On the road to Shimonoseki...

Friday, I went with 6 members of the church to a new building dedication in Shimonoseki, about 5 hours drive North of Nagashima. We spent a total of over 10 hours in the car for a 1.5 hour service and 45 min of fellowship! I enjoyed it but it was really tiring! A Japanese pastor from another church gave a message with three points; the authority of the chruch, the power of the church and the mission of the church. I had the opportunity to meet people had had heard about but not yet met face to face.

The new building held 45 folding chairs in the main room with an extra 10-12 in a side room. It is a small building by anyone's standards but will give the new church a place to meet. At present they have around 10 people attending.

On the drive back home, I used the opportunity to quiz Pastor Ohara about Japanese culture. I asked everything I could think of about the function of "the group" in Japanese society. Relationships are the basis of the society here and the groups to which one belongs have a strong hold over everyone actions. Your family is a group, your job provides you with another group, evern the community in which you live gives you an identity as a member of that group. Because to the resposibility to the group, it is sometimes difficult to get someone to join a new group, such as the church. It's a topic I really need to continue to learn more about!

posted by Norman @ 7:02 PM