Mission life: THE KUKMIN DAILY

“The Korean Church needs to communicate with non-Christians via mass communication”

2015-02-12 17:00

From February 9~10, Yonsei University’s College of Theology and the United Graduate School of Theology, together with Christian Broadcasting System (CBS), held a 2-day “Truth and Freedom Forum 2015” in commemoration of the university’s centennial anniversary.

In his lecture “Issues and Prospects of the Korean Church in 2015,” Rev. Lee Sang-hwa of D'ream Community Church said, “The church needs to fulfill its social responsibility proactively.” He explained, “Our society is asking the Korean church for answers to issues such as the clergy tax and legislation of the Sewol Ferry Special Law. One of the inner struggles of the Korean church comes from the fact that it cannot speak with just one voice due to its diversity and broad spectrum of faith and theology. Nevertheless, the Korean church is still responsible for communicating with the ‘world,’ and in doing so we need to pay attention to the role of mass communication.”

Rev. Lee elaborated, “Today, through the major news media, non-Christians in Korea are well aware of the Korean churches’ activities… Churches, therefore, need to focus on how to communicate with the public through mass communication.”

He also emphasized that the Korean churches need to become united in preparation for the age of reunification, in order to bring synergy to the process.

Prof. Kim Hoi-gwon (photo) of Soongsil University criticized in his lecture “The Present Korean Church and Theology,” that theologians have not been playing a positive role in solving current problems such as mammonism, and that this failure has aggravated the crisis of the church, with mega churches becoming like commercial corporations, and individual churches operating selfishly. His analysis was that present relations between theologians and pastors are not supplemental. He said, “Because theologians are subordinated to pastors’ apparent spiritual authority, it has become difficult for theologians to speak out, and this is making them ineffective.” He added, “Theology professors need to go out to local churches and help pastors in the field deliver God’s Word, embraced by spirituality.”

Reporter A-young Kim (cello08@kmib.co.kr), with Yeara Ahn-Park (yap@kmib.co.kr)
Photo by intern reporter Heo Ran


Click here for the original article in Korean

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