GlocalNet

I am in a city right now of 3 million people with 2.5 million of them being from other countries that are employed here.  Cities like this have been springing up all over the world.  At the same time, whether its North Africans coming in to France & Spain, Indonesians into Australia, or Mexicans trying to get into the US - people move. 

I see this in Texas.  The number one food we all love is Tex-Mex!  There are certain phrases that even an Anglo like me uses after being around Mexicans.  We love mariachi bands.  We interchange the names from each culture of our children:  Marco, Juanita, Carlos, and the list goes on.  There is a lot of intermarriage and despite legal issues, challenges, and sometimes confusion and conflict - most Anglo Texans wouldn’t feel at home without the Hispanic culture all around us.  We’ve come to love it.  Anglos are concerned about illegal border crossings - but rest assured, no one had better mess with “our” Texicans! 

The Chinese - some of the greatest case studies of global migration - always seem to have “China towns” established wherever they go, and yet they impact far more in societies than just Chinese immigrants.  Chinese are all over the world and may be the greatest adaptors to varied global cultures of any people - much can be learned from them.  As second and third generation children mature and grow up they merge their tribal culture with the broader culture and begin to impact the overall culture. 

A few months ago I was with a former leader in President Bush’s White House.  The man is Jewish, and he said he’s convinced the greatest gift of the Jews to humanity given by God was not the land but the Jewish people.  He outlined all the people that the tiny nation of Israel had produced in world leaders, scientist, businessmen, and many other areas.  His contention was that God allowed Jews to impact the world in an incredible way that only through living as a diaspora community could Jews have impacted the world as they did.  It was utterly brilliant and made me think deeply. 

As the populations move, there is an “unsteadying” of the status quo and those with established power are forced to deal with all of the issues surrounding migration.  The influence of “the other” present in an alien culture is initially seen in “ghettos” of like tribes that cling together, as those immigrants have 2nd and 3rd generation children - there is a level of adaptation that occurs whereas they hold onto the values of the “old country” and yet create new ways of thinking from being in a new culture.  My friend Dave Gibbons calls this 3rd culture. 

Before we get upset and fearful - it would do us as followers of Jesus to study what the Bible has to say about it - and it has a ton to say about it.  Even in Israel there were requirements of how the foreigner was to be treated if they landed in Israel.  God created man in the garden, and when he sinned he was kicked out - ever since then - he’s been on the move.  God’s great work in history began with Abraham who migrated to Canaan as an illegal alien who had a promise from God that God would establish a nation there and that he would be the father not just of Israel (Abram)  in Genesis 12 but in Genesis 17 but of many nations (Father of nations - Abraham).  It continued with David living as an alien among the Philistines before becoming King of Israel, it involved the Jews learning to live in exile among the Babylonians and seeking the welfare of the city wherever they were.  It continues in the early church as the persecution of it takes place in Jerusalem and the result is the church is scattered globally and the result is the gospel spreads like crazy.  The whole concept of the “missionary” is one who lives as an alien in another land seeking to incarnate among the people and love them as his own and live out the gospel.  It was the missionary movement of the church that caused it to grow.  It was St. Augustine, St. Patrick, St. Francis, William Carey, Mother Teresa that all lived as a diaspora that brought help to others. 

A couple of Sunday nights ago at our huge gathering of evangelicals and Muslims that’s been covered in news media and papers in Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and is continuing to be covered literally all over the world - a man from Yemen came up to me and said, “We have brought the whole world to you tonight!”  He was right. 

Christians should not be angry about migration - especially in America - we are all migrants from somewhere except the American Indian (the only indigenous people here).  It is God’s way of connecting all of us.  What a divine opportunity that God has brought about so we can live out the gospel, serve others, and share the good news of Jesus.  In this city I’m in, many of the refugees and workers that came here found Christ before they came and came as workers as an opportunity to show the love of Jesus.  Others found Jesus from others of their ethnicity already here when they arrived.  I met one man who lost his job as a store manager because he told too many people about Jesus.  He was later demoted to the elevator operator - and knew how much time he had between each floor to the top of the skyscraper and shared with everyone - lost that job too.  But, in the meantime he led enough people to faith in Christ and is a significant leader in a church.  Another man is an architect from an eastern nation - who led a western man to faith in Christ - it goes on and on and on.  It’s time for those of us in the US to get in step with the rest of the global church and realize that God is connecting all of us to share his glory.  Not just from a theological perspective - but from a cultural perspective as well - it could be that in the not too distant future to be a follower of Jesus means everyone is also a missionary!  This is wonderful!!!!  As some of these people find Jesus they can go and tell their people about Jesus and be far more effective than us pink skinners showing up. 

From a national standpoint - we must realize what a gift these other nationalities are to all of us.  How could the Pakistani help us in knowing how to deal with Pakistani relations - what a valuable asset.  The same is true of people from other nations.  They are a phenomenal resource.  Furthermore, do you realize that there are millions of engineers a year graduating from China and there simply are not enough jobs?  What an opportunity for America to “cash in” on people wanting the American dream!  India can’t support its population - there are more millionaires in India than in the U.S. Entrepreneurs - and keep in mind there are more evangelical believers in India and China, each separately, than the US, and the church is exploding in both of those countries.  Wow, look at all the spiritual life they have to offer the church in the US.  Be careful America, we may be upset about the very people that would effect our salvation and our future on a global scale economically, politically, and culturally.  How bout that Tandori Chicken! 

In our church are Hispanics - and one of our pastors Omar Reyes is one of the best friends I have on earth - Belizean, Mayan, Palestinian, Spanish, Texican, Micohiliac - he’s got the whole enchilada.  He travels around the world with me meeting world leaders and leading initiatives - he gets the world like few people I know, but not in an educated or studied sort of way (though he’s educated), but more simply as being raised around the world as a global citizen.  Soon to be Dr. Pastor, Phuc Dang, another pastor at our church from Vietnam is one of the greatest global thinkers I know.  Neither one of these men needed much mentoring on protocol or how to engage with global leaders - it’s their culture.  One of our news pastors, Josh Daneshforooz, second generation Iranian shows those same traits.  Daniel Yang, another one of our pastors - is from the Hmong people (Gran Torino people) - they are the ultimate migrants having had an empire 2000 years ago they are a people group without a nation who live in Laos, Vietnam, China, and Thailand.  These men are some of the most valuable men that I’ve ever had the privilege of working with - especially since we are more of a global church than anything.  Some want Calvinist, others want Spirit-filled, just give me “global” pastors who trust God and are filled with the spirit and we’ll change the world!  Luther and Calvin are dead - thank God for them, I’m ready for Reyes, Phuc, Daneshforooz, Yang, and Akmed. 

One of the most brilliant thinkers I’ve stumbled on recently is Dr. Joy Sidiri - he’s incredible.  I can’t stop reading his stuff.  You’ll have to goolge him.  No one has made me think more than him in the past year.  He’s head of the Global Diaspora movement for Lausanne.  He got me reading Arrival Cities by Doug Saunders. There has never been an opportunity to be the global church like there is today.  What an opportunity for the global church that has lived with Muslims for centuries to teach us how to relate to Muslims, the same for Hindu, Buddhists, and all the rest.  This isn’t a bad thing - it’s God on the move and we need to be in step with him.  I love the Great Commission, not because it’s about Jesus winning - but because it’s about being connected to God’s plan historically - Dang I’m excited - pass ‘em enchiladas and put some hummus on the falafel!