如果第三篇所提出的觀察成立，那麼另一個問題自然會出現。
如果真正的傳承始於對生命的重視，那麼下一代領袖又是如何慢慢被建立起來的？
很多時候，當教會談論領袖培育，我們很自然會想到課程、訓練、制度和接班計劃。然而這些年來，當我回頭觀看一些能夠持續產生下一代領袖的群體時，我愈來愈發現，真正值得思考的問題，也許不是「如何培養領袖」，而是「領袖究竟是怎樣出現的」。當我們回頭看那些後來成為傳道人、宣教士、組長和核心同工的人時，會發現一件很有趣的事情：他們幾乎沒有一個是突然出現的。沒有人是因為完成某一套課程，便忽然成為今天的自己；也沒有人在某一天忽然成熟起來。相反，許多生命的改變，都是在漫長的歲月裡，一點一滴累積出來的。
今年（2026年）五月，在母會三十週年感恩聚會裡（https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eReMFORMC0&t=3s），看見台上不同年代的傳道人、宣教士和事奉領袖時，我心裡一直在想：這些人究竟是怎樣出現的？有些人已經事奉數十年，有些人則是近年才開始承擔責任；有些人很早便回應呼召，也有些人是在生命不同階段才慢慢被神使用。
然而回頭看，他們似乎都有一個共同點：他們都曾經在人生不同階段，被邀請進入群體的生活，與別人一起參與，一起服事，一起經歷神，也一起承擔責任。有人從短宣開始，有人從帶領查經開始，有人從籌辦營會、設計海報、文字事工、建堂委員會、教會裝修或其他不同的服事開始。當時，沒有人知道二十年後會發生甚麼，也沒有人刻意要培養一位未來的傳道人或宣教士。然而多年後回頭看，正是這些看似平凡的參與，慢慢塑造了一個人的生命，也慢慢塑造了一個人的眼光。
於是我開始明白，許多領袖不是被製造出來的，而是在群體之中慢慢長出來的。
而這種成長，幾乎從來不是一蹴而就。沒有一個人一開始便能夠承擔所有責任，也沒有一個人一開始便成為領袖。真正健康的培育，很多時候是一小步、一小步地進行。有人先被邀請一起參與，然後開始一起服事，再慢慢學習承擔，最後才逐漸進入更深的責任。
回頭看，許多事情其實都是如此。沒有人一開始便被推到最前線，也沒有人一開始便被要求承擔整個事工。相反，他們是在不同階段，被給予一個「剛剛好」的機會。這些機會不會大到令人害怕，也不會小到令人一直停留在原地，而是讓人能夠在安全的關係裡，一面學習，一面犯錯，一面成長。
聖經裡也可以看見相似的圖畫。約書亞不是在摩西離世前一年才忽然被預備；提摩太也不是在保羅年老時才突然被訓練。他們都是在長時間的同行、參與和經歷之中，慢慢承接使命。¹ 因此，聖經中的傳承，更像是一段生命逐漸成熟的旅程，而不是一場速成的訓練。
今年參與 Generation as One 的交流時，我愈來愈確認，今天加拿大華人教會所面對的問題，很多時候未必是沒有下一代，也未必是沒有願意參與的人。有時候，我們太快把責任推給年輕人；有時候，我們又一直等待他們成熟，卻從來沒有給予他們慢慢成長的空間。
然而生命的成長，從來不是這樣。一棵樹不會因為我們著急，便一夜長大；同樣，一個領袖也不會因為教會需要，便突然成熟。真正的成長，需要時間，需要陪伴，也需要一次又一次剛剛好的邀請。
我一直記得一次預苦期的洗腳聚會。一位弟兄組長替我洗腳時，忽然對我說：
「多謝你喺我返教會開始嘅時間，主動關心我，同我建立關係。」
那一刻，我其實很震撼。因為在我的記憶裡，自己並沒有做過甚麼特別的事情。我只是看見一位剛回教會、不太認識人的弟兄，於是主動和他聊天，陪伴他慢慢認識群體。然而多年後，他仍然記得。原來我認為微小的舉動，成為了他踏進教會的起步點。
後來他們一家移民英國，去年我和太太去探望他們；今年，他們又特地來多倫多探望我們。這段關係一直延續下來，也讓我重新看見，當年一件自己幾乎沒有放在心上的小事，可以在另一個人的生命裡留下這麼長久的痕跡。
直到今天，我愈來愈明白，人未必記得自己上過甚麼課程，也未必記得聽過甚麼道理，但他會記得，在自己還不成熟的時候，有沒有人願意等待；在自己跌倒的時候，有沒有人願意陪伴；在自己還未準備好的時候，有沒有人願意相信神仍然可以在他的生命裡繼續工作。
多年後回頭看，我開始明白，許多領袖之所以慢慢被建立起來，並不是因為他們特別優秀，也不是因為他們接受過最好的訓練。更多時候，是因為在一個願意重視生命的群體裡，有人願意等待，有人願意陪伴，也有人懂得按著不同階段，給予剛剛好的邀請。
於是，原本只是參加聚會的人，慢慢成為一起服事的人；原本只是一起服事的人，慢慢成為一起承擔的人；而原本一起承擔的人，最後成為承接使命的人。
或許，領袖很多時候不是被選出來的，也不是被製造出來的。他們是在一個願意重視生命的群體裡，透過一次又一次共同參與，以及一個又一個剛剛好的邀請，慢慢長出來。
Antony傳道
下一篇預告
然而，當我繼續思想這個問題時，我也開始發現，參與和成長，仍然不等於真正的交棒。很多教會願意讓下一代參與，也願意陪伴他們成長，但到了真正需要承擔責任的時候，卻往往停了下來。於是另一個問題便慢慢浮現：我們是否真的願意把一些重要的東西交出去？
下一篇，我想繼續思考：
《參與，不等於交託》
¹ 出埃及記33:11；民數記27:18–23；提摩太後書3:10–11；William D. Mounce, Pastoral Epistles (Word Biblical Commentary 46; Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2000), 554–556。約書亞早在摩西離世以前，已經長期在摩西身旁服事，後來才正式被委任承接帶領以色列的責任；同樣，保羅提醒提摩太，他所跟隨的，不只是教導內容，也包括保羅的品行、志向、信心、愛心、忍耐，以及在苦難中的忠心。這些經文顯示，聖經中的傳承往往是在長時間的同行、參與和生命塑造之中逐漸形成，而不只是知識或職位的傳遞。
If the observation raised in the previous article is true, then another question naturally follows.
If the handing on of what we have received truly begins with valuing people, how, then, are the leaders of the next generation gradually built up?
When churches talk about developing leaders, we naturally tend to think of courses, training, systems, and succession plans. Yet over the years, as I have looked at communities that have continued to produce leaders from one generation to the next, I have increasingly come to think that the question worth considering is not simply, “How do we develop leaders?” but, “How do leaders actually emerge?” When we look back at those who eventually became pastors, missionaries, small-group leaders, and core ministry leaders, something becomes clear: almost none of them appeared suddenly. No one became who they are today simply because they completed a particular course, and no one suddenly became mature one day. Instead, many of the changes that shape a life are formed little by little over many years.
This May, at the 30th anniversary thanksgiving celebration of my home church, I looked at the pastors, missionaries, and ministry leaders from different generations standing on the stage and kept wondering: How did all these people come to be here? Some had already been serving for decades, while others had only begun taking on responsibility in recent years. Some responded to God’s calling early in life; others gradually found themselves being used by God at different stages of their lives.
Looking back, however, they seemed to share something in common. At different stages of life, they had been invited into the life of the community—to participate with others, serve with others, experience God with others, and take responsibility together. Some began with short-term missions. Others began by leading Bible studies, organizing retreats, designing posters, taking part in writing ministries, serving on a church building committee, helping with church renovations, or becoming involved in other areas of service. At the time, no one knew what would happen twenty years later. No one was deliberately trying to develop a future pastor or missionary. Yet looking back after all these years, it was precisely these seemingly ordinary opportunities to participate that gradually shaped a person’s life and, over time, shaped the way that person saw the world.
I began to understand that many leaders are not manufactured. They grow gradually within a community.
This kind of growth is almost never instantaneous. No one begins by being able to carry every responsibility, and no one begins as a leader. Healthy development usually happens one small step at a time. Someone is first invited to participate, then begins serving alongside others, gradually learns to take responsibility, and only later moves into deeper levels of responsibility.
Looking back, this is how many things actually happen. People are not pushed to the front line at the very beginning, nor are they immediately asked to carry an entire ministry. Instead, at different stages, they are given an opportunity that is “just right.” These opportunities are not so large that they become overwhelming, nor so small that people remain where they are. Rather, they allow people, within safe relationships, to learn, make mistakes, and grow.
Scripture shows something similar. Joshua was not suddenly prepared only a year before Moses died; Timothy was not suddenly trained only when Paul grew old. Both were formed over time through walking alongside others, participating, and experiencing life and ministry together, gradually learning to carry forward what had been entrusted to them.¹ The handing on of what we have received in Scripture therefore looks more like a journey in which a life gradually matures than a short, intensive training programme.
Through my involvement with Generation as One this year, I have become increasingly convinced that the challenge facing many Chinese churches in Canada is not necessarily that there is no next generation, nor that there are no people willing to participate. Sometimes we place responsibility on younger people too quickly. At other times, we keep waiting for them to become mature but never give them the space in which maturity can actually develop.
But life does not grow that way. A tree will not grow to maturity overnight simply because we are in a hurry. In the same way, a leader will not suddenly become mature simply because the church needs one. Growth takes time. It requires people who are willing to walk alongside those who are growing, and it requires one “just right” invitation after another.
I still remember a foot-washing gathering during Lent. As one of the brothers in my small group was washing my feet, he suddenly said to me:
“Thank you. When I first came back to church, you took the initiative to care about me and build a relationship with me.”
I was deeply struck by what he said. In my own memory, I had not done anything particularly significant. I had simply noticed a brother who had recently returned to church and did not know many people, so I took the initiative to talk with him and accompanied him as he gradually became part of the community. Yet years later, he still remembered it. Something I had regarded as a very small gesture had become one of his first steps into the life of the church.
Later, his family immigrated to the United Kingdom. Last year, my wife and I went to visit them, and this year they made a special trip to Toronto to visit us. That relationship has continued over the years.
The longer I serve, the more I understand that people may not remember every course they attended, nor every teaching they heard. But they often remember whether someone was willing to wait for them when they were still immature; whether someone was willing to walk alongside them when they stumbled; and whether, when they were not yet ready, someone was willing to believe that God could still continue His work in their lives.
Looking back after all these years, I have begun to understand that many leaders are gradually built up not because they are exceptionally gifted, nor because they received the best possible training. More often, it is because within a community that values people, someone is willing to wait, someone is willing to walk alongside them, and someone knows how to offer the “just right” invitation at each stage of their growth.
And so, someone who once simply attended gatherings gradually becomes someone who serves alongside others. Someone who once simply served alongside others gradually becomes someone who shares responsibility. And someone who has learned to share responsibility eventually becomes someone able to carry forward the mission.
Perhaps leaders are often neither selected nor manufactured. They grow within a community that values people, through one shared experience after another and one “just right” invitation after another.
Pastor Antony
Coming Next
As I continued reflecting on this question, however, I began to realize that participation and growth still do not necessarily amount to truly passing the baton. Many churches are willing to let the next generation participate and are willing to walk alongside them as they grow. Yet when the time comes for them to carry real responsibility, things often come to a stop. And so another question gradually emerges: Are we truly willing to entrust some of the things that matter to us to someone else?
In the next article, I want to continue reflecting on this question:
Participation Is Not the Same as Entrustment
¹ Exodus 33:11; Numbers 27:18–23; 2 Timothy 3:10–11; William D. Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, Word Biblical Commentary 46 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2000), 554–556. Joshua had already served alongside Moses long before Moses’ death and was later formally commissioned to take up the responsibility of leading Israel. Similarly, Paul reminded Timothy that what he had followed was not only Paul’s teaching, but also his conduct, purpose, faith, love, endurance, and faithfulness in suffering. These passages suggest that the handing on of what we have received in Scripture often takes shape gradually through long periods of walking alongside one another, taking part together, and being shaped over time, rather than through the transmission of knowledge or positions alone.
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