The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the world. Churches have also faced many challenges, such as believers not being able to meet in person, and their gatherings and communication being greatly reduced, pastors finding it hard to do Bible study and pastoral work, and churches facing greater financial pressure.
The issues mentioned above have had a great impact on churches’ development and pastoral care work in the post-pandemic era. At the same time, some churches have also made the appropriate changes to adapt to the new situation. The most obvious changes are that churches have begun to do pastoral ministry in small groups, in families, and online.
Recently, Pastor J from South China shared some thoughts on church pastoral care in the post-pandemic era based on his experience in service.
The pastor started that in the post-pandemic era, if the church wanted to be revived, it must learn from the early church. “We believe in Jesus and are saved, and we cannot stop here but live out the life of the Lord.”
"The early church grew under persecution and spread throughout the entire Mediterranean region at that time, laying the foundation of the entire European civilization and even the entire modern civilization." He said, "If the church wants to revive, she must have the same heart as the early church — willing to sacrifice for faith. If believers just believe in Jesus and wait for going to heaven, having no care to this world, it is impossible to renew the world by faith.”
Pastor J said that the focus of the early church was on witnessing for the kingdom of God, so even though they had great hardships, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and were bold to witness. "If the church in our time does not have such courage, no matter how systematic and advanced our theology is, the church won't have much impact," he admitted.
The pastor continued, "The apostles of the early church...with courage, joy in adversity, and love for others lived out the likeness of the kingdom of God.... which brought about the growth of the church, and the whole society had to recognize the Christian faith," he stated. He urged our churches to reflect on this point. "If the church does not focus on living out the light of the kingdom of God, it will be very difficult to persuade the world with our values."
He highlighted the focus of the early church was the gospel and the kingdom of God, not the world, but now some Christians accepted the gospel while still enjoying the secular world. "Many things show that the church does not live the way of Christ. To influence the world, we must live out the life of Christ and are willing to pay the price for our faith."
Pastor J stated, “If we want to go back to the early church of the apostles, we need to preach the pure gospel which is very simple — we must follow Jesus and live a life centered on the cross. Of course, our churches have many problems now, but the core problem is that we have distorted the gospel and formed various systems."
"The pure gospel includes more than just the death of Christ," he explained. "It is an important part of the gospel, but the gospel also includes the resurrection, reign, and return of Jesus Christ. Our faith is to take refuge in the risen Christ, suffer for him according to his will, and be glorified with him.”
Pastor J talked about his understanding of this point from two aspects. First, the resurrected Christ is the Christ who died for you on the cross, which means that when you believe in the Lord, you do not trust the Christ who was hung on the cross only, but also the King of Heaven who has resurrected. “Your love for Christ should be expressed in the assurance of Christ's return and commitment to God's kingdom.”
Second, Christians should run straight toward the goal with the correct focus of the last days and strive to serve God’s kingdom. “If Christians lose the focus of God’s kingdom, they may lose the spirit of vigilance and struggle, making the church compromise with the world, and have superficial faith in God’s kingdom.”
Pastor J claimed that to have a correct view of the end times meant to live a vigilant life. “To live a vigilant life is to commit to the church and live a holy life, to live a life committed to the cross, to spread the gospel to the end of the earth, and to look forward to the return of Christ,” he concluded.
- Translated by Katherine Guo
疫情对世界产生了深远影响。教会在这一大环境中，也受到了诸多挑战，比如：信徒们很难实地见面，也大大减少了聚会、交流和沟通；牧者很难开展学习、牧养等工作；教会的经济压力增大等。
这都对后疫情时代教会的发展和牧养等带来了很大的影响。同时，一些教会为适应这种环境的变化也做出了相应的改变和更新，其中最明显的变化是：教会的小组化、家庭化和线上化。
最近，一位南方的牧者J分享了最近几年来他在具体服事中积累的一些对后疫情时代教会牧养的思考。
他谈到在这样的时代，教会想要复兴就要像初代教会学习，我们不能只是局限在自己信耶稣得救了的状态里，而是要活出主的生命。
“初代教会是在逼迫中成长，遍布到当时的整个地中海地区。这样的根基奠定了后来整个欧洲文明或者是说整个现代文明的根基。”他说，”教会想要复兴，必须要有像初代教会一样的为信仰舍命的心。如果只是信耶稣上天堂得救，不管世界的话，靠着信仰想要更新世界是不可能的。”
J弟兄说到，初期的教会正是因为焦点是为天国做见证，所以即使环境艰难但是圣灵的充满给了他们勇气。“我们今天的教会如果没有这样的勇气，不管我们的神学有多么系统和高深，产生不了多大的影响。”
“初代教会的使徒们.....用勇气、患难中的喜乐、对人的爱，把天国的样式活出来....这带来教会的成长，整个社会不得不承认它。”他说到，今天的教会要反思这个方面，“教会如果不专注在活出天国的光，想要去靠着我们的价值观说服世界是很困难的。”
他对比说，初代教会所关注的焦点就是接受福音、专注天国，不是世界。而现在有些基督徒虽然接受了福音，却还享受世俗世界。“很多现象说明教会并没有按照基督的方式生活，但是如果我们按照基督的方式生活，愿意为了信仰付出代价，才会有影响力，否则没有影响力。”
J弟兄分享说：“我们如果想要回到使徒时代的初代教会，就要传纯正的福音，而纯正的福音很简单，那就是我们要跟随耶稣过以十字架为中心的生活。当然也会涉及到很多的问题，但是相对来说这些问题是比较简单的。核心的问题是我们现在把福音歪曲了，形成了各种体系。”
“纯正的福音不单单只包括基督的死，”他解释说：“死是一个节点。福音的核心还包括了耶稣基督的复活、作王和再来。我们的信仰是投靠复活的基督，按照他的旨意为他受苦，与他一同得荣耀。”
J弟兄从二方面谈了他对此的理解：
第一，复活的基督就是在十字架上为你而死的基督，这意味着当你信主时不只是投靠挂在十字架上的基督，还要投靠天国的君王、已经复活的。你的爱的回应应该表现在对基督再来的确信和对上帝国度的付出上。
第二、基督徒关注的核心应该是带着正确的末世的焦点向着标竿直跑，努力为了天国而服事。如果基督徒失去了天国的焦点，就可能失去了警醒和奋斗的精神，使得教会在世界过一个妥协世俗的生活，拥有的天国的盼望也只是停留于表面而已。
J弟兄认为，拥有一个正确的末世观，意味着要过一个警醒的生活，而真正过一个静警醒预备基督再来的迎接方式是要改变现在的生活方式：要警醒等候，要过一个圣洁的生活要委身教会，要委身十字架的生活，来实际改变自己的生命，把福音传遍地极，盼望基督的再来。
对话 | 后疫情时代一华南牧者的思考：要效法初代教会
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the world. Churches have also faced many challenges, such as believers not being able to meet in person, and their gatherings and communication being greatly reduced, pastors finding it hard to do Bible study and pastoral work, and churches facing greater financial pressure.
The issues mentioned above have had a great impact on churches’ development and pastoral care work in the post-pandemic era. At the same time, some churches have also made the appropriate changes to adapt to the new situation. The most obvious changes are that churches have begun to do pastoral ministry in small groups, in families, and online.
Recently, Pastor J from South China shared some thoughts on church pastoral care in the post-pandemic era based on his experience in service.
The pastor started that in the post-pandemic era, if the church wanted to be revived, it must learn from the early church. “We believe in Jesus and are saved, and we cannot stop here but live out the life of the Lord.”
"The early church grew under persecution and spread throughout the entire Mediterranean region at that time, laying the foundation of the entire European civilization and even the entire modern civilization." He said, "If the church wants to revive, she must have the same heart as the early church — willing to sacrifice for faith. If believers just believe in Jesus and wait for going to heaven, having no care to this world, it is impossible to renew the world by faith.”
Pastor J said that the focus of the early church was on witnessing for the kingdom of God, so even though they had great hardships, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and were bold to witness. "If the church in our time does not have such courage, no matter how systematic and advanced our theology is, the church won't have much impact," he admitted.
The pastor continued, "The apostles of the early church...with courage, joy in adversity, and love for others lived out the likeness of the kingdom of God.... which brought about the growth of the church, and the whole society had to recognize the Christian faith," he stated. He urged our churches to reflect on this point. "If the church does not focus on living out the light of the kingdom of God, it will be very difficult to persuade the world with our values."
He highlighted the focus of the early church was the gospel and the kingdom of God, not the world, but now some Christians accepted the gospel while still enjoying the secular world. "Many things show that the church does not live the way of Christ. To influence the world, we must live out the life of Christ and are willing to pay the price for our faith."
Pastor J stated, “If we want to go back to the early church of the apostles, we need to preach the pure gospel which is very simple — we must follow Jesus and live a life centered on the cross. Of course, our churches have many problems now, but the core problem is that we have distorted the gospel and formed various systems."
"The pure gospel includes more than just the death of Christ," he explained. "It is an important part of the gospel, but the gospel also includes the resurrection, reign, and return of Jesus Christ. Our faith is to take refuge in the risen Christ, suffer for him according to his will, and be glorified with him.”
Pastor J talked about his understanding of this point from two aspects. First, the resurrected Christ is the Christ who died for you on the cross, which means that when you believe in the Lord, you do not trust the Christ who was hung on the cross only, but also the King of Heaven who has resurrected. “Your love for Christ should be expressed in the assurance of Christ's return and commitment to God's kingdom.”
Second, Christians should run straight toward the goal with the correct focus of the last days and strive to serve God’s kingdom. “If Christians lose the focus of God’s kingdom, they may lose the spirit of vigilance and struggle, making the church compromise with the world, and have superficial faith in God’s kingdom.”
Pastor J claimed that to have a correct view of the end times meant to live a vigilant life. “To live a vigilant life is to commit to the church and live a holy life, to live a life committed to the cross, to spread the gospel to the end of the earth, and to look forward to the return of Christ,” he concluded.
- Translated by Katherine Guo
Pastor in South China Urges Christians to Follow Steps of the Early Church in the Post-Pandemic Era
