Book reviews for Spring 2013

Communication in Community: The Christian Witness in Cultural Context

By Stanley Dyer; Foreword by Dr. Bob Erny

Stanley Dyer served as an OMS missionary in Japan for 27 years. In this book he shares the fruit of his Doctor of Missiology degree studies. He focuses on “the need for understanding and utilizing the group-conscious [Japanese] culture for evangelistic strategy” (p. 12), noting the importance of training lay people for ministry.

The author covers the concept of “community” in the Bible and gives some historical perspective on community in Japan. He particularly looks at group structure in Japan, including groups in Soka Gakkai and Rissho Kosei-kai, and the local community of Higashi Murayama in Tokyo.

In chapter five he gives insight into the “Christian Community in the Japanese Church,” emphasizing that the growth of the church in Japan “will depend largely on the role of the pastor in his ministry of leadership” (p. 96).

The last chapter is the heart of the book, a model for “Evangelical Penetration in Japan.” It covers principles of evangelism and how believers can be prepared for witness. He notes the importance of empathy, omoiyari, as Christians reach out. The church must build bridges to the world and this can happen “through the involvement of laity in the secular group systems of each respective neighborhood” (p. 152).

Although the book admits the research was completed “several years ago,” the most recent work cited in the book is an article from Japan Harvest in 1981. The book feels dated. It would have been helpful if Dyer had noted some of the changes that have taken place in Japanese society since his research over 30 years ago. 

– Donald Schaffer

This reviewer rates this book as 2.5 out of 5 stars

Not So Secret

By Graham Orr (Graham and Alison Orr worked with OMF International in Japan from 1993 to 2011.)

Available at http://www.thinkivp.com as well as from OMF offices, Amazon, Book Depository, etc. 

In Not So Secret, Graham Orr, a long-term missionary in Japan, shares his experience of making friends, building community and sharing the love of Christ in [Japan]. But this isn’t just another book of encouraging and amusing missionary stories (though it is that). Using his experiences in Japan as a starting point and reflecting on Scripture, Orr encourages us to rethink how we can live as missionary Christians in our own culture. This is a challenging, thought-provoking and ultimately heart-warming book. There is a lot of talk in missionary circles about being a ‘reflective practitioner’. If you want to know what that means, read this book; you won’t find many better examples. 

– Eddie Arthur

Brilliant at getting into the culture of others, it offers profound insights from Japan which are highly relevant in our postmodern scene. This is a book to buy and give to others—it is so fresh and helpful. 

– Rev Canon Dr Michael Green

Not So Secret is an antithesis and antidote to evangelism manuals, as it calls readers just to live an authentic Christian life, engaging naturally with people they meet, with the conviction that God knows how to bring people to faith in himself. This is a book that will help every Christian to have a useful daily witness to Christ. 

– Ray Porter