We live in a rapidly changing world in which massive amounts of people move from one place to the next. Many people who have come from other places live on the margins of society as socially excluded international refugees or immigrants. 

While I was preparing with a team to go on a missions trip to Israel’s Jewish absorption centers, I met a young lady named Rosebud who was taking a break in the fast food restaurant where she worked. 

Over the past thirty years I have noticed that many of us have a tendency to inadvertently promote half-truths that we think advance the cause of world missions. By half-truths, I mean concepts that are partially true or seemly true on the surface, but in fact are myths.  

A little over ten years ago I was introduced to English as a Second Language (ESL) for the first time. A student at the local seminary who was fluent in Spanish had started an ESL class at a small Hispanic Baptist church in one of the suburbs of New Orleans and needed some help with her growing class. 

Imagine we just met in person. While making introductions, I pull a picture out of my wallet and say, “These are my three kids.” But the picture is of their feet. That would be confusing, if not socially awkward.