It is people that makes diffrences

I'm visiting Birmingham (in Alabama) again. Now that my life is based in Tokyo, there is this strange feeling when driving around that I wonder... how do I know all these street? I don't live here anymore, and when I see someone new, I should ask like a stranger, but I can't. Thus, it's as clear as sunlight that this is my home.

People asked me what I'm doing in Birmingham. And that's a fair question. There is no major tourist destination or attraction. The most touristy one, if any, would be he Civil Rights Institute, a museum of racial segregation and civil rights movement. Birmingham is a thriving city and reviving, repelling old reputation. But, it's not a city popular for vacation or tourism.

But I chose this city for my one-week vacation. For what? Why would I choose here over New York or Chicago, or European cities like Florence?

Again and again, then, I'm reminded that it's people that give meaning to places. And in Birmingham, there are many that I care and are dear to my heart. I don't mind traveling alone in New York City or any tourist destination. I've done that, and sometimes it's better to be able to plan and go to places as I want. I did that in New York City and that was one of my best trips I've ever made.

But, those places would be meaningless without people. However awesome those destination can be, it could carry very little value without people to enjoy it. And places like Birmingham, where people I care live, become more valuable than any bigger city in the world. And friendship is what makes this city so special.

I like to be this way. I want to be someone who care and value friendship. Above all, God made us this way. He saw it was not good for a man to be alone and he made us creation that functions much better when in multiple. Two is better than one. And so is church. Church is the body of Christ revealed in this world and different parts make one body. That's why I value community so much.

One day, if God's willing, I want to have a community like this in Tokyo. And I think that is one of ways that church can make difference in the world.

Founded on Judeo-Christian principle?

I realized this is my first post in over an year and it's a bit heavy topic, but I just felt like sharing my view and thought about this topic since it's a huge election year in the U.S. After a few conversations with friends, I started wondering over this question:

Is there such a thing as a nation founded on Judeo-Christian principles?

I've heard many arguments, especially from evangelical conservatives, that the United States is a country founded on Judeo-Christian principle. But, is it really though?

Yes, those American colonies were established to escape religious persecution from England. Sure, they might well run those communities on Christian principles. But, when the United States declared independence and eventually earned the independence, it was due to opposition of heavy taxation from England among other issues. But, Christian principles were not the main reason for the war.

Christianity isn't meant to be a state religion in the first place. Rather it teaches to be obedient to the authorities.

"Then he (Jesus) said to them `So give back to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's.`" Matthew 22:21 NIV (And similar statements in Mark 12:17 and Luke 20:25)

"Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established... Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pa taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor." Romans 13:1-7

Even for the Israelite in Old Testament, God never intended to place human authorities over them. He rather form a community of the twelve tribes to coexist directly under His reign and blessing although they later rejected and demanded a king.

If a country is really founded on Judeo-Christian principles, what does it look like? Does it lack human authority and have God directly rule over? Do people support each other, and function as one body of Christ? When one part of the country suffers, does the whole country share the suffering? Does it rejoice when one part experience joy? Does it welcome strangers and provide basic needs when they need?

I don't like when a self-proclaimed "Christian" politician argue about Christian value in American politics because there is so little in their argument that is Christian. They are not interested in caring of the poor and vulnerable. They don't want to welcome immigrant or refugees who wants better life and peace when there is capacity to give them. They don't treat different people fairly and equality among races and gender is never on their priority list.

Donald Trump won primary in South Carolina, where there are many Christian evangelical voters live, and I am wondering why. He has nothing to do with Christianity. He wants to ban Muslims, deport undocumented immigrants, including those who brought by parents. How could a Christian vote for him? Well, unless the "Christians" think they feel oppressed and losing their political influence, and they want a iconic leader to represent them, whether he or she is Christian or not.

I shared this article on my Facebook, and it says "One of the saddest chapters in the history of Christianity is how the courageous church of the martyrs became — with the help of the state — a fearful and persecuting church." I don't think church should ever be on the governing side of the politics. Church is not a political faction, but it is a community of believers whose head is Christ. We already have the King. Why are we still trying to rule over people?

So, back to the question. Is there such a thing as a nation founded on Judeo-Christian principles? I don't think so. Not on the earth. But, we will be a Christian nation, when the Satan is defeated, there are new Heaven and Earth, and we reside in New Jerusalem.

Time for church to more than just survive

Life in Japan is very challenging spiritually. There is so much distraction and secular ideas that even Japanese Christians seemed tired and almost giving up on evangelism. Sometimes I wonder what keeps the Japanese from hearing this news.

And Japanese Christian presence is very small. And it has been that way for decades. I can't really discuss much about the history and theoretical things, but, here are my impressions and thought of church after spending years in Alabama.

Church lacks sense of community. Church is not a building, not a place of worship, but the body of Christ, Christians form the body. thus form church. As Paul says, if one part of the body hurts, the rest also hurts together, and one part received a joy, then everybody else share the joy as well. When first church was formed, they met everyday, shared meals, and worship the Lord together as Acts reports.

Jesus also says in the scripture that we are salt and light of the world. And being a Christian only on Sundays doesn't make us salt and light. This body of believers need to let people know that something is different about these people.

If you are happy and filled with joy, you may skip around or hum your favorite tunes and some people may get curious and ask you what happens that makes you happy. I think if church is full of joy, then people get interested and curious about what is going on. When church is blended in completely with outside world, then people don't notice even its existence. 

Speaking of joy, Acts says first church met everyday and shared meals with "glad and sincere hearts." In 2014, we can say we have more stressful life than people in the first church thanks to the amount of information and complexity of the society. Then how much more we in 21st Century should meet and break bread together?

When my young adult group talked about how we could attract young people and keep them connected to the church, I mentioned the need of having a small group on a weekday, a setting where we can have spiritual conversation, study the scripture, and pray for each other. But, majority of the group said they were too busy to come to church or have the time for the meeting (many of our church members live far from church). I understand and I think that's very common among young Japanese. But, we should not give up on this. And I feel unless church is ready and willing to make and develop relationships with new comers, they don't stay.

I hear some people saying it's enough for themselves to be able to attend worship service or to hear encouraging sermons. Although that's all great, we should be mindful of the words from James "faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." (2:17) and Paul "offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship" (Romans 12:1). I feel that sometimes many Christians in Japan see themselves as audience, expecting great shows on every Sunday. But, worship service is really about what we offer to the Lord, the audience. We offered the best of us before the presence of God.

In their song Thrive, Casting Crowns sing...

We know we were made for so much more than ordinary life
It's time for us to more than just survive
We were made to thrive 

 There are a lot of discussion within my church of its survive, but I pray we will be a thriving church in this city of Tokyo.

Transition from Alabama to Tokyo

So, this is my first post since January. A lot happened to this date.

First of all, I moved back to Tokyo. There are a few reasons in this move, but I'm gonna leave just the fact that the Lord convinced me to come back. I prayed again and again that He let me stay longer, but I had to say bye to my 2nd home.

A lot happened though. I became a barista at a coffee shop called Seeds Coffee. I got to do something like

This

or this

or this

So that was a fun place to work at. I've never imagined myself in food and drink field but I liked it so much that now I'm seeking a barista job as my potential career path. It wasn't just about coffee, but it was also interaction with customers and friends. As a believer working at a shop with fellow Christians brought a lot of joy and sense of community.

(By the way Seeds Coffee is having a benefit dinner in next week. So if you are in Birmingham area and interested in what they do and supporting them, please go to seedscoffee.com.)

I moved back to Tokyo in August and now live with my family, looking for work opportunity. While looking for work, I was connected with missionaries from Australia and the U.S. who run SonRise Cafe in Tokyo. It is a blessing to get to work with people seeking to spread the Good News of the Salvation. 

So just these are some update. On next post I'm going to talk a little about spiritual life in Tokyo.

"Full time" ministries

Having been involved in one of micro-churches and their network and ministries, I have begun to think that disciple-making requires "full time" engagement. And this "full time" does not mean 9-to-5 or more than 8 hours per day. It literally mean full time, and you need to contribute all of your time.

Today's church is highly institutionalized and professionalized. It is required to have completed advanced education to become a pastor. A church needs staffs for administrative tasks and to take care of its building. And words like "full time" and "part time" are attached to ministers and staffs alike. Apparently there are "certificate" of baptism for members and when moving membership between churches, there needs to be transaction.

Jesus told his disciples "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19 NIV)

There is not such things like "full time" or "part time" in disciple-making  There shouldn't be. Whether you are on or off, in up time or off time, Christians are witness to the world and tasked to make disciples "full time". Not just Sunday morning. Not just during service or even mission trip. Any day, any time.

Church is a community of believers. It is not about buildings nor about how services is good or sermon is appealing. It is about engagement to one another. Not about how you connect with other members on Sunday, but rather every day. Not about spending a couple of hours in Sunday morning in one building and sanctuary, then saying each other "have a nice week." It's about "hi, what's going on?", "How can I pray for you?", "Anything I can do for you?", "Let's hang out."

In Acts, there is a description of the earliest church.

"Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." (Acts 2:46-47)

They meet and shared meals every day, not just on Sundays. They engaged each other "full time."

I hear description of modern church as a "country club of Christians" frequently these days. To certain degree, I agree with it. Somewhere you have to dress up nicely. You may be welcome at your first service at the church, then nobody talks to you after 2nd or 3rd visit.

Church sometimes labels first-time attendees of the service as "guests." It sounds nice but I think it's a very offensive word. A guest is usually a visitor who do not come back some time soon or ever. So, when church addresses the person who attended the service for the first time as a guest, it can be taken as saying "thank you for coming, but we really like the way we are now, so don't come back if you are going to change it."

I'm not saying having a building or trained teachers or ministers is a bad thing. Nor institutionalizing a church. It can enforce the ministries and help respond to complex issues presented today. But, it can also be distraction from disciple-making and "full time" engagement.

Appreciation of originality

I was upset when I was watching my favorite Ghibli movie, Porco Rosso, with my friends. In Japanese original version, after Curtis, Porco's rival, shoots down his plane after its engine stops and picks up a part of plane on the sea, he says it's going to be a great souvenir to his mother in Alabama. In English-dubbed version, Alabama is replaced by Texas. Why did they do that? Why not just keep Alabama? Sure, Texas may be more famous and popular than Alabama, but is that a deal big enough to change?

I prefer subtitle to dubbing when watching movies in foreign languages. I like the authenticity. Even long before I came to the U.S. and improve my English, I always watched movies like Titanic, the Matrix, Star Wars with subtitle.

It seems in the U.S. people do not appreciate originality as much. Look at Japanese restaurants in this country. Most of them are stake houses. You rarely see them in Japan. Japanese food is not about the performance of throwing a chunk of meats up in the air or making fire on the flattop. There are restaurants that set up flattops in front of guests, but it's for serving food before getting cooled.

In Japan, when you want to eat sushi, you go to a place that serve sushi. if ramen noodle, go to a ramen restaurant (Ramen food market is very intense in Japan by the way). If tempura, go to a tempura place, and so on.

I understand "stake house" is more marketable to Americans and Japanese cuisine may be too various to serve in one restaurant. I don't think one restaurant cannot serve sushi, the best known Japanese cuisine while also serving less famous dishes like okonomiyaki or Japanese curry rice. 

Even sushi is different. California rolls is more liked than nigiri of raw tuna or salmon. I know that raw fish can be hard for some people to eat. But, instead of thinking Japanese is weird for eating raw fish, people should be educated and know that raw fish can taste great.

I do actually like Japanese  stake house. I think it's creative and obviously it's successful. But, at the same time, I want people to learn what it came from, what authentic Japanese cuisine is.

Same with movies. even if you don't understand Japanese, you should be able to catch the emotion and feeling behind the voice. That's why I like subtitle rather than dubbing that can change what it says or take away something important.

Drug free

Can we, as human being, be drug free? That question popped up in my head today as I was watching a news during my lunch.

It was the news on CNN that FDA told doctors not to prescribe large dose of a particular drug. One guy in the deli asked me if I think it's crazy.

I'm not a specialist and have no clue about this drug. Certainly I do not have answer for this guy. But, my general stance is that the less drug, the better.

I know that some people need to take medicine constantly, and I understand that. I am thankful for the pain killer after my surgery to take out wisdom teeth. I am thankful for anesthesia. But, didn't we used to go without those drugs for a long time in the past? We didn't need government to tell what drug you can or can't take.

Now we have issues with drug addiction, allergy, complication... I feel like human has become so dependent on those substance that it began to control our lives instead of us controlling it.

Although I appreciate the pain killer (vicodin), I'd never liked it. It made me dizzy and made it hard to focus. When I got out of it a week after surgery, I started to have headache because my body became addicted to it. When I had sinusitis (inflammation of prenasal sinuses), I was prescribed antibiotics, but it took away my appetite.

Luckily, I don't have any allergy other than some pollen (which caused sinusitis). But, I just wonder why human began to have all kinds of allergy. Is it because of all the artificial substances (artificial flavor, sweetener, etc)? Did people in the early age, like pre-industrial age, have the same allergy that we have now or is it something we developed recently?

Modern medicine may be helping us to live longer. Or maybe it means that we've become lazy and dependent on drug or supplement. (I've seen articles saying that it's more effective to take nutrition from food than from supplement.)

Considering all the issues that drugs are creating, I think that ultimate goal of medicine is to make people healthier without relying on drugs.