In late August, a training session on the construction of Christian theological thought as well as a preaching seminar was held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang.
More than 150 pastors from churches all over the country and members of the teaching group of CCC&TSPM on the construction of Christian theological thought attended the meeting on August 25 and 26.
According to CCC&TSPM, Rev. Xu Xiaohong, Chairman of TSPM, reviewed and summarized in his speech the patriotism and devotion of Christians throughout the nation since the beginning of the year in the fight against COVID-19 and flood control and disaster relief.
Xu pointed out that when giving sermons, all pastors should reflect on the spiritual pursuit of this era, take the socialist core values as the guide, and interpret the canon and teachings in line with the requirements of the progress of the times, so as to better adapt to the socialist society. Pastor Xu also encouraged them to combine the practice of Chinese churches with the excellent traditional Chinese culture on the basis of emphasizing Chinese theology and respecting the authority of the Bible and the tradition of the Protestant Church and to explore the theological interpretation of Chinese churches.
He hoped that local CC&TSPM from place to place would be good at finding and using middle-aged and young people to work together, form the main teaching team that is "willing to speak", "can speak" and "will preach", and pay attention to the cultivation and use of talents.
Professor Xu Yihua, dean of the Department of International Politics of s School of International Relations and Public Affairs and director of the Center for Religious and International Relations Research at Fudan University, lectured on the current domestic and international situation of religions.
Before the preaching seminar, Pastor Shan Weixiang, vice President and director-general of CCC, briefly reviewed the work of the teaching team in 2019 and planned their work in 2020. He introduced the changes of the members, such as a significant increase in the proportion of young and female co-workers, and encouraged all CC&TSPMs to select more young people who are pursuing progress and who are burdened with preaching to join the team.
On August 26, quoting from different scriptures, 22 members from local CC & TSPMs of different places and Nanjing Union Theological Seminary delivered speeches with the theme of "Church Lampstand, Glorifying God and Edifying People" from different perspectives. They also interpreted the Bible with wonderful and novel topics, such as "Faith, Hope and Love in the Pandemic", "the Testimony of the Model Church", "the Shining Philippi Church", "Gathered like a Fire, Scattered like a Star", "Love and Responsibility", "In the name of Faith", "Love in the Spread of the Pandemic", and "the Church that cannot be Hidden".
Eleven judges took turns commenting on the contents of each lecture, pointing out the highlights and shortcomings of the speakers, such as whether the interpretation is accurate, whether the lecture is well-structured, whether the examples are appropriate, whether the discussion is forceful, whether the conclusion is novel, whether the expression is clear, and giving their encouragement.
- Translated by Sophia Chen
