The following notes were taken at a sister's meeting in the Spring Street loft in the early days of the Manhattan Training Center.
What is our real problem? It is staying faithful to Jesus as individuals. We have to fellowship to help us keep faithful and not getting disheartened. This is the issue but other things spring up.
Consider the fellowship of the sisters. We don't even know how to fellowship or what it really is. We should be aiming at how fellowship ought to be. We must more and more come to the way it ought to be. Fellowship should be honest and always with Jesus in mind. The problem is discouragement, avoiding the real issues and getting into routines. Withdrawing is a horrible way to be.
We have particular problems because we are sisters. Because of our hiding, they go undealt with and that makes it worse. The inward feelings have a lot to do with us. We want a sense of being taken care of.
The nature of the brothers interest us. The fellowship of the brothers is happening but it's silly right now because it isn't uniform. They desire more than us, a central source of direction. We have a tendency to withdraw. What can we set up for the sisters to deal with problems? It's hopeless for Stewart just to talk with them. We go to fantasy right away.
A female is only going to be happy in marriage but the qualification is--there are two marriages, both physical and spiritual. Our circumstance differ but they are pretty much the same and this unifies us.
How can we be fulfilled? There's no fulfillment if someone is impersonal. Anytime a sister makes trouble it is out of selfishness. We're either working or wailing. We are the happiest when we are contributing and being encouraged. We understand the doctrine of bringing forth fruit and being fulfilled. All of the verses in the Bible that point out how to be a woman, point to us being a helper.
When we work against ourselves we get nowhere. By way of concession we have to learn to lean over backwards to help withdrawn sisters. We must be looking at a way to help each other now.
We worry about the future more than the brothers. We are concerned about our fellowship and if we will be taken care of. So we test to see if we will be taken care of. The This isn't right. Looking to marriage is looking to the flesh. Married sisters see that.
How can we be happy? The answer is looking to Jesus and being faithful. We must learn to remove those things that keep us from being faithful. Withdrawing has to do with guilt and fear (fantasy). We see hope by the whole fellowship working. We should rather see the brothers working steadily at what they do see than them just seeing a lot.
Copyright 1977, by the Church of Bible Understanding, used without permission
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