牧者心聲

最近，我與蕭師母一起重遊荔景山麗瑤邨，記起 1977 年北宣在麗瑤邨開始成立自修室及教會。當年我仍是一名大學生，與一群弟兄姊妹一起定期到邨內作福音探訪及自修室的服事。事隔多年，雖已忘記了教會所在的邨內情景，但想不到偶然進入樂瑤樓，當步入一個巨大如四方筒形的天井內，抬頭一看，四面多層住宅單位的入口，環繞著天井，過去的回憶驀然復現。昔日往各層派發單張、作福音探訪和聖誕報佳音的景象，都浮現在腦海中。

北宣家多年來，不論在困難或興旺的日子，一直沒停止關心宣教及植堂的需要。當年的青年群體參與偏遠社區的福音工作，並不是因教會有甚麼偉大的宣教口號，只是我們「看見」教會一直如此實踐，我們便知道應該如此投入。1977 年底，滕近輝牧師放下香港許多重大的事奉，前往印尼西加里曼丹宣教。當我們知道後既感到震驚，也問自己該如何參與宣教。當年我在麗瑤堂認識美國宣道會葉維德宣教士，看見他以熱誠關懷區內許多的青少年，並以身體力行，全時間投入在當時仍是偏遠且貧困的社區作服事，更以廣東話鼓勵我們，要負代價關懷生命、傳揚福音。他的委身深深感動著我，也成了我的榜樣。

北宣家有七個屬靈傳統：1）謙卑者才可以蒙恩；2）和睦同心，彼此尊重；3）施比受更為有福；4）一切以神為中心；5）以真理教導為本；6）信心認獻；7）愛教會。¹ 有人以為這七方面是教會的發展目標，實則是神在過去賜給北宣家的恩典。這些傳統，凝聚了過去許多北宣人及牧者留下的生命見證，以及神藉各種方式對我們的勉勵。然而，若非我們有意識地繼續實踐，不斷賦與「新生命」，這些美好的屬靈傳統可以無聲地淡化、失去。

要守衛、延伸我們的屬靈傳統，其中的關鍵是要留心學效過去及現今北宣人的生命榜樣。「凡是真實的、可敬的、公義的⋯⋯有甚麼德行⋯⋯你們都要思念⋯⋯這些事你們都要去行，賜平安的神就必與你們同在。」（腓四 8-9）今天的北宣人，除了努力認識這七個傳統之外，還要按神的感動，放膽追求在其中一、兩方面成為榜樣。不是為要自誇，而是為了愛北宣家人，正如父母愛子女，努力作好榜樣，影響家人在美善的路上一起繼續前行。

[1] 詳見黃彩蓮牧師所著的《恩典之路——宣道會北角堂之屬靈傳統》，是從宣道會及北宣的歷史詳述這七個傳統的內涵，是北宣弟兄姊妹必讀的書籍。

  Recently, my wife and I revisited Lai Yiu Estate on Lai King Hill. It reminded me of the ministry NPAC started there in 1977, including a study room and a church. I was still a university student then. Along with a group of brothers and sisters, I went to the estate regularly to visit residents, share the gospel and serve in the study room. After so many years, I had already forgotten what the estate and the church looked like. Yet, we happened to walk into Lok Yiu House and stepped into its huge, square, shaft-like courtyard. As I looked up and saw the entrance doors of the apartment units on every floor, circling the courtyard on all sides, quite unexpectedly, memories came flooding back. The scenes of us going from floor to floor, handing out gospel tracts, visiting residents and singing Christmas carols vividly appeared in my mind.

  Through the years, whether in times of difficulty or of flourishing, the NPAC family has never stopped caring about the needs of mission and church planting. In those days, the young people took the gospel to remote communities not because the church had some grand slogans about mission. It was simply because we “saw” that this was how our church has lived out its faith, and so we knew we, too, should give ourselves to it. At the end of 1977, Rev. Philip Teng laid aside many significant ministries in Hong Kong to serve as a missionary in Kalimantan, Indonesia. When we heard this, we were astonished. We also asked ourselves how we should take part in mission. During those years at Lai Yiu Church, I came to know the missionary Doug Wiebe, who served with the Christian and Missionary Alliance of the United States. I saw how he cared for the many young people in the neighborhood with deep passion. He lived out his faith and gave himself wholeheartedly to serving full-time in what was then still a remote and impoverished community. He also encouraged us in Cantonese and urged us to be prepared to pay the price of caring for people and sharing the gospel. His commitment moved me deeply, and he became an example to me.

  The NPAC family has a seven-fold spiritual legacy: 1) God gives grace to the humble; 2) Work together in harmony, respecting each other; 3) It is more blessed to give than to receive; 4) God is the center of everything; 5) Teaching the truth is our basis; 6) Offering by faith; and 7) Love our church.¹ Some people think these seven are goals for the church’s development. In fact, they are gifts of grace God has given to NPAC over the years. These traditions embody the testimonies of faith left behind by generations of NPAC members and pastors, as well as the many ways God has encouraged and exhorted us. Yet unless we consciously continue to put them into practice, continually give them "new life," these precious spiritual traditions can quietly fade away and eventually be lost.

  One key to safeguarding and extending our spiritual legacy is to pay close attention to and learn from the life examples set by NPAC members, both past and present. “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right…if anything is excellent…think about such things…put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” (Phil. 4:8–9) As members of NPAC today, besides seeking diligently to understand these seven traditions, we should also boldly strive to become examples in one or two of them according to God’s prompting. We do this not to boast about ourselves but out of love for the NPAC family. It is just like parents, out of love for their children, strive to set a good example, encouraging their family to keep walking together along the path of goodness.

¹ For further details, see Rev. Kinia Ng’s The Path of Grace: Spiritual Tradition of North Point Alliance Church. Drawing on the history of the Christian and Missionary Alliance and NPAC, the book explores the meaning of this seven-fold legacy in depth. It is essential reading for the brothers and sisters of NPAC.