Gu Hua is a brother involved in worship ministry. He believes that while some preachers may not have strong educational backgrounds, they can certainly look for ways to make their sermons more compelling and keep the messages they share up-to-date.
Gu Hua, who lives in a city in eastern China, has long served as a musician in the worship ministry. He often serves in different churches and has seen many pastors and pastoral workers. In his opinion, almost all the churches he visited had poor preaching, and the messages preached were not up-to-date.
Gu explains that this is because the preachers employed by many churches are "bivocational ministers" meaning they have their own jobs outside the church and are not paid by the church. They preach in the church only when it is their turn, so many of them prepare their sermons only when they have to preach. In his opinion, such hasty preparation at the last minute is insufficient.
According to Gu's observation, many pastors are not willing to grow or develop themselves. They just preach with what they already know and have been talking about the same things since the 80s and 90s. Therefore, the sermons they preach are not very engaging, and some believers cannot help but fall asleep during the sermon.
Also, many churches fail to retain young believers. This is not because the young generation is rebellious and does not like to go to church, but because the churches are often unable to meet the needs of these young people. Many churches have not prepared for a young generation of believers; from church polity and church life to preaching and worship, none are suitable for young people. As a result, the only group left in these churches are the middle-aged and elderly members.
Gu points out that the pastors of overseas churches often preach eloquent and engaging sermons. He notes that most of these pastors are very well-educated and usually have degrees from excellent universities. In contrast, pastors in China may have a relatively low level of education; many pastors did not attend university, and some did not even attend high school or junior high school. In addition, despite their strong academic background, pastors of overseas churches never stop learning; they still read a lot, attend training, and arrange visits to broaden their knowledge, horizons, and insights. In sharp contrast to this proactive attitude is the lack of interest in self-improvement among some pastors in China.
Still, Gu has had some pleasant surprises in his years of ministry. One church he came across is very large, but it does not have its own praise band. Yet the preacher has done a lot of work preparing the sermons so that his messages are all very practical and realistic; everyone in the congregation listens attentively, and no one is caught falling asleep.
Yet the preacher must have done a lot of work preparing the sermons because his messages are all very practical and realistic; everyone in the congregation listens attentively, and no one is caught falling asleep.
While the Holy Spirit is involved in both preaching and listening, preachers should remember to make their own efforts and continue to learn and grow.
- Translated by Joyce Leung
一名敬拜服事者认为，有一些讲道人文化基础、学历差一些，但是他们仍可以学习让讲道更加有吸引力，让讲道信息跟上这个时代。
顾华是一名敬拜服事者，长期生活在华东某城市。他也常常会在各个教会之间到处跑，见过许多的牧师和教牧同工。他认为绝大多数的教会在讲道方面跟不上，严重落后于今天的时代。
他解释说，现在很多教会里面有带职同工，他们平时做自己的工作。到他们值班的时候他们会来到教会讲道，不从教会拿薪资。一般只有轮到他们讲道的时候，他们才会去准备讲道。他认为这临时、仓促的准备是不足的。
顾华弟兄所看到的是很多牧者也没有追求、也不学习，只是拿着自己的那一套上讲台讲道。从上世纪80,90年代就开始讲，然后一直讲到现在基本都还是一样的东西。这样的讲道对信徒来说没有什么吸引力，讲道过程当中有的人直接就睡着了。
很多教会抓不住年轻人，并不是因为他们天生叛逆不喜欢教会，而是教会无法满足年轻人的需要。很多教会并没有为接纳年轻人做好相应的准备，教会体制、讲台信息、教会生活、赞美方式并不适合年轻人。因为留不住年轻人，所以只能去牧养那些中老年信徒。
顾华说，国外很多教会的牧者讲道滔滔不绝，有吸引力。他们都是优秀的大学毕业，文化基础是非常扎实。他们也仍然在学习，读书、参加很多课程的学习。而且也去很多的地方，知识、眼界、见识都在不断提升。而形成鲜明对比的是，国内的很多牧者的文化水平相对是比较低的，很多牧者都没有读过正规的大学，有的甚至初中、高中都没有读过。
但顾华弟兄也接触过一所教会，规模很大却没但是有乐队。讲道人的讲道内容跟现实生活非常贴近，可以想见讲道人在预备道上下了许多苦功夫。所以这所教会礼拜的时候，几乎所有人都听得进津津有味，没有人想睡觉。
讲道和听道的过程需要圣灵的工作，但是讲道人的服事我们也不可忽视。讲道人需要继续学习，充电。
敬拜服事者：讲道人的信息严重落后于时代
Gu Hua is a brother involved in worship ministry. He believes that while some preachers may not have strong educational backgrounds, they can certainly look for ways to make their sermons more compelling and keep the messages they share up-to-date.
Gu Hua, who lives in a city in eastern China, has long served as a musician in the worship ministry. He often serves in different churches and has seen many pastors and pastoral workers. In his opinion, almost all the churches he visited had poor preaching, and the messages preached were not up-to-date.
Gu explains that this is because the preachers employed by many churches are "bivocational ministers" meaning they have their own jobs outside the church and are not paid by the church. They preach in the church only when it is their turn, so many of them prepare their sermons only when they have to preach. In his opinion, such hasty preparation at the last minute is insufficient.
According to Gu's observation, many pastors are not willing to grow or develop themselves. They just preach with what they already know and have been talking about the same things since the 80s and 90s. Therefore, the sermons they preach are not very engaging, and some believers cannot help but fall asleep during the sermon.
Also, many churches fail to retain young believers. This is not because the young generation is rebellious and does not like to go to church, but because the churches are often unable to meet the needs of these young people. Many churches have not prepared for a young generation of believers; from church polity and church life to preaching and worship, none are suitable for young people. As a result, the only group left in these churches are the middle-aged and elderly members.
Gu points out that the pastors of overseas churches often preach eloquent and engaging sermons. He notes that most of these pastors are very well-educated and usually have degrees from excellent universities. In contrast, pastors in China may have a relatively low level of education; many pastors did not attend university, and some did not even attend high school or junior high school. In addition, despite their strong academic background, pastors of overseas churches never stop learning; they still read a lot, attend training, and arrange visits to broaden their knowledge, horizons, and insights. In sharp contrast to this proactive attitude is the lack of interest in self-improvement among some pastors in China.
Still, Gu has had some pleasant surprises in his years of ministry. One church he came across is very large, but it does not have its own praise band. Yet the preacher has done a lot of work preparing the sermons so that his messages are all very practical and realistic; everyone in the congregation listens attentively, and no one is caught falling asleep.
Yet the preacher must have done a lot of work preparing the sermons because his messages are all very practical and realistic; everyone in the congregation listens attentively, and no one is caught falling asleep.
While the Holy Spirit is involved in both preaching and listening, preachers should remember to make their own efforts and continue to learn and grow.
- Translated by Joyce Leung
Interview: A Call for Engaging Sermons and Pastor Growth
