Well said and correctly stated.

It is true that as an outsider one would think that Mosaic targets the “influentials”, which it does in theory but in practice it reaches as you said the “poor” and the “young”. Over the past few years I have seen a handful of “influentials” come aboard to serve alongside, which I think is a good thing.

Here is another observation, those that scrutinize Mosaic and call it “caution” may have never really been around or seen societies that truly cater to the “influentials” or what some circles may call “elitists”. No matter how one may want to look at it or deem these circles, in the end they truly are “influentials” and “elitists”. They not only know it, they live it and don’t sit around theorizing about how to influence, lead, inspire or become future trend-setters they just are. In the words of Bruce Lee, “Don’t think about kicking or punching but be kicking, may it be an extension of your leg or arm, an extension of your mind.” Essentially, an influencer acts and reacts with an intrinsic impulse that causes a domino affect, rarely, do they go into the task or revolutionary idea with that in mind, it is natural and reflexive.

On a more personal note I think being apart of church as long as I was, helped to form many good ideas and visions, but never actually being outside of the church only led me to tunnel vision and segregated me from the world. Talking about “how to reach the world” and “strategizing” is worlds apart from actually walking and doing it. When I left the mental parameters of the Christian institution and the religious rhetoric, is the day I came alive and actually started doing and rubbing shoulders with the “influentials”, not only of Los Angeles but of the world.

Here are two different examples of “influentials” in the art world, one who was “poor” and the other who was “rich”.

Vincent William Van Gogh, perhaps one of the worlds most influential figures in the history of art, painted over 800 paintings in his lifetime and only sold one painting, to his younger brother. Van Gogh lived as a vagabond, both physically and mentally and never had money. The art world scoffed at his work and he could never get a decent exhibition, other than his brother’s gallery. However, his work forever influenced and changed the art world, being one of the first contemporary artists before it was contemporary. (You might also want to read how he was kicked out of the missionary organization he served under for living amongst the people, as Jesus would have. Now there is another trend-setting position.)

The other example is Andy Warhol, perhaps one of the most important and influential figures to come out of the twentieth century. He set out to make a mockery of the art world because he was tired of the rhetoric that it was producing at the time and he wanted to see a shift of thinking, what is art? He merged his commercial art background with fine art and took everyday items and made them into icons that has really revolutionized the way one views objects and relates to them. Warhol, differs from Van Gogh in radical ways, for one he was embraced during his lifetime and he loved it, he soaked in the lime light and he knew what he wanted from the start. Just think “Campbell Soup” and that automatically should conjure up images in your mind, if it doesn’t then one should explore more about him, because really most of the art today in and out of the church has been heavily influenced by his work.

The bottom line, is the point I think you are making, to be an “influential” is not just about status or an economic bracket. It is the ideas and actions one has set forth to accomplish no matter the cost, nor is important that the individual knows that he is an “influential”. What matters is that the people around them are being influenced and want to follow or at least mimic the “influentials” actions.

Mosaic is trying to reach the entire city of Los Angeles. All parts of the city need to be represented in our congregation for us to accomplish this goal. Proportionately, Mosaic is over represented by college students and those in people in their twenties. We are underrepresented in a large number of other categories. We must reach people in these categories to reach the city.

Historically, Mosaic members are highly relational – love community – and have high interests in studying and learning. In this past this did not translate into active outreach. Instead we had high community among ourselves and great Bible knowledge. We have been underrepresented in the “doing” area. Pastor Erwin has been moving our congregation to a more “activist” organization—“being doers of the word and not hearers only”. Also he has encouraged us to be involved in humanitarian causes and not focused solely on evangelical events. We are developing in those areas, but still have few “activists” in our midst. Our congregation may have the same percentage of registered voters than the appalling number in the average church (10%). Looking at the national figures leads one to conclude that activists are hugely under represented in the church. The cultural direction of our nation has been guided by those who have been willing to step up on participate. Mosaic wants to be involved in influencing our culture.

Unfortunately the poor have a better chance of hearing the gospel from Mosaic in Los Angeles than someone who is influential. Mosaic is represented by a number of members who have jobs working with the poor, including my wife Susan. Women can join Kim McManus on one of her Sunday visits to the women on skid row. Or, one can join one of our small groups who volunteer time to feed, clothe and minister to the poor.

If you want to help reach the children and youth of South Los Angeles, you can work with Yvonne Napoleon and other Mosaic members through the Neo Underground Railroad (www.2therailroad.org). Or if you heart is for the youth of East Los Angeles, you can connect with Eileen Lu who directs the Illuminate ministry through Mosaic.

The problem for Mosaic is that we not been as effective with the influentials as we have with the poor, and even the single mom and Bible scholar. Sadly the impact of evangelicals on American culture has been diminishing. Smaller and more activist segments of our society have exerted a disproportionate influence on our culture.

I am not saying that they are neglected, but it is very clear that your church has a target market. I would hope that you truly believe that “yelo” is inside eveyr individual and that you continue to target humanity and not simply LA’s hollywood crowd. I do not believe, from an outsiders perspective, that you practice the belief that influence is inside all…or at least that is rarely communicated in public sources.

Thanks again for your quick reply.

Such a great question! The most innovative and influential are not only the rich and wealthy. In fact, influencers can be from any background or any ethnicity or any socioeconomic group.

A couple of examples include Matthew 10 when Jesus sends the disciples out to find the “persons of peace” and dust their feet off once they found someone not interested in their message. Furthermore, we see that a person of peace like the jailer in Acts 16 has the capacity to help his entire household (”oikos”) come to Christ.

A secular example would include Malcolm Gladwell’s book The Tipping Point. He mentions how many of the fastest moving fads actually begin among the urban poor. He cites the Hush Puppies craze from the 1980s as an example.

Finally, we actually believe each person has “yelo” inside of them. In other words, God created us with uniqueness and the possibility of excelling in different areas. Some of us may be innovative with ideas whereas others are innovative when it comes to organizing things or relating to people. We actually hold a one day training called “yelo” which seeks to help people discover their God-given uniqueness and ultimately to discover their most effective ways to serve the world. Through this experience we have had several people discover even more - a relationship with Christ. Go to http://yelo.awaken.org/ for more details.

Hope that helps!

Eric Bryant
Navigator, Mosaic

Glory to God for all that you do in Los Angeles.