The Year 2020 is destined to be an extraordinary year in human history. A sudden outbreak of COVID-19 at the beginning of the year caught people by surprise. Until now, the pandemic is still far from over in many parts of the world. Although it is basically under control in China, it could flare up again at any time. Its impact on churches in China is so unprecedented that some churches have not yet been opened for public gatherings.
A year has passed. I would like to use the words "challenge, gratitude, and growth" to review my spiritual journey, which was a kind of service through adversity and difficulties.
1. Perseverance in the pandemic
Since the original church leader was recalled to heaven due to his illness, I was elected to be the director of our church committee on July 21, 2019. I faced a severe test just after I took office half a year later. I still remember when the city of Wuhan was closed at noon on January 23, 2020. The next day, other parts of the country responded immediately. On the same day, churches received notices from authorities to stop public gatherings. This undoubtedly disrupted our original plan for our Chinese New Year thanksgiving service, as well as the whole year's work plan. How could I explain this sort of unprecedented action to our brothers and sisters? Would they think the cancellation of the worship service was due to the preacher’s lack of faith? How to prevent and control the epidemic? These questions immediately rolled in my mind.
First, via WeChat I notified the brothers and sisters of the cancellation of the Chinese New Year thanksgiving worship service and asked them to inform those who are not in the WeChat group. However, some elderly brothers and sisters who had not received notification appeared at the church early on the morning of Chinese New Year. Wearing a mask, I received them one by one and patiently explained to them the reason why we could not gather. I told them to pray and read the scriptures at home for the time being. I also advised them to take protect themselves whenever they had to go shopping. They nodded vaguely and then left slowly.
As more and more people became infected with COvid-19, the situation in Wuhan was getting worse and worse. The brothers and sisters who lived at home for a long time might become depressed and irritable. They needed the comfort of the Lord's words. What should I do? After comparing ideas and getting feedback from others, we decided to hold online worship services. Since last Chinese New Year’s Day, we have been preaching sermons on our WeChat group every Sunday. Those elderly brothers and sisters, who had not used smartphones before, were taught how to use them. Then, they were able to participate in online worship just by one touch. The word of God as well as the voice of the preacher have brought them great comfort.
In April and May, the South Korean heresy “Cinchonic Church of Jesus (SCJ)” was rampant in many places. In order to prevent brothers and sisters from being deceived, we did the following things on days when we could not reach them directly. We mainly used prayer, WeChat, telephone visits and counseling to carry out the pastoral ministry of the church. Thank the Lord for his guidance, I went from being puzzled at the beginning to becoming proficient in my work. When some brothers and sisters died during this period, I often comforted their family members and arranged their funerals by myself or with a volunteer. When the church resumed its on-site gatherings, no “lamb” was lost except those who returned to Heaven.
2. "Lord, don't let me be a rusty vessel."
I do not think I am a very smart person. Because of family financial reasons, I have not received a good public education. However, I like reading so much that I often miss sleep by reading a good book. Ms. Weihong Zhao, the editor of the seminary magazine "Honeydew", happened to be my head teacher when I reported to the Central South Seminary in September, 2000. She immediately arranged for me to work as an assistant editor for the seminary magazine. This gave me the opportunity to start serving God through writing. I wrote for almost every issue of Honeydew during my four years of study. Before Ms. Zhao left to study abroad, she said in class, “A good sermon can only affect hundreds of people; but the influence of a good article is limitless. Since our God pays attention to the written word, you should always work hard and influence more people with your pen.” I still remember these words today, but I have hardly written any articles in the past 10 years, except writing work summaries, application reports, or occasionally writing articles for some internal church publications. I have also written things for courses or papers that need to be completed during advanced studies. I gradually went from writing a complete sermon to finishing the outline and main content at the end. There were a few reasons why I did so. First, there was no "field" for text service after graduating from the seminary. Next, there used to be too many "misfits" as changing from a pure theological student to a pastor after entering the church. The interpersonal relationships in the church were not as simple as I expected. Then, family dragged me away from writing at times. Finally, my busy ministry made it difficult for me to find time to write articles.
In addition to ministry, I read books and accompanied my children every day when we were required to stay at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. I submitted several Sunday sermons to China Christian Daily. After that, I missed my mother, who had been in heaven for more than ten years, so much that I immediately spent more than an hour writing "Memories of Mother on Mother's Day without Mother". I once told my daughter, “This is the only place that the same noun "mother" appears three times in a row in a short eight-word title among decades of your Dad’s articles. It is the Holy Spirit who inspired Dad to write down the testimony about your grandmother.”
Later, I also wrote another article titled “Working for the Lord with Love—Mutual Encouragment of Brothers and Sisters”. A sister specifically mentioned to me, “Amen! I agree with this paragraph in particular. The relationship among churches and that among church staff are definitely not like a rival relationship among peers in the business field. Instead, we all bear witness for the Lord, expand the kingdom of God, and fulfill God's entrustment together.”
3. "Be a good steward of God's various gifts."
When I was studying in the seminary, a classmate often said, "A soldier who does not want to be a general is not a good soldier." But in my opinion, being a church leader is more of a responsibility. Therefore, it should not be earned or obtained through various means. As Pastor Yilu Chen, Executive Vice President of Jinling Union Seminary, said: “Not everyone can wear the same piece of clothing and look good. If you put it on, you might look nondescript.” When I became the person in charge in the church, I felt a heavy responsibility. I pay attention to spiritual practices every morning and especially ask myself to do what the scripture says, such as: “The steward is asked to be loyal.” (Corinthians 4:2). Another verse I follow is “The judgment must begin at the house of God” (Peter 4: 17). We know that serving not only has to be tested by people, but it will also have to be accountable to God in the future. In fact, pastors have heavy responsibilities and heavy future trials. This is especially true for senior pastors. It is better to have a heart that is filled with fear and trembling.
At the beginning of July 2020, the epidemic situation improved. The church I served and the other two churches took the lead in submitting applications for re-opening churches to the public. Our application process would clarify the steps for subsequent applicants. In the past, we always contacted the religious authorities directly. But this time, we had to start at the grassroots level. Here came the questions, “Whom should I call? “and “Which leader knows me?” As the person in charge, I knew I must face reality and do what I should do. Just when I felt “I don't know what to do” and could only pray and put my trust in God, God's leadership came. The law enforcement inspection team of the County People's Congress wanted to inspect our church. The cadres I needed to find contacted me directly. Then they participated in the reception and reporting, bringing everyone together at once. I took the opportunity to request orally about the "resumption of public gatherings" in our church, and also submitted written application materials.
Before the church resumed public gatherings, I needed to deal with another matter. A sister was about to graduate from Guangdong Union Seminary and we needed to arrange her ministry as she grew up in our church and was recommended to the seminary by this church a few years ago. We had to think about ways to enable her to participate in the ministry and take care of her family at the same time. I communicated twice with the responsible co-workers of the two associations, but couldn't come up with any good ideas. The reason was that neither of the two associations had the financial means. At that time, the church had not resumed public gatherings. Therefore, she had to return to the parent club temporarily. Even so, she would still to have funds so she could meet the financial needs of her family. Every Sunday, I was almost always the first to take the lead in giving thanks, which also inspired others to contribute. These persons were originally from this church but working in other cities. The Holy Spirit also moved a church in Shenzhen to help us. A few days ago, our financial staff told me about the financial situation of the church. I was so pleased to learn that not only did the church have no deficit, but it also made a slight surplus during the Christmas period. Although the church expenses are excessive, the God of Jehovah Elek is with us. "Thank God, for he has an inexhaustible gift" (2 Corinthians 9:15).
(The original article is published by Gospel Times.)
- Translated by Jerry Liu
