A house church pastor urges that although theological equipping is necessary, those who apply and practice the knowledge should keep the local environment in mind.
Pastor C, born in the 1980s, is an urban church pastor and has an elite educational background. He serves in a church with a large proportion of young people. After working for nearly ten years, a pastor recommended that he study in overseas seminaries. After graduating, Pastor C continued to serve in the original church.
After gaining more experience in serving, Pastor C has formed new thoughts on how to localize the theological knowledge he learned. He believes that the application of theological knowledge needs to consider the actual field of ministry.
Pastor C observes that there are many differences between the problems faced by Chinese and Western pastors. Due to their different environments, pastors can not completely rely on the theories and knowledge learned in the West to solve the problems encountered by domestic pastors. Compared with Europe, America, and China, he explains four areas where domestic pastors face more obvious challenges in their ministry.
1. The economic pressures faced by pastors differ in the West and China.
Although economic pressure exists universally, and the pastors in Europe and America are not all financially sufficient, Pastor C says that their system is relatively perfect. For instance, American churches employ or send pastors and pastors to have corresponding systems, but the salaries paid by China churches to pastors and pastors are generally low or even nonexistent. Many churches do not have a system to protect the economic needs of pastors. A pastor’s service depends more on ‘faith’ or on the support of his family and spouse - this is the first challenge.
2. The social statuses of pastors differ in the West and China.
As far as social status is concerned, Pastor C thinks that pastor as a profession is generally respected in the United States. Although there will be negative incidents among American pastors such as corruption and sexual assault, on the whole, pastors are socially recognized professions, especially in some relatively conservative areas such as the southern United States.
However, in China, he says reluctantly that although it is true that not all places are the same, it is rather common for pastors to have a low social status. “Pastors are marginalized groups. Many people do not know the work of pastors. Especially in areas with low cultural and educational levels, people tend to think that the bottom of the pile in society will become pastors, and some even regard pastors as ‘divine sticks’ (original meaning unknown, translator’s note). Many people still believe that only the old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled will go to church. This makes it difficult for some pastors to talk about their profession in a normal social situation. This is also the difference between China and the West.”
3. Young pastors face different challenges.
He cites that the acceptance of young pastors by Western churches is relatively high, because Western believers are based on biblical culture, and their knowledge of authority comes from the Bible. Back home, he finds that “people have a strong family-style and seniority-oriented concept. Believers value qualifications, such as whether you have received theological education or not, but also your age and experience. Therefore, many people do not necessarily agree with young people as church leaders. There are many examples within practical pastoral care. For instance, if you do not have children, it is difficult for you to use biblical truth to guide families with children. This is a problem that young pastors will face.”
4. The believers have different belief bases.
“Western countries have a deep Christian culture, but Chinese people do not.” Pastor C points out that this is a common challenge for pastors and believers in China. “In Europe and America, for example, people know God from the teaching of creationism. They also know evolution and atheism, but because they have known biblical stories since childhood, they have biblical culture as their foundation. So they generally know the teaching of creationism.”
By contrast, he says, “But most of the believers in China are first-generation believers, or Christians of different generations (they have heard from their ancestors, but they have no in-depth understanding). Their knowledge of God often begins with salvation. Taking myself as an example, I first knew that Jesus Christ was a teacher, then that he was the Savior, and finally that there was God the Father. I came to believe in God’s creation slowly.”
Pastor C believes that the conflict between creationism and evolution, as well as the concept of hell and resurrection after death, all believers in China, need to get rid of the old ideas. He explains this: “Westerners have long known the concepts of hell and heaven, and resurrection, etc. When people in China hear of hell, they think of the terrible ‘eighteen layers of hell’ (a Chinese way of understanding hell, translator’s note.) or ‘people die as if the lights go out, and they do not consider resurrection at all. Because the basic culture of the people of faith is different, the challenge is bigger.”
“However, I believe that with the accumulation of time, the cultural foundation of brothers and sisters’ faith will become deeper and deeper.”
On how to better apply western theological education in our culture, he combines his own experience and puts forward four suggestions to pastors equipped with theology.
1. Recognize your targets
“The pastor must first recognize that he is disciplining Chinese people in China, and he is not disciplinig Westerners in China.” When he talks about his own understanding, “Even more specifically, I am herding a group in a certain place in a city in the south or north of China because the characteristics of people in different provinces and cities are different.”
“And the thinking of Westerners is very different from that of China. For example, when I went to study, I saw that the Western church is usually a lobby because westerners are relatively independent and pursue individual freedom. They go to church in pursuit of truth and peace of mind. However, Chinese people prefer group gatherings and feel that this is more intimate. So we can not completely copy the Western theological education.”
2. Train workers with their own specialties
Secondly, Pastor C pays special attention to the training of workers and church talents. He suggests that pastors with formal theological education overseas should spend more time cultivating workers’ teams. Because, in his view, “there are many seminaries and theological resources abroad, and there is no shortage of excellent pastors. Foreign churches need pastors and co-workers who can be openly hired at the social level. But there is no such thing in China. On the one hand, there are few seminaries in China, on the other hand, it is difficult to train domestic workers. Yet, China has a large threshing floor and fewer pastors. So it is also a burden for me to train a team of workers.”
3. Reflect on history, and don’t forget the lessons learned from others
C also finds the phenomenon that the church in China lacks the concept of historical inheritance. As to why he says: “The history we study is mainly the history of Western churches. Although the actual Nestorianism period in China has already begun, it is mainly the history after the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Because of the short time, many people do not have the burden of history and will ignore history.” Pastor C thinks that ignoring history is easy to make mistakes in history. He suggests that the Church of China should attach importance to the inheritance of history: “Especially pastors who have received theological training will have a deeper thinking about history and a different vision. Therefore, we need to look at the traditions of the church from a historical perspective and distinguish which traditions are good and which ones need to be changed.”
4. Perfecting the financial system is a long-term solution
When it comes to the financial problems of the church, Pastor C’s suggestion is that pastors should not have direct contact with money. He believes that the church needs to establish a basic financial system. All the foreign churches he knows have relatively perfect financial systems and will appoint specialized financial staff.
Pastor C explains, “Churches in our country were originally established by missionaries, and they did not receive dedication from the churches they built. Because they had an original church, the church’s financial use was different. However, when foreign missionaries left, domestic churches faced a problem. Local pastors had no corresponding systems to guarantee their basic life. Churches in big cities may be fine, but the support of pastors in small cities or rural areas is very serious.”
“Of course, some pastors live by ‘faith’, but not everyone has the same faith. In order for pastors not to be distracted by the economy, and for them to serve wholeheartedly, the church needs to establish a sound financial system and principles. Companies and enterprises have financial systems and principles. Why can’t they have them in the church?”
- Translated by Charlie Li
一位家庭教会牧者呼吁——神学装备是必要的，但知识的实践和应用，却需要考虑处境化和本土化。(==当summary）
C牧师是一位80后的城市教会牧者，精英教育出身，在一个年轻人比例较大的教会中信主并参与服事。在近十年的事奉之后，牧者举荐他去海外神学院学习。C牧师神学毕业回国后继续在原来的教会参与服事至今。
经过几年的实践，C牧师对如何将所学到的神学知识本土化有新的思考。他认为神学知识的应用需要考虑实际服事的禾场。
C牧师观察到中西方牧者面对的问题有很多不同。由于所处环境的不同，牧者就不能完全依赖在西方学到的理论和知识去解决在国内牧会遇到的问题。他以欧美和中国对比，解释了国内牧者在牧会中面临的挑战更明显的4个领域。
1，牧者面临的经济压力有区别
虽然经济压力是共同存在的，欧美牧者经济上也不都是很充足，但是C牧师对比说，他们的制度是相对完善的，比如美国教会聘请或者差派牧师、传道人都会有相应的制度，但是中国教会给传道人和牧师的工资普遍很低，甚至没有。很多教会没有制度来保障牧者团队的经济需要。传道人服事更多靠信心，或者靠家人，配偶来支持——这是第一个挑战。
2，牧者社会地位不同
就社会地位来说，C牧师认为牧师这个职业在美国一般是比较受尊重的。尽管美国牧师当中也会有不好的见证，有腐败、性侵等负面新闻，但整体上，尤其是美国南部等一些相对保守地带，牧师是被社会认可的职业。
但在中国，他不无无奈地表示的确虽然不是所有地方都一样，但是牧师社会地位不高还是比较普遍的。“牧师是边缘化群体。很多人不理解牧师的工作。尤其是文化教育水平比较低的地区，人们会认为在社会上生活不下去的才去当牧师，甚至有人把牧师当‘神棍 ’。很多人的观念还停留在‘只有老弱病残才会去教会’。这就使得有的牧师在一些正常的社交场合很难说自己的职业。这也是中西方的不同。”
3，年轻牧者面对的挑战不同
他列举说，西方教会对年轻牧者的接受度相对高一点，因为西方信徒有圣经文化为基础，他们对权威的认识是来自圣经。回到国内，他发现，“中国人有很强的家族式、论资排辈的观念。信徒很看重资质，比如你有没有受过神学教育，也会看你的年龄和经验等等。因此年轻人做教会领袖，很多人是不一定认同的。实际牧养中很多例子，比如，如果你没有孩子，你很难用圣经真理去指导有孩子的家庭。这是年轻牧者会面对的问题。”
4，牧会人群的信仰基础不同
“西方国家有深厚的基督教文化，中国人则没有。”C牧师对此指出这是中国牧者和信徒共同的挑战。“拿欧美来说，人们认识上帝是从创造论开始，他们也知道进化论和无神论，但是因为他们从小就了解圣经故事，有圣经文化为根基。所以知道世界是神创造的。”
他对比说，“而中国教会的信徒大部分是第一代信徒，或者是断代的基督徒（从祖辈听过，却没有深入了解）。他们对神的认识往往都是从救恩开始。以我自己为例，我是先认识耶稣基督，先知道耶稣基督是老师，然后知道他是救主，最后才知道有父神。再去学习有神论，慢慢相信神的创造。”
C牧师认为，创造论和进化论的冲突，还有关于地狱的概念、死后复活的问题，中国信徒都需要破除旧有观念。他对此解释说：“西方人很早了解地狱和天堂、复活等概念。而中国人一听到地狱就想到可怕的‘十八层地狱’，或者是‘人死如灯灭’，根本不考虑复活。因为信仰人群的基础文化不同，挑战更大一些。”
“但是，我相信随着时间的积累，弟兄姐妹的信仰文化根基会越来越深。”
关于如何将西方神学教育在我们所处的文化中更好地应用，他结合自己的经历，对有神学装备的牧者提出四点建议。
1，认清自己的事奉对象
“牧者首先要认清楚，我是在中国牧养中国人，我不是在中国牧养西方人。”他谈到自己的认识，“甚至要更具体一点，我是在中国南方或北方的某个城市牧养某个地方的群体，因为不同省份不同城市的人群特征都是不一样的。”
“而且西方人的思维和中国人有很大不同。比如，我去学习的时候看到，西方教会通常是大会堂模式，因为西方人是比较独立的，追求个人自由。他们去礼拜是为了追求真理，寻求心灵平静；但中国人更偏向小组聚会，觉得这样更亲密……所以不能完全照搬西方的神学教育。”
2，用自己的专业培养工人
其次，C牧师尤其看重工人和教会人才的培养。他建议在海外受过正规神学教育的牧者把更多的时间放在培养工人团队上。因为在他看来，“国外有很多神学院和神学资源，也不缺乏优秀的牧者，国外大教堂需要传道人和同工可以在社会层面公开聘请。但中国没有，一方面中国神学院很少，另一方面国内工人培养很难，而中国的禾场很大，牧人很缺乏。所以训练工人团队也是我的一个负担。”
3，反思历史，勿忘前车之鉴
C牧师还发现的一个现象是目前中国教会缺少历史的传承观念。对于形成的原因，他表示：“我们学的历史主要是西方教会史，中国教会史虽然实际景教时期已经开始了，但主要是明清时期之后的历史。因为时间短，所以很多人没有历史的负担，会忽略历史。”而C牧师认为忽略历史容易犯历史上犯过的错误。他建议中国教会重视历史传承：“尤其是接受过神学训练的牧者，会对历史有更深思考，会有不同的眼光。因此需要我们需要用历史的眼光看待教会的传统，分辨出哪些传统是好的，哪些是需要改变的。”
4，完善财务制度是长远之计
谈到教会的财务问题，C牧师的建议是牧者不应该直接接触钱。他认为教会需要建立基本的财务制度。他所了解的国外教会都有相对完善的财务制度，会设立专门的财务人员。
C牧师解释说，“我们国内的教会最初都是宣教士建立，他们不从本教会中收取奉献。因为他们有母会供应，所以教会财务使用情况不同。但是国外宣教士退出的时候，国内教会就面临一个问题，本地牧者和传道人没有相应的制度来保障他们的基本生活。大城市的教会可能还好，但是小城市或者农村教会，传道人的供养问题很严重。”
“当然有些传道人和牧者凭信心生活也不缺乏，但是不是所有人都有同样的信心。为了传道人不至于为经济分心，为了他们能够全心服事，教会需要建立一个完善的财务制度和原则。一般的公司企业都有财务制度和原则，为什么教会里不能有？”
经验 | 曾在海外进修的80后牧者谈：神学知识如何更好地应用到本土服事?
A house church pastor urges that although theological equipping is necessary, those who apply and practice the knowledge should keep the local environment in mind.
Pastor C, born in the 1980s, is an urban church pastor and has an elite educational background. He serves in a church with a large proportion of young people. After working for nearly ten years, a pastor recommended that he study in overseas seminaries. After graduating, Pastor C continued to serve in the original church.
After gaining more experience in serving, Pastor C has formed new thoughts on how to localize the theological knowledge he learned. He believes that the application of theological knowledge needs to consider the actual field of ministry.
Pastor C observes that there are many differences between the problems faced by Chinese and Western pastors. Due to their different environments, pastors can not completely rely on the theories and knowledge learned in the West to solve the problems encountered by domestic pastors. Compared with Europe, America, and China, he explains four areas where domestic pastors face more obvious challenges in their ministry.
1. The economic pressures faced by pastors differ in the West and China.
Although economic pressure exists universally, and the pastors in Europe and America are not all financially sufficient, Pastor C says that their system is relatively perfect. For instance, American churches employ or send pastors and pastors to have corresponding systems, but the salaries paid by China churches to pastors and pastors are generally low or even nonexistent. Many churches do not have a system to protect the economic needs of pastors. A pastor’s service depends more on ‘faith’ or on the support of his family and spouse - this is the first challenge.
2. The social statuses of pastors differ in the West and China.
As far as social status is concerned, Pastor C thinks that pastor as a profession is generally respected in the United States. Although there will be negative incidents among American pastors such as corruption and sexual assault, on the whole, pastors are socially recognized professions, especially in some relatively conservative areas such as the southern United States.
However, in China, he says reluctantly that although it is true that not all places are the same, it is rather common for pastors to have a low social status. “Pastors are marginalized groups. Many people do not know the work of pastors. Especially in areas with low cultural and educational levels, people tend to think that the bottom of the pile in society will become pastors, and some even regard pastors as ‘divine sticks’ (original meaning unknown, translator’s note). Many people still believe that only the old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled will go to church. This makes it difficult for some pastors to talk about their profession in a normal social situation. This is also the difference between China and the West.”
3. Young pastors face different challenges.
He cites that the acceptance of young pastors by Western churches is relatively high, because Western believers are based on biblical culture, and their knowledge of authority comes from the Bible. Back home, he finds that “people have a strong family-style and seniority-oriented concept. Believers value qualifications, such as whether you have received theological education or not, but also your age and experience. Therefore, many people do not necessarily agree with young people as church leaders. There are many examples within practical pastoral care. For instance, if you do not have children, it is difficult for you to use biblical truth to guide families with children. This is a problem that young pastors will face.”
4. The believers have different belief bases.
“Western countries have a deep Christian culture, but Chinese people do not.” Pastor C points out that this is a common challenge for pastors and believers in China. “In Europe and America, for example, people know God from the teaching of creationism. They also know evolution and atheism, but because they have known biblical stories since childhood, they have biblical culture as their foundation. So they generally know the teaching of creationism.”
By contrast, he says, “But most of the believers in China are first-generation believers, or Christians of different generations (they have heard from their ancestors, but they have no in-depth understanding). Their knowledge of God often begins with salvation. Taking myself as an example, I first knew that Jesus Christ was a teacher, then that he was the Savior, and finally that there was God the Father. I came to believe in God’s creation slowly.”
Pastor C believes that the conflict between creationism and evolution, as well as the concept of hell and resurrection after death, all believers in China, need to get rid of the old ideas. He explains this: “Westerners have long known the concepts of hell and heaven, and resurrection, etc. When people in China hear of hell, they think of the terrible ‘eighteen layers of hell’ (a Chinese way of understanding hell, translator’s note.) or ‘people die as if the lights go out, and they do not consider resurrection at all. Because the basic culture of the people of faith is different, the challenge is bigger.”
“However, I believe that with the accumulation of time, the cultural foundation of brothers and sisters’ faith will become deeper and deeper.”
On how to better apply western theological education in our culture, he combines his own experience and puts forward four suggestions to pastors equipped with theology.
1. Recognize your targets
“The pastor must first recognize that he is disciplining Chinese people in China, and he is not disciplinig Westerners in China.” When he talks about his own understanding, “Even more specifically, I am herding a group in a certain place in a city in the south or north of China because the characteristics of people in different provinces and cities are different.”
“And the thinking of Westerners is very different from that of China. For example, when I went to study, I saw that the Western church is usually a lobby because westerners are relatively independent and pursue individual freedom. They go to church in pursuit of truth and peace of mind. However, Chinese people prefer group gatherings and feel that this is more intimate. So we can not completely copy the Western theological education.”
2. Train workers with their own specialties
Secondly, Pastor C pays special attention to the training of workers and church talents. He suggests that pastors with formal theological education overseas should spend more time cultivating workers’ teams. Because, in his view, “there are many seminaries and theological resources abroad, and there is no shortage of excellent pastors. Foreign churches need pastors and co-workers who can be openly hired at the social level. But there is no such thing in China. On the one hand, there are few seminaries in China, on the other hand, it is difficult to train domestic workers. Yet, China has a large threshing floor and fewer pastors. So it is also a burden for me to train a team of workers.”
3. Reflect on history, and don’t forget the lessons learned from others
C also finds the phenomenon that the church in China lacks the concept of historical inheritance. As to why he says: “The history we study is mainly the history of Western churches. Although the actual Nestorianism period in China has already begun, it is mainly the history after the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Because of the short time, many people do not have the burden of history and will ignore history.” Pastor C thinks that ignoring history is easy to make mistakes in history. He suggests that the Church of China should attach importance to the inheritance of history: “Especially pastors who have received theological training will have a deeper thinking about history and a different vision. Therefore, we need to look at the traditions of the church from a historical perspective and distinguish which traditions are good and which ones need to be changed.”
4. Perfecting the financial system is a long-term solution
When it comes to the financial problems of the church, Pastor C’s suggestion is that pastors should not have direct contact with money. He believes that the church needs to establish a basic financial system. All the foreign churches he knows have relatively perfect financial systems and will appoint specialized financial staff.
Pastor C explains, “Churches in our country were originally established by missionaries, and they did not receive dedication from the churches they built. Because they had an original church, the church’s financial use was different. However, when foreign missionaries left, domestic churches faced a problem. Local pastors had no corresponding systems to guarantee their basic life. Churches in big cities may be fine, but the support of pastors in small cities or rural areas is very serious.”
“Of course, some pastors live by ‘faith’, but not everyone has the same faith. In order for pastors not to be distracted by the economy, and for them to serve wholeheartedly, the church needs to establish a sound financial system and principles. Companies and enterprises have financial systems and principles. Why can’t they have them in the church?”
- Translated by Charlie Li
Overseas Educated Chinese Pastor Shares: How Can Theological Knowledge Be Better Applied to Local Ministry?
