Standing for the Rights of Others: Southern Baptists and a New Jersey Mosque

Photo by Frank van Leersum

The International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention has been doing some backpeddling after rather heroically coming to the aid of a Muslim community in New Jersey which was facing unfair zoning requirements in their efforts to build a mosque.

You can read more on the story here as reported by Christianity Today.

After the IMB and the SBC's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission filed an amicus brief (along wth 16 other groups) in support of the mosque, they faced some backlash from IMB trustee Dean Haun who deemed the amicus brief an "unholy alliance" and said:

"If we defend the rights of people to construct places of false worship, are we not helping them speed down the highway to hell?"

There's so much about that statement that should send chills down your spine.

So, I read that yesterday.  And then today, I read about a friend of mine, a Chicago church planter who's church was also being unfairly treated by a city zoning board.  His case was almost identical to the situation of the mosque in that the religious group was being blocked by city officials in the name of inadequate parking.  It quickly reminded me of one of my own church plants that recently had to deal with the same thing here in Chicagoland.

Now, let's leave aside the question of whether a pastor from rural Tennessee is in the best position to comment on the kind of urban zoning pressures that those of us in big cities have to deal with.  But, beyond commenting, Haun actually resigned from the IMB board and then apparently lead his church to suspend their giving to Southern Baptist Missions.

And then it gets even more concerning.

The IMB responded to the criticism by changing their processes for filing legal briefs.  Essentially, they have taken the position of siding with Pastor Huan's Morristown, Tennessee priorities and agreeing to never do it again.

A few points to consider:

1. Denying justice and equal treatment under the law to anyone is always wrong.

Because ... it's ... denying ... justice!

The second a Christian says that it is okay to deny a Muslim equal treatment under the law, that Christian forms an unholy alliance (to use Pastor Haun's phrase) with the perpetrators of injustice.   Just read a little Bonhoffer.  German Christians who failed to prophetically stand against the unjust treatment of Jews ... Russian Christians who failed to prophetically stand against the unjust treatment of Roma or Muslim people ... American Christians who failed to prophetically stand against  the unjust treament of African slaves ... anyone remember these things?

Pastor Haun, injustice is a highway to hell too!  Ethnocentrism and Islamophobia are false religions! You and your church have positioned yourself on the side of NOT defending the rights of others -- the side of injustice.

2. If you don't speak up for the rights of others, you will have no credibility in speaking up for your own rights.

This was the rationale of the IMB when they filed the brief:

[Our] specific interest in the brief arises out of our belief that all peoples of the world have the right to religious liberty, including the freedom to embrace the gospel. This is what we believe and why we take the gospel to them, despite situations that pose great risk. A public record by IMB of supporting freedom of religion for all people in the United States—regardless of their beliefs—gives IMB workers overseas a credible foundation from which to advocate for freedom of religious exercise in countries that are hostile to Christianity, penalize those who convert, or make it difficult for a new church to own or rent property for worship. … IMB’s call on the government of these other countries to support the religious freedom of their citizens will ring hollow if, in the USA, we only support freedom of religion for Christians.

And this is absolutely correct.  It is not only the just to defend the rights of everyone to religious liberty, but it simply makes sense.  Pastor Haun may not want to venture as far as Yemen or China or Nepal where the rights of Christians to plant churches and worship freely are not always as certain as they are in Morristown, Tennessee, but perhaps he can take a Megabus to Chicago and talk to the pastor of Immanual Baptist Church about their struggle over parking ordinances.  If we fail to defend the rights of a Muslim group in New Jersey, what have we to say when the City of Chicago denies a religious use permit to a Southern Baptist Church over the exact same issue?  What right have we to expect Muslim nations to give relgious liberty to those who wish to follow Jesus if we do not ourselves champion religious liberty as a universal right.

This isn't complicated theology... it's Golden Rule stuff (Mt. 7:12).

3. A Kingdom worldview is not afraid of the spread of non-Christian religions.  

Are you not yet tired of Christians who bemoan the opening of a new Mosque or Hindu temple in their communities? Do you not yet understand just how ungodly is that all too common "there goes the neighborhood" response to peoples of other faiths moving into town?

How long are we Christians going to be so stupid?

A Biblical worldview knows that the Kingdom of God is coming and that the gospel of that Kingdom must be proclaimed as a testimony to all people groups before then end (Mt. 24:14). When the nations move into town, we should be throwing parties because it means new opportunities to share the love of Jesus with those who don't know him.

very tired of Christians who get all panicky when they see a Mosque or Hindu temple being built in their communities.  To me, this is dumb and reflects a worldview that does not understand the Bible.  A Biblical worldview knows that the Kingdom is coming and that the gospel  of the Kingdom will be preached as a testimony to all peoples and then the end will come (Mt. 24:14).  When I see a mosque or temple being build, I rejoice because I know it means a new opportunity to share the love of Jesus with people who don't know him.

But people like Pastor Haun seem to be afraid of Islam.  They are afraid that "false religions" will take over their country.

Such people need to be reminded that this world is not their home and that the country they should be seeking is an eternal one.  Whatever happens to the USA is pretty darn irrelevent from the perspective of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom will come and reign forever.  No religion can ever overcome it, delay it or alter its course .  When the Muslims and the Hindus and the Buddhists and others come to town... when they come to Morristown ... that is cause to rejoice and to extend welcome.  It is a sign of the Kingdom and the coming of the new age.

How to Lead a Course on Diaspora Missions for Your Church, Small Group or Team

In a time when migration issues are so controversial, followers of Jesus don't always know where they are supposed to stand.  Discipleship on issues of diaspora, immigration, and God's purposes among the people on the move has never been more important.

For several years now, people like myself and many of my friends have been working hard to create resources that will enable you to get equipped and to equip others.  Below you will find a straighforward curation of some of the absolute best resources available and some guidance on how to use them to start a class for your team, family, small group or church.

Most of these resources are free.  I challenge you to plan a class where you are.  If you have questions along the way, I promise I will help you.  Here you go...

Lausanne Global Classroom - Diaspora

This brief but comprehensive video was produced by the Lausanne Movement and the Global Diaspora Network.  If I was teaching a diaspora course, I would let this video provide the outline for it.  You will notice that it very nicely breaks down into bite-size segments and covers a wide range of issues related to diaspora missions.   I recommend building your course around this video.

Cost: Free

Usage: Video is broken into 10 segments. Use one or two segments per session and direct your Bible teaching and reflection around these segment themes.

Scattered to Gather: Embracing the Global Trend of Diaspora

This exceptionally brief text (less than 50 pages) provides an overview of the subject of diaspora from a Biblical and sociological perspective.  The PDF version is available for free and can give students an approachable introduction to the foundational missiological concepts that inspired the birth of the Global Diaspora Network at Cape Town 2010 and the Global Diaspora Forum in 2015.  I would let your students begin with this text before going on to the other key texts mentioned below.

Cost: Free

Usage: Focus on giving reading assignments at the end of each class section. The key sections are the "Seoul Declaration", "Diasporas and God's Mission", and "Next Steps".  Ask students to read these on their own time and allow 5-10 minutes of each session for open discussion on the themes raised.  If you course is longer, supplement with readings from this blog or Global Diasporas and Mission (below).  

Other reading: Scattered and Gathered: a Global Compendium of Diaspora Missiology ($72.00);  Strangers Next Door: Immigration, Migration and Mission ($9.99 Kindle); Global Diasporas and Mission (Free download)

Borderless Prayer

No course on mission is complete without a prayer strategy.  We released Borderless Prayer during advent of 2016, but the guide is relevant at any time of the year.  By using this guide, your students are going to learn about diaspora issues from various perspectives and be guided in how to pray. Depending on how long your course is, I would use one or more of these prayer articles during each session.  Cost: $1.99 Kindle; $5.99 paperback

Other prayer: Global Diaspora Network Prayer Hub

Usage: Designate time during each class session to pray.  Use 1-2 articles from the book to facilitate this prayer.  

Of course, you want to use the Bible as your foundation for any class on diaspora.  I do my best to keep providing Biblical reflections on diaspora right here.  Just use my "diaspora" label to currate those articles.  I also don't mind recommendind the main Borderless site for this as well as the Global Diaspora Network.

I will keep my eyes open and update this as new resources become available.  For now, the above are exceptional and form the basis for an excellent class on diaspora.

A Sight as Clear as a Hittite

As Abraham walked through the land of Canaan, he knew it was his.

God had promised as much.

Raise your eyes now, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. (Gen. 13:14)

But when Sarah died, meekly he went to the elders of the Hittites and declared:

I am a stranger and an alien residing among you.  

Here again is that word, גֵּר (ger).

Give me property among you for a burying place.

What follows is an exchange unparalleled in Scripture in which two groups of people, foreign to each other ... other to each other ... out do one another in showing honor.  Give it a read and you will know what I'm speaking about.

One thing screams to me.  For both the Hittites and the clan of Abraham, it was a given that each had much to learn and benefit from the other.  Honor was appropriate because their hearts told them that the other was not one to be demeaned or dismissed but rather embraced and blessed.  Honor was fitting because the inherent worth of the other was obvious. 

And asserting ones legal rights to land? Just didn't seem to be as important as the treasure seen in the stranger's face.

Can I see as clearly as the Hittites when I meet a stranger, alien, immigrant, or foreigner?

Oh, what treasures am I missing in the face of the other?

I'm an Alien

The very first occurence in the Bible of the Hebrew word גֵּר (ger) is quite illuminating.

The word means alien, stranger, foreigner, migrant.  

But, in Genesis 15, it doesn't refer to someone else. It's not a term used to describe the "other".  Rather, it is a word used by God to describe what will soon happen to his own people.

Know this for certain, that your offspring shall be aliens in a land that is not theirs, and shall be slaves there, and they shall be oppressed for four hundred years. (Gen. 15:13)

Referring, of course, to the generations spent by Israel in Egypt, this time as aliens was to be formative -- it would, along with their deliverance, form the two sides of their identity as God's chosen people.  To this day, celebrate a Passover Sedar with observant Jews and you will quickly learn that the "land not theirs" still leaves a mark on who they are.

Actually, a follower of Jesus has only to celebrate the Lord's Supper to know the same.  God's people are still very much those that have been brought up out of Egypt.

It is the normal way of speaking to use the word alien, stranger, foreigner or migrant to refer to someone else -- the other.  But we are not supposed to be normal.  From a Biblical perspective, from Genesis 15:13 to 1 Peter 2:11, God's people have always been "aliens and strangers".  Indeed, it is the definitive way of faith according to Hebrews 11:13-16.

All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return.

Those who speak this way make it clear what they are seeking.  I wonder if my words provide the same kind of clarity.  

What are you seeking? What kind of homeland? What do you mean when you say refugee, immigrant, alien, stranger, foreigner? 

Do you realize that you are the stranger?

Do you understand what it means that this is not your home?

Scattered and Gathered: A Global Compendium of Diaspora Missiology

It was a tremendous honor to be a part of a truly landmark text on missiology that has just recently been released from Regnum Books and the Global Diaspora Network.  Scattered and Gathered: A Global Compendium of Diaspora Missiology is a monumental work of some 600 pages that seeks to provide a broad treatment of a subject that is absolutely critical for 21st mission thinkers and leaders.

In my section, I was able to work with a number of authors from around the world to treat the subject of "The Mission of the Church in Global Diaspora."  My co-editor was Grant McClung and joining me as authors were Lachi Adhikari, P. Rajendran, Sam George, Carol Mack-Lacey, Chandler Im, John Oh, Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, Ken Baker, T.V. Thomas, and Lawrence Ko.

As a contributor, I am certainly not unbiased in my commendation of this book, but I am very proud of it.  There is no question that I will be referring people to it for years to come.  I'm even beginning to plan some follow up book projects that I think will be very exciting.

You can order it online through Amazon.com.  

KEY LEADERS GATHERED IN SINGAPORE RESOLVE TO ACCELERATE GLOBAL TRAINING IN DIASPORA MISSION

Key evangelical educators, business leaders, and mission agency directors from around the world gathered last month in Singapore to discuss diaspora training for the global church and to prepare for the forthcoming Scattered and Gathered: A Global Compendium of Diaspora Missiology from Regnum Books. Deliberations focused on setting priorities and developing strategies for effective institutional and informal training in diaspora missiology and culminated in the crafting of the Singapore Resolution which reflects several areas of consensus about the way forward in equipping the next generation of researchers and practitioners of diaspora mission. Dr. Tetsunao Yamamori, President Emeritus of Food for the Hungry and former International Director of the Lausanne Movement, was among those at the consultation. He concluded:

“Those gathered in Singapore affirmed the importance of advancing diaspora missiology to grapple with the issues facing the church today. In the coming decade, churches will experience the fruit of God’s blessing among the peoples on the move beyond belief.”

The consultation of some 40 participants were convened by the Global Diaspora Network (GDN), an international body of leaders originally commissioned by the Lausanne Movement at the Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in Cape Town, South Africa in 2010 to lead the global Church in fulfilling God’s missional purposes among diaspora peoples. Participants characterized the gathering as a strategic follow-up to the Manila 2015: Global Diaspora Forum which brought together hundreds of leaders from around the world. Dr. Miyon Chung, theologian and professor at Morling College (Australia), was among those who left Singapore with a clearer sense of vision and strategy:

I found the consultation in Singapore and the upcoming compendium, Scattered and Gathered, to be powerfully relevant and significant. The greatness of the Church can no longer be assessed by the magnificence and opulence of cathedrals but in the effective utilization of God’s people on the move. In Singapore, I gained valuable insights and tools on how to nurture and equip the Church for missions in the 21st century.

Dr. Joanna Felciano-Soberano, Academic Dean of Asian Theological Seminary (Philippines) echoed this sentiment:

The first thing that I have done upon my return from Singapore is to reflect on the conversations and action plans within my own seminary context. I have been more conscious to include diaspora conversations in my own classes and now must work on the diaspora missiology curriculum template for our missions department. I am now more aware of the critical role of the Church and the seminary in orienting and informing the community of faith on the compelling challenge of reaching the diasporas with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Hosting the consultation was the Singapore Centre for Global Mission and its National Director, Lawrence Ko. Ko said that churches must embrace the “new thinking” known as diaspora missiology and begin to understand and engage “the people on the move in our borderless world.”

The official meetings of the consultation were held from 2-5 March 2016 in Singapore and moderated by Dr. Sadiri Joy Tira, Lausanne Movement Catalyst for Diasporas. Dr. Tira often referred participants to the Seoul Declaration on Diaspora Missiology and the Cape Town Commitment call to action on diaspora, explaining that the Singapore Resolution is following up on the mandates of those statements.

In addition to crafting the Singapore Resolution, participants reviewed the forthcoming Scattered and Gathered: A Global Compendium of Diaspora Missiology, considered sample syllabi from diaspora mission courses being taught around the world, provided feedback on the Lausanne Global Classroom curriculum on diaspora mission, and developed a basic curriculum framework for training in diaspora missiology.

[In addition to my official report above, let me add a word of thanks to those who supported me and Borderless in our participation in this event.  I was able to personally attend as well as help three other participants from the majority world to come as well thanks to your generosity.  While in Sinapore, I used down time to have a number of very fruitful meetings with other partners.  Thanks so much for standing with us! -- Cody]

The Uncomplicated First Step of Entering the Other's World

Suresh the Tamil Taxi Driver

Tonight I was treated to a lovely dinner at at a local Korean restaurant by a Korean friend of mine.  Our dinner party also included three Filipinos, a Japanese and one Canadian.

We split up and took a cab home. I sat in front next to the driver, Suresh.  

I said, "Good evening, how are you?"

He said, "I am good, sir, and you?"

I said, looking at his driver ID, "I am good. Is your name Suresh?" 

He said, "Yes," with a smile.

I said, "Oh, your name means 'God is good'." He smiled wider because he hadn't ever known the proper meaning and had only heard that it was a name associated with a Hindu deity. 

I asked, "What kind of last name do you have?" And I tried to pronounce "Arokiam" correctly.

He said, "Tamil."

We then spoke about his life, his children, his parents, and how he was a third generation Singaporean who had never actually been to India.  We talked of cricket and Hindu peoples in Chicago, and that my favorite Tamil breakfast was idli and podi.

Suresh said, "You need to find a very old cook to give you proper idli.  Young people now don't know real Tamil food."

He also said that my accent was just like an Indian -- that if we spoke on the phone he would think I was Indian.  I told him that I felt that was a great compliment and thanked him.  We reached our destination and he was clearly sad to see me go.

Aliza the Malay Cashier

Several hours later, I gave in to jet lag and wandered onto Bukit Tima Road and over to the 24 hour supermarket.  I man-shopped and ended up staggering up to the check out at 3:30 AM with arms fully loaded with various food items and many bags of dried mangos to take home to my wife.

The cashier was a tiny, hijabbed Muslim lady and she smiled when I approached.  She quietly laughed and said, "You didn't want a cart, sir?"

I said, "You know how men shop, yes? We don't even know what we are shopping for until we see it. And then suddenly we have spent all our money." 

Laughing, she asked, "You don't sleep, sir?" 

"I'm jetlagged and decided to go for a walk.  I'm visiting Singapore from Chicago."

Then I asked, "Are you originally from Singapore?" She said she came from Malaysia and explained that she took a bus daily into Singapore about one hour to work the night shift at the supermarket.  We talked about her family and mine and my work with coffee and how  God is good to give us many blessings that we never expected.  

She said her name was Aliza.  I said mine was Cody.  And the tiny hijabbed Malay woman extended a soft, timid hand for me to shake.  We wished one another a good evening and both thought we would likely meet again.

Let's not over complicate this

There is much that is and will be complicated as we attempt to live a borderless life by entering the world of the other. There is much that is complicated about changing the world. But one thing that is entirely uncomplicated, is beginning the journey.  I don't live in Singapore, but if I did, I could easily have asked Suresh to take me to a place for good idli.  I also can easily go back to that supermarket a few times a week and slowly get to know Aliza.  And the three of us have already agreed that (1) God is good and (2) that our ethno-religio-cultural differences are not barriers big enough to keep us out of one another's worlds.

Entering the other's world is just as simple as beginning the conversation.  No advanced missiological or cross-cultural training is necessary.  There are little things that you can learn to help you, but you cannot really be taught to actually do it.  You eventually just have to do it.

And all our hopes to change the world begin there -- with  a simple, first conversation with Suresh and Aliza.

Lips Sewn Shut in a World of Fence Builders

Photo Credit: CNN

From CNN: In one of the most extreme protests since the start of the refuee crisis, about 10 men trapped on the Greek-Macedonian border have sewn their lips shut to silently oppose being blocked from continuing further into Europe.

What I'm saying is, people will move. You can't stop that.

It's a divine thing on the one hand.  God is the first first mover of peoples. His original "fill the earth" command (Gen. 1:28), was very clear.  And a simple look back at the world through the lens of Acts 17:26 to see that it is God who determines the times and places where people should live should be enough to convince us that He is not interested in a static world of the permenanent ethnic enclaves. God is interested in filling the world with his image bearers and to do this so that people can reach out for him and find him.  More on that another time.

And then there is evil and sin and the Enemy and all which keeps arising which pushes people away from their homes -- the war and the killings and the disease and the poverty and the genocide and the environmental disasters and so much more.

There is no stopping it.

You can put up walls and fences.  They will only exacerbate the problems.

In a world of ever-accelerating people movement, the one who builds the highways will prove very wise.  The one who builds the walls, history and the Kingdom will prove to be foolish and cruel.

What is meant by highways? Channels (implications for legal, physical, economic, technological infastructures) of preferred movement which governments create and organizations and businesses support and leverage.  But such highways are never built by those who are in love with the status quo and protecting what they have -- those who are unwilling to adventure and risk for the chance of a better world.  Those who see migrants burgeoning at the borders as sub-human takers and threats can see no good in opening the gates.  But if you have eyes to see the throngs as bearers of the image of God, each one laden with more intrinsic beauty and value than the entire Rocky Mountains -- if you can see that, you will run to lay asphalt for a new and glorious highway.

Oh build the highways!

I want to run to the man in the photo above and cry out to him.  Why are you shutting your mouth? Some have said they don't want to hear what you have to say.  Such do not speak for me.  Let me hear your story.  Let me hear your wisdom.  Let me learn from you about how to be strong and wise and resilient.  Let me cut those threads!  I want to hear your voice.

Dumb Okies Like Me: A New Relfection on America's Greatest Migration

Image Credit: USDA

Today, a historical reflection followed by three principles and three prayers.

The "Dust Bowl" environmental conditions of the 1930s -- a period of extreme and prolonged drought and dust storms affecting especially Great Plains states like Oklahoma -- resulted in the displacement of 3.5 million Americans.  This represented the largest internal migration event in the history of the United States.  

As Oklahoma families struggled to survive in the "dirty thirties", word gradually began to spread about a better land far away.  Consider:

California! California! California! To the Okies the word "California" was magical, describing a place where they could go to better their lives. It was said that thousands of workers were needed to harvest a hundred different crops -- peaches, pears, tomatoes, potatoes, beans, apples, oranges -- the list seemed endless. It was said that no one ever went hungry in California because lush orchards were everywhere and people just helped themselves to whatever fruits or vegetables they wanted. It was said that no one ever got sick out there, ever, and it was big news if anyone died in California before their 200th birthday!  -- Jerry Stanley, Children of the Dust Bowl

Of course, the dark reality was that these promises of paradise were empty and migrant families reached California only to find exploitation, hostility, violence, and hatred towards "dumb Okies".  

As I consider again this part of my home state's history -- I don't think I've given it much thought since high school -- I do so with a mind towards modern displacement stories:

1. Displacement happens for all kinds of reasons and there is really no people group or part of the world that is immune. The number of Syrians that have fled their homeland now far exceeds the total number displaced by the Dust Bowl.  As of writing this, the UNHCR has the total at above 4.3 million.  When in the West we hear of displacement events we tend to think of it as a developing world issue.  But, the Dust Bowl was only a few generations ago and included people that were a lot like me -- maybe even some relatives.  Smaller displacements happen all the time.  It is very foolish to think of displacement as something that could never happen to me.  There is an old Dust Bowl tale of a California child who observed some migrants picking cotton in a field and commented to his father, the owner of the field, "Daddy, those Okies almost look like real people when they stand up on two legs."  Dear God, help me to see myself in the face of every refugee I meet -- we really are the same, whether I see it or not.

2. The promise of a better life somewhere else is still proclaimed wherever people are vulnerable.  I have seen so many examples of this.  I knew of Rohingyas that were migrating en masse to a certain Midwestern city because of the promise of jobs only to find the celebrated factory closed upon their arrival.  I've heard Bhutanese friends tell of the great opportunities in Buffalo and then Oakland and then Pittsburg and now Columbus.  I've heard women tell heartbreaking stories of moving from the village to Kampala because of the promise of a job or a place to stay with relatives only to be exploited and forced into sex work.  I have Nepali friends in Dubai who moved there because of the grand promises of job recruiters only to find themselves in oppressive debt to those same recruiters upon arrival.  Sometimes these promises of greener pastures are told by well-meaning relatives who simply long to reunite the family and will bend the truth in order to accomplish that.  Other times there is intentional and malicious deception spread by oppressors who want to exploit and enslave the vulnerable.  The mission of managing expectations and protecting migrants from exploitation is holy, thankless and difficult.  I have not sorted out how to do it well, but I pray that while mine is just one of many voices my migrant friends will hear, let it at least be truthful.

3.  Too often the world's pilgrims find no welcome.  I can begin to imagine now the feelings of my Okie ancestors who encountered "Okies Keep Out" signs posted seemingly everywhere upon completion of the arduous weeks or months-long journey across Route 66.  Now every, single day my newsfeed has several stories of similar unwelcome.  It may be a presidential candidate in the USA pandering to some rather racist group by spouting anti-immigrant rhetoric or any number of horrific stories of hostility towards refugees in Europe.  It seems like every day I see a new image of refugees crowded at some fence line in Europe.  Meanwhile, I celebrate the nation of Uganda which is currently hosting greater than half a million refugees!  On a recent trip I found myself waiting for my flight at the gate in Dubai.  Glancing around the seating area I noticed that many people where holding the distinctive white and blue plastic bags emblazoned with the letters "IOM".  These were refugees!  I decided to make my way around the room to greet them.  I sat down with one husband and wife from Afghanistan who were on their way to Texas.  We talked for a while and before departing I felt the need to tell them the truth.  "Not everyone will be happy for you to come to America," I said.  "But I am happy.  I welcome you.  I am very glad you are coming to live in my country."  Feeling a heart of welcome to refugees and immigrants is grace.  It must be grace because I have some really awful sin in other parts of my life.  So, since it is grace, I give thanks for it and ask God to increase my welcome and my hospitality.  How can I go to greater lengths to welcome the sojourner?  Lord show me. 

Enough with the Huddled Masses Already!

The world has gone mad with it's increasingly hostile approach to migrants. We cry for walls and fences, turn back boats and ship people off to dead end camps and hidden away detention centers. We put a gag in the mouths of those who would cry out for justice and trumpet out an exclusive invitation only to the best and brightest. Meanwhile the base of the New Colossus, must be deeply dust-covered. Brush it away and read the inscription that must have been written by some strange and alien civilization:

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

For Example, let's end Rohingya Suffering

Photo courtesy BBC World

So, here is an example of what I'm talking about. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32970808

Most people have still never heard of the Rohingya peoples, but for those of us who have been in refugee ministry for a while, we have heard of their plight for years.  I still remember the shock and joy of discovering an entire, large apartment complex totally filled with Rohingya refugees in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.  I don't know them well, but whenever I hear an update about their plight, my spirit groans.

I'm not going to tell their story here but to say that they are the ultimate people without a country.  They are South Asians who have spent the last few generations in Burma thanks to the post-abolition policies of Great Britain who semi-forcibly reshuffled the peoples of the world through their ghastly system of indentured servitude (which alone is enough for the entire world to call the UK to step up and solve the Rohingya problem that their greed is ultimately responsible for creating).

But I digress.

Yesterday, I mused about Grey's Anatomy (which is playing in the background as I read through the morning news and blogs) and how TV series' writers with a vision only as big as the world seem to have great difficulty in writing about changing the world.  It's far easier to write about a great character getting killed off in a car accident than to imagine them actually realizing their potential to make history.  In trying to inspire our newly arrived set of summer interns, referenced this and hoped to convince them that God isn't like this at all.

Perhaps it is the logical outcome of my evangelical generation's upbringing that we either give in to the numbing influences of the prevailing culture or finally throw off the restraints of small-mindedness -- to rebel against the drop-in-the-bucket kind of thinking and utterly give oneself to actually changing the world.  Those early days of Piper and the Passion Conference Posse must finally take on flesh and dwell as uncomfortably as the Hulk in a china closet in this basically status quo world of trendy protests, je suis whateverisms, and awareness campaigns that never do anything.

So for me.  What I do now when I hear about the Rohingyas is I start to ask myself, "What is the plan to actually solve this problem?  Why can't I be the one who makes it?"  Because I'm sick of assuming that I can only do my part!  If I am content to only do my part, transformation won't come because by now I realized that the vast majority of people will never do their part!  Some won't because they cannot.  Others won't because they simply don't care.  At 37, I know that I must do the part of thousands if things are going to change.  And I know that while I came to the Lord's table empty handed at first, I've been at the table so many times for so long that I can only blaspheme Him by the suggestion that my hands are still empty.

I can change the world.

Indeed, the one who has written in his book all the days of my life before even one of them came to pass intends that it should be.

So, Amen! May it be!

Bhutanese-Nepali Community Organizes the "Stop Suicide Project" (Feb. 28, 2015)

Consider this an update to the issue that I have brought up a few times here on this blog, most notably here:

The Bhutanese are Killing Themselves at an Alarming Rate
A Report on Suicide among Bhutanese-Nepali Refugees
Calling on the Bhutanese Refugee Community to Stop Killing Yourselves

I am thrilled to see that a number of key leaders in the US-based diaspora group have taken the initiative to speak out on suicide and have gone as far to organized a program in Akron, Ohio under the "Stop Suicide Project" banner and presented by the Menuka Memorial Foundation.  This is a worthy effort to raise awareness and open dialogue in a community that has suffered one of the highest suicide rates in the world.  I applaud especially the artist-leaders who have lent their talents and the organizational and leaders who have sought to bring mental health professionals into this event.

A couple issues that I'd like to highlight:

1. Akron is an excellent choice for this event as it represents one of the largest hubs for secondary resettlement among the Bhutanese in the USA and is a true weigh-station for Bhutanese travel from the Midwest to the East coast and vice versa.  Most Bhutanese east of the Mississippi have been through Akron at one point or another.  Of course, I hope that similar events will take place in many other cities as well.

2. One apparent omission is the involvement of spiritual leaders in the effort.  Hindu pundits, Christian pastors and Buddhist lamas should find this to be an issue of common ground.  It would be a very powerful message indeed to see pastor, pundit and lama joining hands to proclaim the holiness of life, the inherent evil of suicide, and to tell the community that it is good and acceptable (not shameful) to ask for help with emotional and mental difficulties.

If you are around the Akron area, don't miss this event. I, for one, really wish I could be there!

Oy Vey: Remember When it wasn't Cool to be an Anti-Semite

Photo Credit: Unknown (Contact me)

I seriously like Jews.

I mean, I'll pass on the Manishewitz, but in general, wow, I love those people.  Yeshua, of course, is my favorite.  He did die for me after all and indwells me by his Spirit. But, he is in good company.

As a goy-boy growing up in rural Oklahoma I was not afforded many opportunities for, well, schmoozing with the Chosen People, but as my world gloriously expands God is giving me more and more encounters with Jews of many backgrounds.  I'm getting opportunities for cultural learning, friendship and partnership.  Yiddish words and phrases in sitcoms are starting to make sense and I'm secretly (not so secret now, I guess) hoping for an invite to a pakka Purim celebration (okay, "pakka" is Hindi lingo rather than Yiddish, but old habits die hard. Would the Yiddish be echt?)

But what is going on today? Is it just me or is the mood changing?  Though I grew up with very little global exposure, I somehow imbibed a rather undiluted message about the Jews -- i.e. antisemitism is evil.

So why does it suddenly seem more okay to be antisemitic?  Consider the following short video taken of a man simply walking the streets of Paris as a Jew:



Are you kidding me?

Of course this is just the tip of the iceberg with a seemingly growing number of terrorist threats and attacks directed towards Jews, consider:

The recent desecration of Jewish graves in France
The shooting at a synagogue in Denmark
The conspiracy and cover up regarding the massacre of Jews in Argentina

To mention just a few high-profile incidents.

It's enough to prompt Israel's PM, Benjamin Netanyahu to call for Jews to come "home" en masse to the Promised Land.  A fact that's sure to tempt a few of you to dust off some of your old Jenkins-Lahaye novels (you know exactly where they are, don't you?).

Of course, it get's even more meshuggah.  On the one hand, you have Hollywood legend Shirley MacLaine writing some really stupid stuff about karma and the holocaust.  Her speculation that the millions of Jews slaughtered by the Nazis may have had it coming to them due to bad deeds committed in a previous life was newsworthy for about five minutes.  But, hey, Vanilla Ice is trending on Twitter so ... at least our priorities are in order.

Swing the pendulum from the famous to the obscure and you find this bizarre story of a Iowa woman who  was apparently trying to convert a Jewish neighbor to Christianity through the old beat-them-till-they-convert method.

Oy gevalt!

And then there are my own evangelical tribesmen (and tribeswomen) who in their zeal to always be attacking everything that U.S. President Barak Obama says, rushed to defend the Crusades in response to the President's suggestion that they might have been kind of a bad thing.  The standard defense posted and re-posted especially in the Facebook-sphere went something like this:

"Silly Obama, don't you know that the Crusades were essentially defensive struggles against extremist Islamic powers bent on the conquest of Europe?  Gosh, you really are a Muslim aren't you?"

And before you go about comfortably dismissing me to some ideological camp that you've taught yourself to ignore, let me say that I begrudgingly voted for McCain and No One in the past two presidential elections, respectively.  Not that it's any of your business.

But look here.  Putting aside whatever defensive motives may or may not have been at play in the various Crusades (and to what extent those motives were shared by the actual Crusaders) for a moment, I must ask.  Have we really forgotten how many Jews were killed by Christians during the Crusades? I blogged a bit about this recently (Here is the link in case you missed it).  I don't understand how this isn't a no-brainer for my fellow Jesus-followers.  The Crusades resulted in the massacre of thousands of Jews.  They don't get to be defended.  Why isn't that the end of the story?

So, here I am, scratching my head. Praying. And wondering what good a little voice like mine can do in this context.  Should I start a #Jewishlivesmatter or #JesuisHebreu? But leveraging trendiness doesn't go very far.

Pondering.

For now, I feel that I want to say without qualification that I genuinely love and admire the Jews.  As a follower of Jesus, I know that they are a people greatly honored by the God I worship.  I owe my spiritual heritage to their stewardship of faith and the Scriptures.  As a student of people and culture, I am intrigued by the festivals, the language, the religion, the history, the music and pretty much all things Jewish.  As a human, I rejoice in our shared humanity and know that I'm richer in relationship to Jews and poorer when separated.

Those who know me well, will know how sincere I am when I say that I would love for more Jews to move into my neighborhood.  If the man in the video above came walking by my house -- or up to my door -- he would find a warm welcome.

Join me in praying for peace for the Jewish diaspora wherever they live in the world.

Happy 206th, President Lincoln: Slavery Abolition Facts

In honor of Abraham Lincoln's 206th birthday, here are some abolition facts for you:

Iceland abolished slavery in A.D. 1117.

Pope Paul III forbid the enslavement of indigenous peoples in the America's in  1537.  Forced displacement and systematic oppression was still okay.  Oh ... and of course Africans could still be enslaved.

Portugal banned the buying and selling of Chinese slaves in 1595.  Black slaves still super cool with them.

Russia abolished slavery in 1723.

Sierra Leone was founded by the British as a colony for freed slaves in 1787.  Domestic slavery, perpetuated by the wealthy, wasn't outlawed there until 1928.

Haiti declared independence from France in 1804, perhaps the only truly successful slave revolt in modern history.

The Abolition of the Slave Trade Act was passed in Britain in 1807. The United States banned the trade the following year though President Thomas Jefferson called Congress to make the slave trade illegal in 1806.  A slew of nations abolished slavery or slave trading in the decades that followed.

The last slaves were freed in Mexico in 1829, but when the Republic of Texas was established in 1836, it legalized slavery there.

President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, one of the most important executive orders in United States history.  It was followed by passage of the 13th amendment two years later.

Oklahoma, then Indian Territory, didn't abolish slavery until 1866.

In the 80 years following the British abolition of the slave trade, Brazil imported an additional 1 million African slaves and became the world's leading producer of coffee.  Slavery was finally abolished in Brazil in 1888.

The British, who had abolished the slave trade in 1807, continued using Indians as indentured servants on a large scale until 1917.  Many long-established Indian populations around the world began during this period of forced displacement.

Slavery continued legally in Ethiopia until 1942 when it was officially abolished by Emperor Haile Selassie.

Slavery was still legal in the nations of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, UAE, and Oman until the 1960s.

The most recent nations to make slavery a crime were Niger (2003) and Mauritania (2007).

Slavery is now officially illegal in all nations.  However, estimates suggest that more than 35 million people remain enslaved around the world.

Resources:

The Global Slavery Index - http://www.globalslaveryindex.org/findings/

The UN International Labor Organizatin - http://www.ilo.org

Brewing a Better World (Part 5): Reversing Coffee's Dark History in a Borderless World

Photo by Craig Sunter

We'll make this the last in the highly-caffeinated 5-part series on coffee, business, and mission in the 21st century that I've entitled, "Brewing a Better World".  [Catch up on the whole series here.]

Today I want to continue my musing upon the idea of coffee as the perfect "Great Commission Commodity".  

Everywhere I go I repeat a simple statement that I believe is absolutely critical for the people of God to digest as they engage in 21^st century mission. Here it is:

In the 21^st century, people keep moving, especially to the cities and yet stay connected to everywhere.  

This last phrase, about connections, speaks to the reality of globalization in the world today.  A globalized world is a borderless world connected by high-tech communication, high-speed travel, and high-impact influencers whose messages resound from Bollywood to Belfast and from Twitter to Timbuktu (seriously, the city in Mali).  But long before mobile phones outnumbered toilets (a real fact that needs to be addressed, here's a tiny awareness project we did on this) and before Viber made it possible for me to call Uganda from Chicago for free, it was coffee that began to show us that this is indeed a small world after all. Coffee was the first truly global commodity and is the second biggest in the world today (behind oil, which isn't nearly as tasty).  Coffee moves today in ways very similar to the way peoples move and the potential to leverage that movement for the sake of mission is very interesting to me.  As I hop around coffee houses in the US I’m noticing that more and more local roasters are even bypassing “Big Coffee” in favor of direct sourcing strategies – a trend that ties people movement and coffee movement even more closely together.  Again, the key is to leverage movement for mission, which means transforming realities for the sake of Christ  - till all people movement and all coffee movement means gospel movement.

And take this a step further,  if Bosch is right when he says that mission is about transforming reality (and he is right) then the coffee industry has tremendous potential for holistic Kingdom work.  Coffee has a “dark history” (to lift a phrase from Antony Wild) closely tied to slavery, corporate greed and abuse, ecological devastation and worse.  The finest coffees in the world, consumed by the West’s most comfortable suburbanites and grooviest hipsters are nevertheless grown in the poorest regions of the globe by people who are lucky if they make enough money to feed their families. Coffee has not only had a front row seat for some of the greatest injustices in history but the industry as a whole continues to do much to perpetuate the same systemic evils.  

But that’s exactly where things get interesting.  

First of all, coffee shops have always been fertile ground for over-stimulated people to stimulate one another to ideas of innovation, social change, and even revolution (e.g. both the French and American Revolutions were essentially brewed – pun intended – in coffee shops).  I observe today that crowds of caffeinated coffee consumers could still be rallied around coffee production strategies that brought about positive and sustainable transformation. To say nothing of using coffee shops as third-spaces to catalyze all manner of justice causes.

What is more, the business of coffee growing and shipping puts one in close proximity to poverty, disease, violence and the long-term effects of violence, the global gateways of forced migration (trafficking), and other forms of oppression.  Proximity gives way to intentional presence for the Christ-follower, to incarnation and thus to strategic engagement and partnership for the sake of Kingdom transformation.  So, the implications here are deep for how we do business and to what end.  What is clear to me is that the best way to address injustices perpetuated or ignored by the coffee industry is to radically transform the way that business is done. 

So, we close the series today with two quite different concepts - globalization and justice - that will absolutely need to be taken together if we are ever going to end or stop anything.  What does the world look like from your seat?  How are you and your team engaging in global connections and partnerships for the sake of bringing Kingdom justice to bear?  

Well, the coffee shop in which I sitting as I write this is closing.  I need to wrap this up.  I've enjoyed pouring out my heart to you during this series.  Pray for me and for everyone at Trinity and Endiro as we journey with the Lord in this new endeavor.  

Brewing a Better World (Part 4): The 10/40 Window & The Coffee Belt

Now into part four of this series of musings about how magical beans are going to usher in the millennial reign of Christ . . . well, that's not it exactly, but you know, something big and lofty and mission-y and such . . . I want to begin to muse specifically about the commodity of coffee.  I hereby introduce a phrase sure to take the world by storm, "Great Commission Commodity" and ask:

Is coffee the perfect Great Commission Commodity for 21st century missions?

I will dedicate a couple posts to this question but begin today with a very intriguing image:

Original image by Coffeeforless.com, modified by C. Lorance

Intriguing, isn't it? Or is it just me? 

The "10/40 Window" has long been associated with the world's least reached peoples.  If this is a totally new concept for you, please read up on it at Joshua Project here. Of course, one of the great passions of my life is to travel around and spread the news that God has "opened the window" and scattered unreached peoples from there to everywhere else in the world.  And most of time time when I talk about this, I am addressing people in the West who need to be awakened to the presence of 10/40 Window peoples in their own cities and thereby mobilized to reach out to them with the hope and wholeness of Lord Jesus.  BUT, it is also true that global migration occurs as much on a "South-to-South" trajectory as it does "South-to-North".  What that means is simply that as much as the world's least reached peoples are moving to the great cities of the Western world, they are also moving to Manila, Bolivia, Lima, Accra, Dubai, and Nairobi.  The Kampala skyline is now dotted with many Hindu temples, groups of Arab businessmen can be found in every major airport in Southeast Asia, and Addis Ababa is being rebuilt practically from the ground up by the Chinese. The reverse is also true, East Africans travel down the Nile to North Africa.  Filipinos work as mariners on cargo vessels which travel to every port in the Global South. Girls from Indonesia and India are trafficked into China and elsewhere.  And everyone seems to eventually pass through Dubai.

The phenomenon of South-to-South migration is an ever-increasing force in the world today that inextricably links the destinies of peoples of the 10/40 Window and those living in the Coffee Belt - the region of the world in which all coffee is grown. This geographic juxtaposition means, among other things, that the unreached billions in the Window have close, regular, normal commerce with scores of potential lay-missionaries living in the Belt. 

If we have come to embrace the notion that we now live in the era of missions from everywhere to everywhere (and I know that many in my country have not embraced this) then we must begin expecting and planning for the raising up of countless missionaries from the majority world.  Indeed this is already happening on a large, albeit difficult-to-measure scale.  The Coffee Belt is home to most of these would-be missionaries as it passes through the most populated portions of Latin America, Africa and Asia.  Here is a major "what if":

What if we found a way to pair coffee as a positive, sustainable and profitable business presence with not only evangelism and disciple-making but full-on mission mobilization?  

This is what I mean by musing and pushing yourself to the "what if" questions.  I don't know what those questions are for you and your mission context.  I can only tell you where they are - further.  And I can tell you that the Holy Spirit is waiting for you there.

#ssseastafrica begins!

Having just enjoyed a New York style slice (yes, a Chicago boy can appreciate certain NYC charms), I'm about ready to board my overnight flight which will ultimately land me in Kampala (by way of Brussels and Kigali) and thus start the Simple Superstars of East Africa journey-- three weeks of work, prayer, conversations, filmmaking, concerts, brainstorming, and more with the incredible people that make up the #ssseastafrica (2014) team.

Perhaps I'll talk about each of them as the trip progresses. For now, I'm so grateful for those whose generosity has made the trip possible. You can still give by going to our website. And be in prayer for myself and teammates Gloria, Wilbur, and Talargie as well as the many friends we'll be working with along the way.

I'll do my best to keep updating the blog. But connect with me on Twitter and FB as well.

For now, I look around the Newark airport and like so many US airports I see its workforce full of immigrants from around the world. West Africans, Nepalis, Ethiopians, Mexicans, Iraqis, Indians and others cooking, cleaning, driving service vehicles, pushing wheelchairs, running shops. Invisible people with thankless jobs and incredible stories. I love the people on the move. I love being around them. I have nothing insightful to say about them just now. Just ... I love them and I'm glad the Lord has taught me how to see them.

Palestinian Resolution Exposes an Illinois Baptist Blindspot

This past week I attended the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Illinois Baptist State Association.  Some of you are probably wondering what the heck such an event entails, but please, muscle past.  I want to skip the discussion of what we Baptists do when we hang out and move right on to a specific resolution that was passed regarding the Palestinian Church.  

A resolution* was passed calling upon Illinois Baptists and churches to be active in ministering to Palestinian children, to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian Church as a whole, to pray for government officials and other leaders in Israel and the West Bank, and to pray for Palestinian people in general.  Nothing at all is objectionable in these resolutions.  However, as I listened to the hurried process, I couldn't help but think of how blind we are.

Just the night before during a corporate prayer meeting, it had been mentioned that Muslims outnumbered Southern Baptists in the state (not that there aren't other evangelicals) and I happen to know that my denomination will very soon lose the only missionaries we have in Illinois who are exclusively focused on reaching Muslims (not that there aren't a few other workers ... just a few though). And yet, this resolution was entirely focused on the Palestinian People in Palestine. Consider the following:

Palestinians in Chicagoland

• Population Estimate: 85,000
• Palestinians are primarly located in Chicago's Southwest suburbs including Bridgeview, Oak Lawn and Orland Park. They are predominatly Muslims and may be the largest Arab diaspora in Chicagoland.
• While there is a portion of the Palestinian community that is traditionally Christian, there are very few evangelicals and no known churches in Chicagoland intentionally seeking to reach Palestinian Muslims. New Engagement/Planting Efforts Needed: 80.

Our research team has estimated that as many as 80 new gospel engagement/church planting efforts are needed among the Palestinian diaspora in Chicagoland. It stands as one of the greatest evangelistic needs in our state and yet it was entirely ignored by a well-meaning resolution committee and a ballroom full of Southern Baptist leaders.  I suppose a few others may have considered this but the proceedings were rushed along very quickly.  There was really no time to call our attention to the diaspora peoples.  After all, we couldn't possible sacrifice our precious Common Core or Concealed Carry discussion time.

Followers of the Lord Jesus, may we not be blind to the presence and continued movement of diaspora peoples among us.  The endless migration of peoples from one end of the earth to the other and back again is perhaps the most impressive human force in the world today.  The least reached people groups on the planet have cousins in Toronto, siblings in Toledo, and classmates in Taipei.  The extent to which we do not notice is an important measure to revealing just how out-of-step our churches, mission agencies, and denominations may be with the leading of the Lord of the Harvest.  In 1974 Ralph Winter chided the global Church for our people blindness.  His prophetic challenge is just as appropriate today.

[*NOTE (Nov. 11, 2014)- In light of some of the feedback I have received, I want to emphasize that I did support the resolution that was presented.  It was a good one and, for someone like myself that is so passionate for the nations, perhaps the most important.  I'm actually quite grateful that it was brought forward and regret that we didn't have more time to consider it.  So, actually, I mean no disrespect to any individual or group associated with the resolution or even the program procedures.  My use of the first-person, plural pronouns in the article is intentional.  This is a self-critique of my own "tribe" because as I travel around the world speaking, teaching and writing and challenging all manner of evangelical groups to address their blindness to the presence of diaspora peoples among them I do no want to be guilty of pulling my punches within my own family.  As the prayer meeting at the Illinois Baptist annual meeting reminded us so well, certain things should simply not be and I believe that 2000 years is long enough for peoples to be without the gospel especially here in Chicagoland where we have the ability to take it to them. I am grateful for the strong responses that this article has generated and pray that the Lord uses it to not only lead us to greater engagement among Palestinians (here and there) but among all peoples.  As always, I appreciate my readers and my respectful critics.  My we ever be as iron sharpening iron on our way to the Master.]