作者：PAUL TRIPP 譯者: 駱鴻銘
如果你的心對神的榮耀有實在的敬畏，那麽，在你心中就應該無法容忍草草準備、拙劣的講道和平庸的牧養工作。我們竟然可以容忍在地方教會生活和牧養中的平庸，對此我們實在應該感到震驚。我的意思不是說不該給人成長和成熟的空間，要去不斷地批評人，讓人心碎。我的意思是：在許多地方，我們的標準實在是太低了。平庸不是一個時間、人員、資源或地點上的問題。平庸是一個“心”的問題。我們失去了追求最高的卓越這樣的心志，是因爲我們失去了對神的敬畏。敬畏的失憶症打開了通往平庸的大門。If your heart is in
functional awe of the glory of God, then there will be no place in your heart
for poorly prepared, badly delivered, pastoral mediocrity. We should all be
shocked at the level of mediocrity we tolerate in the life and ministry of the
local church. No, I'm not talking about giving people room to grow and mature
so we don't crush them with criticism. I'm talking about those places where our
standards are simply too low. Mediocrity is not a time, personnel, resource, or
location problem. Mediocrity is a heart problem. We have lost our commitment to
the highest levels of excellence because we have lost our awe. Awe amnesia is
the open door that permits mediocrity in.
敬畏神會激勵我們，給我們動力，幷讓我們扎心知罪。在耶穌基督教會的領袖中，沒有任何東西可以取代敬畏神在我們心中的地位。對神的敬畏會讓我們對自己作出更高的要求。對神的敬畏會提醒我們，上帝是如此地榮耀，以至于作爲神的大使的我們，不可能會訂出過高的標準。我不是說要去追求奢華、高級裝潢的建築。我是在說一種堅定的委身，要在每次聚會當中，竭盡所能幷清楚有力地去展示神同在的榮耀和恩典。你對祂的恩典有如此的敬畏，也經歷如此的滿足，才能使你有偌大的熱情去向那些你所牧養的人展現此恩典。Awe of God
inspires, motivates, and convicts. There is no replacement for such awe in the
leadership of the church of Jesus Christ. Awe asks more of us than we would
ever ask of ourselves. Awe reminds you that God is so glorious that it is
impossible for you, as his ambassador, to have ministry standards that are too
high. I'm not talking about lavish, expensively furnished buildings. I'm
talking about a sturdy commitment to do everything you can to display the glory
of his presence and grace as powerfully and clearly as you can each time his
people gather. You are in such awe of, and have been so satisfied by, his grace
that you have zeal to display that grace to those under your care.
其他辦法能使你獲得這樣的熱情。你不只是在盡義務，你不是在敷衍了事；你不只是一時的情緒激動或表面的做作。你是作爲一位無比榮耀的君王的大使，透過你的生命來敬拜。而你會有一種虔誠的敬畏，擔心我們所作的任何事會貶低、削减或褻瀆神的榮耀。You can get this
zeal no other way. You never are just doing your duty. You never are just
cranking it out. You never are just going through the motions. You never are
just putting on a front. You are worshiping your way through life as the
ambassador of an expansively glorious King. And you are in reverential fear of
doing anything that would dent, diminish, or desecrate that glory in any way.
真實的景况 True Condition
我們的牧養工作不會只是由知識、經歷和技巧所塑造，而是要被我們心的真實景况所塑造。卓越的牧養來自一個對神的榮耀有一個聖潔的、虔誠的、重整生命的、且會激發動機的敬畏。事實上，卓越是一種關係。只有至高者才有真正的卓越，完美的卓越。唯有祂才能告訴我們什麽是真正的卓越，什麽是卓越所成就的事，也是此二者的總和。那位真正的卓越者，以祂的恩典臨到你的時候，你離開卓越還有十萬八千里遠，但是靠著神的恩典，祂賜給你這個應許，就是你可以真正分享祂神性的本質。然後，祂使你和你從未企及的計劃和目標連接起來。靠著神的恩典，你會思想你從來不曾料想的，幷盼望你從來不曾希冀的。祂讓你看到祂的榮耀，打開通往祂國度的大門。祂呼召你，幷賜給你能力展現祂的卓越，以及祂高超的恩典。只有這種卓越才有這種能力，能使我們從人類驕傲所産生的虛假卓越，以及我們的自我滿足（對自己和我們世界的現狀感到滿意）所産生的平庸中解放出來。
Our
ministries are not just shaped by knowledge, experience, and skill, but by the
true condition of our hearts. Excellence in ministry flows from a heart that is
in holy, reverential, life-rearranging, motivation-capturing awe of the Lord of
Glory. Excellence is, in fact, a relationship. Only One is truly and perfectly
excellent. He alone is the sum and definition of what excellence is and does.
So the one who is excellence, in his grace, came to you when you were in a
state of anything but excellence, and by grace offered you the promise of
actually becoming a partaker of his divine nature. He then connects you to
purposes and goals way higher and way grander than you would have every quested
for yourself. By grace he causes you to think what you wouldn't have thought,
and desire what you never before wanted. He opens your eyes to his glory. He
opens the door to his kingdom. He calls and empowers you to display his
excellency and the excellency of his grace. Only this excellency has the power
to free us from the false excellency of human pride and the mediocrity that
results when we are okay with ourselves and our world just the way they are.
當我帶著敬畏瞭解到這個事實，就是我已經靠著神的恩典，在每一方面與真正的卓越相連時，我就渴望作爲這個卓越者的大使。因此，我會對我負責的事工的每一方面，保持著極高的標準。無論是兒童事工或青少年事工，男性或女性的事工，小組聚會或外展，領袖訓練或短宣，公衆崇拜或講道。我會盼望所有的教會事工能忠實地展現這位至高者的卓越。祂從黑暗中呼召我們進入祂的奇妙光明中。
追求卓越
When
I am in awe at the reality that I have, by grace alone, been attached to what
is truly excellent in every way, I want to be an ambassador of that excellence.
So I will have high standards for every aspect of ministry under my care.
Whether it is the children's or youth ministries, men's or women's ministries,
small groups or outreach, leadership training or short-term missions, public
worship or preaching, I will want all ministries of the church to faithfully
display the excellence of the one who calls out of darkness into his marvelous
light.
這意味著在“已然”和“未然”之間，我們要立志從事這樣的操練，就是使我們的事工，盡可能免除混亂和平庸。首先，我們必須先立志對自己宣講福音，提醒自己我們不斷地需要從自己和低下的標準中被拯救出來。我們總是要提醒自己，我們經常會受到誘惑去重視那些權宜之計和讓我們感到舒服的事，而不是在神眼中是卓越的事。我們要一再告誡自己，神已經給我們豐富的恩典來打這些戰爭。
Pursuit of Excellence
This
means we will be committed to the disciplines that cause these ministries to be
as free from chaos and mediocrity as is possible between the
"already" and the "not yet." First, we must be committed to
preaching the gospel to ourselves, reminding ourselves of our ongoing need to
be rescued from us and low standards. We constantly remind ourselves of how we
are tempted to value what is expedient and comfortable, rather than what is
excellent in the eyes of God. And we tell ourselves again and again that for
these battles we have been given bountiful grace.
這也意味著我們要盡一切努力來維持我們之間的合一、相互理解和相愛的關係。我們知道自己是罪人。我們知道我們會彼此犯罪。我們知道總是有會對人失望和受人傷害的時刻。我們知道我們會遭人誤解，受到錯誤的論斷。我們知道我們會自私，對人頤指氣使，自以爲義且苛求于人。我們知道我們會彼此要求給予基督所已經給我們的。所以我們下定决心要讓自己有這樣的謙卑，讓人可以親近我們，以及在愛裏的誠實這樣的勇氣。我們要委身于認罪與赦罪這種經常的模式。然後我們會一起慶祝這樣的恩典，使罪人和罪人得以肩幷肩，在合一與相愛的團體中一起生活，彼此牧養。
This
also means we will do everything to maintain relationships of unity,
understanding, and love between us. We know we are sinners. We know we will sin
against one another. We know there are moments when we will be disappointed and
hurt. We know we will be misunderstood and wrongly judged. We know we will be
selfish and controlling, self-righteous and demanding. We know we will ask one
another to give what we have already been given in Christ. So we determine to
give ourselves the humility of approachability and the courage of loving
honesty. We will commit ourselves to regular patterns of confession and
forgiveness. And we will celebrate together the grace that enables sinners to
live and minister alongside sinners in a community of unity and love.
我們也要委身于「做足預備」的操練，使我們在受呼召的領域能表現良好。如果你們的團體沒有經常作這種操練，你們就無法成爲委身于基督大使之卓越的事工。如果你忘記自己是誰，你們的事工就會有沾沾自喜的外貌，老是想展示你們有多棒，而不是救贖主的榮耀——祂在你們的軟弱中仍然與你相遇。如果你缺乏委身，愛護福音的社群，你的牧養就會充滿沮喪和失望，只是以一種抽象的形式，而不是以一種活潑生動、改變生命的活力來展現神的榮耀。而你如果沒有委身于「預備」的操練，你就會把懶散的領袖帶給缺乏遠見的百姓，而這會分散他們的注意力，使他們無法看見神是誰，而不是增進他們看見神的能力，讓他們可以把盼望寄望在神身上。
And we will be committed to the discipline of adequate
preparation that enables us to do well what we have been called to do. You
cannot have a ministry that is committed to ambassadorial excellence if these
things (disciplines) are not a regular part of your community. If you forget
who you are, your ministry will be shaped by a smugness that is more about
displaying how great you are, rather than how glorious is the Savior who still
meets you in your weakness. If you are not committed to loving gospel
community, you will minister out of frustration and discouragement, displaying
God's glory in an abstract form, but not in its living, life-changing vitality.
And if you are not committed to the discipline of preparation, you will offer
sloppy leadership to poorly sighted people that will become more of a
distraction to, rather than an enhancement of, their ability to see God for who
is he and place their hope in him.