Posted January 10, 2010

Tomohisa had reached a coveted status in Japan’s vertically-ordered society: medical doctor. Along with the status came wealth, which he used to buy the affection of women…and lots of booze. His selfishness blinded... [Read More]

Posted December 2, 2011

When the warning sirens went off, residents in a south Sendai neighborhood fled to the local school. Together with panicked children still in class they climbed to the rooftop. Some 600 altogether... [Read More]

Japanese Get "Bach" Hope

Posted September 21, 2011

Who would have thought Bach would be involved in 21st century mission work in Japan? I have frequently read with interest of the strong connection between classical music (particularly J.S. Bach) and Japanese interest... [Read More]

Tsunami Ground Zero

Posted April 7, 2011

I still haven't returned from tsunami ground zero. That is to say, although I've been back several days already, the reality of the scene is still with me. The incredible amounts of mud in once beautiful homes... [Read More]

"Nice Try, Kevin" File

Posted February 9, 2011

This one goes into the "Nice try, Kevin" file. I just thought it was a nice-looking bunch of flowers in the storefront and, on the spur of the moment, decided Kaori deserved to enjoy them. Chrysanthemums, however, are... [Read More]

The Gulliver Complex

Posted November 9, 2007

I'm a giant again. Well, not really. But it sure feels like it again since returning from the States. The first sign was bumping my head in the shuttle bus from the airport. By habit, I normally duck my head through any... [Read More]

Foreigners Don't Get the Point

Posted January 31, 2010

I'm standing in line at a drugstore with other shoppers. The woman in front of me has just pulled out a business card file. Hurriedly she flips through at least a hundred or more cards searching for the right one. It's a... [Read More]

More Powerful than Bombs

Posted July 5, 2008

Fuchida grew up loving his native Japan and hating the United States, which treated Asian immigrants harshly in the first half of the twentieth century. Fuchida attended a military academy, joined Japan's... [Read More]

Ready?

Posted September 14, 2010

I'd been putting it off. Although I knew it was important, taking inventory of our earthquake and disaster gear just wasn't getting done. Japan rests along the "ring of fire" in the Pacific ocean, a stretch of area that is... [Read More]

150 Years Later

Posted March 17, 2009

This spring marks the 150th anniversary of Protestant Christianity in Japan. The first protestant missionaries set foot in the port of Yokohama back in 1859. Now they were real church planters -- overcoming all... [Read More]

Rambling Notes from Japan

Here are some blog posts that we hope will make you feel a part of things, and help you understand how to pray better for us and Japan. Please see our external blog in Blogger, if this page does not display correctly.

Bath or Baptism?

February 15, 2008 11:39 | Baptism, Bathhouse, Church Planting, Culture, Ministry | Permalink

You have to be creative as a Baptist church planter in Japan. There aren't a whole lot of options for a baptism, particularly this time of year. We've no church facility yet with a baptismal. Outdoor pools aren't going to work in early spring either, even if one had exclusive access. Rivers and lakes are out. The best we could come up with was using another church facility and a borrowed tub. But even then only some of our people would be able to attend as the service would need to be at a different time and in a different place.

Then the thought occurred..."What if we were able to use the local public bathhouse?" Public bathhouses in Japan are still quite common, as many small urban apartments do not have space for a bath tub or shower. Typically a male or female only bathhouse can handle 20 - 30 bathers at a time with individual faucets for each, and a collective tub for everyone (okay, you'll have to see one to understand the idea).

It would be extremely unlikely the owner would agree to something like that. They've no understanding of Christianity, let alone what a baptism is. It would come across as an odd religious thing. With the many radical new religious groups in Japan, Japanese have a heightened adversion to getting involved with religious things period.

Well, God goes ahead and opens impossible doors for us when we knock on them in faith. Amazingly, the owner of our local bathhouse agreed to let us use the facility exclusively on a Sunday morning for a baptism. Of course, he expects to collect 400 yen a head.

Clearly there was some initial confusion about what a baptism was on his part. He wanted to know, "So, will all the people from your church being getting into the bath together?" "No," we assured him. "Just one. And even he will be wearing clothes." "Oh." he replied, "but if you're paying you should take a bath together anyway." Well, that would be a level of Christian fellowship we're not really ready for.

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