The Gospel of Mr. Children?

As I listened to some friends who are fans of the pop group Mr. Children, I got the impression that they were not merely fans, but actual worshippers of Mr. Children. One friend once declared that she saw the band’s composer, Kazutoshi Sakurai, as “the founder of a new religion.” What sort of position did Mr. Children really occupy in their lives? And what is the vital difference between Mr. Children for them and the gospel for Christians? Above all, what principles should guide Christians who reach out to Mr. Children fans?

The Church and culture: the gospel and Mr. Children

When the church reaches out to people such as Mr. Children fans, contact is made between the church and the surrounding culture. The church ought to spread the gospel in a way that maintains its integrity while also respecting the cultural forms and worldview that are important to the recipients.

And so as church members engage contemporary Japanese non-believers, what should they make of cultural aspects? Modern Japanese culture, in particular pop music and anime, contains many unbiblical elements. Mr. Children is an example of a trend in Japanese thinking that is deeply influenced by existentialism, romanticism, and New Age thinking. Certain themes in their music may initially seem to harmonize with some Christian ideas, but most actually oppose the clear truth of the Bible. To find keys for reaching out to Mr. Children fans, we need to analyse their responses in more detail.

What does Mr. Children’s music evoke in their fans?

To understand what Mr. Children means to their fans I conducted focus group research with six fans over the age of 30. I discovered the messages underlying the music and the way they interpreted the lyrics. Below are listed some keywords that may help us understand the characteristic themes of the group:

Inspiring positive feelings 

These fans stressed that listening to the lyrics makes them feel encouraged and more positive about themselves. They feel supported, courageous and energetic, and better able to identify their own hopes and dreams.

Skillful expression 

The lyrics express emotions in a way that is easy to empathise with, which seems especially appealing to these fans. Lyrics seem open to multiple interpretations allowing listeners to place their own feelings, background, and experiences into the songs.

Broadening horizons 

Fans feel that Mr. Children serves to broaden their horizons and invites them to see things from various perspectives. In particular, to see positive elements not just the negatives in their own situations, inspiring yet greater positiveness.

Looking deeper 

Mr. Children encourages fans to seek the main issue in an existential search for hidden truth.

Storytelling 

Mr. Children’s songs and albums often contain stories, and fans are keen to follow the central story of the band as it unfolds from one album to the next. Mr. Children seek to take fans along on a narrative journey.

One’s own story 

At the same time, another story is that of the listeners themselves. Fans reported “I felt that Sakurai-san wrote that song just for me.” Fans felt that Mr. Children united their own past stories with that of the band, forming a beautiful whole and presenting a singular, future oriented story.

These fans felt themselves and their pasts were accepted and beautified. They became heroes of their own stories, and were invited by the band to help create a new story. We may see this as a kind of self-deification.

Using Akihisa Miyoshi’s “folk religion model”¹ and “Trinitarian religion model”, we can summarize the differences between the faith of Mr. Children’s fans and that of true Christians:

A Question for the Church

But isn’t it sadly the case that in too many of our churches we see this “Mr. Children” style of faith rather than a biblically faithful practice? In Japan, where they are a distinct minority, Christians focus excessively on protecting their own personal faith. As their horizons thus shrink their faith may become more focused on the personal/private domains. They may still go to church on Sunday and listen to a sermon, but that sermon all too often deals with the narrow area of personal encouragement. One member of the focus group said:

I think Christians receive words like those in the Bible for their own encouragement or to teach them how to live their lives. I think it’s the same for Mr. Children fans. I’m not a Christian but maybe in a sense I’m a “Children-ist.” . . . Mr. Children’s words are my religion, because they really encourage me. They’re my Bible.

This fan views Christians as having a folk-religious faith that deals primarily with personal, emotional problems and is disconnected from their bigger story of the Christian church.

Christians claim they are living in God’s missional story, but can forget their position as servants in God’s bigger story when the personal dimension of their faith increases disproportionately. They can also became the heroes of their own folk religion, and consider that God’s mission is just one more good idea. They see mission not as a downward motion from God to man but as an upward motion, turning “the success of the mission,” “personal sanctification”, or “trying to look missional” into idols. Their eyes descend from the object of their faith, Christ Himself, onto themselves; this is simply idolotry.

Conclusion

We set out to find keys to evangelising Mr. Children fans, but I believe the priority is for Christians and the Church to keep the focus not on “my story” but “God’s story.” Mr. Children fans believe in the idea of “new creation”, and strive to bring that about. But only God’s people, living a Kingdom lifestyle and taking their place in God’s story, can demonstrate the reality of new creation. A church that is living out its mission as salt of the earth and light of the world in a Kingdom lifestyle, is the embodiment of the very qualities Mr. Children fans long for. When Christians live like this, Mr. Children fans will be encouraged to see to the real heart of the matter. When the church lives out its calling in the missional Gospel, fans of every false hope might better observe and accept the invitation into God’s mission story. 

1. A. Miyoshi, “Festivals and Sunday Worship”, lecture notes, Kansai Seisho Shingaku, Missiology course (no date).

Who are Mr. Children?

It is a Japanese pop rock band formed in 1988. They have sold over 50 million records, making them one of the most successful artists ever in Japan. They have won many awards.