Although all kinds of in-person church activities in China had to be recently suspended again, Chinese pastors did not quit shepherding and caring for the believers. They all tried to continue to fulfil their mission of pastoral care through various means such as WeChat, video, voice, live broadcast, etc. They even worked harder than ever to do pastoral work, for fear that everyone will be "spiritually starved".
There was once a sister who asked me how to open an official WeChat account because her father was a pastor at a grass-root church. At an old age, he desired to be able to "follow the example of other pastors" who send sermons to the brothers and sisters of their churches.
It is reasonable to imagine such an old pastor encountering many difficulties; even if he had an official WeChat account, the next sermon still needed to be preached via an audiovisual interface, instead of being completed face to face. It was not easy for us young pastors to learn to adapt to that, talk less of an old man.
Due to the efforts of the pastors and the convenience of the Internet, the brothers and sisters during this period did not suffer from "starvation" as they had feared before. On the contrary, they felt "over-nourished".
Recently, some brothers and sisters told me that when they were free at home, they could "listen" to seven or eight sermons of different pastors all over the country before the end of the day (I know most of them might have had a quick glance, just like constantly changing channels while watching TV). Hearing them say so left me with a "burp feeling " in my spirit.
Especially on Sundays, the official WeChat accounts, live broadcasts, videos, audio and text sermons of various churches and pastors were all over the place in some believers' WeChat groups, full of beautiful things to see.
This is also a good thing. However, gradually, the focus of the discussion is no longer on what inspired or moved them from what they had heard. Instead, it becomes "Look, this pastor is very handsome, that pastor's voice is so beautiful"; "That teacher is so articulate, that colleague's expression is so beautiful"; "This particular sentence in this sermon is so graceful, that sermon is so profound..."
It seems as if "listening to sermons" has become a "beauty pageant" and a "speech contest". We have all become "spectators" and "judges". This so-called phenomenon is a cause for worry!
This is not to say that pastors cannot be appraised, nor that there is no difference in the level of preaching and skillfulness among different pastors, nor that the teachings of pastors should be accepted unconditionally and without questioning. It's about how we regard the work of the church and the pastors, and how we understand and acquaint ourselves with the word we hear in such a special season.
Indeed, as earlier mentioned, none of us has ever had such an experience. As a pastor, you can't preach face to face to everyone all at once. Instead, you have to record alone in your study, preach in front of the camera in an empty church, and carefully consider the correlation between the words you speak and those in the manuscript. To be honest, although the young pastor writes every day, he noticed that he was much less expressive than his usual face-to-face preaching. Let alone pastors who have not done deep research in this aspect.
I say this is not to generate sympathy but to objectively describe the situation. I hope that on the basis of understanding, brothers and sisters can also cherish, encourage and love their own church pastors. At the same time, a lot of support and encouragement should be given to the church and pastors. After all, our pastors are neither actors nor experts in the field of network anchoring. The relationship between us and pastors is not the same as the relationship that exists between actors and audiences, but the relationship between family members. Isn't it?
At the same time, we need to have the right attitude when listening to sermons. The more you listen to a sermon does not determine how spiritually adept you will be; having more biblical knowledge does not necessarily make your life better. On the contrary, the Lord Jesus told us that only those who "hear and act" will have their faith become as firm as a rock. Those who "hear but don't act" will have their faith built on sand. In the face of difficulties, it will collapse. (Matthew 7)
I often tell my brothers and sisters a formula: "10000 points (hearing) + 0 points (doing) = 0 points (life)". If we are very good at listening to sermons and get 10000 points in listening to sermons, but we can't act on the word and get 0 points in acting on the word; the 10000 points for hearing + 0 points for acting on the word, is still equal to 0 points in life. This may be a more surprising statement. It could be that "10000 points for hearing + 0 points for doing = a negative life".
It's not uncommon to see people in the church who have heard a lot, know a lot about the Bible, have been believers for a long time, but have experienced no change in their lives. Instead, they became selfish people who criticize others, frown at brothers and sisters, and criticize preachers. Such "10,000 points in hearing" is a negative score for the inner life.
The Lord has said that his judgment shall begin with the house of God and he shall judge us according to what we have received. Imagine that one day, when our lives and behaviors are measured mainly by the words we have received; will each of our lives be commensurate with the words we have heard? Will it be a zero? Or a negative? This really needs to make us very alert.
May the Lord be merciful and help the church, help the pastors, help our brothers and sisters!
(The original article is published by the author, the senior pastor of Guangzhou Zion Church, Guangdong Province.)
- Translated by Nonye Nancy
近期中国教会各样活动虽然又要暂停，但因为有了此前的经验，各地的牧者并没有暂停聚会而暂停牧养和关怀信徒，大家都努力通过各种可以有的微信、视频、语音、直播等方式继续履行着牧养群羊的使命。甚至比以往更努力地做牧养工作，生怕大家在信仰上会“忍饥挨饿”。
之前就有位姊妹特地咨询我如何开微信公号，因为她父亲是一位基层教会的传道人，年纪大了，不懂得怎么弄，但又很想能够“学其他牧师一样”把讲道发给自己教会的弟兄姊妹。
但也可以想象这位老传道人，就算他有了公众号之后，接下来的写讲章、录音、录像等，也还会遇到很多困难。不要说这样一位老人家，就算我们这些年轻教牧，学习做此事做时也不见得容易。
由于各牧者的努力，也因为网络的方便，现阶段的弟兄姊妹反而并没有出现之前所担忧的“忍饥挨饿”现象，反倒是有点“营养过剩”的感觉。
近期，有一些弟兄姊妹告诉我，他在家没事的时候，一天下来可以"听"全国各地不同牧者七、八篇讲道（我知大多都应该是走马观花，像看电视一样不断换频道）。可听他这么说，似乎感觉灵里也有点“打饱嗝”的感觉。
特别是到了星期天，有的信徒微信群里密密麻麻发着各个教会、不同牧者的公众号、直播、视频、音频、文字的证道，可谓真是琳琅满目。
这本也是一件好事。可是，渐渐的，大家讨论的重点不再是所听之道给自己带来什么启发和感动。反而是变成……“你看看，这个牧师长得多帅，那个传道声音多好听”；“这个教师口齿多清晰，那个同工表情多丰富”；“这篇讲章句子多优美，那个讲道多沉闷……”
"听道"似乎变成了一场"选美大会"，一场"演讲竞赛"，我们都变成了"听客看客"和"评委"。所谓这种现象，实在令人感到多少有些担忧！
这并不是说牧者不可以被评论，也不是说不同牧者的讲道没有水平高低、恩赐大小之分，更不是说大家对牧者的教导只能无条件接受，不允许质疑。而是，我们在这样一个特殊的时期景下，怎样去看待教会和牧者的工作，怎样去理解和认识我们所听的道。
的确，如前所说，我们都未曾有过此方面的经验。作为牧者，突然间不可以与大家当面谈道，而是要变成在书房里独自录音，要在空无一人的教堂对着摄像机讲道，要一字一句地斟酌口语和文稿之间的协调……说老实话，小牧师本人尽管是每天都写点东西，但也是觉得从表达上要比平日面对面的宣讲大打折扣。何况是未必对此方面涉猎很深的那些牧师传道们呢？
说这些，不是为了“卖惨”，而是表述客观情况。希望弟兄姊妹可以在理解的基础上，也去珍惜、鼓励和爱护自己教会的传道人。同时，也多多的为教会、为牧者祷告，给予支持和鼓励。毕竟，我们的牧者不是演员，也不知网络主播，大家没那么专业；毕竟，我们与牧者之间的关系，不是演员与观众之间的关系，而是家人与家人之间的关系。不是吗？
同时，我们需要正确处理好自己听道的态度。道，并不是听得越多，灵性就一定是越好；圣经知识，也并不是知道得越多，生命就一定是越好。反而，主耶稣是告诉我们，唯有“听了又去行的”，信仰的才是建立在磐石上。那“听了却不去行的”，信仰是建立在沙土上。在困难考验的面前，就会倒塌。（马太福音7章）
我常告诉弟兄姊妹一个公式“10000分（听道）+ 0分（行道）=0分（生命）”。如果我们很会听道、听很多道，在听道上得10000分，但是却不会行道，在行道上得0分，这10000分的听道加上那0分的行道，生命还是等于0分。这，可能还是一个更让人吃惊的说法，有可能是“听道10000分+行道0分=生命负分”。
在教会我们应该不鲜见有的人听道很多、圣经知识很多、信主时间很长，但是生命却未能有改变。反而只是成为一个自我感觉良好，整天到处批评指责他人、对弟兄姊妹横鼻子竖眉毛的、对传道人评头品足的。这样的“听道10000分”，其实内里生命却是“负分”。
主曾说过，他的审判要从神的家起首，也要按我们所领受的去审判我们。试想，有一天，主要用我们所领受的道来衡量我们的生命和行为时，我们的生命是与所听的道相称呢？或是0分？还是负分？这实在需要令我们十分的警醒自己。
求主怜悯帮助教会、帮助牧者、帮助众弟兄姊妹！
http://www.gospeltimes.cn/portal/article/index/id/55404
谈谈近期教会一些令人担忧的现象
Although all kinds of in-person church activities in China had to be recently suspended again, Chinese pastors did not quit shepherding and caring for the believers. They all tried to continue to fulfil their mission of pastoral care through various means such as WeChat, video, voice, live broadcast, etc. They even worked harder than ever to do pastoral work, for fear that everyone will be "spiritually starved".
There was once a sister who asked me how to open an official WeChat account because her father was a pastor at a grass-root church. At an old age, he desired to be able to "follow the example of other pastors" who send sermons to the brothers and sisters of their churches.
It is reasonable to imagine such an old pastor encountering many difficulties; even if he had an official WeChat account, the next sermon still needed to be preached via an audiovisual interface, instead of being completed face to face. It was not easy for us young pastors to learn to adapt to that, talk less of an old man.
Due to the efforts of the pastors and the convenience of the Internet, the brothers and sisters during this period did not suffer from "starvation" as they had feared before. On the contrary, they felt "over-nourished".
Recently, some brothers and sisters told me that when they were free at home, they could "listen" to seven or eight sermons of different pastors all over the country before the end of the day (I know most of them might have had a quick glance, just like constantly changing channels while watching TV). Hearing them say so left me with a "burp feeling " in my spirit.
Especially on Sundays, the official WeChat accounts, live broadcasts, videos, audio and text sermons of various churches and pastors were all over the place in some believers' WeChat groups, full of beautiful things to see.
This is also a good thing. However, gradually, the focus of the discussion is no longer on what inspired or moved them from what they had heard. Instead, it becomes "Look, this pastor is very handsome, that pastor's voice is so beautiful"; "That teacher is so articulate, that colleague's expression is so beautiful"; "This particular sentence in this sermon is so graceful, that sermon is so profound..."
It seems as if "listening to sermons" has become a "beauty pageant" and a "speech contest". We have all become "spectators" and "judges". This so-called phenomenon is a cause for worry!
This is not to say that pastors cannot be appraised, nor that there is no difference in the level of preaching and skillfulness among different pastors, nor that the teachings of pastors should be accepted unconditionally and without questioning. It's about how we regard the work of the church and the pastors, and how we understand and acquaint ourselves with the word we hear in such a special season.
Indeed, as earlier mentioned, none of us has ever had such an experience. As a pastor, you can't preach face to face to everyone all at once. Instead, you have to record alone in your study, preach in front of the camera in an empty church, and carefully consider the correlation between the words you speak and those in the manuscript. To be honest, although the young pastor writes every day, he noticed that he was much less expressive than his usual face-to-face preaching. Let alone pastors who have not done deep research in this aspect.
I say this is not to generate sympathy but to objectively describe the situation. I hope that on the basis of understanding, brothers and sisters can also cherish, encourage and love their own church pastors. At the same time, a lot of support and encouragement should be given to the church and pastors. After all, our pastors are neither actors nor experts in the field of network anchoring. The relationship between us and pastors is not the same as the relationship that exists between actors and audiences, but the relationship between family members. Isn't it?
At the same time, we need to have the right attitude when listening to sermons. The more you listen to a sermon does not determine how spiritually adept you will be; having more biblical knowledge does not necessarily make your life better. On the contrary, the Lord Jesus told us that only those who "hear and act" will have their faith become as firm as a rock. Those who "hear but don't act" will have their faith built on sand. In the face of difficulties, it will collapse. (Matthew 7)
I often tell my brothers and sisters a formula: "10000 points (hearing) + 0 points (doing) = 0 points (life)". If we are very good at listening to sermons and get 10000 points in listening to sermons, but we can't act on the word and get 0 points in acting on the word; the 10000 points for hearing + 0 points for acting on the word, is still equal to 0 points in life. This may be a more surprising statement. It could be that "10000 points for hearing + 0 points for doing = a negative life".
It's not uncommon to see people in the church who have heard a lot, know a lot about the Bible, have been believers for a long time, but have experienced no change in their lives. Instead, they became selfish people who criticize others, frown at brothers and sisters, and criticize preachers. Such "10,000 points in hearing" is a negative score for the inner life.
The Lord has said that his judgment shall begin with the house of God and he shall judge us according to what we have received. Imagine that one day, when our lives and behaviors are measured mainly by the words we have received; will each of our lives be commensurate with the words we have heard? Will it be a zero? Or a negative? This really needs to make us very alert.
May the Lord be merciful and help the church, help the pastors, help our brothers and sisters!
(The original article is published by the author, the senior pastor of Guangzhou Zion Church, Guangdong Province.)
- Translated by Nonye Nancy
Pastor: We Should Have the Right Attitude When Listening to Online Sermons
