Taking advantage or taking the advantage?

Certain proponents relish the opportunity to take advantage of people’s ignorance. They think little of conducting their business under false pretences. These unregulated businesses are primarily money making ventures and are willing to spin a yarn if it helps their business interests.

About the ignorance of Japanese about Christianity:

I embrace it! It's undeniably true. (Anonymous Wedding Celebrant)

Duplicity from a Japanese company in an unregulated industry? You can count on it. I'm sure if it increased sales they would claim I was the Archbishop of Japan.

…not only is it unnecessary to be religious/born again, you don't even need to be a Christian. One poster has mentioned an atheist [sic] friend who was a celebrant and I know of at least one Jewish celebrant!

You don't approve of me (and hundreds of others) doing these ceremonies under false pretences…

Others see the popularity of the Wedding Chapels as an opportunity to evangelize people with the Gospel of Christ. Rarely do significantly large groups of non-Christians gather in a Christian context. The standard Evangelical understanding of the Gospel is by and large lost to the Japanese. This is hardly surprising when only 1% of Japanese are Christians. The Gospel has only actually been preached in Japan for a fraction of time compared to many Western nations. Missioners with evangelistic zeal have seized the unique opportunity afforded them to reach un-converted souls through the white wedding phenomenon.

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Writing in the Japan Harvest magazine [Spring 2008], Dr Andrew Meeko ( a second generation missionary) says:

"I'll confess, my initial involvement with chapels was less than noble. Our ministry account was in debt ("Ah hah!" you say.) I know, I know. Well, "sin" though it be, some years after my bout with weddings, we were out of debt - but that's not all. It turns out that through weddings, I had preached on the love of Christ, in person, to one-out-of-ten in my city of a quarter million - and I hardly had to lift a finger."

He goes on to talk about how this was all part of the Lord's leading into a new ministry and out of debt. Yet for others it may not be the case. The following quote which can be found here is from a fellow Christian and details the situation that some missionaries face more clearly:

"There is a thin line between doing these weddings to pay the bills and doing them as a means of outreach," said the Rev. Michael Hohn, a German Lutheran who leads the Christ of All Nations Church just north of Osaka. "It is a good business. This helps many missionaries stay in Japan. You can put away a lot of money for retirement or to put your children through college. ... I, myself, want to do everything I can to make sure that the people I marry understand the vows they are taking. Otherwise, I don't know what we are doing."

For these (Type 3) agents, there is an apparent conflict of interests. Is it primarily to pay the bills or to minister the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Only each individual can know and judge their motivation for being involved in this kind of work. The unique situation in Japan is that 'doing weddings' presents itself as a fairly lucrative sideline; a peculiar temptation which is not present in the countries from which many missionaries originally hail from.

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For years there have been calls for western missionaries to become pinch hitters and involve themselves headlong in Wedding Ministry. (Click on the link 'Resources for Wedding Ministers'). The result has been a trickle rather than a flood. Some lament the loss of a God given opportunity and failure to walk through an open door for the gospel. Others might conclude that it was never really the will of God for the church to be rallied to this particular mission field in a major way. It is never impossible or too late for God the Holy Spirit to change course. But it must be acknowledged that the Christian-style wedding industry in Japan is now utterly dominated by the irreligious business-minded. Tipping point has long been reached. So what is the way forward?

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The case for de-westernizing Christian-style weddings

The true essence of Christianity is unseen. Jesus Christ taught that 'the kingdom of God is within you'. As such, the inevitable externals or cultural expression of personal Christian faith vary from group to group and nation to nation. The man-made shell of religious form at best has no inherent value before God, and at worst is a stumbling block to those who are seeking Apostolic Christianity.

The latter has certainly been observed in Japan. There is universal agreement that Christianity is largely perceived as a foreign religion. It has been commented that the reason Christianity hasn't made a big impact in Japan are the unpalatable western add-ons (everything from Church polity and hierarchies, dress codes etc.) and that these factors are hindering the growth of Christianity in this part of Asia.

There is a growing consensus among Christians that there is a need to de-westernize Christian missions especially in unreached areas or places which have been traditionally resistant to the Gospel. About this reformation in missions, Daniel D. Kim of OMF writes:

Every culture is imprisoned in sin. We must ask ourselves, what parts of Western Christianity are “Western culture” and what parts are true “biblical Christianity”?
Lausanne World Pulse

The Christian-style wedding experience in Japan is a thoroughly western cultural (religious) form. The other-worldliness and material aesthetic is intensely appealing to many but has apparently done little to help them see the spiritual. It can been seen as a dis-service to those who are led to believe 'that's all there is'; and it is a dis-service to those who are seeking the Truth beyond the smoke and mirrors of man-made culture. Although there are particular differences between Japanese Christian-style weddings and what is experienced in other countries which have been westernized, there are voices in Africa which are challenging the Western form of the wedding rite.

I believe God in heaven, the author of the institution of marriage, in his Divine wisdom, created all the diversities in cultures and for that matter rites of marriage for all different people’s across the world. Ghanaweb

The wedding chapel as a platform for the Christian message is a wagon with wonky wheels. Any benefits must be played off against the negatives which have been detailed in this document.

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Are these conflicts of interest ever to be resolved? If so, how?

Is it acceptable for people to boast of their immoral involvement in this industry?

How advanced is the Church in Japan in thinking about these issues?