Churchy Rantings (or, We Found a Church to Attend: The Long Version)
A handful of people have asked if there is a church nearby our area that Justin and I are able to attend. This is a very good question, as Japan has relatively few churches in general, and they tend to be in larger centers. As many of you know, Justin and I are in the boonies.
However, after a little bit of help from the internet and a Christian Facebook group geared towards English speakers in Japan, we were able to find a good little church only about 45 minutes from where we live.
Our congregation is about half Chinese and half Japanese. Throw in a Brazilian or two, and a couple of Canadians, and you have quite a multicultural church of about 20 people. The service format is quite similar to what we would've been used to in North America, with singing, prayer times, a message from the pastor, and even a children's "feature."
Do I understand the message? No. I bring my English Bible along, so I can follow what's being read. Apart from the text and the tidbits Justin whispers to me in the meantime, I get very little out of what is being said.
Can I sing along with the songs? Not really. While a handful of the songs have been translated from English, so that I know the tune and can hum along, I don't understand the Japanese lyrics.
Do I understand when we have congregational prayer? No. Even if I could understand Japanese, our Pastor encourages people to pray in their native language, which, as I mentioned before, can also include Chinese or Portuguese.
So why do I even go to church?
This is a question that I have indeed asked myself, especially early on a Sunday morning, when the warm blankets are doing a good job of convincing me that driving 45 minutes to sit through an hour and a half of indecipherableness is completely unreasonable. I might as well stay in bed, and listen to an online sermon in English. That way I can even choose my sermon topic, if I don't feel like being too convicted that morning. I can even get some good ol' Chris Tomlin going on youtube, if I'm feeling ambitious.
While online sermons can be a useful tool, and I have used them multiple times as a supplement, I have made the choice to attend a real-life church with real people sitting in the chairs, even though I can't yet understand a word of it.
Why?
Apart from the struggle of a language barrier, there have been times in my life (and this seems to be a trend of my generation), when I have felt like I never wanted to go to church again. I get more spiritual fulfillment just being in out in nature anyway, we say; or, worshiping in the privacy of my own home is more meaningful to me; or, the people there just don't understand me. Sometimes our feelings towards church are based out of disillusionment due to previous hurts. Sometimes we (and can I say, especially those of us with a little bit of Bible College training or 'experience' from a couple theology courses from a Christian university) become unmercifully cynical of the way church is done. We sit in our pews (or chairs, or whatever), and instead of trying to participate in a service, our minds are distracted by everything the pastor and co. are doing wrong.
While I can truthfully say that all of these things have crossed my mind, or have been legitimate struggles for me, over the 20 years I've been attending churches, I've come to a conclusion:
Church is not just about me.
There's a trend I've noticed in social media lately, which is the general bashing of millennials and their lack of meaningful productivity and overall selfishness. I am (surprise!) a millennial, and while I'm not necessarily an exception to this (I love using essentials oils, which is apparently one of the primary indicators of an ambition-less millennial), I can see truths in what is satirically being pointed out to us. Our generation, in North America, is an extremely entitled, self-serving generation (if you want to debate this with me, first come and live in Japan for a while to compare).
So let's get over ourselves, shall we?
Of course there are plenty of exceptions to this stereotype, but my point remains the same. If we are attending church purely for what we can get out of it, we're missing the point, as well as living up to our reputation as "Generation Me."
Historically, the Church as an institution has served many societal functions. It has met physical needs in the form of hospitals, shelters, disaster relief work, and food banks. It has been a source of education, via reading, writing, and universities. It has met social and emotional needs for adults and children, as a place to gather, make friends, and even pursue hobbies. It is a tie to history and culture, preserving and passing on traditions through rituals and observances. In many cases, in many societies, the Church was the center of several, if not all, of these functions. Just like any other institution, sometimes these have been carried out successfully, other times not. The point is, the Church had a 'purpose,' in a very tangible, undeniable way.
Today, many of these functions of the church have been taken on by secular institutions. I don't need to go to church if I have strep throat. I don't need to go to church if I want to learn. I don't need to go to church to make friends, to socialize myself or my children, to perpetuate culture, or to know my history.
This is rather a conundrum for the Church, especially in societies that sees no reason for spiritual need fulfillment, at least on an institutional level. Spirituality now is personal, subjective, fluid, individualistic... it's mine, and it's about me.
So, why would I go to church?
If I am convinced of the idea that church has nothing to offer me (the reality of which is another debate for another time), why?
The best answer I can give you is, family.
I have a biological family. They're crazy. They make me mad. They hurt me. I've fought innumerable times with my brothers. My parents would lecture me, and I would get upset. Sometimes I'd have no idea where they were coming from. Sometimes I felt I was being treated unfairly. I considered, like most kids, running away at least once.
Is that because my family is awfully horrible and serves no purpose?
Yes.
Just joking!! (I wanted to horrify my Mom)
I would not trade my family for anything. Despite everything, I know can count on them when things get rough. When I've had a hard day, I know I can always talk to my mom and cry about it. I know when I throw up in my brother's car, he'll buy me 2 litres of ginger ale and forgive me. I know when I need a good laugh and some fresh perspective, my other brother is just a phone call away. And when I'm scared and lonely, I know my Dad will drive 14 hours to bring me home. I would hope that my family would also feel that they could count on me to be there for them, even if it was inconvenient, uncomfortable or non-beneficial for me.
Even a healthy family is messy, but we need each other.
I can't understand what's being spoken at the church that we attend. But I can understand the hug that I was given after the service. I can understand when someone helps me find the right page in the song book. I can understand when someone serves me a cup of hot tea. Most of all, I can understand that everyone who is in that building we call a church, everyone with their own stories and backgrounds, made an intentional choice to be there to honour and worship a God that is not limited by language, culture or even who we are. And you know what? That's a pretty incredible feeling. I'd say that's downright encouraging.
Guess what? I am getting something out of church after all!
Let's not give up. If we feel church is not meeting our needs, we can try and meet the church's needs. Mostly likely, in the process, we'll find what we're looking for.
Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor. 1 Peter 2:17
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:24-25
However, after a little bit of help from the internet and a Christian Facebook group geared towards English speakers in Japan, we were able to find a good little church only about 45 minutes from where we live.
Our congregation is about half Chinese and half Japanese. Throw in a Brazilian or two, and a couple of Canadians, and you have quite a multicultural church of about 20 people. The service format is quite similar to what we would've been used to in North America, with singing, prayer times, a message from the pastor, and even a children's "feature."
Do I understand the message? No. I bring my English Bible along, so I can follow what's being read. Apart from the text and the tidbits Justin whispers to me in the meantime, I get very little out of what is being said.
Can I sing along with the songs? Not really. While a handful of the songs have been translated from English, so that I know the tune and can hum along, I don't understand the Japanese lyrics.
Do I understand when we have congregational prayer? No. Even if I could understand Japanese, our Pastor encourages people to pray in their native language, which, as I mentioned before, can also include Chinese or Portuguese.
So why do I even go to church?
This is a question that I have indeed asked myself, especially early on a Sunday morning, when the warm blankets are doing a good job of convincing me that driving 45 minutes to sit through an hour and a half of indecipherableness is completely unreasonable. I might as well stay in bed, and listen to an online sermon in English. That way I can even choose my sermon topic, if I don't feel like being too convicted that morning. I can even get some good ol' Chris Tomlin going on youtube, if I'm feeling ambitious.
While online sermons can be a useful tool, and I have used them multiple times as a supplement, I have made the choice to attend a real-life church with real people sitting in the chairs, even though I can't yet understand a word of it.
Why?
Apart from the struggle of a language barrier, there have been times in my life (and this seems to be a trend of my generation), when I have felt like I never wanted to go to church again. I get more spiritual fulfillment just being in out in nature anyway, we say; or, worshiping in the privacy of my own home is more meaningful to me; or, the people there just don't understand me. Sometimes our feelings towards church are based out of disillusionment due to previous hurts. Sometimes we (and can I say, especially those of us with a little bit of Bible College training or 'experience' from a couple theology courses from a Christian university) become unmercifully cynical of the way church is done. We sit in our pews (or chairs, or whatever), and instead of trying to participate in a service, our minds are distracted by everything the pastor and co. are doing wrong.
While I can truthfully say that all of these things have crossed my mind, or have been legitimate struggles for me, over the 20 years I've been attending churches, I've come to a conclusion:
Church is not just about me.
There's a trend I've noticed in social media lately, which is the general bashing of millennials and their lack of meaningful productivity and overall selfishness. I am (surprise!) a millennial, and while I'm not necessarily an exception to this (I love using essentials oils, which is apparently one of the primary indicators of an ambition-less millennial), I can see truths in what is satirically being pointed out to us. Our generation, in North America, is an extremely entitled, self-serving generation (if you want to debate this with me, first come and live in Japan for a while to compare).
So let's get over ourselves, shall we?
Of course there are plenty of exceptions to this stereotype, but my point remains the same. If we are attending church purely for what we can get out of it, we're missing the point, as well as living up to our reputation as "Generation Me."
Historically, the Church as an institution has served many societal functions. It has met physical needs in the form of hospitals, shelters, disaster relief work, and food banks. It has been a source of education, via reading, writing, and universities. It has met social and emotional needs for adults and children, as a place to gather, make friends, and even pursue hobbies. It is a tie to history and culture, preserving and passing on traditions through rituals and observances. In many cases, in many societies, the Church was the center of several, if not all, of these functions. Just like any other institution, sometimes these have been carried out successfully, other times not. The point is, the Church had a 'purpose,' in a very tangible, undeniable way.
Today, many of these functions of the church have been taken on by secular institutions. I don't need to go to church if I have strep throat. I don't need to go to church if I want to learn. I don't need to go to church to make friends, to socialize myself or my children, to perpetuate culture, or to know my history.
This is rather a conundrum for the Church, especially in societies that sees no reason for spiritual need fulfillment, at least on an institutional level. Spirituality now is personal, subjective, fluid, individualistic... it's mine, and it's about me.
So, why would I go to church?
If I am convinced of the idea that church has nothing to offer me (the reality of which is another debate for another time), why?
The best answer I can give you is, family.
I have a biological family. They're crazy. They make me mad. They hurt me. I've fought innumerable times with my brothers. My parents would lecture me, and I would get upset. Sometimes I'd have no idea where they were coming from. Sometimes I felt I was being treated unfairly. I considered, like most kids, running away at least once.
Is that because my family is awfully horrible and serves no purpose?
Yes.
Just joking!! (I wanted to horrify my Mom)
I would not trade my family for anything. Despite everything, I know can count on them when things get rough. When I've had a hard day, I know I can always talk to my mom and cry about it. I know when I throw up in my brother's car, he'll buy me 2 litres of ginger ale and forgive me. I know when I need a good laugh and some fresh perspective, my other brother is just a phone call away. And when I'm scared and lonely, I know my Dad will drive 14 hours to bring me home. I would hope that my family would also feel that they could count on me to be there for them, even if it was inconvenient, uncomfortable or non-beneficial for me.
Even a healthy family is messy, but we need each other.
I can't understand what's being spoken at the church that we attend. But I can understand the hug that I was given after the service. I can understand when someone helps me find the right page in the song book. I can understand when someone serves me a cup of hot tea. Most of all, I can understand that everyone who is in that building we call a church, everyone with their own stories and backgrounds, made an intentional choice to be there to honour and worship a God that is not limited by language, culture or even who we are. And you know what? That's a pretty incredible feeling. I'd say that's downright encouraging.
Guess what? I am getting something out of church after all!
Let's not give up. If we feel church is not meeting our needs, we can try and meet the church's needs. Mostly likely, in the process, we'll find what we're looking for.
Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor. 1 Peter 2:17
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:24-25
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. 1 Thessalonians 5:11-15
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
1 Peter 5:8-9
very good points. ^^ Even as a pagan, I always preferred being able to meet up with other pagans to do holidays and other stuff cause of that connectivity and community building. (the closest thing I get here is going to matsuris and taking part when I can cause Shintoism is in the same lines and you can get a similar connection to those you participate with)
ReplyDeleteI didn`t even know there was a church as close as 40 mins away.lol What denomination?
Ya, connection is so important! That's interesting that you find a similar connection with Shintoism as a Pagan. I'm really not that familiar with Shintoism yet, but I'd like to learn more, seeing as it has such an influence on Japanese culture and everything.
DeleteThe church we attend is actually right in Iida. I don't even know exactly what the denomination is, haha. It's Protestant... I'll have to find out more specifically!