In recent years, due to historical reasons, it is common for pastors and church workers to have other jobs in many Chinese churches. These pastors and church workers would work to support their families while serving the church and the believers. We've got quite used to this kind of phenomenon. But what do the pastors who have other jobs while serving the church really think about their situation?
Recently, the Christian Times, an online Chinese Christian newspaper, interviewed Brother Z. He revealed that he would constantly feel that he was like a double-faced person because he would be a Christian while serving the church, but when he was busy with his work in his farm, he felt like that he was not like a Christian. As a pastor, he should focus on working in the church, but he often felt that it was hard for him to do this. Sometimes he had to be a farmer and earn money to support his family, but at times he would be a pastor and preach in the church and serve the believers. After switching so often between jobs, sometimes he would feel confused about who he really was.
"Since last year, I've been wondering about whether the pastors should focus most of their attention on the church or their other jobs. For the church workers in rural areas, it seems that the other jobs are the things which they're often busy with, while serving in the church seems to be just a secondary occupation," he confessed.
Brother Z felt ashamed when he talk about this. "Sometimes I would feel guilty and sorry. The work on the farm is unavoidable, and we have to finish it. But we could not give up the service in the church too, because the church and other brothers and sisters would need it. That is quite a big problem for us," he added.
"I think that as a Christian, no matter whether we are pastors or believers, we should play our roles well in the church, family, and society."
Brother Z thought that keeping the balance between family and church is very important for pastors.
In fact, keeping balance is a very hard thing in real life. If a person spends much time in the church or the company, he or she would have less time at home and vice versa. Brother Z thought that a pastor should try his or her best to keep a balance, though it would be hard due to all kinds of reasons in reality.
"As the leaders in the church, we would finish the work at church when we're needed there, though we may also be needed at home. But if there is something really important at home, for example, the kids get sick or the wheat needs to be harvested, we would need to handle those things first. However, most of the time, I would finish the work in the church first and then start to handle the things at home."
These are the problems that pastors in rural areas would encounter. He urged rural pastors to think about the priorities of our work and arrange the time and order of them well so that they could complete their normal work well while serving well in the church.
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
长期以来，因着种种历史原因，“带职服事”现象在中国的很多教会都是相当普遍的。这些带职服事的同工们一边工作，赚钱养家，一边服事教会，牧养教会信徒。或许，我们早已对此现象习以为常，可是，这些带职服事的传道人他们究竟有着怎样的纠结呢？
前段时间，基督时报采访了Z弟兄，他说常常感到很纠结。感觉到自己作为一个传道人、一个服事主的人好像就是一个双面人一样，每到农忙的时候就觉得自己不像是一名基督徒。（==当summary）他觉得作为一名传道人，就应该以牧养、传道为念，专心服事，很多的时候自己并不是这样的。而是一会是农民，种地，赚钱养家，一会又成了一名传道人，在教会里讲道，牧养信徒，如此不断切换、循环，有时候自己都会变得恍惚，不清楚自己究竟是谁。
”我从去年起到现在一直在思考一个问题，我思考的是教会的传道人到底是以服事教会为主，还是以社会上的工作为主。你说如果说以服事为主，但其实我们大多数的精力是用在了社会工作上，但如果说以社会的工作为主，我们在社会上又没有什么正经的工作……“
让Z弟兄感到纠结的原因，是因为农村的很多传道人，基本都不是全职同工，而是带职服事的，一边工作一边服事。所以对于这些农村的教会同工来说，好像工作才是主业，服事好像成了第二职业，成了一个副业。在服事教会的同事，然后还有一份主业，就是在世上拼搏忙碌、赚钱劳动这些事情。
对此，Z弟兄常常感到很惭愧。“有时候想起来，确实在这些方面是感觉到挺亏欠，其实心里面也挺矛盾的。农忙这是逃避不了的一个现实，也是避不开的工作，必须去做，但是你说不服事，教会又有需要，弟兄姊妹也有需要，所以心里面对这些问题纠结很大。”
“我觉得作为一名基督徒，无论是传道人也好，或者普通的信徒也好，都需要在社会、家庭还有教会，在这三个不同的地方，我们都需要做好我们自己应该去做的角色。”
Z弟兄认为，平衡非常重要，一个传道人一定要学会平衡的事奉，这个平衡主要指的就是家庭和教会间的平衡。
其实在现实生活当中，想要保持平衡是非常难的一件事情。一个人如果在教会或者公司里面的时间多了，那么在家里的时间就一定会减少了；在教会的服事多了，或者公司加班多了的话，那么在家庭里面尽责的时间肯定就得减少。Z弟兄认为一个传道人应该尽量保持平衡，但是在现实当中因为种种原因可能还是很难做到，只能尽量平衡一些。
“教会有事情和需要的时候，我们作为教会的领袖，即便家庭里面再有多大的困难，再有问题，也应该把教会的事情放在最前面。但是如果家庭遇到一些突发或者重要的的事件，比如孩子生病了、小麦要收割了等等，我们也必须回到我们现实的生活当中，把家庭的事情处理好才行。而平常的时候，我会把教会的事情往前排一排，然后把家里的事情稍稍往后面拖一拖。”
这些都是传道人尤其是农村传道人需要面对的问题。Z弟兄觉得应该灵活考虑，然后妥善的安排时间还有工作的秩序，尽可能的在服事好教会的同时，也能够做好自己该做的事情。
专访|“双面人”——农村教会传道人的身份冲突
In recent years, due to historical reasons, it is common for pastors and church workers to have other jobs in many Chinese churches. These pastors and church workers would work to support their families while serving the church and the believers. We've got quite used to this kind of phenomenon. But what do the pastors who have other jobs while serving the church really think about their situation?
Recently, the Christian Times, an online Chinese Christian newspaper, interviewed Brother Z. He revealed that he would constantly feel that he was like a double-faced person because he would be a Christian while serving the church, but when he was busy with his work in his farm, he felt like that he was not like a Christian. As a pastor, he should focus on working in the church, but he often felt that it was hard for him to do this. Sometimes he had to be a farmer and earn money to support his family, but at times he would be a pastor and preach in the church and serve the believers. After switching so often between jobs, sometimes he would feel confused about who he really was.
"Since last year, I've been wondering about whether the pastors should focus most of their attention on the church or their other jobs. For the church workers in rural areas, it seems that the other jobs are the things which they're often busy with, while serving in the church seems to be just a secondary occupation," he confessed.
Brother Z felt ashamed when he talk about this. "Sometimes I would feel guilty and sorry. The work on the farm is unavoidable, and we have to finish it. But we could not give up the service in the church too, because the church and other brothers and sisters would need it. That is quite a big problem for us," he added.
"I think that as a Christian, no matter whether we are pastors or believers, we should play our roles well in the church, family, and society."
Brother Z thought that keeping the balance between family and church is very important for pastors.
In fact, keeping balance is a very hard thing in real life. If a person spends much time in the church or the company, he or she would have less time at home and vice versa. Brother Z thought that a pastor should try his or her best to keep a balance, though it would be hard due to all kinds of reasons in reality.
"As the leaders in the church, we would finish the work at church when we're needed there, though we may also be needed at home. But if there is something really important at home, for example, the kids get sick or the wheat needs to be harvested, we would need to handle those things first. However, most of the time, I would finish the work in the church first and then start to handle the things at home."
These are the problems that pastors in rural areas would encounter. He urged rural pastors to think about the priorities of our work and arrange the time and order of them well so that they could complete their normal work well while serving well in the church.
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
Interview With 'Double-Faced' Rural Pastor
