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stepping
stones a prayer letter of Iwa
Transforming Ministry and Leadership in our Community
July 1999, Number 99-1
Jesus and the “Shikataganai Guy”
By
fixing our eyes on Jesus and understanding how He relates
to people who have cultural characteristics familiar to those
of us who are Japanese- and Asian Americans, we can be transformed
and renewed by Him in very profound and meaningful ways. The
Shikataganai Guy is one of those people who can help
us see ourselves more clearly.
In
John 5, Jesus asked a disabled man who had been waiting beside
a healing pool, “Do you want to be healed?” Jesus
was offer-ing hope and healing to a man who had been unable
to walk for thirty-eight years. But the man responded by saying,
“Sir, I have no one to help me into the pool when the
water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else
goes down ahead of me.” Instead of giving a direct answer
to Jesus’ direct question, he offered an excuse or complaint
for why he hadn’t been healed after so many years. He
blamed circumstances and others for his pitiful situation.
In essence, he was saying, “Shikataganai,”
“It can’t be helped!”
Shikataganai,
literally “there’s no way of doing (it),”
reflects a whole philosophy that has enabled Japanese Americans
to not only survive but thrive as an ethnic and racial minority
here in the United States. Shikataganai is but the
tip of a huge philosophical iceburg that is in direct contrast
to the philosophical orientation of those of Western cultures,
and is both an asset as well as a liability for those of us
who live lives consistent with it.
According
to Japanese culture, the way to effective living is to live
life as if you are bamboo. When adversity inevitably hits,
you as bamboo, are to bend in the direction of least resistance
and then spring back when the harsh conditions pass. Western
cultures, on the other hand, epitomize the person who lives
life most success- fully as a mighty oak—rigid, strong
and upright no matter how much pressure is exerted upon it
by the elements.
As
a result of this philosophical difference, those of Western
culture tend to be aggressive, outspoken, confrontational
and individualistic. Those of Japanese culture, on the other
hand, tend to be responsive, soft-spoken, non-confrontational,
and group-oriented.
This
can all be summarized by describing Japanese culture as the
way of least resistance, or shikataganai, which also
means, “It can’t be helped, so why fight it. Just
go with the flow and, hopefully, things will even-tually change
for the better.” Majority Americans make opportunities
happen. Japanese Americans take advantage of opportunities
when they happen. The American majority doesn’t know
or understand what Japanese Americans are thinking or quietly
doing because they are not aggressively moving in a particular
direction. They are opportunists who quietly wait and prepare
to swiftly move through doors of opportunity and least resistance.
All the majority knows is that, all of a sudden, there they
are—the Japanese Americans have emerged to a new level
of status or achievement without the majority having any idea
of how they got there.
However,
just as there are many positive ways the shikataganai
philosophy has contributed to the success of Japanese Americans,
and the Japanese American community as a whole, there are
also drawbacks of having this philosophical bent. We can see
some of these negative tendencies reflected in the attitudes
and behavior of the man healed beside the pool in John 5—the
Shikataganai Guy.
Shikataganai
Guy allowed circumstances and others to control his life,
and blamed those circumstances and others when things didn’t
go well. He didn’t accept personal responsibility for
his continuing condition or seek new alternatives to solve
his problem. After having been by the pool for some time,
having made several attempts to make it into the pool first
by his own efforts, and then finding it futile to find anyone
else to help him, he could have left the pool in search of
another means of healing or another way of life. However,
he didn’t do that. Perhaps he had become so secure and
comfortable with the status quo that he really didn’t
want things to change. His disability was his ticket to staying
where he was.
Shikataganai
people have a tendency of doing just that. They are fatalistic,
tending to be more pessimistic than optimistic. They see themselves
as realists who are practical, rather than idealists who are
visionary, and as such, often fail to see new possibilities
and opportunities when they are staring them in the face.
Such was the case with our Shikataganai Guy. There
he was with Jesus standing in front of him asking if he wanted
to get well and failing to see the opportunity and possibility
before him. Or, perhaps he did see it, but the change it posed
was a threat to him so he refused to take it. Similarly, shikataganai
people share this same tendency—they fail to see or refuse
to see any new possibilities because they are afraid to take
risks and cope with change.
But,
Jesus healed him anyway and change hap-pened. So he was forced
to become responsible for his own future and deal with the
radical changes that occurred in his life. Knowing that the
outraged Jewish leaders sought the identity of the person
who told him to violate the Sabbath by commanding him to pick
up his mat and walk, he went back to inform them that it was
Jesus. Perhaps he resented Jesus for the changes he had tocope
with. Perhaps by pointing the finger at Jesus, he sought to
absolve himself of their accusation that he was breaking the
Sabbath. Anyway, one thing is clear—as a result of his
disclosure, the Jews persecuted Jesus.
Being
unable to handle change, the Shikataganai Guy failed
to recognize the new possibilities and who was standing right
in front of him. Jesus was not only
the one willing and able to help and heal him, Jesus was also
the originator and Lord of the very Sabbath the Shikataganai
Guy was accused of breaking. Failing to fix his eyes on
Jesus, he missed out on the joy of entering a new relationship
with the eternal Lord who offered him freedom from old man-made
rules and rituals, and chose instead the temporary relief
of self-justification and self-preservation. As a result,
he robbed himself of experiencing overwhelming joy, gratitude
and praise in honor of the Lord who miraculously healed him
and deserved worship instead of persecution. He made it impossible
for himself to celebrate the new life and new-found freedoms
graciously given him by the Lord of Heaven. So what are we
Shikataganai Guys to do? Let us fix our eyes on Jesus
and enter into a joy-producing, intimate relationship with
our Healer and Lord that will enable us to experience deep
gratitude, high praise, and unending celebration.
Funding
Report
Rivendell
and Stewardship Give Grants Again in ‘99
The Lord blessed Iwa again with grants from two foundations
which have been faithfully supporting Iwa for several years.
In January, Rivendell Stewards’ Trust gave a $20,000
grant, an increase of $5,000, toward the completion of Iwa’s
evangelistic Leadership Training Series and the development
of evangelistic sharing tools. This marks the fourth year
that Rivendell has partnered with Iwa. In April, Stewardship
Foundation came through with its eighth consecutive grant
to Iwa. The amount this year was $18,000— $12,000 for
general operations, and $6,000 for the Executive Director’s
position. The $6,000 grant must be matched by December 31,
by funds from those who have not given this year or in the
previous two fiscal years, or by funds over and above what
was given last year. While the grant is the same as last year’s,
Stewardship is willing to entertain another proposal later
this year for additional funding to expand Iwa’s ministry.
These foundations are very excited about Iwa’s current
work and vision for the future, and have demonstrated their
confidence in and commitment to Iwa by continu-ing their funding
and increasing it as Iwa grows. Hopefully, more individuals
and churches will catch their excitement and be inspired to
partner with Iwa because it is individuals and churches which
can provide the stable base of support a non-profit Christian
organization like Iwa needs. Foundations would then just provide
the icing on the cake by their support for special projects.
Please pray that Iwa will develop this stable base of support.
Union
Bank Awards Grant
Union Bank of California Foundation gave Iwa a $3,500 grant
in May in support of one of Iwa’s key goals: to develop
culturally sensitive leadership training for the Asian American
Christian commun-ity. With its long history of serving and
supporting non-profit organiza-tions that are involved in
cultural activities, Union Bank became Iwa’s first significant
supporter from the corporate community. We, at Iwa, are extremely
grateful to Union Bank for this very generous gift.
Grant
Not Renewed
In May, a faithful foundation partner over the past several
years, informed Iwa that it chose not to approve this year’s
funding request. In a telephone conversation with the President,
Iwa learned that after praying about each proposal, the trustees
were led by the Lord to address special needs related to the
Kosovo crisis and new opportunities in China. Although this
news was disappointing because it left Iwa with a $15,000
hole to fill, the foundation did indicate that they would
entertain a new request next year.
New
Support from Huston Foundation
But the Lord has been very gracious. In June, the Huston Foundation
in Conshohocken, PA, reported “the award of $5,000.00
to Iwa for a project to train Christians in a culturally sensitive
approach to personal evangelism reaching 97% of Japanese-/Asian-Americans
who don’t know Christ.” Iwa had applied last year
for a grant but was unsuccessful in obtaining it. However,
this year the Lord opened the doors to first-time funding.
We are so thankful for the Lord’s timely provision and
look forward to our new partnership with the Huston Foundation.
Iwa
Sponsors Writing Workshop - July 31
In
an effort to encourage Christian Asian Americans to record
their life experiences and sharpen their general writing skills,
Iwa will be sponsoring an all-day writing workshop on Saturday,
July 31, at Evergreen Baptist Church of Los Angeles (EBC-LA).
Essie
Sappenfield, the program director of the Milton Center, a
Kansas-based non-proft organization committed to writing excellence
in the Christian tradition, will be leading the workshop,
titled “That These Days Should Be Remembered.” Naomi
Hirahara, a 1996-97 Milton Fellow and former English editor
of The Rafu Shimpo, will be assisting. Enrollment is
limited, and pre-registration is required. A donation of $15
is requested.
The
workshop will begin promptly at 9 a.m. and end at 3 p.m. Participants
should bring a sack lunch for the noon break. EBC-LA is located
at 1255 San Gabriel Blvd. in Rosemead.
To
enroll, call the Iwa office at (818) 541-9089.
Thirsting
for the Living God in Seattle
Capping
off a ten-day trip to Seattle which began with a celebration
of the 100th Anniversary of the Japanese Baptist Church the
weekend before, I enjoyed Memorial Day weekend with about
60 young adults from various churches in Seattle, Portland,
the Bay Area, and Southern Cal. We gathered in the wooded
countryside of Yelm, WA, at a camp called Cascades, and explored
together the theme from Psalm 42:2, “My Soul Thirsts
for God, for the Living God.” Pastor Cory Ishida of Evergreen
Baptist Church of San Gabriel Valley led the way with messages
on becoming a person of integrity, living with integrity,
choosing and being a good friend, and dealing with regrets.
And I, too, made a contribution to the 1999 JEMS Pacific Northwest
Career Young Adults Retreat with two evangelism seminars:
Hearing the Gospel with Asian American Ears and Sharing
the Gospel with Asian American Hearts.
While
the Hearing seminar took participants through a process
of discovering the need for a new and different, culturally
appropriate approach to sharing the gospel with Asian Americans,
the Sharing seminar, pre-sented for the first time,
followed up with an exploration of storytelling as one possible
approach. Participants prepared ahead of time for the seminar
by reading a booklet Iwa developed which enables a Christian
to introduce Jesus to a friend or relative who doesn’t
know Him. The booklet contains Bible stories which show different
aspects of Jesus’ character, together with personal testimonies
(in this case, my own) about how the Christian has experienced
Jesus as He is presented in the story (e.g., how the Jesus
who healed the blind men healed my spiritual blindness). After
reading the booklet, participants pick a story they can best
relate to and come prepared to share a story of their own
in a group of three. By the end of the seminar, participants
have all they need to create their own tools for sharing the
gospel through their stories.
The
response to both seminars was positive and encouraging. Lights
went on for many in the Hearing seminar. Stories were
shared and written down by many in the Sharing seminar.
The booklet stimulated ideas for different uses it could have
and curiosity about it prompted several to ask me for a copy.
One participant asked me to provide her with Iwa’s template
so that she could put together her own booklet, and she said
she would talk to the pastor and elders of her church about
the seminars. And that’s exactly what we hoped people
would begin to do. The more we tell our stories, the more
Asian Americans can be introduced to Jesus Christ.
New
Board Members
Terry
Shinsato
- A CPA working as the Assistant Corporate Controller for
Wind River Systems in Alameda, CA, Terry was introduced to
Stan and Iwa in 1983, by Sharon “Snoopy” Uyeda Fong,
a friend from UCLA. He and his wife, Nancee Hirano, were attending
Venice-Santa Monica Japanese Free Methodist Church at the
time. He helped Iwa in those early days as a bookkeeper “to
help figure out how much cash they did not have.” With
a B.A. in Economics from UCLA and an M.B.A. from UC Berkeley,
he has been an Accounting Officer for Morgan Guaranty International
Bank in Los Angeles, a Senior Accountant for Arthur Andersen
& Co., LLP in Oakland, and Controller and Vice President
of 800-Software, Inc. in Richmond, CA. He was involved in
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at UCLA, and is currently
a member of the Rockridge United Methodist Church in Oakland.
He says that he maintained his support of Iwa after moving
to the Bay Area because he continued to believe that “it
was the only organization of its kind for evangelism to Japanese
and Japanese Americans.” He also says, “I am excited
to extend my support of Iwa through the efforts of the National
Board, and look forward to becoming more involved in outreach
to all Asian American communities in particular, to those
of Japanese ancestry.” He enjoys golf, aviation, scuba
diving, and exploring the Big Island of Hawaii.
Carolyn
Iga - As Assistant Pastor of Evergreen Baptist Church
of Los Angeles, Carolyn oversees the growth and development
of the youth and young adult ministries, focusing her time
on leadership training and prayer. She developed and leads
a ministry to singles, career-aged, and young adults called
Singles With A Mission (SWAM), preaches at Evergreen as well
as other churches and conferences, and serves as Choir Director
for special seasonal performances. Prior to Evergreen, she
served as the Director of Youth and Music at Union Church
of Los Angeles. There she developed the youth program from
scratch through discipling the youth and youth leaders, was
the primary worship leader for both Japanese- and English-speaking
congregations, and directed a year-round 30-member choir.
She has a Bachelor of Education degree in music from the University
of Hawaii in Honolulu, a Masters degree in church music from
the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY,
and a Masters of Divinity degree from Fuller Theological Seminary.
She ran the 1998 Los Angeles Marathon in just over 4 hours.
1999
Theme and Annual Campaign
“I
want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and
the fellowship of sharing in his suffering...”
Philippians 3:10 NIV
Last
year our theme encouraged us to fix our eyes on Jesus. This
year our theme moves us to know Him. Considering everything
else as “loss” and “refuse” compared to
“the surpassing greatness” of knowing Jesus, the
Apostle Paul concludes, in this verse, that he wants to know
Him intimately. He follows in the footsteps of Moses, who
boldly asked to see God in His glory (Exodus 33:18); and David,
who sincerely prayed to be-hold Him in His beauty (Psalm 27:4).
They were all on to something that we need to explore more
thoroughly.
In
the process of developing workshops, sharing tools, and new
insights for personal evangelism that will reach the 97%,
we are finding as a key: the more
intimately we know Him, the more naturally we can introduce
our family and friends to Him.
To
enable us to communicate such findings, and to help us move
to a new level of ministry, the Lord has been building a larger
team. Media experts, writers, and artists have recently begun
to partner with us. We hope that others will partner with
us in providing the funding support we need.
So
please pray with us as we launch our 5th Annual Support Campaign.
We will try to match a $6,000 grant from Stewardship Foundation.
Donors will have an opportunity to receive a special sermon
tape which explains our theme. When you receive our appeal
letter, please prayerfully consider how the Lord might want
you to respond.
Senior
Adult Retreat
The Shikataganai Guy was not the only person President
Stan Inouye introduced to the more than 30 Niseis who attended
the Senior Adult Retreat in April. Haji Hannah also
made her debut at the annual event sponsored by the Council
on Senior Adult Ministries of the Pacific Coast Japanese Free
Methodist Conference.
On
the first day, Stan explored how Jesus did personal evangelism
with our Guy from John 5.
On
the second day, he presented Haji Hannah, better known
as the Samaritan woman at the well, from John 4. Although
Jesus’ approach to evangelism with
her was very similar to His approach with the Guy,
the two responses to Him couldn’t have provided a more
striking contrast. While the Guy, burning with resentment,
identified Jesus to the Jews so that they would know who the
real Sabbath violator was and persecute Him, Hannah,
bubbling over with joy, told anyone who would listen that
Jesus had revealed “everything she ever did” (that
is, every shameful “secret” about her adulterous
lifestyle) so that they would know who the true Christ was
and believe in Him themselves. Chock full of insights for
evangelism, the cases of these two people with cultural traits
familiar to Japanese Americans gave Stan more than enough
to share with his receptive audience in the first two sessions.
In
a third session on the second day, the Niseis had a chance
to interact with Stan in a question and answer time. They
showed particular interest in learning the difference between
shame and guilt, a very familiar topic from Iwa’s early
days. They also asked about the intermarriage of Japanese
Americans, and Iwa’s general ministry and current projects.
Joining hands to form a big circle, they closed the time together
in prayer.
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