Pastor D from East China states that the church should not lie down in an atmosphere of running in place. It should instead strive for development and discipline.
Starting in 2021, the term "running in place" (or involution) became a buzzword. In the post-COVID-19 era, "lying down" has been accepted by many people, including many churches, as their response to a changing environment. They find it hard to survive, not to mention the additional burden of development and growth.
In the past, many churches sought to grow in size. But in recent years, especially since the COVID-19 outbreak, many have found that no longer viable. They have consequently shifted to talking about “internal construction”. But Pastor D believes that internal construction is insufficient - there still needs to be development, growth and expansion. The churches should not only shepherd their believers, but also train them to become disciples who are undertaking a great mission.
Pastor D believes we should not adopt a passive and negative attitude despite a negative environment. Instead, we should adopt a positive attitude when adjusting and responding.
The church must be strategic, he continued, and must not become a headless chicken.
The first point, Pastor D concluded, is to have a good shepherding group. The second is preaching and development, and the third is discipleship training. He stressed that discipleship training can be one-on-one and one-to-many for different audiences. One-on-one training is for members or believers, while one-to-many leadership training is for fellow workers.
Pastor D believes that difficult situations are not only negative – they can be turned around by promoting further growth of the church in difficult situations. He stressed that the church must not lie down, as you cannot shepherd well if you strictly focus on shepherding. The church should have an expanded vision to welcome new believers while improving its training program so that the church can grow.
"We should adopt an active posture and be proactive, rather than retreating, defending, or lying down. The Bible says: ‘Where there is no vision, the people are uncontrolled', and so is the church. The church should be thinking about how it can grow even under difficult circumstances," he concluded.
- Translated by Oliver Zuo
华东一位牧者D牧师谈到，面对内卷的大氛围，教会绝不能选择躺平，需要仍旧持守拓展和门训。
自2021年开始，“内卷”一词突然成为流行词。面对后疫情时代，“躺平”也成为不少人面对多变环境的一种姿态，包括不少教会也是类似的心态，感到后疫情时代能生存下来就已不容易，就不要谈拓展和成长。
前些年的时候，不少教会追求教会外在的规模和人数的增长。但是这几年尤其是疫情以来，很多人发现这样的道路走不通了，于是就开始内缩，开始尝试更多谈内部建设。但D牧师认为，聚焦内部建设的意思并非只是做内部建设，仍旧需要有发展、成长和拓展的主线思维，不只是把信徒牧养好，最终仍然还是要把信徒培养成为门徒并且去承担大使命。
D牧师认为，虽然有时候环境看上去可能是消极的，但是我们却不应当也也采用被动和消极的姿态，而是应当有一种积极地调整、应对的姿态。
他继续说，教会是一定要有策略的，不能成为无头苍蝇。
D牧师总结说，第一点，一定要做好牧养小组。第二点，一定要做好布道和拓展，除了这两点以外，第三点即门徒训练。他强调门训也非常重要，门训针对不同的参加对象分为一对一的和一对多的，一对一的门训是针对会友或者说信徒的，然后，对于同工，教会可以实行一对多的领袖训练。
D牧师认为，艰难的处境其实并不是全然不好的，也可以反过来透过在艰难的处境服事来推进教会的进一步成长。他强调说，教会一定不能够选择躺平，因为如果只是强调牧养的话那么一定是做不好牧养的，必须仍然需要有拓展的视野，需要有新人进来，然后把教会的培训建立起来，这样的时候教会才能够有所发展。
“我们一定要采取一种主动的姿态，积极进取，而不能够一味的收缩、防御，说白了就是躺平。圣经说如果没有异象的话民就放肆，教会也是一样的。如何能够在很艰难的情况下依然有发展，这才是教会应当思考的问题。”
对话|华东一牧师谈：内卷大环境下 教会不能选择躺平
Pastor D from East China states that the church should not lie down in an atmosphere of running in place. It should instead strive for development and discipline.
Starting in 2021, the term "running in place" (or involution) became a buzzword. In the post-COVID-19 era, "lying down" has been accepted by many people, including many churches, as their response to a changing environment. They find it hard to survive, not to mention the additional burden of development and growth.
In the past, many churches sought to grow in size. But in recent years, especially since the COVID-19 outbreak, many have found that no longer viable. They have consequently shifted to talking about “internal construction”. But Pastor D believes that internal construction is insufficient - there still needs to be development, growth and expansion. The churches should not only shepherd their believers, but also train them to become disciples who are undertaking a great mission.
Pastor D believes we should not adopt a passive and negative attitude despite a negative environment. Instead, we should adopt a positive attitude when adjusting and responding.
The church must be strategic, he continued, and must not become a headless chicken.
The first point, Pastor D concluded, is to have a good shepherding group. The second is preaching and development, and the third is discipleship training. He stressed that discipleship training can be one-on-one and one-to-many for different audiences. One-on-one training is for members or believers, while one-to-many leadership training is for fellow workers.
Pastor D believes that difficult situations are not only negative – they can be turned around by promoting further growth of the church in difficult situations. He stressed that the church must not lie down, as you cannot shepherd well if you strictly focus on shepherding. The church should have an expanded vision to welcome new believers while improving its training program so that the church can grow.
"We should adopt an active posture and be proactive, rather than retreating, defending, or lying down. The Bible says: ‘Where there is no vision, the people are uncontrolled', and so is the church. The church should be thinking about how it can grow even under difficult circumstances," he concluded.
- Translated by Oliver Zuo
Churches Cannot 'Lie Down' in the Environment of Running in Place, Says Pastor
