Engaging in real ministry, young pastoral workers will encounter challenges that they have not learned or experienced in theology classes. When joining the church and starting to serve, what aspects should young pastoral staff pay attention to? Of course, they may think about expository preaching, the exercise of various spiritual gifts, visiting and exhorting believers, and caring for the lives of churchgoers, which are all very important in their ministry, for they are the manifestations of their spiritual abilities.
As the teaching of the Lord and the foundation of ministry, unity should be the direction of pastoral workers.
As long as the pastoral team is unified and capable, the overall service of the church is unified and capable. When faced with the problems and challenges of believers, even serious conflicts and faith problems, the pastoral team has the spiritual ability to solve them, therefore the church stays stable.
But if the pastoral team is not unified, with conflicts, jealousy, and strife among pastoral co-workers, the church is not unified but has relatively a large split. Even if there are only one leader and one pastoral worker in the team, they can still cause a great church split for these two people cannot be unified but compete with each other instead. Admitting believers is peaceful, but if the pastoral team is divided, then the church will have a big hole without stability.
Therefore, when young pastoral workers join the pastoral team and start serving in the church, the first thing to focus on is how to integrate themselves and maintain unity with the team. The church is a unity that especially requires the pastoral workers to have a sense of community. One of the important spiritual qualities that Christianity expresses in the church is love for one another and oneness, which the Lord Jesus teaches.
As a result, working alone in the church community, highlighting oneself, and lacking a sense of community will not only fail to bring more benefits to the church as a whole but will damage its unity.
Knowledge of spiritual authority is essential.
It is not easy to achieve unity with all pastoral staff in the pastoral team. The church of God should be a disciplined and orderly community, where the pastoral workers should maintain discipline and order. First, they need to know spiritual authority. In the community of the church, God rules through spiritual authority and executes God's laws from top to bottom. The power of spiritual authority varies from top to bottom, from the spiritual leaders to the cell group leaders. Unless there are special circumstances (such as serious faults and sins committed by leaders), God executes His will through the authority on the top to work at His church, and will not easily surpass the top authority of the church, that is, spiritual leaders, for it is the spiritual order established by God Himself.
Thus, pastoral workers should have a sufficient understanding of the spiritual authority of leaders, and pay them adequate respect and obedience. Meanwhile, they have to recognize that leaders represent God in spiritual authority, which is God's authority given by Him, and He will also maintain His authority. Naturally, those who fear God and submit to His authority should show sufficient obedience and respect in front of spiritual leaders. In this way, the spiritual authority from leaders to pastoral workers is unimpeded and consistent. At the same time, the link between spiritual authority and pastoral workers is carried out without hindrance, so that the governance of the church can be unified without impediment.
Young pastoral workers need to position themselves accurately.
They must know their position and role which is their authority in ministry. They need to carefully distinguish what kind of work can be done, what kind of work can’t be done, and what kind of work will affect the ministry authority of other co-workers. It’s important to avoid harming the unity, as well as to avoid doing work with no benefit. Sometimes it’s observed that the work that should be done that they have the authority to do, is yet to be done. The work that shouldn’t be done that they have no authority to do, has already been done much. In this way, pastoral workers think that they have worked much, but in fact, it does not benefit the overall ministry.
The scope of the authority in ministry is defined by the spiritual leaders, for which the pastoral workers need to communicate with the leaders in time and obey them. All kinds of ministries receive authority from the leaders so that the work is consistent and orderly, not sporadic. Pastoral workers and spiritual leaders establish a healthy spiritual relationship, which unifies the pastoral team from top to bottom and connects it from left to right, making the whole team more powerful and stable.
(The article is originally published by the Gospel Times and the author is a believer in Jilin Province.)
- Translated by Shuya Wang
年轻的教牧工人在实际侍奉的过程当中，都会遇到在神学课堂上没有学到也不曾经历过的挑战。当年轻教牧工人加入到教会当中开始侍奉，会在哪些方面看为是比较重要的呢？当然会想到释经讲道、对各种属灵恩赐的发挥、探访劝勉信徒，对信徒生命的关爱等。这些都是教牧工人在侍奉当中比较重要的，是侍奉中属灵能力的表现。
合一是主的教导，是侍奉的基础，当是教牧工人的方向。只要教牧工人团队是合一的，是有能力的，那么这个教会整体的侍奉都是有能力且是合一同心的。遇到信徒的问题挑战，哪怕是信徒间有再大的风波矛盾和信仰问题，教牧团队都比较有属灵能力可以解决，教会仍然是稳固的。
但如果教牧团队是不合一的，教牧同工之间彼此矛盾嫉妒，彼此纷争，那么这个教会就是不合一的，存在比较大的分裂破口。即使只有一个领袖和一个教牧工人的教牧团队，这两个人不能同心合一而彼此争竞，照样可以使教会产生很大的破口分裂。即使信徒是安静无事的，教牧团队却是分裂的，那么这教会就存在很大破口而不稳固。
所以，当年轻的教牧工人加入教牧团队，开始了教会的侍奉时，首先当注重的是如何使自己融入到这团队当中，并且能够保持与团队的合一同心。教会是一个整体，尤其需要教牧工人有共同体意识。基督信仰在教会中所要表达的一个重要的属灵特质，就是彼此相爱，合而为一。主耶稣正是这样教导的。
因此在教会共同体中单打独斗，突出自己，缺乏共同体意识，不但不能给教会这个整体带来更多益处，反而会给教会的合一带来破坏。
对属灵权柄的认识至关重要。要做到在教牧团队中与众教牧同工都合一同心，也并不是容易的事。神的教会更当是有纪律有次序的共同体，教牧工人就更当是纪律和次序的维护者。首先是要认识属灵的权柄。在教会这个共同体中，神是通过属灵的权柄来治理的，从上到下来施行神的法则。属灵的权柄从上到下有大有小，从教会属灵的领袖到下面的小组长。神在教会中的工作，若不是特殊情况（比如领袖出现严重的过错犯罪），神都是通过在上的权柄来施行神的旨意的，并不会轻易越过教会在上的权柄，就是属灵的领袖。因为这是神自己建立的属灵秩序。
所以教牧工人当对领袖的属灵权柄有足够的认识，并且给予足够的尊重和足够的顺服。认识到领袖在属灵权柄上是代表神的，是神所赐下的神的权柄，神也必维护他的权柄。因此，敬畏神顺服神的权柄就当在属灵的领袖面前显出足够的顺服和尊重。这样，属灵的权柄从领袖到教牧工人是畅通的，是一致的，属灵权柄到教牧工人这一环没有阻碍地施行下来，从而使教会的治理可以上下一心，没有阻碍。
年轻的教牧工人要对自己的定位准确。要认识自己所处的位置和角色，也就是认识自己所侍奉的权柄权限。能作哪些工作，不能作哪些工作，作哪些工作会触及到其他同工的侍奉权柄，这些都是需要谨慎的。要避免伤害合一的行为，避免作了工，却不得益处。当作的工，就是有权柄作的工没有作，而不当作的工，就是没有权柄作的工却作了不少，这样自己认为作了不少，实际上却是使整体侍奉上不得益处的作为。
而这些侍奉权限的范围是由属灵领袖来界定的，所以教牧工人需要及时地与领袖沟通，并且顺服属灵领袖。各样侍奉都是从领袖领受权柄，使工作同心上下一致，有秩有序，不乱作工。教牧工人与属灵领袖建立健康的属灵关系，在教牧团队中，起到上下一致，左右连接的作用，使教牧团队更加有力且稳固。
（本文为特约/自由撰稿人文章，作者系吉林一名传道人。文中观点代表作者立场，供读者参考，福音时报保持中立。欢迎各位读者留言评论交流！）
年轻教牧工人与属灵领袖如何建立合一的属灵关系——谈对属灵权柄的认识和定位
Engaging in real ministry, young pastoral workers will encounter challenges that they have not learned or experienced in theology classes. When joining the church and starting to serve, what aspects should young pastoral staff pay attention to? Of course, they may think about expository preaching, the exercise of various spiritual gifts, visiting and exhorting believers, and caring for the lives of churchgoers, which are all very important in their ministry, for they are the manifestations of their spiritual abilities.
As the teaching of the Lord and the foundation of ministry, unity should be the direction of pastoral workers.
As long as the pastoral team is unified and capable, the overall service of the church is unified and capable. When faced with the problems and challenges of believers, even serious conflicts and faith problems, the pastoral team has the spiritual ability to solve them, therefore the church stays stable.
But if the pastoral team is not unified, with conflicts, jealousy, and strife among pastoral co-workers, the church is not unified but has relatively a large split. Even if there are only one leader and one pastoral worker in the team, they can still cause a great church split for these two people cannot be unified but compete with each other instead. Admitting believers is peaceful, but if the pastoral team is divided, then the church will have a big hole without stability.
Therefore, when young pastoral workers join the pastoral team and start serving in the church, the first thing to focus on is how to integrate themselves and maintain unity with the team. The church is a unity that especially requires the pastoral workers to have a sense of community. One of the important spiritual qualities that Christianity expresses in the church is love for one another and oneness, which the Lord Jesus teaches.
As a result, working alone in the church community, highlighting oneself, and lacking a sense of community will not only fail to bring more benefits to the church as a whole but will damage its unity.
Knowledge of spiritual authority is essential.
It is not easy to achieve unity with all pastoral staff in the pastoral team. The church of God should be a disciplined and orderly community, where the pastoral workers should maintain discipline and order. First, they need to know spiritual authority. In the community of the church, God rules through spiritual authority and executes God's laws from top to bottom. The power of spiritual authority varies from top to bottom, from the spiritual leaders to the cell group leaders. Unless there are special circumstances (such as serious faults and sins committed by leaders), God executes His will through the authority on the top to work at His church, and will not easily surpass the top authority of the church, that is, spiritual leaders, for it is the spiritual order established by God Himself.
Thus, pastoral workers should have a sufficient understanding of the spiritual authority of leaders, and pay them adequate respect and obedience. Meanwhile, they have to recognize that leaders represent God in spiritual authority, which is God's authority given by Him, and He will also maintain His authority. Naturally, those who fear God and submit to His authority should show sufficient obedience and respect in front of spiritual leaders. In this way, the spiritual authority from leaders to pastoral workers is unimpeded and consistent. At the same time, the link between spiritual authority and pastoral workers is carried out without hindrance, so that the governance of the church can be unified without impediment.
Young pastoral workers need to position themselves accurately.
They must know their position and role which is their authority in ministry. They need to carefully distinguish what kind of work can be done, what kind of work can’t be done, and what kind of work will affect the ministry authority of other co-workers. It’s important to avoid harming the unity, as well as to avoid doing work with no benefit. Sometimes it’s observed that the work that should be done that they have the authority to do, is yet to be done. The work that shouldn’t be done that they have no authority to do, has already been done much. In this way, pastoral workers think that they have worked much, but in fact, it does not benefit the overall ministry.
The scope of the authority in ministry is defined by the spiritual leaders, for which the pastoral workers need to communicate with the leaders in time and obey them. All kinds of ministries receive authority from the leaders so that the work is consistent and orderly, not sporadic. Pastoral workers and spiritual leaders establish a healthy spiritual relationship, which unifies the pastoral team from top to bottom and connects it from left to right, making the whole team more powerful and stable.
(The article is originally published by the Gospel Times and the author is a believer in Jilin Province.)
- Translated by Shuya Wang
Build a Unified Relationship Between Young Workers and Spiritual Leaders
