STRANGERS IN
THE LAND
Heartbeat Article,
July/August 2003
by Jeff Turnbough
Does language affect the way we think and categorize
things, or does it simply reflect how we think? Probably a
little of both things are true. When we sense something
doesn't fit, we call it foreign. And, we label people who
are “not from here” foreigners. When something
deviates from that which we are accustomed, we call it
strange. We also place people that we have not had the
privilege of getting to know in the category of strangers.
While historically the USA has prided itself as a melting
pot, willing to receive immigrants of all nationalities to
its shores, at least in recent centuries Spain's claim to
fame has not been the same. When discussing the subject of
one and a half million immigrants in their country,
Spaniards debate whether or not they as a people are
hospitable or hostile. The majority of the tensions that
exist these days can be reduced to cultural and economic
clashes.
Most foreigners (like me!) who have lived very long in
Spain will agree that most Spaniards expect newcomers to
adapt to Spanish culture. For most that means learn to
speak to Spanish, learn to love Spanish history, culture,
food, and people, and learn to act like Spaniards. Only in
recent years have the numbers of immigrants in Spain been
so large that ethnic communities are forming foreign
subcultures, to the irritation of most Spaniards. The
reason most immigrants come to Spain these days is because
they are poor, need help, and want to get jobs to earn
money and/or to receive help from the Spanish government.
These realities have caused cultural and economic clashes
between Spaniards and immigrants. It is not uncommon to
hear things like, “these foreigners just don't do
things like we do.” They are strangers in the land.
At this point the majority of immigrants in Spain are
coming from North Africa, South America, and Eastern Europe
(in that order). Seldom does a week go by in Spain without
news coverage of some type of event or issue concerning
and/or involving immigrants. A common subject of
conversations at Spanish tables is “the immigration
problem.” Last year in his annual address to the
nation, King Juan Carlos said the greatest challenge facing
Spanish society is the accommodation of immigrants.
Difficulty in
reaching immigrants versus Spaniards
Segments of the immigrant
population are more open to the gospel than Spaniards.
(South American and Eastern European immigrants in Spain in
general appear to be seeking spiritual help among
Christians. North African immigrants are generally from
Muslim backgrounds.) While looking for other dissertations
dealing with resistant peoples, the only recent ones that I
could find that seemed to deal with issues similar to those
we face with Spaniards were studies done among Japanese and
Muslim peoples. Less than 1% per cent of Spaniards are
Evangelical Christians. As a general rule, Spaniards never
visit a Protestant Church. I asked a Spanish pastor this
last week his opinion about the openness of Spaniards to
the gospel these days. He said, “I believe Spaniards
in general are as closed as ever, and maybe more closed
than ever. Tolerance is the popular concept today, and any
one or any religious system that is exclusive (such as
Evangelicals with a firm belief that Jesus is the only way
to salvation) is immediately and dogmatically rejected as
intolerant.”
In contrast, immigrants are filling Protestant Churches
across Spain, especially in the large urban centers.
Evangelicals do not have to produce marketing campaigns to
get immigrants to come to their churches; they simply show
up! Some immigrants attend two or three different
Protestant churches every week. Now that is a major switch
for missionary work in Spain. I personally believe that
immigration has changed the face of missions in the country
of Spain. For years the prototypical Evangelical Church in
Spain was a congregation of approximately 30 people,
struggling to stay alive. José Manuel Parrón, pastor of a
Free Will Baptist Church near Madrid (whose church is
filled to capacity with immigrants) was recently invited to
speak to a church in Madrid where 700 Romanians were
attempting to crowd into one church! This church had to
divide into two congregations simply to house the
immigrants that already attend.
Impact of
Spanish church on immigrants
The
interesting thing about this influx of immigrants in
Spanish Protestant Churches is that by and large Spanish
believers were not looking for opportunities to serve or
impact them. Real people with real needs showed up at the
front door asking for help. I asked Dr. Rubén Borrás of
Madrid (who works with Southern Baptists) how their
churches were handling immigrant needs. I believe his words
describe the experience of many in Spain. “The
majority of Evangelical Churches in Spain are small and
struggling, and the needs of so many immigrants has been
overwhelming for most churches.” Even sadder is the
fact that because of economic pressures and cultural
clashes, some Spanish believers prefer that immigrants go
somewhere else. Sensing that they were losing their
cultural identity, one Evangelical Church in Madrid hired a
South American pastor and invited all the South American
immigrants to assemble in another location, leaving only
Spaniards in the mother congregation. Fortunately, this is
the exception, but it demonstrates the attitude of some
Spanish believers. There are other Spanish believers who
are doing all they can to help materially and spiritually,
even though the means available are meager.
Impact of
immigrants on the Spanish Church
Perhaps this is the most
fascinating aspect of the whole immigrant phenomenon is
Spain today. On occasions I buy a Roman Catholic
periodical, mainly to see their perspective on current
social concerns in Spanish society. Recently I read an
article that alluded to the fact that perhaps South
American and Eastern European immigrants could very well be
the source of a spiritual awakening in Spain. In our local
church in Villalba, the believers who are rising to the top
in spiritual leadership are South Americans! Had you asked
me ten years ago if a South American could successfully
pastor a Spanish church, without hesitation I would have
said, “No way!” While inherent problems still
exist (cultural and economic clashes), things are changing
in our local church. In an institution that is voluntary
and depends on the willingness of individuals to be open to
the work of God, immigrant believers are a breath of fresh
air. While most of the Spanish believers that have been
here for years say they are burned out, many of the
immigrant believers are willing to do anything God wants
them to do. Jhon Fredy, a Colombian, preaches regularly in
the Villalba Church and is training to become a pastor.
Alín, a Romanian, is the youth pastor in the Alcalá Church.
At this point it appears to me that God is using immigrant
believers to carry some Spanish churches. Our prayer is
that Spaniards will allow God to impact them by observing
up close and personal what D.L. Moody said years ago:
“The world is yet to see what God can and will do
through the lives of those who will give themselves
completely to Him” like many immigrant believers in
Spain are doing today.
For years we have prayed for God to move in Spain. We
thought that would somehow be through Spanish believers.
But as often happens, where we were looking may not have
been where God was working. No doubt that immigration in
Spain is a problem for the politicians, but at the same
time it may be one of the greatest praise items the people
of God have seen in recent history. Thank God for strangers
in the land.