hankyoreh

By Cho Yeon-hyun, Religion Correspondent

A debate on the dismantling of the Christian Council of Korea (CCK) took place on Apr. 1 at Chungeoram in Seoul’s Myeong-dong neighborhood. One of the speakers clearly stood out from the rest: Rev. Daniel Dong-won Lee, 65, of Global Mission Church, who directs two megachurches in Bundang and Suji. The attention stemmed from the fact that Lee, a minister at one of the country’s leading megachurches, argued strongly for the dismantling of the CCK, the headquarters of the conservative Christian church. The CCK responded by angrily denouncing him as a “traitor.”

But the seeds of his “betrayal” had been growing since long before. While other churches might make inflated boasts about having “one hundred thousand followers,” Lee precisely counted attendance numbers and gave a total of 25 thousand. While other ministers have worried about how to keep flock members bound to the church, Lee has recommended to his followers not to stay at church for too long, arguing that the person who truly lives the life of faith is faithful to his or her home and working life.

In contrast with other megachurches where ministers have frequently been in conflict with successors or congregation members, Lee has fought with his flock just one time - insisting that they not raise his salary. He retired at the end of last year, five years ahead of his regular retirement age of seventy, and he is currently engaged in a limited-time three-year mentoring ministry to ensure a soft landing for his successor, Rev. Jin Jae-hyeok, 45.

Lee also resolved not to accept the final “ace in the hole” megachurch pastors can enjoy when they retire, such as a large honorarium or residence. His argument was that he was quite comfortable already. And during his retirement speech last year, he delivered a statement of repentance, confessing that he had “lived as a bystander at the heart of the Korean people’s history without making any contribution when the democratization movement was in full flight, and failed to guide the young people I was leading to stand in the midst of history with an awakened historical consciousness.” He also expressed his repentance for never properly delivering a prophetic sermon urging repentance, out of his concern that the wealthy church establishment might feel hurt. At the urging of Kosin University Chair Professor Son Bong-ho, who looked after him for many years, he took on the post of chairman of the Christian Ethics Movement following his retirement.

On the eve of an Easter holiday as depressing as any in recent memory due to CCK corruption and scandals involving megachurches such as Yoido Full Gospel Church and Somang Presbyterian Church, the Hankyoreh traveled to the Global Mission Church in Bundang on Monday to talk to this stand-out pastor.

Rev. Daniel Dong-won Lee: First off, I am not a rich man. I did go to the United States to study with the help of missionaries, but I grew up very poor in my younger days. On the day I was accepted to middle school, my father’s business failed and he went to prison. As the oldest son, I worked as a tutor from my middle school days in order to take care of my mother and six brothers and sisters. I have never forgotten about poverty. The reason Global Mission Church operates nine social welfare organizations and uses 40 percent of church finances for relief is so that it can look after people who are struggling. As for CCK, I am not criticizing them, I am criticizing myself. I cannot claim that I alone am clean. I am doing this with the idea of operating on myself because I bear responsibility.

Lee: I really do not know what to say about that. The church should be worrying about the world, just as Protestant Christianity led the way during the enlightenment period in Korea. But now we are in a situation where the world is worrying about the church. A lot of people are saying that the megachurches are falling because of their size. Protestantism has a more open and democratic decision-making structure than other religions, yet this is not happening as it should. If I have one hope, it is that things will hit bottom and rise back up again.

Lee: Seven years after I came back from the U.S. and established the church in 1993, we had gathered ten thousand people, and we formed a vision committee to create a vision for the future. Once you have gathered money and people, a minister may well be conscious of the power of that. So I did some serious thinking to ensure this did not happen.

Lee: Even during the military dictatorship, I believed that the world would be a better place if we just spread the Gospel. Among U.S. evangelicalists, they talk about an “unpaid debt” for not having taken part in social movements. I also have a sense of indebtedness. Everyone goes through a process of understanding the narrowness of fundamentalist theology and breaking the egg, so to speak. You have to take responsibility for the world.

Lee: When religious reformers say, “Righteousness is not the result of action,” they are not repudiating action. They are stressing humility, the idea that no matter what good deeds a person does, it is not enough. They are not saying not to act in the best way possible. They are saying to fulfill your responsibility and at the same time be humble. It is a distortion of the Bible to say that you can sin all you want without taking responsibility for your actions and still go to Heaven if you just attend church.

Lee: To rise again, you have to die first. The leader has to die for leadership to revive. If people throw stones at the church, we should face them and be killed. You have to die utterly to rise again. Only then will God grant the new day of resurrection.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]