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A 20th anniversary is a reason to celebrate. Christ Bible Institute (CBI), located in Nagoya, Japan, celebrated theirs in a way that surprised no one who knows the ministry—they chose not to make the anniversary about themselves. Instead, they hosted a conference to encourage and equip Christians throughout Japan.
Invitations were sent to all graduates of CBI’s seminary, Christ Bible Seminary (CBS). The conference was also shared through social media and word of mouth. On October 31 and November 1, hundreds gathered to worship Christ Jesus, be transformed by Him through the living Word, and fellowship with one another.
The conference was called “Deeper and Further.” CBI’s Executive Director, Brett Rayl, chose the theme to describe CBI’s next decade of ministry:
To celebrate CBI’s anniversary, Lighthouse, as one of CBI’s partner churches, received an invitation to join the conference and attend a celebration banquet. Glenn Soga and I were sent on behalf of Lighthouse, and Pastor Jason Ho attended as a board member of CBI Friends.
Throughout our trip, the word that kept coming to mind was “reflection.” I reflected on the grace God has shown in Lighthouse’s partnership with CBI. I reflected on friendships God has grown as I spoke with people we’ve served alongside and welcomed in Los Angeles.
And I reflected on my friendship with Brett.
I’ve often been asked, “So how did Lighthouse start partnering with CBI?” The answer is simple: it started with a friendship.
December 27–30, 2013 marked the first CrossCon in Louisville, Kentucky. I heard about the conference early that year, and as Lighthouse’s Outreach Pastor, I thought it would be a great opportunity to send our college students and young adults to catch a vision for making disciples around the world.
I wasn’t planning to attend myself. But while on sabbatical that summer, I sensed God leading me to go. When my sabbatical ended, I registered and bought a plane ticket to Louisville.
Little did I know the conference would mark the beginning of a new chapter in Lighthouse’s ministry in Japan.
The conference was insightful and inspiring. We sat under the preaching of John Piper, Thabiti Anyabwile, Kevin DeYoung, Mack Stiles, Michael Oh, D.A. Carson, Matt Chandler, David Platt, and others.
During the breaks, I walked through the exhibitor booths. One caught my eye: Christ Bible Institute — Japan. I headed straight there.
That booth is where I first met Brett. He and his wife Taylor had just completed a short-term stint at CBI and were back in the States raising support to return to Japan. I later found out Brett had been selected as CBI’s next Executive Director, following in the footsteps of Michael Oh.
Each conference session, I found myself returning to the CBI booth to learn more. Every conversation revealed a mutual passion for ministry and a shared desire to see the gospel spread in Japan. Our conversations continued on the shuttle to the airport and even in the terminal. It continued so long, in fact, that Brett almost missed his flight to Dallas.
The next step was to continue the conversation and see if God was leading us toward a partnership between CBI and Lighthouse. On March 18, 2014, Jesse Terasaki (future Lighthouse church planter, but then a pastoral intern) and I flew to Dallas for two days with Brett, Chad Farmer, and Matt Elkins, who were all preparing to head to Japan with CBI.
Those two days were filled with continuous conversations about theology, hopes and dreams, plans for the future, and our personal stories. By the end, we left confident that God was calling us into partnership. Lighthouse now had a clear vision for how we could serve the people of Japan.
As an aside—little did Jesse know that just two years later, God would lead him to plant Zoe Community Church in Dallas.
After prayer and discussion among the Lighthouse elders, Lighthouse officially decided to partner with CBI. Here are some snapshots from the early days:
And the partnership continued to bear fruit.
Reflecting on the friendships and partnerships of the past 20 years brings us to the evening of November 1: the celebration banquet for CBI’s 20th anniversary. The night was filled with delicious food, joyful reunions, and Brett’s reflection on CBI’s first two decades. He thanked many groups: CBI board members, partner churches, missionaries, staff, and those who helped with the conference and banquet.
But that night, after I went to bed, I woke up and couldn’t fall back asleep. What kept me awake was the realization that we never had the opportunity to honor Brett and his Taylor. Brett thanked everyone, but we didn’t get to thank them.
If I could rewind and take the mic, I would have asked Brett to come to the front, I would have invited Taylor to stand with him, and I would have said:
Next month will mark 12 years since I first met Brett. If you think he has ideas now, you should’ve met him back then. If you think he moves his hands while talking now, well, back then you needed to watch your face and glasses if you were standing near him. Brett was a visionary back then, and he’s a visionary today.
But like any new director, there was a season of reorienting, reprioritizing, and refocusing on what God was calling CBI to do. Not an easy task. In that endeavor, Brett worked tirelessly meeting with current missionaries, recruiting potential new ones, balancing new ideas with existing ministries, praying for new partnering churches, keeping tabs on slim ministry budget, learning about Japanese bureaucracy, and having to deal with a new culture and new language. All while being a relatively new husband and father.
During that season, God taught Brett a valuable lesson in leadership: the way up is down. John 15:5 says, “Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” Fruit can only come through abiding in Christ. Abiding in Christ through physical and spiritual weakness. Abiding in Christ on his knees. Abiding by listening to Christ first before speaking. Abiding starts with following Christ, then leading others.
Brett is an leader and visionary who abides in Christ, who is ready to take CBI into the next chapter.
But God knew Brett couldn’t do this alone. He needed a cheerleader to encourage him to keep pressing on, a comforter during the difficult times, and a rock of faith. Taylor, you are just as essential to CBI as Brett is. Without you, Brett couldn’t be the leader that CBI needed and needs.
Taylor, your desire to be a living sacrifice led you and Brett to hop on a plane to Japan, led you to studying a language you didn’t know, led you to raising three precious kids in a different land, and led you to being in uncomfortable situations as a mom with different cultural expectations, because you have always wanted your life to say much about Christ.
God also had some different twists and turns for you and Brett, but your faith in our sovereign God painted such a beautiful picture of what the Christian life is: a faith in a God who knows the future, even though we don’t know exactly what that future will be.
Taylor, I know you don’t get the recognition you deserve, but our Savior sees you, and He’s been honored by your heart of love for Him and Brett.
So, we want to recognize and honor both of you!
And Brett, I thank God for you. I thank God for the gift of friendship that led to a partnership where God has allowed us to see His amazing hand at work over these years and will hopefully keep bearing fruit so the church in Japan will shine brightly!
Most of you reading this were not able to be at CBI’s celebration, but if you are encouraged by what God has done in Japan through CBI, if you are grateful for the privilege of being able to partner in some way in gospel ministry in Japan, would you honor and encourage Brett and Taylor? One simple way to do this would be by writing them a letter, either electronically or by hand (since Brett loves fountain pens!). You can e-mail them personally, send them to CBI’s email (info@cbijapan.org), or mail them to CBI (1-4-10 Taiko, Nakamura Ward, Nagoya, Aichi, 453-0801, Japan).
