In the past few decades, due to the systematization and popularization of theological education and preacher training in the Chinese church, a large number of excellent pastors have emerged. According to a senior preacher in Eastern China, it is more important to preach "the heart of God" than to "preach well”.
Starting to preach soon after his baptism in the late 1980s, Rev. Meng Mingcheng (pseudonym for safety reasons) soon became full-time in his ministry, which he still is today. Although many people praise him for preaching well, Pastor Meng believes that preaching is not done by man, but by the Spirit of God himself. The person is just a vessel used by God.
Noting that God's word is the most precious matter, Meng declared his intention of bringing believers to the Bible once again. A person will definitely experience change if he/she has been touched by the words.
He gave an example: Receiving a letter from his parents, a migrant worker should read the entire letter in order to fully understand what the parents meant. Meng stated that it was the same when reading the Bible, for many Christians, especially pastors, focus on a certain Scripture verse in sermons, ignoring the context of that verse. By contrast, some preachers can express God's will, while others only explain the topic. There is a major difference between these two.
In this regard, Pastor Meng suggested that people should have an understanding of the whole Bible, not just a few parts of it, or perhaps only a few books of the Bible. For example, he said, Proverbs 1-9 chapters should be read as a whole, since the context is vital. All of Proverbs 8 deals with only two core points, one of which is seeking wisdom, so it is difficult to convey God’s intention if the pastor misses the key points.
In the Bible, some long passages, even seven or eight chapters, address one core point, which believers or pastors may overlook when reading or preaching on the text. Therefore, Meng advises believers to read the Bible extensively in order to experience more from the Holy Spirit, for he has noticed that many are not familiar with the Scriptures.
He mentioned that a pastor should understand the context of the Scripture so that he will not interpret verses according to his own personal will. In addition, he emphasized that preachers must learn the principles of exegesis in order to better avoid random interpretations.
At the same time, Pastor Meng insisted that a pastor should preach sermons revealed and guided by the Holy Spirit. On the basis of his experience, he claimed that when a person reads the Bible thoroughly, the Bible itself will speak to him/her.
Meng said that sometimes he has had trouble reading the Bible. The Bible is not like an interesting novel, so he thought he needed to examine his heart and pray about this. The pastor concluded that a preacher must maintain an intimate relationship with God, for the closer this relationship is, the better and more correctly a human can interpret the holy writings.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
过去几十年间，中国教会因着神学教育和讲道培训的系统化和普及化，教会出现了一大批优秀的讲道人。华东一名资深讲道人认为，比起“讲得好”，讲出“上帝的心意”才是更加重要的。
孟明成牧师（化名）在上世纪80年代末的时候开始信仰，信仰不久就开始讲道并且全职服事直到如今。虽然常常有很多人夸赞孟牧师，觉得他讲道很好，但是孟牧师认为讲道这个不是人做的，而是上帝的灵自己做的，人只是上帝所使用的一个器皿罢了。
孟牧师说，在所有一切当中，上帝的话语是最宝贵的。他现在想要做的事情，那就是把信徒再一次的带到圣经里面。人一旦被上帝的话感动了，那么这个人一定会改变的。
他举了一个非常形象的例子。比如我们出去外地打工，然后父母给我们写了一封信。当我们收到信件以后，必须要把整封信都读完，这样我们才能准确的知道父母到底在信里说了什么。看圣经其实也是一样的。现在很多基督徒尤其是讲道人的问题是，讲道只看圣经当中的某一节经文，而把这节经文的上下文都给忽略了。同样讲圣经，有的人能够把上帝的心意讲出来，也有的人只是把题目讲了出来。这之间存在着巨大的差异。
对此，孟牧师建议所有人要对整个圣经有了解，而不是只是了解圣经的某一个或者几个部分，或者只比较了解圣经当中的几卷书。他举例说，比如箴言书1-9章，这部分内容必须要放在一起来读，因为上下文的连接是非常紧密的。而8章当中的两个呼喊就是两个点，整章的内容都是在围绕着这两个点在展开的。如果讲道的时候没有抓住要点，就很难传讲出来上帝的心意了。
有时候会用很长的篇幅甚至用7、8章的经文在讲那一个核心点，但是在读经或讲道时常把那个最重要的核心点给忽略掉了（==当summary）
因此，孟牧师建议说，他觉得很多人对圣经还是不够熟，因此需要更多的读经，一旦读熟了，就会常常有感动。
他提到只有联络上下文的时候我们才能够准确了解某节或者某段经文当时的背景，才不会随着人的意思来随便解经。另外他强调讲道人必须要学习和熟悉解经的原则，不然随意解经就非常容易出现问题。
同时，孟牧师坚持认为解经一定要有圣灵自己的工作。孟牧师有着非常丰富的讲道经验，当读通了圣经，圣经自己就会开口向你说话。
他说他自己也有圣经读不下去的时候。圣经不像小说有很多能够吸引人们的地方，这时，我们需要查看自己，究竟是什么原因，然后拿着这个原因在上帝面前祷告和省察自己。
因此，一个讲道人必须要和上帝保持亲密的关系。当此一个人与上帝的关系越是亲密，就越能够把这本书正确的解读出来。
对话|讲道人讲道的时候不能只讲字句，更要讲出上帝的心意
In the past few decades, due to the systematization and popularization of theological education and preacher training in the Chinese church, a large number of excellent pastors have emerged. According to a senior preacher in Eastern China, it is more important to preach "the heart of God" than to "preach well”.
Starting to preach soon after his baptism in the late 1980s, Rev. Meng Mingcheng (pseudonym for safety reasons) soon became full-time in his ministry, which he still is today. Although many people praise him for preaching well, Pastor Meng believes that preaching is not done by man, but by the Spirit of God himself. The person is just a vessel used by God.
Noting that God's word is the most precious matter, Meng declared his intention of bringing believers to the Bible once again. A person will definitely experience change if he/she has been touched by the words.
He gave an example: Receiving a letter from his parents, a migrant worker should read the entire letter in order to fully understand what the parents meant. Meng stated that it was the same when reading the Bible, for many Christians, especially pastors, focus on a certain Scripture verse in sermons, ignoring the context of that verse. By contrast, some preachers can express God's will, while others only explain the topic. There is a major difference between these two.
In this regard, Pastor Meng suggested that people should have an understanding of the whole Bible, not just a few parts of it, or perhaps only a few books of the Bible. For example, he said, Proverbs 1-9 chapters should be read as a whole, since the context is vital. All of Proverbs 8 deals with only two core points, one of which is seeking wisdom, so it is difficult to convey God’s intention if the pastor misses the key points.
In the Bible, some long passages, even seven or eight chapters, address one core point, which believers or pastors may overlook when reading or preaching on the text. Therefore, Meng advises believers to read the Bible extensively in order to experience more from the Holy Spirit, for he has noticed that many are not familiar with the Scriptures.
He mentioned that a pastor should understand the context of the Scripture so that he will not interpret verses according to his own personal will. In addition, he emphasized that preachers must learn the principles of exegesis in order to better avoid random interpretations.
At the same time, Pastor Meng insisted that a pastor should preach sermons revealed and guided by the Holy Spirit. On the basis of his experience, he claimed that when a person reads the Bible thoroughly, the Bible itself will speak to him/her.
Meng said that sometimes he has had trouble reading the Bible. The Bible is not like an interesting novel, so he thought he needed to examine his heart and pray about this. The pastor concluded that a preacher must maintain an intimate relationship with God, for the closer this relationship is, the better and more correctly a human can interpret the holy writings.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Pastors Should Speak God’s Mind, Not Just Words
