The other day we had lunch with a Japanese businessman who does something very fascinating. He meets with other Japanese businessman who despise religion and Christianity, and they read the Bible together. Attendance is by invitation only, and limited in number, which he explains is a good way to politely keep the Christians out (with a few exceptions who he accepts with care).

When he invites people to join the Bible reading group, he says the Bible contains valuable insights for life and even the way they do business. Most reply that the don’t like religion and are not Christian. “Great,” he replies, “this group is especially for people who don’t like religion, and we don’t ask Christians to join.”

Most accept the invitation, and he says most invariably come to faith in Jesus over time. He can’t say that for sure, though, because they don’t ask people about their faith directly.

They don’t sing or pray or do anything recognizably religious. Nor do they serve soft drinks or snacks. They sit around a table with glasses of water. They want to be there to read the Bible, and they don’t expect “extras.” The businessman who initially helped gather them together doesn’t “lead” but does help coordinate. They all take turns choosing what section of the Bible to read, and each week the person (who chose the reading) brings photocopies. They read and then pose questions and try to answer them together. In the process, they talk more personally and openly about their lives than perhaps at any other time. The truth is that Japanese men rarely talk openly about their lives (with one main exception: when they go out drinking after work).

The group is unique, and I’m not writing this post to encourage imitators. As a successful Japanese businessman, this man is in position to gather other businessmen. The men who come would almost certainly say “no” if a pastor or someone else outside the business world asked them to read the Bible.

What grabs my attention is how easily people respond to the Bible and Jesus once the barrier of Christian religion is removed. I think that also involved consciously laying aside internalized habits of control, pretense and manipulation. (Even outside religious settings I think most people who have spent time in religion carry around some baggage…).

Then it comes down to being real: I can only share with others what’s real in my own life.

By the way, as a bonus of moving outside the comfort and security of religion (that is, the man-made systems and rules that tell me I’m all right even when I’m not really hearing from or experiencing a walk with Jesus), as I move outside (the box) I’m free and challenged to live my faith out in reality. As they say, with freedom comes responsibility (to seek Jesus and live out church with others as the Bible describes it), and the challenges are real. I suppose it’s easier on the inside, but I prefer the reality and freedom on the outside.