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?

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.

Challenging Extremism: The Conversation that Needs to Happen

You know what's funny?

My very strongly pro-immigration views and constant challenges to radical hospitality have earned me the reputation of being some kind of Islamic-sympathizer with flimsy theological positions about the nature of God.

It's funny and sad, but I get it. It is far easier to just sign up for someone else's pre-packaged ideology than to wade into the nuance and grayscale of real life and mission and the Kingdom.  Let me ask you, when Christ commanded us to love our enemies and Scripture fleshed it out with talk of turning the other cheek and giving them our cloak and feeding them -- what exactly do you think that looks like?  What exactly do you think it means to have an enemy?  It's more than just a fued with your neighbor about lawn care.

So, a friend of mine sent me this video put together by Muslims calling for an honest conversation about "Radical Islam".  Now, I know almost nothing else about the group that produced this, but, I can tell you that it is well-crafted, well-reasoned and compelling.  And I agree exactly with the conclusion -- we need to be able to have an honest conversation about this. I agree that political correctness can hinder good communication (but I also believe that it is extremely valuable for good communication). Sadly, an honest conversation will never happen during an election year.

I don't take it further to conclude -- as some surely would after viewing this video -- that we need to block Muslim immigrants.  First of all, and this is a subject to consider at length at a later time, anyone who thinks they can effectively restrain the tides of human migration in our day are fooling themselves.  People are on the move and will keep moving.  Shaping and guiding and leveraging that movement is the key.  Recall those viral YouTube videos of Black Friday stampedes at Walmart -- you know how people are. Pressure keeps building and eventually breaks through.  Highway strategies can prove very effective.  Blockades are almost always disasterous.

I have a friend -- perhaps a former friend now because of our radically divergent views on this -- who insists that my head is in the sand when it comes to Muslims.  But, I've actually been threatened with violence, lived with Islamist neighbors who knew we were missionaries, and on one occasion had to wear a disguise because of threats against a public event I was helping lead.  I know that there are Muslims who would enjoy killing me (and I also know I am am small potatoes).  I know there are some in my country and city.  I don't want them to do so.  But you know, it  doesn't change the fact that when I see a Muslim family around, I am drawn to them -- I want to have a conversation and get to know them.  I feel love for them.  If they move in next door, I rejoice greatly.

But I digress ... I do that a lot.  Here is the video I mentioned.  It is worth your time to watch:

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!"

Knowing the Migrant Savior

("Turn to Clear Vision", by C. Lorance)

I'm thinking about what it means to "know Christ".  

I think we (Western, evangelical types) tend to mean by this a kind of emotional and intellectual adherence to certain theological positions/statements.  Maybe even really loving those truths and singing songs about them and stuff like that.  But, the Incarnation and Crucifixion were more than mere theological realities ... they were lived experiences of Lord Jesus.  The migrations and the sufferings of the Savior are a part of who He is (kind of a big part) and I am wondering if "knowing" Him in these things is even possible for the perennially comfortable, albeit theologically orthodox crowd who has never known the loss of displacement, the pain of culture loss, and the agony of physical torment.  Is there a sense in which one who knows nothing of orthodox confessions of faith or acceptable theological systems may nevertheless "know" something of Jesus, and that quite intimately, because they too were a migrant and they too suffered?  

Look at the Crucified Foreigner, pierced and bleeding impossibly far from home.  Does he look more like a suburban evangelical shopping at the local Lifeway for just the right Jesus fish to stick on his late model Camry or rather like the Syrian Muslim woman who was survived rape, torture and an impossible trek through the desert to bring her children to the relative safety of a refugee camp in Jordan?  I'm not saying that she knows enough about the Savior.  I'm just saying that maybe we don't either.  I'm just saying that perhaps there needs to be a bit more give and take in mission than we tend to allow for -- that the objects of our proclamation may themselves have something important to proclaim about Christ which we ignore to our own peril.

United Nations Reports: 232 Million International Migrants Globally (And other random thoughts)

Random Picture of Me Performing a Naamkaran Ceremony for a Nepali Family.
Has little to do with the article.

Okay, first, take a look at this press release from the United Nations:

http://esa.un.org/unmigration/wallchart2013.htm

They are reporting that the total number of people living in diaspora as first generation, international migrants is now 232 million!  That's huge.  That's 3.2% of the world! 

The same report says that while the United States remains the most population destination country, Global South to Global South migration is now on an equal footing with "southerners" going to the Northern nations. And there is now a new top ten list for host nations (replacing the now outdated one I posted here recently):

In 2013, half of all international migrants lived in 10 countries, with the US hosting the largest number (45.8 million), followed by the Russian Federation (11 million); Germany (9.8 million); Saudi Arabia (9.1 million); United Arab Emirates (7.8 million); United Kingdom (7.8 million); France (7.4 million); Canada (7.3 million); Australia (6.5 million); and Spain (6.5 million).

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So, it is exciting stuff, to be sure.  People are on the move like never before and God is on the move among them.  During the next few days, I will be speaking on diaspora missiology first at a Dallas-Ft. Worth Diaspora Leaders Roundtable and then at the annual gathering of the International Society of Frontier Missiology.  I am excited about the opportunity to share and pray that God uses the time to influence these leaders for the sake of missions among scattered people.  I hope you will pray.

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Also, if you have been tracking with us, you will have noticed that MoveIn and Trinity International Baptist Mission have just announced today that they are joining forces to launch MoveIn in the United States.  TIBM has two "MoveIn" teams that have already moved into "patches" and are engaging those communities with prayer and the gospel.  You will hear more about this development in coming days and weeks, but for now, I hope you will check out MoveIn and learn more about the vision.

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By the way, when I'm on the road, I like to post to my "Scatterings" blog which is on Tumblr.  So, if you haven't added me on Facebook, you can check out that blog for pictures and updates from my travels.  Usually.  

Top Ten Destination Countries for International Migrants

What nations have the largest numbers of international migrants?  Here's the answer:

Migration Policy Institute: 2009

7 Things You Can Do to Help | G92.org

I'm really loving the G92 blog and their prophetic call to welcome the stranger.  Here's a terrific post from last week by Matt Soerens that provides some great and practical ideas for getting yourself and your church involved with meaningful ministry among immigrants and other diaspora peoples. Check it out here:  7 Things You Can Do to Help | G92.org

Should Syrian Refugees be Fed to Polar Bears?

Photo by David

First, let me say that I feel somewhat embarrassed to be a citizen of the same country as many of the people who are voicing such racist and evil comments on the article I shared here last night.  Sometimes, I wonder really what has happened to this nation.  For years, I have been hearing from fellow Christ-followers about how our nation has drifted from it's original, godly foundations by the promotion of abortion rights, the degradation of marriage, and the like.  What must be understood however is that the growing, anti-immigrant sentiment in this nation is just as much a departure from the great American tradition as anything else.  Our hatred of aliens and foreigners is a moral collapse not less severe than anything evangelical Christians have spoken out against in recent memory.

To give you a taste, one commenter suggested that resettling Syrian refugees in the United States would mean bringing thousands of new terrorists into the country.  Another thought that this was simply a tactic of Barak Obama to get additional voters.  Another suggested instead that the 1.6 million Syrian refugees should rather be shipped to the North Pole to feed starving polar bears.  Still another believed that not only should we not accept Syrian refugees into the US but that we should send "our Mexicans" over there.

Sick. Disgusting. It is difficult to imagine lower forms of humanity.

Most disciples of the Lord Jesus are quite familiar with what he called the the second greatest command: "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matt. 22:39).  We are also familiar with the story that Christ told to illustrate what obedience to this command looks like (Lk. 10:30ff).  What we are less aware of is the fact that the famous parable of "The Good Samaritan" is the tale of an immigrant who behaves in a more Christ-like way than the local religious elite.  I have little doubt that in the current American evangelical context, the Lord would make the hero either an undocumented Mexican or rather a Pakistani Muslim immigrant. And who would play the role of the priest, the Levite, the scribe?  Perhaps an evangelical pastor, a middle class suburbanite, or a congressman?  Perhaps someone a lot like you and I?

Do you know this command?

"Love the immigrant as yourself" (Lev. 19:34).

Jesus did.  Perhaps that has something to do with why he told the story the way he did.

My ancestor, Johannes Lorentz came to this nation in 1710 as a refugee from the region of Germany called the Palatinate.  Information suggests that he converted to Protestantism during his lifetime and consequently left his homeland with his family to escape persecution.  Originally arriving in New York, he later settled in New Jersey and established a life for himself, built a house, helped to plant a German-speaking church, and multiplied into many different branches of Lorentz, Lowrance, and Lorance clans throughout this nation.  This  is the classic American story.  But, sometimes I wonder if this is who we are anymore.

[Look for another post later today on the Syrian refugee crisis, as well as my post from last night.]

Are Diaspora Remittances More Effective than Developmental Aid?

Photo by Daquella manera

According to diaspora expert and economist, David Phillips, the growing global trend of human migration may prove to be one of the most effective ways to bring development and aid to impoverished nations.  Phillips argues in a new book entitled Development Without Aid: The Decline of Development Aid and the Rise of the Diaspora, (you'll want to shop for the Kindle version) that remittances from diasporas tend to provide a more consistent source of public goods than direct humanitarian aid which is often diverted to "conspicuous consumption".  His arguments are nicely summarized in a recent post over at the People Move blog.

Phillip's brief article is a bit technical in places but very insightful.  We keep telling you all that diaspora phenomenon is revolutionizing the world.  The scattering of people is the key missiological issue of our time - the human tidal wave is upon us!

Here's a powerful paragraph from Phillips:

Relatively recently the World’s diasporas have emerged. Over 215 million first generation ‘permanent’ migrants now live in host countries. Remittances have risen significantly faster than migrant populations which have risen faster than the world population. By 2014 they will surpass half a trillion dollars, four times official development aid. In Sub Saharan Africa remittances have doubled since 2006 and on a realistic count significantly exceed aid. The average skill levels and incomes of migrants have also risen and their average educational levels exceed those of many rich countries including the US. Increasingly diaspora flows are being invested rather than consumed.

I hope you will check out David Phillips' article and take some extra time to explore the excellent "People Move" blog by the World Bank.

Chicago's New American's Plan: The Most Immigrant-Friendly City in the USA!

Image by City of Chicago

If you haven't heard, Chicago's political leaders and Mayor Rahm Emanuel have set a goal of making the city "the most immigrant-friendly city in the country".  Their plan is designed to make Chicagoland the premiere immigration hub in the United States and even to stimulate a "race to the top" to inspire other cities to become more welcoming to foreign-born peoples.

I know the plan isn't perfect, but I'm so excited about it and the implications of this initiative for mission.  Once again, I must sound the call to local churches, ministries, denominations, and Christian organizations.  Are you up to speed with what God is doing in Chicagoland? Are you ready for the "human tidal wave" that is coming?

I'm including a video webinar below which features Adolfo Hernandez, Director, Chicago’s Office of New Americans, explaining some of the details for the Chicago New American's plan.  The total video is about an hour long, but Hernandez' presentation is only about the first 18 minutes.  Or, if you prefer, just check out the written summary of the plan available here.

The World in a City and We're Still People-Blind!

Photo By 'J'

In 2003, my wife and I moved from Oklahoma to Chicago fully expecting that we'd just be passing through.  In fact, we began our application process for the International Mission Board (IMB) right away and planned to move overseas as soon as finished my graduate studies.

As he so often does, God threw a major wrench in our plans as he began to introduce us to our neighbors of many nations.  Convinced that we had moved into the very heart of the white, Evangelical Midwest (just ten minutes from Wheaton College), we were shocked to find that some 80-90% of the families in our subdivision were foreign-born.  Indeed the majority of them where South Asian Hindus and Muslims representing a number of unreached people groups.  Some how, God had move the frontiers of mission - the ends of the earth - to the Chicago suburbs!

As we explored the surrounding communities, we found a great disparity between the local churches which were largely homogeneous (ethno-linguistically speaking) and the schools, the grocery stores, the libraries, and other neighborhoods which were multicultural.  We began visiting churches locally in an effort to discover why this was the case.  We wanted to know if anyone was trying to reach our neighbors for Christ!

I remember a lunch with a local pastor from around that time.  He generously offered to take me out to Applebees for cheeseburgers and listened as I shared my heart for the Hindus and Muslims all around us.  After several minutes of this, he stopped me suddenly and, with a flourish, extended his arms to either side inviting me to survey the restaurant and asked, "Cody, WHERE are all these Hindus and Muslims you are talking about?!?!"

In 1974, Ralph Winter challenged the global church to repent of a malady he called "people blindness" -- a  blindness to the existence of distinct people groups within countries.  Wrote Winter, "'People blindness' is what prevents us from noticing the sub-groups within a country which are significant to development of effective evangelistic strategy." A generation later, it would seem that we are still blind.  Or perhaps, we simply refuse to see that in our day God is changing the world.

I rejoice that in the decade since we cancelled our application with the IMB and committed our lives to reaching the least-reached peoples of Chicagoland, we have met a number of kindred spirits here -- people that realize what was wrong with that pastor's question and who have a deep love for diasporas who now call Chicago home.  But people blindness is still too prevalent. Too many individual Christians, local churches, denominations and Christian organizations fail to see that Chicago is not only a "world city" but indeed the world in a city.  And this is true with megacities all over the globe.  New York, Paris, Singapore, Manila, Jakarta, are all becoming increasingly diverse as they become increasingly large.

So, it is gut-check time for churches and mission organizations and denominations and Christian leaders.  As one of my teammates, an immigrant pastor from Ethiopia, recently said, "We (immigrants) are the future of the church! Most of the standard American models of church and ministry are now obsolete." So, how are you adjusting? How are you changing? How are you embracing the new era of diaspora movement?

-----

For fun, I want to direct you to a blog post I tweeted out a few days back.  This is from a great blog called Chicago is the World.  The article is called "Hello World - Chicago Calling" and gives a nice, brief summary of some of diaspora Chicago.  Every Chicagoan who cares about mission should understand what is being said in this article.  Otherwise, you simply don't get this city.  And, if you are from elsewhere, consider writing up a similar article for your city and I'll post it here on The Ramblings.

The Frontier of Mission Advance is Shifting

By pam's pics-

During my recent tour through Michigan teaching the infamous "Lesson 14" of Perspectives ("Pioneer Church Planting"), one of my primary emphases was that in the 21st century, the frontiers of mission are shifting radically.  In the latter part of the 20th century, Ralph Winter (following McGavaran and Townsend) opened the eyes of the Church to the reality of unreached and unengaged people groups.  Frontier missiology was thought of as primarily a discussion of how to get the gospel to unreached peoples who had never heard.  It was critical in those days to de-emphasize geography in order to help mission leaders and practioners realize that the "unfinished task" was about reaching peoples rather than about merely establishing the church in every geo-political country.  As Winter said strongly, "Geography is not as important as peoples."

Today, frontier missions is still about unreached peoples and this has become the overwhelming majority opinion of the evangelical world.  But Winter had also seemed to believe that understanding what was happening to peoples geographically was key for the fulfillment of the Great Commission.  So, to quote Winter with a bit more context, “Geography is not as important as peoples.  Once that is clear, the question of where they are is a very exciting one." (Unreached Peoples: What Are They and Where Are They?, 1984) 

Today, we must ask afresh the geographical question of where are the unreached peoples of the world.  Indeed, it may be more appropriate to ask where they are going.  In a new era of mission history, we see a borderless and wireless world of instant communication, high-speed travel, and ever-accelerating mass migration.  People are on the move like never before.  My friend, Joy Tira, likes to refer to this as a "Human Tidal Wave" which is an image that captures well the magnitude and power of diaspora phenomena.

I have much more to say on this issue.  But today, I would rather you take a look at an excellent post by another friend, Justin Long.   In "Shifts in the Remaining Task", Justin writes about the traditional understanding of "World A, B, and C" or "evangelized" and "unevangelized" and reflects upon how migration and urbanization totally transforming the mission field in our day.

Here's an excerpt:

Most World A (unevangelized) individuals are found in heavily World B peoples, cities and countries. And more and more, we are seeing World B provinces and cities in World C countries. This is especially the case because of the movements of diaspora peoples into World C countries. Europe today, according to the Atlas of Global Christianity, is home to 28 million unevangelized individuals. I know some will think the number is far higher. My point is only that the West is not 100% Christian, and there’s plenty of room for work. One can’t say that Europe or America is completely evangelized–only that it is largely evangelized.

Please take careful look at Justin's entire article.  He has done a great job of  helping us to understand the exciting and complex nature of today's shifting mission frontiers.  Now consider:

1. Do the mission structures of your church reflect the realities of these shifting frontiers? 

2. Who are the "World A" peoples and the "unreached people groups" that live near you?

3. How do you see the "Human Tidal Wave" powerfully changing the dynamics of your city?

A Prayer Request and a Warning: Is Your Church on the Right Side?

I appreciate deeply those of you who have been in prayer for our ministry among scattered people.  We've just recently had some very discouraging news that will dramatically impact our work.  I will share details as soon as I can so that you can pray with more insight.  Also, I am aware that many of you could have significant ways of helping us work through the new challenges before us.  For now, I must simply ask you to remain in prayer for the Trinity International Baptist Mission family, our churches, leaders, and the hundreds of Christ-followers among us.

Recently, I have been with the people of Crosstown Church in OKC and Mission Adelante in Kansas City.  I also had great fellowship with leaders from across the country who came together for the People Group Discovery Workshop and the Ethnic America Summit in Chicago.  Then there was the three night tour of Michigan, meeting believers in three different Perspectives classes.  I rejoice that so many of God's people are getting to know His heart and are giving their lives to immigrant peoples and diasporas right in their own cities.  Gradually, the Lord is opening the eyes of many of His people to understand what frontier mission really means in the 21st century and what He is doing to conclude His global plan of redemption.

However, far too many are still suffering from people blindness.  Too many in the American church are completely out-of-step with the movement of the Spirit who is shifting peoples from everywhere to everywhere for the sake of mission.  I am dismayed to see this and to watch Christians shut out and ignore the poor, the oppressed, the alien and stranger among us -- and to do this while still convincing themselves that they are being led by God to do so.  It is a great shame and I can't imagine that the Lord will allow His lampstand to long burn in such a church.  The landscape of Chicagoland is dotted with so many former church buildings that now serve as Mosques, Hindu temples, night clubs, and more -- and this while immigrant churches cannot find places to worship and while unreached people groups remain unevangelized in our cities.  May the Lord grant us repentance!

Let me encourage you to read and reflect upon and even to pray through the following.  It is an excerpt from a book that I have been in the process of writing (don't get excited, I write very, very slowly).  I then invite you to look up the referenced passages and again pray through those.  When we consider the vast umbrella of diaspora mission and all that it encompasses (e.g. human trafficking, refugee crises, immigration reform, poverty, ethnocentrism, and more), it is very easy to see which side the Lord takes.  The only question that remains is whose side are you on?

Psalm 9:9-10:18 – Here as in many other places, we learn of God’s heart for the oppressed.  He is, by nature, a stronghold and a refuge for the afflicted.  In diaspora mission, we think often of refugees, victims of human trafficking, the migrant poor, and others.  Here in Chicagoland are victims of some of the worst human crimes and natural disasters.  The heart of God is toward such people and he hears their cries (9:12).  God is a just judge who avenges violence (9:12).  The needy and poor will not always be forgotten (9:18).  The Psalmist is adamant, “Rise up, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand; do not forget the oppressed . . . . but you do see! Indeed you note trouble and grief, that you may take it into your hands; the helpless commit themselves to you; you have been the helper of the orphan (Ps. 10:12-14).  God does justice for the orphan and the oppressed (Ps. 10:18).  But the oppressors? They shall be wiped out (Ps. 10:16).  It is only safe that we who wish to bring the gospel to the people groups of Chicagoland be on the winning side of this great confrontation.  The gospel we preach should be good news for the poor, relief for the oppressed, liberty to captives (Isa. 61:1).  The gospel of Christ’s Kingdom should be more than merely a tract.  It must be a home for those who have been forced to flee their countries; it must be a gospel that seeks out and liberates women and children who have been forced into modern-day slavery; it must be a gospel that provides food, clothes, education, jobs and love to those who have lost everything.  In short, our gospel to the scattered should ring as good news where they need it most.  Indeed, we may say that if our engagement with scattered peoples is not marked by a passionate pursuit of justice for the oppressed, we should not expect to experience victory at all (Isa. 58:6-12).

PeopleMov.In - Terrific Diaspora Resource!

Photo By archer10 (Dennis)

Creating cool visualizations is all the rage these days.  I'm constantly seeing them on RSS feeds that I follow.  Most of them really don't seem all that helpful to me.  However, what Carlo Zapponi has created over at PeopleMov.In is something truly special.  Essentially, he has provided an interactive visualization that allows you to see A=>B and B=>A diaspora movement.  Want to know where Albanians in diaspora are moving to?  How about Turks or Nepalis? Just a click away from a very helpful visual portrayal.

As a bonus, Zapponi has listed what he calls the top migration "corridors".  Here's a sneak peak:

Top migration corridorssee more

• MEXICO-USA11,635,995
• RUSSIAN FED.-UKRAINE3,684,217
• UKRAINE-RUSSIAN FED.3,647,234
• BANGLADESH-INDIA3,299,268
• TURKEY-GERMANY2,733,109
• KAZAKHSTAN-RUSSIAN FED.2,648,315
• RUSSIAN FED.-KAZAKHSTAN2,226,706
• CHINA-HONG KONG2,224,503
• INDIA-UNITED ARAB EMIRATES2,185,919
• CHINA-USA1,736,314

He also lists that top nations people are moving to and from.  Great stuff! So, for those of you who have a heart for the "people on the move", do yourself a favor and check out PeopleMov.in today.

Give me your tired, your poor ... send these!

By Philocrites

As the power hungry grab for votes in this election year 2012, I feel so often that we in the United States have drifted from our calling as a nation.  I find myself increasingly uncertain if either party would embrace the words of Lady Liberty:

"Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breath free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

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

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

It seems to me that no candidate is able to see the immigrant as anything more than a potential voting bloc.  As a nation, we've lost the ability to see those coming to our shores as the strength of a nation and the hope for tomorrow.

And I wonder if the Church in the United States isn't just as guilty.  During the past week, I have seen gifts of the Holy Spirit manifest in Bhutanese-Nepalis as we made visits house to house.  I have seen the power of God bringing deliverance to bound people during the all-night Ghanaian prayer service.  I have heard the testimony of an Indian leader who is in the midst of 40 days of fasting and prayer.  I have experienced the presence of the Lord again and again in fellowship with a precious Ugandan sister here for a visit.  And, as I reflect, I am fully convinced that God's movement of peoples from everywhere to the USA represents the single greatest hope for revival and renewal and mission that my nation now sees.  

May the Lord unveil our eyes to see a fuller picture of what He is doing!

I have linked below to a NY Times article which tells the story of a refugee summer academy that is focused preparing youth for school in the United States.  This academy seems to "get" the fact that such students are more than mere object of charity.  They are hope and they are the future.

Young Immigrants Helped by Refugee Youth Summer Academy - NYTimes.com: "This year, more than 100 students enrolled in the six-week program, which offered an academic curriculum supplemented by creative-arts classes, field trips and other activities. They hailed from at least 13 countries, including Nepal, Burkina Faso, Iran, Iraq and Cameroon. Some had been in the country for a couple of years; others, like the Diallos, had just arrived. They spoke at least 17 native languages. Some could speak and read English fluently; others could not write their own name in any language. Some had attended school in their home countries; others had never been in a classroom."

Should Christ-followers Show Hospitality to People of Other Faiths?

Below is an interesting article that describes how a number of migrant (mostly refugee) groups have gone about establishing places of worship for themselves in Utica, New York.  It isn't often that I get a chance to hear about this process for non-Christian groups and appreciate the chance to learn about some of their struggles.  The article begins with a focus on the Bhutanese-Nepali Hindu community but also talks about Burmese Buddhists and Bosnian Muslims.

As a follower of Christ, I desire for all Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and (for that matter) Christians to know and find salvation in Jesus.  However, I also can't help but to inquire of myself about the my responsibility to show hospitality in my relationships with diaspora people who are my new neighbors in the USA.   Is there are line to be drawn related to the extent of my hospitality towards these people?  Not sure.  Do check out the article, and feel free to weigh in.


Hindu latest group in need of worship place in area - Utica, NY - The Observer-Dispatch, Utica, New York: "UTICA —
    In a bedroom in East Utica, statues of Hindu gods peer out of a converted entertainment center. The inside is decorated with glittering wrapping paper. Around the three statues are offerings of paper flowers, and light from battery-powered candles.
    This is the home of Ganga Rijal, a Hindu priest and his family.
    “This is our temple,” Mukti Rijal, Ganga’s son explains. He bows in front of the temple and gestures to guests to remove their shoes before coming in.
    There are 170 Hindu Bhutanese living in Utica. They arrived from a refugee camp in Nepal’s jungle between 2009 and 2010."