2 of 4

What kind of principles should we follow when making decisions about whether to proceed with an unpopular action?

TWL: We should generally follow two rules: First, the church is in the world but does not belong to it. We should consider this but be careful not to lean too much toward or away from pleasing the world when making our decisions.

The second rule is not to underestimate the principle of community interpretation, provided that it does not violate the first rule. In making decisions affecting the church community, a few groups or individuals should not dominate or disregard the rest in an attempt to promote their own interests.

I do recognize the dangers of such a rule. There are times when the few are right and the masses are wrong. However, in a church of considerable theological maturity and experience like the Korean church, I truly believe that decisions made by the whole church community will more often reflect Scripture than decisions made by the few.

It has been a year since the kidnappings in Afghanistan. Has Saemmul Church changed or improved its missions strategy?

Eun-Jo Park (EJP): The [hostage crisis raised our level of concern for] those who don't believe in Jesus and haven't received the gospel, so our young adults prepared to go on missions to safe areas of the world. But there was much argument in the church over the matter.

Many people were saying, "[Not sending short-term missionaries] isn't a matter of faith but is the responsibility we must bear for having caused nonbelievers in Korea so much grief." And the elders were saying, "Why should we care so much about what others think of us?" and also, "It's not even a dangerous area. We should send them."

We debated for a time in this manner, and after a vote, we as a church decided not to send them.

TWL: I think that was the right thing to do. That wasn't a lack of faith or a devaluation of the gospel. Loving your countrymen is very important. It is important to show the public a sincere attitude of self-discipline and respect for its opinions.

I wonder, because the public perceives the Korean church and Christians in general as disrespectful and self-righteous.

TWL: We must be extremely humble. This is what I ask of missionaries. If one insists on going to an Islamic state, I tell them, "When you are doing your work, whatever you do, do not buy the land that they love and pride themselves on. If you were to buy their land, how do you think they would feel? Don't you think the country's people would feel a sense of loss? Or, if you were to march into an Islamic state by the thousands, how do you think they would feel? Don't do this or else, even though you might feel the ecstasy of victory at first, in the long run you would cause immense damage to the mission."

EJP: When we go out to people who don't know Jesus, we should go out not as Jesus' privileged representatives, but more as followers of Jesus' teachings. We should have an attitude of servanthood.

But I wonder, even when reflecting on my own ministry, just how much we have lived by example, and how disrespectful we might have been as Korean Christians to the non-Christians of the world, and whether we offended many people by pushing only doctrine on them and giving off an air of self-righteousness.

next page... |  2 of 4

share this page

November (Web-only) 2008, Vol. 52