Odds and Ends

A smattering of thoughts on the current political moment

I returned this past week from a wonderful hike into the Grand Canyon. Our group did not take the typical “Bright Angel Trail” but the “Bill Hall” trail down to Tapeats Creek and Thunder River. All I can say is spectacular. And hard. I struggled with my breathing, and I am not sure why. I do live at sea level, and this started out at 7,200 feet, but still.

I am coming off a two-month run of travel and conferences. Sorry I have been AWOL. It has been a rich time in which I put on just shy of 18,000 miles since August 20th. That is a lot of travel, even for me.

Election Mess

I am watching, like you, the unfolding disaster called the “US Election.” I am not planning to write political posts, yet global missions exists within our larger society (and global society) and it cannot be overlooked. The Biden/Harris policies on immigration are front and center in this election. There are many possible impacts on US missions from this election, but Diaspora ministry will be affected by the outcome more than others.

The US is standing at a fork in the road. If the Democrats win, I suspect more of the same - which has been unfettered immigration. If the Republicans win, we will see a painful deportation process, the likes of which we have never experienced. Ministries that rely on government funding for immigration services will see another round of extensive cutbacks. I am sure they are aware and are preparing for this eventuality. I also know that many see them as grifters, profiting off of immigration services.

Keep an eye on this and the subsequent fall out in in the US church. I believe it will lead to further division within Evangelicalism, if that is possible.

Christian Nationalism

I have gotten numerous emails from people asking me to write a post on Christian Nationalism and the Great Commission. Thus far, I have avoided it because of the Election Mess, noted above. Yet, I see it on X all the time these days. People tweet anti-missions sentiments because of their immigration views. The root of this is insular, selfish, and protectionist. This is a form of xenophobia that is shameful.

Before going further, let me state that I am personally not in favor of open border immigration. I believe that elected officials should fulfill the will of the people on immigration. No study or poll I have ever seen favors what we have been getting in the US over the past four years. I am no left-winger on immigration.

Yet… there is a vitriol right now against those that want to point out Jesus’ command to take the gospel message to the nations. When tweeters write things like, “We need to worry about our own here first,” they are revealing themselves. Every congregation that I have seen that emphasized the global Great Commission is also doing a lot locally. This is not an either/or, but a both/and. In fact, it is more than just doing both - local and global ministry feed each other. Skip global missions to your detriment.

Let me challenge you to hold two things in your head at the same time. You can be in favor of controlled immigration and obey Jesus’ command to disciple the nations. To pit these against each other shows a displaced loyalty to nation over Kingdom.

Elon Musk

Last year I referred to Elon Must in a positive way in a post here on substack. One comment and a couple of emails accused me of cozying up to billionaires (if only!). Since then, he has become a Republican and Trump supporter. I am sure that readers would have a lot more to say about him now than they did then.

In my view, Musk has saved free speech in the West, even if only temporarily. This right goes hand-in-hand with the freedom of religion. Thus, I find Musk to be a great friend of the Great Commission, knowing full well that he does not embrace it. If we come out the other side of this next decade or two with these two basic rights intact, we will be far better off than most of the world’s population. That is a big “if” with encroaching technology and what appears to be a lack of concern for free speech in Europe.

Anybody who cares about the global church should cheer on Elon Musk’s defense of free speech. Missionaries do better when two conditions are in place, free speech and the freedom of religion. Anti-conversion laws, national religions, visa restrictions, outright persecution, and other attempts to limit Christianity’s spread work. They limit the growth of the church. I know, the common view is that persecution creates church growth. That is false. I like this quote from an article by Andy Sochor, “The church can grow despite persecution, but not because of it.”

I will be back soon with a much more missiologically focused offering than this. See you soon.