In 1874, in his memorial to Emperor Tongzhi of the Qing Dynasty, Li Hongzhang, a Chinese politician, said that the situation he faced was “a great change for thousands of years”. Today in 2021, we can still be said to be in a new “unprecedented era of great changes”. The same is true of today’s churches, especially those in the post-pandemic era.
The COVID-19 pandemic weakened the prominent role of in-person gatherings and intensified the rethinking of ecclesiology. At the same time, many realistic thresholds in public and the environment are rising, which makes it difficult for the church to find the primitive, extensive, and friendly social atmosphere within religion that existed before the pandemic, especially from the last two decades of the 20th century to the first decade of the 21st century.
The real changes brought about by various environments can easily stimulate the tendency of Chinese churches that have experienced decades of difficult times, especially during the Cultural Revolution, to live more conservatively. Therefore, the vision of openness seems to have to sink in halfway through, and many churches have consciously returned to the basic needs of “survival” and stepped into the semi-underground way of meeting again.
However, the vision or purpose of the church is not only for survival but also for serving believers and the world, which are the truest manifestations of our service to God. Simply put, the church can’t forget its mission just to survive.
Perhaps today we are indeed facing a new “unprecedented change”, but God’s call to the church has never changed, and it has been so for thousands of years no matter how times change.
So, what is God’s calling for the church? Or what is the church’s mission?
From the teachings of the Lord Jesus, in a word, they are “the Great Commandment” and “the Great Commission”.
Human history has been changing, but God’s sovereignty and mercy are beyond these. His church also serves God, believers, and the world in different historical times and situations. What has changed is only the means and ways, which is the area where the church needs to exert its creativity most today.
For the history of Chinese churches, we can also find precedents to follow. Looking back at the history of how and when the gospel took root in China, it was not a friendly environment that foreign missionaries faced at first, and objectively speaking, it was more difficult than what the church faces today. However, according to their own advantages and needs of the Chinese people at that time, they creatively tried many ways, such as translating the Bible, writing books, and telling stories, opposing foot-binding for women and infanticide, establishing newspapers and magazines, creating and translating literature, introducing modern science and sports, caring for young children, and carrying out relief, etc. They then widely applied the three-legged ministry route integrating the church, medical care, with education for decades, which had a profound influence on China in breadth and depth. This can give us a great deal of inspiration today.
The experiences from 1950 to 1980 brought a very deep scar of suffering to the Chinese church that tried localization in the 1910s. On the one hand, it tempered its pure and passionate love for the Lord. On the other hand, it also had a habitual tendency of marginalization and recessive existence. The coexistence of these two styles led to the vigorous growth of local churches after the re-implementation of the policy of freedom of religious belief in the 1980s, but on the whole, it was through an “extensive running” mode. The driving force and result of growth were mostly a bright and hot religious manifestation - it was basically confined to the church-based mode rather than the European-American church as its foundation. Of course, there were many Christian ministries in culture, society, and life. Surely this has much to do with the historical and cultural foundation between China and the West, but on the other hand, it also reflects the “narrowing” of the belief manifestations and ministry outlook of local churches in China.
Today, in the post-pandemic era, Chinese churches, whether active or passive, have to broaden their ideas so that their faith isn’t just restricted to religious manifestations.
In the new era, it has at least three areas of manifestations that are worth trying:
1. Manifestations of socialization
Love can transcend religion and secularity, Christians and non-Christians, and races and cultures. Wayne Grudem summed up the mission of the church in his work Systemic Theology. In addition to serving God and believers, he emphasized a third point of serving the world. However, these three points are often ignored by Chinese churches at present.
Sociologist Rodney William Stark analyzed the growth of Christianity in the Roman plague era. In his book The Rise of Christianity: A Sociologist Reconsiders History, he put forward a brand-new and far-sighted point of view that the religious circles also felt: Christians believed that the doctrine of eternal life allowed them to enjoy inner peace in the plague, and at the same time, the doctrine instructed Christians to act, love each other, and sacrifice themselves for others. Therefore, in order to care for the sick, many Christians also contracted the plague and even gave their lives. The behavior of the pagans was the complete opposite. When the plague spread, they would abandon their infected relatives and friends, so even relatives were no exception. Sometimes family members were left on the roadside before they died, but they still couldn’t get rid of bad luck. In the plague, the noble moral character of Christians and their kindness to strangers made pagans feel inferior to themselves, which became a very important realistic factor for the rise of Christianity.
Over the past decade or so, one of the biggest dilemmas of religious organizations in charity was the tension between charity and missionary work, which led to distrust from the government. Nowadays, religious charity is facing greater pressure than in the past. Some scholars have observed that in charitable efforts such as bringing aid in the wake of a natural disaster, the religious identity of religious charitable organizations often makes religious organizations fall into “alternative embarrassment”.
Comparing the operation modes of many successful religious charities in Hong Kong, Taiwan Province, Europe, and America, we can see that these successful charitable organizations put the charity role above the religious role in their efforts, and their sociality is greater than religion, which is a key point worth learning from.
Practically speaking, it is not our teachings that can cross the church walls and social barriers and win people’s hearts, but the eternal love, which needs concrete actions. Therefore, the socialized charity needs further specialization and deepening.
2. Cultural manifestations
Broadly speaking, when religion develops to a certain degree, its presentation is a culture with faith as its core, and it is also an important part of the whole social culture. At present, the blending of the global village and modernization makes the human society present a state of coexistence of various religions and cultures.
The manifestations of religion can keep our faith in a stable and safe state within a small range, but the development of religion does not stop there as it will develop and become the most important element to promote and feedback culture.
Looking back at history, missionaries such as Matteo Ricci, Giulio Aleni and William Alexander Parsons Martin, as well as indigenous Christians such as Xu Guangqi, Rong Hong, Wang Tao and Mei Yiqi, who made far-reaching contributions to the development of Chinese culture, all had a great relationship with their religious beliefs.
By studying the Gospel of John and Acts in the Bible, we can also see that John and Paul at that time were sensitive to the culture of the region where they served. They were not only familiar with the existing culture, but also thought with the eyes of faith, and had dialogues and interactions with the local culture so as to enter it, update and create a new culture, which had profound influence.
Faith is penetrating and touches the soul. Culture is rich and all-encompassing. There are many forms of culture, not only literature, music, drama, movies, architecture, and other forms, but also the carriers around us, such as bookstores, coffee shops, memorials, museums, galleries, art galleries, or restaurants all of which have culture elements.
Faith can be a boost to protect and promote the diversity of cultural manifestations. These diverse cultural carriers and forms can also make our faith more vital and expressive.
3. Life-oriented manifestations
The slogan “Let faith come alive” has been a very popular phrase among Chinese Christians for more than a decade, which expresses the simple and sincere expectations of ordinary believers.
Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy in the Bible are the main records of the law. Through these books, God teaches his children how to live out their beliefs. Apart from obvious religious manifestations such as sacrifices and festivals, many of them are details of life, such as the cleanliness and hygiene of homes, how to treat quarrels and fights, and how to treat vulnerable groups such as orphans and widows.
Life is trivial and realistic. Money and fame, relationship and self, being single and married, children and parents, suffering and success, aging and generation gap constitute life, and these are the real challenges that everyone must face in life.
Can our church and our faith provide unique and practical resources to help the vast masses in this world live a more meaningful and valuable life in times of pluralism and full of crises? This is a field of manifestations worthy of investment.
Final remarks
To broaden the manifestations in these three areas mentioned above and get out of the dilemma of religious manifestations, first of all, it is necessary for today’s Chinese churches, especially grass-roots pastors and leaders, to change their views. Instead of taking the church as the vanguard and main body of service, it should become the “rear base” of silent cultivation, helping to cultivate Christians from all walks of life, to enable them to take root in their beliefs, to equip them with the ability to serve, and then send them to serve in crowds to live out their beliefs extensively and richly.
A pastor of the Central Plains Church who started thinking and trying to transform several years ago said, “The real farm is not the church, but the world.” He said, “Drivers will go to the gas station, but they didn’t buy a car to live in the gas station which just helps. The gas station is not our destination. We enter the gas station just for us to walk on the road, so we have to enter the gas station to replenish. In the same way, we come to the church for spiritual supply, but the real farm is not the church but in family, society, and even the world. Otherwise, the church will say that the church is closed today, and we have no ministry to do. Our work is in the world, and so is Jesus’ sending His disciples everywhere. If we are confined to a certain church, it will be very difficult.”
May more churches and pastors see this, and let the Chinese church get out of her “Three Gorges of Transformation” and become a more mature and God-like bride of Jesus Christ.
- Translated by Charlie Li
1874年，李鸿章在给同治皇帝的奏折中说到面临的情势是“数千年未有之大变局”。
2021年的今天，我们仍可以说是处在一个新的“未有的大变局时代”。
对今日教会——尤其是后疫情时代的教会——而言，也是如此。
疫情弱化了实体聚会原有的突出角色，激化了对教会论的再思；同时公共空间和环境上许多现实门槛的升高，导致教会很难再找回疫情前、特别是20世纪最后的二十年至21世纪首个十年曾体验过的对宗教的那种原始、粗放而同时友好度较高的社会氛围。
种种环境带来的真实变化，很容易激发曾经历过数十年艰难时代尤其是文革时期的中国教会更偏保守化生存的倾向。因此，公开化的异象看上去不得不中途沉沙，不少教会也自觉退回到着重“求生存”的基本需求，重新步入半地下的方式。
然而，教会存在的异象或者说目的并不仅仅只是为了生存，她还有服事信徒和世人的需要，而这是我们服事上帝最真实的表达。简单而言，就是教会不能只是为了活下来，而忘记使命。
也许今天的我们的确面临着一个新的“未有之大变局”，但上帝对教会的呼召并从未改变，过去几千年来一直如此，无论时代如何变换。
那么上帝对教会的呼召是什么？或者说教会的使命是什么？
从主耶稣的教导而言，一言以蔽之，即“大诫命”和“大使命”。
人类历史一直处于变化之中，但上帝的主权和恩慈是超越这些的。祂的教会也是在不同的历史时代和处境下服事上帝、信徒和世人，变化的只是手段和方式，是今日教会最需要着力发挥创造性的领域。
这对中国教会的历史而言，也可以找到先例可循。回顾福音扎根中国的历史，最初传教士面临的也并非是一个友好的环境，客观而言比今天教会所面临的更为艰难。然而，他们根据自身的优势和当时中国百姓的需要，创造性地尝试了许多方式，比如翻译圣经、著书立说、反对裹足与溺婴、创办报刊杂志、进行文学创造和翻译、引入现代科学与体育、展开慈幼和救济事业等，并随后在数十年里广泛应用了教会、医疗、教育等三条腿的事奉路线，从广度和深度上都对中国影响深远。这可以给今天的我们带来很多启发。
1950-1980年之间这三十年的经历，对在1910年代就已尝试本土化的中国教会带来十分深刻的苦难印记，一方面淬炼出其纯粹、火热爱主的底色，一方面也使其更具有一种边缘化、隐性生存的习惯性倾向。这两种风格并存，导致在1980年代宗教信仰自由政策重新落实后，本土教会虽然在经历蓬勃的增长，但整体而言是一种“粗放式奔跑”的模式，并且增长的动力和结果呈现地多是一种鲜明而炙热的宗教化表达——它基本局限在以教会为主体的模式内，而非如欧美式的教会为根基，在文化、社会、生活的方面有大量的基督教事工、社区、个体的多样化表达。当然，这与中西之间的历史文化基础有很大关系，但另一个角度而言，它也反映了当下中国本土教会受在信仰表达和服事观上的“窄化”。
今天，身处后疫情时代的中国教会，无论主动或者被动，都不得不拓宽我们的观念，让我们的信仰不能只是拘泥于宗教化的表达。
新的时代背景下，它至少有三个领域的表达是值得尝试的：
1.社会化的表达
爱是可以超越宗教和世俗的，超越基督徒和非基督徒的，超越种族和文化的。古德恩在他的《系统神学》中对教会的使命做概括时，除了服事上帝和信徒外，在第三点列上服事世人并且进行了强调1，然而这三点却是当下的中国教会常常忽略掉的。
社会学家斯塔克对罗马瘟疫时代的基督教的增长进行分析，他最后在其著作《基督教的兴起》中提出令宗教界也感到全新的、富有远见的观点：基督徒相信永生的教义让他们在疫情中得享内心的平安，同时教义指示基督徒要行动起来、彼此相爱、舍己为人，因此为了看护病人，很多基督徒也染上了瘟疫，甚至奉献了自己的生命，而异教徒的表现则完全相反，瘟疫传开，他们就会抛弃自己被感染的亲人朋友，至亲也不例外，有时候家人还未死去就被丢在路旁，然而还是无法摆脱厄运；而瘟疫中基督徒表现出来的高尚品德，对陌生人的仁爱，是令异教徒自叹不如，这成为基督教兴起一个很重要的现实性的因素2。
过去十多年前，宗教组织在慈善上最大的困境之一是慈善和传教上的张力，这种张力导致的不信任时下宗教慈善面临着比过去更大的压力。有学者观察到，在灾难现场等慈善活动中，宗教慈善组织的宗教性身份常常让宗教组织陷入“另类的尴尬”中3。
对比香港、台湾地区，以及欧美等多个成功的宗教慈善机构运作方式，可以看到，这些成功的慈善组织在开展活动时，是将慈善角色置于宗教角色之上的，其社会性是大于宗教性的，这是非常值得借鉴的一个关键点。
实事求是地说，我们能够跨越教会墙壁和社会藩篱、赢得人心的并非靠我们的教义，而是无远弗届的爱，而这爱是需要以实打实的行动落地的，因此社会化的慈善公益是需要进一步专业化和深化的。
2.文化性的表达
广义而言，宗教发展到一定程度，其呈现方式本身就是一种以信仰为核心的文化，同时它又是整个社会文化的重要的组成部分。当下，地球村和现代化的交融，使得人类社会呈现多种宗教与文化交织而共存的状态。
宗教式的表达可以使我们的信仰在一个小范围内保持稳定而安全的状态，但宗教的发展它不止于此，它会发展并且成为促进文化和反哺文化最重要的一个元素。
回顾历史，对中华文化发展带来深远贡献的如传教士利玛窦、艾儒略、丁韪良，以及本土基督徒徐光启、容闳、王韬、梅贻琦等，无不和他们的宗教信仰有莫大的关系。
研读圣经中的《约翰福音》和《使徒行传》，也可以看到当时的使徒约翰与保罗对所服事地区文化的敏感，他们不仅熟悉现有的文化，而且带着信仰的眼光进行思考，并与文化对话与互动，以进入到现有的文化中，并更新与创造出新的文化，影响深远。
信仰是深刻的，是触及灵魂的；文化是丰富的，是包罗万象的。文化的形式是多种多样的，它不仅仅有文学、音乐、戏剧、电影、建筑等形式，它的载体也是就在我们身边的，比如身边的书店、咖啡店、纪念馆、博物馆、画廊、美术馆、餐厅......这些无不存在文化。
信仰，可以成为保护和促进文化表现形式多样性的一个助力。而这些多样性的文化载体和形式也可以让我们的信仰变得更具有生命力与表现力。
3.生活化的表达
“让信仰活出来”是十多年来中国基督徒群体中非常流行的一句话，它说出了普通大众信徒对此质朴而真挚的广泛期待。
圣经中的利未记、民数记和申命记作为律法的主要记录书卷。藉着这几卷书，上帝教导他的子女如何活出他们的信仰，其中除了献祭、节日等明显的宗教表达外，许多是生活中的细节，比如居所的清洁与卫生、如何对待争吵和斗殴、如何对待孤儿寡妇等弱势群体等。
生活是琐碎而现实的。金钱和名利、关系与自我、单身与结婚、育儿和父母、苦难与成功、衰老与代沟......这些构成了生活，这些是每个人人生中必须面临的真实的挑战。
我们的教会、我们的信仰能否在多元化和危机四伏的时代里提供独特而实用的资源，帮助现世之中的茫茫大众活出一个更有意义和价值的人生？这是一个值得投资的表达领域。
结语
拓宽以上提到的这三个领域的表达，走出当下宗教化表达的困局，首先需要今日的中国教会，尤其教会基层牧者和领袖转换观点：不要把教会作为服事的前锋和主体，而是成为默默耕耘的“后方基地”，培养各行各业的基督徒，帮助他们在信仰上扎根，装备他们服事的能力，然后派遣他们到人群之处去服事，广泛而丰富地活出信仰。
一位几年前已经开始在思考和尝试转型的中原教会牧者如此说：“真正的禾场不是教会，而是世界。”他形容说，“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。4”
愿越来越多的教会和牧者有这样的看见，让中国教会走出她的“转型三峡期”，成为更成熟的、合神心意的耶稣基督的新妇。
注释：
1.古德恩(Wayne Grudem),张麟至译：《系统神学》，台湾：更新传道会，2011年版，862-880页。
2.再思丨罗马时代的瘟疫与基督教兴起的历史. 基督时报，2021.1. https://www.christiantimes.cn/news/31036
3.郑筱筠. “另类的尴尬”与“玻璃口袋” ——当代宗教慈善公益的“中国式困境”. 中国社会科学网，2012. http://www.cssn.cn/zjx/zjx_zjyj/zjx_ddzj/201409/W020140904404319155597.pdf
4.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. 基督时报，2021.4. https://www.christiantimes.cn/news/34601
角声| 新的时代背景下,我们的信仰不能只是拘泥于宗教化的表达
In 1874, in his memorial to Emperor Tongzhi of the Qing Dynasty, Li Hongzhang, a Chinese politician, said that the situation he faced was “a great change for thousands of years”. Today in 2021, we can still be said to be in a new “unprecedented era of great changes”. The same is true of today’s churches, especially those in the post-pandemic era.
The COVID-19 pandemic weakened the prominent role of in-person gatherings and intensified the rethinking of ecclesiology. At the same time, many realistic thresholds in public and the environment are rising, which makes it difficult for the church to find the primitive, extensive, and friendly social atmosphere within religion that existed before the pandemic, especially from the last two decades of the 20th century to the first decade of the 21st century.
The real changes brought about by various environments can easily stimulate the tendency of Chinese churches that have experienced decades of difficult times, especially during the Cultural Revolution, to live more conservatively. Therefore, the vision of openness seems to have to sink in halfway through, and many churches have consciously returned to the basic needs of “survival” and stepped into the semi-underground way of meeting again.
However, the vision or purpose of the church is not only for survival but also for serving believers and the world, which are the truest manifestations of our service to God. Simply put, the church can’t forget its mission just to survive.
Perhaps today we are indeed facing a new “unprecedented change”, but God’s call to the church has never changed, and it has been so for thousands of years no matter how times change.
So, what is God’s calling for the church? Or what is the church’s mission?
From the teachings of the Lord Jesus, in a word, they are “the Great Commandment” and “the Great Commission”.
Human history has been changing, but God’s sovereignty and mercy are beyond these. His church also serves God, believers, and the world in different historical times and situations. What has changed is only the means and ways, which is the area where the church needs to exert its creativity most today.
For the history of Chinese churches, we can also find precedents to follow. Looking back at the history of how and when the gospel took root in China, it was not a friendly environment that foreign missionaries faced at first, and objectively speaking, it was more difficult than what the church faces today. However, according to their own advantages and needs of the Chinese people at that time, they creatively tried many ways, such as translating the Bible, writing books, and telling stories, opposing foot-binding for women and infanticide, establishing newspapers and magazines, creating and translating literature, introducing modern science and sports, caring for young children, and carrying out relief, etc. They then widely applied the three-legged ministry route integrating the church, medical care, with education for decades, which had a profound influence on China in breadth and depth. This can give us a great deal of inspiration today.
The experiences from 1950 to 1980 brought a very deep scar of suffering to the Chinese church that tried localization in the 1910s. On the one hand, it tempered its pure and passionate love for the Lord. On the other hand, it also had a habitual tendency of marginalization and recessive existence. The coexistence of these two styles led to the vigorous growth of local churches after the re-implementation of the policy of freedom of religious belief in the 1980s, but on the whole, it was through an “extensive running” mode. The driving force and result of growth were mostly a bright and hot religious manifestation - it was basically confined to the church-based mode rather than the European-American church as its foundation. Of course, there were many Christian ministries in culture, society, and life. Surely this has much to do with the historical and cultural foundation between China and the West, but on the other hand, it also reflects the “narrowing” of the belief manifestations and ministry outlook of local churches in China.
Today, in the post-pandemic era, Chinese churches, whether active or passive, have to broaden their ideas so that their faith isn’t just restricted to religious manifestations.
In the new era, it has at least three areas of manifestations that are worth trying:
1. Manifestations of socialization
Love can transcend religion and secularity, Christians and non-Christians, and races and cultures. Wayne Grudem summed up the mission of the church in his work Systemic Theology. In addition to serving God and believers, he emphasized a third point of serving the world. However, these three points are often ignored by Chinese churches at present.
Sociologist Rodney William Stark analyzed the growth of Christianity in the Roman plague era. In his book The Rise of Christianity: A Sociologist Reconsiders History, he put forward a brand-new and far-sighted point of view that the religious circles also felt: Christians believed that the doctrine of eternal life allowed them to enjoy inner peace in the plague, and at the same time, the doctrine instructed Christians to act, love each other, and sacrifice themselves for others. Therefore, in order to care for the sick, many Christians also contracted the plague and even gave their lives. The behavior of the pagans was the complete opposite. When the plague spread, they would abandon their infected relatives and friends, so even relatives were no exception. Sometimes family members were left on the roadside before they died, but they still couldn’t get rid of bad luck. In the plague, the noble moral character of Christians and their kindness to strangers made pagans feel inferior to themselves, which became a very important realistic factor for the rise of Christianity.
Over the past decade or so, one of the biggest dilemmas of religious organizations in charity was the tension between charity and missionary work, which led to distrust from the government. Nowadays, religious charity is facing greater pressure than in the past. Some scholars have observed that in charitable efforts such as bringing aid in the wake of a natural disaster, the religious identity of religious charitable organizations often makes religious organizations fall into “alternative embarrassment”.
Comparing the operation modes of many successful religious charities in Hong Kong, Taiwan Province, Europe, and America, we can see that these successful charitable organizations put the charity role above the religious role in their efforts, and their sociality is greater than religion, which is a key point worth learning from.
Practically speaking, it is not our teachings that can cross the church walls and social barriers and win people’s hearts, but the eternal love, which needs concrete actions. Therefore, the socialized charity needs further specialization and deepening.
2. Cultural manifestations
Broadly speaking, when religion develops to a certain degree, its presentation is a culture with faith as its core, and it is also an important part of the whole social culture. At present, the blending of the global village and modernization makes the human society present a state of coexistence of various religions and cultures.
The manifestations of religion can keep our faith in a stable and safe state within a small range, but the development of religion does not stop there as it will develop and become the most important element to promote and feedback culture.
Looking back at history, missionaries such as Matteo Ricci, Giulio Aleni and William Alexander Parsons Martin, as well as indigenous Christians such as Xu Guangqi, Rong Hong, Wang Tao and Mei Yiqi, who made far-reaching contributions to the development of Chinese culture, all had a great relationship with their religious beliefs.
By studying the Gospel of John and Acts in the Bible, we can also see that John and Paul at that time were sensitive to the culture of the region where they served. They were not only familiar with the existing culture, but also thought with the eyes of faith, and had dialogues and interactions with the local culture so as to enter it, update and create a new culture, which had profound influence.
Faith is penetrating and touches the soul. Culture is rich and all-encompassing. There are many forms of culture, not only literature, music, drama, movies, architecture, and other forms, but also the carriers around us, such as bookstores, coffee shops, memorials, museums, galleries, art galleries, or restaurants all of which have culture elements.
Faith can be a boost to protect and promote the diversity of cultural manifestations. These diverse cultural carriers and forms can also make our faith more vital and expressive.
3. Life-oriented manifestations
The slogan “Let faith come alive” has been a very popular phrase among Chinese Christians for more than a decade, which expresses the simple and sincere expectations of ordinary believers.
Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy in the Bible are the main records of the law. Through these books, God teaches his children how to live out their beliefs. Apart from obvious religious manifestations such as sacrifices and festivals, many of them are details of life, such as the cleanliness and hygiene of homes, how to treat quarrels and fights, and how to treat vulnerable groups such as orphans and widows.
Life is trivial and realistic. Money and fame, relationship and self, being single and married, children and parents, suffering and success, aging and generation gap constitute life, and these are the real challenges that everyone must face in life.
Can our church and our faith provide unique and practical resources to help the vast masses in this world live a more meaningful and valuable life in times of pluralism and full of crises? This is a field of manifestations worthy of investment.
Final remarks
To broaden the manifestations in these three areas mentioned above and get out of the dilemma of religious manifestations, first of all, it is necessary for today’s Chinese churches, especially grass-roots pastors and leaders, to change their views. Instead of taking the church as the vanguard and main body of service, it should become the “rear base” of silent cultivation, helping to cultivate Christians from all walks of life, to enable them to take root in their beliefs, to equip them with the ability to serve, and then send them to serve in crowds to live out their beliefs extensively and richly.
A pastor of the Central Plains Church who started thinking and trying to transform several years ago said, “The real farm is not the church, but the world.” He said, “Drivers will go to the gas station, but they didn’t buy a car to live in the gas station which just helps. The gas station is not our destination. We enter the gas station just for us to walk on the road, so we have to enter the gas station to replenish. In the same way, we come to the church for spiritual supply, but the real farm is not the church but in family, society, and even the world. Otherwise, the church will say that the church is closed today, and we have no ministry to do. Our work is in the world, and so is Jesus’ sending His disciples everywhere. If we are confined to a certain church, it will be very difficult.”
May more churches and pastors see this, and let the Chinese church get out of her “Three Gorges of Transformation” and become a more mature and God-like bride of Jesus Christ.
- Translated by Charlie Li
A Chinese Christian's Voice: In New Era, Our Christian Faith Can’t Just Stick to Religious Manifestations
