Patrick,

I appreciate your honesty and your desire to see the Gospel lived in a complex situation. I live in a suburb outside of LA, so my living situation is similar to yours.

I don't think our situation is much different than the NT church's situation in Rome, Corinth, and Ephesus. There were mixes of races, cultures, and lifestyles in their day as in our day. The Gospel impacted the early NT world because it is the power of God to save- and to call people out of their sin and into fellowship with God through Christ.

All that being said: it is right for you to want a safe environment for your wife and children. It is correct for you to want your fellow church members to abide by the laws of this country. I would agree that the loud blaring of music (of any type including ranchero or country western) is not "loving thy neighbor."

Guard your heart from "othering." In other words, there is no "us" and there is no "them". Every culture is different, with different food and different music. Eliminate distinctions and value judgments in your heart based upon racial and cultural lines, but retain them (and never budge!) along lines of sin, holiness, truth, and falsehood.

My personal experience in Southern California is that many minority cultures are more humble and polite to whites than whites are to them. Many whites are condescending or aloof toward minorities. I have found when I engage minorities as equals and esteem them better than myself (Philippians 2:3) that minorities are often warm-hearted and kind individuals and are open to hear of the Gospel. Many minority cultures are heavily influenced by cults, prosperity theology, and Roman Catholicism. My heart breaks for the truth to be preached to these communities that are robbed of the truth!

Keep watching over your family and keep a tender heart toward those around you. Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. Grace to you, brother.

The immigration/poor/marginalized debate is not an American vs Latino issue exclusively. Latino countries deal every day with immigration issues that for the church are essentially gospel issues. In Puerto Rico we have to deal with the Dominican immigration. In the Dominican Republic they have to deal with the Haitians immigration. All of these issues bring to the forefront the controversies of the poor and marginalized mainly because of their economic, cultural and racial background. This is mainly a gospel controversy. The church is called to minister to the need of the people via the preaching and living of the gospel which requires all cultures and races to leave their prejudices outside of the gospel proclamation. It is pretty difficult to minister to the suffering in a spiritual manner without dealing with the source that brings forth the suffering. Equally, it is difficult for poor people to hear the gospel when their stomachs are empty or they are without employment and unable to feed their families or they suffer at the hand of unscrupulous employers. This problems are the daily struggles of all immigrants, be it in the US or in any other country. The only solution is ministering the gospel in its entirety, spiritually, physically and economically. "I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.” 2 Corinthians 8:8-15.

Wow. How do you even discuss this issue? I live in Los Angeles. I see parts of LA that no longer resemble the USA. I feel for those who are escaping poverty, but I am concerned that so many people are immigrating to this country that the very things these people want will no longer be here in the end when they arrive someplace like MacArthur park which is now 100% El Salvadoran. I struggle with my hispanic neighbor behind me who blares his gangsta rap. He was busted by the cops for gun possession. I had swat officers in my back yard there to keep him from fleeing. I hear ranchero music late at night on the weekends and I see drunk men stumbling from the apartment buildings. My wife is pregnant, and I obviously don't want my children exposed to this. So I guess my question is this. What does the gospel look like in these situations? I attend a multiethnic church. There are a few congregants who came here illegally. It created and continues to create problems for them. What is the genuine christian response to people who have made bad choices and think that is America's fault. Thoughts?

[...] am so grateful for this article from the Gospel Coalition, “Do You See the Suffering? Our Mirror Eyes and U.S. Latinos” because it says what people aren’t talking about in the political arena: it talks about what [...]

Hi Abby,
Thank you for your comments! You bring up some interesting challenges that I definitely couldn't address in 1,000 words. I would simply question your distinction between spiritual needs and social action. I would encourage you to read sections 4 and 5 of the Lausanne Congress found here: http://www.lausanne.org/en/documents/lausanne-covenant.html
Evangelical leaders have been laboring to clarify what our role in the world is. I think their thoughts are helpful.
The Latino community is certainly diverse, and every story is unique. Yet, the statistics are startling that Latinos struggle disproportionately. What should we do with that?
I agree that we shouldn't impose North American Anglo cultural paradigms on Latinos. Instead, we should carve space where can listen to what our Latino brothers and sisters believe the issues are and hear their solutions. Then, we can advocate together as the body of Christ. Simply doing nothing or saying things like, "It's not that bad" and "let's meet spiritual needs" places barriers that Jesus never did.
This morning I had a conversation with a Latina sister who wept from the suffering in her life and around her--suffering she sees being pushed aside. I believe Jesus is passionate about these things. Let's continue a dialogue as a community, looking to Scripture for wisdom on what the way forward is.

Thanks for this article. It was very encourage to see some one standing for the Latino brothers and sisters. As a Latino here in Charlotte, NC. Would also say that there are also cultures that are also suffering.

You're doing such important work! I agree that the church has much work to do--both exciting and challenging work.

So glad you're having those conversations, Matthew. It's definitely a complex issue, filled with emotions and baggage. In the midst of that, Jesus shows us his concern for both physical and spiritual restoration. Keep engaging people in conversation! Sharing lives and stories is such an important task.

Great post. I work as a prison chaplain with a prison population of 3500 inmates and most are illegal aliens from Mexico. Lives and families are certainly being devastated by the current system. Much can and should be done by the church to help.

This really hits home with me. After spending time in China, I began to see the suffering of the poor in that country - and it transferred back to America where now I can see suffering among that people group in a clearer way.

I do not have the same ability or experience to see the suffering of Latino brothers and sisters, but I know that in order for the church to be effective in ministering to them we must open our eyes to our suffering.

Thank you, even though this hurts all the way down.

I was talking to a relative that lives in an area in the US where Hispanic migrant workers are making an increasing impact on the local community. My relative is feeling overrun in their own hometown (to be fair, that can be a disorienting and uncomfortable experience). I expressed that as believers, I feel our concern ought to be first for the souls of people, over and above our own priorities and preservation and even political and legal concerns (as valid as those concerns are, and they are valid). The response? "If someone wants to witness to these people, send them home first so that person can witness to them there."

Yes, there is trouble and trials for the Hispanic community, but you must also learn that we adapt. You can't try and solve a Latin cultural problem in an American way. This is a problem, you have to be supportive and let them do it on their own. Don't make the marginalization that all hispanics are in that position. A large group have come and become successful entrepreneurs. Hand outs only creat dependence, believe it or not, necessity really is the mother of invention. When there is a need we as humans will find a solution, but not if it is given to us out of pity. Suffering isn't always meant to be treated immediately, sometimes Jesus wants us to learn through fire what we could not elsewhere.

There are things that are more important than material possessions and even daily bread, that is the matters of the heart and soul. This is a human problem that Jesus solved. Our role as Christians is to show the world that there is a savior and sustainer.

I know it's hard to understand but most of our brothers and sisters around the world pray for daily bread, literally. They learn that God sustains even in time of need. As Americans we often rely on the bank account rather than God and so to live day by day or even hour by hour is unfathomable.

I would encourage those working with the Latin community to pray and meet needs, but above and before all else to see the spiritual needs first. Pray that God would give you his priorities and not our own. We seek the advancement of Christ's kingdom on his terms, not our kingdom on our terms.

Thanks for sharing that journey, Justin. Let's continue to carve space to see that reality.

[...] Gospel Coalition: Do You See the Suffering:  While immigration is undoubtedly a hot-button political issue in the US.  How should the [...]

Thank you for posting this. After taking five mission trips to Latin Americium (Peru and Mexico)I have become more concerned about the injustice and poverty inflicted on Latinos in their home countries and the harshness they often face from conservatives when they immigrate to the United States. In did, the illegal immigration debated has caused the church in the US to lose the compassion and grace that results when looking through the lenses of Christ's Gosepl Commission. I don't know if a full scale pardon for the millions of the illegal immigrants is the right thing, but when I hear people complaining about them, I like to say that God has brought the mission field to us because we haven't gone to it.

As a former C&MA pastor with the Spanish Eastern District, now a High School Spanish teacher in the town where we started Iglesia Alianza Cristiana here in Central Florida, I anguish over the issues that confront the Church and the Latinos. Last night helping Maria from Oaxaca with her GED essay, I heard the struggles of a family in poverty, language barriers and a woman that is doing all she can to help her two little girls and husband. My AP Spanish class through the past years has had a 90% rate of passing the exam but few of the students have papers and will never be able to use the college credits. May the Lord of the harvest open our eyes to see them clearly as made in the image of God for whom the Son of God gave His life that they might have life.

Thank you for this. I appreciated your point about having "mirror eyes". I think this is important, because without recognizing this, we can think we see what's going on, but really we are looking at a mirror and viewing others experiences through our own. I hope we can continue to see each others humanity and work from that starting point, instead of various political beliefs. Thanks again.

[...] Seeing life through Latino eyes David Kirkpatrick, who is pursuing a PhD focused on on Latin American evangelicalism, writes about [...]

[...] their own lives in ways they hadn’t anticipated. It is so very hard to break the “mirror eyes” through which we have been conditioned to view the world. We see things as we want to in [...]