徒二十19~20　服事主，凡事谦卑，常常流泪，又因犹太人的谋害，历经试炼。凡与你们有益的，我没有一样避讳不告诉你们的，或在公众面前，或挨家挨户，我都教导你们。

　　在圣徒当中，没有人凭自己够资格尽长老职分。按林后三章五节，使徒保罗说，并不是我们凭自己够资格，我们之所以够资格，乃是出于神。所以，所有背负长老职责的弟兄们都该信靠主。……保罗是所有长老真正的榜样。……他自己虽然从未作过长老，但他为他所训练的长老设立了模范、榜样。所以，凡他所说到自己的，他都期望所有长老跟随他的脚踪，效法他所作的。首先，保罗说他是作奴仆服事主。长老都要服事主如同奴仆一样。他们不是被摆在尊贵的地位或阶级里。召会中没有阶级，也没有地位；只有谦卑和为奴。谦卑之后还有眼泪，不是喜乐欢欣。然后，第三样是临到我们身上的试炼，这些试炼乃是来自其他声称为着神，甚至设谋破坏我们工作的人（关于召会事奉的谈话，九至一○页）。

　　Acts 20:19-20 Serving the Lord as a slave with all humility and tears and trials which came upon me by the plots of the Jews; how I did not withhold any of those things that are profitable by not declaring them to you and by not teaching you publicly and from house to house.

　　No one among the saints is qualified in himself for the eldership. According to 2 Corinthians 3:5, the apostle Paul says that we are not sufficient of ourselves but that our sufficiency is from God. So all the brothers who bear the responsibility of the eldership should put their trust in the Lord....Paul is a real pattern to all the elders....Although he himself had never been an elder, he set up a model, a pattern, an example, for the elders whom he had trained. So whatever he spoke about himself, his expectation was that all the elders would follow his steps and imitate what he had been doing. First, Paul said that he was serving the Lord as a slave. The elders all have to serve the Lord as a slave. They are not put into a position of dignity or rank. In the church there is no rank and no position. There is only humility and slavery. Following humility there are tears, not joy and happiness. Then third are the trials that come upon us from other people who claim to be for God and even conspire to undermine the work. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 4, "Talks concerning the Church Services," pp. 209-210)

　　长老不仅该作仆人服事主，更是作奴仆服事，失去权利和各种自由。实际上，被摆在长老职分里就是被带进奴役里。我们都是奴仆服事主。行传二十章十九节的服事主〔原文意，作奴仆服事主〕，不是直接地服事主，乃是间接地，借着服事祂的子民而服事祂。长老必须拿起奴仆的担子，服事他们主人的大家庭。我们必须凡事谦卑，举止、行事以至为人，都像奴仆一样。

　　我们该将“谦卑”一辞，烙印在我们心里。我们没有权利夸耀什么。我们的主人该得一切的荣耀。唯有祂有资格夸耀。我们是命定要谦卑的。谦卑不容易作到，夸耀却是容易的。要谦卑，甚至被人看为卑微，不是一件快乐的事，乃是满了眼泪的。

　　行传二十章二十节接着说，“凡与你们有益的，我没有一样避讳不告诉你们的，或在公众面前，或挨家挨户，我都教导你们。”保罗没有退缩不尽他的职责。凡与圣徒有益的，他没有一样避讳不告诉他们的。这里的告诉，原文意宣告；宣告一件事比仅仅告诉更为要紧、重要。保罗作了忠信的工作，宣告神对祂子民的每一点利益。保罗没有退缩不尽他的职责。反之，他公开在聚会中，并私下挨家挨户地教导圣徒。

　　地方召会的行政的确需要事务上的处理。但长老的主要职责首先乃是牧养，就如彼得在他头一封书信的五章二节所告诉我们的。我们已经指明，牧养需要教导，所以长老也该教导（提前三2，五17）。长老要教导别人，必须先受教导。他们必须先有学习。……单单访问圣徒的家，告诉他们要信靠主并相信祂乃是不够的。长老必须跟圣徒读一些对他们有益的经节，向他们说明，并用圣言教导他们。这样，圣徒就会得着造就、建立、加强，并且被建造起来。

　　牧养不是仅仅释放一篇信息。释放信息是不够的，也不是首要的事。首要的职责乃是到圣徒那里去，在圣徒家中牧养他们。所以保罗借着公开并挨家挨户地教导圣徒，给长老设立了榜样。挨家挨户，原文意按着家户。哪里有家，长老就应当到哪里去。倘若有十个家，长老就该到每个家中访问每个圣徒（关于召会事奉的谈话，一○至一三页）。

　　参读：关于召会事奉的谈话，第二篇。

　　Elders should serve the Lord not just as servants but slaves, losing their right and all kinds of liberty. Actually, to be put into the eldership is to be brought into slavery. We all are slaves to serve the Lord. To serve the Lord here is not to serve the Lord directly but indirectly by serving His people. The elders must pick up the burden of a slave to serve the big family of their Master. We must behave, do things, and even have our being as slaves with all humility.

　　We should brand ourselves with the word humility. We have no right to be proud of anything. Everything that is glorious should go to our Master. He is the only One who is qualified to be proud of anything. We are destined to be humble. To be humble is not an easy thing; to be proud is easy. To be humble and even to be humbled are not a happy thing but a thing of tears.

　　Acts 20:20 says, "How I did not withhold any of those things that are profitable by not declaring them to you." Paul did not shrink from his duty. He did not withdraw from declaring to the saints anything that was profitable to them. To declare something is more crucial and more important than to merely tell. Paul did a faithful job to declare every bit of God's interests that He had toward His people.

　　Paul did not withdraw from his responsibility. Rather, he taught the believers publicly in the meetings and privately from house to house.

　　A local church in its administration does need some management in its business affairs. But the main responsibility of the elders is first to shepherd, as Peter tells us in his first Epistle, chapter 5, verse 2. As we have indicated, shepherding requires teaching, so the elders should also teach (1 Tim. 3:2; 5:17). For the elders to teach others, they first of all must be taught. They must learn first.

　　Just to visit the homes of the saints and tell them to trust in the Lord and believe in Him is not adequate. The elders must read to them some profitable verses, give them some definitions, and teach them with the holy Word. Then they will be edified, established, strengthened, and built up.

　　To shepherd is not just to give a message. This is neither adequate nor primary. The primary responsibility is to go to the saints and shepherd them in their homes. So Paul set up a pattern for the elders by teaching the saints publicly and from house to house. In Greek from house to house means "according to houses." If there is a house, the elders should go. If there are ten houses, they should go to each one to visit each of the saints. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 4, "Talks concerning the Church Services," pp. 210-211)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1989, vol. 4, "Talks concerning the Church Services," ch. 2