Chinese Pastor Urges Pastors to Be Examples Who Live out Holiness for Believers to Imitate

改革开放以来这几十年的时间，中国教会得到了长足的成长。有不少关注中国教会发展的牧者分析说，在1980和90年代前期，中国教会整体的发展整体上是由平信徒来推动的。

但2000年前后开始，教会在发展的过程中，虽然不同教会有着不同的发展模式，但一个新的特点是大部分是牧者们使出浑身解数用自己的方式来推动教会发展，而信徒往往成为被服侍的对象，平信徒的力量被忽视和停滞了，整体上来说，还是一种“牧者站讲台，信徒坐下边”的牧养思路。

近日，中原地区一位牧养农村基层教会多年的W牧师与本站同工在分享中说到，在这多年的牧养过程当中，他有许多对自己牧养模式和教会发展模式的反思。 一言而蔽之，即是“从我做起，而不是从我讲起”——从理论教导转向生活实践。

以下为W牧师的分享：

公元2000年以来，中国教会的很多信徒都受到了比较正统的神学教育，教会的体制、架构以及各项事工也都逐渐建立起来。这一方面说明中国教会发展了，但是另外一方面，教会的组织越发严密完善的时候，教会也开始慢慢变得僵硬化，失去了上帝的同在，不能够与上帝建立亲密的关系。因此，大家又不得不重新回来，学习内心的安静、等候神，很多的运动比如内在生活、灵修学等等，都是这种现象的反映。

而反观以前80年代的教会，既没有什么教会体系、也没有像样的神学教育，更没有学习内在生活和灵修学，但是那时候在教会里面和信徒身上有很多圣灵的工作，神迹奇事也确实有很多。

我发现，现在越是那些组织比较严密的教会，情况越是不太乐观，而信徒越能够自由成长的教会，情况也越是积极乐观。所以我是很鼓励信徒能够站起来成为信徒领袖，上帝会亲自来培养他们。

我以前一直很怕信徒走偏了，怕他们走错了路而跌倒了。但是慢慢我就察觉到自己犯了一个很大的错误——就是牧者取代了上帝的位置。牧者一直认为是自己需要来牧养信徒，但是其实上帝可以不用别人来牧养，上帝自己会牧养信徒。

现在在疫情当中，我看到很多牧者好像隐藏起来了一样，我就想，上帝会不会特意把牧者们给隐藏起来呢？上帝想要彰显出他自己的荣光而不是我们的荣光，想要与信徒建立亲密且直接的关系。——很长时间以来，我一直有这样的思考。未来教会究竟会如何，我们无法想象，谁都不知道，只能够是带着信心来走，相信上帝在教会当中、在信徒当中、在上帝的工人当中将要做的工作。

以前环境比较好的时候，真正的基督徒对社会的影响其实是非常小的，因为那个时候牧者和工人们他们所产生的影响是在教会里面而不是教会外面，很多的事工都限定在教会里面。但是现在环境已经变得非常不同，很多牧者不能够再继续像以前一样在教会里面牧养了，这个时候很多牧者就反思自己，需要变得更加接地气，需要落地，不能够只是站在讲台上教导大家纯粹理论化的东西，而是需要用生命来实践神的话语，并且彰显主的道。

有一位牧者的分享给了我很大的启发。那位牧者说：“以前我们经常做门徒训练，其实这样的门徒训练是假的，我们实质上是在做门徒教导而不是门徒训练。        门徒训练最好的方式就是从牧者自身开始过好门徒生活，就是你做一个样子让别人来模仿，而不是你用一套什么理论来教导别人。”

我认为，现今的牧者需要用真实的生活真实的显现出他是基督的门徒来，并且也让其他人看到这样的生活方式，让信徒可以参照和模仿和效法。

耶稣带领门徒们三年多的时间，他的教导是很有限的，但是他会经常跟门徒们生活在一起。门徒们看到耶稣的所作所为以后，这些东西就会深刻地刻印在门徒们的脑海里面，一生都不会忘记。而教导性的东西那是一个人听了然后理解了，但是其实很难对一个人产生长远的影响。我个人认为以后的教会的里面，作为牧者需要首先真实的活出来基督的样子，让信徒能够效法。

一名牧者的事奉是不是从神的宝座上出来、从内室里面出来和从学校里面出来完全不一样。这样的话，一名牧者可能讲道、说话不是很多，但是却能够对信徒的生命产生极大的影响，成为很大的帮助；而就算长篇大论，也未必就能够真正的影响到别人，帮助到别人。

所以，牧者需要真实的活出来圣洁的、虔诚的生活，这样才能够真正造就信徒。

为什么在教会里面会有贪污、淫乱这样的恶的事情？是因为有的人理论可能是很好的，但是信仰基石并不好，与主没有真实的生命连接。真正成熟的生命是应该在最微小的事情上也非常认真，如此，自然会产生真实的影响力。

In the past few decades since the reform and opening up, Chinese churches have made great progress. Many pastors being concerned about Chinese church development made analyses that in the 1980s and early 1990s, the development as a whole was driven by the laity.

However, since around 2000, different churches have adopted development models. A new feature is that most pastors have tried their best to promote the growth in their own way, while believers often become the objects to be served. The strength of lay believers has been ignored and stagnated. On the whole, it is still a mode of “pastors being on the podium and believers in the pews”.

In a recent interview with the Christian Times, an online Chinese Christian newspaper, Pastor W who has many years of serving experiences in rural grass-roots churches in mid-China reflected much on his own pastoring method and church development mode during these years of ministry. In a word, it means “being men of examples not of words”, a practice from theory to doing. 

Pastor W shared the following:

Since 2000, many believers in Chinese churches have received more orthodox theological education. The church system, structure, and various ministries have been gradually established. On the one hand, it shows that the Chinese church has developed, but on the other hand, when the organization of the church has become increasingly strict and perfected, the church has also begun to become rigid, losing the presence of God and being unable to establish a close relationship with Him. Therefore, we have to return to inner peace and wait for God. Many campaigns, such as inner life and Christian spirituality are signs of this phenomenon.

In the 1980s when there was no church system, no proper theological education, or no studying of inner life and spirituality, however, the Holy Spirit strongly worked on the churches and believers, and there were indeed many miracles and wonders.

I find that the more tightly organized churches are less optimistic. Yet, such churches are more optimistic where believers can grow more freely. So I really encourage believers to stand up and become leaders. God will train them himself.

I used to worry that believers would go astray and fall. However, slowly I realized that I had made a big mistake that is the minister took the place of God. Pastors always think that they need to watch closely on believers, but in fact, God can shepherd them without others, and He will watch believers himself.

Now, in the midst of the pandemic, I see that many pastors seem to have disappeared from our sight, and I ask whether God will deliberately hide pastors. God wants to show His own glory, not ours, and to establish a close and direct relationship with believers. I have been thinking like this for a long time. What will happen to the church in the future? We can’t imagine it and no one knows it. We can only walk in faith believing in what God will do in the church, for believers and God’s workers.

In the past, when the environment was better, the real Christians’ influence on society was actually minus because, at that time, pastors and church workers had their influence inside the church rather than outside it. Many ministries were confined to the church. But now the environment has become very different, and many pastors can no longer continue to work in the way as before. At this time, many pastors reflect on themselves and have felt the need to become more practical and down to earth. They can’t just stand on the podium and teach people purely theoretical things but need to practice God’s way with their lives and show the way.

I was greatly inspired by the sharing of a minister who once said, “In the past, we used to do discipleship training. In fact, such training was false. We were actually doing disciple lecturing but not genuine training. The best way to train disciples is to live a good disciple life beginning from the pastor himself that is you be an example for others to imitate rather than teach them theories.”

In my opinion, today’s pastors need to show that they are disciples of Christ with a real life and let others see this way of life so that believers can refer to it and imitate it.

Jesus had been leading his disciples for more than three years, and his teaching was limited, but he would often live with his disciples. After the disciples saw what Jesus did, these memories would be deeply imprinted on their minds and would never be forgotten for the rest of their lives. What is instructive is something that a person listens to and then understands, but in fact, it is difficult to have a long-term impact on a person. Personally, I think that in the future church, as pastors, we need to truly live out the image of Christ first so that believers can follow.

Whether the ministry of a pastor comes from the throne of God, from the inner chamber, or from the school are totally different matter. In this way, a pastor may not talk much in his sermons, but have a great impact on the lives of believers and become a great help. Likewise, even if it is a long speech, it may not really affect and help others.

Therefore, pastors need to truly live a holy and pious life, so as to truly cultivate believers.

Why are there such evil things as corruption and fornication in the church? Because some people’s theories may be solid, but their foundation of faith is not so, and there is no real life connection with the Lord. A mature life is reflected very seriously in the smallest things. In this way, it will naturally have true influence.

- Translated by Charlie Li