They will see you before they see your Jesus

Fashion. Its one of the driving forces of city life. Sure, people here in Joplin and other rural/suburban areas like to be fashionable. But honestly, it's not near as important to be up in the newest fashion here as it is in the city.

When it comes to reaching other cultures, I learned that it is important to meet the culture on surface levels. That when I go in to a new culture, if I am still dressed as my middle-class midwestern self, I am automatically setting myself a part from them. Now, I get there is a difference between indulging oneself in the culture and still not being of this world. I don't think the point is to adapt morals and views of this world. But strictly on surface levels- you've got to be who you want to reach.

Our learning experience for this topic was a trip to Bergdorf & Goodman. If you don't know anything about high fashion- this is the pinnacle. This is the top of high class/high fashion in New York City. It's on 5th Avenue, right next door to the Plaza. It's a fancy part of town- Tiffany's is just across the street. Our assignment was simply to go, browse, and try something on. In the past, groups from Missouri have been treated very poorly. One girl asked to try something on, but was refused "the right" to try something on because she could not pronounce the name of the designer. No joke. This is because the instant a middle class citizen walks in to that store, they automatically count you out. They know you are not buying anything but maybe want to see what it's like to wear something fancy, worth thousands of dollars. I get it though- I walk in to a homeless shelter and totally judge as well. Even though I don't treat them poorly, I have my own ideas and stereotypes about those people. There's no way that me walking in to Bergdorf & Goodman dressed as a middle class citizen from small town Missouri could ever reach those people for Jesus without making some lifestyle changes.

Our professor led by example when it comes to fashion. First thing I noticed when I met him was that he was fancy. That's the best word for it. Tailor-made suits, he matched his shoes to his belts, even sometimes his lasses. He just looked high class. Well, he has a financial company that helps with capital campaigns. He helps churches and schools raise money for building projects. Who do you think his target is for such projects? Middle class citizens? Maybe. Lower class citizens? Doubtful. High class? Most likely. He lives on Lakeshore Drive in Chicago- he's going after the people with the money. And that's how he dresses. I appreciated that example more than anything.

It's so funny- I never think about targeting the rich. To me that seems a little out of reach because I don't know how to meet the needs of a person in high society. It's because they don't have physical needs to be met. What they need is Jesus and they have no idea they even need anything but money. 

He just kept telling us- They are going to see your clothes before you can even introduce them to Jesus. They are going to see your hair before they see your Jesus. They are going to see you before they see your Jesus. When it comes to reaching a different culture, people who are not Christians in this culture, are going to judge me before they judge my Jesus.

Let's Talk About Church

While in New York we went to two different churches. One of these churches was multi-cultural. The people of their church are divided like this: 1/3 hispanic, 1/3 asian, 1/3 english speaking. Talk about a culture shock! We went to the hispanic/english service while a mandarin Chinese service took place in the lower part of the building.

Prior to the service we had the opportunity to have a small question/answer time with some of the pastors. During this time we got to see their heart for this city, ministry, and the community. It was during this time that I saw that the norm of how people view the church in this area is not the same as how the church is viewed in the mid-west. It's not that no one in the midwest holds this view, but I do think you will find their focus is a bit different.

I began to see that what happens in side the church walls is not the focal point of the things they do. This church does not have a single sign out side of it's walls, there are no advertisements in the city as other churches have. So our first question was: "How do you bring people inside the church?" Well, as it turns out, what happens out side of the church walls is what is important. Don't get me wrong- they love coming together as a community and family to worship and learn more about be a disciple of Christ. But what good is it if they are not sharing the love of Jesus Christ with the people of their community?

I do think churches do a good job of reaching out to the community. And I do think there must be a healthy balance because I find that church services are important. But I think at times, the service becomes the focal point because that is what church is in our culture. People living on Manhattan don't just go to church because it is the cultural norm, like people do here. So I get that there community outreach has to be their focal point in order to show people Jesus.

I just want my view of the church to reflect the model that this church in New York City laid before me. A model of the church being a great place for worship for the family, but if the church as a body is not focusing on what happens outside of the walls, what happens in the walls is missing something. It's easy to think that if we can just get people inside of the church, we can show them Jesus. But I want to remember in my own life that if I don't show Jesus to people while I am outside of the church walls, they probably won't ever make it inside the walls.