Status Updates From No Longer Strangers: Transf...

We must acknowledge that we are learners, and that we need each other, rather than assume that we are dispensers of wisdom in the soul fountain of knowledge in God’s truth. We must acknowledge that none of us is fully complete and knowing and seeing God’s truth.

Some wounds are better left unhealed, unless we forget and harden our hearts to the suffering of others

Where there is the presence of God, healing naturally takes place. And other words, healing is the effect of God’s presence.

A comprehensive view of loving our neighbor and therefore part of the Great Commission should lead us to conclude that people are emotional, physical, and spiritual beings with systems that impact them, and loving our neighbor means caring equally about all those dimensions

Many of us have treated the Great Commission as if it were the only thing Jesus said and we have reduced it to a mere call for evangelism (and) methodologies that prioritize isolated evangelism at the expense of loving our neighbors

We have learned that it is really important to answer the why behind loving our neighbor. How we answer that question determines our strategies for ministry, as well as how we measure success. When things are challenging, it helps to remind ourselves of how central and important it is to love our neighbors.

What is ridiculous is that while leading these types of ministries [meeting material needs], I would’ve said it was all about loving my neighbor. I didn’t even realize that I was the one to defining how to love my neighbor, and my neighbor felt like a product or a charity case. What was just below the surface was the self-righteous notion that I knew what was best.

Speaking up and telling the truth about refugees as individuals made in the image of God, who deserve to be treated with dignity and respect as the first way we can remind people of our common community. It’s often easier for us to “love our neighbors as ourselves“ when we believe what happened to them can happen to us.

There are plenty of important ways that we should love our neighbors on an interpersonal level… But when systemic injustice is at the root of a problem, loving our neighbor means advocacy as well

The church is called to bring the whole gospel not just two simple individuals, free but to challenge and change simple systems to allow for the flourishing of all

People want a community to belong to before they want something to believe in - Rick Richardson

Evangelism in a western context has been seen as communicating truths. Biblical witness is about operating in a way that shows the transformative reality of Jesus. Particularly in church planting in Latino context, it requires a lot of face time and relationship building.

Acts 4:31-37 does not start by saying that the powerful in what they shared. It says that “no one” claimed any of their possessions as their own.

We must move ourselves from a position of power and privilege to a place where we are standing next to a stranger who is becoming a friend. Do you speak the truth of God‘s character into the lives of displaced people, we must earn their respect and trust from a position of learning and humanity. True solidarity grows out of real empathy

To enter solidarity. We need to ask our brothers and sisters:
-What issues most impact you?
-what do you need?
-How can we stand with you?
-What can we celebrate with you?

“Welcoming into“ allows, the one welcoming to preserve the power in the relationship while feeling as though he or she is doing something fantastic… The problem is that if your relationships are one-directional, the people you are helping will not engage freely

Though we may begin with hospitality, where we are saying “we welcome you“ scripture calls us to journey from that place, through a place of solidarity (we stand with you), and ultimately to mutuality (we need you) we comprehend how deeply the global community of Jesus followers need each other in order to be the people of God we are called to be

Hospitality -> solidarity -> mutuality

Success is when we can worship and serve side by side, each recognizing that our worth and significance is found in Christ

Ask “would people from this community feel comfortable at this service? Where are we not making people feel comfortable or like they belong?”

Idea of door to door survey to see what community identifies as needs (in the example it was tutoring for kids, ESL for adults, and parenting classes)

We (weren’t) purposely being arrogant. We failed to see the very real divide created and maintained by our material privilege.

A supportive community such as the church can Lowe the risk of developing PTSD for those who experienced trauma

Trauma survivors who have faith gained a more optimistic perspective and found greater meaning and purpose for their experience (or trauma) than those who did not