LTRP Note: We received the following by a missionary in Japan. He describes the situation in Japan and how contemplative, emergent, and Purpose Driven are infitrating the Christian church over there. He has asked that his name remain anonymous.
False Teaching and the Japanese Christian Scene
By a missionary to Japan
October 1st, 2007
The Japanese Christian scene seems to follow closely at the heels of the American church. This is to say that many of the bad influences currently widespread in American Christianity are finding their way to Japan through the influence of missionaries and Japanese pastors trained in US seminaries and Christian colleges. Also, some of this is coming in by way of Korean missionaries in Japan, who are often influenced by popular false teachings. A case in point is the ____ Church, in the city where I live in northern Japan. The church’s Korean pastor has aggressively promoted The Purpose-Driven Life and other trends, especially those of the seeker-sensitive movement.
Added to our problems is the widespread popularity of the writings of Henri Nouwen, which have been translated into Japanese. The translator, a man named Ota, is also a popular church speaker and has a Christian growth center which teaches contemplative prayer. His trademark word is “Shizumari,” which means “Quietude.” I heard him speak twice in my former church. The last time was the Sunday before Good Friday, when his message centered on Jesus’s prayer in Gethsemane. He presented Jesus as a kind of guru modeling how we should learn quietness and submission to God. There was absolutely no mention of Jesus’s atoning work on the cross or the meaning of his death. That was my last Sunday at that church. The pastor of this church considers this man a mentor and also brings this sort of thing into the Hokkaido Bible Institute, a Bible college here in Sapporo, where he teaches. He also belongs to a Postmodernism study group for pastors and has been showing this kind of influence in his teaching.
The situation does not seem to be much better in the rest of Japan. Many large, growing churches are lorded over by dictatorial pastors. At one time I worked for one when I lived in Osaka who often punched and kicked his subordinates. Fortunately, I escaped any physical abuse but suffered some psychological abuse before I quit. Recently the Korean pastor of a very large charismatic church in Osaka was also arrested and convicted for molesting many children in the church. Needless to say, this became a well-known scandal through the media. Culturally Japanese people tend to submit without protest to authority figures and decline to disturb the harmony of groups, so such abusive individuals find it easy to stay in control.
All this is very regrettable, especially since Japan has also produced some wonderful Christians, such as the popular novelist and essayist Ayako Miura [author of Shiokari Pass], who was well-known and respected throughout Japan. Through the influence of her books many have been brought to faith in Christ. There have been many fine pastors and leaders of church congregations too, such as the pastor of my current church. Unfortunately, though, pastors of typical small churches naturally feel tremendous pressure to imitate the methods of people like Rick Warren, and they are very shy about criticizing apparently successful pastors and churches. We would greatly appreciate the prayers of brethren around the globe for greater discernment among Christians here and also that the true Gospel of Christ will be boldly preached and people authentically converted through its power.
