Category Archives: Bilingual

God’s language (a bit of humor)

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The other day, in the comments section, I shared a story I once heard. I thought it was about my friend Juan Monroy, but he denies having said it.

The person in the story said:

I speak three languages: Spanish, French, and English.
When I want to talk to my machines, I speak English, the language of technology.
When I am being romantic with my wife, I speak French, the language of love.
But when I speak to God… I speak Spanish.

Maybe Spanish speakers find that funnier than English speakers do. Either way, I think it’s cute.

5 Reasons People Avoid Visiting A Bilingual Service

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Jason preachingYesterday I mentioned Jason Craddock’s sermon from this past Sunday, talking about the church being like a Cliff Huxtable sweater. In the sermon, he encouraged the members of the main assembly at UCC (University Church of Christ) to not sit and wait for the members of the bilingual group to come on Unity Sunday. He encouraged people to cross the hall and visit the bilingual service.

I went and gave Jason a hug for that one. It’s something I’ve repeated for at least five years now, with little success. I still have people tell me: “I would visit the bilingual service, but I’m not bilingual.” Explanations about how one only needs to know either one of the two languages used seem to fall on deaf ears. (Actually, you don’t even have to know one of the two; we had a Japanese visitor a few weeks ago who only spoke Japanese)

So why don’t people want to visit a bilingual assembly in their own congregation? I have some guesses:

  • Habit. People who have been attending one congregation for decades walk from their classroom to their usual seat without even thinking about it. If they didn’t, those who sit around them would be concerned.
  • Loyalty. Before we hired our current preacher, one elder was participating in the bilingual service almost weekly. When we made the hire, he felt the need to support the new preacher; he was afraid that people would infer something negative if he weren’t in the main auditorium.
    I think many people feel something of the same. I mentioned to one elder an idea about encouraging Bible classes to visit the bilingual service as a group; he said that he couldn’t feel good about encouraging that many people to miss the main assembly.
  • Familiarity. This goes with the previous two. In the main auditorium, people are hearing a preacher that they enjoy listening to. They are singing songs that they know. The Lord’s Supper and offering are done in a way that they are used to. Going to another assembly, even in their own congregation, means giving up those things.
  • Fear. There is a fear of having to interact with people that you can’t communicate with. I think that fear is overblown, as every one of our Hispanic members is making some effort to learn English and can carry on a cordial conversation. But that fear exists.
    There is also a fear of not knowing what’s going on; 95% of what we do is translated, yet that 5% can make people uncomfortable. It can be awkward to hear people speaking a language you don’t understand.
  • Cultural differences. One member, who visits the bilingual service fairly often, confessed that his wife goes even though she doesn’t like “all that hugging.” Latinos tend to be much more effusive with greetings than are many others in our culture. And that’s just one notable difference.

Those are some thoughts. It takes some effort to cross out of our comfort zones and reach out to people who aren’t like us. But, in the church at least, it’s definitely worth the effort.

Can you think of other barriers? More importantly, can you offer suggestions as to how we overcome those barriers?

Should church be a Huxtable sweater?

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Jason preachingWe had a Unity Service on Sunday, joining our bilingual service with the group that meets in the main auditorium. The service featured videos of members who spoke different languages (most of them speaking their native language). The prayers at the communion table were in Spanish, Swahili, and Portuguese, translated into English.

Our youth minister, Jason Craddock, did a wonderful job of preaching bilingually. He compared the church to a Cliff Huxtable sweater, a collection of varied fabrics woven together into one functional unit. The variations in textures and colors make the sweater/church the unique entity that it is.

Songs were in English and Spanish, as were all prayers and announcements. Much time and planning went into this service.

I was one who pushed for us to begin these services, then became worried about them becoming too frequent. (we’re talking about doing four this year) All of the feedback that I’ve heard has been good, and the elders have assured me that their experience has been the same.

I was reminded of reality yesterday, though, when a friend from another congregation mentioned having seen one of our long-time members at their church. When my friend greeted this member, the member smiled sheepishly and said, “It’s bilingual Sunday at UCC.” No further explanation… in his mind, that was reason enough for going elsewhere.

Not everyone wants the church to be like a Huxtable sweater, I guess.

What Latinos can learn from Anglos

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One and TwoThis week I’ve been discussing some of what I’ll be sharing at the Summer Celebration at David Lipscomb University in Nashville. I’ll be speaking on the Spanish track on July 1 and 2, talking about “One Body, Two Languages.” Specifically, I’ll be talking about what Latinos and Anglos can learn from one another. (Be sure and read this post to know how I’m using those terms)

In the second class, I’m going to talk about what Latinos can learn from Anglos. There will be some of the obvious things, like punctuality. I’ll also talk about involvement in church and participation in church leadership. Most Latin countries have a strong influence from the Catholic church. Historically, they have not focused on participative church structures. In other words, you mainly go and watch. You aren’t even typically expected to give; these churches receive money from taxes and other sources. The idea of stepping up and being an integral part of a congregation is new to many Hispanics.

The other big point will be about language. It can be a delicate topic, but I’m going to remind them that the future of the church in the States will be written in English. The future of the Hispanic churches in the States will be written in English. Some research suggests that 96% of Hispanics born in the U.S. are functional in English. A large percentage use in English in the home. Many don’t speak Spanish. Some 2nd and 3rd generation Hispanics don’t even understand Spanish.

With continued immigration, there will be a need for churches to provide services in Spanish. But the future of the church in the States will be in English. It’s not the job of the church to preserve a heritage, to help keep a language alive. The job of the church is to reach out, reach up and reach in, in whatever language that needs to be done.

What Anglos can learn from Latinos

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One and TwoThere are lots of things that I think the Latino culture in general has to offer to the mainline “Anglo” church. Things like a relaxed attitude toward time (do we REALLY have to apologize if the service is longer than one hour and fifteen minutes?), how to greet and acknowledge people, the value of family, etc.

Two of the biggest have been thrust on Hispanics here in the States, yet are major traits that the church as a whole needs. One is the ability to separate church and country. The Hispanic community has 14 different countries which have contributed significantly to its makeup, not counting the United States. There is a greater awareness that the church is larger than any one country.

The other major thing is the awareness of being strangers and aliens in this world. Not all Hispanics are aliens, yet there is a greater sensitivity to what that lifestyle really means. Some rebel against that feeling and that reality, just as some Christians seek to blend in rather than seeking to stand out. The church needs to be called back to the fact that we are all aliens, we are all foreigners, no matter what country we’re living in.

Those are the main things I see. Want to add to the list?