CONTENTS

1. Leadership in the New Testament Economy
2. The Leadership in the New Testament Ministry
   and among the New Testament Ministers
3. God's Administration
4. The New Testament Leadership

FOREWORD

This small book is composed of selected material from four other books by Brother Witness Lee. Chapter one is from Truth Messages, pages 27-35; chapter two is from The God-ordained Way to Practice the New Testament Economy, pages 167-173; chapter three is from Elders' Training, Book 9: The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (1), pages 39-54; and chapter four is from The Apostles' Teaching and the New Testament Leadership, pages 17-30. (All works referenced in this book are published by the Living Stream Ministry.)

In this small book Brother Lee makes the following crucial statement:

The leadership in the New Testament ministry in actuality is not the leadership of one controlling person. In the Lord's recovery we reject the notion of one person controlling persons and matters. We do have some leadership, but not the leadership of one controlling person. Instead, we have the leadership of one controlling revelation in the one ministry through those who bring in the revelation of the ministry. The revelation controls, and it controls through those who bring in the revelation. The revelation in the Lord's recovery controls us and restricts us. (p. 20)

The controlling and restricting revelation in the Lord's recovery is the revelation of God's New Testament economy. The teaching of the apostles is the teaching of God's New Testament economy to dispense the processed Triune God into His chosen and redeemed people to produce and build up the Body of Christ for His expression to consummate in His complete eternal expression in the New Jerusalem (Acts 2:42; 1 Tim. 1:3-4). Christ takes the lead among us as the unique Head of the Body through His slaves who take the lead to follow this unique teaching and to teach this one thing.

In Brother Lee's letter of fellowship to the churches in the Lord's recovery on March 24, 1997, he said:

The Lord has shown me that He has prepared many brothers who will serve as fellow slaves with me in a blended way. I feel that this is the Lord's sovereign provision for His Body, and the up-to-date way to fulfill His ministry.

May we serve with our brother as fellow slaves in a blended way to follow the revelation of God's New Testament economy to build up the Body of Christ and consummate the New Jerusalem until we meet the Lord.

The Editors