Korean Church ‘Obese,’ Must Serve the World, says Theologian
Dr. Kyung Bae Min, one of the most prominent Korean theologians, urged the church to speak prophetically and confidently to society and criticized it for becoming ‘obese,’ during a commemorative service of the 60th Korean Independence Day annive
The Christian Council of Korea on Wednesday held a commemorative service of the 60th Independence Day of Korea in Seoul. Dr. Kyung Bae Min, one of the most prominent Korean theologians, urged the church to speak prophetically and confidently to society and criticized it for becoming "obese."
Dr. Min, who is the president of Seoul Jangsin University and Theological Seminary, said "a church that does not present a vision to the country will get obese." He reminded those seated at the Sinchon Syungyul Church that there were only 490,000 Christians in Korea when they led the nation in the largest independence movement in 1919. That movement, dubbed “3.1” because it began on March 1st, brought the nation together to rise against Japanese imperialism.
Dr. Min asked the church to regain the historical consciousness it once had while under Japanese oppression, and challenged it to be born again into a church that could present vision to its people.
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He pointed to the historical records that testified the pioneering-mentality of the Korean Church.
"The Korean Church gave so much hope to suffering people that even the Japanese government recorded on one of their official documents that 'the only group that did not give up hope in the Korean people's future is Christians,’” he said. "God gave Koreans independence as a gift to let them accomplish world mission without any obstacles.
"Korean Church saw the revelation of history unfold amid sorrow, suffering, humiliation, and oppression during Japanese imperialism,” he added, saying that Christians had the hope that the "Korean land would become the City of God"."
According to Dr. Min, “one Japanese man testified during the Japanese imperialistic era that ‘amid the atmosphere where people [were so frightened] that they would lose their breath at even the small sound of a crane flying away, Christians were the only people who walked around without fear.’”
"Christianity gave people breath and courage amid sufferings,” he said. “Korea gained Independence through the great power of Korean Christianity."
Dr. Min challenged the church to “become a dynamic force that dreams of the future.”
He reminded them that Korea gained independence from Japan with the help of the allied forces and that without the support of the U.N. forces the nation would have lost its land. He insisted that “now, God gave the Korean church an opportunity to work for the world in return.”
Dr. Min also mentioned that the Korean church has now grown so large that “six of the world’s ten biggest churches are in Korea.” The Yoido Full Gospel Church, the largest in the world, has 600,000 registered members alone. Juxtaposing this number with the 499,000 Christians that led the country decades ago, Dr. Min said “now the Korean church should give out their power for society and the world so it does not get obese.”
"The Korean Church has a commission to accomplish,” he said. “It should send missionaries to South Africa, South America, and so forth. We should focus our eyes on our commission."
August 15th is the 60th anniversary of the Korean Independence Day.
