Over the next little while, I thought I’d share some stories and thoughts from my past experiences in Japan. As many readers probably already know, I spent a year in Osaka, teaching English at Grace English School. I was there from August 2002 until August 2003, and maintained a website where I posted photos and writings on what I was experiencing. The following is one of those journal entries…
Sunday, December 1, 2002: Thoughts on Culture and Ministry
Sometimes when teaching English it is hard to explain simple concepts like when to use “a” and when to use “the”, or the difference between “this” and “that”. It is difficult because I don’t know Japanese and the students don’t know enough English.
A similar problem is found, too, when trying to communicate the gospel. The language barrier is always a factor, of course. But even without language barriers, there are always cultural differences to take into account; things that are different between those from the east and those from the west, those that are churched and those that are unchurched, and so on. These differences can lead to misunderstandings and barriers to sharing ideas.
My fellow teacher and missionary, Samuel, is doing his thesis on this very idea – how to contextualize the Gospel, interpreting and theologizing in such a way that a person will understand and relate to, given their particular background. When ministering in a country like Japan, where Christians make up about 1% of the population (if that), Christians need to overcome the misperception that Christianity is a foreign religion. So those of us ministering here (and in other places where the Gospel seems foreign) need to drop our theological jargon, learn who it is we are trying to reach, and speak to them on their level.
So we need to know how the people we are ministering to think. But we also need to know their hearts. In Japan, ministry is very relational; you need to get to know a person before you can share your beliefs with them. Having said that, I believe that that is true in most cultures. Other methods may work to an extent, but the Gospel – which is all about our relationship with God – is best spread through relationships. If you want to share the love of Jesus with someone, you’d better be ready to share your own love too.
So this is the bottom line of I am trying to express: As Christians, wherever we come from, whatever culture we are in, and whatever the background of those we are trying to reach, we need to speak the truth in love and in a way that our hearers can understand and relate to. And we really need God’s help to do so.