"Do not stop gathering, as those who are used to it, but exhort one another. Even more so, knowing that the day is near. (Hebrews 10:25)"
Worshiping God together with fellow believers in person is very important for Christians. On the one hand, it is the will of the Lord. On the other hand, it is also our personal needs.
In this extraordinary period of the global pandemic, our church service has to be held online. This may not be difficult for urban churches or some young churches because they are used to online meetings or activities. However, it is relatively new for rural churches, and it takes time for them to learn and adapt. After all, the leading group of rural churches is the elderly most of whom do not use smartphones or the Internet. Some of them are illiterate or poor eyesight, so the effect of the online gathering will also decline because of these factors.
Although we accumulated some online service experience last year, there are still lots to improve. Those services were the first attempts of formal online gathering, so we are still learning and adapting. However, with last year's experiences, it is much more comfortable this year for the churches to hold online services. Yet, there is still much to be improved.
Online services allow more freedom than attending services in person. With only the voice connection enabled, believers are relatively relaxed at home. However, this poses some difficulties for pastors because they could only see if the believers are online but cannot know if they listen carefully. Thus, pastors are not aware of how the believer feels about the sermon and whether believers are praying to reflect on what they have heard.
Online services seem to be convenient for believers, but pastors will have more jobs to do. Because a Sunday service quality depends on how believers absorb or reflect on God's words, it is crucial to motivate them to attend online gatherings. However, online services are more challenging to manage than physical ones, which pastors have to face. Suppose pastors fail to cultivate the enthusiasm of believers for online services during this whole period. In that case, services will be like a formalized event later on.
Pastors should also build tight bonds with church deacons because pastoring a church cannot be accomplished by the pastor alone. Everyone must use every position in the church to make the entire team of co-workers function correctly. It is the least optimal in the church where the pastor makes decisions alone and only demands co-workers to accomplish. In this case, co-workers cannot play their essential roles in church management. Instead, pastors must have a core co-worker team, allow co-workers to speak, express their opinions, and make plans so that they can carry out the church work.
In this way, the relationship between pastors and believers will be closer.
Furthermore, pastors should be not just concerned about whether believers pray, read the Bible, or sins against God, etc. The pastor should not act like inspectors when they meet believers neither. Otherwise, the relationship between pastors and believers will only be tenser. It will be difficult for believers to follow them.
Instead, pastors should try to care about any difficulties or unhappiness in believers' lives and pay more attention to their problems to see if they could offer any help to tackle their challenges. The reason why I say this is because of my own experiences. I have been watching my child very closely since he went to school as if he was going to school for me. I was worrying about If my child is doing well, if his classmates did better than him, or if teachers and classmates like him. Our daily communication is all about study and school-related topics.
Until one day, my child said to me: "Mom, could you talk with me something besides study?" I was shocked at the time. I didn't realize that I became so scary to him. I love him and wanted him to work hard and have a bright future. But I found that my child and I were becoming more and more distant. I used to talk about everything with him, but now I only talk about his study, and I don't know what else I can talk about with him. Then I realized that, for children, such a mother is cold and terrifying.
My experience with my son links me to think about the relationship between pastors and believers. Pastors hope that believers love the Lord and push them to the extent that believers could not stand anymore. Therefore, the pastors also need to adjust themselves appropriately, pay more attention to believers' actual lives, and make believers' life experience reconcile with God's word. In this particular period, let us encourage each other and gather and worship together fervently.
- Translated by Xiaodan Zeng
经文：“你们不可停止聚会，好像那些停止惯了的人，倒要彼此劝勉。既知道那日子临近，就更当如此。（来10:25）”
敬拜聚会对于基督徒来说是很要紧的，一方面是主的旨意，另一方面这也是我们个人的需要。
在这特殊时期，聚会要转为线上，这对城市的教会或一些年轻的教会来说并不是难事，因为平常大家也会参加线上的聚会或是活动。但对农村基层教会来说却是新鲜的，也是需要时间去学习和适应的。毕竟农村教会的主体人群都是老年人，他们当中大多不会用智能手机和网络，有一部分是不识字或视力不佳的老年人，所以网络聚会的效果也会因为这些因素而下降。
虽然去年已有了一些经验的累积，但并不完善，因为当时是第一次进行这种正式的网络聚会，所以大家也都在不断摸索着前进。不过今年再次举行网络聚会就显得轻松一些，有了去年的经验，心里有底了，不过还是有需要完善的地方。
网络聚会比在实地聚会更加自由，因为只开语音连线，不开视频，所以大家在家里还是比较放松的，但这对牧者来说确是很伤脑筋的事，因为信徒是上线就可以，至于在家中是否在认真聚会，牧者不得而知。这样的话，一场聚会下来，信徒听得如何也不得而知，会后的祷告也只能凭个人感动，有的信徒就算不祷告牧者也没有办法。
这样一来是信徒方便了，但牧者就要费心了，因为聚会的关键还是要看信徒对神话语吸收的如何，所以调动信徒聚会的兴趣很关键。这要比实体聚会难做却也不得不做，如果在这整个期间不培养好信徒聚会的热心，牧者就白费功夫，后面就会变得形式化。
牧者也要与执事同工之间彼此联络，治理教会不是牧者一人能完成的，教会中的每一个职分都要利用上，使整个同工团队正常运转起来。在同工团队里，最不该有的现象就是牧者个人决定好方案后，直接向同工们下达命令，这样同工们的职分并没有起到作用。牧者要有核心的同工，牧者也要给同工们说话、表达意见与方案的机会，这样圣工开展的快，落实的也到位。
这样，牧者与信徒之间的关系也会更亲近一些，而不是牧者看上去高不可攀。
再者，牧者不是只关心信徒有没有祷告，有没有读经，有没有犯罪得罪神等等，但也不用每一次看见信徒时就像个监察官一样，这样，牧者与信徒的之间的关系会很紧张，信徒也很难顺服牧者。
牧者也可以试着关心信徒的生活中有没有什么难处或不开心，多关心信徒个人的生活难处，看是否能帮到信徒走出困境。笔者之所以这么说是因为自己身有感触，家里的孩子自从上学以后自己就盯得特别紧，好像是在给我上学一样，孩子没咋样我就紧张的不行，恐怕他学习不好、被同学落下、在学校不受待见，所以每天与孩子的话题都是学习相关。、
直到有一天，孩子对我说：“妈妈，你每次和我说话除了学习，还能说点儿别的吗？”我当时特别震惊，自己都没发现我变得这么可怕，我明明是爱他，想让他好好学习，将来有出路，慢慢我发现我和孩子越来越陌生了，从前的无话不谈，到如今只谈学习，别的都不知道该说和孩子说什么。我才意识到，对于孩子来说，这样的妈妈既冷漠又可怕。
让我联想到。牧者在信徒的心中是不是也是这样？牧者是好心想让信徒好好爱主，可牧者的果断与强势在打压着信徒的心理，所以牧者也需要适当调整自己，多关心一些信徒实际生活中的事情，让信徒生活所经历的与神的话语调和，这样更容易产生共鸣，
特殊时期 如何使线上敬拜更加成熟
"Do not stop gathering, as those who are used to it, but exhort one another. Even more so, knowing that the day is near. (Hebrews 10:25)"
Worshiping God together with fellow believers in person is very important for Christians. On the one hand, it is the will of the Lord. On the other hand, it is also our personal needs.
In this extraordinary period of the global pandemic, our church service has to be held online. This may not be difficult for urban churches or some young churches because they are used to online meetings or activities. However, it is relatively new for rural churches, and it takes time for them to learn and adapt. After all, the leading group of rural churches is the elderly most of whom do not use smartphones or the Internet. Some of them are illiterate or poor eyesight, so the effect of the online gathering will also decline because of these factors.
Although we accumulated some online service experience last year, there are still lots to improve. Those services were the first attempts of formal online gathering, so we are still learning and adapting. However, with last year's experiences, it is much more comfortable this year for the churches to hold online services. Yet, there is still much to be improved.
Online services allow more freedom than attending services in person. With only the voice connection enabled, believers are relatively relaxed at home. However, this poses some difficulties for pastors because they could only see if the believers are online but cannot know if they listen carefully. Thus, pastors are not aware of how the believer feels about the sermon and whether believers are praying to reflect on what they have heard.
Online services seem to be convenient for believers, but pastors will have more jobs to do. Because a Sunday service quality depends on how believers absorb or reflect on God's words, it is crucial to motivate them to attend online gatherings. However, online services are more challenging to manage than physical ones, which pastors have to face. Suppose pastors fail to cultivate the enthusiasm of believers for online services during this whole period. In that case, services will be like a formalized event later on.
Pastors should also build tight bonds with church deacons because pastoring a church cannot be accomplished by the pastor alone. Everyone must use every position in the church to make the entire team of co-workers function correctly. It is the least optimal in the church where the pastor makes decisions alone and only demands co-workers to accomplish. In this case, co-workers cannot play their essential roles in church management. Instead, pastors must have a core co-worker team, allow co-workers to speak, express their opinions, and make plans so that they can carry out the church work.
In this way, the relationship between pastors and believers will be closer.
Furthermore, pastors should be not just concerned about whether believers pray, read the Bible, or sins against God, etc. The pastor should not act like inspectors when they meet believers neither. Otherwise, the relationship between pastors and believers will only be tenser. It will be difficult for believers to follow them.
Instead, pastors should try to care about any difficulties or unhappiness in believers' lives and pay more attention to their problems to see if they could offer any help to tackle their challenges. The reason why I say this is because of my own experiences. I have been watching my child very closely since he went to school as if he was going to school for me. I was worrying about If my child is doing well, if his classmates did better than him, or if teachers and classmates like him. Our daily communication is all about study and school-related topics.
Until one day, my child said to me: "Mom, could you talk with me something besides study?" I was shocked at the time. I didn't realize that I became so scary to him. I love him and wanted him to work hard and have a bright future. But I found that my child and I were becoming more and more distant. I used to talk about everything with him, but now I only talk about his study, and I don't know what else I can talk about with him. Then I realized that, for children, such a mother is cold and terrifying.
My experience with my son links me to think about the relationship between pastors and believers. Pastors hope that believers love the Lord and push them to the extent that believers could not stand anymore. Therefore, the pastors also need to adjust themselves appropriately, pay more attention to believers' actual lives, and make believers' life experience reconcile with God's word. In this particular period, let us encourage each other and gather and worship together fervently.
- Translated by Xiaodan Zeng
Pastors Should Connect More Closely with Believers When Only Online Services are Possible
