Tag Archives: evangelism

Us, them and outreach

2 Replies

file8581285192158As we talk about reaching out to Latinos, it’s important that we not let such outreach lapse into paternalism. (Yes, I’ve written about that before in this same context) We can’t afford to have a “you people” mentality.

Notice that as I’ve addressed this topic so far, I’ve said little about Latinos themselves. Marketers and sociologists have written much about the different perceived needs among Latinos, about how to tailor advertising and political appeals to address those topics. I don’t think that’s how the church crosses ethnic barriers. (please remember that the term Latino does not refer to a specific race, nor even to a homogeneous group of people. It’s an ethnicity.)

As I said last week, it has to be about people. It has to be about relationships.

One of the good things that came out of the church growth movement in the 1980s (along with quite a bit of chaff) was the realization that we have to be intentional about reaching out to people from other social groups. People tend to befriend those most like themselves. If churches aren’t careful, they can get locked into one group, eventually becoming unattractive to those of other groups. (Sadly, the church growth movement chose to exploit that, wanting churches to start new groups within other social groups; that’s far from the biblical picture, in my opinion)

All of this is especially true when there is a history of distrust. That’s true in Texas. Years ago, Latinos were criticized, and at times punished, for speaking Spanish in public situations. One man told me the story of the time when he was a teen and dared speak Spanish to a cafe worker who was a member of the predominantly Anglo church of Christ in town; she grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him, saying, “Don’t you speak that Spanish to me, boy!” Many Latinos find it hard to speak Spanish to me, even when their English may not be so good, because they’ve been taught that you only speak Spanish to those that look like you. (Funny thing is, same thing happens to my wife, even though Spanish is her first language)

There other stories, as well. Anglos who have been mistreated by Hispanics. Hispanics raised in the States who have been ridiculed by immigrants. Immigrants who have been taken advantage of by U.S.-born Latinos.

Christ came to tear down walls, to eliminate the hostilities between people. His church is to be a model of people coming together.

None of this began with Martin Luther King, Jr., though we do well to remember the struggle he was a part of. Because of the example of our Lord, Christians should be at the forefront of efforts to unite and heal, to reconcile those who society has driven apart.

Reaching out to those unlike us is a beautiful way to do that.

photo from MorgueFile.com

Outreach is about people

9 Replies

groupAs the discussion about outreach to the Latino community moves forward, an important reminder needs to be stated: this is about people. Outreach is about people. It’s not about numbers. It’s not about methods. It’s about techniques.

Outreach is about forming relationships with people. That’s especially true when reaching out to Latinos, for the typical Latino tends to focus much more on relationships than the mainstream U.S. culture does.

Let me repeat some of the advice I gave Josh the other day (in the comments):

  • Be aware of the Latinos around you. It’s a bit like when I started dating a girl in high school that drove a Chevy Impala. Suddenly I was seeing Impalas everywhere, where I hadn’t paid attention to them before.
  • Be intentional about speaking with the Latinos around you. Introduce yourself to the girl at Dollar General. Make sure you learn your waitress’ name. Go to high school athletic events and speak with the parents in the stands.
  • Once you have a minimal relationship with some Latinos, ask them if there’s anything you could be praying about. This question rarely comes across as offensive, and many people are grateful for the interest.
  • Tactfully broach the subject of ministry with some of the Latinos you’ve gotten to know. Something like, “If our church were to do something for the Latino community here in Smallville, what would be the best thing we could do?”

The first part of outreach is going to be service and ministry. What’s the old saying? “People don’t care what you know until they know that you care.” It applies to much of church work.

So, we have to make this about people. Serving people. Getting to know people. Helping them get to know Jesus.

photo from MorgueFile.com

Preaching styles and thinking styles

2 Replies

I read an article last week that talked about the method behind the madness of those scam e-mails we get. As the article summary says, “An analysis from Microsoft Research suggests that Nigerian scammers need to sound as ridiculous as possible, so that only the most gullible will reply to them.” Interesting.

Somehow, my mind connected that with a study that Flavil Yeakley did years ago, an in depth study of the Boston Movement done by invitation of Kip McKean and staff. One of the most helpful parts of the study, in my opinion, was a look at what other churches could learn from the methods being used in Boston. Among other things, Yeakley pointed out that the outreach methods used by the Boston group were much more likely to appeal to extroverts, whereas the methods used by traditional churches of Christ tended to appeal to introverts.

Those two unrelated bits of information swirled in my brain and got me thinking about evangelism and preaching. Specifically, I was thinking about how a certain kind of person is reached by a certain kind of teaching and, conversely, different people are attracted to different teaching styles. That’s hardly big news, yet it would explain the gulf that tends to grow up in every movement between “traditionalists” and “progressives.”

Does that make sense? I could throw out some examples that come to my mind, but I’d rather hear yours. Can you think of ways in which this would be true? If it is, then how do we achieve unity in spite of this trend?

Social media & missions

6 Replies

I’ve been asked to give a class on the use of social media in missions. I’ve got lots of ideas, more than I would have time to share in one class period. However, I’m slowly learning that my cyber-friends are much wiser than I. So I’m appealing to you. Help me out with some thoughts on this topic. To make it easier, let’s keep it broad. Rather than focusing merely on missions, let’s think about non-profits in general and religious groups in particular.

I’d like to hear your thoughts on things like…

  • What are some non-profits that do an especially good job with social media?
  • Who are some individuals who excel in the use of social media?
  • How have you seen Facebook used effectively by religious groups or individuals?
  • How have you seen Twitter used effectively by religious groups or individuals?
  • How have you seen blogs used effectively by religious groups or individuals?
  • What about some of the other social media, like Google+, LinkedIn, etc.? How do you see them being used well?
  • What are some “best practices” that would span all social media?

Is that enough to get some thoughts rolling? Can you see how I’m not worried about having enough to talk about?

Thanks for any input you can give.

Evangelism and nationalism

8 Replies

There are some things that would seem to be so obviously wrong that I hate to give them any credibility by addressing them. At the same time, there’s always a danger that the uncontested falsehood will be taken for truth.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that someone had commented on a post I wrote a while back on bilingual ministry. This person expressed concern about the existence of a plot to latinize the United States. (Some extremists call it “La Reconquista”—the reconquest). The implication was that by offering worship in Spanish, we are making it easier for those who scheme to transform this nation.

First off, I know that there are such extremists. I’ve seen them on television. I also know there are white supremacists, anarchists, separationists, etc. The person who wrote urged me to search the Internet; I know that the lunatic fringe is well represented on the Internet. That doesn’t keep them from being the fringe.

Secondly, I have yet to meet anyone in the church with such views. I’m not saying that there aren’t any people like that; the body of Christ is made up of human beings, and you can find just about anything you are looking for. But the typical Hispanic in the United States has no more interest in “latinizing” the U.S. than the average person here has in seeing the United States expand its territory. There are nationalists and tribalists among all groups.

Thirdly, if the people we are reaching out to have such nefarious goals, won’t converting them to Christ help? Especially if we can teach them what so many here in the U.S. seem to miss, the fact that our primary allegiance is to the Kingdom of Heaven and not a nation of this earth. Once they get a grasp on what it means to be a citizen of heaven, any dreams of political coercion of others will fall by the wayside.

All of that fails to mention the biggest and most obvious point: the outreach of the Kingdom of God should never be limited by the interests of a kingdom of this world, neither those of the United States nor any other country.