牧者心聲
從近來一件「馬其頓呼聲」說起⋯⋯
張穎新牧師
2023 年 3 月 11 日 / 12 日
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早前，得知有小組組長計劃移居海外，因而惆悵這小組如何「經營」下去。幾經商討和鼓勵之後，終於有兩名組員被神感動，願意日後接手作組長，其餘組員也知道大家要彼此擔當，互相補位，才可以維繫多年來在主裡面得來不易的屬靈團契。然而，組員卻也擔心自己不懂帶領查經，因此對日後由組員輪流分擔的安排，感到戰兢和焦慮。在這情況下，十名組員便向負責牧者發出邀請，表示想學習帶領小組查經。
既然有人願意接受培訓，我理應高興都來不及，但一想到原本已「密麻麻」的工作，就有進退兩難的感覺。經禱告和審慎評估後，我視這個邀請為現代版的「馬其頓呼聲」，隨即著手安排四個晚上的組長特訓，而參與者也立志不請假、盡責任、交功課，在在顯出彼此承擔的心願，我知道後雀躍萬分。回想昔日，保羅在夜間見到從馬其頓來的異象，有人請求使徒施以援手，協助拓展福音事工（徒十六 6-10）。保羅及其團隊順服聖靈的帶領，啟動了福音在歐洲版圖的開拓，成為教會向西發展的劃時代轉捩點。
來到今天的處境，堂會的信培事工，有三項值得關注。首先，是固本培元，前瞻規劃。教會是社會的縮影，在大環境劇變的年代，信培事工仍要抓緊兩大目標，即信仰培育和信徒培訓，尤其要在初信栽培、各信齡群體的基教、門訓和領訓方面，繼往開來，以適切時代和創新的思維策劃和推動相關培訓，配合堂會和信徒的實際屬靈需要。
其次，要靈活應變，貼近民情。在恆常牧養和培訓事工之外，我們要敏銳人心真實的渴求和需要，更機動性地調配資源，開拓更「埋身」的裝備訓練。當然，若要達致這類信培事工的果效，那麼不論是牧者和領袖，或是信徒和學員，都要有所承擔，培訓者除了要預備合適的材料、以促進學員的互動學習之外，亦需懂得適時回應訴求，而學習者則需謙恭受教，努力付上心力和時間。
最後，信培事工若能掌握協同效應，網絡配套，必可使教會事工事半功倍。現今科技急速發展，新人工智能軟件更是市場焦點，但是泛濫的資訊卻令人難以吸收，或是消化不良，所衍生的挑戰不容忽視。問題的徵結是我們有否提供更具屬靈養分的資訊，令信徒的信仰得以沉澱和深化。故此，教會信培部需要所為有度，善用網絡和社交平台。
It was earlier known that the leader of a small group was planning to emigrate overseas. It gave rise to doubts about how that group would continue to "operate." After some deliberations and encouragement, two members were moved by God and were willing to be the group leaders finally. The rest of the group also know that they would all have to share the responsibilities and complement each other in order that the spiritual fellowship that had been built up in the Lord over the years can be sustained. However, the group members still had worries that they would not know how to lead Bible studies and were concerned and anxious about the arrangement to take turns to lead. The 10 members therefore invited the pastor to train them up in leading group Bible studies.
Knowing that some were willing to receive training, I should be really eager and glad. But I was in a dilemma when I thought about my "fully packed" work. After praying and careful assessment, I considered the invitation as a modern version of the "Macedonian call." Then I immediately started planning a special group leader training on four evenings. The participants committed themselves to not take leave, to fulfil their responsibilities and to hand in their assignments. All this showed their wish to take mutual responsibility. I was excited when I knew this. In the old days, Paul saw in the night a vision from Macedonia which asked for his help in preaching the gospel (Acts 16:6-10). Paul and his companions obeyed the guidance of the Holy Spirit, which saw the start of the spread of the gospel in Europe. It marked a turning point of the advancement of the church westward.
In today's context, there are three noteworthy points in the equipping ministry of the church. First, we need to strengthen the basis and plan for the future. The church is the epitome of society. At a time of drastic changes in the overall environment, our equipping work needs to have two objectives: nurturing of faith and training of believers. In particular, the nurturing of new believers, Christian education for various age groups, discipleship and leadership training will need to develop further building on the past. Related training needs to be planned and promoted with a mindset that is innovative and appropriate for our age so that the training will meet the actual spiritual needs of the church and believers.
Secondly, we need to be flexible and adaptive to needs. On top of regular shepherding and training, we have to be sensitive to believers' actual longing and needs. We need to be more effective in the deployment of resources and develop more suitable training to equip believers. For sure, for the equipping ministry to achieve the above effects, pastors and leaders, believers and trainees must all be committed. The trainers, in addition to providing appropriate training materials to facilitate interactive learning, need also to provide timely responses to needs. Learners should be humble and willing to learn, putting in effort and time.
Finally, if the equipping ministry can take advantage of synergy and Internet packages, church ministries will no doubt be more fruitful. With the rapid development of science and technology, new artificial intelligence software has even become the focal point of the market. But that said, the overwhelming amount of information is hard to absorb or digest. The challenges arising must not be overlooked. The crux of the matter is whether we have provided more spiritually rich information to consolidate and deepen the faith of believers. Therefore, the church's Equip Department needs to know what it is doing, and make good use of the Internet and social media.
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