The date of June 7, 2020, was a memorable day for some Chinese churches. With the pandemic effectively controlled, churches in many places resumed onsite Sunday services.
Many Christians returned to the "Lord's home" with joy, but some discordant notes appeared. A sister told me: "I looked forward to returning to church, but I fell asleep. The pastor's preaching was long, tedious, and made me drowsy."
Although the sister felt very embarrassed afterwards, her experience is not unique. It is a problem that casts a shadow over the resumption of worship services.
Due to the pandemic, Christians listened to online sermons for several months. Believers could choose to listen to rich and powerful preaching online. Before the pandemic, most people went to church to worship, and only listened to the pastor in their own church. At most people would only occasionally go to other churches to “try something new”. But providing online worship and pastoral care is different. Not only can you hear the preaching from your local church, but you can also search and find sermons preached by pastors from other churches. As a result, believers have can compare sermons, and after a period of time, the "Matthew Effect" occurs. The fans of good preachers increases every day, but the average pastor is rarely listened to, and believers may even leave their home churches.
When believers who have heard a lot of wonderful sermons come back to the church, they are naturally disappointed with boring sermons that lack depth, so they fall asleep. Just like a person who eats fish and meat for a long time, suddenly white rice with green vegetables is no longer as appetizing as before.
We go to church we listen to the truth of the gospel, understand the faith better, and improve our spiritual lives. If the preaching is subpar, Christians must still listen with a receptive heart. Otherwise, this is disrespectful to the Lord, and makes the pastor sad.
However, in an environment where believers are spoiled by a spiritual feast, the church should avoid the habit that some have of dozing during the service, leading to the loss of believers. Only when the pastor realizes the seriousness of the problem and understands and shares the truth better, can this problem be solved.
The development of the church is difficult to be quantified like one does a company. At most, it can only be judged by the growth and dedication of believers. However, under normal circumstances, this problem will not be particularly prominent, so pastors and church staff may be unaware of the seriousness of the crisis. Because they are busy with various ministries which take up too much of their time, they do not have enough time to prepare properly. These problems will cause the shepherds to become increasingly shallow in what they share with the congregation. They are unable to provide the spiritual nourishment that the believers desire. So brothers and sisters are reluctant to listen.
But the situation is different now. With rich online resources, believers have more choices. This presents a huge challenge to the pastors. How to make brothers and sisters willing to listen to and prevent the loss of believers are issues that pastors need to consider after the reopening of the church. Therefore, the vast number of pastors can only adapt to the new situation when they are constantly learning and enrich themselves.
Crisis often includes opportunity. The problem faced by pastors is not actually a bad thing, because it will force them to study hard and improve their understanding of the truth. As a female preacher said: "The pastor is also loyal to the Lord when he or she strives to nourish the believers with suitable information." When pastors study and learn this is very beneficial to the development of the church and growth in the life of believers.
Pastors should also see the positive side of online preaching because there is a wealth of information available. Pastors can learn from each other, so as to share the word of the Lord and build up brothers and sisters’ lives.
It is regrettable that believers fall asleep during the service. They need to have their minds changed and worship the Lord with godliness. The pastor can use this as a motivation to learn and grow in the faith and become a ready vessel for the Lord.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
复堂第一天，我在教堂睡着了！
2020年6月7号，对于一些中国教会来说，是个值得铭记的日子。随着新冠疫情得到有效控制，不少地方的教堂恢复了实地主日礼拜。
很多基督徒怀着喜乐的心情回到了“主的家”，可是其中却出现了一些不和谐的音符。有位姐妹跟我说：“我满怀希望地回到教堂，可我却睡着了。因为牧者的讲道冗长拖沓，毫无新意，令人昏昏欲睡”。
虽然这位姐妹事后感到很亏欠，但不可否认的是，这种现象绝非个案，这给教堂复会蒙上了一层阴影。
由于疫情原因，在几个月的时间里，基督徒都是通过网络听道的。而网络上拥有丰富的讲道信息，给了信徒很多选择。之前多数人到教堂礼拜，都只听本堂牧者的讲道，最多偶尔去其他堂会“尝点鲜”。可网上不同了，大家不仅可以听到本地教会的讲道，外地牧者的布道也进入了视野。这样的结果是，信徒有了对比，经过一段时间后就产生了“马太效应”。讲道好的牧者的粉丝日益增多，而一般的却少人问津，甚至本堂信徒也出现了大量流失。
而当听了很多精彩讲道的信徒回到教堂后，听到那些枯燥乏味、缺乏深度的讲道，自然会感到难以接受，出现打瞌睡的现象，也就成为必然。就像一个人长期大鱼大肉，忽然让他吃白米饭配青菜，肯定也会倒胃口的。
我们到教堂里听道，是要聆听主的真理，更明白信仰，使生命得到提高。就算讲道信息实在不行，基督徒也要保持一颗敬虔的心聆听。这是对主的不敬畏，同时也会让牧者伤心的。
但是，在信徒被属灵大餐“惯坏”的环境下，教会要避免听道中的打瞌睡的现象，甚至防止信徒流失。只有牧者意识到问题的严重性，不断提高自我的真理造就，才是解决之道。
教会与企业不同，其发展很难量化，最多只能从信徒增长、奉献多少来判断。但在常态下，这个问题不会特别突出，因此牧者难免会因着缺乏危机感，而产生了惰性。或因为忙于各样的事工，占用了太多时间，而失去了充电的时间。这些问题都会导致牧者在真道上日益浅薄，难以给信徒提供好的属灵信息，导致弟兄姐妹不愿听道。
但现在情况不同了，随着网络讲道的丰富，信徒可供的选择多了，这给牧者带来了巨大挑战，如何让弟兄姐妹愿意听道，如何防止信徒流失，都是复会后牧者需要考虑的问题。因此，广大教牧只有不断地学习，充实自己，才能适应面临的挑战。
危机往往蕴含着转机，牧者面对的难题，其实并不是坏事，因为这会迫使一些人努力学习，提高对真理的认识。正如一位女传道所言：“当牧者的要努力用合适的信息牧养当下的需要，这也是对主的忠心”。牧者的学习，对于教会发展，信徒生命的成长是很有益处的。
牧者也要看到网络讲道积极的一面，这其中有着丰富的信息，牧者可以从中相互借鉴，取长补短，从而以最好的讲道传递上主的话语，让弟兄姐妹得到造就。
信徒听道睡觉令人遗憾，但要端正心态，以敬虔的心崇拜主。而牧者也可借此作为学习的动力，在真道上不断长进，成为主合用的器皿。
The date of June 7, 2020, was a memorable day for some Chinese churches. With the pandemic effectively controlled, churches in many places resumed onsite Sunday services.
Many Christians returned to the "Lord's home" with joy, but some discordant notes appeared. A sister told me: "I looked forward to returning to church, but I fell asleep. The pastor's preaching was long, tedious, and made me drowsy."
Although the sister felt very embarrassed afterwards, her experience is not unique. It is a problem that casts a shadow over the resumption of worship services.
Due to the pandemic, Christians listened to online sermons for several months. Believers could choose to listen to rich and powerful preaching online. Before the pandemic, most people went to church to worship, and only listened to the pastor in their own church. At most people would only occasionally go to other churches to “try something new”. But providing online worship and pastoral care is different. Not only can you hear the preaching from your local church, but you can also search and find sermons preached by pastors from other churches. As a result, believers have can compare sermons, and after a period of time, the "Matthew Effect" occurs. The fans of good preachers increases every day, but the average pastor is rarely listened to, and believers may even leave their home churches.
When believers who have heard a lot of wonderful sermons come back to the church, they are naturally disappointed with boring sermons that lack depth, so they fall asleep. Just like a person who eats fish and meat for a long time, suddenly white rice with green vegetables is no longer as appetizing as before.
We go to church we listen to the truth of the gospel, understand the faith better, and improve our spiritual lives. If the preaching is subpar, Christians must still listen with a receptive heart. Otherwise, this is disrespectful to the Lord, and makes the pastor sad.
However, in an environment where believers are spoiled by a spiritual feast, the church should avoid the habit that some have of dozing during the service, leading to the loss of believers. Only when the pastor realizes the seriousness of the problem and understands and shares the truth better, can this problem be solved.
The development of the church is difficult to be quantified like one does a company. At most, it can only be judged by the growth and dedication of believers. However, under normal circumstances, this problem will not be particularly prominent, so pastors and church staff may be unaware of the seriousness of the crisis. Because they are busy with various ministries which take up too much of their time, they do not have enough time to prepare properly. These problems will cause the shepherds to become increasingly shallow in what they share with the congregation. They are unable to provide the spiritual nourishment that the believers desire. So brothers and sisters are reluctant to listen.
But the situation is different now. With rich online resources, believers have more choices. This presents a huge challenge to the pastors. How to make brothers and sisters willing to listen to and prevent the loss of believers are issues that pastors need to consider after the reopening of the church. Therefore, the vast number of pastors can only adapt to the new situation when they are constantly learning and enrich themselves.
Crisis often includes opportunity. The problem faced by pastors is not actually a bad thing, because it will force them to study hard and improve their understanding of the truth. As a female preacher said: "The pastor is also loyal to the Lord when he or she strives to nourish the believers with suitable information." When pastors study and learn this is very beneficial to the development of the church and growth in the life of believers.
Pastors should also see the positive side of online preaching because there is a wealth of information available. Pastors can learn from each other, so as to share the word of the Lord and build up brothers and sisters’ lives.
It is regrettable that believers fall asleep during the service. They need to have their minds changed and worship the Lord with godliness. The pastor can use this as a motivation to learn and grow in the faith and become a ready vessel for the Lord.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
On the First Day of Church Reopening, I Fell Asleep in Church
