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​Pursuing Biblical justice is an inevitable response of our love for Jesus.  It is an overflow of the joy we find in our Savior.  Yet when our pursuit of justice is motivated by the applause of the world, and not out of a response of love for our Savior, we often move towards becoming self-righteous in our pursuit of justice.  The world applauds but God is not pleased.  Oftentimes those who are the object of our justice are actually a tool for us to gain a platform or to demonstrate our self-righteousness.

The evidence is often that we find our (functional) identity in being more righteous than another because we are (theoretically) more justice-minded than another.    It is what causes us to subtly say and/or believe:

“I care about the poor more than you, therefore I am more righteous than you.” 

“I care about immigrants more than you, therefore I am more righteous than you.” 

“I care more about X than you, therefore I am more righteous than you.” 

The truth is that many care about these issues and are doing work quietly.  Even in secret.  For example when we started our little nonprofit ten years ago, we weren't trying to tackle the massive issues behind everything.  We just walked the slums, talked to people about Jesus, started churches and engaged in mercy ministry.   Without much fanfare.  We were not heroes, but neither did we seek a platform.  We pursued being a quiet voice.

Certainly louder voices are necessary from time to time, but perhaps a little charity is necessary on our part towards the lesser, quieter voices.  After all, people have all kinds of justice-related issues and causes to get behind, yet it is arrogant for us to believe that our issue is the only issue in play.  Certainly speaking out on various causes is necessary, and prophetic voices are fine, but I suspect that some in Evangelicalism develop a platform on the backs of those whom they care less about than some would like to admit.

Could it be that often we are not truly concerned with justice for justice sake because of our pursuit of the applause of the world?  Example:  Causes that are in vogue in the West will gain applause.  Causes that are not in vogue are discarded and belittled, even if they have a strong Biblical rationale and impetus. 

And our relationship with the greater Church?  Some will go so far to make the Church their punching bag - over and over - as it is one of the easiest ways to get the applause of the world.

Are we hated by the world because of our position on an issue?  Are we loved?  If we're only loved, there is a problem.

Spurgeon writes...

“If we were more like Christ, we should be more hated by his enemies. It is a sad dishonor for a child of God to be the world's favorite. It is a very ill omen to hear a wicked world clap its hands and shout "Well done" to the Christian man.  He may begin to look to his character, and wonder whether he has not been doing wrong, when the unrighteous give him their approbation. Let us be true to our Master, and have no friendship with a blind and base world which scorns and rejects him. Far be it from us to seek a crown of honor where our Lord found a coronet of thorns.”

Perhaps we should be hated from time to time.  Maybe that’s a sign that we are faithful to a Biblical worldview, not being moved and swayed by the instability of the opinion of the world.  Perhaps that is a regular part of faithful, Christian, justice ministry.

Friends, we have some important news to share.  We are moving back to Florida!

As you may know, we are celebrating ten years in Brazil. Ten years of ministry, ten years of life. Ten of the best years of our lives for us. Three kids born and raised here. Churches planted, pastors trained. So much ministry activity. It was a pleasure to give the best years of our life to the people and country we love!

Yet recently, we have felt like our time in Brazil was coming to an end. And just when we didn’t expect it, God opened up an amazing door for us. 

I’ll be serving as the pastor of the Brazilian ministry campus at First Baptist Orlando. There’s an enormous amount of Brazilians both at the church as well as in Orlando, so the opportunity is incredible for us. We’ll be working at a church with a great reputation in the city. We couldn’t be more happy about the opportunity.

We are also sad that we are leaving Rio. We love Rio and have loved living in Brazil. So many years, so many memories. It is hard to say goodbye! Fortunately, while we are leaving Brazil, we won’t be leaving Brazilians. Orlando is the backyard of Brazil. 

God has given us this opportunity. And what I’ve noticed over the years is this… When a cycle of our lives is coming to an end, the hand of God is clearly in it. We don’t need to force His hand. We simply need to follow the clear leading of the Spirit. What a privilege it is to be a Christian!

In the coming days and weeks we will be saying a lot of goodbyes and hellos. Pray for us. It’s an emotional time. Pray for our kids adaptation, for a smooth transition, for our churches and ministry in Brazil (that will continue), for our new work. Pray that God grants much grace.

What about our ministries? Pastor Cristiano Gaspar will lead Igreja do Redentor. Craig Weyandt will serve as the interim pastor at Union. Cristiano and the team will continue with Restore Brazil, which I will continue to lead from the US, and I will continue leading A29 Brazil in the short term.

Would you commit to praying for our family and ministry during this time?

​Much love.
Jay, Lu and family

Friend,

This October we celebrated nine years in Brazil.  Nine years!  That's a long time, a long time to live in a country far away from home, to live in a city of 12 million, to speak a language daily that is not your native language.  It's been intense, it's been wild, and it has been great.  Most of the time anyways!

Pastoring two churches, and leading two organizations is intense.  Our Brazilian church is growing, our family of churches in Acts 29 is growing, and Restore Brazil, now operating in five cities, is growing rapidly as well.  Besides over 30 events per year, three church planting cohorts, Compassion Int'l partnership, we are receiving requests from all over Brazil to start initiatives, train pastors, speak at conferences, and to resource churches.  The needs are great and the time is short.  While our staff has grown from 2 to 4, we still are under-resourced, and at times, I feel not fully equipped for the task that lies in front of us.  All of this in a context where the daily pressures of our churches is ever-present.  Yet God is faithful.  We are doing what we can with what and whom we have.

As Luciane and I reflect on these past nine years, we are so grateful for the amazing work God has done.  But we feel like it is time to take a break for a few months, to rest.  To enjoy time as a family, to enjoy our new adopted baby boy.  To spend time in a less stressful environment than the chaotic city we live in (not an exaggeration).  

We'll be taking a sabbatical for about 10-11 weeks, beginning December 17, through March 8.  Our hope is to disconnect in all forms, and to enjoy family time, some down time.  With the free time, I'll be doing some writing as Mundo Cristão, a Brazilian publisher, has given me a proposal to write a book.  But besides writing, I'm planning on being quite offline as we spend time in Central Florida, in our free time, connecting with family and friends.  More time for prayer, devotion, and family.

2019 will serve as 10 years for us in Brazil.  Pray that the Lord would continue to guide us, to maximize our influence for His glory in the coming years. 

​We truly appreciate your prayers, your support, and your encouragement.

Love in Christ,
Jay & Luciane Bauman

(PS - Joshua is not pictured as we are avoiding photos until our adoption process is complete.)

This is probably obvious, but all Latinos are not the same.  If you are trying to target a people group such as Latinos through broad-based approaches, good luck.  There are vast cultural differences among Latinos, whether they are from Chile or Puerto Rico, or from Mexico or Brazil.  Take your time to learn about the different cultures and countries from which people come, and for God's sake, avoid generalizing.   All Latinos are not the same. 

Many churches want to outreach through Spanish services. "We've got a lot of Spanish speakers, let's start a service!" Slow down.... While most Latinos will respond very graciously to non-Latino's attempts of outreach in general, this does not mean that your efforts will be effective.  Some churches attempt to start separate services too early.  They don't have proper leaders in place, or they don't "vet" well the Latino pastor/leader for a new service, or the church is not large enough to provide all of the resources necessary for a Spanish-speaking service.  In some cases, this creates a "second class" feel to the Spanish-speaking service.  Not the message your church wants to send.

"We include Spanish choruses in our music!"  Singing a chorus in Spanish here or there is great, but at the end of the day, that is not a strategy to serve Spanish-speakers in your services.  Most Spanish-speakers prefer listening to preaching available in Spanish.  The preaching of the Word of God is the most critical element of the service to be translated.  I consider live, simultaneous translation as one of the best ways to initially outreach to the Spanish-speaking people who are already coming to your services.  Invest in several headsets as well as a solid, capable and reliable translator.  Even if only a few people opt for the in-service translation each week, it speaks volumes to the Spanish-speaking community and says that your church is thinking of them.

While it's true that most Latinos already have a good sense of community in their family, it may not always be a Biblical sense of community.  Developing Spanish-speaking community groups in your church, with translated curriculum, can be a great step towards reaching Spanish speakers.  I know of several churches that have first started with Spanish-speaking community groups, and then an entire Latino church plant developed out of it.  Whatever your objective, people need community, and a mid-week gathering in their language goes a long way.

It takes a real kingdom perspective, but in some cases, it is just best to launch a new church plant out of your church.  Perhaps there is a catalytic, strong leader who is ready to plant.  Consider putting him in a church planting residency or apprenticeship and planting a new Spanish or Portuguese speaking church out of it.  Send many of the Spanish-speakers in your church out along with him.  At the end of the day, church planting is ultimately the best form of evangelism.

All of these considerations will ultimately be unhelpful if you are not actively engaged in the lives of Latinos.  Do you have a Latino friend?  Have you ever discipled or been discipled by a Latino?  From the highest levels of leadership in a church, there must be a commitment to growing in awareness and in engagement with the Latino community.  If not, any attempts at church outreach will likely remain on the fringe and relatively ineffective. Good pastors get their church engaged in reaching out to all kinds of people in your community who are non-majority, not just Latinos.

Living in Brazil, it breaks my heart to see so much continued racial tension in the US.  Not necessarily between Latinos and other peoples, but between peoples of any type.  I believe that growing your people to love missions is the best way to grow them to love people outside of their culture.  All of the forums, protests, and speeches in the world will have a lesser impact on reducing racism than a Church full of Christians who have a heart for the nations.  Christians with a heart for the nations know that racism is never an option, but rather, that the mission of God calls us to love all peoples.  As to the Latino community, getting involved in missions in Latin/South America is a great way to engage your people to grow in understanding Latino culture.  It also sends a message to your church that Latinos are important.  

Friends, there is a lot more that could be said.  I have primarily shared considerations for church leaders, as opposed to ideas regarding specific community outreach or social programs, which can also complement the above.   By the way, if you need references... There are a lot of churches doing Latino outreach really well, all across the US.  I'd be happy to put you in touch with them.  

Jay

​For more information on missions with Restore Brazil in Rio de Janeiro, feel free to contact us.

An article of encouragement to pastors in difficult seasons I wrote for Tabletalk magazine.

"When No One Comes to Christ" - Featured on the Acts 29 Blog