July Generic Update

The first line of the book “The Post-American World” hit me hard for a variety of reasons. Although I appreciate Fareed Zakaria as a CNN reporter, I was expecting his book to be the latest in a string of “doom and gloom” accounts about the United States (and, subsequently, Canada: the main stakeholder in the “north” part of North America). That is why his first line caught my attention: “This is a book not about the decline of America but the rise of everyone else.”
The “rise of the rest” strikes me as particularly intriguing as I sit in the food court of a shopping mall that rivals anything I’ve seen anywhere. I am well aware of realities of a “developing nation” that lurk not far from view (i.e. as with everyone across the country, this mall recently had to learn to navigate daily electrical rationing that became “the norm” for well over two months). Regardless, the existence of several malls like this one stands as a market-driven testimony to how much the Ecuadorian capital has changed since Beth and I arrived here (individually) two decades ago.
I glance at the traffic circle three stories below and note that the majority of the vehicles streaming past (bumper-to-bumper, even on a Saturday afternoon) are newer than our 18 year-old Landcruiser (once again, I flash back just two decades to when owning a vehicle of any age was the exception rather than the rule!). My gaze returns to what is causing a notable “buzz” around me and I see dozens of HD TV screens throughout the food court, wired to DIRECTV and bringing World Cup soccer live from South Africa!
My eyes return to the table in front of me. There is an insulated cup filled with the daily brew from an “Ecua-version” of Starbucks. There is a “Kindle” (a mind-numbing gadget/gift from a fellow bookaholic) that absorbed Zakaria’s book from thin air in 30 seconds at the click of three buttons! I click a button on another soon-to-be-obsolete symbol of technology (my rapidly-aging laptop). It is barely “new enough” to connect to a little thing the size of a pack of gum (a mobile internet modem) that allows me to check Zakaria’s credentials more closely before continuing to click away on this update. The last gadget on the table is an “antiquated” cell phone that at least still offers instant connection with Kasey and four others who are off doing whatever it is junior high girls do in a mall. It all combines to make me smile at the thought of “the rise of the rest” in a “post-American world.”
I have been noticing a similar, although not-so-subtle, shift in and from the two places that demand the lion’s share of the time, energy and resources of the Kinzels in Keeto: English Fellowship Church (EFC) and the Alliance Academy International (AAI). Some research I requested a little over six years ago showed that 85% of the people who were attending EFC or had visited in the previous three years were from the “missionary community.” Around the same time the AAI was “home” to students from over 35 mission agencies and the vast majority of the missionaries had North American roots. You would have to experience it to fully appreciate the transformation in just a few tear-soaked years (from a steady stream of “goodbyes”) – so suffice to say, North American missionaries are part of a shrinking minority. A number of factors have converged to stir a similar trend in business and diplomatic circles. One picture of that is the salaried and supported staff team that God has allowed to be built at EFC. Out of nine people, I am the only full-blown “North American!” Our newest addition (an Associate Pastor, focusing on High School) was born and raised here, left at age 18 and returned at age 30. All the rest on “the team” are Latinos!
In spite of the “Post-American” trend, the number of people who turn to EFC and those we connect with over the course of any given week continues to increase – and reflect more international diversity than we ever could have dreamed. Heightened and intentional strides in ESL (English as a Second Language) connections have played a key role in that -- allowing bridges into Korean, Russian, South African, German, Nigerian and Haitian communities. Meanwhile, Ecuadorians make up the “majority” of people who turn here during the week (the number is often higher than at an average “Ecuadorian” church!). I feel as though I should mention one practical challenge that creates. We recently did a mid-year revision of our budget (it had easily been the most challenging budget we had ever wrestled through in the first place!). Even though the number of people we are able to reach and our expenses have risen exponentially, the income that we projected for the year is almost identical to what it was when I transitioned from broadcasting to the church ten years ago. Still, somehow God has allowed us to remain “in the black” – while allowing us to build enough reserves to create a buffer if we need to consider “deficit spending” at any point this year and even next!
Our increasing international tone reminds me of one of the amazing gifts delivered by God over the past several months. One Friday evening I received a call from an Ecuadorian lady who joins us every few Sundays to “freshen her English” (she is actively involved with her husband at a nearby Spanish-speaking church). He is an immigration lawyer and recently helped about thirty Pakistanis enter Ecuador. About a dozen of them are Muslims who speak English and were looking for a “place of worship” and asked if they would “be welcome” at EFC(!). They joined us Sunday morning – and experienced the story of Martin Luther, his culture-quaking encounter with true Grace and his subsequent “deconstruction of an ancient religion.” They have not returned since – but there is no question about what they heard!
One of the key pieces in the ESL bridge is the full, written, translated (parallel English/Spanish) copy of my message that is made available each Sunday (our secretary Jenny is an exceptionally gifted translator – especially working with “my” English!). We keep printing more – yet we still seem to keep running out. Many people comment that they take the text home so they can continue to pour over it during the week. It really blows us away when people (even visiting Pastors!) ask if they can use the text for Bible studies, sermons or to give to a friend or relative who is reluctant to visit any church. Plus, we constantly have visitors popping in and out and many ask to be added to a growing list of people around the world who receive the written translated text via email! It has become a reproductive tool beyond “anything we could have asked or imagined” (Ephesians 3:20)!
That reminds me of a Haitian connection I mentioned earlier. By God’s grace, we’ve become a key source of encouragement and support for “Pastor Adam” and a growing church of Haitian refugees (who repeatedly show that you don’t always have to follow best-selling North American books on “church growth strategy!”). Once, while Jenny (our regular translator) was on vacation for two weeks, Roberto (our church operations guru and extraordinarily gifted bicultural Ecuadorian) took on the translation. The next weekend he was invited to “visit” the Haitian church – only to arrive and learn that they were counting on him to bring the message (something he had never done before!)! Roberto turned to the two passages he had translated from Luke and God brought much of it back to his mind so he could bring it to them. That meant this Ecuadorian-born young man spoke in English while Haitian Pastor Adam translated into a mixture of French and Creole. To me, that is a hilarious picture of “the rise of the rest” in what seems to be becoming an increasingly “Post-American” community – with potential beyond comprehension to more fully become an “international, intercultural, interdenominational church” made up of people who are increasingly able and eager to genuinely live missional lives!

Seeking deeper surrender in the midst of it,
Len (for Beth, Jenny and Kasey) Kinzel