Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Critical Issues Facing the Church in Japan

Here is a list of critical issues facing Christians in Japan. I plan to expand on each item but want to get the list "out there" and invite readers to comment.

1. The relationship of the church (all believers) to the mainstream culture of Japan.
2. Communicating the gospel effectively to not-yet-Christian, mainstream Japanese in ways that they can receive it. Closely linked to this is the desperate need for a new Bible Translation that "connects" with younger Japanese.
3. The perception that Christianity is Western, the Western "face" of Christianity in Japan.
4. The need to rapidly develop new leaders.
5. The entrenched attitude that very few Japanese are interested in the gospel. This results in negativity that affects every aspect of life and ministry. Specifically, it results in a failure to connect with the large number of Japanese who are indeed open to the gospel.

1 comment:

.tif said...

thanks for the list. most of these i recognize from my brief time in japan three years ago. you really hit 'em.

encouraging leadership in a japanese church is often difficult because of the cultural reliance on the pastor for so much. lay leadership isn't as encouraged, at least in some of the small, country churches i attended. (then again, the first church i attended in japan had 7 members, one of which admitted to not being christian).

by the way, we've talked in e-mail before and i apologize for having not gotten back to you in a long time. my husband and i want to visit japan this summer, and we specifically want to visit y'all at japanCAN!2g