MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY HOLIDAYS 2022

we touched this same spot with our hands, our feet, our gaze and our dreams

Monday, June 27, 2011

TOM NIELSEN WORKING ON GUAM

Settlement reached in Lada Estates case Video included



A development in Dededo that's been long stalled in court is finally coming to a conclusion. As a result, the proposed Lada Estates affordable homes project finally becoming a reality. More>>

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Eric Clapton,Bob Dylan,George Harrison,Neil Young,Tom Petty,Roger McGuinn-Knocking On Heaven's Door


Japanese interfaith group joins protests over US bases

By ENInews
22 Jun 2011
 
A new interfaith group in Japan has joined local opposition to the US military presence on the southern island of Okinawa, as the two countries announced on 21 June 2011 that they have postponed the 2014 deadline for relocating a US Marine base there, due to the plan's unpopularity.
"The lives of Okinawan people are still threatened [by the bases]," said the Tokyo-based group composed primarily of Buddhists and Christians.

"We as religionists have the same resolution in caring for life and protecting peace," the group said in a statement adopted at its launch on 17 June. "We will address the problem of US military bases in Okinawa," it said.

In Washington DC on 21 June, a joint statement by the two countries said plans for the relocation would not meet the 2014 date, but would be carried out "at the earliest possible date" after 2014. Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto and Defence Minister Toshimi Kitazawa are in the U.S. capital for talks with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defence Secretary Robert Gates.
Under a 1996 agreement between the U.S. and Japan, the US Marine Corps Air Station, currently based near the densely-populated area of Futenma on the main Okinawa island, was to be relocated to an offshore coral reef area near the village of Henoko.

In 2006, the relocation plan was to be completed by 2014 as part of a US military realignment, but the plan has been strongly opposed since 1996 by local residents and supporters nationwide, including Okinawan Governor Hirokazu Nakaima and many Okinawan residents.

The local government has said that the bases hinder regional development and that there are concerns with crime, aircraft operations, noise pollution and environmental pollution.

The interfaith group is led by Tainen Miyagi, a Buddhist Abbot of Seigoin temple in Kyoto; the Rev Isamu Koshiishi, moderator of the National Christian Council in Japan and Bishop Daiji Tani, president of the Japan Catholic Council for Justice and Peace. The group's name in Japanese is: 'Religionists Group for Okinawa Without Bases - To Seek Removal of Futenma Base And Cancellation of the Construction of New Base in Henoko.'

The site of a significant World War II battle, Okinawa hosts about half of the nearly 50,000 US military personnel in Japan. After the war, the Okinawa bases were used to dispatch US troops to conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan.

[With acknowledgements to ENInews. ENInews, formerly Ecumenical News International, is jointly sponsored by the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Communion of Reformed Churches and the Conference of European Churches.]
 

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

'Benedictus': Fragrance Created for Pope Benedict XVI

MEDIA ADVISORY, June 21, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- Excelsis announced today that it has created a new fragrance made expressly for His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood in Freising Cathedral, Bavaria 29 June 1951.

Doctor Frederick Hass, founder of Excelsis, created this fragrance appropriately with linden blossom from Benedict's native Germany, frankincense from the Holy Land and bergamot from Italy. The result is subtle and dignified, befitting a man of finely cultivated tastes. Barely perceptible is a nuance of citrus, and as it evolves, a discrete hint of musk. The overall impression is one of understated elegance. A slightly astringent and balsamic quality makes it a soothing and refreshing aftershave.

Benedictus will initially be available only online at www.ExcelsisUSA.com.

Distribution for retail sales will begin shortly. Dealer inquiries are invited.

What is the Japanese word for 10,000,000 billion?


TOKYO — Japanese computer geeks are celebrating a comeback after a Fujitsu-built supercomputer set a world speed record — beating the reigning Chinese machine and giving Japan the most powerful computer for the first time in seven years.


The Fujitsu “K” — a play on the Japanese word for 10,000,000 bn, the number of operations per second it is designed to perform — topped the semiannual ranking announced Monday at the International Supercomputing Conference in Hamburg.

“This is proof that our nation’s technology sector is still healthy,” said Ryoji Noyori, project director at Riken, a government-funded research institute that collaborated with Fujitsu. “We have to aim for [the] top spot.”

Read full article >>                        (Jonathan Soble)

Makoto Fujimura: The function of art

The church needs the arts, not so there will be opportunities for more artists in churches, but for the sake of the gospel, says the artist and founder of the International Arts Movement. 

Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, Ill.
“Charis-Kairos (The Tears of Christ).”
Taken from “The Four Holy Gospels,” illuminated by Makoto Fujimura, © 2011.

May 10, 2011 | Chances are if you’ve heard others use the expression “It’s like watching paint dry,” you’ve assumed they meant that something was boring.

But that’s not the case for Makoto Fujimura, an artist and the founder of the International Arts Movement (IAM),  a nonprofit that encourages artists to wrestle with questions of art, faith and humanity through workshops, lectures and performances.

He finds watching paint dry fascinating -- so much so that he has even videotaped it. “There’s something about it that is very generative for me, that makes me come alive,” said Fujimura, who moved from Japan to the United States when he was 13 and was drawn to visual communication as he learned English.

He paints using the traditional Japanese technique Nihonga, and his paintings have been exhibited at galleries around the world, from the Dillon Gallery in New York to the Contemporary Museum of Tokyo. His latest work is “The Four Holy Gospels,” an illuminated manuscript of the Gospels published by Crossway in January to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible.

Fujimura became a Christian while completing a master of fine arts degree at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and was named World magazine’s “Daniel of the Year” in 2005. A former elder at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City and a founding elder at The Village Church, he is the author of a memoir, “River Grace,” and a collection of essays, “Refractions: A Journey of Faith, Art and Culture.”

Fujimura spoke with Faith & Leadership about the function of art, the International Arts Movement, and the “Four Holy Gospels” project. The following is an edited transcript.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

MacArthur sought to impose religion on defeated Japan


By ENInews

10 Jun 2011

In the wake of the destruction and surrender of the Japanese empire in August 1945, a "spiritual vacuum" emerged that the country's de-facto ruler, General Douglas MacArthur, sought to fill with religious and quasi-religious beliefs still new to Japan, from Christianity to Freemasonry - writes Suzanne McGee.

That is the focus of a recently published study of the Occupation years of 1945 to 1952 by Japanese investigative journalist Eiichiro Tokumoto. 

In "1945 Under the Shadow of the Occupation: The Ashlar and The Cross," Tokumoto documents MacArthur's efforts to persuade missionaries to intensify their efforts among the Japanese population in hopes of providing a counterweight to the growing appeal of communism in the earliest days of the Cold War.
"There was a complete collapse of faith in Japan in 1945 -- in our invincible military, in the emperor, in the religion that had become known as 'state Shinto,'" says Tokumoto, referring to spiritual practices dating back several millennia that in the decades before World War II became a kind of state religion. It became closely associated with the growth of militaristic nationalism that led Japan into war in China and later with the United States and its allies.

"MacArthur was very interested in the relationship between politics and religion in Japan, and he wanted both to reform the ideas and the ideology of the Japanese people as well as [make] sure that communism did not fill the gap in people's minds and hearts," Tokumoto explains.

A number of letters and reports that Tokumoto studied while researching his book only recently were declassified, he says. Among them was a report of a meeting between two American Catholic bishops, John F. O'Hara and Michael J. Ready, and MacArthur in the summer of 1946. After a three-week trip around Japan, meeting religious and political leaders as well as members of the imperial family, the bishops reported to the Vatican that MacArthur encouraged the Catholic Church to attempt to convert the Japanese en masse.

"General MacArthur asked us to urge the sending of thousands of Catholic missionaries - at once," the bishops said in their report. MacArthur told them that they had a year to help fill the "spiritual vacuum" created by the defeat - a vacuum "into which anything may rush."

Based on his experience in the Philippines, MacArthur believed that the Catholic Church particularly would appeal to the Japanese because the tradition of seeking absolution "appeals to the Oriental," they reported. Taking responsibility for one's mistakes or misdeeds, and making amends, long had been a part of Japanese culture - although traditionally, among samurai warriors, this ended with ritual suicide or seppuku, rather than by seeking absolution from a priest.

The general, who became the absolute authority in Japan during the Occupation, reiterated his interest in encouraging conversions to Christianity during the visit of an Australian cardinal, Norman Gilroy, in December 1946. Tokumoto viewed a recently declassified report by Gilroy to the Vatican in which the cardinal wrote that MacArthur believed that, if the church didn't act, "Communist agents will obtain the converts who should be gained by the church."

Even after leaving Japan, MacArthur never relinquished his interest in religion as a counterweight to both extreme nationalism and communism in Japan. When International Christian University was founded in Tokyo in 1955, MacArthur became chair of its fundraising efforts, says Japan scholar Garrett Washington, an assistant professor at Oberlin College in Ohio. "It was another place that could legally teach and protect Christianity."

In the wake of the missionaries' efforts, the Bible became a best seller in some bookshops, while the number of Catholics climbed about 19 per cent between 1948 and 1950, Tokumoto says.

Still, despite the interest of the Japanese in learning about the belief systems - from democracy to religion - that they believed had helped their adversaries conquer them, the effects of these missionary efforts didn't last. Partly, Washington says, despite the Vatican's proposal that missionaries obtain specialised training and language skills, relatively few of the 2,000 or so who flooded into Japan in the war's aftermath could communicate effectively with their target audience.

In the 1960s, within a few years of the creation of International Christian University, there was a backlash against what students perceived as a Christian 'elite' who ran several major Japanese universities or had risen to power in other fields. "There was a growing conviction across Japanese societies that all religions had failed them in one way or another," Washington says.

The perception was that Shinto had led to the disastrous defeat of Japan in 1945, but Christianity was associated with Western powers that young Japanese increasingly saw as "hypocritical," he says. "They were not practicing what they preached, from dropping the atom bombs to the Cold War and even the war in Vietnam."

Today, Washington adds, Japanese citizens have relatively little interest in any religion.

MacArthur's other initiative to fill the spiritual void - expanding Freemasonry in Japan, including the induction of the first Japanese masons - had somewhat more lasting success, Tokumoto says. That first generation of Japanese members included members of the Japanese parliament, or Diet, as well as journalists and even a member of the imperial family.

Monday, June 13, 2011

JON PETERSEN REPORTS

Mon 6/13/2011 6:52 PM PDT
 
Dear Friends and Family, 
  
Greetings from one pooped and happy traveller.  This was virtually one of those unplannable trips...flow as you go stuff... To do this you need the right kind of te

am - which I was blessed to have.  Josh (21), Dayn (24) and Sara (21), loved our team times of worship, prayer and studying "identity in Christ" themes in the New Testament.  They are true "intercessors" and covered every aspect of our trip and the people we met in prayer. 
 
Now I'm heading home and I've left them with the Crash Japan team to go north with Dr Andy Meeko, a co-MK from Japan who is a Dr of Psychology and committed to grief counselling in the Tohoku region.  They will be praying for CRASH workers, local churches and many in the disaster region who need comfort and Jesus.
 
Sara, who is Japanese/Hawaiian, speaks great Japanese, knows the train system, loves to pray and is a sweetheart towards the Japanese people - a real bridge between cultures.  Dayn is has a great "antennae", is pastoral and a great leader.  Josh, though new to Asia, fit in beautifully (as long as we kept him fed.)  He loves to pray, worship and "treasure hunt" - going into a crowd and searching for someone to talk to about Jesus.  All three of them ran into divine appointments through their "treasure hunting" forays... very amazing! 
 
Josh and Dayn are off to China on the 22nd to meet up with Wendy there, then cycle back through Yokohama on the 27th of July. 
 
Things in Yokohama are now in place to launch the Yokohama Prayer Room in July during our next trip.  We have met with over 10 yokohama pastors and a number of praying types who are excited to have a place in their city to come and pray together for the city, Japan and the nations.
 
Tuesday was the day Andy Game introduced JesusNet (internet evangelism) and I shared the partnership with Andy and 24-7 Prayer with a number of Yokohama pastors.  We hope to see the website up and running with "internet counsellors" and partnering churches in September.  With the elevated grief and subsequent suicides rising in Japan, we believe this evangelism/counselling website, partnered with prayer, could be a real tool in the hands of the Lord.
 
Later in the afternoon, we enjoyed a "redemptive roots" tour from Scout Douma, pastor of the Yokohama Grace Bible Church.  What a blessing to see the city the Lord has chosen to lead us to has a rich history as a gateway into Japan, some godly roots and a beachhead for the Gospel into a historically resistant culture. 
 
A couple of times we woke up knowing we had no clear place to go or sleep later that night - each time the Lord opened amazing doors and provided for every step - phew!  He is the "break-through" God. 
 
Sunday night was a gathering at CAJ, my old school for United Day of Prayer.  What a joy to see nearly 200 pastors, intercessors, missionaries and praying people gathered to pray for Japan and for the world.  I was blessed to share a few minutes on "the prayer of agreement" - a big need in Japan where the church is separated from itself in many ways.  Things are truly beginning to shift in this country where, new forms of Church and new spiritual leaders are being raised up by the Lord. 
 
We are in critical need of a permanent person or couple to set up in Yokohama, partner with Andy Game and facilitate the prayer room and prayer teams going into Japan.  Once that is in place we'll be able to facilitate monthly "Prayer Journey" teams into Japan - Pray specifically for the right people!!
 
If you or someone you know would like to join a "Prayer Journey Team" beginning in September, please let me know.  We will try to mix Japanese and non-Japanese speakers on the same team - thankfully Japanese is not a required language in talking to God. 

OK, gotta catch a plane - again...(sorry if this is rough - didn't even have a chance to edit.)
 
Love y'all, Jon Petersen

Friday, June 10, 2011

Living Abroad in Japan

Born in Tokyo and raised in Hokkaido, Ruthy Kanagy is an expert on Japanese culture and currently works as a travel systems consultant, leading cycling tours of Japan. Ruthy provides insight and first-hand advice on navigating the language and culture of Japan, outlining all the information needed in a smart, organized, and straightforward manner. Moon Living Abroad in Japan makes the moving and transition process easy for businesspeople, students, teachers, retirees, and professionals.

Moon Living Abroad in Japan is packed with essential information and must-have details on setting up daily life, including obtaining visas, arranging finances, gaining employment, choosing schools, and finding health care. This relocation guide also includes practical advice on how to rent or buy a home for a variety of needs and budgets, whether it’s an apartment in Tokyo or a mountain retreat in Nagano. All Moon Living Abroad guides include color photos, black and white photos, black and white illustrations, and maps.

About the Author

Ruthy Kanagy was born in Tokyo and grew up on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. After finishing high school in Japan and higher education in the United States, Ruthy taught English and Japanese language and culture for 22 years at universities in the United States and Japan. She also translated a Japanese children’s book, The Park Bench.
When she started cycling in earnest in 2000, she discovered the joy of traveling under her own power, without reliance on fossil fuels. A highlight was touring Hokkaido, the northern island of Japan — exploring her roots and visiting the places her family had lived when she was young. The mountains, caldera lakes, hot springs, rugged seacoast, and wildflowers were just as she remembered.


In 2006, Ruthy organized Japan Cycle Tours to introduce cyclists to Hokkaido, Tokyo, Kyoto, and other areas. She is convinced that encountering new cultures on a bicycle makes you more approachable and brings you closer to local people. Currently, Ruthy is a bicycle travel consultant at Green Gear Cycling/Bike Friday, builders of custom, high-performance bicycles that pack into a suitcase for air travel (www.bikefriday.com). Her job is to help people design the bikes they need for adventures around the world. She is also studying French and Korean in hopes of further exploring the globe by pedal power.
Other than annual trips to Japan, Ruthy calls Eugene, Oregon home; her two daughters live in San Francisco and New York City. Ruthy’s travel photos are displayed at www.livingabroadinjapan.com.

2011 Japan Women

2011 WOMENS OUTREACH TO JAPAN
Where: Iwata, Iwakuni and Osaka, Japan
When: June 28 – July 16, 2011
Who: College Age Women and High School Seniors
Cost: $3,150

THIS TOUR will stretch each participant on & off the field.  We will be learning what it means to be a sports minister, as well as putting what we learn into practice through many different avenues of ministry such as matches, camps, post-game meals, testimony sharing, friendship evangelism, clinics, and pre-tour training. Our hope is that each girl on this tour comes home with a deeper knowledge of our Lord, Sports Ministry and a confidence in sharing her faith with others.

COME JOIN US for this exciting 2011 outreach to Central & Southern Japan.  This is our 8th year to minister in Osaka and our 5th in Iwakuni.  This year in particular serves a unique purpose in helping to plant a long-term sports ministry center by partnering with Masa & Chie Yokota and Pastor BJ Tsutada in Osaka.  In addition to matches, we will be helping to establish a soccer camp which will attract families to the Soccer Academy they hope to start.  They have arranged matches for us with local select clubs and universities as well as High School teams.  Besides matches and the 3-day camp, we will be engaging with the locals through soccer clinics and other relational opportunities.

Osaka is the second largest city in Japan but we will also be traveling to Southern Japan which is one of the most beautiful parts of the country.  There we will be partnering through the Chapel on a US Navy Military installation to provide a 4-day camp to the children of the F-18 fighter squadron  and their support team families.  We will also minister off-base with a Japanese pastor while making connections to the community that would otherwise be difficult to make.  It’s not all work and ministry however, there will be a day to rest, relax & see some of the scenic & cultural locations of historical Japan.

Get ready to make an impact and be challenged by the opportunity to represent your Savior, your country, your sport, and the Seahorse Soccer ministry through this awesome opportunity. We will take two days prior to departing to cover cultural orientation, physical preparation, and get ready spiritually.

To apply for this tour please fill out the application and mail it to our offices along with a $100 deposit (non-refundable)
For more information
Call Paul Gizzi:  714-739-8375
Email:  paul.gizzi@seahorsesoccer.com
DOWNLOAD BROCHURE

Visions are motivating the church in Japan

Japan (MNN) -- Saturday marks three months since the earthquake and resulting tsunami swept across Japan. According to Pete Howard with Food for the Hungry, the homelessness and cleanup continue. Howard says many Japanese are still in need. "Close to 200,000 people are still living in shelters and outside of their homes. Some of those people, especially those who live near the Fukushima Nuclear Plant, cannot go back to their homes." Howard says the church in Japan has been phenomenal in providing relief -- going into "at risk" areas. Howard says it's a move of the Holy Spirit. "Pastors and leaders are having dreams -- dreams of Jesus walking through the rubble toward the Fukushima Nuclear plant. Some of these Christian leaders see those dreams as a call to the church not to run away from the danger or the challenges, but to follow Jesus into the danger." Japan's technology hasn't been able to provide hope, so they're now asking spiritual questions. Pray that Christians will be there to provide the Answer.

Thursday, June 09, 2011

GOT ART?

Rebuilding homes and hearts will take long-term efforts post-tsunami

Japan (MNN) -- The rebuild process of homes and hearts is ongoing in Japan. Mark Lewis with the compassion ministry of EFCA, TouchGlobal, says debris removal is happening, but "it's more than 250 miles of coastline with community after community that have had waves as high as 60 or 80 feet. Just immense devastation. So even though there's been progress made in some places, it looks like nothing's really happened." Rebuild is vital, but slow-going. And interestingly, Japanese hearts seem to be following that pattern. Lewis says hearts are crying out for change, but it'll take long-term relational care for tsunami victims to fully trust Christ fully. So now, the biggest need is for believers to nurture relationships. They need "both national workers from Japan and short- and long-term missionaries literally from around the world, to come and be part of what I perceive--and I think what the national pastors here perceive--as a time of unprecedented openness for the Gospel."

Friday, June 03, 2011

"Third culture" leaders are the future of the church.

May 24, 2011

The Post-American Church (Part Uno)

"Third culture" leaders are the future of the church.
A week ago I returned from a trip to Spain where I was speaking with a team of missionaries working in different regions of the country. Yes, I was suffering for the Lord on a Mediterranean beach. Apart from the breathtaking beauty of Peñíscola, Spain, I was blessed to share time with some spectacular people engaged in very good work.
When many Americans think about missionaries they picture a team of Western, Anglo, people doing evangelism and church planting among dark-skinned “natives.” Perhaps that image was true at one time, but it’s definitely not anymore. As someone has recently remarked, missions today is “from everywhere to everywhere.”
The team of missionaries I spoke with in Spain included people from the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Brazil, and the Netherlands. And they were serving among Spaniards, Portuguese, Chinese, Moroccans, Latin Americans, and Arabs. In many cases they reported greater receptivity to the gospel among immigrant populations in Spain rather than among native Spaniards. It was a striking example of how globalization has radically “flattened” our planet.
And the nature of the ministries engaged by these workers was just as diverse as their passports. Some were planting churches, others had started a mission to rescue women from human trafficking, another team was doing marriage and family counseling, and others were helping immigrants from North Africa learn Spanish and find jobs. In other words, despite having a shared denominational background this team was not limited to a single missions playbook.
I came way from my time in Spain with two observations that may have some relevancy to the church on this side of “the pond.”
OBSERVATION ONE: The future leadership of the church belongs to “third culture” kids.
With only a few exceptions, nearly every missionary on the Spanish team was raised in a culturally diverse context. Some were missionary kids themselves who grew up in Southeast Asia or Latin America. Others were the product of diverse communities or multi-ethnic homes.
One couple from the U.S., for example, were both children of Chinese immigrants. They grew up having to navigate both American culture and the Chinese language and culture of their families. This equipped them with the skills necessary for cross-cultural ministry. Now they serve in Spain among Chinese immigrants in Madrid. And their children are taking it a degree further. They are ethnically Asian, fluent in Spanish language and culture, but carry American passports.
The examples are endless. I met 10-year-old Puerto Rican kids who spoke Spanish, English, and Arabic. Families from the Netherlands fluent in Dutch, English, Spanish, and Portuguese. And one leader responsible for church planting in Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia was the son of Dutch immigrants to Canada. He’s spent his adult life in Africa and Europe and speaks French, English, German, Dutch, and who knows what else.
What’s my point? As demographics shift and populations continue to mix, it won’t be enough for us to master the leadership dynamics of our small community. We will need the skills to move between and among diverse groups and draw them together--often utilizing very different leadership values in the process. Kids with diverse cultural backgrounds who do not find such accommodation threatening, even second-nature, are going to be better equipped for this task. But many American churches, and the homogeneous unit principle they’ve been built upon, will not be the incubators for this kind of leadership.
Dave Gibbons has spent the last several years talking about the importance of “third culture” leadership which he defines as “the mindset and will to love, learn, and serve in any culture, even in the midst of pain and discomfort.” And while folks in the American church have been willing to listen to his exhortation, I’m wondering how seriously they’re taking it. It seems like most of what I read concerning “leadership principles” in the church are really “upper/middle-class Anglo-American leadership principles.” While such ideas are helpful and legitimate, they are often blind to the rapidly changing reality both overseas and right here in the U.S. (I remember being blindsided by African-American and Latino church leaders explaining why small groups are only effective among white people.)
If the dominant Anglo-American church doesn’t starting opening it’s ears, minds, conferences, books, magazines, and blogs to more global voices, it will quickly find itself unprepared for life in the post-American church world. But allowing diverse and divergent voices into the conversation is not only challenging, it’s messy. That is why we also need to begin cultivating church leadership environments that are not predicated upon uniformity and efficiency.
What to I mean by that? Most of what I’ve read/heard about church leadership says we should fight tenaciously to maintain clear purpose, vision, and values within our organization. And recruiting other leaders who conform to these is vital. Allow too many people inside who hold divergent ideas and you’ll derail the organization. But this mindset assumes that efficiency is the ultimate value to which all others must surrender. The best organizations, this view teaches, run like well-oiled machines with high capacity and high output. But in many cultures efficiency is not the highest good. And third culture leaders understand that in many cases clinical efficiency simply is not possible when seeking to lead diverse populations.
The future, as I saw in Spain, is both beautiful and complicated. It is marvelous and messy. If the Anglo-American church remains enamored with institutional corporate values and efficiency, we will not be positioned either to lead within or benefit from the changing world.
Stay tuned for Skye’s second observation concerning the post-American church.
Skye Jethani is senior editor of Leadership Journal, Out of Ur, and Catalyst Leadership. He also serves as the senior producer of This is Our City, a new project for Christianity Today. He is the author of The Divine Commodity: Discovering a Faith Beyond Consumer Christianity, and he blogs regularly at The Huffington Post and SkyeJethani.com.
Skye's new book, WITH: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God, will be released in August by Thomas Nelson. Read the first chapter online now.

June 1, 2011

The Post-American Church (Part Dos)

Despite our problems the church in the U.S. still has enormous influence.
Read Part One of Skye Jethani's article, "The Post-American Church."
OBSERVATION TWO: The American Church still has a vital role to play as the global church rises.
In 2008, CNN’s Fareed Zakaria wrote the best-selling book The Post-American World from which I borrowed the title for this blog post. In his book Zakaria refuses to join the “America is in decline” bandwagon. Instead he uses the term “Post-American” to describe the emergence of new economic super-powers into the zone previously occupied by America alone. China and India are the two most obvious nations in this category with Brazil increasingly being added to the conversation. To paraphrase Zakaria’s argument, it’s not about the decline of the West, but rather the rise of the rest.
Like the doomsday prophets that have nothing positive to say about the American economy, there seem to be no shortage of doomsday prophets surrounding the American church. (Remember the “Letter from 2012 in Obama’s America” released by James Dobson’s political group in 2008?) Reading too many of these dire predictions about the American church would lead one to believe that everyone under 30 has abandoned the faith, every pastor is a closeted bi-sexual, and Muslims are salivating at the chance to convert abandoned mega-churches into mosques.
Well, I hate to disappoint the “prophets” profiting from this fear-mongering, but the evidence suggests the American church is far from dead. Sure, we have problems and many of them are significant, but the Christian religion in America is actually more robust today than it was two centuries ago. (Only between 10 and 20 percent of Americans belonged to a church in 1776. See more here.) And the idea that the U.S. is just one generation behind the secular and Islamic forces influencing Europe is like comparing Lady Bird with Lady Gaga.
My time with the missionary team in Spain in May, as well as my time at the Third Lausanne Congress on Global Evangelization in Cape Town last October, revealed that the American church still has a very important and influential role throughout the world. Consider just three areas: money, resources, and ideas.
Money is a no-brainer. The majority of the funds needed to assemble 4,000 global church leaders in Cape Town, South Africa, last year came from North America. And the United States remains the largest funder of international missions. While giving among Christians has been declining in the U.S., it would be tragic if we abandoned this very significant area of missional responsibility. Of course there is a danger with being the wallet of the Body of Christ. At times we can be tempted to use that role to micro-manage or control. These colonial instincts are hard to reprogram.
The second area is resources. My presence in Spain last month was to teach and encourage the international missionary team there. I was sent, with funds from the U.S by the way, as a resource to the growing Spanish church. The American church’s large infrastructure of ministries, schools, and publishers means a great many of the resources utilized by the global church have their origins here. (Check out this video just posted by Dave Ferguson showing church planters in Siberia using his book, Exponential. Siberia!) I’m proud that Christianity Today and Leadership Journal are part of the American church’s attempts to resource our sisters and brothers around the world.
With these resources and money, of course, come influence. Many of the ideas that begin in the American church find their way around the world. One missionary in Spain was explaining how his home church in another country had been heavily influenced by American values--both practically and theologically. And, according to his view, that was not always a positive thing. On the flip side, my week with the missionaries included a lot of Q&A time about trends I’m observing in the U.S. church. They were very eager to know what the American church is learning, trying, and utilizing. They very much believed that what is happening here matters over there. And they’re right.
My time overseas, which has not been nearly as extensive as some of my colleagues, has shown me that the global church is shifting. New values and leadership qualities are likely to emerge as a result. We may find that some of the highly celebrated values within the American church begin to lose favor as new values ascend. But we shouldn’t assume that America’s influence in missions is over. Far from it. We may be entering an age when the role of the American church is more critical than ever. But it means learning to cooperate with, and not just control, the rising global church.
Skye Jethani is senior editor of Leadership Journal, Out of Ur, and Catalyst Leadership. He also serves as the senior producer of This is Our City, a new project for Christianity Today. He is the author of The Divine Commodity: Discovering a Faith Beyond Consumer Christianity, and he blogs regularly at The Huffington Post and SkyeJethani.com.
Skye's new book, WITH: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God, will be released in August by Thomas Nelson. Read the first chapter online now.