Immigration... Understanding the Divide between Mexico and the United States

As someone who has served as a missionary in Mexico for over 25 years, there is one thing people from the US always want to ask me about, and no, it’s not water. It’s immigration, and usually it's phrased benignly, like this… “Dave, what are your thoughts on immigration.”

This question, perhaps as a result of the coming presidential elections, is not just being asked here in the US. I’m also getting the same question from my south of the border friends. But the  question there goes something like this… “¿David, que pienses de Trump?” Or “Dave, what do you think of Trump.”

For better or worse, Donald Trump has raised the immigration issue to a level not seen in years, both in the US, and in Mexico.

I believe that if you are going to be about Jesus in another country, you owe it to that country to get to know her. For me, that goes well beyond what many feel are the typical ‘missionary” issues, things like food and the local church cultures. For one to thrive in a foreign land, develop the relationships necessary for success, and convince locals you truly love them like God does, requires a strong dose of cultural intelligence, to use a phrase coined by noted author David Livermore.

I’ve thought a lot about this issue over the years. I’ve been an employer in numerous jobs, responsible for hiring thousands of people both here in Nevada and in Southern California. I’ve had to deal with I-9’s both as a boss, and as an employee myself. I’ve worked alongside and yes, have hired illegal workers from around the world. And I’ve had both good and bad employees from both sides of that issue.

While my Spanish is not perfect, and I doubt it ever will be as I came to the language late in life, I can sit and have the conversation with the two major sides of this issue fairly competently in both languages. This includes both my hard right and my lefty lib friends in the US and business owners and poor indigenous farmers in Mexico, and everyone between. 

In short, over the years I’ve built enough of a rebel image, that people from all sides feel comfortable talking to me and expressing their views, no matter where they stand on immigration.

My first real conversation about this in Spanish was with a group of college students in Guadalajara almost 20 years ago. We were at a weekend retreat and a few of them decided to ask me about immigration. Truthfully, back then I had no real “side” in the debate, but I could argue. We talked long into the early morning hours. It was, and remains, one of my favorite nights ever in Mexico. I learned so much that night. About immigration yes, but also about how people think, feel and experience life in general in Mexico.

That was the beginning of understanding the issue of immigration as much more than just a series of laws, fences, walls, and regulations designed to keep people in, or out. It is an issue that divides friends, countries, families, and even churches. Simply put, few issues between our two countries are as emotionally charged as immigration. 

Like all difficult issues, workable solutions are not going to be easy and no side will, nor should, get everything they want. Simply imposing one sided solutions from the US, no matter how good that might make us feel, will not get to the root of, or solve the problem. 

Conversely, Mexico cannot escape the fact that they have a role to play in this ongoing drama. It is the responsibility of government to care for her citizens, within her own borders. While the US is guilty of sometimes being a rotten big brother, the Mexican government has at times acted like a petulant adolescent and struggles to take responsibility for their own actions related to immigration, even as they are currently deporting more illegal immigrants than does the US.¹

Any solution is going to be difficult and costly. To be effective, it will involve political sacrifice, from the heights of the Mexican government, to the most seemingly insignificant US Congressman. On the line here are billions of dollars, years of political grandstanding, national pride, jobs, and of course, peoples lives.

We should also acknowledge that while many in the US are fixated on Mexico as it relates to immigration, a large percentage, 48%, of those who come to the US illegally are from countries other than Mexico.² Additionally, new research shows rather than allegedly sneaking in, the largest group of people in the US illegally enter under the full authority of the US Government, on approved VISAS, and then, overstay their welcome. Sometimes intentionally, sometimes not.³ 

Of the more than 11 million immigrants here illegally in 2014, over 5 million are from countries other than Mexico.  This means that even if we secure our southern border completely, no small feat, we will still have a significant amount of illegal immigration to our country.

Where do we start? First is education. 

Before you can have a solution, you have to understand the problem. I’ve laid out a few facts above as they relate to Mexico, but there is more. Here are a few questions I typically hear from folks in the US.

Why can’t Mexicans follow the rules like people who come here from other countries? 

This is a fair question, if there were in fact rules. The premise is also false, as the facts show. The difference between 48% and 52% is so small that in reality, people from other countries are no more likely to follow the rules than our neighbors to the south. To put it bluntly, you are just as likely to run into a person here illegally from Germany or China as you are Mexico.

But the problem runs deeper. Literally, for Mexicans there are few hard and fast rules, other than you cannot cross the border without permission. For someone trying to visit, or immigrate to the US from Mexico the process can be cumbersome, slow, and costly. If you desire to come for a visit, add arbitrary to the list. Our government routinely denies tourist VISAS without ever providing a reason why, after the applicant has seemingly met all the requirements listed on the appropriate web sites and has paid his or her fees. 

I call this “hunch or feeling based” judgement. And while we all know that at times, yes, hunches can be very accurate, they are not a way for a country to effectively conduct foreign policy. We certainly do not want countries determining how they relate to us based on hunches or feelings. We want, and expect there to be sensible, fair, dispassionate laws to govern those interactions.

To immigrate to the US, a person must have a passport and then make an appointment with a US Consulate office for a pre-visit, or immigration interview. The cost for that interview can be significant, depending on the number of people in your family. In addition to the “official” costs, there are costs for required medical exams, hotel stays, meals in transit, etc. Add it all up and the cost just for the appointment process can run into the thousands of dollars. 

All of that must be paid in advance, with no guarantee of your approval, sort of like a lottery. Imagine saving for years, paying all of your fees and then being told no.

Let me put that in perspective for you. For a family of four, that cost could easily reach $5000.00US when you include everything. That’s about half of the $10,000.00 family GDP in Mexico.⁴   Conversely, with the average US family GDP at $52,000.00, that family of four in the US would have to pay approximately $26,000.00 to have the same burden as a Mexican family.⁵ How many families here in the US can afford to play in such an expensive lottery, risking half their family income?

But rules are rules, and I get that. Just understand, that the rules are pretty stacked against the poorest of the poor, the ones who truly need a helping hand to feed their families, those that are sneaking across the border to put a few extra tortillas on the table, ala Jean Valjean in “Les Miserables.”

But Dave, people ask, aren’t illegal immigrants taking jobs from able bodied Americans?

Again, the answer to this question is multifaceted. I’ve stated that I have hired illegal workers in the past. That was primarily when I was in the construction industry in Southern California. Here’s a simple truth I encountered. Without this workforce, construction in So Cal and many other areas would grind to a halt.

Builders have to make a profit, or else they will not build. There is always a maximum amount a builder/developer can afford to spend on production and still make their margin. Contrary to what people may wish to believe, there really are caps on what people will spend on real estate, even in sunny Southern California.

No builder can pay a salary that makes the house he just built more expensive then the market will bear. The problem is this, hard as it is to hear, and even say… fewer and fewer Americans will work at the rate the builder requires to make his profit in the marketplace. A good example of this is the housing market in Southern Nevada. Currently the timeline from start to finish of new home construction is slower than normal and what would be most profitable for a developer. The reason for this? Lack of qualified workers in the construction trades, due partly to a net drop in immigration to the US from Mexico.⁶ 

When asked the obvious question, about whether higher pay rates would make up that difference, Keith Lynum, President of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors put it bluntly recently on KNPR, explaining that the increase in wages would drive prices beyond what people would pay.⁷ Simply put, it is often more profitable to use labor that will work for a wage that some will consider sub-par. Not illegal, but sub-par.

For years I managed a crew of primarily painters, working for $15.00 an hour, plus the taxes we paid for them. They lived together, pooled resources and saved money for the day they could buy their own homes. Again, many Americans will not work, or live like that. In the Los Angeles area, where simply renting a room in a middle class neighborhood runs upwards of $750.00 a month plus utilities, a job paying roughly $2400.00 a month before taxes will not go very far.

Today, everyone of those guys who worked with me is married, has kids, is legal and just like when they started, contributes to the American economy.

Let’s look at another example, farming. We are told to listen to those in the know, and for agriculture, that means farmers. Overwhelmingly they report that without immigrant labor, much of it illegal, they would be unable to harvest their crops at a reasonable price. Many farmers speak of leaving fields fallow for want of people to process the harvest.⁸

Farmers too have a maximum they can pay their help and make a profit. And that maximum resides in our pocketbooks. Most of us already believe we pay far too much for the trip to the grocery store. What if you were told right now you’d have to pay an additional 30% on every piece of fruit or vegetable you bought? Again, the experience of farmers is that most Americans simply will not do the back breaking work necessary at the rate they believe they can pay, and the market will support, and still make a profit. 

The bottom line is this… America is addicted to cheap labor and that cheap labor primarily comes from the hands of immigrants, legal and illegal. Think our addiction is not true? In 2011 the Texas State Legislature was working to clamp down on the hiring of illegal immigrants. The author of a proposed bill made sure to grant John Q. Public an exemption from fines and potential jail time for personally hiring illegal workers to work in his private home.⁹ 

In other words, this Texas legislator was ready to penalize corporations for hiring illegal immigrants and paying them subpar wages, but not someone living down the street, further feeding the addiction.

Be it farming, construction, gardening at your house, or even the twice a month cleaning lady, we simply talk a better game than we are willing to realistically face, especially if the issue hits us squarely in our pocketbooks. 

Why can’t they just work in their own country? Why do they have to come here?

To be sure, the short answer is a lack of good paying jobs in many parts of Mexico. But let’s look a little at how that came about. Years ago many men worked in the corn industry of Mexico. But US subsidies paid to our farmers soon radically changed that market, making it almost impossible for Mexican farmers to compete in the world market. Now with the planting of GMO corn imminent in the birthplace of corn, we can expect even more problems.¹⁰

I’ve written more on this specific issue both here and here, exploring the link between US practices as they relate to both the corn and sugar cane industry in Mexico and employment.

Suffice to say, yes, Mexico needs more jobs. But US actions have contributed to the unemployment for which many criticize Mexico. Here’s what Sidney Weintraub, a political economist with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC., had to say about US practices in the agricultural world when they challenged the legality of what the US was doing… “The Mexicans never had a chance because their argument was based on fair play, and the US [argument was based] on law.”¹¹

Make no mistake, Mexico has employment issues. Too few people are able, despite educational gains, to find real, family supporting jobs. Official estimates run as high as 25% for the “underemployed” rate. In areas where I work, primarily indigenous villages, I think leaders would love to see a 25% rate. Few of the men in these areas have any kind of regular work. As the economy has struggled to recover from the world economic crisis of 2008 we are now seeing the peso getting crushed by the dollar.¹² Additionally, the employers, both private and public have been slow to embrace technology, perhaps knowing that will eliminate even more jobs, further exacerbating the situation.

Let me give you an example. 

I went to a papeleria, or a stationary store, recently in Mexico. I was greeted at the door by one worker and directed downstairs to find what I needed. I asked at the counter for poster board. The employee told me they had it and the price. I asked for five sheets and she wrote up a ticket. I then went back upstairs to pay and when I brought back the receipt, the employee directed another employee to get my five sheets.

Wrapping them up as I waited, they were then given to another employee to take them upstairs and confirm again that they had been paid for. I was finally given my poster board but before I could leave, the security guard had to check my receipt one more time. All told, 6 employees were involved in my transaction, valued at less that $5.00.

Technology and a better understanding of how to use workers would have undoubtedly cut down the number of people involved in my transaction. But that would mean fewer workers, and as we have seen across the globe, millions of idle unemployed young people, frustrated at the situation and the powers that be, can lead to social disaster. It’s the idle hands theory.

At some point, leaders in Mexico will have to address the situation in a real and practical way. Until that happens, we will continue to see the pressures of immigration, both legal and illegal from our southern neighbor. The question is in the interim, what should the US and Mexico do about it?

Many advocate for a simple, unilateral approach. Build a wall, send everyone home and call it good. It is after all, our country. America, love it, or leave it! 

This approach, while appealing to many on the surface simply denies the above realities and will only manage to anger our neighbor to the south, a major US trading partner and a source of serious economic activity in the US.¹³

That does not mean we should stand aside, do nothing, bury our heads in the sand and hope for the best, a charge leveled by many critics of comprehensive immigration reform. I believe we need a system that not only works to limit illegal immigration, but also deals compassionately, fairly and equitably with those who are already here.

I also think that any approach must be grounded in reality, be both operationally and politically workable, and ultimately, be seen as a net positive for all involved. It must also be honest about the 11 million who are already here.

There is absolutely no way we are going to be sending 11 million people back to their home countries, no matter how much people like Donald Trump, your neighbor or any other presidential candidate wishes it to be so. Strictly speaking, to do so would require an airlift not seen around the world since the days of the Berlin crisis, involving over 22,000 full Boeing 747’s to get everyone home.

So, what should we do? Or, as the original question asked, what are my thoughts on resolving this difficult issue? I do not have the solution, but I know this. Any solution that does not consider the above thoughts, is going to fail.

A final note...

The issues related to immigration are very personal to me, because I deeply love many people in both the US and Mexico who hold legitimate views on all sides of this difficult issue. As a missionary in Mexico, I believe it is my role to learn and understand as much as I can about the issues facing the Mexican people in their daily lives.

Part of that is understanding the politics, culture and history of the people I serve. Part of being effective when working within a short term framework, is putting those realities in context for the mission participants who serve alongside me.

I'd love to hear your thoughts...

1. Arce, Mark Stevenson and Alberto. "Mexico Now Deports More Central Americans than the US." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 18 June 2015. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.

2.  "5 Facts about Illegal Immigration in the U.S." Pew Research Center. N.p., 24 July 2015. Web. 04 Sept. 2015. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/24/5-facts-about-illegal-immigration-in-the-u-s

3.  Krikorian, Mark. "On Immigration, Fighting the Last War." National Review Online. N.p., 1 Oct. 2015

4.  Pineda, Martha. "Home." GAIN Report, Mexico. http://gain.fas.usda.gov/, 19 Dec. 2013. Web. 04 Sept. 2015.

5.  Noss, Amanda. "Household Income." (n.d.): Household Income:2013. U.S. Department of Commerce, Sept. 2014. Web. https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2014/acs/acsbr13-02.pdf

6.  Barrera, Ana Gonzalez. "More Mexicans Leaving Than Coming to the U.S." Pew Research Centers Hispanic Trends Project. N.p., 19 Nov. 2015. Web. 29 Nov. 2015.

7.  "Las Vegas Real Estate Prices Stable As New Homes Come On The Market." Nevada Public Radio. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2015.

8.  Tomson, Bill. "Farmers: Trump Terrible for Agriculture." Politico.com, 1 Sept. 2015. Web. 

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/09/donald-trump-2016-farmers-fear-argriculture-213201

9.  Riddle, Debbie. "82(R) HB 1202 - Introduced Version - Bill Text." 82(R) HB 1202 - Introduced Version - Bill Text. Rep. Debbie Riddle, n.d. Web. 04 Sept. 2015. http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/82R/billtext/html/HB01202I.htm

10.  Bayless, Rick. "A Sad Day in Mexico." Rick Bayless. N.p., 22 Aug. 2015. Web. 05 Sept. 2015. http://www.rickbayless.com/a-sad-day-in-mexico.

11.  24, August. "WTO's Sugar Ruling Leaves Mexico Bitter." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2005. Web. 05 Sept. 2015. http://articles.latimes.com/2005/aug/24/world/fg-sweets24.

12.  Irwin, Neil. "How a Rising Dollar Is Creating Trouble for Emerging Economies." The New York Times. The New York Times, 16 Mar. 2015. Web. 29 Nov. 2015.

13.  Villareal, M. Angeles. "U.S.-Mexico Economic Relations: Trends, Issues and Implications." U.S.-Mexico Economic Relations: Trends, Issues, and Implications (2015). www.fas.org. Congressional Research Service, 20 Apr. 2015. Web.

Short Term Mission... Solving the Riddle of Your Return Home

It’s been more than three months.

In that time you’ve prayed like never before. Clearly you understood that God was calling you to join the short-term mission team your church was sponsoring. As you thought about that, you became convinced that in order to present yourself holy and pleasing to God, you had to make some changes in your life, both public and private.

In addition to prayer, you attended every pre-trip training meeting and have even been doing a daily bible devotional so you’ll be ready once you get to the field.

Your fundraising went well and you were able to raise over and above your goal, helping others on the team get over the hump. Once you arrived on the field, everyday seemed so vital. If you were not sharing Christ directly with your words, you were serving others in his name, a visible witness to the loving and transforming character of Jesus.

Each day seemed to show a new level of the depth of Jesus as you poured yourself into his mission 24/7. You had never experienced anything like this in your faith walk before. You were alive in Christ, living each moment for him. It was challenging, stretching and frightening, all at once.

And then the dreaded day came… the end of your mission. You found yourself at the airport with the rest of your team and that’s when you started to notice it. Looking around, with the trip in your rearview mirror, the team started to change. Incredibly, before even getting on the plane, many had already returned home.

Instead of the simple cup of tea your hosts made for you each morning, everyone now needed a Caramel Frappucino from Starbuck’s. No one even noticed that most of the drinks at that coffee house cost more than a days wages of the people you were serving. No longer was the team looking for ways to build each other up. Making fun of the way people looked as they traversed the airport was way easier. And a lot more fun.

When you arrived home the first place you went was to the bathroom. Your bathroom. You had never dreamed that the simple task of flushing paper could bring such great joy, but it did. Next was the shower, and gallons upon gallons of hot steamy water. You weren’t aware of it at the time, but you were washing your mission experience right off of you and down the drain.

The next day you and the team shared at church. Each team member brought up a moment when they felt uniquely connected to God and the people you went to serve. The pastor asked about future plans and most of you said you were already making plans to return, praying daily for your new friends on the other side of the globe and sharing Christ more in your home circle of friends.

And then it was over.

You went back to school, work, or the challenges of daily life. The remote control seemed like it was calling your name the moment you walked in the house. Texts from your friends started filling your phone almost immediately and when you opened your email for the first time in over a week, you had almost 800 messages waiting.

"Coming home from your STM without a clear plan in place to consider and apply the lessons of that mission is a recipe for disaster, one countless people and groups serve up every year."

Soon not only were you not reading your bible, you weren’t even praying. Life had crowded out your mission, making it indeed a short-term experience. You felt like a failure, to yourself, your friends and perhaps most, to God.

Relax, you’re not alone.

You’re not evil and you are definitely not a failure. You are like thousands of other people who have gone on short-term mission. You were incredibly impacted by God, but now back home no one seems to understand what you went through. You are struggling to keep your mission “game face” on as you navigate a world that seems designed not to encourage faith, but to push you everyday into a more self absorbed individuality apart from God.

So what should you do? The answer lies not so much in what you should do, but in what you should have done.

I’ve found in over 25 years of receiving short-term mission teams that the single most important part of mission prep is not getting ready for the trip. It’s getting prepared to come home. If leaders and participants are not preparing for the reality of reentry and the impending faith challenges back home, short-term mission participants will continue to struggle when they come home.

Coming home from your STM without a clear plan in place to consider and apply the lessons of that mission is a recipe for disaster, one countless people and groups serve up every year.

So, what should you do? Here are three simple steps to help you cement the faith and life lessons you learned on the field.

Set aside time for reflection. This seems so basic, but it is often overlooked. On mission, every day you were intimately connected to God, and you also should be when you get home. Pray and spend time doing nothing except listening to Him, seeking wisdom for your life in light of your mission experiences. As on the field, make Him a priority.

Don’t go it alone. Proverbs 12:15 says “The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.” In business we call this taking a partner. Get a trusted elder, pastor, leader or friend to walk with you on your return. Often they can help you better navigate the feelings, struggles and difficulties of coming home and understanding God’s will.

Get involved. Find a local ministry where you can serve others as you did on the field. God does something in us when we serve. We should do it at home with as much excitement as we do on the field.

Three simple steps. But they come with a caveat.

You’ve got to plan them ahead of time. Completely. Set dates, times and appointments with people before you even leave on mission. Otherwise, you’ll be like so many others when they return… wondering why just a few weeks ago God was so close to you, but now seems so incredibly distant.

Culture and Missions... Don't get caught with your pants down on your mountaintop moment!

Culture. 

noun cul·ture \ˈkəl-chər\ 
     1. The beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time
     2. A particular society that has its own beliefs, ways of life, art, etc.

Few things in long term cross cultural missionary work or service are, or should be as important as culture. The moment we cross a border we are entering into another culture, that essentially has, another culture.

Sadly, in my experience in the field, and within personal relationships with hundreds of missionaries [both long and short term] and pastors, the understanding of local cultures and mores takes a back seat to all the other things that are believed to more important.

Recently a group of tourists in Malaysia was hiking on Mount Kinabalu. One of the members of the group decided to issue a challenge to the others. Who could strip and stay naked the longest on the cold mountain top. Despite pleas from their guide to not do so, the group was soon buck naked on the mountain top. You can read about it here.

What they didn't understand was that this particular mountain is considered to be sacred ground by many locals. That lead to arrests after an earthquake hit the region, killing 18 other climbers. The people who stripped, the Deputy Chief Minister said, had disrespected the mountain by posing naked, thus causing the earthquake.

Now, we can argue all day whether or not their nakidity had anything to do with the earthquake, but that misses the point. If the travelers had understood the culture, or had listened to and respected the advice of their guide, they would not have been arrested and facing a host of charges and fines.

One of the hallmarks of Adventures in Life has always been our desire to learn, and give others the opportunity to learn about the culture of the people they are serving.

The Cathedral of Guadalajara

Years ago, on our first mission in Guadalajara AIL Ministry Co-founder Grady Martine and I took our team to the Cathedral of Guadalajara. As we toured the cathedral and walked on what for many people from Guadalajara was sacred ground,  one of our team members came up to me.

"Dave" he asked, "why are we wasting time here when we could be outside witnessing and saving these people?"

That attitude, that any time spent learning about the culture, is time taken away from "real" Gospel work, in my opinion, tells locals that their culture has no value. It is a prideful attitude that hurts, and ultimately builds barriers to the types of relationships we need to share about Jesus.

Chances are you will not find yourself in a situation like that group of tourists in Malaysia. But a refusal to learn the culture of the people you are called to serve, can render you just as clueless as they were, and negatively impact your Gospel mission.

When you understand the culture of people you are trying to serve, whether they live across town, or on the other side of the globe, you will be a better witness and ambassador for Jesus.

Think about it.

Want more info? Check out the resources from Dr. David Livermore on Cultural Intelligence, or CG.

The Presence of God Defeats a Hopeless Mad Max World!

Like about 47 million other folks, I went to the movies Memorial Day weekend. Which means in addition to the movie I wanted to see, I also saw significant portions of movies I'll likely never see. You know what I'm talking about... the previews.

One of the previews was for Mad Max Fury Road. As the trailer played on suddenly the screen filled with the words, WITHOUT HOPE. A few seconds later another message flashed on the screen, WITHOUT MERCY.

The Mad Max movie series, being redone from the Mel Gibson 1979 original is all based on a world gone mad. It is a world where literally there is no hope and no one has, or shows any mercy towards anyone.

Years ago when I went to San Dionesio Ocotepec in Oaxaca for the first time, I sat down with a group of children, all under 12. I asked them about their plans for the future. The answers stunned me. Almost all of them, boys and girls alike had a variation on the theme of going to the Estados Unidos, the United States.

When I asked them why they would want to leave Oaxaca, they had all sorts of reasons. No work. Too hard to raise a family. Little, or no opportunity to advance in life. And then one of the kids said the words that I'll remember all of my life... "there's no hope here."

Think about that for awhile. No hope. Or as the movie Mad Max would put it... A WORLD WITHOUT HOPE! How could you live, thrive, or even survive?

That's a major part of the ministry of Adventures in Life in Oaxaca. Working to bring a holistic emphasis to ministry, we are striving to address not just spiritual hopelessness, but economic hopelessness as well. We are trying to bring hope, and live mercy for today, and eternity.

One way we are doing this is through our Vocation Camp Week. We are expecting about 40 teenagers this year. They will be studying Photography, Agriculture, Science and Culinary Arts. Each of these disciplines will begin the steps to help the students at camp learn a skill that will enable them to make a real salary in Oaxaca.

Every village needs a photographer. Part of the culture of Mexico revolves around photos of family events, just as it does here. So, if you can shoot, you can work. Our agriculture classes will help people understand better ag practices which will increase crop yields and allow them to better care for their animals, increasing food output. Our science track will hopefully instill in people a love for experimentation and exploration that is so central to entrepreneurship. It may also inspire a few of our kids to become scientists.

Finally, our culinary arts track will be totally hands on giving the kids a chance to develop some of the skills necessary to succeed in one of the high end restaurants prevalent in Oaxaca, the gastronomic capital of Mexico.

Perhaps most exciting about all of this is that it is a ministry of the local church! 

Every person attending our camps will know and understand that the church, and Jesus, stands with them, and wants to be a part of giving them hope, not just for eternity, but for today, tomorrow, next week and beyond!

The people of the Mad Max world are living in a hopeless, merciless world, a world gone mad. For me, and AIL Ministry, mission is most effective when it is holistic. Because that holistic style gives witness to the mercy and love of Jesus and his power to transform and bring order to our lives. Both for eternity, and for today.

Learn more about Dave and Adventures in Life Ministry

Long Term Missionaries... is the clock winding down while the church stands by?

Quick, when was the last time you heard someone in church encourage a young person, or anyone for that matter to consider spending their life as a cross cultural missionary?

I’ll wait.

Okay, time’s up.

It’s been awhile hasn’t it?

Years ago, that was a call we heard regularly from the pulpits of churches across America, especially on Mission Sundays and in the almost extinct Sunday evening services. The world, we were told, needed people to step up and boldly answer Jesus call to share his love on mission in some far off land.

Africa, Asia, South America… it didn’t matter. Jesus needed us and our spiritual leaders made sure we knew it. But they did more than that, they encouraged us to answer that call, get trained and go. For the sake of the Gospel.

It all seems so quaint now.

One of the by products of the short-term mission [STM] movement is that it has, in a sense, demystified missions and missionaries. That’s both good, and bad.

Here’s why…

The good has been our ability to open eyes. Missions is no longer seen as the providence of a few. 

Regular, everyday folks are as likely to get on a plane and serve overseas as those who study for years to prepare for professional ministry. There can be no doubt that the cross cultural exposure literally millions of people have as a result of short-term mission is changing the way people view and interact with the world. 

However, our current emphasis on short-term mission, and with it the sugar like rush people get from serving, is giving us a false belief that we truly can share Christ effectively in one week micro ministry bursts.

We can’t, and in fact, effective short-term mission relies on dedicated long-term missionaries in the field. 

The bad is that the current emphasis on STM in our churches is pushing long-term missionary recruitment to the back burner. Add in the current rage of programming every minute of our weekend services tightly around a specific theme, and we literally have no opportunities to share the need for people to go overseas full time.

Gone are most Mission Sundays, gone are services where missionaries share their stories, gone are the messages calling people to forsake the comforts of home, take up the cross and share about Jesus around the globe.

In our efforts to identify everyone as a missionary, we have robbed that term of its power to call. No longer is the overseas missionary seen as having potential for an individual or a young couple.

A few years back I was asked to say a few words at a local denominational missions conference. I was excited when, after I spoke, they announced they were commissioning a new couple to go to field. The new couple was in their mid 60’s. 

Now I am not saying people in the 60’s, and beyond cannot be effective. I’ll be there myself soon, but I was saddened that the new couple was not younger. The reality is that the clock is ticking towards retirement for an entire generation of long term in country missionaries and the church does not seem to have a Plan B in place for when those folks return home.

Cross cultural missions work is hard, heroic work. The Kingdom needs new blood in the field. In all of our ministries, be they youth, women’s, men’s or pulpit based, the church needs to once again take up the mantle of recruiting and sending not just short-term teams around the globe, but long term in country missionaries as well.

What say you?

Maybe Bucket List Christians are the problem and not short-term mission...

AIL Ministry Executive Director
Dave Miller

Recently Noel Becchetti, formerly of the Center for Student Missions wrote an article titled “Why Most Mission Trips are a Waste of Time, and how to make sure yours isn’t” that was shared by a friend of mine on Facebook.

In his article, Becchetti brought up all the requisite failures we’ve heard for years about short-term mission and ministry, and they all start with our need...

• to control

• to define the ministry

• to see results

As someone who has served in short-term mission [STM] for over 20 years, first leading teams and then ultimately, receiving teams and participants, let me begin by affirming Noel’s list.

There are few leaders in short-term mission, myself included, who would not agree heartily with each of these issues. As leaders, and in many cases, pioneers of the short-term movement, we’ve been guilty of each of the offenses Noel cites, and probably more. Look closely at each of the problems mentioned and you’ll see a central theme... US! Broken, sinful, prideful, controlling people who have grown up in a world that tells us it’s all about us. Sadly, lest we get too puffed up, that includes our churches too. 

What’s encouraging is that in response to a history of at best lackluster short-term mission, those of us in short-term mission leadership chose to do something radical about it.

We looked critically at our mission. We examined our methodology, our ministry, our planning, everything. You know what we found out? Our critics were right. About the only good thing we saw were hearts that were beating for people to come into an eternal relationship with Jesus Christ.

And with that as a backdrop, we set about to change the way short-term mission was done. No longer would our mission trips be all about us, the primary villain Bechetti finds in his Pogoesque “the enemy is us” critique.

This effort soon came to be known as the US Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission, an accrediting and resourcing body for those who send, receive, facilitate and support short-term mission. Not only did we not want mission trips to be waste of time, filled with busy work like painting fences for the 100th time, we wanted them to truly be about God and His glory, lived out on the mission field. 

7 Standards were soon developed by the short-term community that literally address all the issues that critics of STM have raised for years. Unfortunately, not enough people involved in sending short-term teams are even aware of the standards. Worse, some people and churches have simply decided to reject them as too difficult to embrace. I believe Standard 1, calling for a God centered life and Standard 2, calling for empowering partnerships are the biggest stumbling blocks for large numbers of churches and groups, known as senders. 

Let me explain.

Standard 1, a requirement of a God centered life would seem to eliminate many people without a faith in Jesus. As logical as that may seem, this requirement smacks up against the desire of many leaders, particularly those working in student ministries to use short-term mission as an evangelistic tool.

What should a youth pastor do if little Johnny wants to join his friends on a short-term mission trip, yet has never made a profession of faith, or is not currently living a faith centered in Jesus? Should he be allowed to participate in the hopes that he might make a life changing decision as a result of his time serving?

Let me put that question another way. Should churches and groups be sending people on mission trips to hear about Jesus, or should they be sending people whose lives already testify to life changing power of our risen Lord?

Standard 2 clearly states the primary focus of your mission needs to be on those we serve. Focusing on those we serve means that our mission isn’t about us or our spiritual development. Sadly, that realty stands in direct opposition to how many leaders and participants currently think about mission trips. 

Recently I have started hearing from people, God centered committed people, that going on a short-term mission trip has been on their “bucket list.” Even a best case interpretation cannot find a way to interpret this as putting the primary focus on someone else.

There is no calling from God involved in Bucket List Missions. An understanding that a short-term mission can, or even should be reduced to some sort of ‘bucket list” of things to do in life is very hard to square with Standard 2.

If people are still struggling with even the idea of short-term mission, and the comments I see whenever anything STM is posted bear that out, then there is still work to be done. But maybe all of the fault does not lie with the short-term community itself.

Short-term mission is here to stay. Making sure STM is not a waste of time will take all sides of the mission experience, senders, goer-guests and hosts, working together to more effectively grow God’s Kingdom.

Noel Bechetti’s post raises some valid issues that many in the short-term mission community have taken seriously and strived to improve. The next step I believe, is for the leaders on the sending side of this issue, those in churches and other faith communities to also step up and accept responsibility for their part in improving short-term mission.

More on that later.

Adventures in Religion... how a name it claim it theology perverts the Gospel of the suffering servant

Raul and his two sons, Raul and Obed at his recent 25 year anniversary celebration in Guadalajara

It was spring of 2006. I was walking with my friend and longtime ministry partner in Guadalajara, Raul Arteaga. His son had been in a horrible accident a few weeks earlier that had left him paralyzed from the waist down and unable to exert much control over the use of his arms.

I was there to offer comfort and encouragement to a family that in those days, was living in stunned depression.

As we walked, he said he had a question. "Hermano David" he asked, "do you think my son is not getting better because I lack faith?"

The question stopped me in my tracks. How could he think like that I asked? If I know anyone with a deep and abiding faith, it's Raul. The thought that he might lack faith scares people like me. If Raul is lacking at a level that would bring disaster and destruction on his family, then I really have no hope.

I remember looking back at Raul and offering the soundest rejection I could of his question. I asked where that was coming from and he said more than a few pastors in those early days of his son's paralyzation had insisted that God would indeed heal his son, if only he had sufficient faith and claimed the power of God in this horrible situation.

Each day Raul got up with the power of God. He went to bed every night praying for a miracle and that the next morning he might wake up and see his son standing again. A lack of faith was not keeping his son from walking again.

I was reminded of those days as I read about the recent theological dust up at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. Osteen and his church are well known in American Christianity, preachers of what in short hand is known as "Name it, claim it" theology.

In short, this theology believes if you have enough faith, and speak what you want, in God's name of course, it will be given to you. Beyond being biblically suspect and bereft of a true theological basis, this understanding of God and how he works is more than misleading, it is evil.



It is also a theology that leads us to believe it is all about us, not Jesus, not others, simply us. That was on full display as Osteen's wife Victoria stated this past weekend that our worship makes God happy when we do it for ourselves, not Him.

Here's why this sort of me first theology is so dangerous. If you do not get the desired outcome, the only reason must, by definition be due to a lack of faith. There really is no other way of understanding this. A boys inability to recover and walk after his spine was totally shattered is not because of a tragic accident, for which there is no medical fix, it is because of a lack of faith.

The evil of this theology comes forth as we delve a little deeper, understanding that a name it claim it theology, a theology based on us, places the blame for a continued lack of recovery on the faith of the father, and his lack of faith.

Sadly, many are embracing this type of theology, not just here in the US, but in Mexico as well. Because it is more focused on us and our needs, and because it seems to offer people control over the arc of their lives. A belief that I can somehow "trap" God into doing for me what I want and claim is a potent aphrodisiac.

Traditional mission in my area is struggling to confront this type of understanding of Jesus. The idea of a of Isaiah 53, of a suffering servant, is not a popular message to people longing to be empowered to live a better life.

Unlike many who are angry at Joel Osteen and his church for what we heard this week, I am curiously pleased. Joel is slick, and able to evade and parry the jabs from those who question the theology of Lakewood Church.  Thankfully the 37 seconds of video we have of his wife giving a full throated defense of their "It's all about me" Gospel understanding shows us just how self-centered this church, and their leaders are.

There should be no further debate on the issue. Absent a full denunciation of Victoria Osteen's widely seen words, everyone should now know that for the leaders of this church, it ain't about Jesus, it's about us.

I doubt you can make much of a case that Jesus was as self centered as the Osteen's claim we should be.  And I know that you can't make a case that the bible teaches that worship is all about us. Unless of course, you support Lakewood Church and the other many adherents to this empty theology.

Your thoughts...

Read more...
The Osteen's Donald Sterling Moment
Victoria Osteen says "Worship is not for God, you're doing it for yourself"

Missions, Art and the Gospel... bridging the cultural divide

Culture: the beliefs,values, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time.

That word culture is such a loaded term, especially when we get into the church related world.  Culture, and the understanding of it to many, is simply a waste of time.  Our job, as Christians, as many define it, is to convince people of the truth of Jesus and save them from Hell.  

Leaving behind the theological ramifications of that, let’s focus on the practical.

Years ago I led a team of college and young adult people on a two week short-term mission in and around Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.  Guadalajara is literally the birthplace of what a majority of Americans know about Mexican culture.  Charro, Mariachis, Mexican pride and machismo all run deep in this region.  Arts and crafts from Guadalajara show up all over the world and who isn’t familiar with the “Jarabe Tapatio” popularly known as the Mexican Hat Dance.

But there is another sub culture if you will, that is also strong in Guadalajara, that of Catholicism.  Nowhere else in the country, including Mexico City will you experience the influence of the Catholic church like you will here.

On one of our free days with that team of young adults, we took them to the historic cathedral in the center of town and later to the Instituto Cultural Cabañas to see the great murals of Orozco. 

What I heard from the group that day might surprise you.  I was asked why we were spending time in a Catholic church when we could be outside preaching to people so they would know Christ.  After touring the museum, a couple of people asked me why, as a missionary, I was taking people to see secular stuff like art when we were there to be missionaries.  

Grady Martine, co-founder of Adventures in Life Ministry and I made an important and valuable decision that day after hearing those criticisms and reflecting.  We would always try to make sure people on mission with us returned home with a stronger understanding of the culture of Mexico.  

We needed to enter into the local culture, learn it, understand it and live it so as to give our voices credibility.  Unknowingly, we were adopting a Hudson Taylor missiology.  

We believed then, and we still do, that to serve people effectively, you need to understand their culture.  For us, confronting culture, as many missionaries did then, and still do, was not an option.

If one of our goals for people returning home after a short-term mission with us was a better understanding of Mexico, her people, the issues facing that great country and her values, we had to work hard with our participants to give them cultural learning opportunities.

It was as if we decided almost 20 years ago to embrace Cultural Intelligence [CQ] that David Livermore has popularized recently.  He defines CQ like this... Cultural intelligence is the ability to be effective across various cultural contexts—including national, ethnic, organizational, generational, ideological, and much more.

These are the reasons AIL Ministry celebrates and highlights the cultures of Mexico.  If you visit our Facebook page, you are just as likely to see in our opeing banner a picture of the Guelaguetza or an alebrije from Jacobo and Maria Angeles [carved, painted wood sculpture] as you are a group of people praying.  You might see a picture of the ancient Zapotec Empire at Monté Alban or some of those colorful Oaxacan rugs from Teotitlán del Valle.

The Apostle Paul, in his famous address on Mars Hill spoke to the philosophers of that area, the Stoics and the Epicureans.  He was able to hold his own in that particular marketplace of ideas because he understood their culture.  He was a student of culture.

Shouldn’t we be also?  Would not our mission, be it here in the United States, or somewhere else around the globe, be better for it?

You tell me...

[To learn more about the culture, art and life in Mexico, visit Dave's personal blog.  All of the pictures used here are from davemiller.mx 

Gospel, Mission and American Exceptionalism... can they co-exist?

Whenever I am around people talking about mission, my mind gets moving.  This week I am at STAND, the North American Mission Leaders event sponsored by Missio Nexus in Dallas, Texas.

Yesterday I was listening to Paul Borthwick, long a strong advocate for Christian mission and engagement in the world, particularly short-term mission.  One of the things he stressed was the need for missionaries, when we are working and serving in other countries to stop, listen to and accept the leadership of the national leaders.  But he went further, challenging us to not only listen to leaders, but to hear the words of the poor and the least of these when we go.

Over the last week or so, the concept of American Exceptionalism has been in the news a lot.  Ever since Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote an Op-Ed peice in the New York Times saying Americans are not exceptional, people have been talking.  His peice even stirred Senator John McCain to fire off a response extolling the virtues of both America and our exceptionalism.

Exceptionalism is this belief that America, and by extension our citizenry, are unusually “different” from others countries and peoples.  In practice it gets interpreted as we are better than anyone else.  It's as if because of our history, our formation, our struggles and our values, we have a leg up on everyone else in the world.

This belief is rooted in the American Revolution, our support of Europe, and the sacrifices we made in helping win World War II.  It can perhaps best be expressed in what is known as our “can do” attitude.  It is a badge of honor many Americans, my self included frequently wear with pride.

And therein may lie the problem.

How can missionaries from America, long steeped in the tradition of American Exceptionism, set aside that pride, be it for a week, or years in the case of long-term missionaries, and really listen to leaders from other countries?

How can we, when we intrinsically believe at our core that we are better or know more, set those beliefs aside and become learner servants, seeking to hear God’s voice from others?

If we believe that we have the best program, the best building methods, the best access to mission philosophy, the best evangelism methods and materials, isn’t it going to be hard to listen to nationals from another country?

It is almost as if Borthwick is asking us to do something that we cannot do.  And you know what?  Apart from God, maybe he is.

The Apostle Paul in his great letter to the church of Philippi shows us the way. 

We read in one of the greatest calls to humility in the bible to be Christlike at an amazing level.  We are called to obedience, the cross, humility and love of others at such an incredible level it is hard to comprehend.

It is summed up best when Paul says we are to consider others better than ourselves.  Take that in for a moment.  Paul is saying to consider that not only is the guy with more education better than you, but to consider the same for the farmer, or the immigrant, the man living in a shack or the shaman in the village half way around the world. 

Paul, the jew of jews in the eyes of many...

“Circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.”

Faultless.  Let that word sink in.  Without fault.  Perfect.  Righteous.  Justified.  That’s exceptionalism.

And Paul was willing to set it all aside for the sake of the Gospel, counting it all as loss in comparison to the Gospel. 

Borthwick was essentially challenging us, as North American Mission Leaders, and there are more than 1200 here in Dallas representing every facet of mission work, to set what we believe to be our exceptionalism aside and be like the Apostle when we go.

But you know what?  He stopped short.  I’ve seen Paul Borthwick speak many times and I admire him greatly, but he stopped short yesterday.  He stopped short because he only challenged us to live that call when we go “over there.”

One of the most frequent criticisms I hear about Christians in the US is that we believe we are better and have it all figured out.  What if we not only “considered others better than ourselves” when we are in another country, but here in our own country as well?

Would it be hard?  Of course it would.  But maybe that is why Paul in closing his Epistle chose this verse... “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”

Imagine the offering that we would be to God if we as a people,

in a country that sees itself as exceptional, set that belief aside for the sake of the Kingdom, became nothing, took the very nature of a servant, and nailed our exceptionalism and pride obediently on the cross.

That would indeed be a witness that just might say something about Jesus to the nations.