"Pastor, my child is going to take the college entrance examination this year. Please pray for him to get a high score."
"Pastor, my dog has been sick recently. Can you make prayers for its healing?"
"Pastor, it's almost Chinese New Year. Could you pray that God helps me recover the debt smoothly?"
"Pastor, please pray for me to make more money this year..."
Rev. Shen, who has been pastoring for several decades, reflected on his experiences serving in churches across Jiangsu, Jiangxi, and Northeast China. One of his concerns is that, while many individuals attend church, follow-up pastoral care is often lacking.
He candidly said, "The believer's lives are not transformed, so they are more concerned with their physical needs in prayer."
This issue might result from pastors preaching sermons that focus on material wealth and blessings. According to Shen, "They speak about peace in the Lord, God’s care and blessings, as well as His preparation for marriage and work. This is no different from worshiping idols." He added that this was not the true gospel, which centers on Jesus Christ and his crucifixion. The gospel of seeking blessings has taken the place of the gospel of redemption. As a result, the church risked nurturing unspiritual believers whose prayers focused solely on the body.
Under such circumstances, many believers struggle with misunderstandings about prayers and offerings. During senior high school or university entrance exams, parents may ask pastors to pray for their children to achieve high scores. Shen will not make such a prayer request, stating that high marks depend on students' efforts rather than divine intervention. "If diligent students can’t achieve good results, but those who lack diligence get excellent grades, I don't believe in an unfair God." His advice for ambitious parents was to pray that their children would study hard and be in awe of God, which would lead to improved academic performance. Some people might even request prayers for increased wealth, but Shen declined such requests, saying, "If a prayer could make people wealthier, then I would have prayed for myself."
He recounted that a mother asked him to pray for her son's early release from prison. The son had been arrested for embezzling ¥180,000 after two years of employment and was later sentenced to one-and-a-half years in prison, despite many pastors' prayers for his early release. When the mother came to him crying, Shen refused to make such a prayer. Instead, he counseled her to be grateful because 18 months was already a light sentence, and her son's corruption had been discovered and stopped in time. Her son could learn from this experience and live according to the law of the land. After Shen explained this perspective, the mother thanked him for his guidance.
Rev. Shen believed that pastors must guide believers in understanding the reasons behind their requests so that they may grow spiritually. "What is faith? It means that you can give up money, comfort, and even life, and fight for it." Regarding prayer, Shen quoted Matthew 6:31–33, stating, "For the pagans who run after what they shall eat, drink, and wear, and God knows that you need them. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
In his perspective, an individual’s faith as a believer cannot be evaluated based on their church attendance. He believed that many people attended services to fulfill their personal needs rather than for the betterment of the kingdom of God. The commitment to the church is perceived as a form of exchange, where individuals believe that by dedicating themselves to the church, God will assist their families. This notion is similar to giving money with the expectation that services will be provided in return.
Having observed these realities, Reverend Shen felt compelled to prioritize the training of pastors. He believed that church workers are not capable of leading believers toward revival without possessing mature spirituality. Only when the lives of workers are transformed can they influence the lives of Christians positively.
Furthermore, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Shen initiated full-volume Bible studies for believers. Over three years, he compiled texts and audio recordings that covered 66 volumes of the Bible. Believers were encouraged to listen to the recordings individually or in groups for further discussion. Shen emphasized the importance of comprehending the whole message of the Bible. The scripture can be divided into three parts: man’s sin, how God resolves sin, and how people should respond to God after sin has been resolved.
At present, Shen is conducting a one-month online group training session in a church. His goal is to eliminate biblical illiteracy so that believers can benefit from reading the Bible on their own. His primary task is to transform from a pastor preaching at the altar to facilitating group discussions. He believed believers could feed their souls through meditation and sharing.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
“牧师，今年我家的孩子要高考，请您代祷孩子考高分”;
“牧师，我家的狗最近生病了，想让您帮忙代祷求主医治”;
“牧师，快过年了，请您代祷，让神保守我可以顺利收回账”；
“牧师，为我祷告今年多赚点钱”……
从事牧养数十年的沈牧师提起这些年遇到的代祷题目，非常感慨。他本人在江苏、江西、东北等多个教会参与过服侍，令他忧心的一个问题是，教会可以通过传福音留下信徒，但后续牧养却跟不上。
他直言：“弟兄姐妹的生命总是翻转不过来，所以祷告祈求也都是为了肉体。”
究其原因，是因为现在很多讲道人所讲的道都是属肉体的，“讲得都是信主得平安，得看顾得祝福，婚姻工作都安排，跟以前拜偶像没什么区别”，沈牧师指出，“这不是真正的福音，真正的福音是耶稣基督并他钉十字架。一个是天上的福音，一个是地上的福音，很多人把基督的福音更改了。本来是救赎的福音变成了肉体得福的福音，这是工人最可怕的地方。因此教会培养带领了一批属肉体的信徒，所祈求的也都是为了了肉体祈求。”
这种情况下，很多信徒祷告、奉献便陷入误区。每年中高考期间，请他为孩子考高分代祷的情况特别多，对此，沈牧师直接说这个代祷不了，考试是要自己努力的，不是靠祷告。“努力都没考高分，不努力祷告就考了高分，这样的神我才不信呢，这不公平”，他告诉望子成龙的家长，“你求神让孩子有敬畏之心，好好努力，这样才能考高分。”甚至还有人找他为多挣钱祷告，他也直接拒绝，“要祷告就能多挣钱，我早为自己祷告了”。
他提到，之前有一位母亲找到他，请他为自己入狱的儿子祷告，儿子入职两年因为贪污18万被抓。后来家里把这笔钱补上，母亲也找各种牧师祷告，希望儿子早日放回来。后来还是被判了一年半，后面这位母亲辗转找到他，哭了很久。他并没有应这位母亲的要求祷告，反而告诉她，你要为这件事感恩，因为判了18个月已经很轻了，而且贪污两年就被发现，及时制止了，并且警戒他生在法制国家却不懂法。他解释完，原本疑惑不解、到处奔波的这位母亲恍然大悟，连连感谢。
沈牧师说，对于信徒的请求，牧者需要准确引导他，让他明白其中道理，这样他才能成长起来。“什么是信仰？信仰是你可以为了这个目标舍弃钱财，舍弃舒适甚至舍弃生命，为这个去奋斗。”关于祷告祈求，沈牧师引用马太福音 6:31-33节：“这里告诉我们吃喝都是外邦人所求的，我们需用的一切，神都已经创造好了，你们要先求神的国和神的义，这一切都会加给你了。
在他看来，信徒生命如何也不是看他去不去教堂做礼拜，“很多人去教会做礼拜是因为他有所求。他来奉献不是因为神的国的需要，而是觉得我奉献给神，神就帮助我家里面这。是一种交换，我给你钱你帮我办事”。
正因为看到这些现实，沈牧师本人对培养传道人非常有负担，“工人生命不复兴，别想带领下面人复兴，工人生命翻转过来才能生命影响生命。”
另外，他开始带领信徒进行全卷查经，在疫情三年，他66卷圣经都整理了文字和音频。信徒可以自己去听，也可以小组学习讨论。“信徒需要了解圣经整体在讲什么，整个圣经其实分为三大部分：人有罪；神是怎么解决罪的；罪解决了之后人应该如何回应上帝。”
目前，沈牧师在一家教会做线下小组培训，集中一个月时间，目的是扫除圣经文盲。让大家可以学会自己看圣经，并从中有所得着。他现在最大的负担是让大家从一言堂转化成小组讨论，“每人学会拿筷子吃饭。”
面对形形色色的代祷题目，牧者该如何引导和帮助？
"Pastor, my child is going to take the college entrance examination this year. Please pray for him to get a high score."
"Pastor, my dog has been sick recently. Can you make prayers for its healing?"
"Pastor, it's almost Chinese New Year. Could you pray that God helps me recover the debt smoothly?"
"Pastor, please pray for me to make more money this year..."
Rev. Shen, who has been pastoring for several decades, reflected on his experiences serving in churches across Jiangsu, Jiangxi, and Northeast China. One of his concerns is that, while many individuals attend church, follow-up pastoral care is often lacking.
He candidly said, "The believer's lives are not transformed, so they are more concerned with their physical needs in prayer."
This issue might result from pastors preaching sermons that focus on material wealth and blessings. According to Shen, "They speak about peace in the Lord, God’s care and blessings, as well as His preparation for marriage and work. This is no different from worshiping idols." He added that this was not the true gospel, which centers on Jesus Christ and his crucifixion. The gospel of seeking blessings has taken the place of the gospel of redemption. As a result, the church risked nurturing unspiritual believers whose prayers focused solely on the body.
Under such circumstances, many believers struggle with misunderstandings about prayers and offerings. During senior high school or university entrance exams, parents may ask pastors to pray for their children to achieve high scores. Shen will not make such a prayer request, stating that high marks depend on students' efforts rather than divine intervention. "If diligent students can’t achieve good results, but those who lack diligence get excellent grades, I don't believe in an unfair God." His advice for ambitious parents was to pray that their children would study hard and be in awe of God, which would lead to improved academic performance. Some people might even request prayers for increased wealth, but Shen declined such requests, saying, "If a prayer could make people wealthier, then I would have prayed for myself."
He recounted that a mother asked him to pray for her son's early release from prison. The son had been arrested for embezzling ¥180,000 after two years of employment and was later sentenced to one-and-a-half years in prison, despite many pastors' prayers for his early release. When the mother came to him crying, Shen refused to make such a prayer. Instead, he counseled her to be grateful because 18 months was already a light sentence, and her son's corruption had been discovered and stopped in time. Her son could learn from this experience and live according to the law of the land. After Shen explained this perspective, the mother thanked him for his guidance.
Rev. Shen believed that pastors must guide believers in understanding the reasons behind their requests so that they may grow spiritually. "What is faith? It means that you can give up money, comfort, and even life, and fight for it." Regarding prayer, Shen quoted Matthew 6:31–33, stating, "For the pagans who run after what they shall eat, drink, and wear, and God knows that you need them. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
In his perspective, an individual’s faith as a believer cannot be evaluated based on their church attendance. He believed that many people attended services to fulfill their personal needs rather than for the betterment of the kingdom of God. The commitment to the church is perceived as a form of exchange, where individuals believe that by dedicating themselves to the church, God will assist their families. This notion is similar to giving money with the expectation that services will be provided in return.
Having observed these realities, Reverend Shen felt compelled to prioritize the training of pastors. He believed that church workers are not capable of leading believers toward revival without possessing mature spirituality. Only when the lives of workers are transformed can they influence the lives of Christians positively.
Furthermore, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Shen initiated full-volume Bible studies for believers. Over three years, he compiled texts and audio recordings that covered 66 volumes of the Bible. Believers were encouraged to listen to the recordings individually or in groups for further discussion. Shen emphasized the importance of comprehending the whole message of the Bible. The scripture can be divided into three parts: man’s sin, how God resolves sin, and how people should respond to God after sin has been resolved.
At present, Shen is conducting a one-month online group training session in a church. His goal is to eliminate biblical illiteracy so that believers can benefit from reading the Bible on their own. His primary task is to transform from a pastor preaching at the altar to facilitating group discussions. He believed believers could feed their souls through meditation and sharing.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Encountering Prayers Only for Wealth and Prosperity, Pastor Guides Believers to Grow Spiritually Through Whole Bible Study
