Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Scripture shapes us | The Bible is more than a book
" Whereas the church and its related institutions tend to focus on “moral acts,” Scripture is far more concerned with shaping our imaginations, our patterns of thinking, which, inevitably find expression in transformed commitments and practices. Behavior serves as a display case for our deepest commitments. "
-Seized by Faith, Joel Green
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Welcoming the Stranger
City Life held a training session on Wednesday about immigration offered by Matthew Soerens. Soerens is the US Church Training Specialist for World Relief, where he assists churches in understanding the complixities of immigration from a biblical perspective.
“Why is immigration policy important to evangelicals? Certainly because we believe what the Bible teaches about treatment of ‘aliens in the land.’ It is also because so many Hispanic, African and Asian immigrants are evangelical Christians who are in our denominations and churches by the millions. They are us.”
Leith Anderson, President, National Association of Evangelicals
Pasted below are a few of the action steps from the FAQ section on their website: http://welcomingthestranger.com/learn-and-discern/faqs/
Prayer—for wisdom as your church engages with this issue, for immigrants in your community, and for your political leaders
Listening—to immigrant brothers and sisters’ experiences, as well as to what the Bible has to teach us about how to interact with the foreign-born; the “I Was a Stranger” Challenge is a great discipleship tool to help us to listen to what Scripture says
Education—help others in your congregation to understand the issue; some churches have dedicated a sermon or Sunday School class to the topic, or created opportunities for interaction between immigrants and non-immigrants within the church; we have several resources for educating congregations available, including a template PowerPoint Presentation and a small group curriculum
Advocacy—your legislators need to hear the moral voice of churches and their leaders; some churches have created or signed on to a statement in support of immigration reform; others have visited, written to, or called their legislators to share their opinion; you can send an online message to legislators via World Relief’s website
Service—the best way to understand the immigration issue is to build relationships with immigrants, and service, such as through providing English classes, is a great way to begin; World Relief’s offices throughout the U.S. may be able to provide assistance in getting started
Evangelism—While many immigrants bring a vibrant faith with them, others will encounter the transformative message of the gospel for the first time in the U.S. Immigration provides a missional opportunity to make disciples of all nations—right on our doorstep
We believe this is the most just, compassionate, and reasonable way forward, especially compared to the other ideas on the table. Other proposals include:
Mass Deportation—but this would be extremely costly, costing at least $80 billion just to remove everyone plus an estimated $2.6 trillion over ten years in lost economic activity
Amnesty—but “forgetting and forgiving” without consequence ignores the reality that the law has been broken and could send the wrong message or encourage future illegal immigration
“Why is immigration policy important to evangelicals? Certainly because we believe what the Bible teaches about treatment of ‘aliens in the land.’ It is also because so many Hispanic, African and Asian immigrants are evangelical Christians who are in our denominations and churches by the millions. They are us.”
Leith Anderson, President, National Association of Evangelicals
Pasted below are a few of the action steps from the FAQ section on their website: http://welcomingthestranger.com/learn-and-discern/faqs/
How is this affecting the church?
Demographers tell us that immigrant churches are the fastest growing segment of evangelical churches in the U.S. Increasingly, when we talk disparagingly about “those people,” we are talking about ourselves, because the Church is one Body of which each of us is an interdependent part. When one part suffers—as many undocumented brothers and sisters are, as individuals are forced into the shadows and families are divided by current laws—every part suffers (1 Cor 12:12-26).What should our church do?
We suggest several steps:Prayer—for wisdom as your church engages with this issue, for immigrants in your community, and for your political leaders
Listening—to immigrant brothers and sisters’ experiences, as well as to what the Bible has to teach us about how to interact with the foreign-born; the “I Was a Stranger” Challenge is a great discipleship tool to help us to listen to what Scripture says
Education—help others in your congregation to understand the issue; some churches have dedicated a sermon or Sunday School class to the topic, or created opportunities for interaction between immigrants and non-immigrants within the church; we have several resources for educating congregations available, including a template PowerPoint Presentation and a small group curriculum
Advocacy—your legislators need to hear the moral voice of churches and their leaders; some churches have created or signed on to a statement in support of immigration reform; others have visited, written to, or called their legislators to share their opinion; you can send an online message to legislators via World Relief’s website
Service—the best way to understand the immigration issue is to build relationships with immigrants, and service, such as through providing English classes, is a great way to begin; World Relief’s offices throughout the U.S. may be able to provide assistance in getting started
Evangelism—While many immigrants bring a vibrant faith with them, others will encounter the transformative message of the gospel for the first time in the U.S. Immigration provides a missional opportunity to make disciples of all nations—right on our doorstep
What should we encourage our government to do?
Many evangelical churches and leaders have advocated immigration reform based on the following principles:- Securing our borders in ways keeping with humanitarian values, making it much more difficult to enter the country illegally;
- Providing a new mechanism for lawful entry to the U.S. for those who want to work here, making it easier to migrate lawfully in keeping with the U.S. economy’s labor needs;
- Reducing the backlog for family-based immigration petitions, to more quickly reunite families; and
- Providing a way for those already present in the U.S.to earn legal status by paying a fine, paying any taxes due, and making efforts to learn English, avoiding the extremes of either mass deportation or amnesty.
We believe this is the most just, compassionate, and reasonable way forward, especially compared to the other ideas on the table. Other proposals include:
Mass Deportation—but this would be extremely costly, costing at least $80 billion just to remove everyone plus an estimated $2.6 trillion over ten years in lost economic activity
Amnesty—but “forgetting and forgiving” without consequence ignores the reality that the law has been broken and could send the wrong message or encourage future illegal immigration
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