Mission life: THE KUKMIN DAILY

[Books and Spirituality] Faith Life of Christians Who Don’t Attend Church

2015-01-21 13:55

Yang Hui-song, Ganaan Believers’ Faith Outside the Church (Poiema, 2014)

This book, cited in many columns in the new year, has become a common conversation topic. “Ganaan believer” means “a Christian who doesn’t attend church.” The word “ganaan (Korean translation of Canaan)" was coined newly by reading the phrase “annaga (doesn’t attend)” backwards. The author looks into the role of the inclusive church in this so-called “era of one million ganaan believers,” including the question of why these Christians had to go outside the church, and whether faith without the church is possible.

These believers departed the church because they felt “suffocated.” They were frustrated by various church practices, such as the excusing of certain acts as “God’s will” in order to justify them, the persuasion of members to close their eyes to wrongdoings “for the church’s sake,” and the consideration of “family” as pertaining only to “ordinary families” while overlooking those in the church who have become “one-member families” due to divorce, bereavement or other causes. Some pastors' hypocracy and church conflicts are added on top of all these elements.

Labeling them “church-shopping tribe,” “spiritual refugees,” “spiritual elitists,” “spirituality consumers” or “lost sheep,” pastors try to encourage their departed ganaan believers to return to church. But the author, who held many meetings with ganaan believers, was surprised to find that many of them are maintaining their faith well as they form healthy communities outside the church.

“If their departure from ‘church’ is a strong protest against the distortion of ‘ecclesia’ in this land, and if they are taking bold new steps for ‘God’s kingdom,’ there is no reason to turn them down. Moreover, their moves become not a reason for despair but rather a message of hope to the many clergy and Christians within the institutional system who sincerely hope and pray for ‘God’s kingdom’ to be realized on earth as well in heaven, and therefore actively concern about how to make ‘ecclesia.’” (page 168)

Nevertheless, there will certainly be some who react to this book with disapproval. Of course not all departures from the church can be justified, but perhaps we need to think deeply about whether they are not one of the most concrete warnings being sounded toward the Korean church today.

Reporter Roh Heekyung (hkroh@kmib.co.kr), with Marion Kim (marionkkim@icloud.com)


Click here for the original article in Korean

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