I started out this series as
a response to a brother who asked me about Gothold Beck. This is the 4th
and the last of that series. All Christians, which includes all great men, have
clay feet. This letter will not be pretty, but in the interest of honesty, I
want to tell it like it is. What was supposed to be a brief biographical sketch
of Gothold Beck has been more of a testimony of the Kichijoji movement. The
reason for this is that Kichijoji is Gothold Beck. This is what he produced.
And yet Kichijoji was more than one man. It was so massive and so unusual that
it has got to be more than the product of one man. All I know is that it was
Christ. What started out as a small assembly in the city of Kichijoji, in west
Tokyo, has gone all over the world in 50 years. In 30 years they had covered
Japan from the northern tip of Hokkaido to Okinawa. More than that, I don't
know how many more assemblies they have world wide. I know there are several in
Europe, at least one in LA, I know of one in Bangkok, and wherever Kichijoji
believers have gone they have started Kichijoji assemblies. I had one Japanese
brother living in Toronto, Canada, who was converted by reading Hikari Yo Are.
He had never been in a Christian church but somehow read one of my PB letters
where I mentioned Gothold Beck. He wrote me asking for permission to translate
my PB letters to send them to Japan.
One of the greatest nights
of my life was when a Pentecostal pastor called me asking if he could see me to
talk about Kichijoji. I was living with Hirotas at the time, and asked Miyuki
to have him for supper. I was terrified when she told me she had asked
Yamashina to come over for the meeting. Kichijoji is ultra anti-Pentecostal.
Anyone who speaks in tongues has got to be demonized. Oh boy, this will be fun.
What I saw that night was one of the most beautiful Christian scenes I ever
witnessed. Those three men sat there for three hours fellowshipping in Christ
sharing some of the most wonderful testimonies you will ever hear. I was
stunned. Then at 10:00 PM the Pentecostal pastor hit the highest note I have
ever heard. He said, “I acknowledge what you have is the Holy Spirit. Could
you tell me how can I get more of Christ?” That's it folks! I never heard
anything to top that.
How did this happen? I
really don't know. Gothold was terrific. He came as close to being the perfect
man as any one I have ever met. And yet he had some fatal flaws. I said Joe
Carroll was a very secretive person, and never had a close intimate friend that
stuck. Gothold seemed to be somewhat similar. At one time we were as close as
any friend I ever had. He was completely open. But I have noticed that there
have been breakups with everyone who was in his true inner-circle. I saw
ruptures that bewildered me. There were many good men that were very close to
him – and I still admire them - but Gothold talked like they were demonized. I
have never been able to figure out the reason for the breakups. The last one
that I heard of was his son-in-law. Sinji was as devoted a lieutenant as any
man ever had. I thought he was the natural successor to Gothold. I have no idea
what the issue was but I do know Sinji is out and there has been a complete
separation.
My own story is tragic. In
1987 I said, “That is the end for Kiriuto-kyo for me. From now on I am going
totally Kichijoji”. I was working for a Christian construction company at the
time, and, indirectly through me, Architect Japan won a contract, that amounted
to millions of dollars, to build an enormous center for Kichijoji in Karuizawa,
Both sides were ridiculous. Nakajima, the CEO of Architect Japan, had been half
saved through the John Cathcart project. He saw the miracles that could be done
with US 2X4 construction and started his company with Wirt Edmonds. He also saw
how the Lord had honored John Cathcart's faith and he thought he could walk on
water. Wirt came with his son, Robbi, and one other US carpenter and the four
of us were building several major projects. When we were up in Sendai building
a Bible School campus. Nakajima started dealing under the table by using money
paid upfront to build the present project. Rather than closing the gap he was
losing money on every project and, sooner or later, someone is going to be left
holding the bag. I called Gothold and told him Nakajima was using his money to
build the Sendai Bible School. Gothold stopped advanced payments. At a meting
in Karuizawa, with Gothold, Wirt, and I, Gothold asked Wirt if he could do
the Karuizawa project and cut Nakajima out of the picture. Wirt said he would
do it but needed Nakajima to handle Japanese end of things.
Shortly after that I went to
the states for six months and when I came back Wirt told me that the contract
had gone to Nakama.. Or in other words., Gothold broke his promise to Wirt.
There were many unbelievable BAD THINGS that happened on that project that I
can't discuss here. But between Sendai and Karuizawa we were building another
Bible school in Ikoma. While we were working on that, Wirt told me of the
crooked things that were going on with Nakajima. Gothold had a man in his
church who was in cahoots with Nakajima taking an enormous amount of money
under the table. I told Gothold about it and warned him to have another man
check the books with Murata. Gothold told me, “That is impossible. Murata is a
fine Christian man”. “Please check on him.” “I can't. I don't have any other
business man like him to do that work.”
Some time later my friends,
the Hirotas, were down in Kyushu attending a meeting and heard that Bill Cook
was the devil's man accusing a Christian brother (Rev. 12:10). A year later
some other men noticed that there were huge discrepancies in the cost of
things.. They figured that Murata had stolen well over $1,000,000 from them.
They confronted him. He broke down and confessed what he had done. Then he
wrote them a rubber check (that bounced) to repay them for what he had stolen
and disappeared. Two years after that Nakajima went belly up, going bankrupt
for a $1,000,000. Wirt lost over $250,000 of personal money to pay for material
that was purchased in his name but never paid. That went exactly the way I
thought it would and warned them. Gothold broke his promise to Wirt and got
burned by having a crook handle the funds. Unfortunately no one ever apologized
to me, and the last time I was in a Kichjoji meeting I had a very unpleasant
exchange with Sinji who warned me if I didn't straighten up I would no longer
be welcomed.
From 1995 on I have had no
contact with Gothold or Kichijoji. I still have friends who are still in the
fellowship and I have tried to keep up on news. Sometime around 2oo8 I heard
that Gothold had leukemia. I thought that would be the end of the story but
apparently he held on for a considerable time still actively engaged in the
ministry. He was never a man who allowed illness to slow him down. One time I
saw him when he was in Ikoma, with a fever, for a weekend of meetings. I asked,
“If you are that sick why are you here?” He replied, “I only operate by the
will of God. It was the will of God that I come, so the sickness is not a
factor.”. I am not sure of the date but I heard that about four years ago
Gothold left to take his place on the winners platform in heaven.
That was Gothold Beck. He
was truly a rare man of God indeed. He accomplished a work in Japan like no one
else has seen in post-war Japan history. He was a man of incredible integrity,
but, like all men, had clay feet..
If you want to emulate him
and do a work like Kichijoji by using his method – forget it! It won't work.
Successful missions are not accomplished by following someone else's method..
You have to have his spirit.
“The eyes of the Lord run to
and fro throughout the whole world (looking) to shew Himself strong in behalf
of them whose heart is perfect towards Him” (2Chron. 16:9). Thank God He found one such
man in Gothold Beck.
Father, thank You for
Gothold Beck,
bill
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