In this issue of The Ministry, Brother Lee gives a word of encouragement and exhortation to the elders and co-workers in Taipei concerning the practice of the new way, reminding them to be “steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58). As he reviews and previews the Lord’s move in the new way, he points out that the practice to realize our glorious future is a matter of building up the home meetings and the truth-teaching meetings, actively visiting the new urban communities, and building up a strong testimony on all the campuses. Moreover, in order to pick up the burden and to spread the work aggressively, there is the need to match God’s move with our material supply. For all this, we must be like those in Judges 5 who made “great resolutions in heart” and “great searchings of heart” (vv. 15-16). We must achieve something for the Lord, never burying the grace that the Lord has given us or the gains that our training has brought us. The next three messages in this issue are a continuation of the Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Hebrews and were given in the winter training of 1998. Message Sixteen stresses the fact that Christ is the reality of the new testament, the reality of all that God is and of all that God has given to us; therefore, Christ is the new testament. Message Seventeen shows us how the law of the divine life is the spontaneous power of the divine life; it is the natural characteristic and the innate, automatic function of the divine life. Message Eighteen presents the crucial experience of Christ shown at the incense altar within the tabernacle; it is by the prayer at the incense altar that we participate in Christ’s interceding life as the center of the divine administration. Last of all, we include the many reports of the Lord’s move throughout the earth given by a number of brothers at the Spring 1999 International Training of Elders and Responsible Ones in Ventura, California.

In this issue we will continue four lines of ministry. The first line--The History of the Lord's Recovery--contains chapters 22 through 25 of Fellowship concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1991–1992. These chapters cover becoming vital through prayer, preparing our gospel candidates, and redeeming our time to learn the truth, fruit-bearing and the desperate prayer life, becoming vital and going to vitalize others, and overcoming three layers of obstacles by the vital groups. The second line--Words for New Believers--contains chapters 17 through 20 of Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures, Volume 2, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1932–1949. These chapters cover topics related to baptism, the laying on of hands, head covering, and the breaking of bread. The third line--Maturing in Life--continues with chapters 3 through 6 of The Future of the Church, which are in volume 2 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1955. These chapters cover the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens, the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens, and Revelation 14. The fourth line--The High Peak of the Divine Revelation--continues with chapters 10 through 13 of God's New Testament Economy, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1984. These chapters cover the Son's ascension and the baptism in the Spirit, the Spirit of life, the life-giving Spirit, and the transforming Spirit.

This issue of The Ministry contains the messages given during the Spring 2005 International Training for Elders and Responsible Ones, held April 10-12 in Anaheim, California. The general subject of this training was the churches, the ministry, and the work. The Body is the governing law of the life and work of the children of God today. The church, the ministry, and the work are on the ground of the Body. The basic principle of the churches is the Body, the basic principle of the ministry is the Body, and the basic principle of the work is the Body. The churches are the Body expressed locally, the ministry is the Body in function, and the work is the Body seeking increase (Acts 13:1-2; 21:19). Concerning this subject, in fellowship with a few co-workers on December 15, 1995, Brother Witness Lee said, "I ask you to render to this work the highest cooperation. When I say 'the highest cooperation,' I mean that you must dive into these things, as I did, day and night. Second, you have to experience them. Third, you have to live a God-man life. Fourth, you have to be an overcomer to keep every principle of the Body." May the Lord enlighten us concerning every principle of the Body! Last of all, we include a report concerning the Lord's move in Israel.

This issue of The Ministry contains a complete record of the eight messages given during the 2008 International Training for Elders and Responsible Ones in Anaheim, California, April 2-4, 2008. The general subject of this series of messages is "The Vision, Experience, and Practice of the All-inclusive Oneness." These messages are a continuation of the messages given in the previous International Training for Elders and Responsible Ones in Mexico City, Mexico, October 4-6, 2007 (see The Ministry Magazine, vol. 12 no. 2). The final two messages of that training (Messages 8 and 9) are an introduction to this training. In this volume, we will see that the all-inclusive oneness is actually a person--the all-inclusive Christ. The all-inclusive Christ is the all-inclusive Spirit, who is the all-inclusive processed and consummated Triune God. Therefore, the all-inclusive oneness is actually the all-inclusive Spirit as the processed and consummated Triune God, united, mingled, and incorporated with all the genuine believers in Christ. Moreover, we will also see that this all-inclusive oneness is the expression of God. God is expressed as oneness because He is oneness itself. There is no oneness outside of the Triune God; hence, when He is expressed, He is expressed as a marvelous, mysterious, divine, and mystical oneness. We also include a report concerning the Lord's move in Ethiopia.

This issue of The Ministry contains a complete record of the twelve messages given during the 2007 summer training on the crystallization-study of the Epistles of John, held July 2 through 7 in Anaheim, California. The crucial truth and burden embodied in these twelve messages may be summarized in four statements: (1) The fellowship of the eternal life, the flow of the eternal life within all the believers, is the reality of living in the Body of Christ; (2) We know the Triune God by experiencing and enjoying Him as the One who dwells in our spirit and desires to spread into our heart; (3) By the anointing of the all-inclusive compound Spirit, who is the composition of the Divine Trinity, we know and enjoy the Father, the Son, and the Spirit as our life and life supply; (4) The Son of God has given us an understanding so that we might know the true One, the genuine and real God, and be one with Him organically in His Son Jesus Christ, who is eternal life to us. These messages are being published immediately following the training in order that they might benefit the saints participating in the many video trainings that are held throughout the earth. The Reports and Announcements section includes a presentation of the Lord's burden for His move in Europe and an announcement about the upcoming gospel feast in South Korea.

Volumes for 1898-1968 include a directory of publishers.