KGU's Institute for the Study of Christianity and Culture recently sponsored a lecture by a 28-year old author of a book on bullying. The book came out of the author's personal experience of being bullied--an experience that eventually forced him to quit school altogether. As he shared his experience with over 200 students and teachers, it occurred to me that having a "safe place" is very important for people. The speaker explained that when he tried to tell his parents and teachers about the bullying that was going on, they basically replied, "Are you sure it's not your fault?"
Interestingly, one of the students asked him about whether or not he ever used his school's counseling room. "Well," he said, "a school counseling room is an okay idea, but the fact that you have to go to it reaffirms the notion that you're 'different' and that you have 'problems' to discuss. What I really wanted wasn't a place to go talk about my 'problems,' but just a place where I could be normal with other people--a place where I was accepted for who I was."
This struck me as so true. We all need a place to be fully accepted for the special creations of God that we are--a safe place. Church is supposed to be that kind of place for people, of course, but in a culture like Japan's, where participation in church is not part of mainstream life, "safe places" are sometimes hard to find.
At the Kamariya campus of KGU, I've been holding a "Chaplain's Lunch" every Friday. There's no program--it's just a time for students to gather, eat and chat. Hopefully, it's providing a safe place to some of our students. Heaven knows we all need to find a place like that.
