illegal immigration « Daniel Darling, Author, Pastor, Speaker

Feb

2011

Friday Five – Matthew Soerens

author photo It’s hard to find a more divisive issue in American politics than immigration. Good people fall on various sides of the issue. But church leaders are increasingly asking what role the church plays in addressing the needs of both legal and undocumented immigrants.

Matthew Soerens has become a go-to leader on this issue. Matthew works as the US Church Training Specialist for World Relief, an evangelical organization that is especially devoted to helping refugees around the world. He is the coauthor of Welcoming the Stranger the very informative website, undocumented.tv, which answers questions and offers information in for assisting the church in ministering to undocumented immigrants.

Today, Matthew agreed to stop by and answer five questions for today’s Friday Five:

Jul

2010

Immigration and Evangelism

Perhaps there is no hotter topic than the subject of immigration. If you want to turn a really nice dinner party into an ugly brawl, just stand up and give your views on immigration. Yes, you will have ignited a verbal war.

Judging the emails, Facebook entries, and Twitter chatter, Christians are talking a lot of immigration. But the question is, and should be, how should a Christian think biblically about this issue.

Its no secret that the population of immigrants is swelling in the United States. And many immigrants are not here legally. This has many people rightfully upset, not the least of whom are those immigrants who worked hard to be here legally. It’s quite obvious that the government has had difficulty enforcing the border. Some feel they haven’t worked hard enough. But they have beefed up security in the past couple of years, and if you believe it, the statistics show that the flow of illegals has declined.

For many, its an issue of law and order. A nation of laws cannot allow laws to be unbroken. I agree with this. Order in society is essential to freedom. Romans 13 clearly gives the government the right to enforce its own laws and Christians should abide by those laws unless they infringe on our ability to worship God.

Here is where I have a problem with the typical conservative reaction to illegal immigration. I think they have largely directed their angst at the wrong group of people: the immigrants themselves, instead of the businesses who have largely “winked and nodded” when it comes to hiring illegals below wage and getting much more labor than would be required for a typical working citizen. The Bible tells us that the laborer is worthy of his wages (Luke 10:7; 1 Timothy 5:18). Businesses have largely gotten a free pass on what could be described as a form of slavery or serfdom.

And yet, we have much more anger at the illegals themselves. My question, as a Christ-follower, is this. How does God see these people? Statistic show that immigrants, especially Hispanic ones from Mexico, have a very high percentage of converting to Christianity when they arrive. This is a huge mission field for the gospel.

So what should we see when we see the great tide of immigrants across the border? We should see what Jesus sees, “fields that are white and ready to harvest” (John 4:35). We should see human beings, created in the image of God, whom God wants to restore to Himself through the salvation of the Gospel.

But many times, Christians don’t see what Jesus sees. We instead see a rising influx of immigrants as a threat. I’ve had more than one conversation with them and I’ve noticed that people complain about the changing demographics of their neighborhood.

You see, Jesus was always about a perfect balance of law and grace. The Pharisees were all law. They even added to the law. They were so intent on finding, pointing out, and stamping out sin. And Jesus didn’t necessarily disagree with their assessment that men were sinners. But He also talked of grace. Grace that loves the sinner in spite of the sin.

When it comes to illegal immigration, I wonder if Christians lead first with their Bibles, they might come to a more compassionate response. This is why I think you’re seeing a rising tide of evangelical leaders push for stricter border enforcement, but also a humane and compassionate response to those illegals immigrants who are already here. Not because we ignore the law, but because we are also about grace.

And to those who will still argue about the law–are they willing to be completely scrutinized for every law they might be breaking. What about those Christians who refuse to obey taxes? Should we apply the same tough tactics some advocate toward illegals?

I know this engenders a lot of heated opinion. But here is the bottom line. As Christians, called to be on mission with God and to reach the unreached with the gospel–can we honestly advocate a “kick ‘em out” mentality? Can we be faithful to the Great Commission and still speak of illegal aliens with the angry anti-immigrant rhetoric?

I wonder sometimes if we conservatives are more interested in scoring political points, in seeing the “bad guys” (Democrats, liberals, etc) defeated than we are in seeing lost souls won to the saving knowledge of faith in Christ.

Because I think we are to follow Jesus first, follow Scripture first, and then let our political viewpoints fall where they may. Most of all, to those who come here to the U.S. , will the church reach out with the gospel or with a political punch in the mouth?

May

2010

Friday Five Interview: Kathi Macias

Kathi Macias is a great friend and a fellow New Hope author. She is a prolific author, having written nearly 30 books and ghost-written numerous others. She has taught and coached writers at conferences around the country is an in-demand public speaker at women’s conferences.

My wife is actually reading How to Keep a Tight Ship When You’re Surrounded by Loose Cannons, which she says has already provided her with a lot of laughs and much inspiration for raising our three children.

1) You’ve been writing and speaking for a long time–what first stirred in your heart the passion to put words on paper?

I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to write. I was reading before I started kindergarten and just seemed to have an ongoing love affair with words. When my husband, Al, (then boyfriend) and I were walking home from school one day in junior high I announced to him that I was going to be a writer some day. He often comments that I’m probably the only person he knows who knew what I wanted to be when I grew up—and did it!

2) You’ve helped New Hope Publishers launch their first fiction line. You guys are doing something a bit different with it. What exactly is “missional fiction?”

“Missional fiction,” or “fiction with a mission,” is just that: fictional stories based on true stories of those whose lives are dedicated to fulfilling the Great Commission and going into all the world to preach the gospel and make disciples. The stories are based not only on foreign missionaries but also on nationals, all of whom are challenged at some point in their faith—possibly even to the point of laying down their lives. Ultimately, though, we hope to challenge readers to move into that same level of faith. Of course, not all the series that will be included in this “fiction with a mission” line will be about missionaries, but all will have a greater mission of educating and challenging readers to a deeper level of faith and a more vibrant love-relationship with the Father.

3) No Greater Love weaves a story of romance into the epic story of Nelson Mandela, apartheid, and South Africa. What drew you to this story?

This story was originally birthed in my heart more than twenty years ago, as I watched the violence and upheaval in South Africa, preceding the release of Nelson Mandela from prison and the downfall of Apartheid. I couldn’t help but wonder how it was affecting believers in that country and how it might eventually affect us in other countries as well. The nugget of an idea—an interracial, forbidden romance—sparked the story, though it sat on the back burner for many years before I sensed God releasing me to move forward with it. By that time my vision for the story had grown to include believers in other countries around the world—hence, the Extreme Devotion series of four books, rather than a stand-alone book as I had originally anticipated. (God’s plans and timing are always so much better than our own!)

4) More Than Conquerors is set in the violence of Mexico’s drug wars. This is an especially relevant given the increasing attention given to what is happening there. What surprised you the most about what is going on there?

Not only does More than Conquerors delve into the violence of the Mexican drug wars, but it encompasses the superstition of the Mayan culture in the Southern portions of Mexico as well—San Juan Chamula in Chiapas State in particular. We hear so much about the illegal immigration problem in our country, about the violence of the drug wars spilling over across the border, and also the human trafficking that is interwoven with so much of these problems. But we seldom hear of the extreme devotion of those in Mexico who love and serve God under some very harsh and dangerous conditions, and who treasure family second only to their relationship to Christ. That’s the part of Mexico I wanted to bring to life in More than Conquerors.

5) If you could give one piece of advice to young, emerging, writers, what would that be?

Spend time with God, discovering and developing your own calling and passion for ministry, and then let that focus birth the words and stories you write. It’s too easy to jump on someone else’s bandwagon, only to discover it’s already full and straining at the seams. You don’t need to adopt someone else’s vision; God has one tailor-made just for you. Seek Him first—and He will be faithful to reveal it to you. And then be patient until He moves you forward in the fullness of His time.