在前六篇文章裡，我們先後談到領導、治理、教會、多元、自由與張力。表面上，這些主題彼此不同，但回頭再看，我一直不太希望這個系列只停留在浸信會歷史、制度或神學觀念的介紹。事實上，無論是領導方式、會眾治理、地方教會自治，還是信徒皆祭司，這些都不是最終目的。我更希望透過回顧浸信會四百多年的歷史與神學，重新思想一個看似古老、卻始終沒有過時的問題：當我們說自己是浸信會時，我們究竟承繼了什麼？
若說前面六篇文章主要是在回顧浸信會不同的信念和傳統，那麼到了這裡，我們或許可以開始把目光慢慢帶回今天的教會現場。因為歷史和神學若不能進入今天的牧養與群體生活，它們很容易再次變成知識；而傳統若不能在當代處境中被重新活出，也可能逐漸只剩下形式。
當我們一步一步走到這裡，我愈來愈覺得，浸信會最珍貴的遺產，或許從來不只是一套制度，也不只是某種治理模式，而是一種深刻的信念：神仍然帶領祂的教會，而祂不只向個人說話，也向整個群體說話。
然而，真正困難的地方，或許從來不是理解這個信念，而是如何在今天重新活出這個信念。
畢竟，我們不可能回到十七世紀，也不可能複製初代教會的處境。我們仍然需要章程，需要委員會，需要預算，需要行政和組織；我們所面對的問題，也與四百年前截然不同。因此，問題從來不是如何回到過去，而是如何在今天重新學習共同辨識，重新學習一起聆聽。
某程度上，共同辨識從來不是在危機出現時才突然開始的事情，而是一種需要長時間培養的文化。它不是一次會議，也不是一套程序，而是一種群體生活的方式。如果平日沒有建立彼此信任、彼此聆聽和一起尋求神的習慣，那麼當真正的張力和重大決定出現時，我們很容易重新回到效率、權力和個人意見之中。因此，也許今天最重要的問題，不是如何建立更多制度，而是如何在既有制度之中，重新建立共同尋求神的文化。
這或許意味著，領袖需要少一點急於解決所有問題，多一點容許群體慢慢形成答案。並不是每一個張力都需要立即消失，也不是每一個不同聲音都必須盡快統一。有時候，慢下來並不代表缺乏效率，而是承認教會真正的主人不是我們，而是基督；教會真正的方向，也不只是靠人的智慧和經驗形成。
很多時候，我們習慣先討論、先分析、先形成方案，最後再用幾分鐘禱告。久而久之，禱告仍然存在，屬靈語言仍然存在，但真正一起尋求神的空間，卻可能愈來愈少。
有時候，當方案其實早已形成、方向其實早已確定，我們才邀請神加入我們的計劃，希望祂祝福我們已經決定好的事情。於是，禱告慢慢變成對既定方向的祝福，而不再是整個群體共同尋求神心意的開始。因此，也許更值得我們反思的問題，不是每次開會之前有沒有禱告，而是我們是否真的願意在作決定之前，一起安靜、一起查考聖經、一起等待。我們是否願意讓神的話語塑造我們，而不是只是利用經文支持我們原本的想法？
同樣地，成熟的群體，也不一定代表所有人擁有相同的看法。不同的恩賜、不同的世代、不同的背景，本來就會帶來不同的聲音。成熟並不等於一致，合一也不等於所有人都變成一樣。真正的成熟，或許是當不同的人仍然願意彼此尊重、彼此聆聽，並且相信神能夠透過整個群體工作。而這也意味著，領袖的角色需要重新被理解。
很多時候，我們習慣把領導理解為提供答案、推動方向和作出決定。然而，回顧浸信會的歷史，我愈來愈覺得，真正的領導，或許不是替所有人思考，也不是替所有人作決定，而是幫助群體一起在神面前思考；不是急於提供答案，而是幫助群體慢慢形成答案；不是讓所有人跟隨自己，而是帶領整個群體一起跟隨基督。
然而，這樣的文化，其實並不容易建立。它需要時間，需要耐性，也需要彼此信任。在一個強調效率、速度和成果的時代，共同辨識往往顯得緩慢，甚至令人感到不安。然而，也許正因如此，它更成為一種信靠神的生活方式。因為共同辨識之所以值得，不是因為它永遠有效率，而是因為它背後隱含著一個更深的信念：我們相信，神仍然帶領祂的教會。
因此，我愈來愈覺得，《使徒行傳》第十五章那句話之所以如此美麗，不是因為它提供了一套完美的治理模式，也不是因為它保證所有衝突都能夠被解決，而是因為它見證了一群人，即使面對差異、張力和不確定，仍然願意一起尋求神。
然後，他們說：「聖靈和我們定意。」（徒十五28）¹
這句話之所以動人，不只是因為它屬於初代教會，也因為它提醒我們，教會真正的盼望，從來不在於擁有最完善的制度、最有效率的領導，或最正確的程序，而在於我們仍然相信，基督仍然是教會的主，而聖靈仍然在祂的百姓中工作。
或許，這並不只是初代教會的一句話。它也是今天每一間教會、每一位牧者、每一位執事、每一位領袖所需要重新學習的一句話。而當我們完成對浸信會歷史與神學的回顧之後，也許真正重要的問題，從來不只是浸信會曾經相信什麼，而是今天的我們，是否仍然願意一起聆聽。
Antony傳道
註腳
- 《使徒行傳》15:1–29。
Rethinking the Church through Baptist Tradition, History, and Theology
Part 7 - Are We Still Willing to Listen Together? From “It Seemed Good to the Holy Spirit and to Us” to the Church Today
In the previous six articles, we have explored leadership, church governance, the nature of the church, diversity, freedom, and the tensions that inevitably arise within Christian communities. Although these themes may seem quite different from one another, I have never intended this series to become merely an introduction to Baptist history, structures, or theological ideas. Rather, through revisiting more than four centuries of Baptist history and theology, I hope we may reconsider an ancient question that has never ceased to be relevant:
When we call ourselves Baptists, what exactly have we inherited?
If the first six articles have mainly examined the convictions and traditions that shaped Baptist life, perhaps at this point we can begin to turn our attention back to the realities of the church today. History and theology, if they never enter into the life of the church, easily become mere knowledge. Likewise, traditions that are not continually embodied within contemporary contexts may eventually remain only as forms and structures.
As I have worked through these reflections, I have become increasingly convinced that the most precious Baptist legacy has never been simply a system of governance or a particular organizational model. Rather, it is a profound conviction: God still leads His church, and He speaks not only to individuals, but also to His people together.
Yet perhaps the real challenge has never been understanding this conviction.
The greater challenge lies in learning how to live it out again today.
After all, we cannot return to the seventeenth century, nor can we recreate the circumstances of the early church. We still need constitutions, committees, budgets, administration, and organizational structures. The questions we face are very different from those faced four hundred years ago. Therefore, the issue has never been how to return to the past, but how to relearn communal discernment and how to listen together once again.
In many ways, communal discernment does not suddenly begin when a crisis arises. It is a culture that must be cultivated over time. It is not merely a meeting, nor simply a procedure, but a way of life within the community. If trust, mutual listening, and the habit of seeking God together are absent in ordinary times, then when genuine tensions and major decisions emerge, we naturally fall back into efficiency, power, and personal opinions. Perhaps, therefore, the most important question facing the church today is not how to create more structures, but how to rediscover a culture of seeking God together within the structures we already possess.
This may mean that leaders need to become less anxious about solving every problem immediately and more willing to allow the community to arrive at answers slowly. Not every tension needs to disappear at once, nor must every differing voice be quickly brought into line. Sometimes slowing down is not a sign of inefficiency; rather, it is an acknowledgment that the true owner of the church is not ourselves, but Christ, and that the direction of the church is shaped by more than human wisdom and experience.
Too often, we discuss first, analyze first, formulate plans first, and then reserve a few minutes for prayer at the end. Over time, prayer remains, spiritual language remains, but the actual space in which we seek God together slowly becomes smaller.
Sometimes the plans have already been formed and the direction has already been decided before we invite God into our agenda and ask Him to bless what we have already chosen. Prayer gradually becomes a blessing upon predetermined decisions, rather than the beginning of a community’s shared search for God’s will.
Perhaps, then, the more important question is not whether we pray before meetings, but whether we are genuinely willing to become quiet together before making decisions, to search the Scriptures together, and to wait together. Are we willing to allow God’s Word to shape us, rather than merely using Scripture to support ideas we have already embraced?
Likewise, a mature church is not necessarily one in which everyone holds the same opinions. Different gifts, generations, and backgrounds naturally give rise to different perspectives. Maturity is not the same as uniformity, and unity does not mean that everyone becomes alike. Perhaps true maturity is found when people who disagree still choose to respect one another, listen to one another, and trust that God is able to work through the whole body.
And this also requires us to rethink the role of leadership.
Too often, leadership is understood as providing answers, setting direction, and making decisions. Yet as I look back on Baptist history, I have become increasingly convinced that true leadership is not about thinking on behalf of everyone else, nor making every decision for them. Rather, it is about helping the community think before God together. It is not about supplying answers too quickly, but about helping the community slowly arrive at answers. It is not about gathering followers around oneself, but about leading the whole church to follow Christ together.
Such a culture, however, is not easily built. It requires time, patience, and trust. In an age that prizes efficiency, speed, and measurable results, communal discernment often appears painfully slow and even unsettling. Yet perhaps that is precisely why it becomes a way of trusting God. For communal discernment is valuable not because it is always efficient, but because it rests upon a deeper conviction:
We believe that God still leads His church.
That is why I find the words of Acts 15 so beautiful. Not because they offer a perfect model of church governance, nor because they guarantee that every conflict will be resolved, but because they testify to a group of believers who, in the midst of differences, tensions, and uncertainties, remained willing to seek God together.
And then they were able to say:
“It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us…” (Acts 15:28).¹
These words are beautiful not simply because they belong to the early church, but because they remind us that the hope of the church has never rested in possessing the most perfect structures, the most efficient leadership, or the most flawless procedures. Rather, our hope rests in the conviction that Christ remains the Lord of His church, and that the Holy Spirit still works among His people.
Perhaps these words do not belong only to the first-century church.
Perhaps they are words that every church, every pastor, every deacon, and every leader must learn again.
And after completing this journey through Baptist history and theology, perhaps the most important question is not merely what Baptists once believed.
The more important question is whether we today are still willing to listen together.
Pastor Antony Lee
Notes
- ¹ Acts 15:1–29.
