September has flown by for Yoko and I, as we returned from Canada and hit the ground running. The big event was the art exhibit I mentioned in our previous update. Please watch the above video to get a walkthrough of the exhibit and hear some greetings from our friend Peter, from Gallery Nani.
In short, the event was a great spiritual bridge-builder, and we were encouraged and inspired to think about how we can engage more with the community through the arts. Thank you for praying!
October also has some travel and special events on the calendar, including a couple of visits to Noto, where the big earthquake took place last year and Christian relief work continues. We’d appreciate your prayers for the following:
10/12 (Sun.) Worship leading Immanuel Komatsu Church
10/22 (Wed.) Noto Help volunteer work
10/26 (Sun.) Preaching at Monzen Bible Church in Noto
10/31-11/3 Visiting Nagoya for a Christian conference and promoting Drawbridge Creations.
Thank you for your prayers after the recent loss of my father. Though it has been a difficult season in many ways, Yoko and I are thankful for the time we had with Dad before his passing, and for the time with Mom and family in the weeks since.
We are scheduled to return to Japan next Wednesday, so please be praying for our travels and also for God’s wisdom and direction as we transition back to life there and get into a new season of ministry.
There are also a couple of upcoming events we’d appreciate your prayers for:
On September 15, planning to be at the Hokuriku Missions Conference, where we have the opportunity to promote Drawbridge Creations. Please pray that we can make good connections and grow our ministry here.
Meanwhile, throughout September, some of my work is on display in Seto (near Nagoya), along with work by Stephen McCranie, in an exhibit called “The Story Behind the Story.”Gallery Nani is run by a missionary couple there who use this space for community connection and outreach. The exhibit runs all month, and Yoko and I are planning to be there in person for the final weekend artist talk event. Please pray that spiritual bridges will be built through this exhibit and event!
Thank you again for your prayers and support for our life and ministry in Japan!
I’ve been on a bit of a quest of late. After almost twenty years of missionary service in Japan, I’m rethinking about contexulization. This journey began when I started getting more opportunities to preach, and found myself falling back on the same old explanations and illustrations for the Gospel, stuff that, on reflection, is very much a product of Western Christianity and may not resonate with Japanese listeners, especially those not already familiar with Christianity.
So I’ve been doing a lot of reading, looking for fresh ways to express the Gospel in a Japanese context. I thought I’d share some of what I’m reading about here on the blog, as I way to be more intentional about processing and retaining what I’m learning, not just reading.
First up: The 3D Gospel: Ministry in Guilt, Shame, and Fear Cultures, by Jayson Georges.
The 3D Gospel was on my Amazon wish list for a long time, having been recommended to me by a fellow missionary a few years ago. I finally bought it last year, and read it twice because it was a such a short but impactful book. I wish I’d read it a long time ago, and would highly recommend it for Western Christians ministering in non-Western contexts. In fact, if I have any say, it will be required reading for new members of our team at GP Japan.
Actually, even if you’re not doing cross-cultural missions work, I think The 3D Gospel is worth reading, because it will expand your understanding and deepen your appreciation of what Jesus accomplished through his incarnation, death and resurrection. It’s literally changed how I read Scripture, making me see things that were there all along but I hadn’t noticed or thought about before.
So what’s it about? I’ll let Amazon’s description tell you:
To enhance your ministry among the nations, learn how the Bible speaks to cultures of guilt, shame, and fear. Western theology emphasizes forgiveness of sins, but people in the Majority World seek honor or spiritual power. In today’s globalized world, Christians need a three-dimensional gospel of God’s innocence, honor, and power. Is your gospel 3D?
Japan is widely known to be a honour-shame culture. But I can also see power-fear dynamics at play in the Shinto-Buddhist traditions of Japan. This book has been helpful in understanding more clearly what these cultural characteristics mean, while also showing me how the Bible speaks to them.
Here’s some of what the author has to say about these different kinds of cultures (emphasis mine):
“Removing shame requires more than forgiveness. Shame produces feelings of humiliation, disapproval, and abandonment. Shame means inadequacy of the entire person. While guilt says, ‘I made a mistake’; shame says, ‘I am a mistake.’ (p. 23)
“Also, cultural expressions of honor and shame can appear contradictory. For example, Middle Eastern cultures aggressively compete for honor. Conflict is viewed as win-lose or lose-win. So they may resort to honor killings or even terrorism to avoid shame and restore honor. But far Eastern cultures, such as Japan and Korea, strive for harmony. Conflict is a win-win or lose-lose game. So East Asians respond to shame by withdrawing or even committing suicide. Though the outward expressions contrast, both cultural blocs are deeply rooted in shame-honor values.” (p. 24)
“In fear-based cultures, it is not important to genuinely believe in certain truths or follow ethical standards. Rather, methods that placate the spiritual powers define acceptable human behavior.” (p. 25)
“The moral logic of fear-power cultures says: do something in the seen world to manipulate the unseen world into helping you.” (p. 26)
And a word about how the Word, especially the Gospel, speaks to ALL of these cultures:
“In Acts 26:18, Paul describes his mission to the Gentiles in 3D terms—‘to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God (power), so that they might receive the forgiveness of sins (innocence) and a place among those who are sanctified by faith (honor) in Jesus.’” (p. 60)
I could go on, but you should just read the book for yourself. Seriously.
I’m still looking for the perfect Gospel presentation for the Japanese context. But in closing let me leave you with a video Georges recommends, that shows what a contextualized “plan of salvation” might look like in some honour-shame cultures:
Hope your summer is getting off to a good start! In Ishikawa, it looks like we’re just entering the rainy season. Thank you for your prayers this past month. Here are some updates and prayer requests for June:
1. Thank you for praying for our ministries at the Immanuel churches in Fukui and Komatsu last month. God lead, protected and blessed us!
2. We are now attending Immanuel Kanazawa Church as our “home church.” This is an attempt to centre our ministry closer to where we live. There are actually two Immanuel churches in Kanazawa, and both have asked us to work with their young people (mostly university students). This Sunday we went to an adventure park with some of them! Please pray for God’s leading in our church life and local ministries.
3. In June, we are planning to host a team from The Well in Christchurch, New Zealand. This is a Wesleyan-Methodist Church with a heart for Japan and a desire to partner with our work here. This visit is a vision trip with the purpose of learning more about the needs and opportunities in Japan. Please pray for a God’s blessing on this trip.
4. Also in June, I (Robin) am scheduled to spend two weeks in the Philippines attending a Leadership Matters Course. With new workers (Lord willing) coming soon, GP has named me mission director for Japan and recommended this class to me as part of my preparation.
5. Our new missionary Mickey Veach is making good progress in his support raising. We are planning for his arrival in October. Meanwhile he continues to engage with us remotely as one of the writers for our online manga series Waypoints. The latest story is one Mickey wrote, and is scheduled to go online this Friday! Please pray for this ministry, and for Mickey’s continuing partnership development.
As our busy season begins and we have lots on our minds, we’re thankful for partners like you who hold us up in prayer and support the mission in Japan. Thank you for being on our team!
