Oh That Men Would Praise His Name
As I am writing this, I am sitting in a side room in a church in Ube listening to the “Angelic Shout” choir practice. They are singing a song called \\Rejoice!\\ and the phrase “Oh That Men Would Praise His Name…” is repeated a few times in the chorus. All of this sounds great, but the really amazing thing is that most of these people are not Christians. This choir was started by a Japanese Christian woman with some musical talent who discovered that the Japanese like to sing American gospel music because they think it is a fun genre. All of her “Angelic Shout” choirs are attached to churches and used as outreaches, but are attended by a mix of unbelievers and church members. Seeing this outreach in action makes you realize the power of creativity and thinking outside the box.
As Theresa reflected on our tour of Japan’s important cultural sights last week, our minds are buzzing with possible ways to take some of the cultural practices we saw modeled and use them to connect the Japanese to the gospel. One of the things I feel even more strongly about after being in Japan is the truth that the image of God is present in all people and all cultures. Certainly, we must deal with the fact that in many people and in certain aspects of \\all\\ cultures that image has been marred by the fall. However, the image of God is so deeply ingrained that even amidst those circumstances it still shines through.
The beauty we have seen as we have been here and the ways that certain aspects of the Japanese culture reflect the gospel without even intending to, makes us want to affirm it even more. Our passion really is to introduce the light of the gospel to the Japanese people and then help them in discovering how the gospel authentically incarnates itself in Japanese culture.
The real challenge in all of this is what elements of the culture to embrace. Ed Stetzer, a church planter and missiologist, says that in \\every\\ culture there are practices, values, and elements we should receive, things we can redeem, and aspects we must reject. I think it is a Biblical affirmation of the image of God in all humanity to embrace as much of a culture as we can without compromising the integrity of the gospel. However, that very subtle line is not easy to draw.
Pray for Theresa and me as we continue to seek to understand the Japanese culture and the most effective ways to incarnate the gospel in this context.