I.　The goal of the Lord's recovery is to recover the ministering of Christ by all the believers so that the church as the Body of Christ might be built up— Eph. 4:12-16.

II.　Shepherding is to take all-inclusive tender care of the flock; shepherding refers to taking care of all the needs of the sheep—John 21:15-17; Acts 20:28.

III.　In the Lord's recovery today, there is an urgent need of shepherding—John 21:16; 1 Pet. 5:4:

A.　In His organic salvation God the Father first regenerates us by God the Spirit and then shepherds us in God the Son as our Shepherd that we may exist and grow in His life for eternity—1:3; John 10:11; Rev. 7:17.

B.　To shepherd the believers is crucial to their growth in the divine life unto maturity for the building up of the Body of Christ—Eph. 4:12-16.

C.　The greatest lack among us is in the matter of shepherding.

IV.　If we do not know what shepherding is, the entire Gospel of John will be in vain to us; it is only when we shepherd others that we know the Gospel of John—10:11, 14; 21:16; 14:20; 15:1, 4-5.

V.　The shepherding of God's flock for the main purpose and ultimate consum-mation of the eternal economy of God is referred to in Song of Songs—1:7a, 8b; 2:16; 6:3.

VI.　Shepherding is to take care of the children of God by feeding them—John 21:15-17:

A.　The work of shepherding is the work of feeding—Matt. 24:45; 1 Cor. 3:2.

B.　Shepherding by feeding is a part of the God-man living.

C.　The shepherds' feeding is not only for the growth unto the believers' daily salvation but also unto their maturity in the divine life, which is needed for the God-men to be built up into the Body of Christ—Heb. 5:14; Eph. 4:12-13.

VII.　Shepherding depends on teaching; if we cannot teach, we cannot shepherd— Matt. 28:19-20; 9:35-36:

A.　Shepherding and teaching go together—Eph. 4:11:

1.　Shepherding and teaching should be like two feet for our move with the Lord— Acts 20:20, 27-28.

2.　Our shepherding should always be with teaching, and our teaching should always be with shepherding.

3.　Teaching not only strengthens our shepherding, but it also helps us to reach the goal of shepherding—Psa. 23:6b; John 10:11, 14-16; 14:2.

B.　If we fail in shepherding and teaching, the whole church will become desolate— 2 Tim. 2:20; Rev. 2:20, 24.

C.　For the shepherding of the saints, there must be the healthy teaching in the vital groups—2 Tim. 4:3; Titus 1:9.

D.　In order for God to fulfill His purpose and accomplish His economy, we need to teach the economy of God and reach the peak of the economy of God—Eph. 1:10; 3:9.

E.　Only the teaching of the apostles concerning the economy of God can transform the saints; therefore, we need to shepherd the saints with the apostles' teaching according to God's economy—Acts 2:42; Titus 1:9.

F.　Shepherding and teaching are our obligation as a charge given to us by the Lord; this is the basic way ordained by God in the building up of the Body of Christ to consummate His eternal goal—the New Jerusalem—Eph. 4:16; Rev. 21:2.

VIII.　The shepherding that builds up the Body of Christ is a mutual shepherding— 1 Cor. 12:23-26:

A.　All believers, regardless of their stage of spiritual growth, need shepherding; we all have defects and shortcomings and need others to shepherd us.

B.　All of us need to be under the organic shepherding of Christ and to be one with Him to shepherd others—1 Pet. 2:25; John 21:16.

C.　We are both sheep and shepherds, shepherding and being shepherded in mutuality; through this mutual shepherding, the Body builds itself up in love— Eph. 4:16.

IX.　"I hope that there will be a genuine revival among us by our receiving this burden of shepherding" (The Vital Groups, p. 40).

X.　"If all the churches receive this teaching to participate in Christ's wonderful shepherding, there will be a big revival in the recovery" (p. 40).