June 27-July 3, 2011
Editorial
Editorial: Proper training for the spiritual battle
Translated by Lydia Ma
From June 26 to 29, PCT’s 3 seminaries held a joint meeting at Presbyterian Bible College to train this year’s new graduates and determine the church they’d be serving. Seminarians who graduated this year will start their training at various local churches beginning in August.
In previous years the dearth of equipped, committed, and humble new pastors was a headache for many churches and senior pastors. The adage “An unprepared Christian hurts only himself, but an unprepared pastor hurts the whole congregation” serves as a good reminder to church pastors and leaders in assessing their spiritual readiness and roots.
The two major challenges Christians face are daily battles for faith and proclaiming the gospel. To be successful on both counts, one must be well trained and equipped.
Paul states very clearly in Ephesians 6:14-18 that Christians must be well trained for their spiritual battles if they expect to stand firm, proclaim the gospel, and triumph over sin in their daily lives. In other words, we must have adequate spiritual training, or else we will be unprepared to defend the gospel because we’d be unable to stand firm on shaky foundations.
To serve in God’s kingdom, what a person knows about God and how a person lives out his life must mature in tandem. It is our hope that this season’s newest pastors can develop into strong and humble leaders able to help their respective churches thrive.
