怎料到牧區的改革也會使我意見多多
「信與未信的人都喜歡回來」這個目標是十分理想化
因為吸引未信者比較難做到，所以要加設新奇的活動 (有時限的小組)
但如此會有幾項反效果：
1. 對有心者而言他們犧牲了青崇之後原有的小組時間
2. 對無心者而言可以繼續原有小組，但會發現有部分組員暫時離開了
3. 放錯整件事的焦點：跑步小組重點在跑步、音樂小組重點在音樂......
我明白同工加設這些新元素能夠讓牧區的弟兄姊妹各自找到合適的地方或群體
(我美化了這句說話：原本的詞語是「舒服」而不是「合適」)
但當重點由信仰轉移至活動本身，我覺得這對弟兄姊妹會是一個屬靈危機
另外有教導方面的問題：
我深知道同工兼顧太多事項，期望放手讓我們有靈命上的獨立
也感恩見到牧區有回應社會、不願離地的方向
但「實驗性的方向藍圖」這主張我還是相當反對的：
雖然原意是「當我們回到原來的小組時，可以互相分享彼此的經歷」
但我由始至終都不明白為何只追求活動上的多元化以及屬靈上的新鮮感
而不是保持我們的屬靈傳統以及追求屬靈上的深度
在此我稍作引用：
(Page 38-39)
... Hunger for a deeper spirituality, a Christian life in which God is authenticated in everyday circumstances and personal relationships, is almost always accompanied by a sense of deprivation; we suspect we were not provided our rightful heritage by our church or pastor or family, that we were not guided and nurtured in the ways of robust holiness. That sense of deprivation often turns into anger: "Why didn't you tell me about this? Why did you use my hunger for God to recruit me for your religious projects? Why did you flatten my longing for God into explanations that would keep me in my place?"
Angry over our impoverishment, we cannot help noticing churches or movements that look better. We see places and people who are risking themselves in love and God, and we know we would flourish if we could only live among them. They have already stimulated and nourished us so wonderfully. We get ready to jump ship.
Our wisest counselors usually tell us to stay put. Every place, every congregation, every denomination, has a rich spiritual tradition to be discovered and explored.
Evangelicalism is also a tradition -- representing centuries of prayer and holy living, witness and wisdom, and treasures for our nurture. Recover what is yours by right by going deep, not away. The grass is not greener on the other side of the fence. Every religious community has its dead spots; your task is to dig wells in your desert.
(Page 67-68)
... Moses was surprised by the holy in Midian. Midian was an austere country and Moses was an exile there. Midian was not an attractive place and Moses was not doing attractive work. A hard country, hard work, hard life.
Moses had been reared in luxury in one of the world's highest cultures and most accomplished civilizations. Moses was used to political power, intellectual conversion, and architectural splendor. And now Moses was in Midian -- no books, no temples, no servants, no influence.
And then, without preamble, he found himself immersed in the holy: God's holy angel flaming out from a burning bush. Moses addressed by name, "Moses, Moses." ... Moses addressed by God and given a job to do (Exod. 3:1-12).
Holy angel, holy ground, holy God, a holy word that forms a holy people and shapes a holy history. And in Midian of all places.
John was surprised by the holy on the prison island, Patmos, a place as barren and unfriendly as Midian. And John, like Moses in Midian, was there in exile. In that place of rejection and austerity he was given a holy vision. Instead of Moses' burning bush, John was given Jesus ablaze with the holy and speaking words that the Holy Spirit used to make a holy people faithful and enduring in unholy times.
- Eugene H. Peterson (Subversive Spirituality)
(這兩段文字我是在網上找到的，打算稍後再買這本書)
最近寫Hymnology系列時發現到這問題其實不單是我們教會獨有
我頗肯定較為不重視傳統以及主張以現代詩歌崇拜的教會都會面對這個問題
也頗肯定第一代門徒殉道之後至上世紀的基督教發展史必定會成為沉悶的歷史學科
(歷史是會不斷重複，人類繼續不從歷史中得到教訓的詭異)
回到我們教會的context
這一段年日我不止一次聽到有青少年人寧願跟家人一起崇拜而不願留在同輩的群體
(事實上，我幾年前已有這種偏向，能夠留下是因為我有心態上的轉變)
我愈來愈感受到、甚至是見到我們青少年人跟上一輩、上兩輩的人有一條屬靈鴻溝
從屬靈視野、聖經及神學知識、信仰及服事經歷，
以至信仰觀的整全度、對信仰的敏感度等等，這些東西正慢慢從我們身上流失
所以我覺得需要為此跟其他人分享我的感受，也要為此作出補救
跟出席完敬拜人員聚會後的總結一樣：
問題從來都不在方法及技巧上，而是在觀念及主張上
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