From the perspective of the ecological chain and evolution, it's precisely because of the existence of carnivorous animals like wolves, tigers, and leopards that the quality of the survival of antelopes has increased. Therefore, crises for a biological group or human society are not an absolute bad thing.
Recently, the Christian Times, an online Christian newspaper in China, interviewed a pastor from East China who shared an interesting perspective. He believed that, lacking healthy competition, many pastors became addicted to the praise of believers, unable to keep up with the times to provide quality pastoral care.
This pastor stated, "In recent years, I often hear complaints from Christians, such as disappointment in their own pastors' exegesis, preaching ability, church management skills, and visiting skills. But I think this is a good thing. Before 2010, few Christians would question or express dissatisfaction with pastors. As long as a pastor gave a sermon, it was enough. When students don't demand much from their teachers, the teachers can get by."
"But after 2010, with the widespread use of the Internet, Christians had access to a vast array of preaching resources and could attend many revival meetings. Ultimately, this leads to disappointment with their churches when they return. Ten years ago, many Christians wouldn't speak up due to face-saving. But in the three years of the pandemic, with the impact of online gatherings, some Christians either continue enduring pastors who don't grow or simply leave the church," he added.
In response, he commented that the complaints and dissatisfaction of believers should turn into positive feedback through face-to-face communication with pastors, which enables pastors to break through bottlenecks and continue to grow. From a larger perspective, Chinese pastors have fewer opportunities for systematic training, and churches and believers under their leadership have fewer points of comparison and reference. Therefore, pastors lose their sense of crisis by not reading books or getting close to God, yet they can still piece together sermons.
Comparing churches in China and South Korea, he said, "Actually, the Chinese church is very different from the Korean church, with pressures on pastors in both countries disparate. Chinese pastors are scarce, resulting in a lack of competitiveness. From 2000 to 2010, the demands of Chinese churchgoers on pastors weren't high. They went to whichever church was closest to their homes. But that's not the case in Korea. Churches are everywhere in Korea, yet Korean Christians are willing to drive an hour to a distant church, for they seek more in terms of the quality of faith and worship."
"The Church in China might have covered in 50 years what foreign churches did in 200 years. We've progressed too quickly, resulting in insufficient internal growth for the church and pastors. Compared to foreign church history and current development, after they've achieved scale, they deeply train talents in varied ministry areas. Their churches have professionals who can serve in different fields. Thus, their pastoral care isn't limited to work on the altar but extends to specialized counseling for marriages, parenting, workplaces, and mental health for believers. At present, Chinese churches primarily focus on the singular ministry of interpreting scripture and preaching. If a doctor practices as a general practitioner, they might treat any illness, but they might also fail to cure any. Currently, the Chinese church lacks specialized talents in a specific field because they emphasize the number of believers but don't provide enough resources and professional training for pastoral staff."
"One of the distinguishing features of theological education in our current seminaries is training in interpreting and preaching the scriptures, but the interpretation in preaching is not dominative. In today's pastoral work, what's more crucial for churches is how to bring faith to life. Often, pastors, after enthusiastically delivering a sermon, find that the congregation either didn't understand or couldn't relate it to their own lives, which leaves the pastors disheartened. Interpreting the Bible is part of pastoral care, not its entirety. In comparison to explaining scriptures, the challenges of practicing faith in life puzzle believers, which requires pastors and church staff to engage through visiting, fellowship, companionship, and specialized service. Only then will such a church be attractive and competitive," he concluded.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
从自然界的生态链和演化来看，正是因为有狼、虎、豹一类食肉动物的存在，羚羊的生存质量才变得更高。因而危机对于一个生物族群或是人类社会而言，并不是一个绝对的坏事。
近日，笔者与一位来自华东的牧者交流的时候，他分享了一个有意思的看见。他认为，当下中国教会缺少一个良性竞争，导致不少牧者容易沉迷在信徒们的赞美声中，无法与时俱进，因而，牧养质量每况愈下。
这位牧者观察到：“这几年我常能听到某些其它教会的基督徒的抱怨声，比如，有的基督徒对自己教会的牧者的解经能力、证道能力、管理教会的能力、探访能力感到失望。但我认为这是好的事情，2010年以前，是很少有基督徒会对牧者的牧养水平有质疑和不满的，反正牧者讲讲就行了。当学生对于老师没有要求，老师就可以得过且过。”
“但到了2010年后，随着网络的普及与助力，基督徒群体可以听和看的名牧讲道资源琳琅满目，可以去参加的奋兴特会越来越多，最终导致回来后对自己的教会失望，十年前许多基督徒会碍于面子不说。但疫情的三年，在网络聚会模式的冲击下，一些基督徒要么是继续忍耐不成长的牧者，要么是直接离开教会。”
对此，他评价说，信徒的抱怨和不满应该要变成一种与对牧者面对面交流的正向反馈，让牧者去突破瓶颈，继续成长。从大环境来看，一方面是中国教会牧者受系统装备的机会比较少，另一方面，是牧者所带领的教会和信徒，很少有对比和参考的对象。因此牧者也就没有了危机感，不读书、不亲近上帝，依然可以东拼西凑做讲道服事。
这位牧者就中韩两国的教会进行对比，举例子说到：“中国教会其实跟韩国教会很不一样，两个国家的牧者受到的压力也是不同的。中国教会的牧者和传道人因为本身就稀少，因此缺乏竞争性。2000年到2010年，中国教会的信徒对牧师和传道人的要求并不高，哪个教会离我家近我就去哪个教会。但韩国不是这样，韩国教会到处都有，但韩国的基督徒甘愿放弃家门口的教会，开1个小时车到很远的那个教会。因为，韩国基督徒更加追求的是信仰和敬拜的质量。”
“中国教会可能用了50年的时间走完了国外200年走的路，我们走得太快，很容易导致教会和牧者内在的成长不够扎实。而对比国外的教会历史和发展现状，他们形成了规模后，会深度地培养不同事奉领域的人才。他们的教会里有可以事奉到各个领域的专业工人。因此，他们的牧养不再局限于讲台上的工作 ，而是可以对于信徒的婚姻、亲子、职场、心理健康做专门的辅导。而目前的中国教会，牧者主要的事奉体现在解经布道这单一的事奉范围。如果一个医生做全科工作 ，他可以什么病都可以治疗，但也可能什么病都看不好。中国教会目前缺少在一个领域里的专业人才，因为现在的教会发展，更注重人数的规模，却没有提供足够的资源让传牧同工接受过各种专业的培养与训练。”
“我们当下在神学院专业教育的特色之一是圣经书卷的解经与讲道训练，但圣经书卷在目前牧养的过程当中占的比重并不是很大，现在的教会在牧养的过程中更重要的是如何让信仰走向生活化。很多时候牧者自己在讲台上滔滔不绝把自己弄得很嗨之后，却发现，会众反馈没有听懂，或是理解不到与自己处境的关系时，牧者又会很沮丧。其实，解释圣书是牧养的一部分，而不是全部。比起解释圣经，信众心中和信仰生活化的困境，其实更需要牧者和教会同工借着探访、团契、陪伴与专业事奉参与进来，这样的教会才会有吸引力和竞争力。”他总结说。
牧者：缺少良性竞争，会导致牧者很难成长和教会衰落
From the perspective of the ecological chain and evolution, it's precisely because of the existence of carnivorous animals like wolves, tigers, and leopards that the quality of the survival of antelopes has increased. Therefore, crises for a biological group or human society are not an absolute bad thing.
Recently, the Christian Times, an online Christian newspaper in China, interviewed a pastor from East China who shared an interesting perspective. He believed that, lacking healthy competition, many pastors became addicted to the praise of believers, unable to keep up with the times to provide quality pastoral care.
This pastor stated, "In recent years, I often hear complaints from Christians, such as disappointment in their own pastors' exegesis, preaching ability, church management skills, and visiting skills. But I think this is a good thing. Before 2010, few Christians would question or express dissatisfaction with pastors. As long as a pastor gave a sermon, it was enough. When students don't demand much from their teachers, the teachers can get by."
"But after 2010, with the widespread use of the Internet, Christians had access to a vast array of preaching resources and could attend many revival meetings. Ultimately, this leads to disappointment with their churches when they return. Ten years ago, many Christians wouldn't speak up due to face-saving. But in the three years of the pandemic, with the impact of online gatherings, some Christians either continue enduring pastors who don't grow or simply leave the church," he added.
In response, he commented that the complaints and dissatisfaction of believers should turn into positive feedback through face-to-face communication with pastors, which enables pastors to break through bottlenecks and continue to grow. From a larger perspective, Chinese pastors have fewer opportunities for systematic training, and churches and believers under their leadership have fewer points of comparison and reference. Therefore, pastors lose their sense of crisis by not reading books or getting close to God, yet they can still piece together sermons.
Comparing churches in China and South Korea, he said, "Actually, the Chinese church is very different from the Korean church, with pressures on pastors in both countries disparate. Chinese pastors are scarce, resulting in a lack of competitiveness. From 2000 to 2010, the demands of Chinese churchgoers on pastors weren't high. They went to whichever church was closest to their homes. But that's not the case in Korea. Churches are everywhere in Korea, yet Korean Christians are willing to drive an hour to a distant church, for they seek more in terms of the quality of faith and worship."
"The Church in China might have covered in 50 years what foreign churches did in 200 years. We've progressed too quickly, resulting in insufficient internal growth for the church and pastors. Compared to foreign church history and current development, after they've achieved scale, they deeply train talents in varied ministry areas. Their churches have professionals who can serve in different fields. Thus, their pastoral care isn't limited to work on the altar but extends to specialized counseling for marriages, parenting, workplaces, and mental health for believers. At present, Chinese churches primarily focus on the singular ministry of interpreting scripture and preaching. If a doctor practices as a general practitioner, they might treat any illness, but they might also fail to cure any. Currently, the Chinese church lacks specialized talents in a specific field because they emphasize the number of believers but don't provide enough resources and professional training for pastoral staff."
"One of the distinguishing features of theological education in our current seminaries is training in interpreting and preaching the scriptures, but the interpretation in preaching is not dominative. In today's pastoral work, what's more crucial for churches is how to bring faith to life. Often, pastors, after enthusiastically delivering a sermon, find that the congregation either didn't understand or couldn't relate it to their own lives, which leaves the pastors disheartened. Interpreting the Bible is part of pastoral care, not its entirety. In comparison to explaining scriptures, the challenges of practicing faith in life puzzle believers, which requires pastors and church staff to engage through visiting, fellowship, companionship, and specialized service. Only then will such a church be attractive and competitive," he concluded.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Pastor: Lacking Healthy Competition Hinders the Growth of Pastors and Churches
