Everyone is a person of color!
The first time I heard the phrase "person of color" was in 2005. I remember the exact year because it was my first year of seminary, and the first time I had lived far away from family & friends in a city someone confessed to me and warned me was a racist city. Talk about me feeling like a stranger in my own land: America!
The more I heard the phrase "person of color," and the more I was placed under that category by other people, the more I realized that it made me feel uncomfortable, uneasy, and at times, angry. Let me make this clear: I understand the phrase, and I understand what it is attempting to define, and I am very proud of who I am and who God created me to be. However, does a human being, a child of God, need to solely be defined by his/her skin color? As I continued to be looked upon and felt like I was an "other," I stopped hearing the words "person of color" and my brain began translating it to "anything but 'white'." (this is a bit amusing because I am a light skinned Puerto Rican)
Having grown up in diverse communities, e.g. New York, and for the most part, Orlando, I was never truly exposed to racism and race until 2005. I realized that I lived in a bubble all my life where diversity was the norm, but things changed when I left that bubble. For 4 years now I have wrestled with this phrase and the emotions it evokes in me, and I have come to my own conclusion: Everyone is a person of color! Not only are "black" and "brown" colors, but so is "white"! (please do not misinterpret me. I am not demonizing a particular people, but rather attempting to deconstruct what I find to be a discriminating ideology). In his book ¡Alabadle!, Justo González presents an idea that challenges the way "we" have been programmed to think about "race":
"Contrary to what we are told, racism is not the outcome of race, but vice versa. In other words, it is not race that gives rise to racism, but racism that gives rise to the very notion of 'race."" (16-17)
Talk about a paradigm shift! What exactly is separating "us" and creating divisions amongst ourselves? Could it be sin and hatred that in fact cause us to create a social hierarchy solely based on, in this context, our external appearance? What will it take for "us" to look past external appearances and look into what really makes us a person, the inside?
So what defines "race?" Unfortunately, from a more Westernized perspective, it is usually defined based on one's appearance. Ken Ham presents some intriguing scientific evidence involving genetics as he tackles the question, "Are there really different races?" He shares the following:
Dr. Harold Page Freeman, chief executive, president, and director of surgery at North General Hospital in Manhattan, reiterates, “If you ask what percentage of your genes is reflected in your external appearance, the basis by which we talk about race, the answer seems to be in the range of 0.01 percent.”
I find this to be eye-opening! This means that "we" are defining and labeling people based off of their external appearance, which is actually less than 1% of who they really are as a person. A plausible conclusion (in my opinion): The true differences that exist amongst people is not race, but culture. Even science has figured that out!
I've been wanting to see what this idea of "Everyone is a person of color" might look like. So, I asked someone to artistically express it, and here is what she came up with:
(Used by permission. Photographer: Sonia L. Acevedo)
The world has the potential to look different if we change our ideology and vocabulary from "you are a person of color" to "we are all people of color." Each person has worth and value, and who they are as an individual is celebrated. We are able to enjoy diversity, and realize that the Creator created it. We are all made in God's image, and no one is a mistake. Everyone is a person of color.
Hispanic/Latino(a)s in the United States
The Pew Hispanic Center has posted detailed economic and demographic profiles of Hispanic/Latino(a)s in the United States by their countries of origin. Here are the links listed:
5 things I've learned in 6 months of church planting
Labels:
New Church planting
Arise Christian Church is quickly approaching 6 months of life. On March 22, 2009, I unveiled the mission & vision of this new ministry, and now, here we are a few weeks into our post-launch phase. Praise God!
As I reflect on the last 6 months, I am amazed on what we've accomplished so quickly! Here are some highlights:
- we have had to move locations 3 times due to growth;
- we had 4 preview services throughout the summer before launch;
- our attraction events have revolved around community service & fellowship (average almost 1 a month);
- we've been able to birth various ministries, with more on the way.
And throughout all this, and most importantly, people are giving their lives to Christ, transforming themselves , re-kindling their relationships with God, re-prioritizing their lives to put God first, creating new relationships, and worshipping their Creator. It's amazing what God is doing!
So what have I learned throughout all this? A LOT!
Therefore, I am going to share 5 things that I have learned and experienced in 6 months of church planting that I find to be particularly important (this does not mean that areas I do not mention are less important). NOTE: these thoughts are applicable to not only new church pastors and planters, but also new church start attendees and members.
1 - BE ORGANIZED
Organization is essential in church planting. Why? Because you are creating a foundation for your church. Don't build a house on sand. Build it on rock. (Matthew 7: 24-27)
Not everyone is organized. And if you find yourself to be "unorganized," surround yourself with people who are! Thankfully, organization is one of my leadership characteristics, and it has come very handy in church planting.
In new church planting, there's going to be a lot happening at the same time. Look at the big picture. Be a good time manager, and prioritize.
At Arise, we took time to create and organize our infrastructure and leadership. We did not rush it, or are rushing it. We created ministries that we knew we needed from the get go, and we took time doing so. With our current infrastructure and organization, we are now set to receive various people, and have something to offer them.
2 - BE CREATIVE
What would be our purpose in church planting if we were mirroring someone else? I am amazed on how much time I have spent in reading about marketing, particularly church marketing. It has forced me to reflect on, "what makes our church stand out?" One of the key areas of marketing is differentiation, which asks, "What makes us/you different?"
This has challenged us to not only be creative in our liturgy, but also in our identity. Since Arise is a church whose initial target audience is bilingual, you will find many of the flyers and campaigns we create have "Spanglish" tones to them. Not only do we intermingled Spanish and English, but we also intermingle colors, designs, images, etc. We try to be relevant. We aim to speak the "language" of our target audience, and we aim to reflect that in our image. What we found is that what we look like as a church is pretty different than what many people imagine a church to look like, and guess what, that's ok.
3 - PRACTICE TEAMWORK
While I may be the church planter and pastor, this is not my church. It's God's church! I cannot do it all alone. At Arise, we do not have paid staff. But what we do have are people who are passionate about ministry and God. We aim to empower our members to practice leadership and use their gifts. We aim to work together as a team, and involve as many people as we can.
Working with other people energizes me because I sense their passion and excitement. It's almost infectious. Church planting can be very exciting and fun, yet also very overwhelming. However, it's possible when you have a team. We hear very often that there is no "I" in team, but there's also no "I" in church.
4 - STAY FOCUSED
I would be lying if I wrote that everything has been perfect for us in church planting. It certainly has not. There have been obstacles along the way. Yet it's important that in the midst of obstacles to stay focused. And how does one stay focused? Frequently revisit your church's mission, vision, and values. If this new ministry is commissioned by God with a purpose, than constantly remind yourself on what that purpose is. If God is for you, who can be against you? (Romans 8:31)
During our gathering phase, I would constantly re-visit our mission, vision, and values with our people. Every week it was in my powerpoint, and I would spend 5-10 minutes talking about each of them. There were even Sundays when I quizzed them! (LOL!) And as a result, I heard testimonies how people were sharing the church with others because they understood the purpose of the ministry. I am amazed on how so many people have our values memorized! And why is this important? Because we now have an opportunity to live them out and practice them. It allows our church to stay focused on what God is calling us to do.
5 - TAKE TIME TO RESEARCH, READ AND THEOLOGIZE
One of the many things I took away with me from my new church ministry training was the importance of taking time to "sermonize." I am glad that has remained a vital memory, in so much, that part of my agenda during the week of "administrative" tasks is to have time to read and research. I certainly don't have everything figured out, so it is very important to me that I continue learning and educating myself.
New church planting involves a high demand of details, conversations with people, conference attending, organizing and creating projects. etc. These are all very time consuming. It's easy for having personal time to read and "sermonize" to get lost. In my opinion, what good is planting a church and creating a brand new ministry like no other if the Sunday message is not good? (for lack of better terms) While ministry certainly exists Monday through Saturday (and I am a firm believer in this), there is an expectation to hear a word from God on Sunday mornings, and that will only happen if we (pastors and leaders) take the time to prepare and pray! If you really want to hear God speak on Sunday, take time to wrestle and theologize during the week. You can tell the difference, and it will be reflected in the spiritual growth of the people.
I can certainly go on and on about what I've learned and experience over the last 6 months. I do not hold my thoughts to be absolute. I do hope that my thoughts can provoke discussion and reflection on church planting. May everything we do and say lead us to Kingdom building, for God's glory!
Disney Birthday!
Wow, how cool!!! Disney is getting ready to celebrate my 30th birthday in a few weeks!
Don't believe me? Check out the video!
Hispanic Heritage @ Arise
Labels:
Hispanic Heritage Month
I'm super excited about celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month @ Arise Christian Church!
We just launched the church a couple of weeks ago, and this is our first major attraction event...and it lasts 4 weeks!
One of the highlights of the celebration is the Art Exhibit. We realized that many of the folks coming to Arise are artists, and so this seemed like a great way to get them involved, as well as other local Hispanic, Christian artists.
If you or someone you know would like to participate in the Art Exhibit, here are the documents needed to register:
The celebration also include music, liturgical dance, and food.
We have a guest speaker, Janet Perez Eckles, on October 11. Check out her website here!
I think what really gets me excited about this event is that we get to claim and re-claim our identity as Hispanic/Latino(a) Christians. Pray for this event. While it is an attraction event (an event in the realm of church planting that allows us to attract and share the church with our community), we want God to be glorified.
Insights for new church planters and pastors
Labels:
leadership,
New Church planting
I recently learned of a blog by Perry Noble, pastor of NewSpring Church in South Carolina. Lately, I have had an eye for articles and blogs on leadership and "out-of-the-boxness" in ministry. Well, Perry Noble fit the bill as soon as I read his statement, "These are the writings of a man who is out of his mind." What a way to grab my attention!
He wrote on article entitled, Fifteen things I wish someone would have told me, as a response to new church planters. I found this to be very thought provoking and insightful. Enjoy!
From time to time a church planter will ask me, “what do you wish someone would have told you before you began?” Here’s a list of fifteen things I came up with…
#1 – Everyone Will Not Understand You…SO Stop Trying To Explain Yourself. Cast Vision…And MOVE Forward!
#2 – Everyone Will Not Like You…So STOP Trying To Be Popular.
#3 – You Don’t Have To Be The Person Who Actually Solves Every Problem….Admit You Are Not The Smartest Person and Let Your Experts Be Your Experts.
#4 – Spend WAY More Time Talking About Who You Are Rather Than Who You Are Not.
#5 – A Leader Is Always An East Target Because They Are…A Leader. So, Get Over Yourself And Get On With What God Called You To Do!
#6 – When The Holy Spirit Presses Something Into Your Heart…Don’t Ignore Him.
#7 – Do NOT Expect God’s Next Step To Make Sense.
#8 – You Can’t Plan A Move Of God…But You Must Be Prepared For One!
#9 – Do Not Resist Something Just Because You Do Not Understand It!
#10 – People Who Claim You “Are Not Deep Enough” Are Obsessed With Information But Have No Desire To Live Out Transformation.
#11 – You Don’t Need To Listen To Everybody…But You Had Better Be Listening To Somebody Because God Didn’t Ask You To Take This Journey Alone.
#12 – Never Apologize For Asking People To Commit To Something…Jesus Didn’t!
#13 – The Church Has Been Underachieving For Way Too Long…So Dream BIG And Don’t Apologize For It.
#14 – There Will Be Days When You Want To Quit…Don’t…Jesus Didn’t!
#15 – The Gospel Changes Lives…PREACH Every Sermon Like It’s Your Last!!!
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