New wineskins – Leaving our comfort zones

Have you ever been in over your head? That’s been my life story since coming to Japan 40 years ago. Do you find yourself working, thinking, and enduring much more than you ever intended? If so, join the club. For me, Japan has forced me to grow and develop more than I’d imagined. The formless, invisible realm of God’s kingdom and the call to pour new wine into new wineskins has forced me to leave my comfort zone.

In 1982, five years into our missionary careers, my wife Jane and I moved north to Sendai. At that time, we received permission from our mission director to pursue “new wineskins.” Jesus compared the Kingdom of God to new wine that needs new wineskins. In other words, the Spirit (new wine) supersedes traditional forms and practices (old wineskins). This teaching freed us to jettison old forms and seek a new work of God. It gave us the courage to take risks of faith.

Jesus taught that he himself will build the church (Matt. 16:18). This assurance released us from the burden of trying to do church planting in our own strength and allowed us to focus on spreading the message of the gospel and making disciples. In his agricultural parables, Jesus also taught that the kingdom would eventually far outstrip organizational growth. This caused us to expect much fruit—perhaps even a gospel movement in Japan. We knew this would take time and require faithfulness and application of his kingdom ways. It changed our focus from programs, methods, and buildings to relationships and the work of the Spirit in people.

Over the years, the following four principles have become clear. I believe they are essential as we consider the future of mission in Japan.

Four principles for pioneering a gospel movement in Japan

1. Put aside concepts of church that have come down to us through Western Christianity and are full of non-essential traditions.
2. Focus on the clear commands of the Great Commission: make disciples, proclaim the good news, and be witnesses to the nations.
3. Aim for a Japanese understanding of Jesus and the scriptures, particularly among the unchurched of Japan. This requires us missionaries to become the learners, while our Japanese friends take ownership of spreading the message.
4. Don’t worry about church planting; Christ promises to build his church. In New Testament times, this happened primarily in the extended household and family—that is, among natural, pre-existing relationships.

A case study

What follows is a case study of how we learned and sought to practice these principles.

“Would you guys be willing to teach me the Bible?” This was my invitation to about a dozen freshmen just entering a university near our home. They were all buddies, and I was the outsider, but the Lord placed them in our laps.

We invited them to a pizza party in our home. Toward the end of the party, I shakily stood up and in halting Japanese said: “During your four years in university you will have an opportunity to think about life, what’s important, and what values to follow. I try to follow a person called Jesus, and he told us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Could I ask you, as Japanese men, to teach me how you understand Jesus and his teachings?”

Leaving our comfort zone

These young men began to invade our living room once or twice a week. They became part of our family, bringing their guitars, playing Lego with our children, and eating Jane’s delicious desserts. They would come at 7 pm and sometimes leave as late as midnight.

I gave up on any plan or agenda for these times together. I was not in control. Each time was unscripted and special. Toward the end of most evenings, I would get up the courage to suggest that we read Mark as a text for discussion about Jesus and loving our neighbors. Why was this so difficult? Maybe because they were the leaders and I was the learner. I had to learn to go with the flow. Relationships with these young men were more important than following a plan for the evening. At any rate, it was hard. I often said to Jane, “I hope nobody comes tonight!” But at the end of most evenings I was so happy I couldn’t go to sleep!

The Lord gave us A-san

From the beginning, the Lord gave us A-san. He was a Cornelius-type from a “noble” family. His uncle was a principled politician and had chosen A-san to follow in his footsteps. A-san became our primary teacher and ally, helping us in countless ways. He was an insider urging his friends to stick with us. I also began meeting with him personally each week. After all these years, we are still deeply connected with him and his whole family.

How did we proceed through Mark? We had no Bible reading or study guides. We would simply read the passage together and then I would ask them the same questions each time. “What do you see?” “How are the people reacting to Jesus?” “Who likes him, who hates him, and why?” “What is he teaching his disciples and how are they doing?” And of course: “Who do you think Jesus is?”

As time passed, I added another question, “Do you think you could also be a disciple? What would that be like in your life?” Behind the scenes, I prayed fervently, “Lord teach them! Would you be their teacher and teach them more than I could imagine?” I clung to the promise, “All your children will be taught by the Lord” (Isaiah 54:13, NIV).

At first, my language ability was such that I could ask questions but not understand their answers. I solved this by shifting their attention from me to each other. “What do you think of what K-san just said?” This helped the dialogue to bounce around among them. As time went on, I could follow the conversations, and then later I was able to understand and enter into the jokes too. We had lots of fun as we bonded together.

New wineskins

During those four years some dropped out and some were added, but of those who remained, all came to Christ. The question arose in my mind, “What about church? Should they join or become a recognizable, conventional church?” I fretted over that. Over the years, I met and teamed up with other missionaries working in difficult areas of the world, especially among Muslims and Hindus. All of us faced this issue. How do we lead peoples of the world’s major religions to Christ and what do we do about church? How do we do this without turning them into Westerners so that they live as aliens in their own countries and cultures?

We studied the Scriptures to learn what church might look like in these situations. We concluded that even though these believers did not appear to be a church to Westerners, they actually were the Church. They did not have to forsake their national identities. That’s when I understood Christ’s words, “I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18).

A-san entered the corporate world

A-san eventually graduated and joined a well-known company in Sendai. He continued to follow Christ but did not act or smell like a conventional Christian. He fitted well into company life and, because of his focus on love, he excelled. This attracted the attention of others, particularly his boss. The community of faith began spreading in his company and also in his family. We saw that Christ’s church is so powerful that it is able to invade existing societies or social patterns. We continue to see the church expand in the city of Sendai through natural relationships and networks with a special focus on families.

Conclusion

I hope these thoughts will free us from old forms and traditions as we look to the future of mission in Japan and that we will join together seeking more thoroughly scriptural approaches to mission. Let’s take the freedom the gospel demands to seek new wineskins for the new wine of the kingdom.

Do you have a story about new wineskins? Do you have comments or questions about our experience? You can contact me at bjswan32@gmail.com.