A pastor in eastern China shares his attitude toward money in today's materialistic world and how much his mindset has changed since going into business.
Pastor Li Xun (pseudonym), a former full-time pastor who started a business while pastoring at the same time, tells his own story.
Pastor Li worked full-time in the church before starting his own business. About 15 years ago, a teacher gave a talk in his church about workplace evangelism. Pastor Li had no idea what workplace evangelism was at the time because the church focused on church planting, serving, and the congregation offered money. There was no need for workplace evangelism. More than ten years later, he finally understands what the workplace is and what workplace evangelism means.
During his full-time ministry, his path of service was filled with difficulties due to the influence of the theology of suffering. The hardest part was the economy. Other difficulties could be solved by some means, but money was only about owning it or not. When he does not have enough money to buy food, he goes hungry and is unable to do anything else.
Pastor Li says that there were many shocks and even temptations when doing business. One Christian he knew also started a business but went out of business gradually. The reason for the failure was that he sold shoddy goods to customers. The purchase price of fine products was a few hundred yuan a pound, but the purchase price of shoddy goods was only dozens of yuan a pound, which means that the price difference was hundreds of yuan. What was more, he sold the goods to Christians at a higher price, while what he sold to non-believers was cheaper because he was well-versed in the psychology of Christians. Christians generally do not bargain with Christians. Some Christians even insisted on giving him more money. Many non-Christians would bargain patiently in order to save a few dollars.
Mr. Li believes that the most important aspect of the business is not profit but product quality. A product, as long as it works well, would make one earn money even though there is less profit for each piece of goods. "Profit is not my primary goal. We need to know what we're doing all this for, and our goal is the mission. The mission is not just inside the church; it is outside the church."
Pastor Li says he's been in business for years, and many of his friends used to worry about his business. Several of his older friends said to him, "You’re quite talented and have a gift for eloquence. Don't let business dominate your life and influence your faith." However, Pastor Li claims that he will attend the church as soon as he closes the store during working days. For years, the business has never stopped him from attending any gathering. "I always tell them that I know who I'm doing it for."
Pastor Li has met his own and his family's financial needs by running a business, and he now has extra resources to help other pastors in need.
"Make sure you have money in your pocket so you don't panic. Otherwise, a church, no matter how holy it is, will find it difficult to do much without funds. We have to admit that money can make a big difference in many cases. Money makes it easier to finish much work. Without money, many things that are easy to handle will become difficult."
Pastor Li thinks the core problem is not about whether it’s spiritual at all, but who you're doing it for. "If everything we do is for God, then even things that are not spiritual can become spiritual. The point is that we must do it for God, not for ourselves."
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
基督徒究竟应当如何看待金钱，如何在当今这样一个“物欲横流”的世界中使用金钱。华东一位牧者分享了他对金钱的态度以及经商之后很多观念的改变。
一位先前全职服事后来边经商边服事的李勋牧师（化名）说了他自己的经历。
开始经商之前，李牧师一直在全职服事。大约15年前的时候，有一位老师跟他们讲了关于职场传道的内容。那个时候,李牧师不知道什么叫职场传道。因为那个时候建立教会，服事，弟兄姊妹奉献，一切都挺好的，职场传道根本就没有这个必要。十多年以后终于明白了什么叫职场，什么叫职场传道。
在全职服事期间，因受到苦难神学的影响，他的服事之路充满了艰难。其中难之又难的地方就是经济。其他难的地方无论怎么样都能够想方设法的解决，但是钱这东西却不是，没有它就是没有——没有钱吃饭，饿着肚子没有饭吃就是做不了其他事情。
李郧牧师说经商的过程中确实会经历很大的冲击甚至试探。他所认识的一名基督徒，也是开店做生意的，但是做着做着就倒闭了。倒闭的原因是以次充好，把质量不高的产品当作高质量产品卖给顾客。好的产品只是进货价就要几百块钱一斤，但是次的产品进货价却只需要几十块钱，一斤产品的差价就是几百块。另外他卖给基督徒的东西反而价格更贵，卖给不信仰的人反而更加便宜。因为他深谙基督徒的心理——基督徒一般不跟基督徒讲价，说多少就是多少，甚至还有一些基督徒会执意多给一些钱；而不信仰的人很多是会讲价的，为了便宜几块钱能够在那里墨迹半天。
李郧牧师认为，经商第一应当追求的并不是利润，而是效果。一款产品，只要你的效果好，利润少一些这些都不是问题。“追求利润这个并不是我的首要目标。因为我们需要知道我们做这一切的目的究竟是为了什么，就是为了成就使命。使命不仅仅是在教会之内，更是在教会之外。”
李郧牧师说他经商许多年了，在这些当中，很多朋友都曾经很担心他，担心他买卖做着做着就没有主了。有好几个年长的朋友都对他说，“你的恩赐不错，口才也不错，你经商可千万不要被商业辖制住了。”但是李郧牧师说把店铺门一关，马上就能够去聚会。好些年了，从来没有因为经商而耽误过聚会。“我常常说一句话，我知道我是为谁做的。”
通过经商，李郧牧师解决了他自己和家庭的经济需要，甚至还能够有余力帮助到一些确实有需要的牧者。
“一定要保证家中有粮，如此才能心中不慌。否则的话，一个教会就算再属灵，话语讲的再好，可是没有资金的话，那么也很难做很多的事情。”我们必须得承认，金钱在很多时候确实能够发挥很大的作用。有钱的话很多事情都会变得简单，没有钱的话那么很多本来不难的事情也会变得艰难。
李郧牧师认为问题的根本并不是属灵还是不属灵，而是究竟在为谁而做。“如果我们所作的一切都是为了上帝而做的，那么就算是本来不属灵的事情也能变得属灵。重点是我们一定要为了上帝而做，而不是为了自己而做。“
访谈| "家中有粮，心中不慌" 华东一牧师谈经商后的感悟：教会和信徒需要具备商业意识
A pastor in eastern China shares his attitude toward money in today's materialistic world and how much his mindset has changed since going into business.
Pastor Li Xun (pseudonym), a former full-time pastor who started a business while pastoring at the same time, tells his own story.
Pastor Li worked full-time in the church before starting his own business. About 15 years ago, a teacher gave a talk in his church about workplace evangelism. Pastor Li had no idea what workplace evangelism was at the time because the church focused on church planting, serving, and the congregation offered money. There was no need for workplace evangelism. More than ten years later, he finally understands what the workplace is and what workplace evangelism means.
During his full-time ministry, his path of service was filled with difficulties due to the influence of the theology of suffering. The hardest part was the economy. Other difficulties could be solved by some means, but money was only about owning it or not. When he does not have enough money to buy food, he goes hungry and is unable to do anything else.
Pastor Li says that there were many shocks and even temptations when doing business. One Christian he knew also started a business but went out of business gradually. The reason for the failure was that he sold shoddy goods to customers. The purchase price of fine products was a few hundred yuan a pound, but the purchase price of shoddy goods was only dozens of yuan a pound, which means that the price difference was hundreds of yuan. What was more, he sold the goods to Christians at a higher price, while what he sold to non-believers was cheaper because he was well-versed in the psychology of Christians. Christians generally do not bargain with Christians. Some Christians even insisted on giving him more money. Many non-Christians would bargain patiently in order to save a few dollars.
Mr. Li believes that the most important aspect of the business is not profit but product quality. A product, as long as it works well, would make one earn money even though there is less profit for each piece of goods. "Profit is not my primary goal. We need to know what we're doing all this for, and our goal is the mission. The mission is not just inside the church; it is outside the church."
Pastor Li says he's been in business for years, and many of his friends used to worry about his business. Several of his older friends said to him, "You’re quite talented and have a gift for eloquence. Don't let business dominate your life and influence your faith." However, Pastor Li claims that he will attend the church as soon as he closes the store during working days. For years, the business has never stopped him from attending any gathering. "I always tell them that I know who I'm doing it for."
Pastor Li has met his own and his family's financial needs by running a business, and he now has extra resources to help other pastors in need.
"Make sure you have money in your pocket so you don't panic. Otherwise, a church, no matter how holy it is, will find it difficult to do much without funds. We have to admit that money can make a big difference in many cases. Money makes it easier to finish much work. Without money, many things that are easy to handle will become difficult."
Pastor Li thinks the core problem is not about whether it’s spiritual at all, but who you're doing it for. "If everything we do is for God, then even things that are not spiritual can become spiritual. The point is that we must do it for God, not for ourselves."
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
Pastor Calls on Churches to Develop Business Sense
