In the early years of preaching at the altar, it was enough for Pastor Shen from East China to recite 15 different themes of sermons. However, as time passed, he realized that he didn’t understand the Bible or grasp its essence. Afterward, he spent ten years helping believers clarify the overall framework of each book of the Bible. Not only did he move from the periphery of the Bible to its core, but believers also grew in biblical literacy.
Recently, he, who has been working in the church for over 40 years, accepted an interview with a Chinese online Christian newspaper, Christian Times. After the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in Sichuan, Pastor Shen went to serve in a struggling church in Southwest City, D. When he began to deepen pastoral care, he found that the 15 sermons were not enough. He shared, "When I realized I was not rich in God's words, I began to open the Bible to read. But I found that I couldn't understand it, and I couldn't be absorbed in it."
Pastor Shen said he could not apply God's word to pastoral ministry, so believers couldn’t be satisfied with his sermons. He cited an example: "When unable to be absorbed in the Bible, believers become self-centered and begin to pray for blessings with utilitarianism. It's more about personal benefits than sincerely committing to Jesus or changing and following the truth."
"When the pastor doesn't understand the Bible, he tends to interpret the scriptures out of context. This will cause problems in the pastor's prayer, visitation, pastoral care, and the congregation's understanding of the Bible." He decided to find a way to help believers grasp God’s words and overcome biblical illiteracy.
Although he only had a junior high school education, his sincere heart touched God. God led him to initiate activities such as reading the Bible and taking exams, allowing him to grow with the believers. In the first stage, believers were motivated to read the Bible and take exams, some receiving rewards. Pastor Shen selected three questions from a chapter of the Bible and sent them to believers. One hundred questions were issued every month, and after two months, he selected one hundred questions from the two hundred as exam questions. Exams were held every two months, and the top five received the reward of a subsidized trip. Later, to motivate more people to read the Bible, Shen expanded the number of winners to fifteen. The middle five were rewarded with a seventy-yuan hardcover Bible, and the bottom five were rewarded with souvenirs.
He recalled, "They would ask each other if they couldn't find the answers. When no one could solve them, they would come to me. Eventually, in the church, whenever believers had free time, they would study the Bible." In the first stage, Pastor Shen sticked to this approach for two years.
Two years later, he found that when the Bible was laid out in front of him, he still didn't know what the book was about or understand how the events in the Bible were handled. In the second stage, he began to guide the congregants to read through the Bible book by book, but he felt that the interpretive materials used were too cumbersome and that they should spend several months completing the study of the Bible.
Later, in the third stage, he began to think that it would be better if he could summarize the core teachings of the Bible. So he began to outline the framework of each book, focusing on what each chapter of a book was talking about and what problems it solved. Pastor Shen said, "For example, I raised nine questions from the first letter to the Corinthians. As long as believers understand these nine questions, they can understand the text of the book."
Pastor Shen used his Bible study method in seven churches, guiding them through the events and analyzing the framework and context of each book. He spent three years studying all sixty-six books of the Bible. Then he organized the main points of each book into an outline and shared them with more pastors and staff workers.
Pastor Shen testified, "When you know the overall framework of each book, you will find that it is interconnected, and then the whole Bible will make sense."
- Translated by Abigail Wu
刚刚走上讲台事奉的那几年，对于来自华东的沈牧师来说，只要准备好十五篇不同主题的讲章烂熟于胸，到哪里去讲道都是够用的。时过境迁后，他发现自己的问题是读不懂圣经，也无法走进圣经。而后，他十年如一日帮助信徒理顺每卷圣经的整体框架，不仅他自己从圣经的外围走向内核，也帮助各地教会扫除圣经文盲。
近期，事奉教会40多年的他接受了中国一网络基督教报纸《基督时报》的采访。汶川地震以后，沈牧师来到西南D市一间百废待兴的教会服事。当他开始做深度牧养时，他发现过去的那些引以为豪的讲章不够用了。沈牧师分享说：“当我认识到了在上帝话语上的贫穷，才开始翻开圣经去读。但我发现我是读不懂的，也读不进去。”
沈牧师说他无法把神的话语应用到牧养中 因此他无法用圣经来喂养教会里的信徒。
沈牧师举例说到：“当无法走进圣经时，信徒们会自我为中心，开始祈福式、功利式的信仰。其更多是为了得到个人的好处，而不想真心委身于耶稣或跟着真道改变。"“当讲台牧者不懂圣经，他就容易随意把经文个人发挥，造成断章取义。这样牧者在他的祷告、探访和牧养、信众对圣经的理解上都会出问题。”他决定寻找出路帮信徒走进圣经，扫除圣经文盲。
虽然他只有初中学历，但他的至诚之心感动了上帝。神带领他发起读经与考试的活动，让他与信徒们一同成长。
扫除圣经文盲是从读经、考试与奖励开始的。沈牧师的操作方式是从一章经文中选出三个问题发给信徒，让他们解决。每一个月出一百道题，两个月后，他从两百道题里面抽出一百道作为考试题。每两个月考一次，前五名得到的奖励就是一起公费旅游。后来为激发更多人读经，沈把得奖的名额扩展到十五名。中间五名奖励一本七十块钱的精装版圣经；后面五名，他会奖励一些纪念品。
沈牧师回忆说：“答案找不出来他们就会彼此问，大家都解决不了的时候，也会来问我。最终在教会里，信徒凡是空闲下来，就开始研究圣经。”就这样，走进圣经的第一个阶段，沈牧师坚持做了两年。
又过了两年后，他发现，当整卷书摆在他面前时候，他还是不知道这卷书到底讲什么事，也不理解圣经中的这些事情是怎么处理的。
第二个阶段他开始引导会众一卷卷的读经，但是他觉得使用的解经资料太过繁琐，一本圣经查完要好几个月。
后来第三阶段，他开始想如果能把圣经中的核心要义概括出来就会更好。于是他开始着手拎出每卷书的框架，关注一卷书里的每一章究竟在讲什么事情，解决了什么问题。沈牧师举例说：“比如，我从哥林多前书中提出九个问题。只要信徒把这九个问题弄明白了，他们就可以理解书本中的文字了。”
沈牧师分别在七家教会里使用了他的查经方法，他把每卷书以事件为导向，和他们分析框架与脉络。他用了三年的时间，把新旧约六十六卷全部都查考了一遍。然后他把每一卷书的要义整理成大纲，分享给更多的牧者同工。
沈牧师见证说：“当你知道每卷书里的整体框架，你就会发现它是一环扣一环的，然后所有的书卷就通了。”
故事｜牧师十年使用圣经框架、要义帮信徒理解圣经
In the early years of preaching at the altar, it was enough for Pastor Shen from East China to recite 15 different themes of sermons. However, as time passed, he realized that he didn’t understand the Bible or grasp its essence. Afterward, he spent ten years helping believers clarify the overall framework of each book of the Bible. Not only did he move from the periphery of the Bible to its core, but believers also grew in biblical literacy.
Recently, he, who has been working in the church for over 40 years, accepted an interview with a Chinese online Christian newspaper, Christian Times. After the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in Sichuan, Pastor Shen went to serve in a struggling church in Southwest City, D. When he began to deepen pastoral care, he found that the 15 sermons were not enough. He shared, "When I realized I was not rich in God's words, I began to open the Bible to read. But I found that I couldn't understand it, and I couldn't be absorbed in it."
Pastor Shen said he could not apply God's word to pastoral ministry, so believers couldn’t be satisfied with his sermons. He cited an example: "When unable to be absorbed in the Bible, believers become self-centered and begin to pray for blessings with utilitarianism. It's more about personal benefits than sincerely committing to Jesus or changing and following the truth."
"When the pastor doesn't understand the Bible, he tends to interpret the scriptures out of context. This will cause problems in the pastor's prayer, visitation, pastoral care, and the congregation's understanding of the Bible." He decided to find a way to help believers grasp God’s words and overcome biblical illiteracy.
Although he only had a junior high school education, his sincere heart touched God. God led him to initiate activities such as reading the Bible and taking exams, allowing him to grow with the believers. In the first stage, believers were motivated to read the Bible and take exams, some receiving rewards. Pastor Shen selected three questions from a chapter of the Bible and sent them to believers. One hundred questions were issued every month, and after two months, he selected one hundred questions from the two hundred as exam questions. Exams were held every two months, and the top five received the reward of a subsidized trip. Later, to motivate more people to read the Bible, Shen expanded the number of winners to fifteen. The middle five were rewarded with a seventy-yuan hardcover Bible, and the bottom five were rewarded with souvenirs.
He recalled, "They would ask each other if they couldn't find the answers. When no one could solve them, they would come to me. Eventually, in the church, whenever believers had free time, they would study the Bible." In the first stage, Pastor Shen sticked to this approach for two years.
Two years later, he found that when the Bible was laid out in front of him, he still didn't know what the book was about or understand how the events in the Bible were handled. In the second stage, he began to guide the congregants to read through the Bible book by book, but he felt that the interpretive materials used were too cumbersome and that they should spend several months completing the study of the Bible.
Later, in the third stage, he began to think that it would be better if he could summarize the core teachings of the Bible. So he began to outline the framework of each book, focusing on what each chapter of a book was talking about and what problems it solved. Pastor Shen said, "For example, I raised nine questions from the first letter to the Corinthians. As long as believers understand these nine questions, they can understand the text of the book."
Pastor Shen used his Bible study method in seven churches, guiding them through the events and analyzing the framework and context of each book. He spent three years studying all sixty-six books of the Bible. Then he organized the main points of each book into an outline and shared them with more pastors and staff workers.
Pastor Shen testified, "When you know the overall framework of each book, you will find that it is interconnected, and then the whole Bible will make sense."
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Interview: Pastor Promotes Outlining Every Book of the Bible to Combat Biblical Illiteracy
