Occasionally, some Christians mention feeling spiritually malnourished, and some criticize their pastors’ messages for not being practical or addressing their personal issues.
In response to this, Reverend Cao, who has been ministering in South China for many years, recently shared his insights. He believes Sunday worship is so important that pastors must preach well. On the other hand, Christians need to engage in regular devotions, as it is not a time to solve problems but to worship God on Sunday.
Besides focusing on the Sunday service through more attention paid to the sermon preparations, Cao said the church should provide pastoral care during the week so that believers are spiritually "well fed."
To ensure that believers are spiritually nourished throughout the week, pastors should guide them in developing devotional habits, including Bible reading, prayer, and reflection on the Sunday sermon. Cao also questioned, "Do those Christians who claim to be underfed have devotional habits?" If believers are spiritually starving during the week, they should not expect to be fully fed by one Sunday service alone. Those who are satisfied with attending service once a week need to assess their spiritual health.
Accordingly, pastoral care in the church should not be limited to the Sunday pulpit. To let Christians gain spiritual nourishment every day, pastoral care can be carried out in different forms.
Many churches advocate for small groups, but Cao believes that nourishment from small groups is not enough. For the church to multiply, it needs to build a comprehensive pastoral system, including Sunday worship, prayer meetings, discipleship training, marriage and family counseling, as well as church governance. He said that if the church does this, believers will be spiritually nourished during the week and will not have common relationship issues. If they apply the word of God to their daily lives, Sunday is a time to worship God with an offering for believers, who do not expect the pastor to solve their problems.
He added that church members should work together to build the family of God. If someone raises issues, such as "the hymn is not sung well and the preaching is deficient," other believers should strive to solve these issues. Even if you feel you cannot contribute much, you can stand at the church door, greeting people with a smile, "Welcome home, as we've been waiting for you for a long time."
- Translated by Abigail Wu
偶尔听到有基督徒说自己属灵上“吃不饱”，有的人吐槽牧师的主日信息不够生活化、讲道不能解决自己的问题。
针对这个问题，近日，一位在南方牧养多年的曹牧师分享了自己的见解。他认为，主日礼拜很重要，牧者需要做好主日讲台的供应；另一方面，基督徒自己要做好平时的灵修，主日不是来“解决问题”，而是来朝见上帝。
从牧者的角度看，如果讲道人没有很好地预备讲道信息，他们需要重视和解决。此外，他认为教会平时就要牧养好信徒，让他们属灵上“饱饱的”。
要让信徒平时灵里就吃饱，牧者需要引导信徒建立灵修习惯，包括读经和祷告以及主日礼拜的道的默想。曹牧师也反问，“这些说自己吃不饱的弟兄姐妹，有没有养成灵修的习惯？”如果平时大家都是灵里饥饿的，不要指望仅靠主日礼拜一顿就饱了，而只是靠主日礼拜维持信仰的人需要查看自己的属灵的健康情况。
相应的，教会的牧养不应只是在主日讲台上提供。基督徒每一天都需要生命的粮食，要求牧养涉及到基督徒生活的各个层面。
很多教会在提小组，曹牧师认为，只是“做一下小组”是不够的。想要教会信徒倍增，教会需要建造完整的牧养系统，包括主日崇拜、祷告会、门训、婚姻家庭辅导，还有教会治理。他说如果教会这样牧会，信徒将是平时都灵里吃饱，并且在关系性上没有大的问题。并且平时就将话语应用在生活当中，那么主日就是一个拿礼物给上帝献祭的时间，信徒不用等着讲道人“给自己解决问题”。
他提醒说，信徒在教会要做的是一起建造好这个家。如果有人觉得“赞美唱得不好，讲得不好”，提出问题后，那么大家一起来解决这些问题。即便你觉得自己什么都不会，那也可以只是站在门口微笑接待，对来的人说：“欢迎回家，我们等你好久了。”
对话| 南方一牧者谈主日敬拜是敬拜上帝 不是靠主日信息得饱
Occasionally, some Christians mention feeling spiritually malnourished, and some criticize their pastors’ messages for not being practical or addressing their personal issues.
In response to this, Reverend Cao, who has been ministering in South China for many years, recently shared his insights. He believes Sunday worship is so important that pastors must preach well. On the other hand, Christians need to engage in regular devotions, as it is not a time to solve problems but to worship God on Sunday.
Besides focusing on the Sunday service through more attention paid to the sermon preparations, Cao said the church should provide pastoral care during the week so that believers are spiritually "well fed."
To ensure that believers are spiritually nourished throughout the week, pastors should guide them in developing devotional habits, including Bible reading, prayer, and reflection on the Sunday sermon. Cao also questioned, "Do those Christians who claim to be underfed have devotional habits?" If believers are spiritually starving during the week, they should not expect to be fully fed by one Sunday service alone. Those who are satisfied with attending service once a week need to assess their spiritual health.
Accordingly, pastoral care in the church should not be limited to the Sunday pulpit. To let Christians gain spiritual nourishment every day, pastoral care can be carried out in different forms.
Many churches advocate for small groups, but Cao believes that nourishment from small groups is not enough. For the church to multiply, it needs to build a comprehensive pastoral system, including Sunday worship, prayer meetings, discipleship training, marriage and family counseling, as well as church governance. He said that if the church does this, believers will be spiritually nourished during the week and will not have common relationship issues. If they apply the word of God to their daily lives, Sunday is a time to worship God with an offering for believers, who do not expect the pastor to solve their problems.
He added that church members should work together to build the family of God. If someone raises issues, such as "the hymn is not sung well and the preaching is deficient," other believers should strive to solve these issues. Even if you feel you cannot contribute much, you can stand at the church door, greeting people with a smile, "Welcome home, as we've been waiting for you for a long time."
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Worship God in Sunday Service Rather Than Seek Spiritual Nourishment Alone
