than it is for My Spirit to be lacking. Asking Me everything and depending on Me is the priority.
199. One danger of not using prophecy within board meetings is that things will get personal, and since there will be strong personalities involved, each one must be subject to a higher power and authority than him or her alone. Another danger is that upon seeing the success of the program‚ the people on the board will attribute it to their team, or those observing the board will commend and glorify those on the board for "finally making some of these things happen" which have been talked about and suggested in the pubs or even via prophecy for some time. This will cause people to value the power of men above the power of God, and this is very dangerous.
200. I will bless the boards that hear from Me, who include Me, who let Me have the last word. Of course‚ there will be discussion and voting, but there must also be My confirmation. My stamp of approval must be given. There must be a seeking of Me or I will have your plans come to naught. Each individual board will be given this responsibility, and the success of their board—the spiritual and practical success—will rest upon their obedience to comply with My request that I be intimately involved in every way.
ML #3407:12-40, Post-it ML
12. (Peter:) As we said in the GN, basically our leadership structure has reached its limits. Our structure basically consists of people in WS who do the pubs and the administration. Then there are the COs who are responsible for their continental area, basically, and everything in it. The COs have their responsibilities under the Charter of things they have to supply, like an NPC, a LIM or a Lit-Pic, the tools for the job‚ that sort of thing. They also are involved in directing the work of their continental area‚ as well as keeping everybody in line with the Charter. It involves a lot of shepherding and a lot of details.
13. They are helped by the VSs, which is the next level of leadership in the Family. And of course, you all know what the VSs do. They visit you and try to help you all they can in every aspect of your Home, if you ask them—and I guess sometimes when you don't ask them! But that kind of becomes the end of our upper leadership structure; it's just those two levels. There are Service Homes that do service-type work, and, of course, the Home teamworks.
14. But the Family has grown so huge in personnel as well as in complexity. The Family is much more complex today than it was in the past. We have more people. We have more ministries. Since the Charter, people are much more independent. I don't say independent in the negative sense of, "This guy is really independent." Maybe autonomous is a better word. You're allowed to decide what your Home is going to do and you do it, and that in itself brings more complexity to the whole thing. We have kids of all different ages and different levels. We have people at different spiritual levels, and all the rest. It's just a lot more complex. And it's too huge of a load for Mom and me, for WS, for the COs or for the VSs to carry the load themselves, and to do a really good job at it.
15. We've been able to carry the load and the Family has made a lot of progress‚ we're moving forward, but it's taking a huge toll on the small amount of leadership there is. Everybody is kind of having to run quickly from pillar to post to take care of this emergency‚ or put out that fire, or to solve these problems, and we're not able to get ahead of the problems. We're reacting to problems rather than making it so that those problems don't exist in the first place. We're reactive and we need to change that. It's just too much. It's too much for us—we admit it. We are weak. We can't do it. We need your help. And the Lord showed us that it is now time for a change.
16. The Lord does give us answers. I don't want to make it sound like, "Oh, well‚ the Word doesn't help us‚ or the Lord doesn't help us." He does, plenty! He gives us answers in the GNs. If you go back and look at some of the problems that were addressed in the "Conviction vs. Compromise" series, you'll see that most of those things were dealt with in other GNs over the last four or five years.
17. But there is also the problem of implementing the Word, implementing what the GNs say. And again, the VSs can't go around to every Home and say‚ "Let's implement this and let's implement that." If the Home doesn't have the initiative to do it on its own, or doesn't understand how they can implement it, then they just don't. Or they try‚ but it's not good enough. There's not a structure at the Home level that helps the Homes with implementation. That's something that needs to happen, and we believe the board vision can help with that.
18. Another reason why we have the boards is to help the Family make more progress. We don't have people at the ground level to inspire the troops or to help the Homes make progress. The VSs try, and the COs try too, but they've got so many things on their plate it's nearly impossible for them to focus on that level in the way that that level needs to be focused on, and that is at the grass roots, at the Home level.
19. So we need people that are at that Home level for starters, who are aware of the problem, and who are knowledgeable of those particular ministries, whether it's FED or childcare, or the young people, or church growth and outreach. We need people who are gifted in those areas, who are aware of the problems‚ and who will pray and meet and discuss ways to solve the problems—or discuss ways to make headway in these ministries.
20. We don't have that today. We have a lot of people who would like to do that. I know the Continental Officers, the COs‚ would like to do that—to be able to pull away from all the problems and the day-to-day stuff that comes at them to really be able to think and pray and focus on the needs of a certain area or ministry, and be able to delve in and spend some time working on it, but they can't because they have to be responsible for all kinds of ministries. The VSs, too, who really are supposed to be just shepherding and visiting, get very involved in many things, and they just can't spend the time. It's sad, because they are very gifted and qualified people who could help the Homes more if they had more time.
21. So that's another reason—we want to free up the COs and the VSs to focus on the things that they should focus on, and not have to focus on the other things. And we need to get other people who will focus on the other aspects of the work, because they all need to be addressed. They are important. Our young people are important. Our children are important. The FED is important. The outreach is important. The VSing is important. The PR is important. All of it is important, but we just don't have enough people in our present leadership to focus on them as they should. So now we want to change things so that you can focus on them, so that you can be the people responsible and have the authority to really work in these ministries, to make changes, and to make things happen.
22. So we need a mechanism to use people's talents and gifts in a way to benefit the Family. A lot of you have terrific ideas. We know that. I know whenever I go out and see people, people talk to me and they have tremendous ideas, lots and lots of experience, and they come up with good suggestions. I'm sure that all of you do, and I'm sure people in your Home are like that too. They can sit around and think, "Well, you know, we ought to do this for the kids." Or‚ "It would really help if we would do that." But presently there is no clear mechanism as to how to get those ideas into a tangible form and a practical way to help the Homes.
23. Sure, you can write—and people do all the time—they write WS, or they write their COs, or they tell their VSs. And that's good. We've always appreciated it and we've used a lot of ideas that have come from the field to make changes. Or they've written about problems‚ and after we've read over their letters and done research and prayed and asked the Lord, He would speak about those things, and those ideas generated new GNs.
24. But there is no actual, official means for ideas at the ground level to be discussed, to be prayed about. There is no mechanism. You can write the Folks, you can write WS, you can write your COs, but that's about all you can do. Whereas we need to have a body of people closer to the ground level who are thinking about those things, who really discuss and pray about those matters and have kind of a "legal standing" to fill the needs or to solve the problems, or to at least address the problems. And that's another thing that we're hoping that the boards will do. To achieve that, we want to raise up those who have the gifts and talents in those ministries to be able to use those gifts and talents.
25. Somebody who had visited the field was just telling Mama the other day‚ "Oh‚ I ran into so–and–so, and they are so talented! They have so many ideas. They're so alive. They can do this and they could do that, but they're kind of drifting. They're not in a place where their talents can really be used. Their ideas don't go anywhere because there is no means for them to go anywhere." And there are lots of people like that in the Family. There are a lot of you who are like that. You've had ideas, but we just haven't had the mechanism for it, and now we need that so that we can tap into the tremendous talent of all of the Family and use your gifts and talents for the benefit of the Family. That's really important!
26. Another reason is that we need a training ground for leadership where people can learn leadership skills—where they can learn decision-making, people handling, and all the rest that goes into leadership. Mama and I have discussed this before and we've asked the question, "Why don't we have enough leadership"? Why is it that we have the Continental Officers, we have the VSs‚ but we don't have more? There is other leadership, too. There are people who are naturally gifted and who have taken positions of responsibility‚ though not necessarily officially. But in talking about it, it's like, "Well, why don't we have more people like that?" For one, there is no position to put people in. You're either a Continental Officer or you're a Visiting Servant. And if you're not one of those, there's not too much more in the way of positions where you can actually learn those skills. So we haven't provided a way for those skills to be learned.
27. We believe that the boards will be a training ground, where people will learn. They'll be tested and you can see who really does have leadership-type qualities. It won't just be a place where you can see, "Oh, are they spiritual?" Or "are they this or that?" But a place where they are actually using their leadership skills. They're using the talents that the Lord has given them. And in the course of using them and being on a board and talking with other people, having to work together and come up with the Lord's plan and all of this‚ well, in the course of having to do that they will learn leadership lessons.
28. So hopefully this will help raise up a new body of people who will be leaders in the Family. If you're on the board, you're going to be helping to govern the Family, really, and that puts you in a position of leadership at some level. But just because you're in a position where you have some authority and you have some leadership, it doesn't necessarily make you a leader. What makes you a leader is learning how to lead, learning how to hear from the Lord, learning how to make wise decisions, and all the rest. Initially you get a title, but you have to grow into the job, and you will have to do that on your boards.
29. In any case, one of the reasons we're doing this is so that we can have a training ground for new leadership to hopefully raise up people—you—who have talent and leadership abilities‚ but haven't been able to use them because there was no place for it, or there was no mechanism in place. So we want to strengthen that area. We want to create the mechanism so that people can learn leadership skills, exercise leadership skills, and grow in that way. Because if there is more leadership throughout the Family, the Family will be stronger.
30. Now, I'm not talking about leaders who go around telling people what to do. We're really not interested in that. We're talking about leadership that learns how to make wise decisions, how to work with people, how to be loving and kind, and also inspiring, to get people to follow. Not to push or drag them, but to get them to follow because the ideas the leader has or the love that they have inspires others to follow.
31. Another thing that we want to have happen with the boards, and one of the reasons that we want the boards to be in existence‚ is that we need to get proactive about the Family's needs and problems. As I said earlier‚ we're on the defensive a lot. When something comes up‚ we have to fix it. We'd like to have people think ahead or try to head the problems off at the pass‚ put the fence at the top of the hill rather than the hospital at the bottom. That can happen at a local level, as you discuss and pray about your situation, about your Homes, about your area, about your ministry. The Lord will use you, and He will give you ideas.
32. We have great faith in the Lord, and we have faith in your connection with the Lord, and we know from experience and by faith that when you get like-minded people together, people who have the gifts and the talents‚ or the knowledge and the wisdom about a certain ministry—childcare and parenting‚ for example—when you get some of those people together and they pray and they talk together and they discuss, we know the Lord is going to give tremendous ideas and good counsel. If they will do it right and interact with the Homes in the right manner, they will be able to really help the Homes with that counsel and with those ideas.
33. We also have great faith that those ideas will go up the pillar. And as they do, from the national board, to the regional board, to the international board, they will come to us at WS and we'll be able to use those ideas for the whole Family. Because if it works in one area, the chances are that it might work elsewhere. And we really need that.
34. All I can tell you is that we can't think of everything. We can't come up with all of the new ideas and with all of the new initiatives. It's just impossible, and the COs can't do it either. I don't want to sound alarmist or anything, but really, the COs are tired, the VSs are tired, and we're kind of tired, too, because of the weight of it all. We really need your help. So we need to make this change. We need to get you involved. We need to get the Family moving and getting new ideas and implementing those ideas. That's why we're implementing the boards.
35. We prayed about it—and we have put a lot of thought and prayer into this, it's been going on for a few years—in doing so we've had to look at the Family, where it is; we've had to look at the Charter; we've had to see the autonomy that we've given to the Homes. We've had to weigh all of this up and try to blend it all together and make it work all together, because we've learned lessons from our history.
36. If you go back in Family history‚ you'll see that we've tried to implement things that are similar to the boards years and years ago in the '70s and '80s. There was the New Revolution where there were various levels of leadership, and it really didn't work very well. Later on there was the Fellowship Revolution that had the LASs‚ DASs, GASs and NASs. That worked too, but it got off balance. In both cases it got off balance because people in the leadership levels had too much individual authority, amongst other things.
37. It's funny, in some ways when people have a lot of authority‚ a little bit like dictatorship, you can make things happen. A lot of things happened in those days. People would come in and say, "We're going to do it this way! This is what's going to happen! You're going to move here! We're going to have a school‚ we're going to have this, we're going to get people in it," and you could really make things happen because the leader had that authority. But it wasn't always the best for the individual people who were being told to go here or there or that they were now going to do this ministry.
38. We've tried to get very much away from that with the Charter, and we have. In some ways it swung way to the other side. People got very independent and wouldn't listen to anybody, but then things settled down after a while. The Charter has worked fairly well. It isn't perfect and there are a lot of things that people either do that they shouldn't do ... well, let's just say it works pretty well, but it's not without its problems. But the boards aren't going to be without their problems either. I can tell you that now. We've learned that no matter what you do, no matter what kind of major push you try to make in the Family or major change‚ it usually does a lot of good, but there are always some spin-offs that you hadn't expected. Or like I said earlier, things take on a life of their own, in a sense, and, well, there are some problems and things have to be corrected and changed.
39. But in any case, we want to be very careful. We've really talked about this‚ and we've prayed about it, and everybody agrees that what we don't want is to create a whole bunch of little dictators that are going around telling the Homes what they have to do and saying "it has to be this way" and "it has to be that way." That's kind of our fear, to be honest‚ of what could happen with the board structure if it goes awry. That's why we've put in various checks and balances, and that's why the board above you can veto your decisions if they feel it's necessary. And some of those on the crossbeams also have the option to veto. Of course, they don't have complete authority either; it has to be two bodies out of three. In other words, we've tried to put in safeguards and balances so that we don't create new bodies of authority within the Family that start ruling everything. That would be really bad. We don't want that. Please, don't do that.
40. But as we wrote years ago, the Family swings. About every five or six years the pendulum goes one way or the other. Five or six years ago, maybe a little more now, but prior to the Charter we had the NASs and that program, and people were stymied, and the Family needed a change. So we made the Charter, and then whammo, it swung way over. Everybody was going everywhere, doing everything! Well‚ it's swung back to the center a bit and it's working pretty well. But now this is a swing of the pendulum to gather people in to work a little more together, to be more united, as the Lord says we need to be, for the Homes to work more together. And that will‚ God willing, happen with the boards.
ML #3408:58-71, Post-it ML
58. (Peter:) The next section I wanted to discuss is a little bit about board members. I'm going to read you a few things that the GN said about you:
59. "We need those who have specific gifts and talents to use those talents—not just for their own Home or their own children or their own young people or their own sheep, but for other Homes and others' children, and other young people and others' sheep."
60. "We need more people who are concerned and focusing on the different aspects of our Family life‚ who are praying and asking the Lord's guidance and instructions to help us make progress, and who are involved in the decision-making at all levels. We need people who are willing to take responsibility and accountability. We need people who are willing to give more of themselves to serve others. We need people who are willing to help find and implement solutions to the problems we face."
61. Another quote: "[We need people] who are focusing and thinking about the responsibilities of their board and the needs of their area." "The idea is to get the people together who are gifted in a particular ministry and give them the responsibility to think about, discuss‚ and pray about the needs of that particular ministry within their national area. We've lacked people in positions of responsibility who could focus their time and energy on just one aspect of our Family life‚ and we hope that this board structure will allow for this focus."
62. "We need people who will be thinking, praying‚ discussing, and seeking the Lord for answers to the problems, for ways to move forward. We need people who have the faith and vision to act and be part of the solution, rather than waiting for solutions to come from WS or from the CROs. We need people who are willing to sacrifice their own time to help bear the responsibility for these vital pillars of Family life and help move the Family forward."
63. "We need people who are gifted, who are willing to go the extra mile, do the extra work, get involved, sit on these national boards and think, pray, and discuss together, and to take the initiative to offer various services to the Homes within their pillars that will help and benefit their national area, or to give advice and counsel to the Homes who request it, within their realm of responsibility" (ML #3352:23,26‚48,74,85, 134).
64. A lot of words like initiative, time, sacrifice, prayer, discussion‚ getting in there and doing the job. That's another reason you were chosen. Not just because you have the gifts or the knowledge or the talent in your various ministries, but because you are go-getters. You are people who hopefully will take the initiative and will step in and really do something.
65. This is going to be hard work. It's going to take time. It's going to be a sacrifice. We're thankful, really, super thankful that you're willing to do this and that you've accepted. Of course, maybe after you hear all of this you may rethink your acceptance. So be it. But just so you know, there is certain work to be done here, there is responsibility, and you're going to have to have the drive and the initiative; otherwise the boards won't work. Your particular board will be inactive if you're not doing your part.
66. What is it that we want you to do? We want you to take initiative. We want you to pray. We want you to hear from the Lord about the situation in your pillar, in your area. We want you to discuss and come up with workable ideas that can help the Homes in your area, and then to implement those ideas. To put it down on paper or to communicate it to the Homes‚ however you're going to do that. To offer those services and to be available to make those services work, whatever they may be.
67. Now some of you guys aren't going to be able to do as much as others. You have a home life, and you have a Home, and we'll talk about that more later. You're not going to be able to do everything. You're not going to be able to do everything all at once. Take initiative. Take small steps. Do what you can‚ but don't be afraid to come up with a solution and to really pray and seek the Lord about it and then to implement that solution and work towards making the solution really work. We need you to take initiative. We need you to pray. You need to hear from the Lord. We need you to work with the Homes.
68. Like I said earlier, listen to what people in the Homes have to say about this particular pillar, or their ideas, because that's where you'll get a lot of your ideas. You'll get a lot of your ideas from others. Again, we're creating a place, your board, where people who have ideas about the ministry that your board is involved in can go with those ideas. So don't shut those out. Listen to people. That's part of your job—to listen—and then if it has merit, to bring it up to the board and to discuss it and pray about it.
69. Again, you're not expected to know everything. If you're really smart, you'll learn to listen to the counsel and ideas of others and you can bring that to the table and incorporate that into the bigger solution that you're looking for.
70. You have the authority to make decisions and to enact them, so please make decisions and enact them. The entity of the board has that authority; so don't be afraid to do it. But, of course, you have to understand that you're not dictating to the Homes. The Homes have a choice in the matter. So be prayerful. Be loving. Be sweet.
71. Another thing is‚ the board has those rights and responsibilities to make and enact decisions. So you don't have to wait around for instructions from the COs or your regional board guys or regional councils; you can make decisions. Again, it's initiative.
ML #3433:4–47, 213-225, GN 1016
4. (Dad: ) How you think you can do the Master's will without the Master's plan‚ I don't know! … You can't get along without God, you can't do His work without His will, you can't follow without listening, and you can't accomplish anything without obeying His Words (ML #161:43; 1972).
5. (Dad: ) You'll never have the spiritual strength and stamina or the spirit that will even sustain your bodily strength and stamina to keep going to get out the Word—unless you yourself are drinking in the Word and being spiritually nourished and strengthened by it yourself first (ML #320:56; 1974).
6. (Dad: ) If you're weak in faith it's because you're weak in the Word! And it's your own fault if you're weak in the Word, because you're either not reading the Word, you're ignorant of the Word, or you're not receiving the Word! (ML #603:43; 1977).
7. (Dad:) If God's Word does not satisfy you, then something is wrong with your spiritual appetite! (ML #775:38; 1978).
8. (Dad:) Keep on the right track … which is in His Word and obeying it! (ML #952-12:1; 1980).
9. (Dad:) If they become alienated from the Word‚ they become alienated from life, spiritual life, from the Lord, because He is the Word. They become alienated from His life and His spiritual spark, that which gives life. The Word is life.
10. Jesus is the Word, He is the spirit and the life, and you have to have a dose of Him every day, and have a good feeding and feasting and drinking. Just like you have to eat in order to have physical strength‚ you have to eat of the Word, drink of the Word, to have spiritual strength.
11. The Word is all of these things: The Word is Jesus, the Word is God, the Word is spirit, the Word is life! And without Jesus you're without God, you're without Spirit‚ you're without Life‚ you're dead!
12. You can't have that way of life and living without the Life that makes it live! You've got to have the Life or the way of life will die! You've got to have the Life to live or there's no such way of living.
13. I'll tell you, it's dangerous to neglect the Word! The minute you start crowding the Word out of your lives‚ you're getting too busy!
14. The secret of power and victory and overcoming and fruitfulness and fire and life and warmth and light and leadership‚ everything, is the Word! And the lack of it is the secret of backsliding and failure and coldness and darkness and weakness and dying spiritually (ML #1089:14, 18,21,31,32,46,63; 1981).
15. (Dad:) His Word says that He has exalted His Word even above His Name! God considers His Word even more important than His Name!
16. His Word is very important, beloved, and you had better not forget it or neglect it or in any way fail to receive it‚ believe it‚ act on it and obey it!
17. There's nothing more important than the Word. Because His Word is love, and His Word is God, and His Word is Jesus, His Word is everything; His Word is that important! (ML #1286:29,40,41; 1982).
18. (Dad:) That's the only thing that's really necessary‚ to listen to the Lord‚ to sit at His feet and hear of Him and hear His Word.
19. Help us to remember, Lord, that Thy Word comes first.… This is our whole duty and our whole obligation and our whole job, to love Thee and to love others, to love Thy Word, and love them with Thy Word‚ and anything else is not really essential, not really necessary (ML #1316:128,167; 1982).
20. (Dad: ) If somehow you haven't dwelt in the Word‚ kept the Word, taught your children the Word and made them examples of the Word, then you have failed! If you are not absorbing the Word yourself and living the Word and preaching the Word and practicing the Word and teaching your children the Word and making them good examples of the Word, forget it! (ML #1388:15; 1982).
21. (Mama:) The Word and Jesus must always have first place in your heart and your thoughts and your time (Maria #44:23; 1985).
22. (Dad: ) Everybody has the Word right there at their fingertips. They have endless strength, instruction, encouragement, and the answer to all their problems. Every person in the Family has it equally available to them. It just depends on how hungry they are, how willing they are to take the time to read and study and absorb and believe and put it into practice.
23. I've said it time and time again. I don't know how many times I've preached this sermon on the need and the importance of the Word. The Word is where the power is, the Word is where the solutions are. The Word is the answer. The Word is the Lord! The Word is it! (ML #3069:74,75; 1996).
24. (Mama:) The solution is the Word and going to the Lord to ask Him for His answers, both in the already published Word and the fresh Word that He gives daily in prophecy when you take time to listen to Him. I hope and pray that if we say this enough, if we keep saying it, then it will reinforce this important truth. And you'll see that just because this is a new day, it certainly doesn't decrease our need for the Word! In fact, it makes it even greater!
25. What does it mean when you depend on something? That means you rely on it, you need it, you miss it when you don't have it, you can't live without it. For example, in the flesh, we depend on food, water, and oxygen. Dad says the Word is even more necessary than our daily food or sleep or going to the bathroom or having sex or exercising. If we tried to go without those things, we wouldn't last long, would we? Well‚ that's how foolish it is to try to go without the Word!
26. You all have the Word. It is available to all of you equally. You have the answers, the solutions, right at your fingertips in the new GNs, as well as in your Daily Breads and Home libraries. And if that's not enough, you can also seek the Lord for personal specific instruction by hearing from Him in prophecy. The Lord says each one of you has access to "endless strength, instruction, encouragement‚ and the answers to all your problems." It just depends on how hungry you are personally, and how willing you are to take the time to read, study, absorb, believe and put it into practice (ML #3069:79,80,88; 1996).
27. (Mama:) Are we understanding and grasping the importance of the Word? Are we reading the Word faithfully, diligently and with open, hungry hearts? Are we putting it into practice daily in our lives and Homes? I certainly hope so, because realizing our need for the Word is one of the most important lessons we need to learn! The Word is the foundation of our spiritual lives, and knowing and depending on the Word is absolutely crucial if we want to be successful for the Lord! (ML #3071:142; 1996).
28. (Jesus:) Spiritual strength comes from Me—from abiding in Me, abiding in My Spirit. It is Mine to give‚ and I give it to those who feed heartily upon My Word, who cherish it, who draw their nourishment from it. For these are My true soldiers—those who desire true strength, those who have the faith to put other things aside and to feast upon My strengthening Spirit that comes from My Word. (End of message from Jesus) (ML #3183:65; 1998).
29. (Dad speaking in prophecy:) You don't see how you can possibly take more time in the Word and in listening to Heaven when there's so much to do and so few to do it, but … you cannot possibly afford to not take this time! How many times does the Lord have to say it?
30. If the Word is the answer to every question, the solution to every problem, what on earth could possibly be keeping you away from it? ... If the Word is the key to every door‚ the secret to every mystery‚ if it's power and victory and light and life, what in Heaven's name could hold you back from taking this time?
31. The Lord Himself has made daily Word time mandatory‚ so if you want to be successful, you'd better take that time! It's simply a law of God! If you want to prosper, if you want to be blessed, if you want power and plenty and provision—then you'd better keep His law. [See Josh.1:8; Job 23:12b; Psa.119:97; John 8:31, 14:23; Col.3:16; 1Tim.4:15.]
32. It's His law of prosperity! Make it sacred! Make it untouchable! Make it sacrosanct [set apart as sacred; inviolable]! Make it indispensable! Make it imperative! Make it everyone's job! And by all means, at all costs, make it happen! Do it!
33. I'd say the bare minimum of daily Word time for any Family member should be one-and-a-half hours a day—although the preferred would be two hours as much as possible. (End of message from Dad.) (ML #3184:95,103,113, 117‚124; 1998).
34. (Jesus:) Your connection with Me through My voice of prophecy and My written Word is your spiritual lifeline. The Enemy is always trying to hinder or disrupt your link with Me through the Word‚ and even destroy it if you'll let him. If he can't convince you to not read the Word, he'll try to squelch the power and effect of My Word in your life through familiarity or a lack of hunger.
35. Those who are close to My Word, who drink it in and absorb it, obey and follow, continue to grow and move forward. But those who allow themselves to lose their fire for My Word, who grow familiar with it and think it isn't necessary to study and absorb it every day, will not stay strong and healthy in spirit. They will slowly grow weaker, and when the big tests come along, they won't have the power and strength of My Word in their hearts to give them faith and strength of spirit. (End of message from Jesus.) (ML #3250:38,42,43; 1999).
36. (Jesus: ) There is changing power in My Word. But in order for it to work, you have to imbibe it. You have to swallow it, believe it, accept it. And then you have to do it, follow it, implement it. That's how My Spirit can go to work in your heart, in your life, in your very spirit.
37. I know it's easy to become distracted with the things around you—your ministry‚ your jobs, your pet projects, even seemingly necessary things. But sometimes they can detract from the best, and this is not good.
38. Only one thing is needful. Do you understand that? Do you grasp the immensity of that statement? Only one thing in all of life is needful, and when you have chosen that good part, it will not be taken away from you.
39. That good part‚ this one thing that is needful‚ that I require and look at more than any other obedience or good deed or even sacrificial deed that you do, is your time spent with Me, sitting down at My feet to learn of Me. (End of message from Jesus.) (ML #3292:132–136; 1999).
40. (Dad speaking in prophecy: ) How on earth can some of you think that you can do without the Word? Maybe you think that you know better or that you've become intelligent and smart by increasing your knowledge through avenues of the Enemy—worldly books, movies, TV, the Internet, etc.
41. If you don't respect the Word, you'd better watch out! … You're offending God! He's not going to stand for your indifference for very long. He'll stop talking to you if you won't listen.
42. The foundation of this Family—and the foundation of any Christian, for that matter—should be the Word. If you don't hold on to the Word for dear life, you're going to find yourself slipping into the oblivion of little or no usefulness to the Lord. He wants to use you, but He can only do so if you keep your mind stayed on Him and His Word. (End of message from Dad.) (ML #3322:85‚ 86, 96; 2000).
43. (Jesus:) As My Father's Word to Me had to dictate My every action, so My Word to you must dictate all your actions.
44. My Word is alive‚ it's action, it's powerful! It's sharper than any two-edged sword. It can divide the soul and spirit, and discern the thoughts and intents of every heart. My Word is live power!
45. Nothing can stand against My Word! Nothing can stand against the keys to the Kingdom! Love is the greatest force; My Word is the greatest force; the power of the keys to the Kingdom is the greatest force in the world, in the heavens, in the universe!
46. If you are to focus on the power of the keys, if you are to allow the words I speak to you to dictate your life, you must rid yourselves of all that stands in the way of this. Detach yourselves from other things that clutter your life—the cares of the world‚ the pride of life, anything that opposes My Word.
47. Do this, My loves, and you will discover the full power of the keys. Focus on the power! Do it now! Today the keys rule! My Word rules! And the people who focus on the power of the keys will rule and reign with Me in the power and might of the Kingdom of God! (End of message from Jesus.) (ML #3374:29,31,36,50,53; 2001).
(From "Leadership Lessons, Part 1")
Your work must be founded on the spiritual
213. Besides the fact that I want to work with you and be close to you, helping you on a daily basis‚ there is another reason why I make your load in the physical more than you can bear. It's because your work for Me, the Family's work for Me, is a spiritual matter. Your efforts and works must be founded primarily upon the spiritual. As you well know, you wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities‚ against powers, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Greater am I that am in you than he that is in the world.
214. No matter how much training, expertise‚ wisdom or initiative you or your co–workers have‚ that alone will never be enough. Never! Even your best efforts, your hardest work, your greatest teamworking and pumping people power will never be enough. Only I can make up the difference.
215. You must have My miracle-working power, otherwise everything you do will fall short. This is the crux of the matter. If you can just understand this point, then I believe you'll never stray down that path of Martha again.
216. What that means is, no matter how hard you work, no matter how many messages you write or how many meetings you host, it will never be enough, because it's the dynamics of the spirit world that My work must be done first and foremost in the spirit—through spending time with Me in the Word and prayer. I know you know this in principle; you've read it hundreds of times. But the full truth of this has failed to sink deep within your heart. The reality of My power and your need for it has not taken hold in your mind to the point that it governs your priorities, decisions, and mindset.
Let Me work for you!
217. Be honest with yourselves. If you truly understood this concept and accepted it fully in your heart, do you think you'd be missing your Word time, skipping your prayer vigils, and regularly postponing or cutting short your conference days? Step back and examine yourselves. Look at the way you operate. What do you see?
218. I'll tell you what I see. There are multitudes who need to be reached with My message. There are countless disciples to be won. There's a hungry and bleating flock already within the folds. There are ravenous wolves attacking and trying to maim and kill the lambs. There are harvesting tools to be made and implemented. And there you stand with your little tools in hand, ready to go to work. You're determined and dedicated, and you're looking around seeing which direction to move first. Of course, it's overwhelming, as each and every need would be a full-time job. So you dash around, a little here and a little there. Your tools are very tiny and outdated, so you get your hands all scratched up and your clothes torn. By the end of the day you're exhausted, dirty, and sad. The next day it begins again.
219. All the while I'm standing right behind you—Me with My team of angelic helpers and spirit beings who tower above you like giants—and we're trying to get your attention. We're waving and shouting and whistling! We have huge modern technology in our hands, tools that you've never seen. If you'd just ask, we're ready to operate our tools on your behalf, which would make your work much easier. But alas, you keep running around here and there‚ saying, "I'll be right with You. Just a minute. I just have to take care of this one thing, and then this other, and then this other. Ahhh … just one second. Really, I'm almost done."
220. Every once in a while you collapse, and then you call on Me and My team‚ and we're so happy! Finally we're able to step in and do the work for you. But then, as soon as you feel you've recouped a tiny bit of strength, you're up and at it again. "Oh, excuse me," you say, as you push your way to the front. "Uhhh, I need to get to work. Could You move over a little? Let me see, now where was I?" And there you go again. Same story‚ over and over.
221. If you could see it from My point of view‚ you'd see that it's really ridiculous! You are merely weak men and women. I am the God of the universe. All power is given to Me. I rule! I keep My promises. I am a faithful, doting Husband, and yet there's so little room for Me in your lives.
222. You know what that is? It's self-righteousness. It's thinking too highly of yourselves. It's the epitome of the arm of the flesh. Anything and everything that you could ever do is minute, weak and pathetic compared to what I can do. I can do anything! I can do everything! When you really think about it‚ what can you do?
223. This is My work, My Family‚ My flock, My harvest field‚ My tools, and I am the Boss! This is something I want to get straightened out once and for all. If you want to work for Me, if you want to be an example to the flock, if you want to be in leadership‚ there are rules, and the first one on the list is to let Me work! The way you do that is by letting Me into your lives fully. Instead of thinking the world will fall apart if you don't rush into the day answering your mail messages, instead of working late into the night trying to finish up that last file, instead of all those long, draining meetings, instead of rushing around here and there to tie up every loose end in sight—call on Me. Let Me work for you! Let Me do it! Because don't you get it?—Only I can!
224. I want to see your priorities change. I want that time with you in My Word every single day. I want to speak to you in prophecy every single day! I want to give you answers as you meditate in prayer every single day. I want you to lay hold of My miracle-working power through intercessory prayer every single day. You either do that or you're fired!
225. Sorry, but we need to be clear here. I'm the Boss. It's My company. Those are the rules. It has to be that way, and the reason it has to be that way is because otherwise you'll fail, and the Family will fail. It's as simple as that. There's too much for you as a human to do. The load is and will always be too big. The battle is waged in the spirit, not in the physical world. You must have My miracle-working power. (ML #3347:37-49, GN 941).
Copyright © 2004 by The Family International
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