Reflection upon graduation
Some years have gone by since I started my study with Shiloh Bible College China until my graduation today! I received countless blessings during these five years, but I just want to share a few thoughts regarding theological study in China.
For more than a dozen years in the past, I had attended different trainings which probably added up to two years of full-time studies. As I took leave from my ministry to do these courses, I had the advantage of applying the knowledge I gained as soon as I returned to my field. And quite often I felt satisfied with the progress I had made. It was after attending Shiloh Bible College that I realized what I have been missing and felt that God had specially prepared the Shiloh Bible College training for me. As mentioned earlier, I have undergone a lot of training before by teachers from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and the U.S.A. And for my ministry, I felt that I had grown a lot, received many blessings and sometimes I had been used by God in no small ways. However, for a long time I had an indescribable feeling that all of this training had only given me a hodgepodge of unsystematic knowledge. Often I held narrow views regarding Biblical truth.
My admission into Shiloh Bible College China confirmed this perception of mine. A few years later, I realize the importance of systematically building up one’s knowledge regarding truth and maintaining a balanced view regarding different schools of hermeneutics. I remember one American pastor who commented at a training session that contemporary theologians who are really contributing their learning to the universal church rarely come from China. This, I think, is because the Chinese churches generally lack awareness of the importance of theological study. In the past, most House Church leaders felt that lacking theological training was not an issue as long as the workers could read the Bible and pray. The more extreme ones would even say that theology was unnecessary because since they ministered in God’s house, God would surely look after His own house. They maintained that this was the meaning behind the scripture which says “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit.” This, as I look back, could be one reason why the Chinese House Churches have yet to be mightily used by God.
After several years of study in Shiloh Bible College China, I feel deeply in me that God is going to equip the Chinese churches in a special way and that Shiloh Bible College China will be used and blessed by God in a bigger way. In the years ahead, Shiloh Bible College China will not only equip more workers for the Chinese House Churches, it will also impart awareness to contemporary Chinese churches regarding theological education. By this new milestone in theological education, House Churches will be led into more effective equipping and their workers prepared for future commissioning.
Brother Cheng
