The house church meetings are practice grounds.
One of the major concerns of pastors is that, despite spending a lot of time preparing the Word and preaching, the lives of the congregants don’t change easily. Especially in this era of a flood of Words, where the level of preaching has risen, pastors find it increasingly difficult to prepare sermons. This concern is shared by most pastors. Regarding this issue, Pastor Choi Young-ki has provided an answer in an article that I would like to share.
Many pastors pour their hearts into preaching and teaching the Word because they believe that only the Word can change the lives of the congregants. That’s correct. However, pastors with some experience will have to admit that, no matter how touching the sermon or deep the Bible study, most church members’ lives do not change. The reason the lives of the congregants don’t change is not because there is a lack of the Word. We live in an age of information overload. If you go online, you can listen to excellent sermons and engage in deep Bible studies anytime. The reason that the lives of Christians today don’t change is because they don’t have a practice ground to apply the Word. Overfeeding the Word can do more harm than good for the congregants. Health foods like samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) or bosintang (dog meat soup) help those who are malnourished, but they can harm those who are obese. Continuously feeding congregants the Word without providing them a practice ground to apply it is like feeding an obese person nutrient-dense food—it won’t help and could make things worse.
In the House Church, there is a place to practice the Word. That place is the house church meetings that take place during the week. In the house church meetings, members practice love and service, and through conflicts, they learn forgiveness, tolerance, and patience. Through this process, they become more like Jesus. Pastors must seriously reflect on whether they are providing such a practice ground for their own congregants. Without such a place, no matter how hard they try to teach the Word, it will be like pouring water into a bottomless pit. It may offer comfort to the congregants, but it won’t bring about life change.
Word of the week
This week, we are recommitting to the role of deputy deacons. Those who wish to serve as a deputy deacon for the upcoming year are asked to sign and submit the deputy deacon commitment card.
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이동주 2025.01.26 07:34
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One of the major concerns of pastors is that, despite spending a lot of time preparing the Word and preaching, the lives of the congregants don’t change easily. Especially in this era of a flood of Words, where the level of preaching has risen, pastors find it increasingly difficult to prepare sermons. This concern is shared by most pastors. Regarding this issue, Pastor Choi Young-ki has provided an answer in an article that I would like to share.
Many pastors pour their hearts into preaching and teaching the Word because they believe that only the Word can change the lives of the congregants. That’s correct. However, pastors with some experience will have to admit that, no matter how touching the sermon or deep the Bible study, most church members’ lives do not change. The reason the lives of the congregants don’t change is not because there is a lack of the Word. We live in an age of information overload. If you go online, you can listen to excellent sermons and engage in deep Bible studies anytime. The reason that the lives of Christians today don’t change is because they don’t have a practice ground to apply the Word. Overfeeding the Word can do more harm than good for the congregants. Health foods like samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) or bosintang (dog meat soup) help those who are malnourished, but they can harm those who are obese. Continuously feeding congregants the Word without providing them a practice ground to apply it is like feeding an obese person nutrient-dense food—it won’t help and could make things worse.
In the House Church, there is a place to practice the Word. That place is the house church meetings that take place during the week. In the house church meetings, members practice love and service, and through conflicts, they learn forgiveness, tolerance, and patience. Through this process, they become more like Jesus. Pastors must seriously reflect on whether they are providing such a practice ground for their own congregants. Without such a place, no matter how hard they try to teach the Word, it will be like pouring water into a bottomless pit. It may offer comfort to the congregants, but it won’t bring about life change.
Word of the week
This week, we are recommitting to the role of deputy deacons. Those who wish to serve as a deputy deacon for the upcoming year are asked to sign and submit the deputy deacon commitment card.