A new environment always brings new ideas. COVID-19 is a great change for the world which in the external environment indirectly promotes the innovation of ideas.
Christian churches and pastors are also experiencing this process. A few days ago, Pastor Wang, from a grass-roots rural church in central China, gave his thoughts that in the post-pandemic era, the Chinese church needed to innovate in many aspects of its ministry.
Wang said that the church should emerge from serving in religious mode and establish a personal relationship with God.
"Many problems that we see today are rather viewed from 2-D angles, such as the current environment, limited people and conditions, and present issues. Personally, in my humble opinion, I think we should go beyond these and think about the issues from God's point of view. In fact, when God wants to change the status quo of the church, God will definitely work on it. He will make settings for a change to the whole church, such as the pandemic last year," he stated.
He continued, "Going through the pandemic has given me much reflection. What I want to say most is that whenever we fall into the religious mode, God will remind us that He is rather happier to let us have a personal relationship with Him."
"When these changes such as the pandemic occurred, I realized that God would make pastors and serving staff humble themselves. He would let us pastors know that next year the church will still grow even if we are absent. It may be people like us who have hindered the growth of believers. I noticed that many believers could not gather on site for many days during the pandemic, but they were more persistent in reading scriptures and praying at home. I think this is also good. Now, this situation will deepen the faith and spiritual life of the whole person, and stabilize the faith of each of us down to the earth, not in the sky. Pastors usually like to create a special atmosphere, but God wants everyone to establish a relationship with Himself."
"In the past, we used to look at people's beliefs from a pastor-centered perspective to measure the effectiveness of the service, but the pandemic has made us all realize that God is the shepherd of the church and he will personally attend to everyone."
Many pastors are pessimistic in that if they do not carry the burden, the church will be done. However, is this the case? The real situation is that many people firmly believe in God in silence, although they do not gather onsite and communicate with each other. Yet, when they do communicate, you will find that there is resonance, that is, during the pandemic, their faith becomes more real because God works in everyone and God also works in this era. We do not have to be depressed and pessimistic about the present situation, because it is the beginning of revival."
"However, it may be that the preparation for church revival is in bad circumstances because when our faith is deeply rooted, it will lead to revival; so we may now have more time to reach out to society and non-Christians," the pastor claimed.
The second renovation was that pastors should change their roles - from leaders to lighters.
Looking back at the pastoral mode of the church, most serving staff were led by pastors to implement plans made by them, but now the environment and situation were very different from before, and pastors were no longer leaders, but igniters, which meant encouraging everyone in the church to stand up and act together.
"Every Christian will change from passive to active when he moves, so it will be more convenient; instead of letting believers wait to be served, believers should be encouraged to do it. In this manner, many problems will be gradually solved," Wang explained.
Third, the real threshing floor was not the church but the world.
"I often share the idea with believers that drivers will drive to gas stations, but we do not buy cars in order to live in gas stations as gas stations just help with refueling. The gas station is not our destination. Gas stations are only for us to stop by. They are just supply spots," he insisted.
The pastor urged, "By the same token, we come to church for spiritual supply, but the real threshing floor is not the church, but the family, society, and even the world. Otherwise, if the church says it is closed today, then we will have no service to offer. Our job is in the world. The same is true when Jesus sent his disciples everywhere. If we are confined to a certain church, it will be very difficult to preach the gospel."
Fourth, pastors should turn from pursuing the expansion of a church to pursuing their own deep beliefs.
"There is a trend that I am not optimistic about now. Many pastors like to emphasize the physical size of their churches, but look at some theologians in history, such as Martin Luther or Karl Barth. They had been ministering in one place for a long time and first established a deep understanding of God, church, and pastoral care. In fact, pastors should not pursue the size of a church too much, but should go deep into their own faith before they can have a deep understanding of Christ.“
He noted, ”It can also promote the quality of pastoral care. Only when we can really serve 10 people can we possibly serve 10,000 people, and only when we really help one person can we possibly help 10,000 people. However, today we pay too much attention to matters, big matters, but not people."
"The quality of pastors’ faith is more important than what they do. Our faith needs deepening. If your faith cannot go further, your influence on others is superficial. I was recently reading Wang Mingdao's book. In fact, he did not have much influence on everyone at that time. Many people did not meet him but just heard about him. Then he influenced many people and he still does. Because he did not emphasize what he did but emphasized on how his life was and on his relationship with God."
"The pursuit of influence itself has no influence. Only when we pursue the relationship with God can we have a real impact. What affects others is not what you do, but your relationship with God, which can bring about shocking changes," he concluded.
- Translated by Charlie Li
专访丨中原农村牧者谈：后疫情时代，教会牧养观需要四大革新
新环境总是会带来新观念。新冠疫情对于世界的变革是巨大的，而这种外在环境的巨变也间接在促进了人们思想观念的革新。
身处其中的基督教会和牧者群体也在经历着这个过程。日前，一位中原地区农村教会的基层牧者王传道分享了他的所思所想，认为后疫情时代，中国教会在牧养观上需要来到许多方面的革新。
以下是这位牧师的分享：
一、从宗教性的事奉模式中出来，与上帝建立个人性的关系
我们今天看很多问题都是用很平面的角度去看待的，比如看目前的环境、人和条件的有限、现状的问题等等。我个人有个小看法，我觉得要超越这些想一想上帝的角度，其实当上帝想要改变教会的现状时，上帝一定会做工的，上帝会借着环境让整个教会有变化，比如去年的疫情。
经历疫情，让我反思很多。我最想说的一点是：当我们陷入宗教性的事奉模式时，上帝会提醒我们：祂更愿意让我们跟祂有个人性的关系。
疫情等这些变化发生时，我认识到：上帝会让牧者、同工来谦卑，让我们这些牧者同工明年知道——就算这些人不在，教会也会成长，也可能是这些人阻挡了信徒的成长。我看到很多信徒疫情期间很多天没有办法实地聚会，不能去教会，但是在家中反而更执着读经祷告了，我觉得这个也是一个好事情。现在这种情况会深化整个信徒的信仰和属灵的生命，会让我们每个人的信仰更加落地，而不是悬在空中牧师想的那样，一般情况下牧师喜欢营造一种氛围，但是上帝更希望的是每个人和上帝亲自建立关系。
以前是那种以牧者中心的角度去看待大家的信仰，去衡量服事的果效，但是疫情让我们都意识到：上帝才是教会的牧者，祂会来亲自牧养每一个人。
很多牧者很悲观的想法就是觉得自己不做的话，教会就要完。但是不是这样，真实的情况是很多人其实都在默默地坚定的信仰，他们虽然没有实地聚会，虽然彼此没有交流，但是当他们交流时，会发现有共鸣的，就是疫情期间反而信仰更加真实了，因为上帝在每一个人心里做工，上帝也在这个时代做工。我们对现在的情况不必沮丧和悲观，因为正是这个时候是复兴的前兆，可能不好的环境下反而是教会复兴的预备，因为当我们信仰深深扎根的时候会引领复兴，因为我们现在有更多时间接触到社会和非基督徒。
二、牧师要转变角色，从一个带领者转向做一个点燃的人
回望过去教会的牧养模式，大多是由牧师带领同工们去做牧师定好的计划，但现在环境、情况和从前大不一样，牧师不再是带领者，而是点火的人——意思是鼓励让教会的每个人都站起来行动，大家一起来做。每一个基督徒动起来会变被动为主动，这样的话会更方便一些，而不是让信徒在那里等待牧养，不是等待浇灌等待喂养，而是鼓励信徒去做起来。这样慢慢很多难题就会迎刃而解。
三、真正的禾场不是教会，而是世界
我经常跟信徒分享，我们开车的人会进加油站，但是我们买车不是为了住在加油站，加油站只是帮助。加油站不是我们的目的地，进加油站就是为了我们要在路上走，所以要进加油站补给。
同理，我们来教会聚会是为了属灵补给，但真正的禾场不是教会，是家庭、社会乃至世界。否则教会会说今天教会就关门了，我们没有服事可以做了。我们的工作是在世界里面。耶稣差派门徒去各地也是这样。如果我们仅仅局限在某间教堂里面，就会很困难了。
四、牧者从追求外面的规模，转向追求自身的信仰
现在有一个我感到不太乐观的趋势就是很多教会的牧者喜欢强调规模，但是看历史上的一些神学家比如马丁路德或者巴特，他们曾经都在长时间在一个地方牧会，对神的认识、对对教会和牧养都先建立了很深的认识。其实牧者先不要太追求外面的规模，先要自己深入信仰，才能对基督的理解也很深入，对牧养也是有促进作用的。我们能够真正的牧养10个人，才有可能牧养一万个人，我们真正的帮助到一个人，才能有可能帮助到一万个人。但是我们今天太多关注大的，关注事情，而不关注人。
还有一点，牧者你如何看待自己的信仰这个很重要。牧者自身的信仰怎么样，是比做什么事情更重要。我们的信仰是需要深化的。如果你的信仰不能更加深入往下走的时候，你对别人的影响是表面的。我最近在读王明道的书，其实当时他对大家的影响力并不大，很多人也都没有见过他，只是听说了他，但后来他影响了很多人，直到现在也是。因为他不强调做了什么，而是强调我的生命怎么样，强调与神的关系。
追求影响力的本身就没有影响力。当我们追求和上帝的关系时，才能产生真正的影响。影响别人的，不是你做了什么，而是你与神的关系，这个才能带来震撼性的变化。
https://www.christiantimes.cn/news/34601/%E4%B8%93%E8%AE%BF%7C-%E4%B8%AD%E5%8E%9F%E5%86%9C%E6%9D%91%E7%89%A7%E8%80%85%E8%B0%88%EF%BC%9A%E5%90%8E%E7%96%AB%E6%83%85%E6%97%B6%E4%BB%A3%EF%BC%8C%E6%95%99%E4%BC%9A%E7%89%A7%E5%85%BB%E8%A7%82%E9%9C%80%E8%A6%81%E5%9B%9B%E5%A4%A7%E9%9D%A9%E6%96%B0
专访丨中原农村牧者谈：后疫情时代，教会牧养观需要四大革新
A new environment always brings new ideas. COVID-19 is a great change for the world which in the external environment indirectly promotes the innovation of ideas.
Christian churches and pastors are also experiencing this process. A few days ago, Pastor Wang, from a grass-roots rural church in central China, gave his thoughts that in the post-pandemic era, the Chinese church needed to innovate in many aspects of its ministry.
Wang said that the church should emerge from serving in religious mode and establish a personal relationship with God.
"Many problems that we see today are rather viewed from 2-D angles, such as the current environment, limited people and conditions, and present issues. Personally, in my humble opinion, I think we should go beyond these and think about the issues from God's point of view. In fact, when God wants to change the status quo of the church, God will definitely work on it. He will make settings for a change to the whole church, such as the pandemic last year," he stated.
He continued, "Going through the pandemic has given me much reflection. What I want to say most is that whenever we fall into the religious mode, God will remind us that He is rather happier to let us have a personal relationship with Him."
"When these changes such as the pandemic occurred, I realized that God would make pastors and serving staff humble themselves. He would let us pastors know that next year the church will still grow even if we are absent. It may be people like us who have hindered the growth of believers. I noticed that many believers could not gather on site for many days during the pandemic, but they were more persistent in reading scriptures and praying at home. I think this is also good. Now, this situation will deepen the faith and spiritual life of the whole person, and stabilize the faith of each of us down to the earth, not in the sky. Pastors usually like to create a special atmosphere, but God wants everyone to establish a relationship with Himself."
"In the past, we used to look at people's beliefs from a pastor-centered perspective to measure the effectiveness of the service, but the pandemic has made us all realize that God is the shepherd of the church and he will personally attend to everyone."
Many pastors are pessimistic in that if they do not carry the burden, the church will be done. However, is this the case? The real situation is that many people firmly believe in God in silence, although they do not gather onsite and communicate with each other. Yet, when they do communicate, you will find that there is resonance, that is, during the pandemic, their faith becomes more real because God works in everyone and God also works in this era. We do not have to be depressed and pessimistic about the present situation, because it is the beginning of revival."
"However, it may be that the preparation for church revival is in bad circumstances because when our faith is deeply rooted, it will lead to revival; so we may now have more time to reach out to society and non-Christians," the pastor claimed.
The second renovation was that pastors should change their roles - from leaders to lighters.
Looking back at the pastoral mode of the church, most serving staff were led by pastors to implement plans made by them, but now the environment and situation were very different from before, and pastors were no longer leaders, but igniters, which meant encouraging everyone in the church to stand up and act together.
"Every Christian will change from passive to active when he moves, so it will be more convenient; instead of letting believers wait to be served, believers should be encouraged to do it. In this manner, many problems will be gradually solved," Wang explained.
Third, the real threshing floor was not the church but the world.
"I often share the idea with believers that drivers will drive to gas stations, but we do not buy cars in order to live in gas stations as gas stations just help with refueling. The gas station is not our destination. Gas stations are only for us to stop by. They are just supply spots," he insisted.
The pastor urged, "By the same token, we come to church for spiritual supply, but the real threshing floor is not the church, but the family, society, and even the world. Otherwise, if the church says it is closed today, then we will have no service to offer. Our job is in the world. The same is true when Jesus sent his disciples everywhere. If we are confined to a certain church, it will be very difficult to preach the gospel."
Fourth, pastors should turn from pursuing the expansion of a church to pursuing their own deep beliefs.
"There is a trend that I am not optimistic about now. Many pastors like to emphasize the physical size of their churches, but look at some theologians in history, such as Martin Luther or Karl Barth. They had been ministering in one place for a long time and first established a deep understanding of God, church, and pastoral care. In fact, pastors should not pursue the size of a church too much, but should go deep into their own faith before they can have a deep understanding of Christ.“
He noted, ”It can also promote the quality of pastoral care. Only when we can really serve 10 people can we possibly serve 10,000 people, and only when we really help one person can we possibly help 10,000 people. However, today we pay too much attention to matters, big matters, but not people."
"The quality of pastors’ faith is more important than what they do. Our faith needs deepening. If your faith cannot go further, your influence on others is superficial. I was recently reading Wang Mingdao's book. In fact, he did not have much influence on everyone at that time. Many people did not meet him but just heard about him. Then he influenced many people and he still does. Because he did not emphasize what he did but emphasized on how his life was and on his relationship with God."
"The pursuit of influence itself has no influence. Only when we pursue the relationship with God can we have a real impact. What affects others is not what you do, but your relationship with God, which can bring about shocking changes," he concluded.
- Translated by Charlie Li
Rural Pastor: Four Major Innovations to Improve Pastoral Ministry in Post-Pandemic Era
