Reflections on our current cross-cultural ministry
Like many of us since vision Sunday, I’ve been reflecting on what a ‘One Church’ model could look like within the ministry God has blessed us to be a part of within the church. What is true is that we have chosen to pursue a philosophy of church that is potentially more complex and involved than if we had simply kept to our own ‘cultures’ and languages. What is also true is that we have chosen to reach towards an ideal described in scripture which is all the more worthwhile.
In Christian eschatology (theology of the return of Christ), the Kingdom of heaven is a mixture of all peoples, languages and cultures. It is within that dynamic that the glory of God is most revered as it truly lifts worship to Him in all aspects of humanity. So while complex and involving, cross cultural church is somewhat a reach towards heaven, and the tension within it part of God’s sanctification of our hearts.
There is also much to gain in this ‘reach towards heaven’. As we learn to see God through various lenses, languages and histories of the world, it broadens our worldview and reveals our blind spots and I think there are two moments within CPC that I’ve come to appreciate it more.
The first moment came from a discussion I was having with a next-gen leader group about how to serve our wider community. In another perhaps more mono-cultural church, that conversation may have needed explanation on the need for ‘oneness’ and ‘unity’, however this group intuitively grasped that for a church community to thrive, both the next-gen and the older gen would need to find avenues for flourishing. Whether it’s in preaching, youth leading or ministry planning, the values of cross cultural and cross generational ministry are already imbedded in us.
The second moment came recently when I was listening to a parenting seminar from one of our very own in the Cantonese family ministry. As I was digesting the incredibly insightful and helpful content, I couldn’t help but notice the cross cultural dynamic. It was a local member teaching Cantonese migrants, using western researched methods and contextualising it to the modern Australian discipleship needs.
Only in churches like ours can we see such complex ministry moments happen as though they were normal events.
I hope we are all encouraged to continue in this model, as I’m sure we are only seeing the beginning of God’s work in our space, I myself am excited to see the tapestry God may weave with the various experiences, generations and cultures within CPC.
反思我們目前的跨文化事工
和我們中的許多人一樣，自從異像主日以來，我一直在思考"一個教會"的模式，在教會中因着上帝的祝福我們成為教會事工中的一分子時會是什麼樣子。 真實的是，我們選擇了追求一種可能比我們僅僅保持自己的“文化”和語言更複雜和更多需求的教會哲學。 同樣真實的是，我們選擇了實現聖經中描述的完美景況至使一切都更有價值。
在基督教末世論（基督再來的神學）中，天國是混合了所有民族、語言和文化。 正是在這種動力中，上帝的榮耀最受尊崇，因為它有着所有的人性而真正的提升了對祂的敬拜。 因此，雖然複雜且要多投入，跨文化教會在某種程度上是通往天堂的途徑，而其中的張力是上帝聖化我們心靈的一部分。
在這樣“向著天國走”也真有很多收穫。 當我們學會通過不同的眼光、語言和世界歷史來看上帝時，它拓寬了我們的世界觀並揭示了我們的盲點，我認為在 CPC 中有兩個時刻讓我更加欣賞它。
第一個時刻來自我與下一代領導小組討論關於如何服事我們這廣泛的教會社羣。 或者假如是在另一個單一文化的教會中，這種對話可能需要對“一體”和“合一”有必要進行解釋，但是這個小組能直覺地理解到為了使我們教會社羣蓬勃發展，下一代和年長一代都需要尋找途徑使之繁榮。 無論是在講道、領導青少年或事工計劃中，跨文化和跨代事工的價值觀已經根植於我們的心中。
第二個時刻發生在最近，當時我正在聽我們教會自己的粵語家庭事工舉辦的育兒講座。 當我在消化這些令人難以置信的有見地和有用的內容時，我不禁注意到了跨文化的動態。 講員是一名本地成員，教授粵語移民，使用西方研究方法並將其與現代澳洲門徒培訓的需求聯繫起來。
只有在像我們這樣的教會中，我們才能看到如此復雜的事工，發生得好像它們是正常事件一樣。
我希望我們都得到鼓勵讓這種模式持續下去，因為我確信我們只是看到上帝在我們領域中的工作剛剛開始，我自己很高興看到上帝正在用內部的各種經歷、世代和文化，在編織着一幅美麗的掛毯。
