This past week, a friend referred me to a blog entry by a Missions Pastor who was seemingly attempting to pull attention away from unreached people groups (thanks for the note, Jon). I’m sure the blogger did his best. But – bless his heart – he used the old argument that “unreached people group thinking was no longer relevant in a fast-paced, urbanizing world.” (Yawn.) Exactly 6.7 miles (a 15-min. drive) from his church, I found a mosque. The community there isn’t just Muslim. They all come from the same Central Asian country. And in fact, they aren’t just from that same country. They come from a particular ethnic group within that land — an ethnic group that has kept its identity AND its exclusivity. Until I made the intentional effort to park, walk up to their door, and knock, I had never met anyone from (or even HEARD of) this particular people group before. I asked if it might be possible for the imam to come meet with several members of my local church so we could learn more about Islam. The imam, bless his heart too, has lived here for years — but he doesn’t speak 50 words in English. They gladly sent 4 men. We talked for two hours with 20 people from our church (all through interpreters that they sent with the imam). They loved it too — and they’ve invited all of us to their mosque for a big feast. It was an amazing night. Even if they aren’t ready to drop Islam at this point (by any means), at least these 20 members from our church have now overcome SOOO many cultural and ethnic assumptions they won’t make ever again.
Now here’s my point: The missions pastor who wrote this blog entry (remember — he offices exactly 6.7 miles from that mosque). I called him today to ask if he had ever heard of this people group. Unfortunately, he wasn’t available. The problem is — that’s been the problem with the church… all along. They’ve been unavailable for this people group. And until somebody MAKES an effort, these people — 6.7 miles from his church — will never have a clue about the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Unreached people group thinking isn’t a fad that is going to go away. It’s a known-effective strategy… a tool that enables us to see the world the way it exists — whether that’s an ethnic group from Central Asia, living 6.7 miles from my back door, or in Central Asia itself. This mosque holds 5 services per day, all of which are conducted, not in English (the dominant language of their urban area), but in their particular strain of the language of their native Central Asian land. The mosque has been there for years. No church had ever invited them to visit before. The imam doesn’t even speak English. Until some church approaches this city with people group eyes, they will, according to scripture, have no other hope for eternity than Hell.
When Jesus told the story about leaving the 99 in search of the one lost sheep (Luke 15), he wasn’t telling a joke. He wasn’t being funny. He was serious: A good shepherd would actually leave the 99 sheep in the green grass of the high country to risk his life on the cliff to search for the one lost sheep. If this guy’s article is read by even one more person, I feel just one click sorrier for the one lost sheep, who will be ignored one more time.
It’s time we gave some attention to the one lost sheep.
Bottom line: It’s not either/or. It’s both/and. We have to find a way to keep the 99 sheep faithful while we engage the 1 lost. Or in our case, keep the 1/3 of the world faithful (as believers) while we tell (many of whom will be hearing for the first time) the 1/3 unreached part of the world about the Good News.
Please — lose the arguments against the unreached. And let’s start doing the Great Commission well — making disciples of ALL nations, even this unheard-of group from Central Asia that lives in this mission pastor’s back door.
What an eye-opener! Would to God that every church would “wake up” to the reality of Internationals Among Us! AND, do something about it! “Our” mosque is less than one mile away! Our attitude has changed from “How in the world could that church have sold the property for their sanctuary to a group of men wanting to build a mosque” to daily prayer as I drive by AND attending their prayers several times with a friend who is developing a relationship with the imam.
Did you copy your Brigada response to this uninformed pastor via his blog so he can respond to you? Even if it his not his own blog, perhaps your comments could help others on whatever blog that is.
I guess I should. He’s unlikely to see it here at Brigada. His mindset makes it unlikely that he would EVER frequent these pages. Thanks for the suggestion.