This past week, we received a great question from a great friend of Brigada working in a sensitive area. We’ll call him Bob (not his real name) to protect his identity. He asked, “Hey Doug, Thanks for this week’s edition of Brigada. I’ve got a question I’d like to pose to the Great Commission community. I haven’t really seen this addressed anywhere. The question is, ‘How should we perceive and deal with people groups that are losing (have lost) their ethnic identity?’ For example, in my country of service, many of the UPGs that are on Joshua Project and other lists have become quite assimilated to the national culture. Does that mean they cease to be a UPG? If so, to what degree do they need to be assimilated in order to no longer receive a specific focus? Also, if a people group no longer speaks a unique language (or a language has become extinct), what does that mean in terms of every people, nation, TONGUE, and tribe? By the way, I’m not as interested in the linguistic side of this question as I am the question of prioritization… Should we keep such groups on the unreached lists? What is God’s heart in this matter? Does anyone have case studies or has anyone thought through this? If you post this somewhere, please remove my real name since I’m in a sensitive area. [Done!]”
So how would you answer Bob? If you would, please click “Comment” following the web version of this item. We’ll all look forward to hearing your response (and Bob, in particular, will be glad to see it).
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