The Nations in this Nation

The U. S. Census Bureau recently released the numbers on the foreign-born population.  You will want to read the full pdf HERE.

The Lord has brought the nations to this nation. How will the Church respond as a faithful and wise steward at this moment in history?  Do we:

• Recognize that there are at least 361 unreached people groups in the United States?
• Recognize that there are many Kingdom citizens who have migrated to the United States?

We have been provided a wonderful opportunity to reach the world from our backyards.  We  have been provided a wonderful opportunity to partner with brothers and sisters from across the globe to reach the nations.

How will we respond?

Consider this information taken from the Census Bureau’s findings (linked above):

• The foreign born represented 13 percent of the U.S. population. By state, the percentage of foreign born ranged from just over 1 percent in West Virginia to 27 percent in California.
• The states with the highest percentage of foreign born in their populations were California (27 percent), New York (22 percent), and New Jersey (21 percent).
• In 2010, more than 1 in 4 foreign-born residents lived in California.
• New York, Texas, and Florida accounted for 30 percent of the foreign-born population. Including California, these four states were home to more than half of all foreign born.
• Half of the foreign born were between the ages of 18 and 44, compared with about one-third of the native born.
• Over 80 percent of the foreign born population was between the ages of 18 to 64, including 50 percent between the ages of 18 to 44. Among the native born, 60 percent were between the ages of 18 to 64, including 35 percent between 18 and 44.
• The native population had a higher proportion under the age of 18 than the foreign-born population. About 27 percent of the native population was under age 18, compared with 7 percent of the foreign born. This difference reflects the fact that children of immigrants born in the United States are, by definition, native.
• In 2010, 58 percent of the foreign born aged 15 and older were married, while 26 percent were never married. By comparison, the native born aged 15 and older were less likely to be married (47 percent) and more likely to never have been married (33 percent). However, the native born were more likely to be separated or divorced (14 percent) than the foreign born (11 percent).
• Over 2 of every 5 foreign born were naturalized citizens.
• More than three-fourths (77 percent) of foreign-born households and almost two thirds (65 percent) of native households were family households.
• The average size of foreign born households (3.4 persons) was larger than that of native households (2.5 persons). One reason for this difference is that a higher proportion of foreign-born family households (62 percent) than native-born family households (47 percent) included children under the age of 18.
• Half of all foreign born either spoke only English at home or spoke a language other than English at home and spoke English “very well.”
• About 85 percent of the foreign-born population spoke a language other than English at home, compared with about 10 percent of the native population.
• One in ten foreign born did not speak English at all.
• The foreign born were more likely than the native born to work in service, construction, and production jobs.
• The median household income of foreign-born households in the 12 months prior to being surveyed was $46,224, compared with $50,541 for native households. The difference in income was larger when focusing only on family households: the median income was $62,358 for families with a native householder and $49,785 for families with a foreign-born householder.
• About 19 percent of the foreign born were living below the poverty level in the 12 months prior to being surveyed, compared with about 15 percent of the native born.

These are just a few of our realities.

How will we respond?  What are the Kingdom opportunities?  Where are the bridges and barriers to the gospel spreading rapidly and with honor (2 Thes 3:1) across the nations in this nation?

If you have not had a chance to check out the booklet “Scattered to Gather”, I want to encourage you to take a look at it.  It is an excellent resource about the nations on the move.  You may find it HERE.  Also, you may find my book Strangers Next Door: Immigration, Migration, and Mission to be of some assistance to you as well.

(image source: U.S. Census Bureau)

Earlier this month, the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB) released a very important report on U. S. congregational membership.  You may find the data on-line at The Association of Religion Data Archives.  You will also want to check out the web site of the Religious Congregations and Membership Study 2010 for additional important information.  I am so thankful that this information has been made available to the public.  You may also purchase a book containing the information HERE.

This is one of the most important studies that will be released this year in relation to our task.  It contains a wealth of data on the churches in the United States.  Also, the findings show the numbers of Evangelicals in this country as well.  And if you know these numbers, you can also obtain an estimate of lostness in the United States.

Where are the Wise Stewards?

In January 2010, I released a report and presentation titled “From 35,000 to 15,000 Feet: Evangelical Statistics in the United States and Canada.“  The U. S. evangelical concentrations represented was based on the 2000 data housed at The ARDA.  What I found to be amazing was that this information had been available for several years, but I was unable to locate any church or denomination who had used it to calculate the evangelical percentages and evangelical church to U. S. population ratios, and widely distribute such information for missionary labors.

So, with coffee and calculator in hand and a good research assistant and secretary, we set out to create the report and large PowerPoint presentation that you may now find linked above.  We put together the percentages and ratios for the states, many metro areas, and selected counties.

During this time, I was troubled that we were going to make this information available years after it had been released.  But something had to be done.  Too much church planting in the United States was taking place (and still is) with little consideration for the lostness in the states, cities, and counties. We needed to be better stewards when it came to strategy development.  And knowing the Evangelical realities would be a major step in the right direction.

Over the past two years, I have had numerous churches, individuals, and denominational leaders to share with me that they have been using my report and presentation to guide their church planting efforts. I am very thankful for this.

Now, the most up-to-date information is available.  It is there for the taking and use.  Will we squander this moment and wait another decade before we take this information seriously AND run the calculations to determine the evangelical percentages and church to population ratios?

My Challenge is Two-fold:

First, make use of this information to guide your missionary labors in the United States.  I know I will be using this new information.  Sure, it is not perfect information.  Yes, I have concerns about the definitions used by the researchers (I shared this in my 2010 report.).  But, they have provided the Church a great starting point.  The researchers are to be commended.  They have studied the third largest country in the world with 312 million people and have provided some very useful information for Kingdom advancement.

Second, I want to talk to the missiologists and other researchers who read my blog.  Will you rise to the challenge by taking this information and show us the evangelical concentrations and evangelical church to population ratios?  Use my 2010 material as a guide and do a much better job.  It would be great if you would also compare my numbers (based on the 2000 data) with your new findings, to show the change over the last decade.

And follow my example in another way:  If you take this challenge, then give your findings away for FREE.  I guarantee your reports–if done correctly and are visually appealing–will be widely used by many churches, church planters, and mission agencies for years to come.  If you want to use your time wisely over the next few weeks, here is where you should invest your time.

The information is now available.  Who will use it to advance the gospel in the areas of the greatest need?  Who will take their time and a cheap calculator and give us a better understanding of lostness in the United States that we may be more faithful stewards with the resources we have to multiply disciples, leaders, and churches across this great land.  If I can do it with a budget of $0, then some of you should be able to hit a grand slam by providing the Church with a very valuable resource.

(image source: The ARDA)

This past Sunday evening I received a call from The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama to come and serve as their pastor of church multiplication.  I accepted this invitation with much gratitude and excitement.

Lord willing, my family and I will be moving from Louisville to Birmingham this summer when I plan to begin serving in this new role come July 1.

I want to say thank you to all of you who have prayed for us and offered words of encouragement as well.  I very much appreciated them.

It was over a year ago when David Platt and I started talking about the possibility of this new role (If you are interested in more of the details, HERE is a link to a couple of videos produced by the church.).  Following those conversations, I spent a great deal of time praying, fasting, talking with the leaders and members of my church, and talking with the leaders of The Church at Brook Hills.  The Lord made it clear that He was leading me to this faith family in Birmingham.

For the past several years, I have had the privilege to serve with the North American Mission Board and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary as a professor of church planting and evangelism and director of the Center for North American Missions and Church Planting at the seminary.  In fact, I have been with the seminary for the past decade, with the last nine years under the employment of the mission agency.  I greatly love, appreciate, and respect the brothers and sisters who are a part of these institutions.  They are dear friends and doing great Kingdom work.  I will most definitely miss serving alongside of them.

I am honored and humbled to be called to serve as one of the pastors for this great church.  Over the past several years, the Lord has been doing an amazing work through these dear brothers and sisters.  They have been making a major Kingdom impact in their Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and the uttermost parts.  Every time I have been a part of one of their worship gatherings, I have observed them baptizing men and women.  Last Sunday, they commissioned 35 mid-term missionaries who will be serving somewhere in the world from two months to two years.  In addition to their many other international labors, they have been sending missionaries throughout North America to plant churches.  The Lord has been raising up and calling out men to go and serve as pastors in other established churches.  Numerous leaders are being raised up from within the faith family.  Time and space will not allow me to share all of the great things the Lord has been doing with these brothers and sisters.

If you can’t tell, I am very excited about what is happening.  My prayer is that I will not mess up the great things the Lord is doing.

In addition to general pastoral matters, my responsibilities as a member of their senior leadership team (of seven other pastors) will involve three primary (yet integrated) responsibilities:  1) I will oversee and provide leadership for all of the church’s North American church planting efforts; 2) I will work closely with Jonathan B., the church’s global disciplemaking pastor (who is an amazing guy), in matters related to cross-cultural church planting efforts; and 3) I will develop and oversee a leadership equipping and mobilization center for all of the church’s members.

And if you are wondering…yes, we are building the airplane as it is flying.  That’s what I’m talking about!  I love it!

Your prayers are greatly appreciated as I make this transition.  In addition to remembering my family, please remember to pray for the church, Southern Seminary, and the North American Mission Board.

And for those in the Brook Hills faith family who have been reading my blog, I want you to know that I am deeply honored to come and serve as one of your pastors.  My family and I are aching to move to Birmingham and get to know you better.  It is a very high and serious calling to serve as one of your pastors, a tremendous responsibility that I have not entered into lightly.  Thank you for the honor of being able to serve you in this role.  I am so thankful to know of what the Lord is doing through each of you.  I eagerly look forward to linking arms with you as we continue to labor for the multiplication of disciples, leaders, and churches across the world.  I am not perfect and greatly appreciate your patience with me and covet your prayers for me and my family.  I don’t have all of the answers, but will promise to pray hard  and faithfully serve our Father in this equipping and mobilizing role.

I am very excited about an upcoming meeting sponsored by the North American Mission Board for Southern Baptist Churches and leaders in the United States and Canada.  Lord willing, on July 30-31, the SEND North America Conference will take place in Atlanta with the focus being on church planting.  This is one of the most important events that NAMB has hosted since the agency’s reorganization in 1997.   I have been told that a large number of people have already registered for this first-time event.  If you are a Southern Baptist, I want to encourage you to be there.

I recently spoke with Aaron Coe, Vice President for Mobilization, with the North American Mission Board regarding this event.

What is the SEND North America Conference?

The Send North America Conference 2012 is a two-day experience designed for church planters, pastors, leaders, and others committed to penetrating lostness in North America. Learn and interact with relevant leaders, such as David Platt, Johnny Hunt, Louie Giglio, J. D. Greear, and Ed Stetzer during general sessions and tailored breakouts, with plenty of time and space for connecting, communicating and finding your place in the mission.  The Send North America Conference will equip you for your next step in reaching North America through church planting.

Is this event only for state/Canadian convention leaders?

No.  We really see this event being for anyone who wants to work together to reach North America through church planting.

In years past, I have attended the Summer State Leadership Meeting in Atlanta.  How is this event different?

We really see this meeting bringing together three of the critical components in the effort to reach North America with the gospel.  Those components are missionaries (church planters), churches (pastors, staff, lay leaders), and convention leaders.  Our goal is to create environments where those three audiences can pray together, learn together, and ultimately partner together to penetrate the lostness that abounds in the United States and Canada.

What is NAMB’s desired outcome from this event?

The goal of NAMB in doing this event is to inspire and inform.  We want to inspire leaders toward God’s heart for the lost in North America and we want to inform them of some of the practical tools that are available to help them accomplish the task.  We have designed the conference for everyone to take their next step in the church planting process, regardless of where they are.

What should I expect during this event?

You should expect to learn from some of the best leaders the North American church has to offer.  You should expect to have opportunities to network with others so that partnerships can arise.  You should expect to understand, at a deep level, the Send North America strategy of the North American Mission Board.  You should expect to have fun.  We are planning a really special time together!

Thanks, Aaron, for sharing with us today!

I hope you can make it to this important event.  Register now.  For more information, check out the link to the conference site HERE and the registration site HERE.

Since the late 1970s, the United States has recognized May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month to commemorate the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants (May 1843) and the contributions of the Chinese to the transcontinental railroad (completed May 1869).  In recognition of this month, the U. S. Census bureau released the following numbers related to Asians and Pacific Islanders living in the United States.

This is another reminder that the nations of the world have come to the United States.  Many of them represent, or are of close socio-cultural proximity to, the world’s unreached peoples.  Here is a great opportunity for gospel advancement, locally and globally.  Also, many of them are followers of Jesus. Healthy partnerships can be developed with majority churches to take the gospel to the nations.

These are the numbers.  What are your thoughts as you think missiologically about the nations living next door to you?

Asians

• 17.3 million: The estimated number of U.S. residents of Asian descent, according to the 2010 Census.

• 5.6 million: The Asian alone or in combination population in California; the state had the largest Asian population in the 2010 Census, followed by New York (1.6 million). Hawaii had the highest proportion of Asians (57 percent).

• 46%: Percentage growth of the Asian alone or in combination population between the 2000 and 2010 censuses, which was more than any other major race group.

• 3.8 million: Number of Asians of Chinese, except Taiwanese, descent in the U.S. in 2010. Chinese-Americans were the largest Asian group, followed by Filipinos (3.4 million), Asian Indians (3.2 million), Vietnamese (1.7 million), Koreans (1.7 million) and Japanese (1.3 million).

Income, Poverty and Health Insurance

• $67,022: Median household income for single-race Asians in 2010. Median household income differed greatly by Asian group. For Asian Indians, for example, the median income in 2010 was $90,711; for Bangladeshi, it was $48,471. (These figures represent the single-race population.)

• 12%: The poverty rate for single-race Asians in 2010, not statistically different from the 2009 poverty rate

Education

• 50%: The percentage of single-race Asians 25 and older who had a bachelor’s degree or higher level of education.

• 85%: The percentage of single-race Asians 25 and older who had at least a high school diploma.

• 20%: The percentage of single-race Asians 25 and older who had a graduate (e.g., master’s or doctorate) or professional degree.

Languages

• 2.8 million: The number of people 5 and older who spoke Chinese at home in 2010. After Spanish, Chinese was the most widely spoken non-English language in the country. Tagalog, Vietnamese and Korean were each spoken at home by more than 1 million people.

Age Distribution

• 35.4: Median age of the single-race Asian population in 2010.

• 22%: Percent of the single-race Asian population that was under age 18 in 2010 while 9.4 percent was 65 or older.

Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders

• 1.2 million: The number of U.S. residents who said they were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, either alone or in combination with one or more additional races, according to the 2010 Census.

• 40%: Percentage growth of the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone or in combination population between the 2000 and 2010 censuses.

Income, Poverty and Health Insurance

• $52,776: The median income of households headed by single-race Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders.

• 18.8%: The poverty rate for those who classified themselves as single-race Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander.

Education

• 15%: The percentage of single-race Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders 25 and older who had a bachelor’s degree or higher.

• 87%: The percentage of single-race Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders 25 and older who had at least a high school diploma.

• 4%: The percentage of single-race Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders 25 and older who had obtained a graduate or professional degree.

Age Distribution

• 28.9: The median age of the single-race Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population in 2010.

• 29%: Percentage of the single-race Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population that was under age 18 in 2010 while 5.8 percent was 65 or older.

(photo source: Microsoft Office, IStock Photo)

I am very excited to share that my new work on the late Anglican, missionary-priest, Roland Allen, is now available.

On Monday, Roland Allen: Pioneer of Spontaneous Expansion was published in light of this year being the 100th anniversary of the publication of Allen’s 1912 writing Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours?.  His work has influenced many people across the years.  If you have not read this classic in missions literature, then you should do it this year.

A couple of years ago I had considered writing a biography on Allen to be published this year.  However, my plans for this project did not come to fruition.  Knowing that I still wanted to publish something related to the man and his views on missions, I decided to publish the book that was released this week.

Roland Allen: Pioneer of Spontaneous Expansion addresses Allen’s views related to the multiplication of churches.  A warning is necessary:  this is not light reading.  While the book is only 138 pages, I cite extensively from Allen’s writings (both well-known and obscure).  I want the reader to be exposed to the primary source material as much as possible.  And for those readers not familiar with Allen’s life, the first chapter provides a biographical sketch, beginning with his birth and concluding with his death in 1947.  There is also an extensive bibliography listing most of Allen’s publications, publications about Allen, and dissertations that have been written about him.

Here is the Table of Contents:

Preface

Introduction to Spontaneous Expansion

Chapter 1:  The Story of the Man

Chapter 2:  The Way of Jesus

Chapter 3:  The Apostolic Approach

Chapter 4:  Ecclesiology

Chapter 5:  Pneumatology

Chapter 6:  Place of the Missionary

Chapter 7:  Devolution

Chapter 8:  Missionary Faith

Chapter 9:  Leadership Development

Chapter 10:  Voluntary Clergy

Chapter 11:  Nonprofessional Missionaries

Conclusion

Bibliography

As I wrote in a previous post, aside from the obvious, this book is for you if:

• you are interested in church planting movements
• you think about church multiplication
• you have strong convictions about the role of the Holy Spirit in missions
• you you prefer contextualized church planting over paternalism
• you believe in raising up leaders from the harvest
• you are crazy enough to believe that the New Testament has something to say regarding how we should be doing missionary work today

I do hope you will not only add this book to your library, but will help me in spreading the word about it!  If you order it HERE, be sure to use the 30% off discount code:  8UZT7VJQ that is still available.  Let me also encourage you to consider posting a review of the book on Amazon HERE.

The book is being converted into the Kindle format.  The folks overseeing such work have informed me that the book should be in this version in 3-4 weeks.  If interested, check later with Amazon.

On Monday and Tuesday of this week I was in Auburn, Alabama with a group of interns with Lakeview Baptist Church.  Over the course of this semester, they took a church planting class with me.  It was a blessing to be with these outstanding guys.

I am a lover of Bar-B-Q and sweet tea.  Of course, when these guys came to realize this outstanding element of my character, they suggested that we have lunch at Mike at Ed’s.  I had no hesitation with going to this fine eatery.

Now, while I have not reached the level of social media sophistication whereby I am constantly taking photos with my phone to share with others, I had to capture this one.

No, your eyes are not deceiving you. Yes, that is a garbage can filled with sweet tea (and yes, that is the container of unsweetened tea to the right.).  Only in the South.

Yes. We did drink sweet tea from the garbage can.  I did not understand it.  It was unusual.  But, it was good!

What a crazy act.  What a crazy concept.  No one drinks from a garbage can on purpose and likes it so much that he or she is willing to pay to do it.

Yet, Mike and Ed’s is making a killing off of it.

An Axiom All Pastors Should Know

In today’s post, I am writing specifically to pastors who are considering partnering with church planters.  I am also writing to those of you who are already in such relationships, be it a supervisory, mentoring, coaching, or partnering church role.  Church planting is messy ministry, and you need to be mentally prepared for what is to come once you start down this path.  So, with this in mind, here is a church planting axiom:

Missionaries do strange things.

These Kingdom servants do not know the phrase, “we’ve never done it that way before.”  To them, everything is new.  They are entering into the fields.  They are starting with nothing and moving toward something.  They do not begin with structures and organizations; they begin by entering into the kingdom of darkness to bring out the captives into the Kingdom of light.

Typical, normative, routine, predictability. . . . These words are hard to find in their vocabularies.

Instead, we generally find them most familiar with terms such as uncertainty, pioneering, chaos, and instability.

The Experts are in the Fields

Church planting does not happen in front of a computer.  Church planters are in the trenches.  They are missionaries living and functioning in the highways and hedges of lostness.

As a result of them being in the heat of the battle, they are the experts when it comes to their contexts.

Now, for me and you, traditional approaches to evangelism and ministry worked very well.  The Lord used that 1975 Baptist Hymnal and “Victory in Jesus” to bring us to faith and sanctify us.  For years, you remember how He worked through your church’s bus and van ministry to reach all of those kids from the nearby community.  And, wow! What about those great block parties we used to have.  It was so wonderful to see what the Spirit did to advance the gospel.

Maybe such methods will still be effective among the unbelievers with whom your missionaries are laboring.  But, maybe not.  I don’t know their contexts.  And my guess is that you do not truly know their contexts either.

Be Learners, but Hold Them Accountable

So, let’s ask them to educate us.  Let’s ask them to tell us about the people groups and population segments among whom they are serving.  Let’s ask them to tell us what is working and not working to reach the people with the gospel, gather them, teach them, and raise up leaders from among them.

But whenever we ask them such questions, we may need to fasten our seat-belts and be ready for a surprise.  They may tell us about methods they are using that we have never considered.  They may share approaches that we would never dare to implement into our established church ministries.  They may tell us tales that make us uncomfortable.

But. . . if our missionaries are remaining true to the Scriptures, being good stewards with their resources, not participating in unethical or illegal practices, let’s give them the freedom they need to serve on the frontlines of Kingdom advancement.

We must absolutely hold them accountable, but not be absolute with our methodological convictions.  They know the context better than us.  They are living and breathing it everyday.  Let’s trust them.  We should ask the tough and challenging questions.  We should “push back” where we think it is necessary.  We should provide correction where necessary.

It is not about giving them free reign, but the freedom to fulfill their ministry.

Pastors, don’t be surprised when your church planters one day share with you that they are planning on drinking sweet tea from a garbage can.  Push back on them.  Be discerning.  Ask challenging questions.  Hold them accountable.  Speak wisdom into their lives.  And, if at the end of the conversation, you believe their approaches are appropriate, then pray for them and encourage them in their labors.

If we do, we may find that very soon we are filling our cups with them and discovering some great Bar-B-Q in the process.

Last weekend, I had the privilege to speak to some of the most influential people in the world–university educators.  These are the men and women who pour their lives into the most influential people in the world–students.

As we consider the multiplication of disciples, leaders, and churches in our world today, I want to bring to your attention the University Educators for Global Engagement.  If you are involved in Baptist higher education, then you definitely need to connect with them.  And if you are not, you may want to talk with them about how to begin a similar network for your Church or denomination. 

According to their web site, they exist, “to provide a forum for collaboration among Christian universities seeking to educate and equip their students, faculty, and staff to intentionally engage the world for Christ.”  This interdisciplinary group, comprised from schools across the United States, meets annually to address the challenges to missions today and how they can best serve the Kingdom with their roles on their campuses.

I was asked to speak about global migrations and the Great Commission possibilities.  I promised the group that I would post the presentation of my plenary session here at the blog.  Most of this session was taken from my forthcoming book Strangers Next Door: Immigration, Migration, and Mission, and some of the sources of the data are not included in these slides.  However, even if you were not present last week or not involved in higher education, I hope that this resource may be of some assistance to you as well.

Strangers Next Door, Plenary Session 1

This group has only been in existence for a few years, but they are serving a wonderful purpose.  According to their web site, their objectives include:

• To supplement the integration of faith and learning through global engagement
• To encourage passion for engaging the lost world
• To encourage and support our universities in their commitment to fulfill the Great Commission locally, nationally, and globally
• To foster relationships of missional educators within the university community and to network among like-minded institutions
• To provide a platform for curricular and co-curricular collaboration
• To benefit from the sharing of ideas and resources

I commend these brothers and sisters on their labors.  The amount of potential they have in impacting the world by raising up generations of missionaries to serve through marketable degrees and skills is amazingly high.  The opportunities they have to reach, equip, partner, and send teams of students to the marketplaces of the world are numerous.

This is a group you need to know about, possibly join, or learn from so that you may begin a similar group.  University educators. . . mighty servants for gospel advancement!

My family and I love going to an orchard near our home to pick apples.  This is something we have done for several years when they are in season.  Now, while I could not tell you the names of the different types of apples found there, which ones are best for baking, or which ones are sweet and which ones are tart, I can tell you that I know the type of apple that I like.

I used to think that all apples were alike, only different colors.  Wow, was I wrong!  Don’t give me those mushy apples.  I prefer those that are firm and tart, if I’m plucking them from the tree to eat.  My wife will tell you that I am a picky person when it comes to apples.  When offered one, I must first inquire about it.  I just don’t like eating any apple.  Not all apples are the same.  Sure, we call them “apples,” but there are differences.

Earlier this month, Pew Hispanic released a report on the Hispanics in the United States and their views of identity.  You may locate it HERE.  While there are several excellent findings in this work, for me, it simply confirmed what missiologists (and the Hispanic community) have been saying for a long time.  Simply, not all Hispanic peoples are the same.

The Anglo majority in the United States (especially within the Church) is oftentimes quick to assume that if a group of people speak Spanish and have a dark complexion, then they are all culturally alike.  Of course, this is not true, and the Church misses the missiological boat whenever we begin to think in such ways.

Unfortunately, we in the Anglo community have created a double-standard.  We know that not all white Americans are the same.  We recognize that there are cultural differences among different regions of this country.  Even where I live in Louisville, Kentucky, most people understand that there are cultural differences among the white population.

As stewards of the mystery of the gospel, we must recognize that there are significant differences among the peoples living around us.  Mexicans, Cubans, and Guatemalans are not the same.  Even among themselves, there are significant cultural differences.  For example, within Mexico alone, there are numerous people groups (including many unreached people groups).

So, why is this an important matter for churches to keep in mind?  Because understanding cultural differences influences the methods used to communicate the gospel effectively and the methods used to teach new churches to obey all that Christ commanded.  While there is great value in recognizing a common language and physical features, heart issues are much deeper.

When it comes to the multiplication of disciples, leaders, and churches, we must recognize that we need to know the people we are attempting to reach.  We must become students of the people.  And when we begin to understand them at the cultural level, we are seeking answers to questions such as:

• What is the general lifestyle/mindset of the people?
• Interests?
• Values?
• Hurts?
• Fears?
• Joys?
• Dreams?
• Possessions?

Yes, we can read books about the people.  But the best source of information comes from the people themselves.  So, get out there and meet them!  And whenever we do, let’s make certain that we don’t assume that everyone is the same.

We must recognize that in our Father’s world, He has allowed for the development of Granny Smith, Fuji, Gala, etc….  And we rejoice in this wonderful diversity, as we seek to make His name known among the nations!

Last week, while at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D. C., I took this photo of the Bell X-1.  If you know your history, this was the first plane to break the sound barrier.  Chuck Yeager surpassed the Mach 1 speed in October 1947, and will always be remembered as the first man to accomplish this great task.

While we gaze at this craft, now hanging in the Smithsonian, we recall that significant day.  However, there is a story behind the event that we often do not consider.  Yet, this story was necessary before the barrier could be overcome.

For years, many people believed that the sound barrier could not be broken.  For years, many aircraft broke apart as they approached such high speeds.  Numerous attempts occurred, countless hours spent, and enormous costs were made which finally resulted in the accomplishment of the desired goal.

The scientists, engineers, and test pilots needed this story before they could tell Yeager’s story.

But, we don’t hear or remember those stories.  We want the highly exceptional.

Unfortunately, the Church often follows a similar path when it comes to telling our stories.  We like to share the stories that reveal the “thrill of victory” but we often fail to tell those that reveal the “agony of defeat”.  We create a culture that is opposed to hearing the “unsuccessful” stories (which, ironically, are often successful when measured by the Kingdom standard), fooling ourselves into believing that such is a practice of wise stewards.

Whenever we do share, we often take a long time before we tell our stories.  For example, a church planter arrives on the field, uses a multitude of methods, finds some that work, and writes a book telling what resulted in the planting of the church.  Or, consider another example.  A pastor works for years, trying to reach people with the gospel, teach them the ways of Jesus, and raise them up to become missionaries.  He tries many things over the years, most of them do not work so well.  Finally, he compiles all that has worked and hits the speaking circuit, sharing what has been effective–and eventually writing down his story of success.

Too Late

The time spent between the date we hit the field and the date we begin telling our stories, is too long.  We must compress time.  We start telling our stories too late in the game.  By the time we begin to share with others what “worked,” society and the contextual realities have often shifted.  Of course, the Church begins hearing such wonderful accounts and immediately begins to apply what was learned. . . 5-15 years after the fact.

Just consider the trends in the church planting world today.  We’ve heard the wonderful and exceptional stories.  People are now getting excited and moving to the field, applying methods that worked well in the 1980s and early 1990s.  Time (and cultures) has moved on.

We must compress this time.  We must begin to communicate our stories NOW–BOTH what is working well and what is not working so well.  And in order to make this shift a reality, we must overcome two problematic mindsets today:

We Can Learn Nothing from the Inexperienced.

This approach stems from an arrogant attitude.  It advocates that BOTH the novice missionary on the field has nothing to contribute AND the pioneer testing new methodologies and/or laboring among unengaged peoples has nothing to share until the real “results” happen.  “Don’t talk to me, until you have something significant to talk about,” is an expression that summarizes this mindset.

If someone is only one step ahead of someone else in the process of making disciples, then they have at least one thing to teach those who follow.  Sometimes they can teach them what to do; sometimes they can teach them what to avoid.  But, above all else, they can teach something.

Tell Me What Works

While we all desire to know what is working to make disciples, raise up leaders, and plant churches, usually this statement comes deeply from the realm of pragmatism.  While Kingdom Citizens are to be pragmatic (We’ve been commanded to bear fruit.), we are not to follow the way of pragmatism.   Among other theological and missiological problems, this mindset fails to understand that all methods and strategies are: 1) birthed at specific times and in specific contexts; and 2) developed by leaders with their own set of gifts, passions, talents, etc..  We have a history of uncritically taking “what works” in one part of the country and forcing it into another location.  The results are often non-contextualized churches and leaders.  We need to be more discerning, and understand what is working well and what is not working so well.

Here are some guidelines to compress time:

Overcome Your Inferiority Complex

Some of us are afraid to share because for years people have told us, “You can’t…” or “You have not arrived yet…” or “You have not earned the right to share…” and we have come to believe them.  Such is poor stewardship on our behalf.  Some of us feel inferior because we have seen the great things that others have been blessed to accomplish, and we feel that we have nothing to contribute with our two mites.  For some of us, we need to repent and rest in Christ as the only One whom we are to please.  Overcoming this obstacle is necessary for us to compress time.

Don’t Wait, Share Today’s Stories

This does not mean that you have to share great details, but tell us something. . . and tell us now.  We need to learn from you.  As wise stewards, we cannot wait around, thinking that maybe we’ll have something to share tomorrow.  Today is the day for sharing!  Start talking. Start blogging. Start tweeting.  Start publishing.  Get your experiences out there!

We don’t have time to wait around until the desired outcomes occur before we start talking, sharing, and writing about our experiences. We need to know what is working AND not working.  Of course, we need to know what is working quickly, but we also need to know what is gradually working, with progress being measured inch-by-inch.

Our Father is always at work; we need to realize this fact and stop giving glory to God only when He does what we desire!  He is worthy of our glory when He fails to fulfill our strategies.

Remain Humble

We must not think more highly of ourselves than according to the faith that has been given to us.  We should not make ourselves out to be something we are not.  Even when it comes to sharing our struggles from the field, we must remain humble.  For it is possible to become arrogant even when we are not experiencing the results we desire.

Give God the Glory

Enough said.

Remain a Learner

Along with humility comes the heart of a learner.  On this side of heaven, we must never believe that we have “arrived”.  We must learn from others.  Learn from our mistakes.  Learn from slow growth.  Learn from rapid multiplication.  Remember, we are students on the field.

Don’t wait around to break the sound barrier before you start sharing.  That is likely to take too much time.  We need to know why your jet is shaped like a .50 caliber bullet.  Why are you using super-thin wings and an adjustable horizontal stabilizer?  We need to know why your last attempt resulted in the pilot ejecting out before a crash.  We need to know why you decided to change your fuel mixture?  We need to know why you decided that it was best to attempt such a feat over the Mojave Desert?

Rather than waiting years to tell one side of your story in reaching the nations, will you compress time to advance the gospel? We need to learn from you.

4 billion lost souls live today.  We don’t have time to wait for you to tell us now how you broke the sound barrier years ago.