becoming

The East Asia Journal of Theology is now available on-line at biblicalstudies.org.uk. You should recognize many names there especially those in the 80′s and early 90′s.

好友Anson關於在教會打工10件黐線事的轉貼熱傳，在同意之餘，也想寫幾句話作點平衡。

送給準牧者的10句良心話：

1. 你能做的，比你想像中少。
2. 若你有甚麼鴻圖大計，還是請你盡早收回，並相信我：對教會來說，這會是件好事。
3. 你的首要任務是獲取會眾的信任。
4. 很多時候，這等於說，你要願意比其他人，多走一里路。
5. 越強調自己和別人（會眾 / 牧者）觀念上的差別，越難獲得信任。
6. 別人的意見就算多錯（你以為），也要用心的聽。
7. 你是否有領導能力，在於別人能否在不自覺的情況下，而非會議擂台上，給你改變（或說「擊倒」）。
8. 若是以對立的態度推行變革，歷史稱之為「革命」，沒有幾個是成功的。
9. 這不是有否guts的問題，而是你究竟為了說明自己對、別人錯？還是真的希望教會能有所改變。
10. 和你視之為「阻住地球轉」的人一樣，你也需要留心聖靈對教會的微聲和帶領。而祂的方式和內容，往往並非如你所料。

讀徒13有感：

作為傳道人的你：

你要聘請你的教會，給你stability？還是mobility？

作為教會的你：

不要總是說：「我們希望你最少能在這裡做XX年」；反而要在interview時，問應徵的同工：「若我們有一天要差你出去，你願意嗎？」

同「道」，互勉。

Mark D. Roberts’ ongoing series on Being Peacemakers in Church.

兩年前曾在不同場合提過Unchristian一書，喜見天道有膽出它的中譯。值得一推！

近日聽到一個信徒，比較自己教會和我教會的講道，有點抱怨地說：

「我還是喜歡聽講道，但你不是講道，你講聖經…」

聽了之後，我也不太懂該怎樣反應。

我明白背後那一大堆「講道要生活化」、「查經可以去主日學」的邏輯道理。也明白今天講道者的不濟，很多時候，實在真的難辭其咎。

我只覺得，今天信徒普遍對講壇信息的要求，既危險，連多麼不合真理也不自知。

危險，因為正正是那些討人喜歡、「頭痛醫頭，腳痛醫腳」的所謂「生活性」講章，造成了今天信徒，個個成了只能給你20分鐘的「聽道植物人」：我們期待講員給我答案，而沒有興趣被信息挑戰去自己從聖經中找答案。

不合真理，是因為坦白一點說，講道的目的是為幫助你認識從聖經中啟示的神的計劃，而不是神在聖經中，說了甚麼去幫助你和你的計劃：是你要怎樣加入神的工作，不是祂要如何配合你。

我們會批評某些傳道、同工講道能力之低，卻漠視自己原來連最基本的聽道目的也攪不清楚。

是否時候，眾教會要認真考慮在初信栽培課程中，加入一堂「聽道學」？

誰說「聽」，不需要學？

Why a little church history is a dangerous—and necessary—thing.
Carolyn Arends

…The story of Christianity ultimately leaves me shocked at the risks God takes with humans. Even the greatest lights in church history were dishearteningly imperfect. For all his heroism, Luther attacked the Jewish faith so polemically the Nazis later misappropriated his writings for their anti-Semitic cause. Reformer Ulrich Zwingli advocated justification by faith and concern for the poor, but he also endorsed the executions of two of his brightest disciples because they became Anabaptists. Simons was an inspired Anabaptist leader, but he overzealously excommunicated many who did not live up to his pious standards.

Yet God did great things through these flawed people, much as he did with Abraham, Isaac, Peter, and Paul. As long as there is a human element in his church, it will be prone to corruption. But as long as his Spirit moves, there will be reform and renewal.

When our kids are ready, we will give them context for their religious heritage. For now, they do not understand that the church they file into on Sunday mornings is a place as dangerous as it is holy. But if God is willing to keep taking a chance on it, so are we.

[Read it all here]

You can see how dangerous it is for us not to read the Bible or to understand “a little church history” ourselves. Our projection and idea of God could never match the real one revealed in human history. We can never appreciate how gracious He really is, unless we have a deeper and fully understanding of how we are, both individually and corporately, as human beings.