GOOD SHEPHERDS!--ARE YOU ONE?    DO 1002                   5/80

         1. In the Bible all the qualifications for bishops, elders & deacons are outlined & they are pretty strict. The lives & example & behaviour of our VSs, & of course any of our leaders, should be the model for which the others should be striving. They should be such an example & such a model.
         2. VSing is really the work of an evangelist. It's the work of both pastor & evangelist in this case, because the sheep are virtually pastorless except for me & the Letters. So it's the work of an evangelist.
         3. If there's anything an evangelist needs it's a lot of real charm & drive & personality & inspirational ability to really feed the sheep & inspire them & set them an example.
         4. "Man looketh on the outward appearance, but God looketh on the heart."--1Sam.16:17. The whole Family is not going to--when they first meet them--see all their life history & know how good & faithful they've been & how much they've done! The Family is going to look at them, & as my Mother used to say, "First impressions mean so much!"
         5. They'll judge by surface appearance & every little word. "By thy words shalt thou be justified & by thy words shalt thou be condemned"!--Mt.12:37. And you'll have to give an account for every idle word, & it begins here & now with other people. You don't have to wait until you get to the Judgement Seat of Christ, but it's happening all the time.
         6. One of the worst things a VS can be is shy! They can't afford to be shy. As I've always said: Shyness is pride! It's plain pride.
         7. Even if VSs don't have everything, they've got to have a FEW things. They might be ugly as a mud fence, but if they've got wonderful personality, a marvellous sacrificial spirit, a real leadership talent & inspiration & all the rest, well, they can get by with their mud-fence face or homeliness. (Maria: But they have to have some kind of SPARKLE!) They've got to have SOMETHING! (Maria: Some kind of radiant exuberance.)
         8. You don't have to be beautiful to have personality. Some women are beautiful but that's all. They don't show any kind of PUSH, any DRIVE!
         9. In a way that's what Eve & I & the kids were, sort of VSs of the churches. And boy I'll tell you, one thing Eve had was a lot of drive & initiative & sparkle & fight & fire, & she pushed in where Angels feared to tread & she got those kids in wherever she wanted! She didn't have the looks & a lot of other things, but she sure had the managerial ability, let me tell you! She knew how to push around.
         10. But let me tell you, when you're in that kind of work you've GOT to be pushy & nervy or you won't survive! And the little mousey types of people won't like them either. Little mousey types of people will not like people that have got any initiative & any drive--all the things they know THEY don't have. They'll resent it. It will be offensive to them because they know that they haven't got it. You can't LEAD without DRIVE!
         11. You're on stage & they are the audience & they are watching you & looking at you to see what kind of impression you are going to make, what kind of performance you're going to give, & "well begun is half done". When you are in public work, if you don't hit'm with a bang & make a good first impression, it's almost impossible to overcome afterwards no matter how well you do.
         12. --And that's how they're going to be judged, by that first impression! I'm sorry, but that's just the way people are & that's the way that kind of job is. You can't just be a little goodie mousey who takes care of your own children--you gotta be able to take care of yours & everybody else's too!
         13. You've gotta be able to help people with their problems, honestly. The reason we've had trouble is that we had the wrong kind of people. Because the best kind of people would be people who see the problem & can exert leadership & guidance & counsel & know the Lord & the Letters & have some maturity & godly wisdom. You can't deal with problems in your own strength & wisdom. It'd be better if you didn't get involved at all.
         14. VSs, & public spiritual leaders of any kind must have a tremendous knowledge of the Word & be able to give the Word. That's the ministry of people who are shepherds: They have to feed the sheep. They've got to give them answers, lend a listening ear to genuine problems, but at the same time not MEDDLE in people's personal conflicts or get overly involved in them. All my Mother & I could do was quote the Scripture, but we didn't take the responsibility. We passed the buck to the Lord & the Bible. And that's what THEY have to do. (Maria: Exactly!) Then people have to make their own decisions on the basis of the Word you give them. They have to make their own decision.
         15. You can't make it for them, you can't tell them what to do. You just say, "Well, the Bible says so-&-so, now what do you think of that?"--You have to do that with teenagers! This is the way we did with our own kids when they finally got to the point they were responsible to make their OWN decisions! You have to say, "Well, the Lord says so-&-so" or "The Bible says so-&-so", or "Daddy taught you so-&-so before, now what do YOU think you ought to do?"
         16. You've also got to hit them with a show! We can't have little mousey people as VSs that never do anything--either good or bad. Just because people never cause you any trouble, it doesn't mean they're the best kind of people or leadership! The most outstanding boys in my school classes were the worst! They got in more trouble & did more wrong things, but when they did something right they really did it with a bang! They were the guys that caused the most disturbance & led the class astray most of the time because they had the most DRIVE, the most LEADERSHIP ability.
         17. It just had to be taught & trained & channelled in the right direction. The little blah nobodies who never showed a spark nor nary a sparkle, never let out a peep, never did anything wrong, always got A+ in deportment, got all A's & A+'s in grades, studied all the time, never said a word, quiet, did all the things they were supposed to do & never did anything else either, had no leadership ability, no push, no drive, nothing!--I can't even remember them.
         18. VSs aren't little people who are always goodie goodie & never do anything & even think themselves better than other people & have been in the Family many years. Just because they've been in the Family so long doesn't necessarily mean they're outstanding material.
         19. We've probably got people in the Family who have only been with us a few months that have got more talent, drive, personality, ability, leadership & everything else than some of the people we've had sitting around like bumps on a log for ten years! Let me tell you, talent needs no seniority. I mean, there's no seniority to talent--or I should say LACK of talent has no seniority!
         20. What does the Family expect when they hear a Visiting Servant is coming? (Maria: Inspiration, fellowship, example...) What would you think? What would go through your mind? (Maria: I'd think, "Oh, I'm going to have somebody to show me how I'm supposed to live & how I'm supposed to do things.") Exactly! "Oh, these must be special people, they must be examples of the Family. They must be outstanding! They must be the top people of the Area!
         21. "They must be people who are to be my examples, after whom I'm to pattern my life & I'm to look upon as someone to follow & someone to be like & to act like & speak like & witness like & train my children like & do housework like. These must be the most outstanding people in this whole area, to be Visiting Servants!" I'm just telling what I'd expect if I was one of our poor little families struggling along.
         22. I'd think, "Well, thank God, here comes some help to see what I'm supposed to be doing & looking like & acting like & preaching like & training my kids like & doing my housework like!" I mean, a VS mother should be able to pitch in & help with the cooking, washing dishes, keeping house, & training the children, to SHOW them how to do it if necessary! That's the clinical method!
         23. This was the outstanding thing about Fred's Soul Clinic! : It was to teach witnessing, not just with classes & not just with pious platitudes & sermons, but to get out & take you out witnessing & SHOW you how to do it! That was the whole idea of the Soul Clinic method, & we're still practicing it. And if the VSs can't practice it, if they are not shining leading examples, I mean SHINING, they shouldn't be VSs!: "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works & glorify your Father which is in Heaven!"--Mt.5:16.
         24. When you're in a VS kind of business you can hardly afford an off-day or an off-night either! I was in evangelistic work all my life with my Mother & Grandfather before me & I know!
         25. You've got to be performers! You've got to be able to turn it on! Whether you feel like it or not, the show must go on! Just like the circus or the movies or acting or whatever it is--you have got to be an enthusiastic, driving, shining example!--Whether you feel like turning it on or not, you've got to turn it on anyway!
         26. What would YOU expect? You'd expect them to be the greatest people in the area, the most shining examples, the ones who have done the best & know how to raise their kids & keep their house & live by faith & train their children & perform in public, & let's face it!: Our business is WITNESSING, & to witness you have got to turn it ON & to shine a LIGHT, & you've got to do it before others in PUBLIC.
         27. Even if it's only one person, you've got an audience & you've got to put on the ct & you'd better make it good or you're not going to make much of an impression! People judge you by what they SEE & HEAR, & they haven't got a lifetime to LIVE with you to find out. They can't see how you live at home. In most of my life & my Mother's & my Grandfather's they only had about a week or two to make an impact on people that would last them all year, & in fact if you DIDN'T make an impact on the FIRST NIGHT, there wouldn't be anybody there the NEXT night!
         28. You had to sock it to them every night & make an impression & an impact & wake them up out of their lethargy & their dead sleep like most church people are in--& probably a lot of our families who've gotten separated & back in the System, back at jobs & back in the same old rut & routine again. They're going to sleep again, dead again, just like the churches, & you've got to come there like a bomb, like an atom bomb & blow things apart!--Literally! You have to come there & wake them up, set them on fire, inspire them! (Maria: And all in a visit of a couple of hours to one or two days at the most.) That's all the time you've got!
         29. Well, let me tell you, we only had two hours in one night to do it & if we didn't make it the FIRST night, only their loyalty to God & the Lord & the pastor & the church building got them back the NEXT night. You had to go over & make an impression & wake them up & excite them & make them eager to come back & see what you had to say the NEXT night, or you were DEAD & better get out of the business! You had just TWO HOURS the FIRST night to make it, or you were FINISHED!
         30. If you can make that good impression the first night & you can keep it up for a week or two, you will hold your crowd. In fact, we usually built up a crowd, it usually got better because the people were sold! From the first night on, they began to bring in their friends & family & relatives & neighbours, "Hey, come with us to the meeting tonight!--They're terrific!"
         31. If you're on fire, the World will come out to see you burn! Let me tell you, when you are a public leader you are not on candid camera but a wide-open camera & you are supposed to know it & you're supposed to turn it on & set'm on fire! Light your fire! Light their fire, & turn on the light & let them see it! "Let your light so SHINE before men!!"--Mat.5:16.
         32. Let me tell you another thing: Your KIDS are going to be the leaders!--YOUR kids are going to be leaders of THEIR kids, & if you are going to go visit them, your kids are going to be showing their kids their example & what our kids ought to be like, & they are going to follow your KIDS more than they are YOU, & if your KIDS have no light, no life, no fire, no drive, no shine, no nothing, what have they got to offer to OTHER kids? KIDS follow KIDS! That's why we have a FAMILY!--YOUTH followed YOUTH!
         33. Our kids were such an inspiration & such shining lights with such drive & leadership ability & all the rest, they led the World! They grabbed the hippies & took off!--And they just went after them because they liked what they saw.
         34. Our CHILDREN are our witness today, & you've got to have children that are a shining example of what a child ought to be like, what kind of witness they ought to be like. That's the impression that's going to count with the Family & the people they visit.
         35. Even if the VSs were voted in by popular vote, I'll tell you, you can't always go by a popularity poll! Because if the people are dead & cold & they DON'T want to do anything, they are going to vote for the ones who are not going to disturb or upset the status quo! If our kids are on fire, if you're going by a popularity poll, probably the only ones who would have voted for them were the kids who wanted to get out & get on fire, but the already dead, "Let-the-Dead-Bury-the-Dead!" parents probably would have voted almost unanimously against them!
         36. You can't go by any popularity poll! Pastors in churches have to win the popularity poll, & you know who the people vote for? (Maria: The one who's going to let them sit around.) Exactly!--The one that's not going to disturb them or wake them up! That's who they're going to vote for. Somebody just like THEM: Nice quiet little people who mind their own business & don't cause any trouble. "That's the kind of pastor we like! They're our examples. They're just like US. We'll vote for THEM."
         37. Let me tell you, in that kind of a life as an evangelist, there is no behind-the-scenes! You are on candid camera all the time! You are on the stage most of the time & on candid camera the rest of the time! People are watching you out of the corner of their eye! (Maria: People are going to be eavesdropping outside your door at home & peeking in your keyhole & a lot of other things.)
         38. Your KIDS will show what you're like! They are your product. My kids never went anywhere but what they set the place on fire!--Nearly burned it down or got driven out of town, just like me! They hit the place like a storm, like a bomb, & the people who liked it woke up & followed. But there usually were only two or three in the whole church who wound up really liking it. And usually they couldn't stand ME more than ONE night! They nearly ran me out of the church before I got done!
         39. Not all the mousey do-nothing nobodies are going to LIKE that kind of people. They don't want you to wake them up, they don't want to be disturbed, they don't want to change. They're going to vote for someone who's going to cause them the least trouble & cost the least money too, that's another point. Whew! I'm telling you, an evangelist & people that have got fire, most people can't even stand to LIVE around them very long!
         40. There may be some people who want visitation & want somebody to come around to see them & have fellowship, but there'll also be people who DON'T want you coming around nosing into their business & seeing how they live! We found both kinds of people in churches. The kind of people who really were hungry & wanted help would invite us out to dinner, but the kind who DIDN'T want us to see how they lived & were SELFISH WOULDN'T! They didn't want us to pry into their private lives & see what they were really like, & they were usually the ones who needed help the most, but they didn't WANT it, like the Scribes & Pharisees. m
         41. Anybody going around visiting their Homes is going to be INVOLVED to a certain extent. As I say, it's not up to the visitor to make the DECISIONS, it is up to the visitor, evangelist, preacher, prophet, etc. simply to PREACH THE WORD. (Maria: Give'm the MO Letters.) Just like YOU parents do with your TEENAGERS--give'm the WORD! Whether it's Bible or MO Letters, give'm the Word, & then let THEM make their OWN decisions; & not start interpreting them for them if they don't know the situation. I mean, give them the WORD & the LETTERS & that's IT! Tell them where it is, "Here, here it is!"
         42. My Mother used to say, "Never ask the sheep!" Sheep don't know what's good for them. The Shepherd has to make the final decisions. You can sometimes ask the sheep just to see how they feel & maybe to get some reaction on what kind of impression they DO have. But when it comes to the DECISION, it's NOT a democracy. It's a DICTATORSHIP of the SPIRIT, & LEADERSHIP has got to know the mind of GOD & do what's RIGHT, even if he's the ONLY voice for it & everybody else is against him! That's one thing that went wrong with some of our common little Homes, the sheep didn't know what was good for them & chose wrong.
         43. The LEADERS ought to know, THEY ought to know what's BEST! They shouldn't have to ask the people. A leader is not supposed to hear from the PEOPLE, he's supposed to hear from GOD! They should only hear from the people in the matter of deacons--material things, money, facilities, logistics. The people have to earn the money to foot the bill, so they should have something to say about that!--But when it comes to the WORD or LEADERSHIP or the ELDERS or SPIRITUAL guidance, then the people have nothing to say about it. They can either respond or not respond. They can all be wrong.
         44. The VSs have got to be SPIRITUAL LEADERS! They're not just going around checking up on their finances & if the Homes have enough to eat & so on. The spiritual leader is going to be concerned about that too, but they are going to be concerned mostly about the SPIRITUAL, because if the SPIRITUAL is OK everything ELSE will be all right too. The Lord will take care of them.
         45. SPIRITUAL leaders are not TENDING TABLES, spiritual leaders are ministering the WORD OF GOD! (See Acts 6:2-4) They're supposed to be able to TELL the people what to do, what the WORD says to do, & to GUIDE them spiritually, COUNSEL them spiritually, ADVISE them spiritually. But then they have to make their OWN decision, they can't expect the VSS to make all their decisions for them & solve all their problems!
         46. VSs have got to be LEADERS!--PROVEN leaders with FRUIT!--Some of the best of which is their CHILDREN, & that's the best fruit you can have, as well as years of service. (Maria: We have so few people that we can use as VSs, that's why we've had to put real restrictions on them now, because you can't have people that are poor samples running around trying to teach other people when they have great personal problems themselves. But yet the VSs are one of the things the Family wants the MOST & keep asking about! Sometimes I think it's a little like when the people insisted on Saul as their king, even though he was a poor sample to them. He gives them their desires but sends leanness to their souls. On the other hand, we do have some exceptional VS couples.)
         47. The VS program can either be the BEST or the WORST, they can either do a lot of GOOD or a lot of DAMAGE, depending on the VSs. And VSs CAN do more damage than good! It's really pitiful. But GOOD VSs really are a HELP.
         48. Thank God for the good leaders we DO have! We just need to FIND'M & give'm a chance to PROVE it!--Amen?--Are YOU one? We NEED you!--PROVE it! GBY! WLY! GBAKY leading the flock!

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family