The Harvest is Plentiful

On the Sudden Rise of Christian Orthodoxy, Japan and the Despondency of Gen Z Men

Then he said to his disciples,
“The harvest is plentiful
but the workers are few.
Ask the Lord of the harvest,
therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Matthew 9:37-38

Greetings, Sand and Seeders! It’s been a minute.

A lot has happened in the month of April for me. I got a new job and a new car, and I’m in a new state, city, neighborhood, and apartment; praise God!

When God says he makes all things new, he isn’t kidding. I am so thankful for this answered prayer. I started this blog shortly after I became unemployed, and it helped keep me focused on what matters.

I hope to get back to a regular posting schedule, hopefully once a week, every Thursday.

Here’s a bit about what I have been watching, reading, and reflecting on during April’s great time of transition.

Japan

God put Japan in my heart a long time ago. I would pray about where to intercede for missionaries and even where to “go”; he would always sense Japan. I visited once for only 24 hours on a layover. I got to walk the streets of Tokyo, have authentic sushi and ramen, and cross the busiest crosswalk, Shibuya Crossing, which was an amazing experience.

I even got lost in the subway.

When I finally found my way onto a train with the help of two Japanese students who spoke English and saw my panicked look, I remember sensing a distinct feeling of isolation. Not the normal tourist disorientation, but that other people on the train seemed lost, disillusioned, and hopeless. Tokyo is a beautiful city with very friendly people, but this sense stayed with me as I walked around and felt a lack of…hope.

Japan has been resurfacing for me recently, to the point that the YouTube algorithm (which the Holy Spirit sometimes commandeers) served up this amazing video below.

Did you know that Japan is the 2nd largest unreached people group in the World? They are less than 2% Christian. This is surprising because it is such an advanced nation in many ways, including art, music, fashion, technology, architecture, you name it. But there are two things that have created a barrier to the spread of the Gospel there:

1. A very homogenous and harmonized people, which makes Japan an amazingly preserved culture. Conformity is seen as good (as opposed to say America where being different is celebrated).

2. Brokeness. There is a lot of pain and shame in Japan that has not been dealt with, and you sense this.

To give you a better idea, here is the video I came across that more eloquently explains this further. I was particularly moved by Ayaka’s story (lady in the thumbnail) in the end about her call back home to be a witness after living abroad.

Let’s pray for Japan:

A Rise in Orthodoxy

Apparently, there is an uptick in Christians moving towards the Orthodox church. I am not surprised to learn this. I can see how their solemnity, tradition, and stability can appear to offer a refuge from the scandal-ridden, entertainment-focused “churchianity” of the Protestant and Catholic faiths. Like maybe you, I have always seen our Orthodox brothers and sisters as a bit out there and maybe errant in their beliefs. This video by Ruslan was very illuminating and corrected many of my erroneous beliefs. I came away with a deep respect for this practice and curiosity, and I even plan to attend a service myself.

The ancient split between Catholics and Orthodox is so minute, but the centuries have increased the divide from a crack to a great chasm.

This is a shame; we have much to learn from each other:

Gen Z Men

Lastly, I’ve been a fan of Carey Nieuwhof’s podcast on Christian leadership. He recently had Scott Galloway, an atheist, on the show, and the conversation was so eye-opening. If you have been around young men or have a teenage boy in your life, this might resonate. The data out there on this generation is not looking good. But there is hope, and Scott offers some helpful solutions.

Live in Hope

Hope is a big theme of this blog, as you might have noticed. I have many posts on it. I see a theme here at the end of this writing of a hopeless world, with some people grasping for anything to fill the void and others checked out and waiting to die. Neither of these is God’s plan for humanity. Join me in praying, like Saint Monica did, for them to get connected to their maker.

Dear Lord,

Truly, the harvest is plentiful

But the workers are few.

We pray, as Jesus instructed,

That you would send workers to Japan,

to young men and women who live in hopelessness,

To those who search for truth and deeper meaning in their faith.

Amen.