(1) It is only appropriate that those elected to be leaders and workers must have a pure understanding of the truth and able to accept it; they must pursue the truth and be of good caliber;

(2) Not all those with arrogant dispositions should be tarred with the same brush. If someone is able to accept the truth and do practical work, they may be elected;

(3) So long as they have truly repented and are capable of practical work, leaders and workers who have transgressed and been dismissed in the past may be elected;

(4) Those elected as leaders and workers must be the best choices among those who are relatively able to resolve problems by fellowshiping on the truth and who can do practical work.

Relevant Words of God:

Since the beginning of His work throughout the universe, God has predestined many people to serve Him, including those from every walk of life. His purpose is to satisfy His will and bring His work on earth to smooth completion; this is God’s aim in choosing people to serve Him. Every person who serves God must understand His will. This work of His makes God’s wisdom and omnipotence, and the principles of His work on earth, more evident to people. God has actually come to earth to do His work, to engage with people, so that they may know His deeds more clearly. Today you, this group of people, are fortunate to serve the practical God. This is an incalculable blessing for you—truly, you are raised up by God. In selecting a person to serve Him, God always has His own principles. Serving God is by no means, as people imagine, that it is simply a matter of enthusiasm. Today, you see that all who serve before God do so because they have the guidance of God and the work of the Holy Spirit, and because they are people who pursue the truth. These are the minimum conditions for all those who serve God.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Religious Service Must Be Purged

During elections, many people fail to understand what the true principles of electing a leader are, what kind of person they should elect as a leader, and what kind of person can, as a leader, guide the brothers and sisters into the reality of God’s words, and is fit to be a leader; they are not very aware or clear about such things. There are even people who expressly elect false leaders during elections; they choose whoever is false leader material, and are blind to those who are truly fit for purpose and able to be a leader, who possess the caliber and humanity to be a leader. Those who are devoid of the caliber and humanity to be leaders are elected because of that which people believe, in their notions, to be good, such as the outward appearance of passion or good behavior, and so on; whereas those who genuinely fulfill the myriad criteria to be leaders are never chosen. Those attention seekers, who enthusiastically expend themselves, yet are devoid of the competence to work, can be found in every context; they seem extremely positive, and most people believe them qualified to be leaders, and think that they should elect such people. But the result is that once these people are elected, the work is too much for them, and they are incapable of accomplishing any of the work arrangements of the Above, they don’t know how to accomplish them. They are on the go all day, but there is no improvement or progress in any of the church’s work, and situations often occur in the church whereby the wicked wield or take power, the work of the church is a mare’s nest, or wherein people are disunited at heart. This is the consequence when false leaders do work. The election of false leaders not only affects and damages the life entry of the brothers and sisters, but also has a negative impact on all the work of the house of God; it stops this work from progressing successfully, and prevents it from being carried out effectively. Partly, this is an issue with the false leaders themselves, and partly, it relates to each of those who elects them. You can’t tell them for what they are, you are blind and you don’t see through them, and you don’t understand the truth principles; when you end up electing them, you not only hurt yourself and others, but the work of the house of God is compromised, too. Such is the impact and harm caused by false leaders to people and to the work of God.

—The Word, Vol. 5. Identifying False Leaders (1)

The work of a qualified worker can bring people to the right way and grant them greater entry into the truth. His work can bring people before God. In addition, the work he does can vary from individual to individual and is not bound by rules, allowing people liberation and freedom, and the capacity gradually to grow in life and to have a more profound entry into the truth. The work of an unqualified worker falls far short. His work is foolish. He can only bring people into rules, and what he demands of people does not vary from individual to individual; he does not work according to people’s actual needs. In this type of work, there are too many rules and too many doctrines, and it cannot bring people into reality, nor into normal practice of growth in life. It can only enable people to adhere to a few worthless rules. Such guidance can only lead people astray. He leads you to become like him; he can bring you into what he has and is. For followers to discern whether leaders are qualified, the key is to look at the path on which they lead and the results of their work, and to see whether followers receive principles in accordance with the truth, and whether they receive ways of practice suitable for their transformation. You should distinguish between the different work of different types of people; you should not be a foolish follower. This bears on the matter of people’s entry. If you are unable to distinguish which person’s leadership has a path and which does not, you will easily be deceived. All of this has a direct bearing on your own life.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God’s Work and Man’s Work

Those who can lead churches, supply people with life, and be apostles to the people must have actual experience; they must have a correct understanding of spiritual things and a correct appreciation and experience of the truth. Only such people are qualified to be workers or apostles who lead the churches. Otherwise, they can only follow as the least and cannot lead, much less be apostles who are able to supply people with life. This is because the function of apostles is not to rush about or to fight; it is to do the work of ministering life and leading others in transforming their dispositions. Those who perform this function are commissioned to shoulder a heavy responsibility, one that not just anyone can shoulder. This kind of work can only be undertaken by those with life being, that is, those who have experience of the truth. It cannot be undertaken by merely anyone who can renounce, who can rush about, or who is willing to expend themselves; people who have no experience of the truth, who have not been pruned or judged, are unable to do this type of work. People with no experience, who are people without reality, are unable to see reality clearly because they themselves are without this kind of being. So, this type of person is not only unable to do leadership work, but, if they remain without the truth for a long while, they will become an object of elimination.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God’s Work and Man’s Work

What are the standards required of the people who are put in charge of various jobs? Above all, they must be able to understand the truth; they must possess the caliber to understand the truth. These are the most important things. More specifically, they must understand spiritual things, be able to eat and drink of God’s words unaided, be able to find principles for practice in His words, and be able to perceive, through reading God’s words, the various states in which people find themselves. They must be able to experience on their own; they must be apt to reflect on themselves when they encounter an issue, and to draw upon the words of God in experiencing the environments He sets forth and learn the lessons that they ought to. Possessing the ability and caliber to understand the truth is the first thing required of them. Of course, such people must also have a conscience and sense, and their humanity must be up to par. Second, they must carry a burden. If they are merely of good caliber and are capable of understanding the truth, but are lazy and covet the comforts of the flesh, if they only work when it is required or indicated by the Above, and when they do work, they only go through the motions, and rarely engage at the grassroots level, and if they are unwilling to suffer or pay a price and do not carry a burden, can they be considered to be talents that are adequate to be cultivated? (No.) This, then, is the second requirement: Such people must carry a burden. The third point is that they must be competent in their work. That is to say, in addition to executing the work in accordance with the work arrangements of God’s house, they must be able to identify and promptly solve problems when doing a particular job; they must perform their work effectively and deeply, and not do it sloppily; also, they must be able to determine what work they ought to do in the work arrangements of God’s house, as well as apply and accurately accomplish those work arrangements. If they discover a problem while performing a particular task, they must be able to handle it with reference to the regulations of the work arrangements of God’s house. They must also be able to discern particular things or situations for what they really are and, on that basis, be able to make the accurate judgment and then provide the correct solution. This is what it means to be competent in one’s work. Being competent in one’s work chiefly refers to being able to grasp the key points of the work, promptly identify problems, and solve these problems in accordance with principle—that is, being able to stand on their own two feet. Once the Above has handed over a task and has also communicated some principles, these people must be able to grasp the principles and execute the work in accordance with them; they must basically be able to follow the right course, without too many deviations or too much oversight. This is what it means to be competent. Here is an example: When the house of God calls for people to be purged and expelled and for the antichrists and the wicked to be identified in accordance with principle, the type of people who are competent basically do not deviate while doing this task. It does not take long for an antichrist to be exposed and expelled once they have appeared; those who are competent are able to quickly identify an antichrist, as well as help their brothers and sisters to identify them and not be duped. Together, everyone is able to expose and forsake the antichrist, and ultimately succeed in expelling the antichrist. When competent people encounter the antichrists or the wicked in the scope of their work, at least ninety-five percent of their brothers and sisters do not succumb to being duped or influenced; sometimes not even one is duped or led astray. This is how it is for people who are of good caliber and competent in their work; such people are up to the standard to be leaders and workers who are possessed of the truth reality.

—The Word, Vol. 5. Identifying False Leaders (5)

Those you would choose as leaders and workers require good caliber and competence in their work; now there are also requirements for the quality of their humanity. What do you say, is it the case that most people do not fulfill the criteria for being leaders and workers? Which of these three is most crucial? (Humanity.) And second? (Work competence.) After that? (Whether or not they have a burden.) That order is pretty accurate. When you elect leaders in the future, measure them according to this order. Some people say, “There’s a problem with this order: If humanity comes first, then when they are of good humanity but fairly bad caliber, if they are selected as leader, they’ll struggle to be an important leader, and to do great work. So is it still OK to only consider people’s humanity?” People’s humanity is of chief importance, but it is not the only thing to consider. It is what you should look at first; if up to standard, next look at their work competence. If they are only of average competence, the house of God has ways of solving this problem: They can undertake work that is not overly taxing of their abilities. When they are of good humanity and can take up the work and do it well, and put everything they have into it, and are someone dependable, and the house of God need have no qualms about making use of them, and they are edifying, helpful, and beneficial to most of the brothers and sisters, then they are up to standard. If their work competence is poor, or just average, give them a single job to do; if they are highly competent, give them something more complex, or several different jobs. Is this not easily solved? It comes down to how broad the scope of responsibilities they will be given is, and to what work they will be made responsible for. But if they are of poor humanity and harbor evil intentions, then no matter how competent they are, will they be able to do this work well? (No.) If they managed a company or a few staff, it might not be a problem—but what issues would arise when they had to manage the various items of the house of God? First of all, they absolutely would not manage or handle things according to the principles required by the house of God. They harbor evil intentions, do not love the truth, and there is nothing but scheming in their hearts, nothing but maleficent thoughts, actions, and ideas, so everything they do is according to their own preferences, and based on their own interests, not based on principle, nor on justice. They consider only what they have to lose or gain, and give no thought to the principles required by the house of God—and thus they are destined to fail in the work of leaders and workers. What is this determined by? By the quality of their humanity; it is not determined by their work competence. And so, when weighing up whether someone is noble or lowly, and whether they meet the house of God’s standards for the selection of leaders and workers, first look at their humanity: If they are of dependable and adequate humanity, next consider whether they are competent in their work and have a burden; then consider the other aspects.

—The Word, Vol. 5. Identifying False Leaders (11)

Some people, having chosen a falsely spiritual person as leader, feel very happy and think, “Now we have a good leader. Our leader is a great preacher. What they preach makes a lot of sense, and a single sermon can last for several hours, and they can go on like this for days. When they preach, everyone is moved to tears. We’re so attached to our leader and reluctant to part with them that we’re not willing to go off to perform our duties.” But when they undertake their duties, they realize, “How is it that I don’t seem to understand anything anymore? How is it that, as soon as I set my hand to practical work, I no longer understand it? There are still so many problems in this work! After listening to our leader’s fellowship, we were all so energized, so why can’t we solve the problems we encounter in our work? Can’t they be solved if we are all energized? These problems shouldn’t arise in the first place.” What is the issue here? The sermons of this kind of false leader are all mere words and doctrines, empty talk, slogans, and nonsense. They cannot solve your practical problems. These false leaders have deceived you. They have been feeding you illusions. With a few slogans, they mislead you into thinking your problems are solved. If they have not specifically addressed the problem in fellowship, then in truth, how can your problem be solved? Their sermons fly high above all problems, avoiding them all with empty speech and empty rhetoric. They do not work problems into their fellowship but only preach slogans and doctrines, like a scholar who merely spouts theories. They do not know what practice is, and their sermons have nothing at all to do with the problems that arise when it comes time to practice. It is just a kind of teaching, a sort of knowledge or doctrine. This kind of false leader treats the words of God and the truth as a kind of doctrine of mere letters and words or a kind of slogans to preach, avoiding all the real problems. And what is the result? However long they preach, all people get from it is a rush of energy and nothing beyond that. The truth is not disconnected from reality, but linked to reality and to every aspect of the problems that exist in practice. So, if you again encounter a pseudo-spiritual false leader of this sort, will you be able to tell? If you cannot tell, let whomever you would choose as a leader solve a few problems first. If they solve them in accordance with the principles and the results are quite good, and they solve those problems with the truth reality, then choose them. If they avoid talking about the essence of problems, about problems as they actually are, and only preach doctrines and slogans, then you cannot choose them. Why not? (Because they are unable to solve practical problems.) And who is this person who cannot solve practical problems? Because they can only preach the mere letters and words of doctrine, they are a hypocritical, falsely spiritual Pharisee. They do not possess the caliber to understand the truth or the capacity to solve problems, and they are unable to solve problems. So if you choose them as your leader, they are bound to be a false leader. They are unable to do the work of a leader or to fulfill the responsibilities of one. So, when you choose them, are you not harming them? Some will say, “How is that harming them? We chose them with the best intentions. They have a bit of caliber, and if we chose them, wouldn’t we then have someone responsible for the work?” Having someone responsible is key, but if that person is incapable of it yet merely offers empty talk that does not incorporate things as they are and is of no help in resolving problems, then, in choosing them, are you not giving them the chance to do evil? Are you not forcing them onto the path of false leadership? This is why you cannot choose such a person as your leader.

—The Word, Vol. 5. Identifying False Leaders (8)