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May 26, 2005

Remember Your Creator in the Days of Your Youth,...

   Recently, I've had an increasing number of opportunities to share the Gospel with young people. On May 15th, I was the guest speaker for the Sunday chapel service at Kyōto International University (KIU). I had been told that the audience would be mostly college students, with a good number of serious "seekers" among them. I had really high expectations as I set out for Kyōto. In all, there were about 130 present and three-fourths of them were college students. And, in addition to the KIU students, there were a few students from nearby colleges, as well.

Students enjoy music and fellowship at one of Kyōto International University's "Friday Night" coffeehouse events on campus.

   The atmosphere was relaxed and well-suited for appealing to young people. The music at the beginning of the meeting was wonderful. The volume and rhythm were a bit overpowering, but everybody seemed to be enjoying it without any trace of disharmony. I was quite surprised by the sense of unity among these young people.

   I myself felt as if I had returned to my youth and I preached the Gospel with everything I had inside of me. Though I can judge things from only my perspective, it seemed to me that I was able to bridge the generation gap and deliver that message straight to their hearts. Not only did their hearts appear to be open, but it seemed like planting the seed of the Gospel into their hearts was such a simple thing to do.

   This summer, I'll have two opportunities to minister at youth camps.

• July 11-13 -- a camp for Ōsaka Jogakuin High School seniors.
• August 3-4 -- Campus Crusade for Christ camp for college students.

   Up until now, I've never had the opportunity to preach the Gospel to groups of young people to this degree. It's quite an amazing thing to me. Since I myself was saved as a college student, I've long had an interest in and a burden for sharing the Gospel with young people -- especially college students. I don't know for sure whether people are able to come to faith just as easily after reaching adulthood or not. But it seems to me that they'd be more inclined, after reaching a certain age, to put a decision like that off until later. Thank God that I had contact with the Gospel when I was young. I'm also thankful to a lot of older folks that took the time to share it with me.

   Here's what the Bible says:

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them." (Ecclesiates 12:1)

   That's so true! The person who comes to know the Lord before he gets old is blessed indeed. I wonder how deep the burden for youth evangelism runs in the Japanese Church? The future of Japan depends upon reaching the youth of this nation with the Gospel. We should all be praying for those involved in youth evangelism, shouldn't we?

   Well, that's it for this week. Leave us your comments or questions below. Have a great week in Y'shua's precious name!


   Kenichi Nakagawa

Posted by HarvestTV at 09:55 PM | Comments (1)

May 20, 2005

One Thousand Programs...and Counting!

   Last week's taping in our studio marked the production of our 1,000th television program. It has taken us 19 years and three months to do it, but we finally made it to the one thousand mark. We're so grateful for all our co-workers who have continued on with us in their support, without which we never would've made it.

   Some time back, I remember that speculations about what our 1,000th program would be about was a topic of discussion here among the staff. Significantly, programs #999 and #1,000 turned out to be a special series we've done on the problem of church cults and which features Kyōto Assemblies of God pastor Rev. Hisoka Murakami. Clearly, these programs are a response to the needs of the times.

Rev. Hisoka Murakami (left) joined Harvest Time host Kenichi Nakagawa and co-host Ioanna Sillavan in our studio on May 12th for a discussion of the cult church problem in Japan.

   Rev. Murakami has been serving as the official representative of the victims' families in the Central Church of Holy God incident that recently occurred in Kyōto's Yawata City. Pastor Murakami himself was at one time a member of Rev. Sun Myung-Moon's Unification Church. After he left that cult and became a Christian, he began to engage in activities to help others escape from cult groups. Our first program in this series, then, will focus upon Pastor Murakami's own testimony of his salvation experience, as well as the general characteristics that identify a church as being a cult organization. In the second program, we'll focus upon the details of the Central Church of Holy God incident itself.

   The points below are what Pastor Murakami identified for us as the typical cult behavior that was exhibited by Central Church.

1. Central Church pastor Tamotsu Kin (Nagata), who was arrested on rape charges on April 6th, demanded absolute obedience from his members.
2. Rev. Kin placed himself in the highest position of authority in the church. He never specifically referred to himself as Christ, but he left little doubt among the membership that he was in the next highest position to Christ. Consequently, he taught that disobedience to him was the same as disobeying God, enabling him to rule over the members through the power of fear.

Rev. Kin shown here entering the Kawata City Police Station after his arrest on April 6th. (Photo: Kyōto Shimbun)

3. Kin systematically removed from the consciousness of his members any sense that they had a right to take legal recourse against him. It just didn't occur to them that they could take him to court in the event of some crime or illegal act committed by him. He also removed any mechanism in the church for self-correction of problems.
4. He instructed his people that since Christ's Second Coming would occur on a Sunday, they were never to miss Sunday worship. If they did and Christ returned, he told them, they'd be left behind and unable to enter Heaven.
5. Kin taught them that the spirits of the dead were unclean and would attach themselves to people. However, he declared that Central Church of Holy God had the special capability to separate these spirits from people and that unclean spirits could not exist inside the walls of the church.
6. He rejected the traditional Christian doctrine of the Trinity.
7. When he preached, Kin would often tell those present who had already become Christians that there were only a few among them who had actually received Christ's salvation.

   Rev. Murakami commented that, to his knowledge, this incident may well have been the worst case of abuse in all of Christian history. He added that this is a clear case of a church that has turned into a cult. These programs will air the second and third weekends in June (July in the U.S.), so be sure not to miss them.

   Finally, let me also ask you to be in prayer for our July seminar meeting with Dr. Kazuko Andō on the Creation-Evolution controversy. The Tōkyō meeting will be on the 18th and on the 19th in Ōsaka. If this will be your first opportunity to hear a systematic presentation of Creationism as science, then please plan to attend. We're taking reservations for the seminar now, so I encourage you to sign up as soon as possible.

   As always, share your thoughts or questions with us below. Rich blessings upon you and "Shalom" in Y'shua's (Jesus') precious name!


   Kenichi Nakagawa

Posted by HarvestTV at 10:25 PM | Comments (2)

May 12, 2005

We're All in This Together

   The book of Proverbs is full of well-known sayings that sparkle like jewels. Often, in the midst of some situation, a few of those sayings that hadn't held much meaning for you before, suddenly hit home with great impact. Sayings like these:

• "Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of one's friend springs from his earnest counsel." (27:9)


• "Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed." (15:22)

   Today's post is about how these two verses have encouraged me lately.

   I don't much like talking about personal things, but as I look back on my life up to this point, I realize how much I've been the kind of person that likes the challenge of doing something new or something that's never been done before (which, at the same time, has often put my family "through the ringer," I think). And, in regard to some undertaking, I don't know how many times I've thought, "If I'd known this was going to be this painful, I never would've started it!" In that respect, NOT knowing beforehand was a real blessing.

   In the same way, since Harvest Time started the publication of Israel Today newsmagazine in December of 2003, this project has been a difficult challenge for us. Japanese-language sources of news about Israel are greatly limited. However, we started it because I was convinced that a newsmagazine sent directly from Jerusalem and available in Japanese would be a ground-breaking project. We were able to get several translators involved, so we started out in high spirits. However, the number of subscribers didn't grow as we had anticipated and every month's shipment included losses that became an increasingly difficult struggle for us. I came to the conclusion that there were just too few Japanese people with a real interest in Israel. I was discouraged.

   Consequently, I began to think about how best to shut down the project. I contacted Israel Today editor-in-chief Aviel Schneider by e-mail and laid out our situation with considerable frankness. Then I asked him what he thought about it. Within a short time, I got his reply.

   After telling me that he understood well the situation we were in, he offered to reduce what they charge us so that our losses would be cut in half. Then he added this:

"You and I together have started something of great significance. If we don't do this thing, who will?"

   This really warmed my heart. I realized what a great friend I have in Aviel and what wonderful counsel his words were for me. All this happened the third week of April. The way the human heart works is amazing. I now have a new desire to carry on. In fact, I have an idea of making his words my "mission statement" for this project: "If we don't do this, who will?"

   Now, I'm looking into a myriad of things we can do with content, translation and design to make Israel Today an even better publication. Among those of you who are reading this, I'm sure there are more than a few who have started a meaningful project, only to encounter trials and have painfully started wondering whether you should just throw in the towel or not. I pray that encouragement from God would be poured out upon each and every one of you.

   In closing, let me also add a note on the recent passing of Pope John Paul II. Right after his visit to Israel in 2000, I was in Israel for a fall Holy Land tour. Among all the Israelis that I talked with, I heard no one say anything disparaging about his visit. Contrary to how they are sometimes portrayed in the media, the Israelis received John Paul's visit with their characteristic good-natured hospitality. Likewise, there were those among them who, with tears, spoke of the pain that still lingers in their hearts. And, of course, there were certainly those who harbor prejudice or hatred against Christianity itself. The week before his visit, one of the Israeli dailies had run a week-long feature series that dealt with a number of things that Jewish typically don't know about Christianity -- What is Christianity? What do Christians believe? Who is the Pope? Why is he visiting Israel? And, of course, Who is Jesus Christ? Traditionally, the Jews have referred to Jesus as "Yeshu," a perjorative term. However, in the feature series, He was referred to by the name Messianic Jews use: "Yeshua." This, in itself, was a huge step forward. One of the things that John Paul II will likely be remembered for is his efforts for bringing Christians and Jews closer together. Reconciliation between Christians and Jews is one of the great needs of our times. John Paul II responded to that need and spent his life in fulfillment of that mission. May his successor, Benedict XVI, follow in his footsteps.

   For all of you Israel Today readers, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I pray that your numbers might greatly increase! We'll be depending upon your support even more than before. Rich blessings upon you all in Yeshua's precious name. Don't forget to share your comments or questions with us below. Shalom!


  Kenichi Nakagawa

Posted by HarvestTV at 05:11 PM | Comments (1)

May 07, 2005

Is Your Church a Cult? (Part 2)

   Last week's post was prompted by a recent news article about the arrest of a Protestant pastor on suspicion of having molested the minor child of one of his church members. Afterwards, I received a deluge of mail and faxes from people with comments or questions about the issue of religious cult groups in Japan. It helped me realize even more the depth of feeling people have regarding this problem. Among those who wrote to me was the assistant pastor of a church. He asked some very important questions and I'd like to share them with you, as well as give you an abbreviated version of my answers to him.

   His first question had to do with the characteristics of a cult church that I listed last week:

   Q1: Couldn't any person with a grudge against a church or some pastor take your ideas to an extreme and use them to cause real mischief? Such a pastor would find it increasingly difficult to offer leadership in his church, especially in regard to subjects like obedience and gift-giving. If people took the things you listed seriously, it seems to me like it would only lead to more "No-church Movement" churches.

[Note: the "Mukyokai" or "No-church" movement was initiated by the Japanese independent evangelist Kanzo Uchimura (1861-1930). From the day he signed the "Covenant of Believers in Jesus" prepared by Dr. William S. Clark (1877), he was dedicated to proclaiming the Gospel independently of the existing church. He formed prayer and Bible study groups throughout Japan, all of which were disbanded in accordance with his will when he died. It has been a controversial movement ever since its founding due to the fact that the form promotes teacher-disciple relationships to the exclusion of building a genuine church-planting movement.]

   A1: As with any standard argument, there is, of course, that aspect to it. Someone who "has it in" for some church or pastor could use my list as a shield, ignore his own problems, and jump into a campaign of public criticism. For sure, that's a dangerous thing. When you make the case for "cult church" transformations, self-examination and a humble attitude in your presentation are necessities. When I wrote about this last week, I didn't present it as clearly or in as balanced a way as I should have. Thank you for pointing this out.

   Q2: I've been doing a seminar on cults geared toward "newbies" to the subject. The following are some fo the points I use. I'd like your opinion about these.

1. Love your pastor as a servant of God, pray for him and give heed to his instructions.


2. Even though believers can receive blessings directly from God, the pastor, serving in the role of priest, is the connection between God and the believer and is a channel of God's blessing into a believer's life. Consequently, we should have hearts full of thanksgiving toward our pastors. With a heart full of resistance toward the pastor, even listening to the sermon will not be the blessing that it ought to be.


3. When something important must be decided, talk to the pastor about it and have him pray with you about it. However, in the end, it's your responsibility to understand whether the decision is God's will or not.


4. I also teach that giving serves as a "faith barometer" for the believer. The real problem here is the need for a correct understanding of and proper guidance regarding giving. After all, offerings are necessary for the proper management of church finances and nothing reveals the true state of a believer's faith life like his attitude toward giving. Leadership in this area, of course, can be taken to the extreme. The way to fix this is to make sure that financial reporting to the church members also deals with the "big picture" items in sufficient detail.

   A2: In a company situation, you'd most likely have an operations manual. However, instructions in and of themselves are not what move people to proper action. If someone tried to put into practice everything in the manual, the results would probably be quite different than intended. After reading the above, my impression is that a church that follows your advice is greatly blessed and has a healthy system of administration. At the same time, I think that much of what you wrote could be twisted by someone and used handily to turn that church into a cult. In short, the result depends upon who's doing the teaching and what his purpose is in doing so. To keep from becoming a cult, a church nees some kind of "automatic control system." Once any single person starts gathering authority to himself, you'll soon discover whether the safeguards you have in place are sufficient to prevent abuse or not.

   In controversies related to the Church and pastoral leadership, decision-making can benefit from the important teaching we find in chapter four of Ephesians:

"It was [Christ] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to evangelists and some to pastors adn teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (vss. 11-13).

1. In reading this, you get the distinct impression that, from the beginning, it was considered a necessary condition that churches be led and built-up by multiple leaders. Of course, how that should be practically implemented in a real local church situation is the big question -- not only for Japan, but for churches in any country.


2. My own faith background come from the perspective of the Baptist denomination, so I have some real problems with defining the role of pastor as one who, "...serving in the role of a priest, is the connection between God and the believer..." The idea that the pastor is a priest is really Old Testament thinking. In contrast, would not New Testament thinking demand that we teach that ALL believers have been given the role of serving as priests? In that case, the role of the pastor should be, as the Apostle Paul said in verse 12 above, "...to prepare God's people for works of service." In other words, the pastor should serve as a kind of "spiritual coach."


3. To teach believers to "love your pastor as a servant of God, pray for him and give heed to his instructions" is not in any way erroneous. The Bible itself teaches this. At the same time, we must also teach that the responsibility for determining whether the leadership of the church is faithfully speaking the Word of God is given to every believer. If authority is, indeed, bestowed upon one from Above, then such authority is naturally obtained. In order for revival to break out in Japan, it's not the authority of former days we need, but "latter-day" New Testament authority. Within the Church, it's so important that an atmosphere that encourages this springs up naturally. And this is, indeed, what comes to pass when the Holy Spirit is at work.

   Rich blessings upon each of you in Y'shua's precious name.


   Kenichi Nakagawa

Posted by HarvestTV at 06:59 PM | Comments (0)