9Marks Journal: Pastoring Singles (48-49期：牧養單身肢體)

Why devote an issue of the 9Marks Journal to pastoring singles? One, it’s a growing demographic in our culture and therefore in our churches. Two, it’s a demographic that is particularly impacted by our culture’s removal of all barriers on sex; by the culture’s eroticization of all forms of intimacy, especially among same-sex friendships; by its delay of marriage; by its lies about the advantages of the self-indulgent and autonomous single life as well as the growing enslavement of consumerism; and, in turn, by the extra emphasis churches have given to marriage in order to counter the lies of the sexual revolution. In other words, a number of cultural and pastoral roads all collide in the intersection which is the single life. Why devote an issue of the 9Marks Journal to pastoring singles? To help pastors and members both grow in conscientiousness and wisdom and love for singles. That way, singles and marrieds both can grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

爲什麼要花上整個期刊來討論牧養單身肢體的話題？

首先，單身人群在我們文化中正在增長，而這也影響到教會。

其次，我們文化正嘗試消除一切性別差異；各種形式的親密關係趨向更多情慾，尤其是在同性友誼中；人們推遲進入婚姻；人們宣稱自我放縱和完全自主的單身生活，以及日漸增長的消費主義文化帶來的捆綁其實是更好的，而這些都是謊言；同時，教會也給予婚姻額外的重擔，爲了要對抗性革命的謊言，這些都給單身這個特定人群帶來衝擊。換言之，若干文化與牧養之路都交匯於單身群體這個十字路口。

第三，這是一個充滿末世應許的聖經主題。Matt Smethurst的文章，借鑑了Andreas Köstenberger的很多想法，他觀察到，在起初創造時，單身狀態是不存在的。在舊約時代，單身是不尋常的，而且不受歡迎。而在新約裡，單身被視爲具有天國事奉的優勢。而在新天新地時，單身是普世性的，那時不再有婚姻。

是否我們基督徒太少在這個話題上提供合乎聖經的教牧關懷？

當然，一個單身肢體遠不止於他或她的單身狀態。然而，人們常常視這種經歷爲試煉（傳4:9-11），而保羅則把它稱之爲恩賜（林前7:7,32,38）。所以，試煉與恩賜。我們需要同時帶著這兩個視角來談論、禱告、傳講這個話題。如此行，需要的是智慧。

爲什麼要花上一個期刊的篇幅來討論牧養單身肢體的話題？爲了幫助牧者和教會成員一同在良心、智慧和愛心上成長來造就單身肢體。這樣，單身肢體與已婚人士都能在教會的元首基督裡成長，從而使整個身體彼此聯結，幫助彼此聯絡得合適，彼此合宜做工，在愛心中有根有基地成長。