Reflecting on the JCF Winter Retreat – Matthew Turner, Nagano Prefecture

0 comments // Categories: Retreats Sharing // Tuesday April 5th, 2011

Greetings all ye’ curious readers out there. My name is Matthew Turner; I’m a first-year ALT based in the beautiful city of Shinano-machi in Nagano prefecture. Having recently come off the infamous JCF retreat, I was asked to articulate my impressions / thoughts about the event. I’ll be perfectly honest—I did not have high expectations for the retreat. This would be an event run by a bunch of people roughly my age; so, while it was possible, I did not expect there to be any particularly deep spiritual insights or to hear very much information that was completely new. Thankfully, however, I recognized my need for sincere Christian fellowship superseded whatever initial hesitation I might have had. I decided I would give the event a fair shot. If the retreat even somewhat resembled a kind of: “Everything is happy! Aren’t you happy?!” masquerade ball, I would have simply not attended again and probably would have left a bit disgruntled. Thankfully, this retreat proved to be very much worth the trip. While extraordinarily comfortable lodging and fantastic food won my initial approval, I was there to fellowship with sincere believers and touch the heart of God. By the end of the second day, I was firmly convinced that I had made a good decision in coming. It was incredibly refreshing simply to be around like-minded believers; but even more refreshing was to be in a community of people who were passionately pursuing the heart of God. These were people who I could relate to; people who I could respect; people who were sincerely after the same thing I was: to renew and grow our spirit through a personal encounter with our Lord. I was reminded of the example set forth by the apostles after first receiving the Holy Spirit and miraculously preaching in different languages: “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer;” (Acts 2:42 NASB) and that was a model I could sincerely respect. There was one primary speaker for the weekend who has been a missionary in Japan for a long time. The message itself, while not quite what I expected, proved to be very insightful on the subject of Christianity in Japan with a particular focus on evangelism. It is easy to see that Japan is a nation in desperate need of The Gospel, but the dynamics and issues facing the church here are very different from things facing the church back in the States where I’m from. Knowing the drastic differences between the average Japanese person and myself, how could I even begin to relate to these people and perhaps address concerns so as to create the slightest opening for the gospel? Hearing someone who has lived their life on the mission field offer advice and guidance was a rare and great opportunity to learn how I could help (however little) grow the Gospel in a spiritually starving nation. The speaker reminded us of the classic Sunday school truth that God can use you wherever you are with whatever you have. Sounds simplistic until you realize how closely that resembles our situation in Japan. Here we are, many of us pretty much by ourselves, in a nation that lives in ignorance of the one true God who loves them. The idea of being one of the few arbiters for change in this culture. As the speaker pointed out, Moses approached Pharaoh with a simple stick (the only thing Moses had with him at the burning bush), and we all know the signs and wonders Moses unleashed with that thing. Were the topics covered different than I expected? Yes. Were the messages relevant / worthwhile? Without a doubt. Following Christ was never intended to be a “lone ranger” path, He intended us to come together as believers to encourage, strengthen, and occasionally (in love) correct one another; and without this fellowship, following Christ becomes a far more trying task. If you’re even in the slightest bit looking for a sincere Christian environment, I’d encourage you come to one of these retreats—to stand on His promise in Matthew 18:20; “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”