Who this is for這裡是給誰的
給認真追求靈性生命、卻在某個地方卡住的人——不論你是從哪一個信仰傳統走過來的。你已經很努力了,讀了、聽了、修了,可是在關係裡、在最在乎的人面前,還是一再回到原點。 For people who are serious about the spiritual life and have gotten stuck somewhere — whatever tradition you are walking from. You have read, listened, practiced. Yet in your closest relationships you keep ending up where you started.
這裡不適合想要快速答案的人,也不適合希望有人替他走這段路的人。我們會一起走,但沒有人能替你走。 This is not the place for quick answers, or for someone hoping another person will walk the road for them. We walk together — and no one can walk it for you.
A problem is not the same as a predicament問題和困境,不一樣
大部分人來,是想找一個人幫他解決問題。問題可以很快處理掉,像一份漢堡速食。可是很多時候,問題底下還壓著一個困境:更深的需要、曾經的失去、依戀關係裡斷掉的地方。困境不會因為問題處理掉就消失,它會換一個樣子再回來。 Most people arrive hoping someone will solve their problem. A problem can be handled quickly, like fast food. But underneath a problem there is often a predicament: a deeper need, a past loss, a broken place in how we attach to others. A predicament does not leave when the problem is handled. It comes back in another form.
所以我們不先挖壞的。在一個人身邊還沒有一張「好」的安全網之前,就去挖生命裡壞的東西,只會讓人更受傷。我們先一起把生命中的好找回來,讓好慢慢長大,把壞擠出去。這就是我們說的養命:慢,但是會長。 So we do not start by digging up what is bad. Digging into the bad before there is a safety net of good around a person only wounds them more. Together we first recover what is good in a life, and let the good grow until it crowds the bad out. That is what we mean by nourishing a life: slow, but it grows.
What we actually do我們實際在做什麼
我們不是等人倒下之後來修理。我們從第一天起就一起走:四個人一組,每一週彼此洗腳——不是因為誰出了事,而是因為走路本來就會沾灰。 We do not wait for people to fall and then repair them. From day one we walk together: four people at a time, washing one another's feet every week — not because something went wrong, but because every road gathers dust.
那些在人倒下時把人接住的事工,是必要的,也是恩典,我們為他們感謝神。我們被分派的,是前面那一段:讓人少倒一次。 Ministries that catch people when they fall are necessary, and they are grace; we thank God for them. Ours is the earlier stretch of the road: helping people fall less often.
Why so slow為什麼這麼慢
「有機」的意思,就是得靠時間長出來,不能催。靈性生命的困境,常常不是知道得不夠,而是知道的還沒有長成活出來的樣子。這一段,只能慢慢長。慢,是因為我們要的是扎根,不是一陣熱度。慢就是快——走得慢的人,反而不用一再回頭重來。 "Organic" means it has to grow over time; it cannot be hurried. The trouble in a spiritual life is rarely a lack of knowing. It is that what we know has not yet grown into how we live — and that only grows slowly. We go slow because we want roots, not a burst of heat. Slow is fast: those who go slowly do not have to keep starting over.
落單是危險的。Being alone is dangerous.
人最容易走丟的時候,不是在路最難的時候,是在沒有人知道他在哪裡的時候。所以我們每一個做法,都是為了讓沒有人一個人走。 People get lost most easily not when the road is hardest, but when no one knows where they are. Everything we do is built so that no one walks alone.
問問自己:這一週,有沒有一個人知道我真實的狀況?Ask yourself: this week, does anyone know how I really am?
誰是你生命中重要的人?你又是誰生命中重要的人?Who matters in your life? And in whose life do you matter?
如果一時想不起來,來和我們一起,成為彼此生命中重要的人;再一起,讓更多人身邊也有這樣的人。 If no one comes to mind, come and become that for one another, with us — and then, together, help more people find someone like that beside them.
Everyone grows into a shepherd — no title needed每一個人都會長成牧者——不需要頭銜
我們說的牧者,不是一個職分。一個人長到能為自己的需要負責,就會自然開始照顧身邊的人——那就是牧者的樣子。不用按立,不用頭銜;我們的冠冕是祂給的,不是人給的。 When we say shepherd, we do not mean an office. Once someone grows to take responsibility for their own needs, they begin, naturally, to care for the people beside them — that is what a shepherd looks like. No ordination, no title; our crown comes from Him, not from people.
「你們是被揀選的族類,是有君尊的祭司。」(彼得前書 2:9) "You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood." (1 Peter 2:9)
Why responsibility comes later, not at the door為什麼「負責」不是進門的條件
剛進來的人,常常最需要的是安全:有人在旁邊,不被催。學會為自己的需要負責,是我們一起往前走時長出來的,不是進門前要先交的證明。 People who are just arriving often need safety first: someone beside them, no pressure. Learning to take responsibility for our own needs is something that grows as we walk together — not a ticket you must show at the door.
Why two languages為什麼一定要雙語
每一句都中英對照,是為了保住原意,讓走在後面的人能對回源頭。這也讓說兩種語言的人,能走在同一條路上。 Every line stands in two languages so the original meaning is kept and those who come after can trace it back. It also lets people of two languages walk the same road.
If we ever start to drift如果有一天我們開始搖擺
新的點子會一直來,有些很好。改變我們的位置之前,我們先回到這一頁,問四個問題: New ideas will keep coming, and some will be good. Before we change where we stand, we come back to this page and ask four questions:
- 拿掉這個改變,誰會受傷?說得出具體的人嗎?If we don't make this change, who gets hurt? Can we name a real person?
- 它會不會讓我們變成「等人倒下再來修」?Would it turn us into people who wait for others to fall and then fix them?
- 它會不會讓任何一個人更容易落單?Would it make it easier for anyone to end up alone?
- 它讓人更看見祂,還是更看見我們?Does it help people see Him more, or see us more?
想一起走,先寫信敲門。If you want to walk with us, start by writing to knock.