NEW TEAMS!
DO 62
4/71
PIONEER TEAMS TO PIONEER PLACES
1. WE HAVE ALREADY ADVISED YOU THAT WE FEEL YOU SHOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE DOORS WHICH THE LORD HAS ALREADY OPENED FIRST--the places which the Lord has offered us, so you'll have somewhere to land, a base to work from, even if it's only temporary or if not satisfactory, until you find a better place. But I'VE USUALLY FOUND THAT WHEREVER GOD GUIDES, HE NOT ONLY PROVIDES, BUT THAT HE ALSO PROVIDES IN THE DIRECTION HE'S GUIDING; & as you recall, one of the Seven Ways to Know the Will of God is by the Open Doors. As we've said before, they're not always the right ones, but He frequently gives you a choice. So you'll have to ask Him for His Wisdom to know which is best.
THE LEADER--TIPS ON HIS JOB & QUALIFICATIONS
2. IN CHOOSING A TEAM FOR SUCH A PIONEER WORK, IT'S USUALLY BEEN MY POLICY, & I BELIEVE IT'S SCRIPTURAL: LET THE LORD PICK THE MAN FOR THE JOB--THE LEADER. He usually already has the burden for it or if you are sure he's God's man for it, you can pray & persuade him into having the burden for it by presenting the need & his qualifications for the job & let the Lord do the rest to encourage him to volunteer for it. THE LORD PREFERS VOLUNTEERS. "Delight thyself in the Lord & He shall give thee the desires of thine heart."-Ps.37:4. The right man usually has the DESIRE for it & WANTS to do it. NOW HE MAY NOT WANT TO BE THE LEADER & have the responsibility, but he usually has a definite burden for that particular field. God may have to push him into the leadership. MOSES wanted to see his people liberated, but he was reluctant to be the leader until GOD COMMANDED him.
3. MOST GOOD LEADERS DON'T WANT TO BE LEADERS--THEY KNOW WHAT A BIG JOB IT IS & SUCH A SERIOUS RESPONSIBILITY & THEY OFTEN DO NOT FEEL CAPABLE. These are the best leaders, because then they will not be cocky & self-confident, but know they have to rely utterly on the Lord.
4. AT THE AGE OF 40, WHEN MOSES WAS COCKY & OVER-CONFIDENT & TRIED TO FREE HIS PEOPLE IN HIS OWN STRENGTH, HE WAS A BIG FLOP & had to run for his life without them in a personal exodus of his own, alone & all by himself--& it took God 40 years in the very wilderness where he was to later lead them, to teach him humility & utter DEPENDENCE ON GOD, by leading dumb sheep, until he no longer wanted the job!--Then he was ready. He wanted to see them liberated--he had the burden--but he didn't want to do it himself.
5. HE DIDN'T THINK HE WAS ABLE--& THAT'S GOOD, BECAUSE MAN'S EXTREMITY IS GOD'S OPPORTUNITY. When you come to the end of your rope, then God has a chance to work. Lean not to thine own understanding; in all thy ways acknowledge HIM & HE shall direct thy paths.--Pro.3:5. COMPLETE DEPENDENCE ON THE LORD IS THE SECRET OF GOOD LEADERSHIP! LET GO & LET GOD! Let God lead. You just be His mouthpiece, His channel, His servant & everybody else's servant, too. FOR HE THAT IS GREATEST AMONG YOU MUST BE SERVANT OF ALL.--Mk.10:43,44.
6. THE LEADER ABOVE ALL, MUST BE A MAN IN TUNE WITH GOD, in close communication with God's Headquarters & ALL HE SHOULD HAVE TO DO IS PASS THIS WORD ON TO HIS OFFICERS & SEE TO IT THAT THEY SEE TO IT, THAT IT'S CARRIED OUT.
7. HIS JOB IS NOT TENDING TABLES, BUT LISTENING TO GOD & giving God's orders, tending diligently to the ministry of the Word & Prayer. Of course this doesn't mean just sitting around in perpetual meditation doing nothing, but it requires a lot of HARD WORK, PRAYER, STUDY, TEACHING & ACTION in direction to see that it's done, which includes a lot of direct supervision, correction, demonstration, counselling, conferring, deciding, ordering, planning, surveying, investigating, choosing, analysing, calculating, counting the cost, seeking God for the answer etc.
8. HIS IS A NIGHT & DAY, 24-HOUR-A-DAY JOB. Everybody else does their job, takes their time off, goes to sleep at night & doesn't worry; but THE LEADER HAS TO BE THINKING, PRAYING, PLANNING & DECIDING ALL THE TIME, AT LEAST ONE JUMP AHEAD of the rest, so he'll know what to tell'm to do next. If he doesn't, he'll be like the teacher who tries to get up & teach a lesson without having studied it himself first--& you know what a mess you can make of that. Study time is not only reading time, but listening to God time also. Before you, the shepherd, go before your little sheep to guide them, you should know where you're going. You should come from the very presence of God, speaking as the oracles of God, from a full heart! PTL!
9. THROUGH HIS TIME OF PRAYER & STUDY, PREFERABLY ALONE--I PERSONALLY FIND THE NIGHT WATCHES, WHEN EVERYONE ELSE IS SLEEPING & YOU CAN HEAR GOD CLEARLY, without distraction, very productive for this--he should be full of his subject in both heart & head, & if so, he may not even have to use notes, although those can be helpful & there's no reason why God can't inspire you in advance & give you ideas & thoughts to jot down, to pass on to your people later.
10. SOME PEOPLE SEEM TO HAVE THE IDEA FROM THAT SCRIPTURE ABOUT GOING TO COURT, THAT THEY SHOULDN'T PREPARE ANYTHING IN ADVANCE; they should just get up there before their OWN people, open their mouth & God will fill it, with no work on their own part--no sweat. In that Scripture about not taking any thought for what you're going to say, God was talking about the typical court scene where you don't have full control, others do most of the talking & you're only permitted to answer questions & you don't know what those questions will be in advance, so that God has to inspire you immediately, directly & on-the-spot, exactly how you should answer; & Praise God, He's promised to tell you what to say at the time on such occasions; but He was NOT talking about feeding your sheep! For them YOU SHOULD PREPARE & FEED THEM FROM A WELL-STOCKED LARDER OF STUDY, PRAYER & EXPERIENCE, along with a few good notes to remind you what to say if necessary, so you won't miss anything or forget something that God told you to tell them.
BIBLE STUDY--SUGGESTIONS OF BOOKS & HELPS
11. YOU'LL NEVER BEAT THE DEAR OLD KING JAMES. It was absolutely inspired, had the most believing translators & therefore is the most inspired English translation & the most beautiful in the English language, the most familiar, the most quoted & the most proven for hundreds of years. It changed the World!
12. OF COURSE, NOTHING WILL EVER EQUAL YOUR OWN SPIRIT-LED PERSONAL STUDY & MEMORISATION & USE. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE BEST CONCORDANCE I'VE GOT & She keeps popping Scriptures into my mind all the time, right on the button, right on the subject, even some I never dreamed were related to that subject or never even thought of in connection with it. God knows His Own Book better than anybody & He can surely spiel it off by the Spirit when you need it! If you've faithfully read, studied & memorised, He'll pop it up in your little computer whenever you make the right connection in your programming. He's the best Computer Programmer I know & He's given you the best computer ever constructed, which will outdo any concordance! Hallelujah!
13. IF YOU LEARN EVERYTHING THERE IS IN THESE THREE BOOKS--A KING JAMES BIBLE, A YOUNG'S CONCORDANCE & A HALLEY'S HANDBOOK--you'll know more than I do & certainly know more than most preachers & a Heaven of a lot more than nearly all Christians & you should be able to run this outfit or rule the World, if knowledge could do it--BUT ALL THIS IS NOTHING WITHOUT THE SPIRIT! THE BABE WITH THE SPIRIT, A HANDFUL OF GOOD VERSES & A WILL TO WITNESS, CAN ACCOMPLISH MORE than all the Bible College Presidents put together--if you'll just learn to obey the Lord & follow Jesus. Hallelujah! PTL! So don't get discouraged if you don't have a bunch of books. I knew a guy once who accomplished a lot with only one page from the Bible. In fact, ABOUT EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW IS RIGHT ON THE WARNING TRACT. If you'd memorise that & those verses, which started this Revolution, you'd know enough to keep you busy the rest of your life.
LIST OF ESSENTIAL TEAM MEMBERS--THEIR JOBS & QUALIFICATIONS
14. THESE ARE THE ESSENTIAL TALENTS & GIFTS THAT EVERY TEAM SHOULD HAVE, whether they be confined to each individual member according to his Gifts or combined in some members according to their talents, they should all be there in each team:
15. A) THE SHEPHERD MUST BE A REAL LEADER, SHEPHERD OF HIS SHEEP, WITH THE CALL OF AN APOSTLE (one sent with a message--a missionary; Apostle). HE MUST ALSO HAVE A PASTOR'S HEART, A CONCERN FOR HIS OWN SHEEP, AS WELL AS THE LOST SHEEP, & THE TALENTS OF A TEACHER FOR FEEDING THEM. He may or may not be also an evangelist, musician, business manager, public relations man, witnessing director, driver, mechanic, typist, prophet, interpreter, healer etc. He doesn't have to be any or all of these, but he may have to be some of them, if they're not on his team.
16. B) THE ASSISTANT SHEPHERD. His wife-secretary, typist, business manager, public relations director, witnessing director, general manager, provisioning & kitchen overseer, work schedule supervisor, general organiser, counsellor, musician etc. SHE TOO, MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE ALL THESE TALENTS, BUT SHE MUST HAVE THE MAIN ONES TO RELIEVE HER HUSBAND AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE FOR THE SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP, CLASSES ETC. But again, all of these talents & abilities must be on each & every team to succeed.
17. C) THE BUSINESS MANAGER. (And/or Secretary-Treasurer, if not the Shepherd's Wife). If the Shepherd or his wife haven't got it, SOMEBODY'S GOTTA HAVE THE BUSINESS SENSE FOR THE TEAM, KNOW HOW TO HANDLE THE MONEY, PUBLIC RELATIONS, BUSINESS AFFAIRS, mail, logistics, management of provisions, legal matters, governments, helps, knowledge etc. HE MAY NOT HAVE ALL OF THESE, BUT HE SURE AS SHOOTING HAS GOTTA HAVE ENOUGH TO KEEP THE TEAM IN BUSINESS! No matter how Heavenly-minded your team is, it's gotta keep its feet on the ground & somebody's gotta know how to handle the business, do the banking, pay the bills, take care of the mail, greeting etc., if not the Shepherds. !
18. D) THE MUSICIANS. THERE OUGHTA BE AT LEAST A COUPLE, IF POSSIBLE, PREFERABLY GUITARISTS, or with some kind of portable instrument that can be used anywhere; & they of course, SHOULD BE ABLE TO SING, CLEARLY & LOUDLY ENOUGH TO GET THE MESSAGE ACROSS, as this is one of our primary forms of communication with this generation. HE SHOULD ALSO BE ABLE TO LEAD INSPIRATIONAL MEETINGS, sing, lead public meetings, M.C. testimonies & speak &/or teach, lead witnessing teams, book openings & anything else he can do to relieve the Shepherd & his wife for leadership only. Of course, if you're short of talent, the Shepherds may have to do it; but this is the ideal.
19. E) THE PROVISIONERS, THE SCROUNGERS. OUR FRONT-LINE SALESMEN TO THE SYSTEM, SOLICITORS OF FOOD & OTHER NEEDS, without which you could not survive. They are some of the most IMPORTANT DEACONS we have, without which we could not operate or feed the multitudes, equip them & supply their needs for witnessing. THEY ALSO ARE PUBLIC RELATIONS MEN, REPRESENT US TO THE COMMUNITY & HELP CREATE GOOD WILL, understanding & support, one of our toughest jobs!
20. F) MAINTENANCE MAN. SOMEONE ON THE TEAM SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST AN AMATEUR'S KNOWLEDGE OF HOW THE PLUMBING WORKS, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, THE GAS & be able to find the trouble & make simple repairs of these basic utilities of your shelter, as well as fix other important things that frequently go wrong with a house, such as doors, windows, locks, furniture etc., so you can keep things in shape on your own. FIX IT!
21. G) COOKS. THESE CAN EVEN BE YOUR BABES SINCE A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW HOW TO COOK, even the boys, BUT IT BETTER BE SOMEBODY or you'll get awful hungry or a tummyache!
22. H) PHOTOGRAPHER. HE'S MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE CAMERA. You can take masterpieces with a baby Brownie if you know how. It's not the CAMERA that does it: It's the man BEHIND it, who's not afraid of faces, close-ups, action & has a nose for news, art, composition, perspective, colour, people, continuity, stories, personalities, scenes etc.
23. J) THE GIFTED. ALL THE GIFTS & OFFICES OF THE SPIRIT SHOULD BE PRESENT IF YOU CAN. Also printers, artists, writers, seamstresses, first aiders, midwives, farmers on farms etc.--Whatever you need, God can give you. But those numbered above are the most absolutely essential, without which you can hardly operate. Some may have to double on several of these jobs, but all should be represented on your team. Pray for labourers! PTL!
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family