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Japan
Mission
Revering the Risen Son, In the Land of the Rising Sun.
From the Rising of the Sun, They Will Revere His Glory.
From the west, man will fear the name of the Lord, and
from the rising of the sun, they will revere His glory.
Isaiah 59:19 NIV
“Did Christianity not intrigue you?” Marre asked the
Buddhist monk. Usi is a woman and a monk, which is
unusal. They stood together outside of a temple in
Tokyo.
Usi neither blinked or lost her serene smile as she
replied, “No one ever told me about Christianity when I
was in America.”
Marre, the Japanese pastor of Committed Tokyo and leader
of the Calvary Chapel movement in that island country,
studied the Japanese woman. Her head shaven and wearing
a loose fitting gee, she had just taken part in an
ancient ritual at the temple. Usi had not been
interested in her faith until language courses at
Berkley State; CA., brought her to the United States and
face to face with many different religions. There she
had adopted Buddhism. Upon returning to Japan she
trained to be a monk.
Close by, two Japanese businessmen approached a shrine.
They clapped twice to ‘wake up’ the sleeping spirits.
Though normally part of a Shinto ritual, many customs
have blended between Buddhism and Shintoism; the two
dominant religions in Japan. Solemnly walking up to the
statue of Buddha, with heads first bowed and hands
folded, one man looked around sheepishly. With an
embarrassed laugh he reached out to touch the wooden
statue.
Usi listened politely as Mara emphasized that there was
only one path to heaven and that was through Christ.
Indisputable historical evidence, he told her, showed
how Jesus had personally fulfilled hundreds of ancient
prophecies written a thousand years before. His death on
the cross would have been useless had He not risen from
the dead. Over 500 people saw Him in the following weeks
until His ascent into heaven.
Usi did not dispute Marre’s word but her available time
drew to a close. Marre promised to return for further
discussions. He had brought friends from America to
photograph the traditional ceremony performed by the
monks. Barefoot guests, sitting on the lush carpet, were
startled as a monk began to pound on a giant drum. A
Buddhist priest brought kindling to an intense flame
before praying. Still another read ancient scrolls. For
several hundred yen, the monks would include your
special prayer concerns in their incantations.
“This is the problem with my fellow Japanese,” Marre
said after bidding good-bye to the female monk. “They
are like the Corinthians, even making a statue to an
unknown god. It is hard for them to understand that
people can worship only one true and living God.”
Calvary Connection
Marre was hosting the first annual Japanese Calvary
Chapel Pastors Conference. Lance Cook, CC La Habra and a
dozen other pastors had journeyed from America to teach.
Lance is recognized as the overseer for Calvary Chapel’s
church planting efforts in Japan.
Lance and Marre had met eight years ago. Marre had come
to America to record his brand of Christian music. It
led to an eventual internship under Lance. Marre
returned to begin a church in Japan. Now there are eight
Calvary Chapels in the Land of the Rising Sun.
Several years later, Lance journeyed to Japan as Marre
held a Gospel Fest; a first of its kind—a blend of
Christian rock music and outreach. Before the event
began, church members formed a circle to pray for the
souls of those coming.
As they prayed, Lance kept hearing what sounded like the
pitter-patter of what could have been mice running under
the stage. Distracted, he looked up.
“I opened my eyes and realized that the Japanese were
praying so earnestly that they were all weeping,”
recalls Lance. “I was overwhelmed at that point and felt
the Holy Spirit move, confirming in me that the Lord
wanted Bible-teaching churches planted here. The
Japanese were very serious about putting their lives on
the line for others by spreading the Gospel. The sound I
had heard was their tears—splashing like rain on the
floor.”
Heart of a Servant
Young Japanese men in their early 20s bowed slightly to
newcomers and smiled pleasantly as they escorted them to
their seat as the pastors’ conference was to begin.
Others busily readied the sound system while every
sequence of events was filmed. _____ approached the
microphone and began a quick dialogue in his first of
many appearances as Master of Ceremonies. A mix between
a game show host and sports announcer, he readied the
congregation to a typical Japanese church setting.
The number of young men serving the church was an answer
to prayer for Marre and his wife, Kumiko. They knew that
a healthy church needed a good balance.
“Since 1945, missionaries have been spreading the Gospel
in Japan,” said Marre. “It wasn’t until we began
teaching through the Bible that we started attracting a
balanced section of the population. In the past, the
churches only seemed to attract older
women.”
“It is such an important time in the growth of the
church,” said Lance Cook, pastor of CC La Habra in
southern California. “Japanese mentality could easily
raise the pastor into a sensei or elevated state above
the people,” continued Lance. “We need to help ground
the pastors and the congregations in the teaching of the
Word.”
Many Japanese speak English, facilitating exchanges
between the two cultures. Japanese mentality, with its
strong sense of organization and timing, could easily be
frustrated with the laid-back attitude of the visiting
Californians.
Lost Values
The older generation possesses a courtesy and politeness
in the traditional Japanese culture that is being lost
in the modern world. Committed Tokyo has established
discipleship homes; where young people live, study God’s
word, and work. At these homes, Marre also tries to
infuse the old ways of Japan—the politeness, humbleness,
and hospitality to guests.
Japan’s long post war occupation by U.S. troops gave it
a deep affinity for American pop culture. The brashness
of the West conflicts with older Japanese ways. Sadly,
Marre sees the social structure changing rapidly as the
youth embrace Western culture and becomes part of the
MTV generation.
This openness to influences from the West, however, has
made it easier to introduce a Calvary Chapel style of
worship to the younger generation. Teenagers are
naturally attracted to the worship music. Marre’s desire
is to teach sound doctrine while keeping their Japanese
identity.
Worshipping the Lifestyle
In the wake of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
that ended WW2, Japan vowed to forever renounce war.
Factories, smokestacks, and oil storage tanks rose from
the rubble as the nation rebuilt. The drive to restore
their devastated country infused people with a dedicated
sense of national purpose. High technology industries
such as automotives, electronic devices and computers
soon raised Japan’s standard of living to the second
highest in the industrial world. Workers were encouraged
to have fanatical loyalty to their companies. Adopting
industry values replaced adherence to faith.
Hard economic times changed the social contract in the
early ‘90s. Years of lavish government spending then
failed to revitalize the economy and burdened Japan with
the industrialized world’s biggest national debt.
Now with their career advancement possibilities
diminishing, the average Japanese is questioning his
lack of spiritual certainty. The Calvary Chapel churches
are conveying the truths of the Bible to a confused
society.
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