ELKHART, Ind. (Mennonite Mission Network)–At last year’s And You Welcomed Me conference on a biblical view of immigration, Sandra Martinez-Montes had hopes for life after the conference.
“I hope that this experience is not just a time of enjoying seeing people, but planning to put into practice what we heard,” said Martinez-Montes, a member of Iglesia Menonita Mi Redentor (Mennonite Church of My Redeemer) in Richardson, Texas. “Immigration is not just an issue. It is about our own neighbors.”
Others agreed. After hearing Daniel Carroll’s presentation, Mission Network staff started brainstorming about ways to spread his message beyond the two-day conference and its attendees. Mission Network’s series of Missio Dei booklets seemed like a natural fit.
“Carroll reminded us at the recent consultation that real followers of Jesus should be turning to the Bible to see what it has to say on this important matter,” said James Krabill, Mission Network’s senior executive for global ministries, who chaired the conference planning committee. “His walk through the biblical story was a profound experience for conference participants and one we thought we should share with the rest of the church.”
Carroll, a distinguished professor of Old Testament at Denver Seminary, provided three keynote addresses. Raised in a bi-cultural home, Carroll first began to think about issues surrounding immigration when he returned to the United States after teaching for 15 years at SETECA, a seminary in Guatemala City. Carroll realized that conversations he was having with Christians surrounding immigration weren’t different from secular conversations. Since then, he has been working with churches and Christian groups to reframe the conversation surrounding immigration using a biblical worldview.
“I believe the Bible responds to human reality right now. It can orient the national, it orients the immigrant, and it can orient us all as we engage each other and the government,” said Carroll.
Since the September 2009 conference, the immigration issue has become even more of a hot topic in the U.S. The state of Arizona passed the nation’s strictest immigration law in April 2010, sparking a heated national debate on the subject.
“Carroll reminds us that our foundational understanding about immigration comes not from the news or our neighbors’ opinions, not from national security needs or our country’s legal framework, but from the Bible and our understanding of who God is and who God calls us to be,” wrote Susan Mark Landis, denominational minister for peace and justice.
Missio Dei #19, Immigration and the Bible, can be downloaded as a PDF from www.MennoniteMission.net/Tools in either English or Spanish. Printed copies for group discussion (also in English or Spanish) can be ordered from store.thirdwaymedia.org. Past issues of Missio Dei are also available.
