Asking a Missionary to Japan

The editorial staff of Shinto no Tomo asked this missionary, who had been

sent to Japan and ministered for almost 40 years, about how he viewed

the Japanese Church and what issues he sees that need attention.

A Church where Almost Everyone can Feel at Home

by Timothy D. Boyle, retired missionary

United Methodist Church and Presbyterian Church USA

During the 1960s, there was a growing recognition in the US of the importance of relationships with Asia, and thus a program was begun at the East-West Center in Hawaii to invite college students entering their third year to study either Japanese or Chinese. I applied and was one of twelve to study Japanese for 15 months. I had no idea how learning Japanese would be useful to my future career, but the attraction of living in Hawaii for a year at government expense was certainly a big part of my motivation. The last three months of the program was a “homestay” in Tokyo, and this was my first time to come to Japan.

I later came back in 1971 as a short-term missionary with the United Methodist Church and was assigned to Sapporo in Hokkaido. I had a great time interacting with other young people in Japan (eventually marrying one of them) and returned to the US in 1974 to study theology and become a pastor. My wife and I returned to Japan in 1982 as regular missionaries with the Kyodan and served until retirement in 2016.

During the first term of service back in Japan, I served as the pastor of Shintoku Church in Hokkaido, and after that, we transferred to the “international city” of Tsukuba as missionaries with the Ibaraki Subdistrict of Kanto District for 21 years. Scientists, researchers, students, and their families come to Tsukuba from many countries for extended periods, and so much of our work centered on meeting the needs of these people. I started Tsukuba International School to serve those with children and aimed to make their stay in Japan a more stable and fulfilling one, irrespective of religious background or lack thereof.

One other area of mission that stands out in my mind is that of helping with the ministry of Bethlehem Church of the Indonesian Minahasa Church in Oarai. As Kanto District was very active in helping to establish this work, I often went to that church to help, including preaching there numerous times. I even went to Indonesia to visit the Minahasa Church headquarters. The Kyodan, including many lay persons, played important roles in establishing and maintaining this ministry to Indonesians living and working in the area, and so it was with great joy that I heard that in November of 2018, the Kyodan and Minahasa Church signed a formal joint mission agreement that will facilitate further development of mutual ministry and fellowship.

Finding it Hard to Fit in

There is one thing I’ve often heard from Japanese students who have studied abroad and came to faith in overseas churches. And that is that when they come back to Japan, they often find it hard to fit in when they try to become part of Japanese churches. Like many foreign students coming to Japan, they find the atmosphere of Japanese churches to be rather dull and somber. I sometimes still help out at Kobe Union Church, which was the second church to be founded in Japan after it opened up to the outside world at the beginning of the Meiji Era. Services are conducted in English but are also translated into Japanese over earphones, and so in addition to people from many countries, there are many Japanese, having either spent time overseas or being interested in becoming more international, who participate in the lively service.

A number of these people have had little exposure to Christianity before, but they are interested in improving their English and experiencing the foreign atmosphere, and so they come. Some people might think that this is not the mission of the church, but having such a place where people can feel comfortable and be welcomed into a fellowship that can be used by God to draw them to himself is surely pleasing to God.

I am, of course, not saying that Japanese churches in general should become like North American churches that are lively, open communities, as Japan has its own culture. Having a certain amount of solemnity in worship is a worthy goal. But it is also important to recognize that many people desire a more casual atmosphere, and so there are things that can be done to try to accommodate this.

This desire certainly isn’t limited to students. While it is not true of all Japanese churches by any means, what I have seen in many of the Japanese churches I have visited is that there is something about them that creates difficulty for outsiders to enter in. It’s not that such people are not welcomed, but it’s difficult to go much beyond that. Churches with few members naturally develop strong ties with each other, which is a good thing. However, I think it is important to be on guard that these don’t become exclusive relationships. For instance, if members subconsciously think that someone should understand something, even if it is not explained, that may make things difficult for newcomers who don’t have the necessary background information.

While I did experience some minor difficulties in adapting to Japanese churches, the “preacher’s wife” had even more. We were both commissioned as missionaries, but Japanese Christians often didn’t really understand that. Likewise, church members often had expectations of the pastor’s wife that were vague and not clearly explained. When this was pointed out, they would say they understood, but we didn’t really see any improvement.

Making the Church a Welcoming Place for Everyone

In the future, Japan will experience more and more people coming from particularly other Asian countries to work in Japan. Whether they like it or not, Japanese churches will need to recognize that they have a mission to reach out to these people. So, how are they to do that? While it may be difficult for Japanese Christians to visit and directly learn from overseas churches, they can visit churches such as Kobe Union Church and see how they can incorporate useful elements of other cultures and traditions, while not denying their own, and through this make their own church into one that can serve all people.

世界の教会とつながる

『信徒の友』特集　10月号

来日宣教師に聞く

『信徒の友』編集部が日本に派遣され４０年近く宣教のわざに携わってきた宣教師に、日本の教会についてどのように思うか、課題と感じるところは何かを聞いた。

誰もの居場所となる教会

ティモシー・ボイル

アメリカ・合同メソジスト教会引退宣教師

　１９６０年代アメリカにとってアジアとの関係が重要になりつつあり、ハワイの東西センターが全米の大学の２学年を修了した学生を対象に日本語もしくは中国語を学ばせるコースを開設した。私はそれに応募し、１５カ月間の日本語コースで学ぶ１２人に選ばれた。日本語を学ぶことが将来どんな役に立つかわからなかったが、国費で１年間ハワイで生活できるというのは大変な魅力だった。ハワイで日本語を１年間習得した後、東京で３カ月間のホームステイがあり、それが私の初来日となった。

　その後１９７１年に合同メソジスト教会より日本に信徒宣教師として短期派遣され、札幌に赴任した。日本の若者と交流し大変楽しい時を過ごし（その中の一人と結婚することにもなり）、１９７４年にアメリカに戻り、神学を学んで牧師となった。妻と私は１９８２年に日本に戻り、２０１６年に引退するまで日本基督教団に遣わされた。

　始めは北海道の新得教会の牧師として働き、次に妻と共に関東教区茨城地区の国際都市つくばへ宣教師として派遣され、そこで２１年間働いた。つくばでは多くの国から科学者、研究者、学生やその家族が訪れ、長期滞在するため、そういった人々の世話をすることが多かった。つくばインターナショナルスクールの開設に関わり、宗教の違いや信仰のあるなしに関わらず、子どものいる外国人の快適で安定した日本滞在を手助けした。

　茨城県のインドネシア・ミナハサ福音キリスト教会大洗ベツレヘム教会への協力活動も思い出深い。関東教区が積極的だったこともあり、私は何度も行き、よく説教もした。インドネシアのミナハサ教会本部も訪ねた。日本キリスト教団は多くの信徒とともに、大洗に在住・在勤するインドネシア人への宣教を確立・維持するために尽力したので、２０１８年に日本キリスト教団とミナハサ教会が宣教協約を締結し、今後も宣教協力と交流が進められることは大変うれしい。

なじみにくい日本の教会

　留学先で信仰をもつようになった日本人学生からよく聞く話がある。日本に帰って、日本の教会に通おうとするのだが、なじみにくいということだ。日本に来る多くの外国人学生もそうだが、日本の教会はまじめ過ぎて暗いと感じるのだ。今でも時々神戸ユニオン教会で説教をしているが、明治時代の始め、開国後２番目に建てられたこの教会では、礼拝は英語で行われ、イヤホンで日本語訳を聞くことができる。そのため多くの外国人だけでなく、外国滞在経験があったり、国際交流に興味のある日本人が多く訪れて、活気のある礼拝に参加している。

　ほとんど教会経験がないが、英語力をつけたい、あるいは外国の雰囲気を経験したいと思って来る人たちもいる。それは教会の宣教活動とはいえないと言う人もいるかもしれないが、人々が心地よく感じ、気軽に交流できる場所があり、そこで神と出会える可能性があるならば、それは神に喜ばれる業ではないだろうか。

　もちろん日本には固有の文化があり、教会がみな北アメリカの教会のように活気があって交流が盛んになるべきだというのではない。礼拝にある程度の厳粛さがあるというのは、それはそれで価値がある。しかし多くの人がもっと礼拝に出席しやすい雰囲気を求めていることも無視できない。そのような教会にするためにできることがあるはずだ。

　このような気持ちは学生だけに限らない。日本のすべての教会がそうだというのでは断じてないが、私自身、多くの教会に外部の人間が入りにくいと感じる何かがあるように思う。新来会者を歓迎しないというのではない。迎え入れられたあと、それ以上の関係を築くことが難しいのだ。信徒の少ない教会は、自然と信徒同士が固いきずなで結ばれるようになる。それは良いことだが、それが排他的な関係にならないよう注意することが大切だ。例えば言葉にしなくてもわかってくれるはずだと教会員が無意識に思うようなことがあると、それを知らない新来会者は困った立場に置かれる。

　私も日本の教会に適応するのに多少の苦労をしたが、「牧師夫人」はそれ以上の苦労があった。妻も私も共に同じ宣教師であるのに、日本のクリスチャンはなかなかそれを理解しようとしなかった。さらに、口には出さないが漠然とした「牧師夫人の役割」というものを教会員はよく期待した。それに対して反論すると「わかりました」と言われるが、改善されることはほとんどなかった。
 

すべての人を迎え入れる教会に

　今後さらに多くの外国人が、特に同じアジアの国の人々が日本に働きに来るだろう。彼らが好むと好まざるとに関わらず、日本の教会はこれらの人々に手を差し伸べるミッションを負っていくだろう。では、どうすればよいのか。日本のクリスチャンが外国の教会に行って直に学ぶことは難しいかもしれないが、神戸ユニオン教会のような教会を訪ねて、他の文化や伝統から役に立つ部分をさがすことはできる。そして教会の文化や伝統を大切にしながらそれらを取り入れていく方法を見つけることによって、すべての人に仕える教会へと変えてゆくことができるのではないだろうか。（今回KNLのために改めて書きおろした）