During my past two-year psychological counseling work, I can clearly feel that more and more exceptional teenagers come to consult me, but they receive much less help than they should.
From the urgency of spreading the gospel, we can see the church’s anxiety about reaching unbelievers. The more the people reject, the stronger the anxiety of traditional churches becomes, which prompts them to more urgently evangelize to non-Christians.
Regardless of whether young people are believers or non-believers, they don't need high-and-mighty preaching and advice; they need listeners who can sit down to hear their stories and provide advice to address their anxieties.
Cruel historical memory makes us tend to yearn for material possessions. In the practice of the Christian faith, we have constantly materialized Jesus. We have shaped the image of Jesus and the gospel according to our national memory of suffering.
The liveliest places during this Spring Festival, aside from tourist attractions, are temples and God of Wealth temples. The expectation for the God of Wealth and good fortune far outweighs the desire to celebrate the Spring Festival joyfully. People seek help from deities in the hope of improving their economic income for the coming year.
While the development of the economy and the rise of rural migrant workers contribute to the collapse of rural traditional ethics and social structure, public activities in rural areas have not been established. The church needs to respond and take up the public function of shaping values once more.
If elderly church workers can’t accept aging and do not earnestly retain and nurture youth workers, the future of rural churches is a cause for concern.
Some believers consider the Bible to be divine words with magical powers. Therefore, in some zombie movies, scenes depict the Bible alongside Buddhist and Taoist artifacts during the exorcism of zombies. However, this is not only a scene seen in TV dramas but also occurs in real life.
As many believers have felt the crisis of Christianity with concerns about the way forward in 2023, a possible way out is to learn from the spirit of a grain of wheat which breaks from inside.