“As I approached retirement, the devil whispered. Why are you giving away the church you have worked so hard for? .”
Young-mo Ryu (head pastor of Hansomang Church), former president안전놀이터 of the Federation of Korean Churches (Hangyo-chong), who recently published a new book, “Unbreakable Mission,” said this when asked why he published the book ahead of his retirement at the end of next year. In an interview held at the Dream House in Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province on the 7th, CEO Ryu Jeon said, “What the world wants from the Korean church is to become a public church, a church that achieves the public good.” won’t you?” he said.
―Excuse me, but don’t you have a pastor’s son-in-law?
“When I first planted a church, everything was really poor with no space to worship. Now, it has grown into a large church (about 14,000 registered members). It’s no exaggeration to say that I’ve been grinding my own blood and bones. I have always been opposed to church succession. But when it was time to retire, (pointing to his chest) I heard a different sound from here. ‘It’s your church, you built it, so why are you trying to give it to others… .’ It’s the devil’s voice. So I decided not to drag it out for a long time and quickly decide on a successor. If I drag it on for a long time, I might fall because I am a human being.”
-How did you pick your successor?
“There were about 20 candidates, and a committee was formed, and through several rounds of discussion and voting, we narrowed down and selected one candidate. The vote was unanimous. Of course, I have no blood relationship. Whether church hereditary is really scripturally wrong can be argued. However, there are definitely voices in our society that churches should be a little different from general corporations. I believe that the church is not of founders or church leaders.”
―You said that there were many temptations inside and outside the church.
“In Korean society, when you become the senior pastor of a large church, there are many temptations. Needless to say, if you are the president of the Korean Federation of Schools. There are also many political demands to give a biased voice for one’s camp. Furthermore, there was a presidential election last year when I was the president of the Korea Federation of Korean Schools. Would one or two come? They came to ask for advice and said, ‘What can we do to help the church?’… . Since the church is also in the world, there may be complaints. You can’t try to solve it by communicating with the government. (Also mentioned in the book) I believe it is a request of the times for the Korean church to break the cycle of evil practices that have colluded with the government. That’s why, let alone speak out, I refuse all requests from politicians for a prayer breakfast.”
―You emphasized that the church should not be a church living in a remote world, far from the world.
“Even within the church, there are progressives and conservatives. However, since conservative denominations value the church, the Bible, and God-centered values, they tend to neglect social difficulties and problems. On the other hand, the progressive side is so obsessed with social issues that it has become more like a civic group than a church. The church must leave behind ideology and become the hope of the world. In that respect, it is necessary to accept the strengths and weaknesses of both sides and not forget the duty of the church while sharing the difficulties with the world.”
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