The 3 Forces Pulling The Church Forward 拉着教会往前走的三股力量
Author: Bro.Goh Han Keng
Translator: Dea. Daniel Xu
“Then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.”
The Russians have a folk song called Troika. The Troika is also a carriage in the 17th century originally used to delivery mail. The Troika is pulled by 3 horses with the rider and a bunch of letters and parcels. Back then, it is considered hard work to be riding through the vast Russian landscape sending letters to their destination
To deliver letters to its recipients was the primary mission for these mail man, but in the process, he has got to keep the 3 horses running in cadence pulling the carriage forward. In this scene I see the carriage, the mail man, the letters, and the 3 horses working in synergy. It reminds me of the intricate relationship of the church, its leaders, and the gospel with its 3 “horses” (namely are people, money, life).
The three basic conditions of the three forces driving the church forward are:
1. The church needs faithful believers. The more believers, the stronger we are.
2. The church needs adequate financial resources and reserve to sustain and develop ministries.
3. The believers need a solid foundation in their faith to last the distance.
The mail man are the church leaders, tasked with delivering the letters into the hands of the intended recipients. In another word, to deliver the word of God into the hearts of God’s chosen. Like the mail man, he needs to work with a team to care for these 3 horses so that they are strong and obedient to complete the job at hand.
How do we keep these 3 horses running in cadence? The spiritual and administrative leadership in church needs to work closely together in good leadership with a broad base of knowledge to maintain a dynamic equilibrium in our people, finance, and life of the church. Simply put, the financial resources of the church come from the offering of its members. The members attitude towards financial offerings largely stems from the condition of their spiritual life. They need to see the urgency of the gospel message and willingly give unto the church in support of the gospel mission. To achieve cadence in these 3 areas, we need to have a good number of believers who are strongly rooted in our faith.
As you can see, to complete the gospel mission requires well discipled, loyal, and able leaders who clearly knows the way ahead. These leaders are our pastors, deacons, and council members. And together with a team of dedicated members, we will be able to complete our gospel mission.
What I have painted above is a picture-perfect painting. The fact is that reality usually falls short. All of us have our weaknesses and that is exactly why the church needs to get goals, improve our weaknesses, and enhance our strengths. To see others better than ourselves and to keep learning as we take another step closer to our goal. This is something we all should think about especially with the challenges of COVID-19 as our backdrop.
文:吴汉卿弟兄
“你们就要意念相同，爱心相同，有一样的心思。有一样的意念”
记得俄罗斯有一首古老民歌，曲名叫三套车(Troika)。三套车始于17世纪，起初设计是用来运邮件的。是一辆由三只马拉着的邮车，载着一批信件，车前坐着一个马夫。在地广人稀的俄罗斯大地赶着马，沿途把信件送到目的地，在当时，可算是一件辛苦的差事。送信就是这位马夫的使命，他的职责也要确保这三匹马同步一起拉动马车往前跑。这个情景让我看到马车、马夫、信件和三只马的互动关系，使我联想到教会、领袖、福音和三个拉动力的马，代表人力、财力、生命力之间的微妙关系。
这拉动教会前进的三动力其中的三个基本条件是：其一，教会必须要有一批忠心的信徒，人数多，能力就强。其二，必须有足够的资金收入和储备，以维持事工活动和发展需要。其三，信徒要有坚强的信仰基础，才能走得远。
教会属灵领袖就如马夫，负责把信件送到收信人的手里。就是把福音传送到神拣选的人心里。为要确保福音能传送到目的地，领袖也要像马夫那样，有一批同工一起负责喂养这三匹马的任务，不但使马有力而且愿意顺从指挥，互相配合。如何能使这三匹马同步一起跑呢？属灵领袖和领导同工们本身需要有默契配合，加上领导能力和多方面的知识，使得教会的人力、财力和生命力常常保持平衡又有活力的状态。简单来说，教会的资金来自信徒奉献。信徒的金钱奉献心态很大程度上，取决于信徒的生命力，他们必须能看见传福音的急迫性和愿意为教会传福音使命给予支持。当然，信徒人数也需要足够而且有良好信仰基础，才能符合三力平衡条件。可见，要完成一个传福音的大使命，首先，要有一批素质良好，就是要经过培训，有领导能力又忠心的领袖同工，清楚知道并了解所朝向的目标。这些领袖们是由包括牧者、理事和执事组成，再加上一群肯付出热心会友的支持，才能达到目标，以完成使命。
这是一幅理想而完美的图画，在现实中虽然并非如此，会有短处和弱点， 因此，教会有需要设立各项行动目标，优化弱点、强化优点，各人看别人比自己强，勤于学习，向着目标前进。这是我们现今面对全球疫情和各种挑战环境时