於2015-12-27發佈


最棒的基督徒生命46

愛特媽媽

瑪麗亞.愛特Maria Woodworth-Etter
(1844–1924)

在卓越基督徒的簡短名單中應該包括瑪麗亞.愛特,她對基督絕對的順服挑戰了當時最強大的宗教偏見與傳統,她並不是透過講道來對抗他們,而是經由她大有能力的基督徒生命來彰顯出他們的愚昧。她帶領無數的人歸主,為新世代的福音佈道重新下定義,此讓前進中的教會為著史上最大新信徒的收割就定位。

瑪麗亞出生並成長在俄亥俄州一個非基督徒家庭,在她10歲時她父母經歷改變,加入一個基督教會的門徒訓練。那是瑪麗亞第一次學習基督教信仰,以及關於基督的事物。

三年後一場悲劇擊打整個家庭,她父親死於嚴重的中暑,留下八個孩子。瑪麗亞的母親努力工作來維持艱難的家庭,再加上年長孩子的幫助,瑪麗亞在13歲經歷重生得救。

瑪麗亞很快就聽到神的呼召,『去到路上和籬笆那裡呼喚迷失的羊』。她用奉獻她的一生來服事主回應,但帶領她認識主的門訓運動並不允許婦女來事奉。這使她很困擾,最終促使她考慮結婚,好讓她可以與先生成為宣教士一起事奉神。在1863年她19歲時,嫁給腓利歐.伍德沃思(Philo Harris Woodworth)。

瑪麗亞和伍德沃思的婚姻也是一場悲劇,他們嘗試經營農場但失敗了,他們的六個孩子有五個早逝,這對任何父母而言都是很難承受的試煉,他們只留下最年長的孩子伊麗莎白。

後來瑪麗亞受邀在朋友的聚會中分享,當她一起身要說話時,她看到一個異象,異象中人們非常靠近地獄邊緣卻不自知。此深深地感動她,她一邊思想此異象,一邊計畫讀書,好為服事做預備。神接著又給瑪麗亞一個異象,祂告訴她靈魂很快要滅亡了,她沒時間預備她所想要的計畫。

此後,瑪麗亞對失喪靈魂的負擔日益上升,她決定先就近舉辦幾場聚會。主大能地運行,許多人悔改轉向祂,有兩間教會因著這些聚會而誕生,瑪麗亞和她先生開始巡迴服事。無論她在哪裡服事,主都大能地運行,她的名聲也開始傳播。

在這段時間,瑪麗亞感覺主呼召她為病人禱告,但她沈默了,因為她認為這樣做可能會使她傳福音的信息失焦。主再次以異象讓她確定當她為病人禱告時,反而會有更多人得救。她順服主,結果相當驚人,很快她的聚會便吸引2萬5千人聚集。

通常如此卓越的成功隨之而來的爭議不是因著宗教嫉妒就是『舊皮袋』,使之無法接受新的或不同的事物。瑪麗亞的例子卻不單是宗教界攻擊她,連世俗社會也攻擊她。瑪麗亞在麻州因宣稱醫治人而被捕,但太多的見證人前來,使他們不得不釋放她。接著當地的精神病醫師指控她有幻覺,因為她說自己看見異象。正如耶穌不斷受到反對者的挑戰、批評與攻擊,凡是跟隨祂的人也要忍受同樣的試煉。瑪麗亞所受到的攻擊特別劇烈,但她不屈不撓。

在1890年,有一個人預言地震和海嘯將在四月臨到舊金山。正如典型的預言一樣,聽到的人以為其所指的是當年四月,四月過去了卻沒有地震發生。這個人被逮捕,更加中傷了瑪麗亞的事工。地震於1906年過了16年後的四月臨到,許多人覺得異象得以平反。即便如此,此事件顯然被錯待,瑪麗亞的批評者利用此事件來對抗她。

事工的壓力也傷害了瑪麗亞的婚姻,在1891年她因為先生不信神而與他離婚。伍德沃思則威脅瑪麗亞若不付他贍養費,他會寫一本書批評她的事工,但他在該年便去世。在1902年,瑪麗亞認識撒母耳.愛特(Samuel Etter),並與之結婚。

瑪麗亞的教派對在她聚會中所發生的一些事感到掙扎,特別是一些人『昏厥』的方式,後來人們稱此是『被聖靈擊倒』。此現象在復興與覺醒中皆有發生,長達好幾世紀,但當時沒有人對此現象有充分瞭解。然而,那些有此經歷的人都說自己與主有很奇妙的經歷,而且生命徹底改變了。即便如此,教派權柄施壓瑪麗亞在聚會中禁止他們。這並不是她開始的,她未必想要他們在她聚會中,她也不知道要如何制止他們。後來教派權柄要求她停止辦聚會,她拒絕了,也失去了她的證書。

後來證實此反而因禍得福,在洛杉磯的阿蘇薩街頭開始了新的運動,這裡成為瑪麗亞最完美的屬靈之家。到了1912年,  在德州達拉斯幫她舉辦長達5個月的聚會,神在這些聚會中神奇的工作傳到國外。此觸摸並鼓舞一些五旬節運動的未來佈道家,例如麥艾梅(Aimee Semple McPherson),約翰雷克(John G. Lake),他們稱她為『愛特媽媽』

在1914年8月,她先生在病中去世,正值第一次世界大戰爆發。瑪麗亞沒看到她先生得醫治,以及無法在她一天講三次道的服事時間表中照顧他,其所帶來的張力使她耗盡,她也生病了。在67歲的年紀她已預備好要回天家,後來她看到另一個異象,主彰顯自己戰勝疾病和死亡,她的時候還沒到。很快她便痊癒,帶著更新的異象繼續傳福音、醫治病人。到了1918年,她在印第安那州建立教會,她使用那地方成為特會中心與四處巡迴的基地。

在1924年,瑪麗亞.愛特結束了她的生命旅程,她被尊榮不單是她是一位很棒的女佈道家,她更是有史以來最棒的佈道家之一。

(摘自喬納 word for the week, Week46, 2015)



Mother Etter- The Greatest Christian Life 
Maria Woodworth-Etter
(1844–1924)

The short list of extraordinary Christians should include Maria Woodworth-Etter. Her radical obedience to Christ challenged some of the most powerful religious prejudices and traditions of her day. She did this not by preaching against them, but by demonstrating their folly through her powerful Christian life. While leading countless multitudes to Christ, she redefined evangelism for the modern age. This positioned the advancing church for the biggest ingathering of new believers of all time. 

Born and raised in New Lisbon, Ohio to a non-Christian family, Maria was ten years old when her parents experienced a change and joined a Disciples of Christ church. It was there that Maria first learned about Christ and the Christian faith.

Tragedy struck the family three years later when her father died from severe sunstroke. Left alone with eight children, Maria’s mother worked to support the struggling family with the help of the older children. Around this time, Maria was born again at the age of thirteen.

Immediately, Maria heard God’s call to “go to the highways and hedges to call the lost sheep.” She responded by dedicating her life to serving the Lord, but the Disciples movement she had met the Lord through did not allow women in ministry. This was disconcerting and eventually caused her to consider marriage so that she and her husband could serve the Lord as missionaries. In 1863, at age nineteen, she married Philo Harris Woodworth.

Maria and Woodworth’s marriage was also tragic. They tried to farm but failed, and five of their six children died at young ages, a hard trial for any parent to endure. This left only their oldest, Elizabeth. 

Then Maria was asked to speak at a Friends meeting. When she got up to speak, she had a vision of how close the people were to the edge of hell yet they did not know it. This profoundly moved her. Later as she pondered this vision, she contemplated studying to prepare for the ministry. God then gave Maria a vision in which He told her that souls were perishing and she did not have time for the preparation she wanted to pursue.

After this, Maria felt burdened for the lost day and night. She decided to hold meetings in her local area, and the Lord moved in such a great way that many repented and turned to Him. Two churches were born out of these meetings, and Maria and her husband began a traveling ministry. Her reputation spread as the Lord moved powerfully wherever she ministered.

During this time, Maria felt the Lord calling her to pray for the sick, but she was reticent because she thought it might distract from her evangelistic message. The Lord appeared to her again in a vision and assured her that when she prayed for the sick, even more would be saved. She obeyed and the results were spectacular. Soon as many as twenty-five thousand gathered for her meetings.

Controversy tends to follow such remarkable success either because of religious jealousy or “old wineskins” that are incapable of accepting something new or different. In Maria’s case, it was not just the religious community that attacked her, but the secular community as well. In Massachusetts, Maria was arrested for claiming to heal people, but so many witnesses came forward that they had to release her. Then local psychiatrists filed charges that she was delusional because she claimed to see visions. Just as Jesus Himself was continually challenged, criticized, and attacked by adversaries, those who follow Him endure the same. With Maria these attacks were especially vicious, but she persevered relentlessly.

In 1890, a man prophesied the coming of an earthquake and tidal wave to San Francisco in April. As is typical with prophecy, those who heard assumed it referred to April of that year, but the month passed without an earthquake. The man was arrested, which further maligned Maria’s ministry. Sixteen years later the earthquake came in April 1906, and many felt the vision was vindicated. Even so, it was obviously mishandled, and Maria’s critics used it against her.

The pressure of the ministry also hurt Maria’s marriage. In 1891, she and Woodworth divorced due to his infidelity. Woodworth threatened to write a book critical of her ministry if Maria did not pay him alimony, but he died within the year. In 1902, Maria met and married Samuel Etter.

Maria’s denomination struggled with what happened in her meetings, especially the way some “swooned” during them. This was later called “being slain in the Spirit.” This phenomenon happened in revivals and awakenings for centuries, but no one adequately understood it at that time. However, those who experienced it claimed to have had remarkable experiences with the Lord and were profoundly changed. Even so, the denominational authorities pressured Maria to stop them in her meetings. She did not start or even necessarily want them in her meetings, but neither did she know how to stop them. Then denominational authorities demanded that she discontinue the gatherings. She refused and lost her credentials.

This proved fortuitous, as a new movement had begun at a former stable on Azusa Street in Los Angeles. This was the perfect spiritual home for Maria. In 1912, F.F. Bosworth hosted her for a five month long meeting in Dallas, Texas. Word of the extraordinary works of God in those meetings spread abroad. This touched and inspired some future great evangelists in the Pentecostal movement, such as Aimee Semple McPherson and John G. Lake, who called her “Mother Etter.”

In August of 1914, Samuel Etter passed away after a long illness just as World War I began. The strain on Maria from not seeing her husband healed and taking care of him while keeping a ministry schedule that had her speaking three times a day wore her down. She became sick herself. At sixty-seven she was ready to go home to her Lord. Then she had another vision in which the Lord showed Himself as the conqueror of sickness and death, and that her time was not up. Soon she was well and back on the road, preaching the gospel and healing the sick with renewed vision. In 1918, she started a church in Indianapolis that she used as a conference center and a base from which to travel.

In 1924, Maria Woodworth-Etter ended her course. She has been rightly honored not only as a great woman evangelist, but one of the greatest evangelists of all time.