什么时候你可以改变你的教会
前面我们讲到你为什么改变不了你的教会？，如果你不是你所在教会的牧师，你就不能在任何根本的方面改变你的教会。我也承认存在着例外，虽然大部分的例外证明这原则是正确的。现在我们专门讲例外，因为我认识到许多读者发现自己实际上是身处例外的处境。
真实的例外1: 你必须改变教会的时候
第一个例外，就是如果你的教会正在滑向严重的教义性错误，例如否认三位一体，或否认圣经的默示和权威，或否认唯独通过信心唯独靠神的恩典得救。如果情况是这样，你不仅能而且还必须做工改变你的教会。
耶稣在启示录第2章要整个地方教会为他们如何对待假师傅负责（启2:2,14,15,20,24）。如果他们把假师傅赶出去，耶稣就表扬他们。如果他们容忍假师傅，耶稣就要定他们的罪。
所以最终来说，持守纯正教义，这是作为一个整体的地方教会的责任。这意味着如果你的教会开始否认主要的教义，你个人就有义务对此做一些事情。
你可以做的，要取决于谁在教导什么，以及这个错误的严重性。肯定的是，如果一位牧师是在教导主要的教义性错谬，他就需要从讲台上被挪开。如果其他得到正式承认是教会领袖的人，可以带领教会采取这个行动，这很好。如果不是这样，事情就会变得混乱得多，但你仍有义务要除去一位严重偏离圣经的教导师傅。
所以如果这是你的处境，就要祷告神赐智慧。祷告求你的教会有合一。祷告求真理胜过谬误。然后带着祷告的心，开始做工，除去不忠心的牧师，找一位更忠心的人。
貌似例外的情况
所以对于如果你不是牧师，你就改变不了教会的这种情况，存在着一种真实的例外。后面我还要提另外一种例外。但首先来看一些情形，它们看起来是例外，实际却并非如此。
1. 牧师在求助
首先要讲，我的前一篇文章根本没有说个别教会成员不能在任何重大方面为着一家教会进行中的改革作出贡献的意思。正好相反：教会改革要扎根在全体教会成员身上，否则就根本不是教会改革。
具体来说，比方说你是一家教会的成员，这家教会正处在改革或重新恢复活力的过程中。比如说，在教会的问题，应该寻求的解决方法方面，你是认同你所在教会的领袖的。在这样的情形里，你能做工改变你的教会吗？当然能够！你能在牧师的指导下采取主动，带头做出一些努力吗？当然能够！
换言之，如果一位合乎圣经、有要改革的观念的牧师挂出“求助”的牌子，你无论如何都要助一臂之力。
但在这种情形里，与其说你是在做工改变教会的方向，倒不如说你是在帮助，推动教会朝教会领袖已经指出的方向发展。你不是在做工反对领袖，而是与领袖一同做工。作为教会成员，你的工作绝对是至关重要。
2. 牧师似乎对改变持开放态度……
有时牧师看起来真的对改变持开放态度。他们谈论要走新的反向。也许他们有了新的影响动力，读了一些新书，发现了一个新的模式。有时这会导致实在的改变，我们在情形1里已经讲了这种情况。
但有时候牧师会希望改变，或在理论上同意需要改变，却不实际投身去带领这种改变。有时候牧师会开放听人意见，甚至很欢喜、很恳切认同一位力推新方向的教会成员。但关键点是：如果一位牧师不愿意亲自带领改变，改变就绝无可能在全教会这层面上坚持长久。
如果一家教会要改变，牧师付出的代价要比任何人都高昂。牧师要对会众作公开教导，他要启动实际方面的改革。他要回答人的质疑。代价更高的是，他要愿意接受一些打击，得罪一些老会员，为了看到改变得到贯彻执行，通常让自己面对困难得多的处境。
如果一位牧师不愿意这样做，没有一位教会成员能逼他这样做。如果一位牧师不确定他一定要改变教会的方向，你就不能作他的良心代言人。如果一位牧师不愿意走出来带领改变，你就不能把他推出来，从后台向他传话，要他讲你要他讲的东西。
简而言之，只是因为一位牧师看起来对改变持开放态度，这并不意味着他，或者教会，实际要进行改变。
3. 从第二位置上做带领
如果你是一家教会的牧师，但不是主要的传道人，那你又该怎么办？
首先让我声明，一家教会所有的牧师或长老是共同分担带领、引导教会的责任。这意味着如果有一位“主任牧师”，他就应当习惯失去长老的赞成票，他应该为着神赐教会的智慧多于他里面的智慧而感恩。
但是第二，在大部分教会里，是有一个做大量讲道工作的人，他有相应的非正式的牧师权柄。正如我在上一篇文章里谈到的，大多数讲道的牧师，在教会论和事奉的根本问题上并不是未干水泥，容易被改变。另外，实际来讲，“主任牧师”不仅要认同你提议的任何改变，在某种意义上他还要带头作出改变才行。所以我们就是回到了情形2。
底线就是，你不能从第二位置上带领改变。这要布下分裂的种子，破坏你与和你同为牧师的人的关系。
真实的例外: 教会厌恶出现真空
但最后至少还有一种真实的例外，是我可以看到的：领导层出现真空。这里我主要想的是，有一家教会，出于任何原因没有一位正式得到认可的牧师，特别是如果一位牧师最近离开了教会。
没有一位或多位可见的、得到普遍承认的领袖，教会的方向会很有可能，也确实会受各方面的强烈影响，有人会出来要做成改变。如果教会出现领导层真空，那么某人就要站出来，填补这个真空。
所有合乎圣经资格可以作带领，并且委身要进行合乎圣经的改革的教会成员，应该尝试像下一盘棋一样，占领中盘。他们应当步入领导的角色，温和地设立新的发展路径，围绕合乎圣经的优先秩序建立共识，推却没有帮助的计划安排，努力工作去呼召一位愿意讲道、忠心带领的牧师。
我们可以把这称为“自下而上的教会改革”。这样的情形是很少见的，肯定也是很难的。但已经有教会做过这样的事，当神乐意祝福这工作，结果可能是令人震惊。
无论你是否身处这些例外的处境，我要祷告求神赐你智慧，让你知道该如何最好去服事你的地方教会，给它加力，使它合一，无论你自己有还是没有能力去改变教会。
后面会有两篇相关文章继续这个主题。
When Can You Change Your Church? (Part 2 of 4)
In my previous post I argued that, by and large, if you’re not the pastor of your church, you can’t change your church in any fundamental ways. And I admitted that there are exceptions, though most of them prove the rule. This post is devoted to the exceptions, since I recognize that many readers will in fact find themselves in exceptional situations.
In my next two posts after this I plan to focus on what you actually can do in most circumstances to change your church, even when you’re not the pastor. But for now, the exceptions.
GENUINE EXCEPTION 1: WHEN YOU MUST CHANGE YOUR CHURCH
The first exception is if your church is drifting into serious doctrinal error, like denying the Trinity, or the inspiration and authority of Scripture, or salvation by God’s grace alone through faith alone. If that’s the case, you not only can but must work to change your church.
In Revelation 2, Jesus holds entire local churches accountable for what they did with false teachers (Rev. 2:2, 14, 15, 20, 24). If they threw the false teachers out, Jesus commends them. If they tolerated false teachers, Jesus condemns them.
Ultimately, therefore, it is the responsibility of the local church as a whole to uphold sound doctrine. This means that if your church begins to deny major doctrines, you personally have an obligation to do something about it.
What you do will depend on who’s teaching what, and on the magnitude of the error. Certainly if a pastor is teaching major doctrinal error, he needs to be removed from the pulpit. If other officially recognized church leaders can lead the church to take this action, good. If not, things might get messier, but you’ve still got an obligation to get rid of a teacher who is seriously departing from Scripture.
So if that’s your situation, pray for wisdom. Pray for unity among your church. Pray that truth would outshine error. And prayerfully get to work removing the unfaithful pastor and finding a more faithful one.
EXCEPTIONABLE EXCEPTIONS
So that’s one genuine exception to the idea that you can’t change the church if you’re not the pastor. There’s another one I’ll mention at the end. But first, here are a few scenarios that look like exceptions but aren’t.
1. “Help Wanted”
First, in my previous post I did not at all mean that individual church members cannot contribute in any significant way to the ongoing reformation of a church. Just the opposite is true: church reform has to take root in the entire membership or else it’s not church reform at all.
To get specific, let’s say you’re part of a church that is in the process of being reformed or revitalized. And let’s say you agree with your church’s leaders about the church’s problems and the solutions to be pursued. Can you work to change your church in this situation? Of course! Can you take initiative and spearhead some of the efforts under the direction of the pastor(s)? Of course!
In other words, if a biblical, reform-minded pastor hangs out “Help Wanted” sign, by all means lend a hand.
In this situation, though, you’re not working to change the direction of the church so much as helping pull it in the direction the leaders are already pointing toward. You’re not working against the leaders, but with the leaders. And your work as a church member is absolutely crucial.
2. He Seems Open to Change…
Sometimes pastors seem genuinely open to change. They talk about wanting to go in a new direction. Maybe they’ve acquired a new set of influences, read some new books, discovered a new model. Sometimes, this will lead to concrete change, in which case we’ve skipped up into scenario one.
But sometimes, pastors can desire change, or agree with the theoretical need for change, without actually committing to lead that change. Sometimes pastors will be open to counsel, and will even sweetly, obligingly agree with a member who is pushing in a new direction. But here’s the thing: if a pastor isn’t willing to personally lead change, that change will never stick at the level of the whole church.
If a church is going to change, it’s going to cost the pastor more than anyone. The pastor will have to teach publicly. He’ll have to initiate practical reforms. He’ll have to answer questions. What’s more costly, he’ll have to be willing to take some punches, upset some long-time members, and generally make things a lot harder for himself in order to see the change through.
If a pastor’s not willing to do all that, no church member can make him. If a pastor is not convinced that he must change the direction of the church, you can’t play surrogate conscience for him. If a pastor isn’t willing to go out and lead change, you can’t shove him out there and feed him lines from backstage.
In short, just because a pastor seems open to change doesn’t mean that he—or the church—actually will.
3. Leading from Second Chair
What about if you’re a pastor of a church but not the primary preacher?
First, let me affirm that all of a church’s pastors or elders share together the responsibility to lead and direct the church. This means that if there is a “senior pastor,” he should regularly lose votes among the elders, and he should thank God for giving the church more wisdom than is in him.
Second, though, in most churches there will be one man who does the bulk of the preaching, and who possesses a corresponding amount of informal pastoral authority. And as I said in my previous post, most preaching pastors’ convictions about fundamental matters of ecclesiology and ministry are not wet cement. Further, practically speaking, the “senior pastor” will have to not only agree with any changes you propose, but in some sense spearhead them. So we’re back up to situation two.
The bottom line is, you can’t lead change from second chair. It will sow seeds of division and sour your relationship with your fellow pastor.
GENUINE EXCEPTION 2: CHURCH ABHORS A VACUUM
Finally, though, there’s at least one more genuine exception that I can see: a leadership vacuum. What I primarily have in mind here is a church that for whatever reason doesn’t have a formally recognized pastor, especially if a pastor recently left.
In the absence of a visible, universally acknowledged leader or leaders, the direction of the church will be well and truly up for grabs. And if there’s a leadership vacuum in the church, then someone will step in and fill it.
Therefore, church members who are qualified to lead and are committed to biblical reform should try, as in chess, to own the middle of the board. They should step into leading roles, gently set new trajectories, build consensus around biblical priorities, ward off unhelpful agendas, and work to call a pastor who will preach and lead faithfully.
We might call this move “church reform from below.” Those situations are rare, and they’re certainly messy. But it’s been done, and when God is pleased to bless the work, the fruit can be stunning.
MORE TO COME
Whether you’re in one of these exceptional situations or not, I pray God would give you wisdom to discern how best to serve, strengthen, and unify your local church, regardless of how you may or may not be able to change it.
And if you’re in a church that needs to change but you seem powerless to change it, keep tuning in. In my next two posts I’ll try to offer a few practical suggestions about how church members can change just about any church for the better, as well as how to live with what you can’t change.
作者：Bobby Jamieson
Bobby Jamieson 是九标志英文事工的助理编辑，第三大道浸信会成员，毕业于美南浸信会神学院。目前在剑桥大学进修博士学位。
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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