辅导与门训
辅导和门训是如何联系起来的？让我们借助两个场景来思考：一条河流和一场战争。*
一条河流
基督里的门徒造就就像坐在一条船上，河流流向基督。这条河有时候蜿蜒平缓，有时候乱石嶙峋，水流湍急。但感恩的是祂的灵一直把我们引向祂，让我们更加爱慕祂，爱祂的话语,爱祂的子民。当我们顺流而下驶向祂，一路上有不同的人帮助造就我们。我们也被呼召去帮助造就他们。
我虽然不是一个渔夫，但有人告诉我旅程中有一些“漩涡”。在遇到这些漩涡时，真正的渔夫会离开河流、更新他们的装备，稍作休息，并为继续航行做好规划。
辅导就像漩涡。它是门训的一种特殊方式，基督徒花时间在其中，关注拦阻他们前行的“问题”。这是一个停下来问问题的时刻，“是什么阻碍我们更像救主？”辅导员坐在漩涡边的河岸上，等待渔夫过来求助。圣经辅导员会耐心地帮助他们。他们一起查经，祷告，努力移开航道上的障碍。然后辅导员把渔夫送回流向基督的河流中。
就这个比喻本身而言，我相信是有用的，但还不够全面，我们还需要更多的解释。你可能听过别人在橄榄球赛中的说法，“最好的进攻就是防卫。”在辅导中，这句话反过来才对：“最好的防卫就是进攻。”在这种情况下，“进攻”是一种健康的门徒文化。当生命的挣扎出现时，成熟的门训文化对教会将会是一个极大的帮助。教会中的门训关系应当一路陪伴和辅导基督徒，从而避免他们被拉入漩涡。让我们看看另外一个比喻。
一场战争
把门训想象成一场战争。战争的前线不是辅导室，而是每周的聚会，以及教会成员每天在家中、午餐会、圣经学习、聚会后聊天、电话中乃至邮件中的交流！辅导涉及到教会生活的方方面面，每个时机都给我们机会用神的话彼此辅导。如果人的生命中至少有一两个人可以分享丑陋的细节，坦诚面对挣扎，彼此负责，勉励劝诫，神就能使用这些经历，在黑暗和疑惑中发出亮光。
前线后面不是辅导员，而是智慧和敬虔的长者，他们把时间倾注在年轻基督徒的生命中。这些人是信仰的“船长”和“将军”，他们在战场上用自己的智慧和经历指挥士兵们。通过充分利用神在教会中建立的丰富关系，鼓励年轻信徒寻求智慧长者的门徒文化荣耀了基督。
战争比喻的最后一步，把辅导室想象成后方的陆军野战医院（M.A.S.H.，Mobile Army Surgical Hospital）。只有当人们受伤、流血或是严重伤残，在战场上无能为力时，他们才必须被送去接受特别的医疗护理。大部分人只有在他们的问题严重要到无法控制，完全不知所措，或是无法继续忍受自己挣扎的时候，才退回到辅导室。作为辅导员（或是灵魂的医生？），我们尽力找出那些表面上看不出来的深远影响，给予相应的帮助，然后把他们送回战场。
两个启示
1.每个基督徒都被呼召进行门训事工。
每个基督徒都应当要么造就人，要么被人造就，或两者皆有。基于圣经的辅导只是基督教门训的一种形式，它意味着一个临时的行为。门训的主要工作应当由会众来完成。辅导员把渔夫送回门训的河流，陆军野战医院把士兵送回前线，让人们和其他成员参与到一对一的门徒训练中，在信仰中被造就。
2.牧师装备信徒去战争前线做门训很重要。
牧师很容易被掏空，负担过重，却依然只能勉强跟上会众的需要。牧师，你是否曾战略性地考虑过怎样装备你的人，使他们能更好的带门徒，成为更好的圣经辅导员？通过装备成员，使他们有能力到前线做工，会转而节省你的时间，因为“前线”的很多问题不会再回到你这里。考虑一下做门训系列的讲道，或开展年度主日学门训课程，或让你的成员通读一些关于门训的好书。让教会成员之间彼此生命的交集成为一种期待，教导他们邀请对方进入自己的生命，来校正和鞭策自己。你是否为教会塑造了这种谦卑的品格？祷告求神帮助你在教会中建立一个健康的门训文化。
最后一个实用的建议
最后一个实用的建议：去年春天我们为教会成员开设了一个平信徒辅导培训课程。这个培训课程基于两门课——《人是怎样改变的》（How People Change）和《如何帮助人改变》（Helping Others Change——由基督徒辅导与教育协会（简称CCEF，全名Christian Counseling & Education Foundation）设立。这些容易上手的领袖指南和工作手册使得牧者、平信徒领袖以及教会成员可以非常容易地彼此教导如何辅导圣经，怎样更好地彼此关怀。这种设计在主日学、小组或者一对一的门训中都很好用。如果需要了解请点击www.ccef.org。
*这种把门训比作河流，辅导比作漩涡的说法来自史蒂夫·维亚（Steve Viar）的《门训之河》（The Discipleship River），《圣经辅导期刊》（Journal of Biblical Counseling）2002年第20期：58-60页。
Counseling and Discipleship
How are counseling and discipleship related? Let’s think about this in terms of two pictures, a river and a battle scene.*
A RIVER
Our discipleship in Christ is like sitting in a boat on a river that flows toward him. Sometimes the river is winding and slow. Other times it’s is rocky and fast. But gratefully his Spirit is always drawing us toward him, increasing our love for him, his word, and his people. As we flow down the river toward him, different men and women help to disciple us along the way. And we are called to help disciple them.
Now, I am not a fisherman, but I have been told that along the river there are “eddies.” These are small pools of water where the fishermen can pull off the river, reload their gear, get some rest, and even strategize before continuing along the river again.
Counseling is like an eddy. It’s a particular form of discipleship, where Christians pull off the river for a period of time to focus on the “problems” that are hindering their movement. It’s a time to stop and ask, “What slows us down from growing closer to our Savior?” The counselor sits in the eddy and waits for the fishermen to pull off and ask for help. The biblical counselor patiently helps them. They sort through the Scriptures together, pray, and work at removing the obstacles from the fishermen’s paths. Then the counselor sends the fishermen back into the river that heads towards Christ.
Now, I believe this is a helpful illustration as far as it goes. But it’s not the full picture. More explanation is needed. You might have heard someone say in the context of football, “The best offense is a good defense.” In counseling, the reverse is true: “The best defense is a good offense.” In this case, the “offense” is a healthy culture of discipleship. A church with a well-developed culture of discipleship is one of the best ways to aggressively head off life’s struggles as they emerge. Discipling relationships in a church should work to counsel people all along the way, so that there is less need to pull into the eddies. Let’s try another illustration.
A BATTLE
Think of discipleship in terms of a battle. The front line of the battle is not the counseling room, but the weekly gathering as well as the conversations that take place among members of the church every day in their homes, over lunch meetings, in Bible study, in conversations after church, over the phone, and even on emails! All of a church’s life together involves counseling and each of these opportunities gives us a chance to counsel one another in the Word. If people have at least one or two people in their lives who are willing to share in the ugly details, to be open about their struggles, to hold one another accountable, to admonish and encourage one another, then God can use these experiences to shed light on the darkness and confusion.
One step back from the front line is not the counselor, but wise and godly older men and women in the faith who take time to pour themselves into the lives of younger Christians. These are the “captains” and “generals” of the faith, who by their wisdom and experience direct the soldiers in battle. A culture of discipleship that encourages younger members of the faith to seek out the wise older ones honors Christ by making good use of the rich relationalresources that God has built into his church.
To carry the battle analogy one last step, think of the counseling room as the M.A.S.H. unit that sits far behind the front line. It’s only when people are beaten up, bleeding, or maimed so badly that they are no longer useful in the battle that they must be sent to get special medical help. Most people only retreat to the counseling room when their problems get too far out of hand, when they are at a complete loss for wisdom, or when they can no longer tolerate their own struggles. As counselors (or doctor of souls?) we do our best to consider what unseen infections might lie deeper than what can be seen on the surface, treat them accordingly, and then send them back into battle.
TWO IMPLICATIONS
1. Every Christian is called to a ministry of discipleship.
Every Christian should either be discipling someone else, be discipled by someone else, or be doing both. Biblical counseling is just one form of Christian discipleship, and it’s meant to be a temporary activity. The main work of discipling should be done by the members of the congregation. The counselor sends the fisherman back into the river of discipleship, the M.A.S.H. unit sends the soldier back to the front line, to be built up in his faith as he or she engages in one-on-one discipleship with other members.
2. It’s important for pastors to equip their people to do the work of discipleship on the front-lines of the battle.
It’s easy for pastors to become over-taxed and over-burdened and still just barely keep up with the congregation’s demands. Pastor, have you ever thought strategically about how to equip your people to be better disciplers and counselors of the Word? By equipping your members, you enable them to do the work on the front lines, which in turn saves you time because many of the problems on the “front-lines” never get back to you. Think about preaching a series on discipleship, or running an annual Sunday school class on discipleship, or having your members read through some good books on discipleship. Make it an expectation that church members should be involved in each other’s lives, teaching them to invite one another into their own lives for correction and rebuke. Have you modeled this kind of humility for the church? Pray that the Lord will help you build a healthy culture of discipleship in your church.
ONE LAST PRACTICAL SUGGESTION
One last practical suggestion: Last Spring our church began a lay counseling training class for the members of our church. The class is based on two curriculums—How People Change and Helping Others Change—developed by the Christian Counseling Education Foundation (CCEF). These user-friendly leader’s guides and workbooks make it very easy for pastors, lay leaders, and members to teach one another how to counsel the Word and how to better care for one another. The format is useable in a Sunday school, small group, or one-on-one discipleship setting. To find out more or to order material for your church, check out CCEF’s bookstore at www.ccef.org.
* This idea of discipleship as a river and counseling as an eddy comes from Steve Viar’s “The Discipleship River,” Journal of Biblical Counseling 20 (2002): 58-60.
作者：Deepak Reju
作者是国会山浸信会牧师，负责辅导、家庭和儿童事工。
翻译肢体：咸燕美
用圣经视野和实用资源装备教会领袖
进而通过健康的教会向世界彰显神的荣耀
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