reachingtokyo

On the job hunt again

2011-11-15T13:29:00.000+09:00

It's really tiring summoning up the energy to look for jobs I don't really want. The whole traditional 9-5 in jobs that, if they were to disappear wouldn't really matter doesn't make sense when I look at the fact that we have but one life to live. Am I being dramatic? I hope so. After all our lives are simply one event after another. If we devalue an even t here or a year there rationalizing that "oh its just for the interim" "i won't do it for the rest of my life", our life will end up being just a sum of all the parts and in my opinion meaningless.

I realize its about give and take. We must give up certain luxuries in our lives at certain points to have others. But It seems to me our society has arrived at a crossroads. We have traded meaninglessness for meaning and purpose. Where we will go as a society? I believe it depends on each one of our individual decisions. This collection of life decisions has brought us as a society to where we are and in the future our society will continue to be shaped by our good or poor decisions. The momentum can go in either direction. It is up to me today. Will I act out of fear? Will I act out of what family and society have come to expect of all of us-tow the line? Or will I act out of that gnawing feeling to forgo traditional luxuries and comforts? "How much land does a man need? (Tolstoy)" "Your Money or Your Life"(Vicki Robin) I am not a hippie nor do I want my family to live in poverty. I simply want to use my gifts and talents to serve society, my country, my family, and future generations.

reachingtokyo has returned.

2011-09-19T12:49:00.000+09:00

The city. I am no longer in Tokyo but Tokyo is in me for better or worse. For now God is taking me on a new journey. I was reading Psalm 107 again. It talks a lot about the city as a place where there is life and as a place to settle and thrive as opposed to the desert a barren wasteland of wandering.

Right now I have no permanent place. I am in the San Diego area by way of Massachusetts by way of Nagoya Japan by way of Tokyo Japan. just wandering.

The Organization Man

2008-03-21T21:33:00.005+09:00

I have started another book I got for 100 yen called The Organization Man. Here is an excerpt.

"There are only a few times in organizational life when he can wrench his destiny into his own hands- and if he does not fight then, he will make a surrender that will mock him. But when is that time?...He does feel an obligation to the group; he does sense moral constraints on his free will. If he goes against the group, is he being courageous-or just stubborn? Helpful-or selfish? Is he, as he so often wonders, right after all? It is in the resolution of a multitude of such dilemmas, I submit, that the real issue of individualism lies today."

I fear I have been a coward most of my life settling for things that although widely accepted, I know are not right. I feel as though my life has been dictated by the default. I am a passive bystander. The best falls prey to the tyranny of the urgent. The urgent thing usually involves money. Now I understand why money is the root of all kinds of evil.

Bocce

2008-03-21T20:08:00.003+09:00

Looking for good spring cheap fun- bocce. I brought a cheap set over from the US and have recently been getting good use out of it. People look at us a little strangely but that is nothing new here in Japan.

kindred

2008-03-11T23:51:00.003+09:00

As I continue to read Walden I realize that most of my thoughts on where culture is headed along with my philosophy on many issues Thoreau shared. I am a bit relieved to tell you the truth. Most times I think I am the only one who thinks the way I do. That tends to make me think I am one crazy and two wrong. I see so many things that are just wrong to me and I am not comfortable just deciding to think positively about them. It is dishonest to me and I feel like I am avoiding life to fit in. "how are you doing? great". A lot of people are not doing great unless they ignore 90% of the crap that is going on around them. The world seems fundamentally broken to me and going in the wrong direction. I see that have a few choices on how to deal with this fact. A.) Smile and focus on the few remaining positive things in life and do my best to get by meanwhile avoiding any conflict by not even discussing it. key word avoid B.) Try to live purposefully and figure out solutions or find some that already exist and were forgotten. Basically deal with life somehow so that I can look myself in the mirror even though I will seem like a complainer to some.

Anyway Walden got me thinking about a book i read when I was about 10- "My Side of the Mountain". It was later turned into a movie. Its about a boy who takes a sabbatical into the mountains carving out a tree to live in and spending time living off the land. He was inspired to do this while reading Walden.

One topic Thoreau rabbit trails onto was philanthropy which I believe could safely encompass charity. Basically it is so often misplaced not really helping the "poor" soul we intend to help. He was originally discussing his inventory of necessary supplies for living when he was side tracked into such an intense topic which is one of my traits. I am sure all of us has received that "well meaning gift" whether physical, spiritual or otherwise that has caused us more harm than good. I remember my grandparents bought me a trailer. It wasn't a double wide just a 35ft by 8ft trailer. They wanted me to have a place to stay when i went home from college once a month for Air National Guard duty. It was a nice thought but after I graduated from school I felt burdened because I wanted to get away. They didn't ask me if I wanted it. How selfish of me and how nice of them. Yah i know. My point is we are going to get "help" from others whether we want it or not. I hope we can all remember this when we are deciding what Christmas presents to buy.

It has been my long held belief that most times people "help" others to be a helpful person and not to really help. In other words it is for us not the other person at all. Does this sound cynical? The heart is wicked above all things. We usually buy gifts we would want ourselves or at least if we were them that we would want. This is true of other forms of help like advice. Helping others gives us purpose and that is not a bad thing to have purpose but if that is the motive hidden or otherwise then it is pure evil. At the expense of others and maybe what is the right thing to do we charge on "helping" people. Doctors take an oath to "do no harm" sometimes that means doing nothing. There is a responsibility when we take on the serious matters of charity. People's lives are at stake. Are we sure we are doing the right thing? I think we tend to take a lot more risk with other people's lives and problems than we would our own.

Movement

2008-03-09T20:02:00.002+09:00

Some of the following info is extracted from "An Overview of American Transcendentalism" by
Martin Bickman, University of Colorado

In the 1830's to 1840's The American "Movement" of Transcendentalism was being shaped. From what i have read it never did take a distinct form agreed on by all who were a part of the "Movement" (as opposed to the "Establishment" as Emerson called the traditional static Church of that day). I was reading Walden by Thoreau and though i should do some brief research of where these great insights (key word for transcendants) were coming from. He talks about division of labor and to what extreme would it continue- should others think for us as well as build our houses and make our clothes? It made me think of my disgust with today's church once again. I was saying yes yes yes! That is a key problem with the Church is we let "leaders" think for us. I am going on record God does not desire this for us. Yes it is dangerous to allow God to direct us directly and yes there is room for input from others just not the fear driven control of so called pastors of today. It is a disease! OK I won't go to far down that road because i would be wasting my breathe.

Two back to back quotes were laid out in this article and I would like to expound on them a bit.

A Unitarian minister Orestes Brownson said

"Every positive form, however satisfactory it may be for the present, contains a germ of opposition to future progress. It contracts, by the very effect of its duration, a stationary character, that refuses to follow the intellect in its discoveries, and the soul in its emotions."

The disease it contracts is due to stagnation and that stagnation is a frozen ( when I was little we used to call them the frozen chosen when making fun of other Christians who weren't as charismatic as "us") state caused by fear and fragility. Many diseases are contracted due to stagnant water. I just picture a birdbath in the backyard overflowing with diseased mosquito larvae while we BBQ yards away unaware on the imminent danger.

Basically the fear of something worse is greater than the hope of something better.

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in his "Divinity School Address of 1838: "But the word Miracle, as pronounced by Christian churches, gives a false impression; it is Monster. It is not one with the blowing clover and the falling rain."

This quote was referring to the unhealthy emphasis on Miracles in that day as a proof of Christ's existence and power. It was a symptom of the materialistic nature- the senses were emphasized over higher intuitions popular among mystics throughout time. I called it the Thomas syndrome. I have a friend now who is really into Miracles. It is a trend and he is recommending books to read and teachers to listen to and seminars to travel to and attend. I don't read modern Christian books anymore because well they are crap really. Anyone can publish a book these days. This person like a lot of other Christians have a new "new thing" every few years and it is always the revival that will propel them to knew places in there relationship with God. They seem to be so focused on the new philosophy of the day that i believe they miss God. I believe the same thing happens in churches every week. I have done it. Meetings, strategy, talking about ministry and ministering but never doing it. Just doing events where most people had heard the same old stuff over and over again.

Christians often look for the fantastic and miss God in the amazing everyday Providences. We need to calm down and enjoy him. Miracles might happen but they usually don't by their very nature and i don't need them. Beware the generation that needs miracles to believe it is an unbelieving generation. I don't believe that miracles help people who don't believe they will still play the sceptic.

This entry is not about miracles really. It is about fear of trusting in God, fear of changing established forms, fear of going after the ideal and settling for mediocre.

my name is mark and i haven't posted in a long time

2008-03-02T00:46:00.006+09:00

I don't even know why I am bothering. I guess because i was reading someone else blog and it was the same old Christian culture crap and I felt I should balance the universe. I still believe in Jesus and that there should be a Church. But I believe the Church is His People not a place to go or an activity to attend. Forcing people who don't like each other or at least who don't have much in common to meet together to sing a few tired songs and listen to a mediocre message from a person who is usually not gifted at speaking and then feel relieved because we have fulfilled our obligation is not church.

Now that I got that off my chest. My baby is almost 7 months now. I haven't been doing much lately just trying to get friends together to eat and a few odd commercials. The movie I was in last year debuted today "Ashita e no yuigon" or "Best Wishes for Tomorrow" (the English title). I played LT Corker. But really I was an extra. I was in 6 scenes but mostly you saw the back of my head. I had once scene with 2 lines. I already saw the movie last year at the Tokyo International Film festival. I can't say I was impressed. It was low budget and disjointed. The pieces didn't fit. They used a few main gaijin from Hollywood- One guy I don't remember his name but he was fairly decent with a lot of experience and Steve McQueen's son. One of his sons anyway from one of his many lovers. This guy was really bad or maybe it was the script. There were no close ups of us gaijin (foreigners) because it is a Japanese movie. That made it weird only to see the main's close up when he was speaking to me or others. There was something missing. It was like a monologue. They also cut out a few scenes I was in. The crew and director were really nice usually they treat you like shit here. The more you get paid the beter you are treated. I had 2 more war movie jobs that I turned down and one more I was an extra in just before I went back to the US over Christmas. The stories are all basically the same. The Japanese trying to say they are not bad people just a guy in a bad situation. They were just obeying orders after all. I have seen some very good Japanese films but I guess the agencies I work for don't handle these films. Commercials are the best jobs. They pay the best and they treat you better because you are getting paid more.

I have been thinking a lot about leaving Japan and going back to the US to study architecture. A pipe dream really. I dont even know if I would be happy doing it as a job. Is being happy the end goal of one's life? I guess people want to feel valued, feel like they are successful, contributing, helpful etc. But I just want to do what I am supposed to do. It just seems really purposeless living to work, especially do a job just because it pays well. That is a philosophical dilemma that is never ending.

I have also officially become tired of trying to keep ties with "old friends" and family for that matter. The effort is one sided. Yah yah everyone is busy. I just want to delete most of address book. Is that negative? tough shit! It is real. It is time to move on. It is like having a bank account that doesn't pay interest which is why I don't keep money in Japanese accounts.

I have been trying to write some fragments of songs but it is fragmented. I have not been creative in a long time but occasionally i get bits and bobs.

Maybe I will post again in 6 months

a crowd draws a crowd

2007-05-28T11:12:00.000+09:00

excerpts from EVERYTHING COMES TO THOSE WHO WAIT by Yoko Hani:

"I came here after hearing about the long line," she said. "I queued for about 1 1/2 hours. I feel so happy to get doughnuts that you cannot easily get." says Yuko Sato

"I always line up when I find a long queue," said Shizuko Watanabe, 38, who said that she often joins lines outside food shops in department stores. "I line up first and then ask the person in front of me what we are waiting for," she explained.

"People often feel safe when they follow many others, especially when they lack information to judge for themselves," Matsui said.

These quotes are reffering to the new Krispy Kreme in Shinjuku. Kaoruko and i laugh when we go to our baby doctor because we have to pass the line to get there.

conformity at its best.

Blind Cricket

2007-05-05T21:57:00.000+09:00

On BBC there is a commercial for the sport of Cricket with a bit of a twist. The playeres are blind. A man is describing how sport can teach us many things and equally being excluded from things for any length of time can be seriously damaging to the mind.

pause for reflection.

Are there any areas in our lives where we have been excluded? Are we excluding others? I think of my daily life here in Japan and the answer is a resounding yes. I am a functional illiterate. I am the last to get the joke. Sometimes I can enter in on some level but not fully as me. There are subtle ways we do this to others in our daily lives. For example talking about some story, activity, or person obsessively. People are usually excited for us when we fall in love, or have a child but there excitement is guaged based on their involvment in the rest of our lives. If they feel disconnected from us they have very little interest. I am of course stating the obvious again. Maybe at one time they had interest but since we met.....so and so... or moved to the big city..... or became a Christian and moved into the church fulltime, they have lost interest with good reason. It doesn't matter what is going in our lives but how we speak of them, how often, etc, we can be conscious about including others and about the areas we feel like we are being excluded. There are ways to talk that communicate more than "i just want to hear my story outloud".

On the other side, when we feel excluded, we can be tempted in our lonliness and isolation to where self-pity like a wet fur coat. Then we will be excluded even more because we are just weird.

ps: this is what i believe happened to the Korean exchange student in the recent University shooting. I don't believe he was crazy. What i think is crazy is how we act like nothing is wrong and go about our "normal" lives.

links were not posting.

2007-04-21T14:22:00.000+09:00

I realized that some of my links were not posting which made some of my recent posts not make any sense.

website with short films about local culture around the world

2007-04-21T14:10:00.001+09:00

http://www.turnhere.com/city/boston.aspx

Scrap house film

2007-04-21T13:41:00.000+09:00

something is missing

2007-04-04T16:07:00.000+09:00

originally from "International Bulletin of Missionary Research" had an article on "The Congregational Leadership Crisis Facing the Japanese Church" by way of http://blog.simon-cozens.org//post/view/1025

"Matsunaga Kikuo has cited statistics showing that "the average Christian life of a Japanese Christian is only 2.8 years! This means that quite a number of the Japanese are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ but after three years they lose their Christian commitment and perhaps their faith in Jesus Christ."

i would say that they never were Christians. so much to say about how important the way we do things is.

Some essential understanding

2007-04-04T14:23:00.000+09:00

I was browsing through the web looking for people who "get it" because i have lost some people who i thought had it but didn't. Anyway the 1st one is really funny and needed.

http://thechurchyouknow.com/videos.html
http://www.btinternet.com/~smallritual/section4/urbanquarter.html
http://www.simplice.net/en/index.php?tag=missionary%20organizations

anxious

2007-04-02T13:30:00.000+09:00

I believe i am beginning to understand where this restless anxious feeling happens for us city dwellers. I am listening to a Prairie Home Companion on web radio. As garrison keller gives a detailed description of how people live in small towns. Methodical and filled with generations of tradition even if it can be a hinderance or hassle. In the city there is much randomness. Peopledon't think through what they bring to the city they just do it. Whether those things be actual objects for market or ideas it is more about if there is a market or audience. I feel often i am foced by city culture to accept so much of it by default. It is almost impossible not to live by default.

means and the end

2007-03-29T20:31:00.000+09:00

"Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which it was already but too easy to arrive at;.." Henry David Thoreau.

This quote is found in the Economy section of Walden. This passage really encouraged me as i was again pondering if i was going crazy. I ask myself questions like why are people's work and their lives so separate. I believe it is a negative result of seeking the end of "happiness" instead of joy. In other words the pursuit of an easier life becomes a higher value than doing what is right. I know some are reading this and saying "what is right? it depends on the person." The belief that right and wrong are relative are not new but have recently gained popularity. I am not sure if it is a symptom of seeking happiness as our chief end or the cause. I mean are we rationalizing absolute truth out of the equation so that we can seek happiness guilt free, without the nagging "important things" getting in the way? Or is our belief that there really is no right or wrong the presupposition that logically leads to our selfishness?

Shimodaira

2007-03-12T00:28:00.000+09:00

Akinori Shimodaira "Half Asleep"
Venue: Totan Gallery
Schedule: From 2007-03-03 To 2007-03-18
Address: Kodan Asagaya Jutaku 25-4, 4-3 Naritahigashi, Suginami-ku, Tokyo 166-0015
Phone: 03-5397-0414

Coal mining in Japan

2007-03-07T18:02:00.000+09:00

I have been forced to take a job in a coal mine with the baby coming and all. here is a photo. Actually it is from a Gatsby CM i am on. Gatsby is like Gillette.

before the throne of God above

2007-03-07T11:30:00.000+09:00

I was playing this song the other day just me and my wife having church, very simple. I am posting it because it is so true and comforting, and makes me feel safe or i should say reminds me that i am safe and that it where the feeling of safety comes from. It is good thinking. Its message is God is for me and not against me. We are constantly being accused of past, present and future sin and sins. Often times the accusations come from ourselves. Our safety comes from us being owned by Him. Membership hgas it's privilages. Alot of people would see this ownership as restrictive or confining in some way. Maybe it is but that is not a bad thing. Boundaries are good and He never takes ownership of our lives we give it. Really the alternitives are so lame. We want what we call freedom and end up throwing our lives away on frivilous and empty persuits. The wealth that is gained from being a part of the I AM as God is called nulifies any childish struggle to maintain this freedom to destroy our lives. It is so hard to explain this picture i have in my mind when i compare the 2 side by side. Relationship with almighty God and being "free" to live on my own. When you are 18 you long for your own apartment. When you are 35 you think wouldn't it be great to have free room and board again.

A hymn by Charitie L. Bancroft, 1863

"Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in Heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace,
One in Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God!"

here is the PDI song version
Before The Throne Of God Above
Charitie Lees Bancroft, Vikki Cook

Key: D
Verse 1:
D G/D D
Before the throne of God above,
D F#m
I have a strong, a perfect plea,
D/F# G D/F# A Bm
A great High Priest whose name is "Love,"
G6 Em7 G/A D
Who ever lives and pleads for me.

Chorus 1:
F#m G D/F# D A
My name is graven on His hands,
D F#m7 G D/F# G A Bm
My name is written on His heart;
Bm/A G D/F# A Bm2
I know that while in heav'n He stands
Bm Bm/A G6 Em7 G/A Bm
no tongue can bid me thence depart.
Bm/A G6 Em7 G/A D
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

Verse 2:
When Satan tempts me to despair,
and tells me of the guilt within,
upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin.

Chorus 2:
Because the sinless Saviour died,
my sinful soul is counted free;
For God, the Just, is satisfied
to look on him and pardon me.
to look on him and pardon me.

Verse 3:
Behold him there! the risen Lamb,
my perfect, spotless Righteousness,
the great unchangeable I AM,
the King of glory and of grace!

Chorus 3:
One with Himself I cannot die,
My soul is purchased by His blood;
My life is hid with Christ on high,
with Christ, my Saviour and my God
with Christ, my Saviour and my God

©1997 PDI Worship (Admin. by The Copyright Company)
All rights reserved. International copyright secured.
CCLI song #2306412

Amid a Crowd of Paltry Things- march 6

2007-03-07T11:21:00.000+09:00

This is another Oswald Chambers' special- I am including these on my blog because they are common themes of his and I agree and could not express them better.
When he says Grace i immediately think of an attribute of grace -understanding- that is essential in understanding the concept. He also recognizes God in the mundane- in common matters like washing the dishes. We often think the challenge comes in "preaching the Gospel" but that is deceptive as you will read in this insert.

". . . in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses." 2 Corinthians 6:4

"It takes Almighty grace to take the next step when there is no vision and no spectator - the next step in devotion, the next step in your study, in your reading, in your kitchen; the next step in your duty, when there is no vision from God, no enthusiasm and no spectator. It takes far more of the grace of God, far more conscious drawing upon God to take that step, than it does to preach the Gospel.

Every Christian has to partake of what was the essence of the Incarnation, he must bring the thing down into flesh and blood actualities and work it out through the finger tips. We flag when there is no vision, no uplift, but just the common round, the trivial task. The thing that tells in the long run for God and for men is the steady persevering work in the unseen, and the only way to keep the life uncrushed is to live looking to God. Ask God to keep the eyes of your spirit open to the Risen Christ, and it will be impossible for drudgery to damp you. Continually get away from pettiness and paltriness of mind and thought out into the thirteenth chapter of St. John's Gospel. "

Is He Really Lord?

2007-03-07T11:14:00.000+09:00

This is an exerpt from Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest. The interesting thing about this insert was the lack of emphasis on successful completion of a task, and the permission to ignore certain ministries that are not along the same lines of your Call.

" ". . . so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus." Acts 20:24

Joy means the perfect fulfilment of that for which I was created and regenerated, not the successful doing of a thing. The joy Our Lord had lay in doing what the Father sent Him to do, and He says - "As My Father hath sent Me, even so am I sending you." Have I received a ministry from the Lord? If so, I have to be loyal to it, to count my life precious only for the fulfilling of that ministry. Think of the satisfaction it will be to hear Jesus say - "Well done, good and faithful servant"; to know that you have done what He sent you to do. We have all to find our niche in life, and spiritually we find it when we receive our ministry from the Lord. In order to do this we must have companied with Jesus; we must know Him as more than a personal Saviour. "I will show him how great things he must suffer for My sake."

"Lovest thou Me?" Then - "Feed My sheep." There is no choice of service, only absolute loyalty to Our Lord's commission; loyalty to what you discern when you are in closest contact with God. If you have received a ministry from the Lord Jesus, you will know that the need is never the call: the need is the opportunity. The call is loyalty to the ministry you received when you were in real touch with Him. This does not imply that there is a campaign of service marked out for you, but it does mean that you will have to ignore the demands for service along other lines."

Krispy Kreme invades Tokyo

2007-02-17T22:56:00.000+09:00

I never really thought it would go well here because they are just too sweet for Japanese taste. Anyway look at the lines they go around the right side as well about half a mile.

the world'sfastest Indian

2007-02-17T22:23:00.000+09:00

Went to see it today. Not necessarily a must see at the theater but it was good. They actually had the Indian motorcycle from the movie in the theatre in Shinjuku, Tokyo. It is a really good movie. It stands on it's own, simple and filled with message. Anthony Hopkins is ... Anthony Hopkins and thats a good thing. I wish i had a dream like his character did and could live my life for that dream like he did. Its a film about regular people, simple dreams, and clear thinking. It made the city seem smaller.

depression

2007-02-16T16:01:00.000+09:00

i looked up the word depression on the net and clicked on the first result- they were trying to sell me a drug.

Walden

2007-02-16T12:58:00.000+09:00

I have recently started reading Walden by Thoreau. I am amazed at how similar my thinking is as i question the necessities of life and the impact of the Industrial Revolution. Written in 1845 i believe at the age of 30. I do find myself chuckling (last time you will see me use this word) at the logical but incorrect statements he sometimes makes due to the knowledge of the times but the thoughts are very relevant as some nations now enter their own Industrial Revolutions.

"actually, the laboring man has not leisure for a true integrity day by day; he cannot afford to sustain the manliest relations to men; his labor would be depricated in the market. He has no time to be anything but a machine."

because its good for the environment

2007-02-11T15:22:00.000+09:00

anonymity

2007-02-07T22:56:00.000+09:00

There seems to be less accountability in the city. I guess its the anonymity factor. People just say and do what they want because they know there are so many people that they don't ever have to see that person again. In a small town you have to be careful what you say and do. I think that is a good thing except for the gossip. I think this brings the worst out in city folk.

American not founded on Christian values?

2007-02-04T10:24:00.000+09:00

This came recently from a friend. I meet people all the time who inject there own beliefs into what the original founders of our nation believed and stood for simply because they don't like the religeous right. They think they know what separation of church and state really means while not even considering the historical context and the worldview of the people of our nation. The religeous freedom original Americans spoke of could only have been Christianity. Freedom of denomination is more accurate. The context was and England where the state was ruled by the Church of England and other denominations like Quakers, Presbyterians, and Baptists were second class not allowed to hold public office. I was also recently made aware that the Protestant work ethic of these very people was a driving factor in the Industrial Revolution. They were trying to gain a foothold in society to have some influence over their own lives. America was a place where denominations could worship the One True God as they pleased. There is absolutely no bases for the ACLU and other athiests, and agnostics to lay claim to any rights afforded in the Constitution while not acknowledging the influence of Almighty God and credit due Him. Many people who have a disdain for Christians seem to make up stories to support their own beliefs but there is no evidence. Christians need to be held accountable but athiests, agnostics, and humanists do as well. Every state mentions the Almighty, Supreme legislator, etc etc. Considering the context there is only one conclusion as to who He is.

Do you know the Preamble for your state constitution? . .
>Interesting!

>Alabama 1901, Preamble. We the people of the State of Alabama,
>invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and
>establish the following Constitution.
>Alaska 1956, Preamble. We, the people of Alaska, grateful to God
>and to those who founded our nation and pioneered this great land.
>Arizona 1911, Preamble. We, the people of the State of Arizona,
>grateful to Almighty God for our liberties, do ordain this
>Constitution...
>Arkansas 1874, Preamble. We, the people of the State of Arkansas,
>grateful to Almighty God for the privilege of choosing our own form
>of government...
>California 1879, Preamble. We, the People of the State of California,
>grateful to Almighty God for our freedom.
>Colorado 1876, Preamble. We, the people of Colorado, with profound
>reverence for the Supreme Ruler of Universe.
>Connecticut 1818, Preamble. The People of Connecticut, acknowledging
>with gratitude the good Providence of God in permitting them to enjoy.
>Delaware 1897, Preamble. Through Divine Goodness all men have, by
>nature, the rights of worshipping and serving their Creator according
>to the dictates of their consciences.
>Florida 1885, Preamble. We, the people of the State of Florida,
>grateful to Almighty God for our constitutional liberty, establish
>this Constitution...
>Georgia 1777, Preamble. We, the people of Georgia, relying upon
>protection and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish this
>Constitution...
>Hawaii 1959, Preamble. We, the people of Hawaii, grateful for
>Divine Guidance, establish this Constitution.
>Idaho 1889, Preamble. We, the people of the State of Idaho ,
>grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its ble ssings.
>Illinois 1870, Preamble. We, the people of the State of Illinois,
>grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious
>liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy and looking to Him
>for a blessing on our endeavors
>Indiana 1851, Preamble. We, the People of the State of Indiana,
>grateful to Almighty God for the free exercise of the right to choose
>our form of government.
>Iowa 1857, Preamble. We, the People of the State of Iowa, grateful
>to the Supreme Being for the blessings hitherto enjoyed, and feeling
>our dependence on Him for a continuation of these blessings, establish
>this Constitution
>Kansas 1859, Preamble. We, the people of Kansas, grateful to
>Almighty God for our civil and religious privileges establish this Constitution.
>Kentucky 1891, Preamble. We, the people of the Commonwealth are
>grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberties...
>Louisiana 1921, Preamble. We, the people of the State of Louisiana,
>grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious
>liberties we enjoy.
>Maine 1820, Preamble. We the People of Maine acknowledging with
>grateful hearts the goodness of the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe in
>affording us an opportunity... And imploring His aid and direction.
>Maryland 1776, Preamble. We, the people of the state of Maryland,
>grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious liberty...
>Massachusetts 1780, Preamble. We...the people of Massachusetts,
>acknowledging with grateful hearts, the goodness of the Great
>Legislator of the Universe...In the course of His Providence, an
>opportunity and devoutly imploring His direction...
>Michigan 1908, Preamble. We, the people of the State of Michigan,
>grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of freedom establish this
>Constitution.
>Minnesota 1857, Preamble. We, the people of the State of Minnesota,
>grateful to God for our civil and religious liberty, and desiring
>to perpetuate its blessings:
>Mississippi 1890, Preamble. We, the people of Mississippi in
>convention assembled, grateful to Almighty God, and invoking His
>blessing on our work.
>Missouri 1845, Preamble. We, the people of Missouri, with profound
>reverence for the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, and grateful for His
>goodness...Establish this Constitution
>Montana 1889, Preamble. We,
>the people of Montana, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of
>liberty establish this Constitution
>Nebraska 1875, Preamble. We, the
>people, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom Establish this
>Constitution.
>Nevada 1864, Preamble. We the people of the State of Nevada,
>grateful to Almighty God for our freedom establish this Constitution
>New Hampshire 1792, Part I. Art. I. Sec. V . Every individual has a
>natural and unalienable right to worship God according to the dictates
>of his own conscience.
>New Jersey 1844, Preamble. We, the people of the State of New
>Jersey, grateful to Almighty God for civil and religious liberty which
>He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a
>blessing on our endeavors.
>New Mexico 1911, Preamble. We, the People of New Mexico, grateful to
>Almighty God for the blessings of liberty
>New York 1846, Preamble.
>We, the people of the State of New York, grateful to Almighty God
>for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings.
>North Carolina 1868, Preamble. We the people of the State of North
>Carolina, grateful to Almighty God, the Sovereign Ruler of Nations,
>for our civil, political, and religious liberties, and acknowledging
>our dependence upon Him for the continuance of those
>North Dakota 1889, Preamble. We, the people of North Dakota, grateful to
>Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, do
>ordain...
>Ohio 1852, Preamble. We the people of the state of Ohio, grateful
>to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings and to promote
>our common
>Oklahoma 1907, Preamble. Invoking the guidance of
>Almighty God, in order to secure and perpetuate the blessings of
>liberty...establish this
>Oregon 1857, Bill of Rights, Article I.
>Section 2. All men shall be secure in the Natural right, to worship
>Almighty God according to the dictates of their consciences..
>Pennsylvania 1776, Preamble. We, the people of Pennsylvania, grateful
>to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, and
>humbly invoking His guidance
>Rhode Island 1842, Preamble. We the
>People of the State of Rhode Island grateful to Almighty God for the
>civil and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to
>enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing
>South Carolina, 1778, Preamble. We, the people of the State of South Carolina grateful to
>God for our liberties, do ordain and establish this Constitution.
>South Dakota 1889, Preamble. We, the people of South Dakota,
>grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious liberties
>Tennessee 1796, Art. XI.III. That all men have a natural and
>indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates
>of their conscience...
>Texas 1845, Preamble. We the People of the Republic of Texas,
>acknowledging, with gratitude, the grace and beneficence of God.
>Utah 1896, Preamble. Grateful to Almighty God for life and liberty,
>we establish this Constitution.
>Vermont 1777, Preamble. Whereas all government ought to enable the
>individuals who compose it to enjoy their natural rights, and other
>blessings which the Author of Existence has bestowed on man
>Virginia 1776, Bill of Rights, XVI Religion, or the Duty which we owe our
>Creator can be directed only by Reason and that it is the mutual duty
>of all to practice Christian Forbearance, Love and Charity towards
>each other
>Washington 1889, Preamble. We the People of the State of
>Washington, grateful to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe for our
>liberties, do ordain this Constitution
>West Virginia 1872, Preamble.
>Since through Divine Providence we enjoy the blessings of civil,
>political and religious liberty, we, the people of West Virginia reaffirm
>our faith in and constant reliance upon God ...
>Wisconsin 1848, Preamble. We, the people of Wisconsin, grateful
>to Almighty God for our freedom, domestic tranquility
>Wyoming 1890,
>Preamble. We, the people of the State of Wyoming, grateful to God
>for our civil, political, and religious liberties ..
>establish this Constitution.

churches and Church

2007-02-02T19:31:00.000+09:00

Every few months i go on the web and look for churches in Tokyo. Its always discouraging. Its like the homeshopping network. Youve got your old stodgy "if you're looking for more than entertainment" churches. Its like they are saying " the rest of those churches aren't serious about God but we certainly are" Next is your new fangled if your under 25 "worship you can dance to (even if you don't know the words) life experience related sermons" churches. A little scary and you walk in wondering "what do they want from me" and "your being too nice, i'm suspicious" and lots of " I am a pastor from Hawaii and we have a Hula team" churches (you would be surprised). We sometimes go to a church who's pastor is from Hawaii- no hula. Of course if you are just from Hawaii you are and thats that. Its well the.... if i have to explain it .... Then there is the "we are raising money to build a new church" (small c). Which i believe the 80's "missing the point" church.There are also lots of dead Japanese churches that look exactly like a western church inside and out. They are often hard to distinguish from the "wedding chapels" that are only used for ... weddings. We have a Korean church in our neighborhood. I have never been. No offense to Koreans but in my personal experience and anyone else i know who isn't Korean, the Korean churchs are just that,all Korean. Fine if you live in Korea but if you are a missions church in Japan? Makes sense somewhat. There is another church close enough to walk to. That church forces you to sign in if you are not a member. I liked the people i met there but it's rediculous to be tracked week to week and called out in service. Its like they want to say "hey this guy is new and he has come the last 3 weeks maybe he will join us" in a creepy way. Most likely it is an awkward attempt to welcome people and make sure people don't fall through the cracks.

All the churches i have been to have the "Hand of The Pastor" in everything/zenbu! Its not healthy. Everyone says how they want the community to be involved but the practical method is "as long as you run it buy the pastor". The only other people heavily involved are those with gifts of public speaking or who are out going or maybe looking for a fulltime job.

this is my blog and i like to be a little toungue in cheek. It helps me keep a sense of humor when i see so many things that are wrong with todays Church. Of course that is my opinion. Most people choose churches based on past affiliations, country of origin, or how the service "feels". Makes sense,you don't want to go to places where people are not like you or you leave feeling just crappy. Unless that is your past experience you had growing up and you think "I should feel crappy after church".

I want to get together with Christians and non-christians who are genuinly interested in learning about who Jesus was and is and how to make sense of that in our daily lives. But i want that place to be free, no i don't mean hippy free i mean no paid pastor for simply putting a message together and no cost for the building.
And i want everyone to bring songs, thoughts, prayers, readings etc and all feel free
(maybe here is where we insert the hippy par or fureta) to contribute. I also want it to be in walking distance so that the people i get together with will be the same people i see on the way to the grocery store. It would be an environment that is not controlling and wouldn't be fearful of different ideas. If you want to join my cult i mean church you can email me.

I am a little discouraged about church- why does it have to be so difficult? there seems to be so much fear and manipulation in churches. I beleive people are well meaning and thats what they were taught. What are we mentoring people to do? the system is just driving itself and it is no longer a community. It has become a church not Church

disclaimer: I have been to many of the types of churches mentioned in this blog. If you are a pastor of one of these architype churches this is not a personal afront on any individual but merely a direction of the church that i disagree with personally and believe we all need to discuss these issues publically and with a sense of humor.

Cattle call

2007-02-02T18:24:00.000+09:00

This is a term we use in the "biz" for auditions. I had one today. The modelling/acting business is so sketchy. An agency will call you up and ask your availability on such and such a date for the audition and then other days (sometimes 6 days) for the shooting date. They try to not tell you anything about what you are auditioning for because they want you to go to the audition. Why? because they make money for each person that goes. So they send as many pictures to the production staff as possible and they can make more money before the shoot starts. the "talent" me. Yah i lnow. gets nothing for the audition of course- I actually pay for my travel and spend my time. Today i left my house at about 1:30 and got back at 5pm there are really slow at the audition because they are all getting paid.

so that is the system. So you could go to several auditions in a week but there is little chance you will get any because the agencies work for themselves and not for you personally- not like a real agent as many would know.

The game is you have to try and extract info when they call so you can get a better idea if it is worth your time.

The thing i hate the most is I feel like i am being ripped off- cheated- taken advantage of- unless you get the job . Then everybody is really nice to you. Unless its a low paying job then you are garbage again.

2007-01-31T16:02:00.000+09:00

As you may have noticed there are some banners on my blog now. Raising support for what we do here has proved , what word should I use?, difficult is a good word. This is the new stategy. People can support our ministry by purchasing things they normally would but clicking through to those sites through ours. All the ads will be from vendors i believe in and/ or have used in the past. Happy shopping hope you find some good deals!

Best Japanese learning tool

2007-01-29T17:59:00.000+09:00

Ok i have found what i consider the best website for learning real Japanese. Everyday spoken Japanese. They allow you to listen on an Ipod or other mp3 player and their are many resources to reinforce what you have learned. Try it out . The MP3 s are free but i recommend getting the upgraded features for practice. They include line by line audio- a very needed tool for repetition.

you can click on the banner to the left or this one above

2007-01-17T16:19:00.000+09:00

Below is a post i wrote some time ago. I just wanted to adda small note. The quote states "...the conclusion, that it is ultimately undefinable" He believes this because the definitions are based on other definitions and these definitions are from our mind. This is his argument . What wew think is subjective. I agree. That is true. But because of his world view he does not consider there could be an objective definition- a source of measurement that never changes. The God of the Bible is said to be the same yesterday, today, and forever. We need something concrete in our lives. A reference point. Spiritually. People want to be a part of something. Anything really. Some people try to research their family history and find meaning in their race or nationality. But this world is shifting rapidly. Am i American? Am i a Scottish/ Portuguese American? Countries are measured by political borders and nations by ethnic borders. What happens as these borders blur with changing borders and shifting bloodlines?

We need a final reference point. In our Postmodern attitudes we are playing with ideas as if they had no consequences. We are loosing our sense of self.

Buddhism and emptiness
I was sitting in a coffee shop today and thinking about why Japanese society seemed so empty. I immediately thought of materialism because in any developed country I often feel a similar feeling. But this sense was different. Lack of content or meaning. the two words Buddhism and emptiness immediately came to mind and I wrote it down in my journal. I came home and looked it up on the web- I am not sure where I will go with this but I will put some of what I find on this blog. I found this today on a web site"To Kadampa Buddhists all things are totally empty of any defining essence. Consequently all things have no fixed identity ('inherent existence') and are in a state of impermanence - change and flux - constantly becoming and decaying. Not only are all things constantly changing, but if we analyse any phenomenon in enough detail we come to the conclusion that it is ultimately unfindable, and exists purely by definitions in terms of other things - and one of those other things is always the mind which generates those definitions." http://www.geocities.com/scimah/sunyata.htmI noticed the phrase undefinable- immediately postmodernism comes to mind- and I wonder and know somewhat that Buddhism has been responsible for the idea or flexible truth or truth based on individual belief rather than absolute truth. It is my belief that Buddhist and eastern philosophy was popularized in the US in the 60's through popular musicians and entertainers.

video

2007-01-06T15:00:00.001+09:00

Download Link

digging for self

2006-12-31T00:06:00.000+09:00

The last day of work we were able to dig for stuff that we could keep. I found a pipe, some old money, a small monkey head, other parts of a pottery monkey from edo jidai, bidamon (a marble), doromenko (a game piece), a rock used to start fire, a fully intact oil lamp, a sake jug- which was much larger than anything we found during the actual recorded archeological dig- i gave that away, a fully intact small bowl/cup, kawara- pottery thats used for roofing (engi jidai I believe 901-923 BC), a part of a small doll, different bits of pottery, a woman's sandle, and what looks like an incense holder. Click on images to larger version..
Baby sharde of pottery
Piece of jiki {porcelain}

incense holder?
doromenko -game piece

fire starting rock
kawara- roofing tile- sits at edge of Japanese roof.

money
monkey head- really small

pipe- more like cig holder with gold powder
part of a mommy monkey holding a baby monkey. Monkeys were very popular in Edo Jidai.

piece of a woman's sandle
a small bowl.

oil lamp

Rebuked

2006-12-10T11:13:00.000+09:00

I haven't written in this blog for months. why? too much to say, its a topical blog and not a diary for me, etc etc etc. A guy at work was telling me i should write something. Here is a picture of some of the guys at my temp job at the archeological site near Yotsuya in Tokyo. We are looking for Edo jidai mono (things from the Japanese Edo era). I have actually found a few pieces of crystal from the stone age though (no pictures). The pay sucks and its very hard work. I was hoping to learn some Japanese and i guess its better to at least hear very casual Japanese but my speaking ability is still heta desu (bad). If you want to see more pictures go to the www.reachingtokyo.com site later this week i should have it updated.

"We have to realize that prayer is foolish...."

2006-10-17T10:31:00.000+09:00

Below i have included todays reading from my Utmost for His highest. For some time now i have noticed this theme of getting to the essence of what it means to be a Christian. the emphasis i want to make is not really prayer which is clearly his focus in today's reading but the understanding of what Christian "work" is and what it should be. God has been speaking to me about this for some time now.

I believe our common misunderstanding of "work" stems from growing up in a post Industrial Revolution age. The focus is on products and everything else is a means to an end. What i hope to encourage people to do is to take notice that there is an influence and that we think the way we do regarding work not because it is a Biblical model for living out the principles of God but more because we are "products" of the social movements of our times. I want to get to the bottom of it all and find the essence of what God means when he says things like "work out your salvation...". I want to have an objective view as much as humanly possible and separate Christ from Christian culture. Mr Chambers seems to do a good job of that and this is one example of how he does it below.

"The key to the missionary’s difficult task is in the hand of God, and that key is prayer, not work— that is, not work as the word is commonly used today, which often results in the shifting of our focus away from God. The key to the missionary’s difficult task is also not the key of common sense, nor is it the key of medicine, civilization, education, or even evangelization. The key is in following the Master’s orders— the key is prayer. "Pray the Lord of the harvest . . . ." In the natural realm, prayer is not practical but absurd. We have to realize that prayer is foolish from the commonsense point of view.
From Jesus Christ’s perspective, there are no nations, but only the world. How many of us pray without regard to the persons, but with regard to only one Person— Jesus Christ? He owns the harvest that is produced through distress and through conviction of sin. This is the harvest for which we have to pray that laborers be sent out to reap. We stay busy at work, while people all around us are ripe and ready to be harvested; we do not reap even one of them, but simply waste our Lord’s time in over-energized activities and programs. Suppose a crisis were to come into your father’s or your brother’s life— are you there as a laborer to reap the harvest for Jesus Christ? Is your response, "Oh, but I have a special work to do!" No Christian has a special work to do. A Christian is called to be Jesus Christ’s own, "a servant [who] is not greater than his master" (John 13:16 ), and someone who does not dictate to Jesus Christ what he intends to do. Our Lord calls us to no special work— He calls us to Himself. "Pray the Lord of the harvest," and He will engineer your circumstances to send you out as His laborer." (Oswald chambers my Utmost for his highest)

why do we do it?

2006-10-15T00:22:00.000+09:00

why do i create anything i call art? is it worth the time? I am asking myself this today. I guess it depends what i want to get out of it. If i want prasie the answer is no. if i want to be useful the answer is no. If i want $$$ ha no. If i just want to produce the answer is no. If i want things to change as a result the answer is no. But if i can find some level of joy in the process, in the feeling of the materials, or the color ,or development, or the visual pleasure of it all, or its just seems like the right thing to do, or that i need to do it. then it is worth doing. The other things seem only to distract me.

Ishihara governor of Tokyo

2006-07-12T20:57:00.000+09:00

Ishihara has made several other statements viewed as derogatory to non-Japanese. For instance, in a highly-publicized statement at the Tokyo International Anime Fair on March 25, 2006, he said: "I hate Mickey Mouse. He has nothing like the unique sensibility that Japan has. The Japanese are inherently skilled at visual expression and detailed work."[8]

inherently skilled at visual expression- its in the genes i guess. Does this guy have a brain? proper place again? what is proper place? it is a nationalistic term used by the Japanese to describe the belief that all people have their "proper place" in the world. Any guesses where they think the Japanese race is? this screams of arian race- nazis and nationalism.

there is a constant fight between this fear driven group and well everyone else in Japan. Watch Japan in the next 20 years- if they ever are able to build a real military there will be a threat to revert back to their old ways.

anyway ishihara is just a wacko.

finding Jesus

2006-07-10T11:47:00.000+09:00

this excerpt from my utmost for his highest by oswald chambers says it better than i could ever say it:
points:
1.) there is so separation between sacred and secular.
2.) Jesus should be enthroned in our work not work enthroned- even in the menial (which is most of life).
3.) the attitude of "that needs doing and i need to do it" is the wrong attitude and leads to self glorification and people becoming dependant on us instead of on Jesus.

"That I may know Him." Philippians 3:10
"The initiative of the saint is not towards self-realization, but towards knowing Jesus Christ. The spiritual saint never believes circumstances to be haphazard, or thinks of his life as secular and sacred; he sees everything he is dumped down in as the means of securing the knowledge of Jesus Christ. There is a reckless abandonment about him. The Holy Spirit is determined that we shall realize Jesus Christ in every domain of life, and He will bring us back to the same point again and again until we do. Self-realization leads to the enthronement of work; whereas the saint enthrones Jesus Christ in his work. Whether it be eating or drinking or washing disciples feet, whatever it is, we have to take the initiative of realizing Jesus Christ in it. Every phase of our actual life has its counterpart in the life of Jesus. Our Lord realized His relationship to the Father even in the most menial work. "Jesus knowing . . . that He was come from God, and went to God . . . took a towel . . . and began to wash the disciples' feet."
The aim of the spiritual saint is "that I may know Him." Do I know Him where I am to-day? If not, I am failing Him. I am here not to realize myself, but to know Jesus. In Christian work the initiative is too often the realization that something has to be done and I must do it. That is never the attitude of the spiritual saint, his aim is to secure the realization of Jesus Christ in every set of circumstances he is in. "

housing in Tokyo

2006-07-09T17:14:00.000+09:00

My wife and i took a look at a reasonably priced older home in Suginami ku a few months back. I say reasonably priced but it depends what you compare it to and what you plan to do with the property. The house had lots of restrictions because of the zoning laws. The law says that you have to have a 4 meter wide road as access to the property in order to tear down the house and build a new one. This house can only be accessed by a small alley way about 2 feet wide. How can that be?

People built the house then others came along and boxed it in. They are thousands of these properties around Tokyo.

Usually people do tear down houses like the one we found that is 30 years old because of the constant threat of earthquakes. We would also have had to pay cash for the property because it is worthless to the banks because if they foreclosed they wouldnt be able to scrap and build and jack up the price for an ugly prefab.

So what is the property good for? as far as Tokyo is concerned nothing. I could think of several ways to make this property attractive. One loophole is that the buyer can reinforce the existing house and/or "remodel" . What do they mean by remodel? Basically anything until they come while your doing it and say you cant do that. You can even build a house on stilts over the existing house. You just have to keep a certain percentage of the frame and foundation. What percentage? i dont know.

Anyway my point is there are probably thousands of these properties in and around Tokyo. It would be nice if the government would be proactive in the city planning department to see that these properties are used instead of people sprawling into the countryside.

does anyone have any info on this topic?

how can i love God more?

2006-06-19T15:02:00.000+09:00

I was in a personal time of worship the other day and i just felt this gut feeling of desire to love God more. How vague. But i distinctly heard God saying to me "if you love people you do it for me and love me". Not an audible voice a thought that came into my mind. Sometimes people ask me how i can tell the difference between my thoughts and His. Sometimes its next to impossible but this time i wasn't mthinking of an answer or loving God as a problem to be solved yet the thought just came suddenly before i could process anything. It wasn't like i was remembering scripture but later this one came to mind.- Matt 25:40'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." This is not new information for any of us but a fresh revelation (truth being made more truthful).

so today i read the following in My utmost for His Highest" "Lovest thou Me? . . . Feed My sheep." John 21:16
Jesus did not say - Make converts to your way of thinking, but look after My sheep, see that they get nourished in the knowledge of Me. We count as service what we do in the way of Christian work; Jesus Christ calls service what we are to Him, not what we do for Him. Discipleship is based on devotion to Jesus Christ, not on adherence to a belief or a creed. "If any man come to Me and hate not . . . , he cannot be My disciple." There is no argument and no compulsion, but simply - If you would be My disciple, you must be devoted to Me. A man touched by the Spirit of God suddenly says - "Now I see Who Jesus is," and that is the source of devotion.
To-day we have substituted credal belief for personal belief, and that is why so many are devoted to causes and so few devoted to Jesus Christ. People do not want to be devoted to Jesus, but only to the cause He started. Jesus Christ is a source of deep offence to the educated mind of to-day that does not want Him in any other way than as a Comrade. Our Lord's first obedience was to the will of His Father, not to the needs of men; the saving of men was the natural outcome of His obedience to the Father. If I am devoted to the cause of humanity only, I will soon be exhausted and come to the place where my love will falter; but if I love Jesus Christ personally and passionately, I can serve humanity though men treat me as a door-mat. The secret of a disciple's life is devotion to Jesus Christ, and the characteristic of the life is its unobtrusiveness. It is like a corn of wheat, which falls into the ground and dies, but presently it will spring up and alter the whole landscape (John 12:24). "

usually i am very wary of devoltionals because they can be turned into a Christian horoscope.
so this is kind of an example of how God speaks to me sometimes.

limits of the possible.

2006-05-24T19:20:00.000+09:00

My limit of the possible is different than yours. what do I mean? I mean the place where the end of your rope is, your wits end. There may be areas of my life that you look at and are amazed at how far i can go on my own and likewise i at different areas of your life.

God starts there. If there was another way He would use that, but because of our pride He will not. He is a gentleman. He would start at the beggining instead of our end. If we could learn to come to Him first, things would go smoother. But somewhere along the line pride and its bastard child self-pity hold us back whispering lies in the name of "logic and reason". The foundation or premise starts with thoughts like "you need to take responsibility for your life "you need to provide for your family". We believe "God helps those who help themselves". What a lie! God helps those who trust solely on Him alone and who lean not on our own understanding. Its the "be a man" syndrome. We need Him to tell us what a man is by telling us who He is. We are made in His image. If we want to know who we are we need to learn of Him from Him. Yes God gives us a mind and we should use it- that starts with correct premises presuppositions based on His character.

God is our "Provider". How could God provide for us, we won't let Him. Everything about our lives proves it. I am talking about culturally. World culture. If i was to look at it from the most positive point of view i would say we feel guilty that we are shirking our responsibility by depending on God. At worst, and I believe this is the truth unfortunately, we are trying to "make a name for ourselves" and build ourselves a tower of Babel to reach the skies (gen). Literally we dont have to look far. Skyscapers are totally impratical ego representations. God tries to nudge us in the right direction while protecting the gift (not right) of autonomy He gave us but we are still drinking spiritual milk struggling with the fact of whether He exists or not. Next we struggle with who is the head of the household. The implications are too important to just live our lives by default and not be thinking of the implications of what we believe and how we live. The burden of Provider is too heavy for mere mortals to carry. "do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?"(matt 6:25) the what choked out the Word? Like seed amoung thorns "the worries of this life, and the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful." (mark 4:19).
I hate to say it but our Christian walk is unfruitful. Certainly people who are not believers see it. Could this be a reason? We are slipping away one desire at a time. One worry about the small stuff in our lives. One day at a time. One non deliberate action or thought at a time. Could it be that simple? Are we at our end yet. Am i at mine?

christian links portal-

2006-05-12T17:58:00.000+09:00

this site features a real variety of the different types of believers worldwide. http://zoecarnate.com/

from the article Japan's Faithful Judas

2006-05-09T15:22:00.000+09:00

from the second half of this article http://www.baobab.or.jp/~stranger/mypage/endo.htm

"Why is Christianity virtually the only Western practice that has failed to
take root in Japan? Endo traces its failure to misunderstandings, especially
regarding the Western concept of the Fatherhood of God. Therapist Erich Fromm
says that a child from a balanced family receives two kinds of love. Mother
love tends to be unconditional, accepting the child no matter what,
regardless of behavior. Father love tends to be more provisional, bestowing
approval as the child meets certain standards of behavior. Ideally, says
Fromm, a child should receive and internalize both kinds of love.

According to Endo, Japan, a nation of authoritarian fathers, has understood
the father love of God but not the mother love. An old Japanese saying lists
the four most awful things on earth as "fires, earthquakes, thunderbolts, and
fathers." For Christianity to have any appeal to the Japanese, Endo
concludes, it must stress instead the mother love of God, the love that
forgives wrongs and binds wounds and draws, rather than forces, others to
itself. ("O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those
sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a
hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!") "

new ethic of grace - Endo Shusaku

2006-05-09T11:23:00.000+09:00

"new ethic of grace, irrational Christian love directed toward the least" read about this famous Japanese writer
deserving http://www.baobab.or.jp/~stranger/mypage/endo.htm

little bit of Japanese Christian history

2006-05-09T10:47:00.000+09:00

Kakure Kirishitan
From Kodansha's Encyclopedia of Japan

Christian beleivers of the Edo period (1600 - 1868) who survived the Anti-Christian edicts of the Tokugawa Shogunate (1603 - 1867) and the period of national seclusion, whose descendents escaped detection during succeeding waves of persecution. In 1641, there were at most 300,000 baptized members of the Catholic church. The expulsion of the Catholic clergy that was decreed in 1614 and the general persecution of Christianity that followed were designed to eliminate the foreign faith from Japan. The response of some of the faithful to persecution was to declare their faith and embrace martyrdom, but most Christians concealed their belief and went underground. Some groups of Christians chose emigration of their entire communities to remote areas were it was relatively easier to remain hidden.

The shogunal Inquistion office (Kirishitan Shumon Aratame Yaku), established in 1640, aimed at total extermination of Christians. The practice of efumi (trampling on fumie, holy pictures), instituted in 1629 as a means of identifying beleivers, was well established by 1640. Small groups of priests secretly enter the country after 1636 but the were quickly detected and eliminated. Thus from 1637, in matters of faith and practice, Christian communities were wholly dependent of lay leadership. Because they were often forced to outwardly conform with Buddist and Shinto practice by the Tokugawa shogunate, hidden Chistians developed a double religious life in which they secretly preserved their Christian belief and practice. When Japan was opened to intenational communication in the mid-19th century more than 30,000 believers in the old faith came forward from various remote areas. In the absence of any priests or printed texts, the entire body of doctrine and litergy was passed on by worf of mouth. A related term, Hanare Kirishitan (seperated Christians), refers to the descvendents of Old Cristians whose faith survived the National Seclusion period but who refused reconciliation with the Roman Catholic church after the abolition of Cristian prohibition laws in the mid-19th century. Pockets of Hanare Kirishitan still exist in Japan.

No texts or priests and yet they carried on the tradions and the Word. I really like that. It probably meant everyone had to be involved and teach each other. It should be noted that their Christian beliefs were a bit twisted and it is said that they had some issues about the trinity and their religeon was an amalgamation of Shinto, Buddhism, Christianity, and Animism, but their faith remained and I believe God gave them much grace. But it could if we look at our traditions and religeon we will probably find some eerie parallels. I believe today we rely too heavily on the priestly office or pastoral role. I also believe we have created the outline of this role and not necessarily God. We have emphasized certain duties and points of focus which i beleive are purely cultural.

money and God

2006-03-16T19:25:00.000+09:00

Lately i realize I get anxious when I procrastinate. alot of times I do good things but I know there are things I should be doing that would be more in line with what is best and inline with what God wants me to do. This anxiousness is self inflicted. It extends even further to larger things like work. I am constantly haunted by the nagging modern ghost of progress. The voice says something like this "if you just get this type of job you will make more money to free you up to do this or that". There is something wrong with that thinking. I know that if I go in a certain direction it will be harder to turn around or go in a different direction later so I try to be careful deciding which direction to go in. I am very reluctant to compromise in the work arena. Its a tricky business because it has left me very poor but i still believe its right. Life is short and dont want money to be the driving factor in any arena of life. "yes but you need to support your family" thats the devil! I dont support my family God does. He might choose to include me in that providing but He might not. Can my pride handle that. What I must do is follow Him and serve Him advancing His cause. He takes care of the rest. Yes sometimes that means a 9-5, sometimes it means living smarter and reducing living expenses by giving up things that people in our society take as an obvious need.

The Bible teaches we cannot serve both God and Money. What does that mean? it sounds very religeous i have to admit, but i was just thinking of a very practical way to apply this principle. When I consider what job to take or to refuse either long term or short term (like a web site) i consider many factors. Does the job stand for something i believe in or would like to support? Does it make enough money to justify the time i must spend to complete it. There have been times when I have looked at jobs as a means to an end or neutral. I have recently been asking this question concerning my acting jobs. I guess it comes from my frustration of being underpaid but mostly from the nonsense that the TV production companies produce. It is really a system to sell products most of which do not contribute anything to the world I would hope to live in. So I started to think -(uh oh)- by doing this sort of work am I just encouraging the world in the wrong direction? Shouldn't I be living in such a way as to encourage the world in the direction I beleive is best- especially in the direction i believe God wants it to go? Is the work meaningful? Does it have content? the right content. What would the world look like if we all only did work we believe in?

I am not talking about obvious spiritual matters but more subtle areas of life. For example: I believe there are some negative implications that stem from the industrial revolution and "modern thinking" (by modern I mean from 1860-present). One of which is a fragmented society that has a disconnect between work and the product. In other words we no longer are directly connected with our work like say a farmer who eats the products of his labor.

We value production and efficiency so we encourage division of labor. Why is this a value? We have been programmed to think this way. We define progress in a very specific way. One result of this thinking is the financial fear driven frenzy we see in the US. People never feel they have enough investments, or property and even when they have alot they feel no security that was promised. Its never ending.Another area this thinking affects is knowledge. There is an increasing trend to only give value top knowledge that can be used directly or productively instead just for the intrinsic value of knowing. So we only believe in spending money on certain types of research. Art can be twisted as well because beauty is not really "useful" in the "modern" sense. I do believe there is a revolution going on presently to infuse content and meaning back into our lives so there is hope.

When people choose a career it is financially driven according to the class they wish to belong to or the lifestyle. As a society we are not moving towards less consumption but further dependance. We cant live without electricity, gas, etc. We work more hours so we can buy more conveniences to give us more time. Wouldnt it be wiser to almost go backwards and bake our own bread, grow vegatables, learn how to sew, build our own houses, trade goods and services instead of paying a specialist? I guess I am turning into a socialist.

I often get caught in the trap of thinking "wow thats cheap" as if it were a good thing. Yah its good in the short term cause i can buy more stuff but in the long run i dont believe it is. Take a can of tomatoes for example. They are about a dollar here in Japan. Its easy and relatively cheap but if I think of the cost on the environment like the plant used to can these tomatoes, the truck that brought the can to my area in tokyo, the gas in that truck, the ship that brought the gas, the recycling plant that recycles the can, the energy the protestors spend protesting (now they need more food), the city official and police to answer the question oif the protestors and prevent a riot, etc etc etc. You get the point- But it makes my life easier. We could tear apart society bit by bit deconstructing but really Its about the direction we are going in.

I cannot be responsible for the whole world but surely i can say no to jobs I dont beleive are good for the worlds future. I am not talking about jobs that are evil but on closer scrutiny are they jobs that involve principles we believe in ? I can do things like reduce my living expenses and therefore be freed up to use my time to do what I believe I should do instead of the things I have to do to survive financially. Yes there are repercusions to this decision but peace of mind and integrity will certainly be a reward. My concern is that we are all "going along to get along", Instead of living deliberately. We are paying the price for that type of lifestyle. It is a matter of priorities- what is most important?

we should be just like the first church.

2006-02-27T09:52:00.000+09:00

ACTS 8:1 "On that day a great persecution broke out against the church (not capitolized) at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria." v4 "Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went."

Most people would have quoted chapter 2 verse 42-47.

Jesus's last command after He rose from the dead and before He left this Earth. Mark 16:15 "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation."

Acts 2:42-47 recounts the glorious pow wow of Christians eating together and sharing every worldly possession, praying together and enjoying the teaching of the apostles. BUT this is short lived. I make this emphasis in response to hearing that we should be living this Acts 2 model in todays world. I believe this is a mistakeI think people see that "and the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." People reason that because God did this He desires us to use this model for the church today. Does it mean this?

I believe this was for a short time only. Not that God might not do this at times but just imagine if the persecution never came. The Gospel is much more inclusive. Extend your tent stakes. For the Gospel to spread we must move out. I believe the mega church movement, the tendancy for Christians to cloister together as much as time allows, and the concept of "be in church whenever the doors are open", will be looked back upon and seen as a movement that should be for a short time only if at all. In other words I believe the emphasis should not be placed on gathering together too often. Why because we train people to do what we want them to do. If we want them to be able to disciple each other and move out and share the Gospel then we should do that instead of training people how to sit or stand in a large auditorium and listen to music or talks. Anyway, The Gospel would not have spread if the early Christians had their way and stayed cloistered together. In heaven we will have plenty of time for that but for now many people are dead in their sins and need to hear what we have heard. Yes of course we should meet together sometimes but the question is how often do we need to gather in order to be equipped for sharing the message of Christ? Because that is one of the main purposes of meeting together.

There all alot of things that are "biblical" but not what God wants us to do. Murder is "biblical", in the Bible, but of course God does not desire us to participate. We have to be very careful of extracting our doctrine from narrative portions of the Bible. We have to lookm for the point of the scripture and also at the bigger picture.

After having said this, I do beleive there are principles we can live out from the Acts 2 portion of scripture, but its a story about what God did and what happened. We cant say we should do exactly what they did. The attitudes should be the same but the application will be different during different seasons. If we truly desire to be like the first church we should look at the whole account of what the church was like, especially the use of authority of the apostles, how they discipled new leaders, the problems the early believers encountered, the differences in different cultural settings, and the emphasis on going out as opposed to cloistering together.

Whats the point? Will we move out on our own like God wants us to or will we need a kick in the pants?

2006-02-19T21:42:00.000+09:00

These little statues represent stillborn or aborted babies. Read on it gets really interesting. This particular type was create din 1960 despite the belief that they are ancient. This was taken on our trip to Kamakura. Kamakura is like Kyoto. Lots of history and temples. It was the place where the military run government started. Only 50 minutes from our house. I believe the common right wing view of nationalism and military dominance was birthed here. The little statues are called JIZOU BOSATSU.

2006-02-19T17:25:00.000+09:00

I dont believe the problems we have as a global society are with the areas we disagree about. I believe the problems lay where we agree but fail to act.

Pioneering

2006-02-06T13:47:00.000+09:00

Pioneering is 98% staying some one once told me. Its easier to start something new with a few people rather than a large group. A large group must reach a consensus and that is a very hard thing to do. With 2 people you can just say " do you agree?" "yah I agree" and you can begin. But what can happen is becaus ethose two have less to worry about they can move quite quickly out ahead of the larger group. I beleive this could have been some of God's wisdom in sending early followers out 2 by 2. But its also important not to move too far out in front or the larger group will be lost. No one left behind. As I write this I have a picture of 2 people moving through the wilderness in thick brush. There is no way the group could keep up with them so they press on ahead exploring the new territory. They find possibilities, new things, and dangers. If they move too quickly the brush behind them will start to grow in and the trail will be lost and they will become isolated from the larger group. The 2 must come back and lead people onto the new possibilities. The probelm is the group has not seen that it might be a better deal on the other side and they are quite content where they are. This i believe was the way the early church felt in Jerusalem just before God allowed persecution to come and the church was scattered. They were now the church at large, the diaspora. Some might think that is too bad that they couldnt stay together and enjoy one another's company, but I think it was a good thing. The Gospel was supposed to be shared with all. This scattering allowed that to happen. If that happened today would we fight it? Is God doing a similar work today? maybe it might look different. I do believe the Church is complacent in many ways. Not lazy and well meaning but we are in a rut.

What is God's vision of what the Church should look like today? The Bible compares the Church to a body. One big unit not really a family but something much closer. I trully believe God is not happy with so many factions and divisions. I think he wants us to divide physically, or to spread out to cover more ground and be more effective in sharing the good news but not spiritually. Denominational borders help us understand where we stand on different issues. It feels safer to me to know where sop and so belongs, in what category I can put them. I would be bold in saying it is fear that creates denominations. This is what I beleive. Just because we have denominations and God chooses to bless the church doesnt mean He approves. I can only imagine what it would be like without them. Paul said He considered it all loss compared to knowing Christ. He lists numerous socail and religous classes he belonged to in that context. In most of the introductions of his letters he states his identity as being sent from God, or of God etc. My point is he never mentions a church or religeous group. I realize this is not a perfect world but just because its not perfect does not mean we should pretend these things are right.If God had his way with the church in this world what would it look like? Would there be denominations or not? Denominations are a result of a disagreement. People could not resolve their differences and choose to leave one group and start another. They felt the differences were so great they could no longer in good conscience worship and live together. If it was simply a different ministry they would be a sister church or plant of the original and not tak on a new identity. We should speak the truth- in love of course and strive toward the truth. Its really dangerous to live our lives simply the way our fathers have just because unity seems immpossible. Paul said he had not attained these things but he strived towards them. Havent we stopped striving? I guess I could simply do what I am saying and hope that my life would convict others but really I am not strong enbough I need the rest of the Christian Community to "spur me on toward love and good deeds".

I seem to have gotten off the trail so to speak, but not really. Sometimes I dont want to share what God has showed me for fear that people might see me as arrogant. This way of thinking implies that those thoughts were from me and not a gift from God. I beleive everyone who has chosen to allow Christ into their life can hear God from the smallest to the largest matter. Of course when He spaeks it is inline with His character. If I am part of the body it is my responsibility to share what I have seen and heard to better the worldwide body. Blogs are great for this sort of thing. I believe the structure of the modern church limits the ability of God to show Himself through the diversity of individuals. When I say limit what I mean is that God , for whatever reason chooses not to interfere in alot of matters. He prefers to guide and allow us the choice to obey Him. He is so amazingly patient. People should not take offense if the administration of the church is questioned because we are all in this together if we are truly part of one body.

If my nervous system tells my brain that there is too much tension on my calf muscle and my brain tells me to stretch that muscle, should I be hurt and get angry at my nervous system? of course not. then why do we get angry when someone questions the administration of the church and its resources? We are all in this together and working towards the same goal. Its obvious why we get angry, because we are not rtruly unified, emotions run high, sin, we have many fears which cause us to desire to control people and our own lives. Its really hard to trust people.

I believe if we have any hope it is in having a correct view of the bibnlical concept of what the church is and wher it should be going so that when we get off track we can recognize how, where, why, and how to get back on track. So as simple as I can say it THe Church is: One body, of one spirit, and One lord. We are moving toward marriage and true unity with Christ in all His attributes for the end puropose of being eternally with God the Father. So the negative of that would be several smaller groups and even further every person just doing their ministry without any connection at all. What I am speaking of is a visual concept or picture in our minds when we think of Church. We even ask each other which church do you go to? this is evidence of a wrong perspective. Yes i understand it is simply small talk but subtly we have been taught a certain picture in our brain. I believe od has a different picture and the Bible illustrates it very clearly. The danger has been a copnstant one. A problem throughout the ages of the Church even before Christ. We moved from a family with abraham and ultmately God as father to religeon, kings and separations. We desire stability and I beleive the best place to find that and our identity and purpose is in God Himself anything short of that allows fear and animosity to take over. We have a great inheritance - God Himself is our inheritance (the livites were promised no imheritance of land and security only God Himself- we are now called a royal priesthood)would we rather trade it for a bowl of soup (comfortable and warm)?

This is oversimplistic I realize- it is vision and not worked out completely in mission but I believe we must start from this foundation of what God wants the church to be. Every supporting ligament working together to accomplish His purposes.

Out in the open.

2006-02-05T19:50:00.000+09:00

some observations about conversation.
my disclaimer: this is raw thoughts and unrefined and yes there is a little hurt and a little indignation, and a little relief at the end.

Subtle. something I am not often accused of being, but my wife mentioned this concept to me when attempting to translate our about us page from our website. Implication. That is i guess a word that is in a similar family. I wrote about what we do and who we for a broad range of people throughout the world who have many viewpoints. The possibility of being misunderstood is so high in the written as well as spoken word, that I was trying to be sensitive and get my point across at the same time. A very difficult task. Here in Japan the culture states that conflict of any kind is not popular. Coming from a western nation I would call it avoidance. I beleive while conflict is not comfortable or desireble, if it is there it just is and cannopt be brushed aside. It will always be there unless properly dealt with. I do believe there is no sense in stirring up desention but I also don't believe walking away and agreeing to disagree solves anything. "To each his own" is a saying that will make anyone who uses it very popular but it is only partially true. Yes everyone has a right to make a final decision about their life but those decisions affact the community as well. No man is an island. We dont live in a vacuum etc.

alot of times I like to bring issues up that I see. Things that are wrong or that could be done better. I guess if I see something and say to myself "that shouldnt be like that", I try to think how it could be put right. I realize people may not think the same and almost everybody does not. But I should be able to say it anyway. People dont like to hear bad things. Negative things. I beleive there is an emotional attachment to negative matters and people associate being unhealthy with anything negative. Negative just is. You can choose to react emotionally or not. Regardless, we all must admit they exist. So I figure what sense does it make to ignore the issue instead of trying to find a solution. Its not comfortable at all. so what? Dont rock the boat . dont make waves. Picking your battles is a good thing. Nobody likes someone who is always picking fights. But I personally dont like people who for shear(sp)personal comfort would rather smile and nod than say what they really think. Its a bad habit. I believe its about investing yourself. Everyone wants to be known and loved, not just known.

Do people say what they mean or mean what they say. Or are they simply thinking out loud? Just so you know where I stand I think its ok to think out loud. You better be able to trust the people you are with when you do it or at least simply choose to trust them and take a risk. "if you come round here talking about those things you better wear your thickest skin" words by the lead singer of Vigilantes of Love.

I believe there is too much dancing in conversation. People seem to be testing which side of the issue you stand on. Am I in an ally camp or an enemy. There seems to be so much ground to loose. Its not relaxing at all. I want conversation to be relaxing as well as challenging. I do my fair share of dancing. I am now. If you are wondering what my point is I am not sure I have one point. should I?

Did you ever shake somneone's hand and you knew they were on your side? Did you ever talk to someone and you knew they were waiting for a break to teach you something. Its not that they wanted to share and invite you in they just needed to make sure you were on the right path, their path? Maybe I am too old or stubborn, or arrogant, or prideful but I hate that type of conversation. I dont know how to respond gracefully. Seems like there are too many of those conversations lately. Sometimes I am the second guy. This is why God is so amazing. When talking with him there are no strings attached.

discipleship

2006-02-03T11:48:00.000+09:00

"...,discharge all the duties of your ministry."(2tim4:5) Paul says to Timothy just before his death. I believe this is the nature of true discipleship. I also believe it should happen as soon as humanly possible. Pauls life illustrates this. He was a true planter. He seemed to only give instruction as needed. Why am I emphasizing this? The Holy Spirit needs some wiggle room. He needs to do his job of making the word and God's character clear. If we keep interupting with our own words and methods we grieve Him.

If we are too hands on in our approach I believe it reveals a lack of trust in God's ability to lead people and speak to them individually, leads to over dependance on leaders, and a welfare church where people are "always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth"(2tim3:7). People will never learn how to hear God's voice personally if we are their ears.

Why dont we just trust God and let Him guide in more practical ways? FEAR or lack of understanding at the least. We fear people will make grave mistakes and believe herasies. This is a real danger but are we saying by our actions that God is incapable of handeling the crisis? He does not need to stand on our shoulders. Sometimes we are being manipulative and controlling in our Christian communities out of pure fear. People see this demonstration of a lack of faith. No wonder people dont want to become part of our Christian community. As far as lack of understanding, we believe it is our duty to take care of people younger in the faith. How noble of us. But why do we believ this. There is little evidence that Jesus did it this way. In fact He allowed people to make mistakes and stood by and watched. Then He leaves the earth at the most vulnerable time in the Christian movement. At Christ's death the disciples didn't get it really. Jesus left so the Holy Spirit could come. He passed the baton. We should do the same.

If alot of leaders left their ministry today the whole thing would fall apart because the ministry is built around one or a few leaders. It doesn't look like a real "body" at all. The ligaments are not supporting and the muscles are atrophied. We have created a welfare community that enables people to to rely on spiritual leaders instead of God Himself.

How does this affect discipleship? We do and say what we were taught to do and say. We produce more of the same. We are in a rut. Someone once said. A rut is simply a grave with the ends knocked out.

faith in faith is useless

2005-12-21T11:57:00.000+09:00

Faith- some say its the final frontier oh wait thats space. Faith seems to be alot like space though- no edges, no boundaries, maybe a few landmarks, is it expanding or contracting? A little mysterious, highly contested.
Faith by itself is useless. In other words I dont believe faith has any intrinsic value. Alot of people say byou gotta have faith in something. There must be an object of that faith that makes it valuable. The "something", i believe is the most important part. Faith in Faith is what i would call believism and it ends up with the focus on me. If I can just muster up enough belief or faith the thing i am hoping for will happen- I can manifest that result. I dont believe it.

Christmas is about faith in the redemption that Christ brings. The hope is that if we associate ourselves with Him- become one with Him by believing what he claimed and stands for- then we would be saved from our selfishness. Its about faith in Christ being God. In the past many people had faith in the law as a means to get them close to God but it was doomed from the start. The law was powerless to separate our sin and selfishness from our self. It took the supernatural. The law simply lead us to Christ as a solution and a realization or revelation that our ability to follow the law- our effort- would never be good enough to get us closer to God.

Knowing that no matter how hard I try it will not get me closer to God is pretty depressing except there is hope. The hope is Christ. Faith is just me agreeing with God about who Christ is and being willing to stand on His side and come under His care.

The meaning of faith is found in its object.

the search for meaning

2005-11-30T22:20:00.000+09:00

I havent written in a long time probably because I write when I am faced with a troubling thought or something that I need to work through. Lately the issues of living in a modern world have come back wanting answers. Living in an information age and racing toward an uncertain future of technological advances without really questioning the consequences. Where are we going? and why? where am I going? and why? These thoughts overwhelm me on a daily basis. What is worth fighting for? What is worth discipline, loss of dignity, and stomaching monotany?

I dont really care what will make me happy. I dont know if anyone could ever know what would make them happy, only God. Most times i believe we are in love with ideas of things rather than the thing itself. What I care about is living a life that is worth living whether I am happy or not is not the point but I do want to be satisfied that I have done soemthing worth while and as close to truth as possible. And yes I do believ there is an absolute truth. At the end the truth is real and definite. Maybe it isnt understandable by humans in full but that will not prevent me from believing. I cannot believe that only things that humans understand at this point in history is all there is. That would be arrogant and foolish in light of historical events. Scientific DISCOVERY included. I am fearful that people put so much trust in the scientific method when at the core of this tool lies its most glaring error- namely man. It would be great if science was void or human error or bias.But obviously it is not. I remember one thing from physics classes in collage. The 2 most common reasons for lacking data- or when the experiment just didnt work like it was supposed to were friction and human error. This fact must be taken into the thought process when considering data that will take us in directions unknown. What I am basically saying is we need to remember humility which is a rare trait amoung men. Pride does come before a fall. Scientific argument sounds more like philosophy. I see great leaps from facts and data to conclusions that could be true but are not necessarily. Inductive reason is thrown out the window in favor of assumptions and a faulty deductive reason. Scientists are people and the urge to make a great discovery is a hard one to fight. I believe in science as a great tool of observation but i watch with a sceptics eye.

I dont know how I got off on that tangent though. I guess I see science as leading us in a certain direction to places we know not. I dont think I want to follow. I also dont want to be passionate about Christianity. I want to be passionate about Christ. But all that is so ethereal. I am trying to figure out what i can do in order to live everyday. You know make a living. I feel pressured to move along, get going, constantly learn new things that have huge learning curves. What is it headed towards?

The cost of living has gone through the roof. To survive I must have gas and electric, hot water, pay taxes, food, transport, cell phone(yes it is a necessity here). Its imposible to live a simple life although we do in comparison with others. We shop for bargains, dont own a car, build our own furniture, dont eat out very often( but we have to sometimes because we are far from home). Even If we succeeded in "cutting back" we would still have to put in moat of our time working. We don't believe we should spend our lives working, maintaining. We plan to fight it. We must be realistic in this modern world. Things come to mind like my family in America (we live in Tokyo japan). It costs money to travel but it's important. Is buying a house smarter than renting? we pay 1200 a month. in 5 years... you do the math.

So what can we do to supply for daily "need" (in a modern world), and living a life that matters. I dont believe in mass consumerism. I mean having to have every new gadget as soon as ot comes out, or having 100s of articles of clothing, or an oversize inefficient house. Yet I am torn because I see the value in electronics, and a house (even though apartment living is smarter for everyone), and other modern amenities.

Where am I going? if I can answer that question I can map out how to get there in a meaningful way. Some people say its about the destination and others say the journey is most important. I believe the destination and the process are inseparable. I guess I am feeling the fatigue of the constant threat of this modern age to pull the 2 apart. It is a symptom of chaos. A lack of a definative compass. I believe the only hope for myself or the world is Jesus as a compass. His strange economics and fools wisdom make sense in end. After all has been experimented and toyed with Jesus embodies meaning. The question of how to live a menaingful still lies largely unanswered and requires daily dependance and guidance from Him. In America there has been the attempt bto distinguish religeon and State. Some where in the process we have taken the content and relationship out of both.

transportation

2005-09-29T17:06:00.000+09:00

the NY subway carries an estimate of 4.5 million people a day, the whole system- approximately the population of Norway.

There is a station called Shinjuku in Tokyo about 12 minutes on the Marunochi line from our house. eight lines enter Shinjuku station. 2 million people pass through this one station per day. Thats almost half the amount of people the whole NY system carries , going through 1 station. There are about 12 million people in Tokyo. Tokyo is also part of a Megalopolis- a group of other connecting cities like Yokahama. 1 fourth of Japan's population or 33 million people live in the Greater Tokyo Area.

Types of followers of Christ

2005-09-27T11:45:00.000+09:00

Are you an aquarium beleiver or an open sea follower? no I won't explain just think about it for awhile. Separate thought- Concrete thinker? or something other?
question: as far as church events, rituals, religeous practice, etc are concerned, who do they cater to?

the Awa odori festival-Koenji

2005-09-01T09:47:00.000+09:00

The festival of fools. Lots of dancing through the streets.

chiyogamix

2005-09-01T08:59:00.000+09:00

An artist I met. (only in Japanese)

"http://www.mgreen.co.jp/chiyogamix/

AAN -arts network

2005-09-01T08:49:00.000+09:00

this is an arts network some of you may be interested in for the non-gallery community.

http://www.a-a-n.org/top_e.htm

Relationships

2005-08-26T23:18:00.000+09:00

Relationships are NOT a means to an end.

all science is socially embedded

2005-08-25T22:59:00.000+09:00

"Therefore, to understand the events and generalities of life's pathway, we must go beyond principles of evolutionary theory to a paleontological examination of the contingent pattern of life's history on our planet - the single actualized version among millions of plausible alternatives that happened not to occur. Such a view of life's history is highly contrary both to conventional deterministic models of Western science and to the deepest social traditions and psychological hopes of Western culture for a history culminating in humans as life's highest expression and intended planetary steward.

Science can, and does, strive to grasp nature's factuality, but all science is socially embedded, and all scientists record prevailing "certainties," however hard they may be aiming for pure objectivity. Darwin himself, in the closing lines of The Origin of Species, expressed Victorian social preference more than nature's record in writing: "As natural selection works solely by and for the good of each being, all corporeal and mental endowments will tend to progress towards perfection." "

STEPHEN JAY GOULD teaches biology, geology and the history of science at Harvard University, where he has been on the faculty since 1967. He received an A.B. from Antioch College and a PhD. in paleontology from Columbia University. Well known for his popular scientific writings, in particular his monthly column in Natural History magazine, he is the author of 13 books.

myths

2005-08-25T22:13:00.000+09:00

I see a general theme in discussions concerning intelligent design, creationism, and evolution. The general attitude is that creation is not a reputable solution to the initial cause issue. That all things related to religeon are myth and only stupid people or people who are superstitious and behind the times as far as the thinking process is concerned. The central issue is the initial cause of the universe. How did it begin? What are the convincing and reasonable answers that the eveolutionary theory brings to the table? Where does matter come from? there is a chain of cause an effect but it only goes back so far there has to be an initial cause. I am certainly not an expert. A creator God is still a viable solution to the question. It is resonable because it fully answers the question. Science cannot prove what happened because nobody was there to observe the beggining so we have to look to other tools.

Kaoruko

2005-08-25T15:23:00.000+09:00

The good we gain...

2005-08-24T12:49:00.000+09:00

The good we gain from events needs to be implemented in the everyday- I believe in order to do this we need to be separated / a cold break from events for a while- to actually practice it. We expect a lot of things to happen at events because we prepare, we pray, we work hard. What if we had the energy and focus to do this for everyday activities. The preparation part would not really be the same it would be more by doing that we would prepare. The emphasis would be greater because we would finally see the purpose of each moment as an opportunity for God to work- These moments would be the new definition for “events”. We would expect more. Giving new life to the common place- I believe God designed our everyday activities to be fruitful in the kingdom but we have forgotten this. We can all imagine how eating together is from God but we still see it as less than Sunday morning and Sunday morning as less than the retreat. Why? We need to rethink it all. We are missing opportunities while trying to create new ones.

Potential

2005-08-24T12:35:00.000+09:00

I believe we simply need to be realizing the daily opportunities we have- thats not too exciting and is lonely most of the time. But its funny how people cant see that as ministry. It is obvious they have been taught differently and so have we but we are trying to break out of that lifestyle and way of thinking- and teach people to do the same. We all like to talk about ministering rather than doing it and we seem to think of only some things as real ministry- God doesn't- he is waiting for us to realize the potential in average things and make the most of them .... Alot of times people become christians not because they find Christ but because they find a community to belong to or a solution to their problems. In other words they are just part of the group and think by doing so they are truly Christians. In this way our events become obstacles because in most areas of society this assumption is true. If you go to a soccer club and play soccer you are a soccer player. If you play guitar and join a band you are a bandmember. The church event mentality also teaches people that church is an event and a place and not a community- you only have to look to american and most western cultures and our own families to see this misconception. Community and church can be understood as one and the same with the evnt system but it requires people to think about the events in a totally different manner than anything else they are a part of in the rest of their lives. anyway too much to go into right now its a paradigm shift...

Discouragement

2005-08-17T11:34:00.000+09:00

Do we get discouraged because we expect too much or not enough? I think both.
When I used to run I would set landmarks, say the 3rd telephone pole to break up the monotony in long runs. I think we do the same in life. We use landmark events to break up the monotony. We look forward to these events withy great expectations. Somepeople take this to an extreeme. Sometimes college graduates expect they will make it big if they could only just get to graduation. Usually they are let down when they graduate. The just spent 4 years looking forward to this new life, this something great that would happen. Marriage- same for many. Some spend their whole lives preparing not really for marriage but the ceremony. Did we expect too much? maybe

I am realizing its also because we don't expect enough. I am talking about overlooking the smaller events that lead up to these big ones. We have all heard a life is made up of a bunch of days. Sometimes we so caught up in looking forward to some big event that we attach more meaning to it than to each day. This tends to make each less meaningful and I believe can lead to discouragement. If we can learn to value each day as a distinct opportunity instead of basing our definition of opportunity on size of change or size of ceremony then we might be able to avoid discouragement.

I guess its just seize the day- but even that creates this picture that some great event might happen today if you nmake it happen. not really what I am saying. I am saying we need to take a second look at the average and reevaluate. And "make the most of every opportunity"

The aesthetic argument?

2005-08-14T14:07:00.000+09:00

An argument for the existance of God from the existance and perception of beauty. Any thoughts?

being part of something

2005-08-14T13:36:00.000+09:00

We just want to be a part of something. Sometimes anything will do. Religeon can be come this "anything" for us and it will cause our relationship with God to become a religeous experience instead of a personal experience with a personal God. We have to be careful not to make God out to be our own "personal impersonal god". God ends up being impersonal. This makes Jesus, the Christian God out to be the same as all the other God- at least from our practice and mindset. This often happens subconsciuosly or at least subtly. The problem is Jesus is a personal God not an impersonal one which means we are not worshipping Jesus at all but an idol. By personal i mean separate from our own minds and the material universe, etc. (The concept of a personal God, although simple can be better explained by someone else).

The point is through our daily lives and especially through our meetings as Christians
are we reflecting who God really is? and Are we really meeting with God or just doing "something"? Is what we do training us or moving us closer to Him over the years or merely maintaining a social norm?

Back to the church "discussion"

2005-08-13T15:22:00.000+09:00

If you like your church then you certainly don't want to leave it. What do you like about it? And what are we really talking about? The Bible says church is the people, but our concept of church is not about people. "What church do you go to?" "How was church?" "What time are you leaving for church?". I never, or rarely hear people talking about people as the body of Christ when they are speaking of church. We have a fixation, a paradigm, a direction of thinking, a concept that we just can't seem to break free of. Some might say "why should we break free? Break free from what? I am happy with my church experiences, why change?". If Church was supposed to be about personal and social enjoyment I would say we don't have to break free.

The Church are believers. If you believe Christ is God then you are a part of the church body. If the ear says he is not part of the body does it cease to be a part of the body? no. Let me shift to the concept of church as a gathering of believers. What is the purpose of structure in the church? To get the tasks and the overall duty, responsibility(joy), job, etc- to complete the Great Commission.

Acts- when the number of beleivers started to grow some of the duties were getting neglected- taking care. The apostles saw fit to choose or should i say administrate the Holy Spirit's choosing of some men to help with this task. meanwhile they would concentrate on Prayer and the teaching of the word. Great there was a need the community gets together and decides what to do.

This is the early church- they met together often, not just to study the Bible(which was part of their lives before they became Christians anyway- itwas a common social activity to go to the synagogue for some at least), they ate together, shared land etc. Now the Church today says "look this is why we meet 2-3 times a week and maybe more because this is the model we follow". Except they kind pick and choose what they want to do- I dont see anyone sharing all there possesions. It was for a season and most people thought the end of the world was comming. This sort of stuff happens after natural disasters, this sense of urgency and goodwill etc. Its not necessarily Christian. I agree there was a move of the Holy Spirit which made a unique set of circumstances and also responsibility in light of what the Spirit had revealed to them. Did it last?

No. In fact only a short time after the only Christians left in the city were the Apostles. Why? If God didn't move people out of that city Christianity would havce stayed there and probably died there. Persecution created the dispora- scattered believers. This is my point that "retreat mentality" is healthy to build up believers but only for a season after a while we get stale and selfish and we just get addicted to spiritual feelings, emotions, and events related to or sounding or feeling like the events or times we experienced God.

Notice I didnt say we get addicted to God but the things that surround Him. We end up trying to recreate it instead of letting Him create those times- here is key- WHEN, WHERE, and with WHOM, He wants.

In short we get complacent and we never grow even if we might like it.

Church services and meetings have become like College for us. College is good for learning (it depends what you put into it) for 4 years but after that you have to move on. Its a good time, an easy place to make friends who are like minded, its challenging, there is a large support group, etc.

What happens socially after people leave college? Its harder in this diaspora society we live in. Now we are surrounded by people from different life experiences etc and its difficult to find a niche because unlike college people arent having orientation and playing name games and having programs to encourage the social environment to grow.

This is a good thing- its time to grow. Find new ways to make friends etc- find a new way to live. IT SHOULD NOT BE THE SAME AS COLLEGE BECAUSE IT ISNT.

As church people its like we have never left the nest. we have a certain - very predictable method of weekly, biweekly, monthly, yearly scheduled and litergical meetings that we teach the world is "CHRISTIAN" its not! It is religeon a system.

For all the people getting into the defensive mode by now that they have to protect the church- What are you protecting? other that your confortable way of life. Its nice to know on sunday you will go to the same schedule etc etc. After 15 years?

My growth happens in one on one conversations and sometimes with a person who doesn't follow Christ. When I speak with Christians it rarely about who God is and more about an event they want me to goto, a complaint about an event, and event they are so busy preparing for they are irritable and dont have time to meet me for real fellowship, etc.

Its not Church its a "cristian lifestyle" and a very western one at that. Its no different than non christian events- which brings me to my next point why not just join a knitting class! Instead of a ten week sermon series on how to reach the lost- just go have a real conversation. That is hard to do.

We often decide on what church to go to after examining the churches in our area- I have been doing this for a year now. I live in Tokyo and whats funny is they all look pretty much the same as each other and like the ones in the US or Germany. Some have a Hawaiian style, some have an Austrailian upbeat style, some advertise for the "people who don't want just entertainment and want to really study the Bible". The world is laughing at us. Some might say "who cares, we are not here to please the world"- true but they are not laughing at us because we are radically serving Jesus.

Yes we need to hear the word of God- more important to STUDY it! That takes time and effort and is really a simple process of the Inductive Method- which shoyuld be taught to every church member in the first year-. But thats dangerous because then they will realize they doint really need the pastor to preach the word because they will be learning through the HS and a little effort, wrestling with the issues in the context of real life amoung the probing questions of non-believing friends.

Yes we need other believers for fellowship, encouragement, etc etc etc- but really although I met those friends in a church setting I the real fellowship happened when I risked my time and energy to see them outside of church and not just members of the opposite sex. I helped them move- or sat for coffee- gave them a ride to the airport (which is what jesus would have done if they had airports).

Church should be a training camp that we graduate from and move onto the practicum- The real world- its is still very much a ghetto- plain and simple in the classic sense of the word with the welfare attitude nurtured until we all have so many Christians self-help books on the shelf and so many event T-shirts in at our yard sales that need to -fill in the blank with any funny anecdote ---

Were stuck in a rut- and a rut is---- a grave with the ends knocked out (i stole that from Nick Fatato- who is not responsible for any of my extreme viewpoints- or is he?)

We should be teaching Christians to think for themselves but that is dangerous. What if they start cults or - oh no a new church?

Is anyone getting what I am saying?

Ill be clear- I am FOR the Church not Against- Non of the prophets were against the church- I am not a prophet- just stating the obvious. We need to drop our reliance on the system. The system needs to become less and He need s to become more becaus e the system has too much of us. We need to think more and take each whatever and bring it before God and get off autopilot. Its painful to leave the things we know but I beleive the missionary mentality needs to return back to church thinking.

I dont beleive I have said anything abusive against God or His people and this commentary is not an attack on any pastor or leader but more a cry(in the wilderness) to examine the task of the Great Commission, drop our plans and ask God what He requires for us to be doing in our unique situations and not just what everybody else is doing.

Are there any leaders out there that sense something stirring or just not right about the way weve been opperating as a church?

summer festivals

2005-08-11T20:57:00.000+09:00

Some pics from the summer festival in asagaya, Tokyo. The bottom is a game kids play, they try to pic up the cupie and balls with a wand like instrument that looks like a tiny tennis racket, but it has really thin paper that can break. The top picture is someone playing the taiko drum.

+

2005-07-26T16:26:00.000+09:00

being positive is not the same as being "up beat". Any thoughts?
What does a real realist look and sound like?

remember

2005-06-23T15:17:00.000+09:00

remember- we forget by default. It takes work to remember. But in the information age what should we remember? what do we remember? The most important is that we are forgiven. God reminds the Isrealites constantly of this fact. Why is it important? When we remember we are forgiven we also cant help but remember who forgave and that He is forgiving in nature. We also are led to think of what we are forgiven and that makes us think of the fact that we do not deserve that forgiveness which in turn leads us back to think of Him as merciful in nature. Also it reminds of that we did nothing to achieve that forgiveness and causes us to have a humble attitude toward others faults and helps us logically forgive them. In fact we feel stupid when we dont forgive. Its simple illogical in the light of remembering we are forgiven of our sin. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by all the things I am supposed to remember, but if I can remember this one thing, the implications and actions that follow will lead me down a very focussed path and on the way I find I am fullfilling both parts of the "law". I can somehow find love for God which leads to love for myself and leads to love for my neighbor.

Who can you trust with the honest truth?

2005-06-03T12:09:00.000+09:00

Therapists make lots of money simply because people feel they cannot trust ANYONE else to tell what is really on there mind or heart. We have all had the experience when you hear about someone you know who just lost it or made a drastic mistake or got caught and we all say" oh my I never would have guessed" or people say "yah I knew it all along there was something weird about that guy, i could tell" "how are you doing?" "oh im doing pretty good, life has its ups and downs but I am hanging in there" Oh God help us!!! Lots of times we just want to scream "Im not doing all right. I feel like my life is falling apart!" Even if you have a job (and lots dont), maybe you are under payed, or you have abusive co-workers (probably do), or it just seems meaningless and mundane. Maybe you are not married and you are constantly guessing whether that new person you met is the one, or maybe you are married and marriage is a disappointment. I mean we build marriage up to this fantasy level of pure fullfillment of course it will be a let down on some level. But "yah I am doing fine! and yourself". Maybe your "friends" dont really understand what your saying or why. Or maybe you have lots of friends that only come around when they need something. But they are just busy and they dont mean to be that way. To lots of people this may sound depressing- but this is reality for many and I think to a certain degree everyone! Some people might put a spin on it but they feel these things everyday and fight them and deny them but they certainly never express them to people. Most people bury it all in work. This i find is their "coping mechanism". denial and burial.

Who can you trust? with what you really think and feel? We all have been there- you are in a conversation and you are about to lay it on the line, say it like it is, but you hesitate and pull back. You say it in a way to make sure you dont "offend". You try to be more diplomatic- pull the punches so to speak. You dont want to impact with full power. So you water it down- a spoonfull of sugar... Just in case its too much for the hearer what you say could have had several meanings- this is post modern communication. But your point is lost- I mean the real truth as you think it and live it.

I wont give a quick answer. God can bring meaning and purpose. That would be both true and untrue in many ways. I am not talking about dealing with it. Grinning and bearing it. I am simply exposing the lies we tell and why I believe the people we think are insane are often times the most sane of all. They simply cannot play the game we call society. Logically they see the inconsistencies and it does not compute. We have many social ills some major some minor. INTEGRITY!!! . We dont have it but we all act as if we do when life seems like its going right. Job, family etc etc. Yet we cant stop fidgiting, or biting our fingernails to the nub, or working 70 hours a week (like that is honorable), and we get hardly anything done. These are all "tells". Signs of bigger problems. And we always want more- more of everything all the time. There is an insecurity. You would think it would be like running away from the Boogie Monster. The farther you get away the safer you would feel. But even though you get to an open field with no sign of him you dont stop running.

People are really hurting and saying its just a scratch because they dont want to bother people around them. Can you blame them? Most people when they see a person with a problem tell them to be positive or they evade the real issues and talk about entertainment. They change the subject because its awkward.

Jesus never planted a church

2005-06-02T23:15:00.000+09:00

Well did he? People getting together to talk about what God did and who He is, how He works, and to celebrate Him is a by product of all the things He taught. Mostly He taught about the Kingdom of God. Most of the parables He told were "the kingdom of God is like..." He simply went around "ministering" to people and as He did so He would use the everyday events to explain about what the Father was like and how He operated. People were everywhere as they are today so He didnt have to tell everyone to come to the sanctuary- The sanctuary or temple was different than today anyway. Soap boxes were a little more widely accepted then or I should they they took more of a public square/ speaking style. Nowadays we also have soapboxes- magazines, newspapers, books, movies, songs etc. Its a little more abstract which can confuse communication a little more but then again Jesus spoke in parrables that few understood. They needed God's help to give them understanding- which is the same today.

My point church is a by product- if our goal is to plant churches we are missing the point. Namely God himself. Celebrate Him , talk about Him, listen to Him etc and the gatherings will happen in the"spiritually natural". Its a little like driving. When we first learn we watch the hood of the car to see if we are going straight later we learn we will drive straighter if we focus on the horizon.. like all illustrations this one will self destruct in 3 min. if you over analyze.

Compare contrast

2005-05-14T12:55:00.000+09:00

What is "school" ? immediately we think of a place , a picture, things we did there. What about field trips? Didnt you like them more than sitting in class? Didn't you remember more from the field trip? wasn't it more of real learning? Was it school?

this weekend is design festa. http://www.designfesta.com/02_en/index.html
I thought to myself why cant we just pray and go to this event to learn about God, and celebrate Him together? This will be our church this week.

chicken or the egg

2005-05-11T22:56:00.000+09:00

Which came first the missionary or the church? the simple point churches should be helping missionaries not the other way around. I mean the priority should be the use of church funds and resources to see God's pimary task of reaching every person with the good news that God is choosing to not punish our sins because of Jesus dying on the cross. Expand the tent stakes instead of build the protective social walls. Sometimes these walls may not seem so obvious. One of these walls, i believe is the trend of missionary agencies to spend large amounts of time helping the local church in their activities and services. I dont have any objection as long as there is no compromise of the missionaries efforts and events. Most often they become ambassadors to the church as to the value of missionary agencies and the differences. I see churches as heavy machinery that are really difficult to move from one place to another, as far as ideas are concerned. I see missionaries and missionary agencies as more nimble. If we as missionaries are spending all our energies and time getting permits and checking with code inspectors etc. (you get the picture) we will be unproductive and really slow. I truly believe there needs to be a radical change in Japan as far as the system of the "church" in Japan. think about the last 50 years. The traditional church way has not "worked" here. I know fear jumps in and says wait a minute. What if God wants to do something that looks totally different? are you ready? I dont mean house churches. That is not change in comparison to what I am envisioning. Not change for the sake of being different.

I see 1 trend in Tokyo. Churches are calling for people to join them in their new building projects and funds. They are saying as mission statements , "build a bigger church". If it is just a trend in worldwide churches- one it will fail- two if its of God it can work with what I envision. I truly believe as Christians we meet to often for the same type of meetings, smae structure, similar "pastoral messages" etc. I believe this type of meeting could be more powerful if it was once every 3 weeks or once a month. The only reason we have it once a week or more is because we have always done it that way- we dont question at all. The result - in my humble opinion- watered down, mediocre repetative messages, pastors who are burned out, pastors who never get the opportunity to minister because they have no time or energy. I envision a Paul like existance for pastors- Visitation so they can minister. Helping people one on one to start all sorts of different "ministries". Using that word ministries is pretty dangerous. It has a well defined definition. time to broaden our horizens- if we truly believe we are all ministers of the Gospel then we should live like it. I dont believe there is any separation between out sacred and secular lives- we should be able as living temples to carry Christ into everything we do. All should become sacred and sanctified. As a society Christians have created an alternative subculture- Its weird to me and to any non christian as well which is most of the world. Remember i was speaking of social barriers before- can you see now how the way we do things, although we say we are "open", could be viewed as closed and unaccessible to most of society?
So back to what a ministry is - almost anything- the pastors role should be to encourage, not generally but specifically each persons ministry- or encouraging people to do what God has told them to do. Helping them discern the will of God etc. Oh but my pastor is too busy- exactly he is hired as a minister of God's word not really a preacher- or was he or she? Pastors move farther and farther away from the individual.

Some may argue that it is always like this when people move up in responsibility and when they become more and more of a vision castor (sp). I dont believe that is an acceptible argument. Why should they become amature vision castors? People lean too heavily on their leaders as it is. They never leave the nest- This is the way the church has always been run- 10% lead the rest follow. This is how cults start and it ois very similar to a welfare state. We end up unable to stand on our own. We end up needing the pastor to illuminate scripture. If we were reading and studying the scripture we would realize that the Bible teaches that this is the time when we would no longer need to ask our brothers to explain the scriptures to us because God will write it on our hearts. It also teaches that the Holy Spirit illuminates and teaches us the scriptures. All I see are people who are hungry for more. So they keep going to church. But they hear all these inspirational messages, not really about God's character- i mean describing it etc. The messages are so inspiring that it wears off in 3 days and they need to come back to the mid week service to get their fix. Best times I have had studying the scripture is after someone has asked me a question in the real world. The times I really felt engaged in a conversation about God and his ways was never in church or rarely, but with other friends or Christians and sometimes non-believers. So why do we think these meetings are less church than those meetins we have under the steeple?

Communicate! vs. Expression

2005-05-08T14:40:00.000+09:00

That word is funny when used in the imperative. Like a command. I think alot about communication- I feel that pressure of having everything I say be properly and accurately understood by those I am communicating to. I even feel that pressure, to be communicating to someone specifically. Why cant I just say or do something and be content that people probably will misunderstand? Why cant I just influence and maybe people will go in a direction instead of haveing my concrete articulated sentiment tucked away inside them? Is communication communication if others dont get it or is it simply a monologue? furthermore do they have to agree? I would say almost all disagree. They nod as though they might understand but they disagree unless it is some vague sentiment that doesnt take a stand. Like "art is good" well what is art? what do you mean it is good? what is your measurement of good? is it simply your taste? a concrete measuring tool? What? We say body languge is a large % of communication whether we like it or not but we use so many words. Is it just a nervous habit? I hate the feeling when you know people either just dont get it or they disagree. Why cant we be free to express without the pressure of communication?

hiking

2005-05-06T14:26:00.000+09:00

.
we got out of the city for the first time since Christmas in MA. This is a hiking trail about 1 and 1/2 hours out of Tokyo. You just take the Chuo line from our house and a bus when you get to the end of the line. Its really quite alot of work and pretty much straight up and down. The down side has this waterfall towards the end. Normally in the states I feel refreshed when I am in the woods but here there are still little shrines and temples evrywhere so its a little eirie. We saw people on the trail every 3-4 min. No real privacy near Tokyo but it is still a bit of relief.

I got it!

2005-05-04T19:35:00.000+09:00

Here is a way to sum up my previous post in a comical way that way people cant simply say I being negative (as if stating facts that are truly negative is a bad thing-to them it is).

"it's just a flesh wound." What movie is that from? Monty Python... Im not sure I remember all of it but the guy has basically lost all his limbs in a battle and still wants to fight and says that famous line. Its this rediculous attitude of hope, not true hope. Hope based on nothing. Lessai faire attitude (spellingx), or "no worries" mentality.

Usually the sermons I hear are a Bible based story with an inspirational message- much like a ballon you get at the town fair- the helium leaks out by the time you wake up in the morning. Usually there is some real life story to go along with it that is relatively useless or at best trivial- One I heard recently was about how this person used to have headaches and he just prayed that got would take them away after he counted to 10. Very useful to my everyday existance when I feel real anger at an injustice done to me or to someone else or maybe to the tsunami victims.

Why am I so harsh? Because I am angry. Dont worry its righteous indignation. Why are we wasting everyones time? Non beleivers dont buy into Christianity for these types of reasons. This head in the clouds, men's meetings, summer camp Christianity. (I will not include the usuall disclaimer here, if this is not your cup of Latte then there are a million other web sites or sermons you can listen to that will give you what you want). Notice I said Christianity- when nonbelievers- I am speaking of real people with real pains in a real world, hear or see CHRIST they watch and listen and want to follow. The problem is we are still trying to create a social club called church. Thats fine if thats where somepeople are at- God bless those gifted people who can stomach the small talk for ten years with no real results. But too many churches seem to be "called" to that type of ministry. to anyone that will listen to the heart of this very real matter - maybe we can help each other wake up out of this slumber- kind of like the king in the "Two Towers" who was under the spell of the scorcerer. Anyway I am probably 1 of 2 people who read this blog but to that other person its worth a day to think about and ask some questions.

War movies

2005-05-04T18:25:00.000+09:00

Why so many war movies? probably because there are so many wars. I have been thinking a little morbidly lately because I watched Titus and Apocalypse Now. Many people in Japan protest war just like many other people from free democratic nations- another luxury, and luxuries cost, just ask the former generations. What I have seen about all these protests is that they are empty. What do I mean? well people dont really give reasons they just say war is bad. Of course war is bad- does anyone need convincing? The only reason we can stand up and say war is bad is the result of one or many wars. So which do these people want, to give up any and all freedoms or to have all wars stop? People are supposed to have the right to the pursuit of life , liberty, and happiness. Do they? some do and some dont. those who do have varying degrees of those freedoms. I think most people like catastrophy. It makes feel alive- hollywood proves it and so did the crowd that gathered outside my apartment building last week when a lady smashed up her Volvo (by the way I highly recomend volvos. the whole front end was missing but the cabin was virtually unscathed and the woman was well enough to still scream!). We are bored with the mundane. We need to be stimulated.
We cannot change the past- wars have happened. But lets at least try to make the best of the results. What I mean is, did men loose their lives so we could just go to jobs that in the end will not amount to anything in God's eyes and surf the internet, then go home and clean an oversized house or our car, cars, boats, etc. Maintaining this thing we call a "way of Life"?

People in Iraq- notice I didn't say Iraqis- because there are so many conflicting groups that you cannot claim a unified Iraq, you cant even says the Kurds really because although they arenot fighting against each other now they are 2 groups- desire a way of life also. Maybe they want to just walk down the street without getting killed and go to a mundane job.

Where is this all going? probably nowhere but these are things I think about. But really I am more concerned at the fact that this is the best it gets. I am concerned that in a post industrialized world we have no meaning for engaging in washing the dishes everyday- and now we have a dish for everything so it takes alot longer. We are constantly "maintaining meaninglessness."

evolution- now we have a very sophisticated division of labor so much so that we are separated from the land and even caring for our own children- "im not good at that so whay cant I just pay someone to do it"

I saw a show here last night about men who just cant go to work anymore. They are seemingly healthy, not lazy, they dont want to just sit around and drink beer and watch tv, they just drop out. We would call them crazy- maybe they are the sane ones.

I think to ignore the state our world is in is crazy. we are wasting away. Christians should be leading the way to find purpose in God but they have none themselves. They go to church alot and Christian bookstores are doing well financially (i think) but I still have books I haven't read from the CBD sales.

Do I sound pesimistic- sorry- not really- should I lie? Jeremiah didnt- almost got him killed. i am not comparing myself with him (disclaimer). I hear alot of very "positive" messages, and messages of how we have to be easier on ourselves, that the devil is to blame etc. I would love to be positive and I am about Christ who He is and what He can do , but beyond that we really should be speaking the truth- in Love. This world is wasting away and Christians with it. No amount of positive thinking- or so called positive thinking will change sin. Weep with those who weep, mourn with....

People just seem to want to be happy- There will be a time when we wont even have to look for ways to be happy or make our families happy. Heaven is real and this certainly aint it.

I am so sick and tired of all the sermons on looking on the shiny side, or just have a positive attitude..., a half lie is a lie indeed. Sometimes God heals but you know what sometimes He doesnt. We still go on, not avoiding the truth but looking the truth in the face wether it be what we would like to hear or not. We come out on the other side trusting in Christ and its real.

"In this world you will have suffering, but be of good cheer, I am with you" " we share in His sufferings so that we may share in His life"

What is my gripe? Preachers who pedal false hope, opiates for the masses. People end up 10 years down the line mad at God because some pastor told them if they give 10% (of His money) back to Him He will give them what they want. Maybe He will, He might take it all away. It will be for your own good for sure. Praise God .

The only blessing we can be sure of when we are drawn by His spirit closer to Him will be more of Him. More about this later. I wish I could explain a little more in detail about this type of preaching I am speaking of and the damage it has done and will do but all I can say is it is well meaning in that pastors just want to give people hope but in the end it will bring more sorrow as people realize they are disallusioned.

Golden week

2005-05-02T15:01:00.000+09:00

This week is called Golden week. it has some significance described below but really people travel alot and spend their discretionary income. Hawaii is a popular spot and stores there report double sales. The national holidays making up the Golden Week are:
April 29 Greenery Day (Midori no hi): April 29 used to be the birthday of Emperor Showa, who died in the year 1989. After his death, the day was changed into a national holiday for environment and nature, since the emperor loved plants and nature. From 2007, this national holiday will be renamed Showa Day, while Greenery Day will be moved to May 4.
May 3 Constitution Day (Kenpo kinenbi): On this day in 1947, the new post war constitution was put into effect.
May 4 "Between Day" (Kokumin no kyujitsu): According to Japanese law, a day which falls between two national holidays is also declared a national holiday, unless the "between day" is a Sunday, in which case it will be just a regular Sunday. From 2007, Greenery Day, currently celebrated on April 29, will be moved to May 4.
May 5 Children's Day (Kodomo no hi): The Boy's Festival (Tango no Sekku) is celebrated on this day. Families pray for the health and future success of their sons by hanging up carp streamers and displaying samurai dolls, both symbolizing strength, power and success in life. The Girl's Festival, by the way, is celebrated on March 3.http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2282.html for more info

Buddhism and emptiness

2005-04-25T19:44:00.000+09:00

I was sitting in a coffee shop today and thinking about why Japanese society seemed so empty. I immediately thought of materialism because in any developed country I often feel a similar feeling. But this sense was different. Lack of content or meaning. the two words Buddhism and emptiness immediately came to mind and I wrote it down in my journal. I came home and looked it up on the web- I am not sure where I will go with this but I will put some of what I find on this blog. I found this today on a web site

"To Kadampa Buddhists all things are totally empty of any defining essence. Consequently all things have no fixed identity ('inherent existence') and are in a state of impermanence - change and flux - constantly becoming and decaying. Not only are all things constantly changing, but if we analyse any phenomenon in enough detail we come to the conclusion that it is ultimately unfindable, and exists purely by definitions in terms of other things - and one of those other things is always the mind which generates those definitions." http://www.geocities.com/scimah/sunyata.htm

I noticed the phrase undefinable- immediately postmodernism comes to mind- and I wonder and know somewhat that Buddhism has been responsible for the idea or flexible truth or truth based on individual belief rather than absolute truth. It is my belief that Buddhist and eastern philosophy was popularized in the US in the 60's through popular musicians and entertainers.

Non church

2005-04-15T17:03:00.000+09:00

http://ac-christians.meetup.com/

Of course I cannot take responsibility for these random individuals or groups just letting people know God is up to something. In the old days they used to call them the remnant.

Remember

2005-04-14T12:16:00.000+09:00

Its the hardest thing to do- remembering. Names, vocabulary, and lately why we are here. I dont just mean in Japan, I mean on the planet. It cant be so we can continually work meaningless jobs so we can buy more stuff or maintain "life" as we know it. It cant be simply an endless sequence of week and weekends intermitently interupted by an occassional vacation or siginificant event that could signify something new or even profitable.

A few weeks ago I saw a lady sitting on her door step, in the rain, weeping uncontrolably. Most people probably would think she had lost it and that there was something wrong with her, but I was thinking she seems to be the only normal person. The people who seem weird to me are the ones who cram themselves onto a train in a grey suit to go to a place that they hate and are daily used and abused only to repeat it daily. And then they call this progress. Alot of people would respond "well that's just life". I disagree. It seems more like death to me.

I truly believe we have corrupted "life" and made it truly ugly. We have forgotten noble things, good things, particularly God. We set up "special " times to worship Him and remember Him when it should be a "spiritually natural" event practiced everyday. Mystics used to call it practising the presence. We are distracted by so many shiny objects. I am not sying we pray more, we should be "living" more.

2005-04-11T19:21:00.000+09:00

The hidden past
http://www.apublicbetrayed.com/case_studies/case_study4.htm?OVRAW=nanning%20massacre&OVKEY=massacre%20nanking&OVMTC=standard

This is a link to some thoughts about Japanese history. One viewpoint of course. Many people have the misconception that Japan is a peace loving quiet people but I certainly have seen many sides of the Japanese. Human rights are still violated daily here. People are randomly stopped on the street illegally detained, sometimes for 23 days without seeing family, being formally charged, or being read their rights. It happens to Japanese people as well as foreighners but more often to "gaikokujin" (meaning "different" people. essentially different means wrong but the language requires subtlety), especially other asians. Other asians are especially seen as "less than". There are many great things here but what I find is that the Japanese are very good at hiding their dirt and I believe the world should know the truth, all of it good or bad.

What is a creative?

2005-04-03T20:07:00.000+09:00

Superduper wrote this comment to this previously asked question. "To attempt to answer the question in the above comment, I would say that a "Creative" is someone who lives out the first image of God that the Bible presents us with: "God the Creator."And the beautiful thing (to me), is that people often live out- and evolve into- a clearer image of God before they might even be self-aware of their personal journey towards his likeness." good stuff

Home for the Non-church orphans.

2005-03-31T21:01:00.000+09:00

http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~hw8m-mrkm/home_en.html
this a link if you want more stuff written my Kanzo Uchimura- please be aware some of the full meaning and content gets lost in the translation.

please read the previous posts about churchless faith, kanzo uchimura and the about Him introducing himself

A Churchless Faith

2005-03-31T20:52:00.000+09:00

This is from a guy named
Alan Jamieson should feed the fire a bit. This is a real issue read more at:

What makes people stop attending church and what happens to their faith after they have left?

As I approached the front door of the first of over a hundred church leavers I would interview, I thought I knew what happened to the Christian faith of those who no longer went to church.

I could easily understand why people choose to leave the church, I'd watched others leaving; and had contemplated shifting out myself on more than one occasion. Part of what held me in was the belief that leaving the church was inevitably the first step to a dwindling faith - the ultimate Christian disgrace - 'backsliding'.
http://www.reality.org.nz/articles/33/33-jamieson.html

Two and a half hours later I left by the same front door somewhat bewildered. The couple I had just met didn't fit my expectations. They had left their eldership role in a growing Pentecostal church nearly five years previously, yet their faith had obviously continued to develop, their understanding of God at work in their lives was undoubtedly continuing, and they were involved in their community as an outworking of their faith.

I was intrigued and somewhat mystified. My plans to conduct a quick study of half a dozen or so church leavers, which would confirm my prejudices, were in disarray. In fact the study grew into a four year project involving 162 interviews with both church leavers and leaders in Evangelical Pentecostal and Charismatic churches ( a group which I refer to as EPC churches).

The people I tracked were predominately in their 30s and 40s. They had made Christian commitments (as well as commitments to their respective churches) as adults (over the age of 18 years) and had been actively involved in their churches for an average of 15.8 years.

To try and sum up the faith journies of 108 people spread from Dunedin to Auckland (with a few Australians thrown in) isn't easy. Each person's journey was in fact quite distinctive with its own twists and turns, but what I did find was that those church leavers I interviewed fell into five clear groups.

Meetings?

2005-03-31T11:37:00.000+09:00

"let us not give up meeting together,as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another- and all the more as you see the Day approaching." Heb10:25

whats the point? I am not advocating Christians stop meeting together or anarchy against the church- If we are to meet together what will we do? How often should we meet? Are we wasting peoples time? Sometimes people are told to be "in God's House whenever the doors are open"- Ill be blunt- utter nonsense. Our hearts are His temple. What is the purpose of meeting together at all? To encourage each other, according to this verse. {disclaimer- it could mean other things as well but I cannot bore you with all those things- example- to praise God corporately}

So when have you been most encouraged by other believers? when they agree with you? when they challenge you? when they think at all? Where was this encouraging done? For me it was usually in a more social setting like over coffee or in someones studio space,at work, or on the car ride home from church. Sometimes even in church, maybe watching someone worship. My point we have so many meetings and services and are people really encouraging each other in that setting? They are lonely depressed, feeling guilty, etc. Why?

I believe the church- by and large- has become a welfare state- too many average sermons because the pastor has to give a sermon every week (why?). Too many people who got to church looking to get fed because noone ever taught them how to study the Bible and seek God on their own time- oh wait they dont have time they are in church 4 nights a week- Its a bad system- we are dependant on it because we dont know what else to do. Its like when you get home and go to turn on the TV or the radio, or hook up the internet. Its a default setting. Like Christianity in the US- by default people think they are Christian, but that doesnt make you a Christian. Its an act of the will by faith, with the situation surrounding that act orchestrated by God, and the existance of that opportunity allowed and given by God through grace. Back to the subject. Meetings called church- The new testament church was dispersed because they tried to set up just that type of "community" a sheltered one- they were dispersed through persecution- Why would God not want His people meeting together so often? Its just not the time yet- heaven is reserved for that. Now we must give opportunity- instead of prostilatize- for the whole world to hear the Godd News that God is choosing not to hold peoples faults against them, for a season judgement is on hold- we are free to meet with God- anywhere/ anytime/ with anyone. I am ranting now. Please post any good questions thoughts or answers, even bad ones are ok

Kanzo Uchimura- non-church

2005-03-29T19:03:00.000+09:00

Non-church" is the church for those who have no church. It is the home for those who have no home, the orphanage for the orphan in spirit....The true form of the church is non-church. There is no organized church in heaven. John says, "I saw no temple (church) within the city (heaven)" (Revelation 21:22). "Bishops, deacons, preachers, and teachers exist only here on earth. In heaven, there is neither baptism nor communion; neither teachers nor students.... Naturally, however, as long as we remain on this earth, we need churches. Some people will join churches constructed by the hands of humans; there they will praise God, and there they will hear his word. Some churches will be made of stone, others of brick, and still others of wood. But not all of us need churches of this sort. That there are many Christians who do not belong to organized Christianity is similar to the fact that there are many homeless children. But even those of us who do not belong to organized Christianity need some sort of church while we exist on this earth. Where is our church and what is it like?

[Uchimura Kanzo Zenshu, Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1963, vol. IX, pp. 210-213]. Tsunoda et al, Sources of Japanese Tradition, New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 1958, pp. 854-5.

Authority

2005-03-29T10:29:00.000+09:00

Just read this Jeramiah 5:30-31

" A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: the Prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?"

seems appropriate

If this doesnt apply to your situation great.

non-church

2005-03-28T17:13:00.000+09:00

I for Japan;
Japan for the World;
The World for Christ;
And All for God.

as written on Kanzo Uchimura's

Kanzo Uchimura introduced

2005-03-28T12:54:00.000+09:00

"My name is KANZO UCHIMURA. A Japanese, a son of samurai, an independent Christian; in profession, a book writer, a magazine-editor, a teacher in the Christian Bible. Was born in Tokyo, on the 23rd of March, 1861, according to the Gregorian calendar, eight years after Commodore Perry anchored in the Bay of Yedo. Began to study English at the age of 14; but never mastered it. Sent to the Foreign Language School, to prepare for the Kaiseigakko, now the Tokyo Imperial University but was induced to enter the Sapporo Agricultural College, then started by the Colonial Departments under the presidency of William. S. Clark, Ph.D., LL.D. of Amherst, Mass., U.S.A. Graduated from that college in 1881. Served in the Agricultural Department for 3 years. Went to America in 1884, mainly to learn methods of practical philanthropy. Came under the guidance of Isaac N. Kerlin, M. D. the superintendent of the Pennsylvania Institute for Feeble-minded Children, at Elwyn, Delaware County of that state. While there, met James B. Richards, a veteran teacher of the mental defective. Was introduced to President Julius H. Seelye of Amherst College, Mass. by Mr. Joseph H. Nijima. Joined the junior year of the class of 1887, and stayed there until graduation. The great president opened my eyes to the evangelical truth in Christianity. He is my father in faith. For forty years, since then, I preached the faith taught me by that venerable teacher. On my return to Japan in 1888, I made several attempts to put my educational ideas to practice, but always failed. Missionaries nicknamed me a "school-breaker," because wherever I taught, troubles arose, and schools were put in jeopardy. My fortunes in Government schools were worse. My refusal to bow to the Imperial Rescript on Education, not only deprived me of my situation in the Dai Ichi Kotogakko, but sent me out into Japanese society as a vagabond, wherein for some 20 years, I had not a place where to lay my head on. But I was more successful in book writing and journalism. During the last 30 years I wrote about 30 books, which though not "good-sellers," were some of them, good survivors, and are still read after the expiration of the copy-right. I joined the editorial staff of the Yorodzu Choho in 1895, and there met the managing editor of this magazine, and I have kept up friendship with him till this time. After three years, I started my own paper, the Tokyo Independent, which was succeeded by the Biblical Studies in 1900, which is continued to this day. Then I did much of preaching, lecturing, and Bible-expositions, the most notable of which was a large Bible-class in the Hygienic Hall, in front of the Home Department, not far from the Imperial Castle. I started the class in 1918, till it was interrupted by the earthquake ravage five years afterward; but now resumed in my own precinct, though on somewhat smaller scale. I am a free-lance in my religious standing; join no church, never "licensed" to preach by any ecclesiastical authority; entirely independent. My two books which I wrote in English were translated into several European languages, enabling me to find many friends in the continental Europe. The books failed in America; Englishmen never liked them. I pass for a rabid yaso (follower of Jesus) among my countrymen, and a heretic and dangerous man among missionaries and their converts in this country. Still I seem to have not a few friends in this wide world; for my magazine,--the Bible-magazine' written in my own language,-- has quite a large circulation, and my books translated into German are still being read in Europe. I on my own part, take, or try to take, all honest, sincere men and women, as my friends and allies; and though some of them may dislike me, that is no reason why I should dislike them in return. I am a Japanese by birth, and a Christian in faith; and my Christianity made me a "Buerger der Welt," a world-citizen, a brother to humanity. With the managing editor, I am an advocate of peace. Both of us are haters of war. We take comparatively little interest in politics. But we love God, the world, the soul. With this self-introduction, may I find favor with the readers in the wide, wide world! " March, 1926.

2005-02-24T09:18:00.000+09:00

its animated me