Sharing the gospel

Recently at an OMF Training Week we held in Sapporo, two pastors made the distinction between what can be called 'speaking' the gospel and 'showing' the gospel.  Of course we need to use words but there is also a time and place for showing the gospel through our lives, our deeds, our attitudes.  People watch our lives as well as listen to our words.  It is not an either/or but a both/and.  As we went today to a couple of temporary housing areas in a different area (Otsuchi) which was very badly damaged by the tsunami, we could see both in action.  We worked with another team to set up a mobile cafe at one place.  They have no common room where events like this can be held so there is little opportuniry for people to gather together.  Unlike yesterday, the sun shone,we set up the tents and soon the people gathered in large numbers for cool drinks, but more than that just to have the time to chat together.  The people were so appreciative, even though we were doing so little.  We listened once again to their stories.  Someone came with a guitar and led in some singing of traditional songs.  We then sang a couple of songs too.  It was a great time.  The cafe continued in the afternoon but David headed off to another place with one of our team and the leader of the other team to what turned out to be a very small temporary housing area.  We were meeting for two hours there and three ladies turned up.  It seemed the craft was using beads to make bracelets!  David was wondering whether it might have been better to have stayed at the other place! In time one older lady left and two remained (one being the daughter of the older lady).  The next hour was quite amazing as these ladies asked some questions about the Bible and about Jesus.  They knew some of the basics - something about Jesus dying on a cross and being born in a stable.  They kept asking questions and it gave great opportunity to share in words what the Bible is all about, who Jesus is, what the cross meant, and lots more.  We left most of the talking to the leader of the other team as she is the ongoing contact there and we hope that next time there will be good follow up.  We shared one or two Bible verses too.  One lady had said she read one page of the Bible and it was too difficult as it was just a list of unpronounceable names!  We worked out she had a copy of Matthew's gospel and did not get past Chapter 1!  The Bible is too difficult, she said.  It was great to be able to share with these ladies in response to the questions they had asked.  That over, we headed down to Kamaishi to see another building OMF has bought with relief funds to use as a base for relief work in that town and in Otsuchi where we had been.  A Japanese pastor is heading up the work there.  He has lots of ideas.  How will it develop?  What are the next steps?  Big questions which need much thought and certanly the Lord's leading in these times of much opportunity both to speak and show the love of Jesus.  We headed back to Yamada after a long, tiring but satisfying day and decided to use a local prefab restaurant for our evening meal.  The owner had operated a restaurant there for some 49 years and now is working in a prefab place.  We thought it would be fairly basic but it is a great place inside and the food was of amazing quality.  What a joy to eat there and give a little business to this community.  Many people were eating out there and obviously having a great time.  Yamada seems to be a place where recovery is beginning to happen and people are looking forward - even though the path ahead remains a long one.  It's been a good week here.

Learning and growing

This blog has been a bit silent over the last two weeks or so. The Golden Week holiday, a Training Week and various other meetings this week have led to a busy time. But today is a quieter day! Last week OMF held the second IBCM Training Week. IBCM? A key part of OMF's vision for the lands in Asia where its people work - to see an indigenous, Biblical church movement among these different people groups. The Training Week was once again for younger missionaries but all had some (and one or two had quite a lot) of experience in Japan and working in the church here. It was a rich time of learning, engaging and interacting with many issues as we seek to understand the culture and religious setting of Japan and bring the timeless message of the gospel to the people here in the context in which they find themselves. It was a blessing to benefit from the wisdom of those who were able to guide us through difficult issues. This time it was a particular joy to have Japanese colleagues sharing with us. We all need to learn and keep learning. But more than that we all need to grow, and keep growing. Last week's trianing was not simply to impart head knowledge. Yes, we do not need to engage our minds, but so too do we need to be changed and moulded as we live and engage with the culture and people here in Japan so that we can grow as followers of Jesus and be better equipped to share Jesus with those around us. How we long to see a movement of the Spirit in this land which touches many places and many lives, a movement in which many are drawn to Jesus and the church is built up to the glory of God. These are days to pray for Japan and to pray to the Lord of the harvest that he would send out workers so that many can see the love of Jesus in action, but also hear the message of hope and salvation that comes through Jesus.

Bean throwing

Every year at the beginning of February, if you were to visit a local primary school or kindergarten, you might see some rather strange sights. Some children or an adult might be wearing scary ogre masks. Most children would be throwing roasted soybeans (or peanuts) around the room. And you would hear shouts of 'Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi' which roughly means 'demons out, good luck in'. In the past all sorts of other traditions took place on 3rd February (the spring festival) as people wanted to get rid of evil spirits and welcome in its place good luck and happiness. In some areas there is special rolled sushi which is eaten ostensibly to drive out the demons and bring in good luck. Alistair went to an after-school club this week (the day before the 'bean-throwing' fetsival day) and came home saying everyone had been throwing the beans and shouting - but he happily announced he didn't throw any. He was happy though to come back home with a few packets of peanuts. While in some ways, this can be seen as just fun for children, of course there are also underlying spiritual elements. But there are grains of truth to be found which can become building blocks for the gospel. Yes we need rid of the 'bad stuff' within us; and yes we need to be cleansed. As we grapple with these traditions and whether to be involved in them, it is always good to stand back and see how we can use these things as a contact point to share the gospel. We don't need to throw beans or shout for the demons to get out - in Jesus ours sins are taken away once and for all, our hearts are cleansed and we know daily the joy of his being with us.

Looking forward

As we look out on 2011, we wonder what this year will bring in the life of Izumi Church. The challenges are many but so are the opportunities. In fact at times the challenge can be the opportunity. We have our dreams and our plans. But what is on God's agenda? The constant challenge is to be listening to God and moving at his pace and in line with where he would have us be and what he would have us do. Being involved in the early stages of a church plant is an exercise in patience. We long for more - now! While it has been great to have made contact with so many people over the last year and a half in Hiragishi and to have begun to build up trust relationships, our desire now is to see some of these people come through to faith and be added to our church. As we think and pray about our plans for the coming months as a team, we look to the Lord to guide us to the right path for us to follow and get the right balance between 'being' and 'doing'. Faith often involves risk. One of the issues we are wrestling with as OMF just now is that of reaching what we call 'neglected frontiers' - not just in terms of location but also groups and sub-cultures which are not reached with the gospel. Where does Izumi Church fit into all of this? What is our role? We look forward with expectancy to what the Lord will do in these coming months as we partner with him in taking the gospel to this area of Sapporo.