You Can't Minister to Statistical Averages

(Disclaimer:  I am still working through these thoughts. As always, feel free to give me feedback.)

There has been a lot of hype going around lately about this new tool that helps you see all the statistical averages of the area where you live.  I found out that my neighborhood is 72% white, the median household income is $47,000, 72% have graduated from college and 38% have a Masters degree or higher.

This is helpful stuff to know but I would suggest that we only think of it as helpful in a secondary sense.

I can't minister to statistical averages.  I can't share Jesus with a median income.  I can't share the storyline of the Bible with a culture.  Generalizations about a group of people tells me nothing about the specifics of my neighbor.  It can only tell me "mights".  They might be white, they might not.  They might have an advanced educational degree, they might not.  They might be rich, they might not.  "Mights" lead can easily lead to to assumptions and assumptions never lead to real relationships.  

I can't assume that I know anything about anyone without actually going up to them, talking to them, trying to build a relationship with them, and finding points of intersection between their life and the Gospel.

I know it's not "either/or" but I would prefer to think of this in a "primary/secondary" sense.
If we emphasize the primary, the secondary will take care of itself.  If we focus on loving the people around us enough to listen to them then we'll find out whether or not they fit into the cultural categories  or not.  But just because you know all the data doesn't mean jack when it comes to speaking to your neighbor.  You have to actually talk to them to find out for sure.

But if I do take the time to go over, build a relationship, and listen, I'll learn a ton more about "culture" than I ever would by studying this data all day.  I'll learn way more than statistical averages.  I'll learn facts about the very people around me.

I would learn that my neighbor is an Gulf war veteran and probably has pain from his past that he can't even articulate.  I would learn that my other neighbor thinks Christians are right-wing idiots that can't think for themselves.  I would learn that my other neighbor is a bit odd and travels to Nepal frequently for his work.  This "cultural data" is way more useful in my missional living than all the cultural studies that break down the demographics of my city.  This data is useful for the Gospel because it comes through actual conversations and is verified facts of those living around me.  This is the type of learning that helps me to better love and serve my neighbors.

Don't build a church around "cultural data".  Build a church by having Christians loving and learning about people in their spheres of influence (job, neighborhood, hobbies, etc) and then invite those people to come to a church where all different sorts of people are welcome, even those that don't fit into the stiff cultural categories.

I am certainly not advocating for Christians to stick their heads in the sand and be oblivious to the cultural trends of the immediate world around them.  But I am only asking that you learn some facts about your neighbor through how you listen, love, serve and speak to them.  Cultural data can only take you as far as generalities, but loving people well for the sake of the Gospel, will take you to the facts about their lives.  You can minister in light of facts.  You can't ministry in light of statistical averages.  

For me, it's easy and safe to study my culture.  It's hard and sometimes risky to love my neighbor.  Which one are you emphasizing?