Immigrant Hate

There are times when the vehemence and hate against immigrants is so virulent that it shocks and stuns me. Even those who claim to love one class of immigrants over and against another (with documents vs. without, educated workers vs. agricultural workers, asian vs. mexican, etc) would – I hope – be stunned at how those nuances are lost in the rhetoric of exclusion and fear that is at the heart of anti-immigrant mindset.

We have a client who has a court case. He has permission to be here and work while his case is in process, and he has the documents to prove it. He heads to the DMV to get his driver’s license renewal so he can continue to work. The local office directs him to the main state DMV office where he was told that they wouldn’t give him the renewal. Why? They don’t want to.

His boss calls the law office and asks us to find out what was up. He must have misunderstood. So one of the paralegals calls the DMV office to see what can be done. He has the official papers from the federal government showing it has been granted. It is all good and legal.

But they don’t want to. Why? He has approval to work, but not to drive. He isn’t a citizen. Why should she give something to “those people” that should only be given to citizens? Besides, she says, their attorney told them they didn’t have to.

At this point I imagine your response is like mine – this person is unreasonable and the paralegal needs to speak to her supervisor. The only problem: this IS the supervisor.

OK, maybe we need to talk more and find out what is going on. They have acknowledged that the government documents are legit, so maybe we need to explain more. But then she hangs up.

This isn’t a matter of being “illegal.” It isn’t even this individual’s isolated position. Apparently, the attorney for this state government agency supports the position. They have – unless she is lying or we’re mistaken- talked this through and come to an understanding. Its systemic. Or at least that is what it looks like right now. We’ll learn more as we move forward and challenge what is going on.

Where does this come from? In a land of immigrants where does the hate of immigrants come from? It is hypocritical at the very least. I wonder if this state worker even realizes the irony of her doing something illegal? I mean “illegal” in the same sense that an immigrant is considered “illegal” because they have circumvented an administrative procedure by the Federal government. I would honestly be laughing at the absurdity if this man’s livelihood wasn’t at stake.

When confronted with this kind of injustice the only word that captures the emotional magnitude for me is demonic. This kind of bald, naked hate stuns me. For those immigrants that I know it isn’t even rare.

So please, please, please help change the tone in all of this. If you are a Christian who believes that the scriptures are the rule of faith and practice you have no options in loving, supporting, and identifying with immigrants (if this isn’t clear to you please let me know and we can open our Bibles together). If you are not, please see the effects of hate and suspicion on little minds. It’s toxic. It has to stop.

Dear Heavenly Father,

I praise you because there is nothing above you. Nothing greater. Nothing more powerful. Not even the DMV of the state of Georgia. I pray, Lord, not just for this particular case. But for the disease of which this is but a symptom.

Heavenly Father, I pray for you, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to embolden your people to lovingly, humbly confront not just the action but the fear and hate that motivates it. Holy Lord, call your ministers of the Word to preach clearly from the scriptures what is obviously there about immigrants and immigration from Adam and Eve to Jesus. Lord, guide your church and those loving people from other faiths to fight this fight. I pray for love and justice to win the day.

And I pray in Jesus name. Amen

Spending Time With An Old Friend

I participated in an ordination council for my denomination last week.  It was lots of important details about the hypostatic union, simul justus et peccator, millennial this & that, and all kinds of historic heresies and formulations.  It’s necessary for pastors to know these things just like physicians need to know about illness so that they can diagnose and treat.  The problem comes in when you forget about health and just focus on disease and illness.  I know when I worked in public health that one of the main struggles was focusing so intently on a disease that effects a percentage of the population that you forget that the majority don’t have it. Because your whole focus is a certain condition you think the whole world is this condition.  But it isn’t.

I have this same issue in ministry.  I focus so much on illness and disease within the church that I forget about health.  So I get edgy and depressed and – at the worst of times – overwhelmed by myself and the giants I’m trying to slay.  I know that I know that I know that I am a restless soul easily distracted.  And when I’m not I’m longing to be (pretty sick).  Because of this I have to take extra time to stay grounded in the basics of the faith.  I have to remember and re-engage with what is good and right and blessed.

This is why I love J.I. Packer.  While he can write and converse on a number of levels, I appreciate him most when he takes me back to the basics about God and life.  For some reason he more than others communicates to me.  His ability to strip away the bells and whistles and color coded tabs I place on everything and bring it back to quality relationship.  Even when he hits a sore spot (and he always hits a sore spot), he does it in a way that gives me hope.

I’m currently engaged with Rediscovering Holiness. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea.  But it’s certainly mine so far.  I would encourage you take a sip from it to see if suits your palate.  But whatever your preferred metaphorical beverage, it’s worth spending time with an old friend.

 

Reclaim Your Immigrant Identity

Last night I was talking with a couple of guys from Romania about their experiences and process as immigrants. It was very interesting to listen to the complex, nuanced journey these men and their families had been on. By living in the tension of belonging/not belonging, thankful/critical, outsider/insider they had some valuable, I think healthy, perspectives on life, culture, and church.  I was thinking how important and helpful such a perspective is. Losing that kind of balance contributes to an unhealthy sense of privilege, and an un-biblical attitude of partiality.

During the conversation my mind continually went back to David’s prayer in 1 Chronicles 29:10-20, especially verse 15a (printed out below and I hope you’ll read it.  It’s pretty amazing.).  David is dedicating the Temple that Solomon will build.  He is signing high praise to the Lord, and then says, “We are foreigners and strangers in your sight, as were all our ancestors.”  This godly King of the covenant people in the Promised Land sees himself as a foreigner and stranger.  His identity is grounded in his ancestry, and the flow of redemptive history.  He hasn’t forgotten.

I keep thinking about this when I think about the Church in America.  It seems to me we’ve forgotten that – for those not Native American  - that we are a nation of immigrants.  That “immigrant” is a blessed and special category for the Lord of the Bible.  That this is by design, and that it is necessary for maintaining a healthy tension and relationship between our citizenship in Heaven and our citizenship on earth.  Without it we are prone to abandon one or the other, or co-opt one by the other.  Any of these pulls us away from  being people of grace doing justice in the earth.

My prayer for myself and for the Church is that we will reclaim our identity as immigrants.  People who are “foreigners and strangers” before God.  A dependent people totally reliant upon the grace and goodness of God for their provision and their identity.

On a practical-level it is impossible to fully appreciate or “claim” an immigrant identity if you’ve never traveled abroad and spent time actively listening and learning from those who have actually, physically lived the trials and blessings of setting off from one place in the hope of new life in a new land.  If you are like me, a citizen several generations removed from your immigrant ancestors, I would urge you that immigrant friends of any stripe are absolutely essential to your mental and spiritual health.  You need them.  They are God’s gift to you.

Dear Lord,

I forget who I am.  In forgetting I behave inconsistently to who you have called me to be and do not attend to the priorities you clearly set before me. I get confused, distracted, overwhelmed.  I pray for forgiveness and the gift of repentance that I might turn back to you.  I pray especially that you might restore to me my identity as a stranger and foreigner.  Not merely as a metaphor for the spiritual life, but as a healthy perspective that keeps me dependent upon you for all things, that gives me appreciation for where I am without privilege, presumption, hubris, or hypocrisy.  An identity that loves you and loves people.  Putting all people on an equal footing as needed recipients of grace.

You are the Lord.  There is no other.

I pray in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

¹⁰ David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,

“Praise be to you, LORD,
the God of our father Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
¹¹ Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, LORD, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.
¹² Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.
¹³ Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise your glorious name.

¹⁴ “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. ¹⁵ We are foreigners and strangers in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. ¹⁶ LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. ¹⁷ I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. ¹⁸ LORD, the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you. ¹⁹ And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, statutes and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided.”

²⁰ Then David said to the whole assembly, “Praise the LORD your God.” So they all praised the LORD, the God of their fathers; they bowed down, prostrating themselves before the LORD and the king.

Pleased To Get The Call

We had one of those strange phone calls today. A teacher from the local school called to see if I could find some guys from church to help a woman from the school move out of her apartment. Nothing big there. The twist was that she was trying to do this in a narrow time frame that her husband was away. Domestic violence. I called the woman back to learn that someone from the school had stepped forward to help. I thanked her for thinking of us and said we were always available.

It’s calls like these that let me know the church did the right thing in moving where we moved and committing to the school and being a presence as the church outside of the walls of the church building. Not on our terms or for our benefit but as servants asking nothing in return. Building that kind of trust by serving pizza at school fairs, setting up chairs and stages for international day, helping teachers with classroom expenses, building hover crafts for the science teacher, etc are all in the hope that we would get calls like this. Calls to be a real help in real times of need. Opportunities to love when love is most needed.

I don’t mean all of this to sound prideful. I guess what I’m trying to say is that we, this small local church, did all we did in faith and hope that people would see His heart in us in the little acts of service. That those small acts of service would open doors for times of real consequence.

Heavenly Father, 

You are the Light who called us out of darkness to be a light, and you told us to follow you in love to love others. Forgive me if I have stepped in front of you to steal your glory, but I am just so amazed when things like this happen.  When people know that we care, and that we will step with them into any circumstance, even the shameful, dangerous, and humiliating.  It is a testament to your love, Lord.  We did none of this on our own accord, but haltingly, sometimes grudgingly, tried to do what you clearly showed us.     

We pray for this woman and her husband.  Deliver this family from the horror of violence and the betrayal of all that marriage and love are about.  We pray for safety for the woman, for repentance and change in the husband, and for the salvation of this marriage if it is possible.  We ask special wisdom for this woman to know how to act, to heal, and to ask for help.  Surround her with people who will be your hands and heart.  

Thank you for using us, Lord.  I pray that all of this will renew our devotion to the small things.  

I pray in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.   

Why Immigration?

Why immigration?  I’m not an immigrant or in a family of immigrants.  Well, truth be told my mom grew up overseas, but she never changed citizenship.  She thinks in Spanish but never had to deal with looking non-white.  So why would a white guy from the suburbs start a third career to devote his life to immigration reform and helping immigrants?  It’s not like it’s hip, cool, or popular.

I get this a lot.

But it’s still an important question.  Why immigration and immigration reform?

Several years ago I relocated my family and the church I was leading at the time from the suburbs to be in an immigrant part of Atlanta. But at the time it was all about location. It was a series of tasks to be done.

But a person can’t sustain anything for long if it’s just a series of tasks. Or, if  they do, they burn out fast, get a martyr complex, and live the rest of their life on other people’s sympathy for “how hard you tried when you – fill in the blank” (you were a missionary, did urban work, tried to help “those people”, whatever). I am intimately familiar with this particular self-delusion.

The tasks were important, but they weren’t the main point.  The people were the main point.  It was when the kids at Pearl Lane stopped being an after-school program and I learned their stories. When my heart, mind, and will saw how much of life they knew that I didn’t know.  How wrong the injustices and circumstances were that they lived with.

It was when I stopped being quiet and started to get public with my love. I remember meeting Anton Flores on my first Immigration Pilgrimage. I remember the mothers in strollers committing so much to a simple proclamation of their humanity and dignity. Things changed when I stopped living in my head and started speaking out loud and putting my body where my mouth was.

Looking over my shoulder the narrative has definitely changed.  Standing where I am now I can see that several years ago my life was changed by other lives.  I met Jincia, Jennifer, Alex, Daisy, Orli, Bernard, Randy, Stephen, Susan, Susan, Susan…David, Peter, Jacob, Kim, Eric, Martha, Anton…and so many more.  And I have to confess that I didn’t just meet them.  I feel in love with them.

I owe them so much!  They were God’s grace in pulling me from a life that was so contrary to what scripture says about what a life with him should be like.  Their lives still confront points of pride in my life.  Areas that I thought were strengths, but were/are really racism and privilege.  I owe them for showing me a quality of life that I had never known.

And so here I am starting a new venture called Immigrant Hope Atlanta.  There are several tasks involved in it – important things to do to bless others.  But the real purpose is people.  It is a way to harness the hunger and delight I experience when my life touches other lives.  Not just anyone, but with outsiders – strangers and aliens who shine a bright light on everything I find most important in life.

Sandal Straps

You ever have one of those sandal strap moments? You know, the ones that John the Baptizer is famous for. In the beginning of Mark’s gospel he says, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.”

I had a sandal strap moment today. Jorge and I were meeting with Adelina Nicholls, the Executive Director of the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR). In these early stages of Immigrant Hope Atlanta we’re trying to meet with all the major stake holders, and few are as major as GLAHR. They are a grass-roots, community organizing non-profit for Latino communities in Georgia.

I knew that we would learn a lot. But I never expected to be amazed at the…I’m not sure what to call it…integrity, presence, passion? Whatever “it” is comes forth when she starts talking about communities of ordinary people learning, understanding, and exercising their rights. It’s the undeniable force of someone who has lived out their convictions and paid a sacrifice to do so.

What’s amazing for me personally is that I am not a hero worshiper. I have my idols and idolatry, but people and personalities are not one of them. Yet, here I am. Humbled, inspired, encouraged, challenged… It’s not a distant kind of admiration or lust or romanticism. It’s a personal effect that affects. <did I use those correctly?>

I’m going to go off and have a moment with all of this in prayer as I walk the dog. But I wanted to ask everyone if they’ve ever had one of these and who it was?

I also wanted to encourage those who have never had one, or those for whom it was long ago, to pray for one. If it’s like mine, you’ll only find this kind of inspiration face-to-face with someone who is not like you. Someone from a different race, gender, ethnicity, class, nationality… Someone striving for something that changes lives for the better.  Someone moving against the tide.

I”m not saying Adelina is equivalent to Christ.  I’m saying that I’m equivalent to John the Baptizer who has to step back in the face of what is undeniably real to experience and express the humility of being in the presence of someone worthy of admiration.

Who and when was your sandal strap moment?

Christ or Church?

I was driving out of the neighborhood and saw a sign that made me stop and think. It said, “Christ or Church”. At least that’s what I thought it said until I got a little closer. As I rolled by I realized that the sign actually said, “Church of Christ” (a denomination). But the damage was already done and my mind started to ponder the question, “Christ or Church?”

Church or Christ?

It’s a very current question. Leaders in the Christian Community Development movement talk about the need to protect the neighborhood from the local church that looks out for their own interests but not the interests of the neighborhood or its people. It is very common to hear people talk about loving Jesus but wanting nothing to do with the institutional church. I get both of these. I feel them deeply.

At the same time, in the scriptures we are not given this kind of split. The church isn’t a building or an organization, per se, but the body of Christ. We are never separate. We are the bride of Christ with all the promise, intimacy, and responsibilities that that image evokes. Even in all of imperfections and immaturity we are still related by grace and mercy.

Yet… I still resonate with the criticism that if the collection of people and families that make up the local expression are not reflecting Christ’s priorities to the world (love; unity; fidelity to the widow, orphans, immigrants, and the poor; generosity; hospitality, forgiveness, reconciliation…Jesus-likeness) then it’s a big, big problem.

At the same time…I can’t buy-in to the cop-out that we get to simply criticize and opt-out of the problem. To say it’s “their problem” and in my hubris turn my back. I think it is legitimate to strive to start a local expression that is more in-line with biblical priorities. I certainly have seen instances where people are forced out and have to do this. I think that to my mind it’s a prophetic issue within the church. All the church. Even (especially?) the institutional parts we don’t like. The sentiment that “I love Jesus but not the institutional church” is something that I feel deep-down, but that I also feel the instinct to stand up and fight against. To say, like the prophets of old, “this is not part of the covenant and it has to stop.”

I’m not saying I’m Elijah or John the Baptizer or anything. But I think we have to own the “always reforming” necessity of what being the church means.

I’m not sure how we do this. In part it is by thoughtful criticism. I think everyone in the church has to ask themselves about the tangible expression of Christ they live out. Maybe leadership teams need to asking themselves this question at the start of every meeting rather than just buildings, butts, and budget issues? While we’ll never get away from Christ or Church, maybe we can bend our pride and will enough that the “or” will become an “and”. It will, one day, be less of a justified criticism and more the promise that it is meant to be.