Unity is what the Lord Jesus wants for the church. In reality, there are contradictions in many churches, and some have developed into serious disputes. The experience of two "firefighting" pastors is worth learning from.
Pastor Hu has been a pastor for about 30 years and is currently serving in a provincial CC&TSPM. When the grassroots church faces a dispute that it cannot resolve itself, he goes to "put out the fire." Pastor Hu would make it clear to both sides, "I am not here to solve problems. I am here to preach." Then, he would further say, if the other person has committed a crime, then you go to the police. He doesn't control that; he just preaches.
"If you get involved, you're not going to solve the problem." Pastor Hu said it earnestly. When confronted with such a difficult problem, he always solved it by preaching. There was nothing specific about the sermon; it was just routine. He would not only hold one or two sermons; he'd keep talking for months until the problem was resolved. Pastor Hu believes that when you focus on pastoring, those who make trouble will not last long. And when the Word of God is announced, the Holy Spirit will do the work of peace in the hearts of believers. After that, Pastor Hu will teach them how to properly manage the church.
He has tried this method several times, and it always works.
Elder Wang, who was often sent to "put out fires," encountered more difficult situations. When he entered a church with serious disputes, a group of people surrounded him on the second floor and forced him to comply with their demands, or they would throw him out of the window. "If it is good for the development of the Church, I will give you my consent; Or you should just throw me down!" In the face of the uncompromising elder Wang, the crowd dispersed.
Elder Wang said that he has a strong character and that he could put his life on the line for the sake of his faith. He once exhorted fellow students to attend theological training courses and even used a number of heart-piercing words such as "sycophancy" and "flattery" on that student.
In the face of these difficulties, Elder Wang always grasped a magic weapon: the altar. From the pulpit, he dared to preach God's Word with integrity, often pointing out the sins of believers. After some time, the rioting group pulled some people away from the church, and the church ministry gradually got on the right track. Slowly, those who followed noticed something was wrong, and most of them returned to the church.
Strife is a very troublesome problem in the church and can tear apart even a revived church. May there be more faithful and knowledgeable "firefighting" pastors in the Church, and may these pastors no longer have "firefighting" tasks in the future.
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
合一，是主耶稣对教会的期盼。现实中，不少教会里存在着矛盾，有的已发展成严重的纷争。有两位“救火”牧者的经验值得借鉴。
胡牧师，牧会二三十年，目前在省两会任职。当基层教会遇到自己解决不了的纷争时，他会前往“救火”。胡牧师明确告诉双方：“我不是来解决问题的，我是来讲道的。”接着，他进一步说道，如果对方违法犯罪了，那你去报警。这个他管不了，他只管讲道。
“如果你卷入其中，是解决不了问题的。”胡牧师语重心长地说道。遇到这样棘手的问题，他每次都用讲道解决。这个讲道也没有什么针对性，就是常规的。但不是一场两场，他会坚持讲几个月，直到问题解决。胡牧师认为，当你专心牧养时，那些捣乱的人坚持不了多久；而当神的话语宣布时，圣灵会在信徒心里做和睦的工作。之后，胡牧师会再把正确管理教会的方法教给他们。
这个方法他已经尝试了几次，都蛮奏效的。
另外一位常被派去“救火”的王长老遇到过更为棘手的情况。当他迈入一间有着严重纷争的教会，在二楼一群人把他团团围住，逼着他答应他们的要求，否则就把他从窗户扔出去。“如果是对教会的发展好，我就答应你们；否则你们就把我扔下去吧！”面对毫不妥协的王长老，众人也就散了。
王长老说，他的性格很“刚”，为了信仰，他可以把性命置之度外。他曾劝勉一同就读神学培训班的同学，甚至在对方身上用了“溜须拍马”“阿谀奉承”等多个扎心的词。
面对这重重的困难，王长老始终抓住一个法宝——讲台。在讲台上，他敢于正直地宣讲神的话语，对信徒的罪常常赤裸裸地指出来。一段时间后，闹事的一伙人拉着一些人离开了教会，教会牧养逐渐走上了正轨。慢慢地，跟着离开的人发现不对劲，大多又回到了教会里。
纷争，是教会中很令人头疼的问题，甚至可以将一间原本复兴的教会拆散。盼望教会中能有更多忠心有见识的“救火”牧者，更盼望这些牧者将来不再有“救火”任务。
面对棘手的教会纷争，这两位牧者是如何“救火”的？
Unity is what the Lord Jesus wants for the church. In reality, there are contradictions in many churches, and some have developed into serious disputes. The experience of two "firefighting" pastors is worth learning from.
Pastor Hu has been a pastor for about 30 years and is currently serving in a provincial CC&TSPM. When the grassroots church faces a dispute that it cannot resolve itself, he goes to "put out the fire." Pastor Hu would make it clear to both sides, "I am not here to solve problems. I am here to preach." Then, he would further say, if the other person has committed a crime, then you go to the police. He doesn't control that; he just preaches.
"If you get involved, you're not going to solve the problem." Pastor Hu said it earnestly. When confronted with such a difficult problem, he always solved it by preaching. There was nothing specific about the sermon; it was just routine. He would not only hold one or two sermons; he'd keep talking for months until the problem was resolved. Pastor Hu believes that when you focus on pastoring, those who make trouble will not last long. And when the Word of God is announced, the Holy Spirit will do the work of peace in the hearts of believers. After that, Pastor Hu will teach them how to properly manage the church.
He has tried this method several times, and it always works.
Elder Wang, who was often sent to "put out fires," encountered more difficult situations. When he entered a church with serious disputes, a group of people surrounded him on the second floor and forced him to comply with their demands, or they would throw him out of the window. "If it is good for the development of the Church, I will give you my consent; Or you should just throw me down!" In the face of the uncompromising elder Wang, the crowd dispersed.
Elder Wang said that he has a strong character and that he could put his life on the line for the sake of his faith. He once exhorted fellow students to attend theological training courses and even used a number of heart-piercing words such as "sycophancy" and "flattery" on that student.
In the face of these difficulties, Elder Wang always grasped a magic weapon: the altar. From the pulpit, he dared to preach God's Word with integrity, often pointing out the sins of believers. After some time, the rioting group pulled some people away from the church, and the church ministry gradually got on the right track. Slowly, those who followed noticed something was wrong, and most of them returned to the church.
Strife is a very troublesome problem in the church and can tear apart even a revived church. May there be more faithful and knowledgeable "firefighting" pastors in the Church, and may these pastors no longer have "firefighting" tasks in the future.
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
Two Pastors Who Settled Church Disputes through the Altar
