This probably could be labeled as a “part 1” since there are likely to be many more to come after. But in thinking through about what kind of church God finds pleasing, maybe I have a finger on one problem that the faces the church in Japan. Like all things, most strengths are also weakness and vice versa. So, while much of the older generation value community, this emphasis on “others” can in turn be a weakness. While we are called to love and care for others, that often can become a either a fear of other people’s opinions (for those who are less vocal) or a loathing of other people’s habits (for those who tend to be more vocal in the church). Even though a person’s first and most important gaze should be towards Christ Himself, Christ often becomes hidden by the voices, the opinions and the hustle and bustle that happens in the church. In one sense, some aspects of pietism (being alone before God) are almost looked down negatively (especially if they get in the way of some of those who driving the church forward). Now individualism is perhaps an even larger problem, especially in the generation born around 2005, and I think that will merit another blog post. But for now, I want to just hone down on this aspect of church life.
Now, through and through the Bible, both parts of the Christian life are held to be incredibly important. The greatest commandment is not “love thy neighbor”, but rather “love God”. And yet, we read numerous times in the letter of 1 John, those who hate their brother or sister cannot truly say that they are loving God. So, to put it two ways, while loving God is a priority, the second greatest commandment “is like the first”, it involves loving others and it also seems to be evidence that the first commandment is actually taking place. But then, if we should concentrate solely on the second and conclude that since we love our neighbor, we are therefore in fact loving God…or that by only concentrating on giving a cup of water we need not worry about looking towards Christ on a personal level, falls wide of the mark. The pattern seems to be that when we first look towards Jesus and love Him, this will nurture and eventually harvest a great love for others.
In the church context, there seems to be a few zealous and vocal people who are often very opinionated and whose speech can be somewhat harsh and judgmental. These people tend to gravitate towards the center of church life and also seem to be the movers and shakers of a congregation. For one thing, they are not passive. They also have a strong sense of duty, responsibility and are driven. These are all good traits, but when these traits in and of themselves are held to be the ideal traits of the church, church life becomes tilted and somewhat twisted. These traits all need to go through the crucible of the cross and the Gospel of grace. We are called to die with Christ and then rise with Him. We die to ourselves and in a sense, all of these traits that we carry with us also must die in a sense. Not so that we become blank slates or empty people, but rather that these traits become reborn through Christ. So we are not just driven towards efficiency…but rather we have a heart for people to grow and people to know Christ. In church life, because the context is the church, both things can look much the same. Aren’t they all for Christ? Yes and know. Anything one does for the church can appear to be for Christ and of Christ, but that is due to the setting. A lot of times, people carry these traits, but they are unchanged (they are not redeemed) and it is here where we see a lot of damage done. What we come a cross is not the rule of Christ in the church, but the rule of a few active people who happen to be Christians.
How can we tell if traits have been transformed through Christ? I think all things will have the aroma of the Gospel. The attitudes and words that people speak, their demeanor, the way they approach their neighbor…they would be bearing the fruit of the spirit through their God given traits of drive and duty. Do the actions of others produce fruit in keeping with repentance? Do these actions push people simply to accomplishing a task, or towards Christ Himself? Do people walk away with a stronger conviction of God, or do they come away spiritually injured?
With the Japanese emphasis on community and the reality of strong people who have not been held accountable regarding the “cruciform life”, many churches become not so much churches of Christ, but churches of Mr. Sato or Mrs. Nakamura…etc.. People come to church, but there is very little thought of the thoughts of Christ towards them…rather almost wholly is their disposition shaped by the person sitting to their right. And that person’s face is not one that looks like that of an angel, as when Stephen died…but rather hard and distorted, full of anger and not of the spirit. Full of pride and not of humility.
But how do we navigate this? What is the solution? That will maybe be a later post, but the simple answer is really to look at Christ first.
Quinby 