Bad Bunny and the accompaniment mission model

As a spiritual leader, I'm always interested to see (and try to understand) whatever is the moral outrage de jour. This week, of course, it is the SuperBowl halftime show, featuring Grammy-winner and top-streamed artist globally, Bad Bunny, a Catholic and American citizen of proud Puerto Rican heritage.

Conservative America pushed against this selection, for a range of reasons, and Turning Point USA put on an alternative halftime show featuring Kid Rock. To start, I simply don't understand how Kid Rock is the family-friendly, moral high ground here. Dude's lyrics in a 2001 called pedophilia "mandatory," and when given the chance, he showed no remorse for this - even as the world is grappling with the release of the Epstein files. 

Lots of people have written thoughtful pieces on the beauty of Bad Bunny's presentation, and the incongruity of calling Kid Rock the faithful, All-American alternative, so I'll leave that to them. 

What I want to address is the idea held by so many "Christians" that because the vast majority of Bad Bunny's performance was in Spanish, it was un-American. 

First of all, Spanish is the most common non-English language spoken by Americans at home (13-14%). That's significant. Along with this, representation matters. Think of the kids at home who speak Spanish, hearing and seeing a native Spanish speaker perform in their language on this biggest of American stages. Suddenly, they can see themselves there. They see that they belong in their country. It's not unlike my friend's AuDHD daughter watching with delight as neurodivergent ice skater Amber Glenn won a gold medal. When minorities are celebrated and lifted up, we are celebrating the beautiful diversity that makes America the incredible place it is. 

But I'm also thinking about this as a Lutheran pastor. In my denomination, the ELCA, we are committed to a model of mission we call "accompaniment." It is a counter to the colonialist model of mission that says, "We have something you don't have, and you will be better if we give you our thing" - whether that thing is our tools, our music, our clothing, or our way of operating in the world. This sends the message, "Our way is best. You don't have anything of value to offer me." And also implied, "I am the one in power here." This model is manifest in a white supremacist mindset - something of which we are becoming increasingly aware but which has been a part of America since the Mayflower landed.

The accompaniment model sees this as an affront to each of our uniquely beautiful identities as children of God, made in God's image. The ELCA defines accompaniment as "walking together in a solidarity that practices interdependence and mutuality." It embraces values like mutuality (mission "with" and "among," not "to"), inclusivity (relationships that don't exclude or divide), vulnerability (opening ourselves to others), empowerment (correcting imbalance of power, including recognizing and letting go of our own power), and sustainability (imbedding mission in ongoing relationships and communities). 

What's this got to do with Bad Bunny's halftime show? Well, I'm noticing how "colonialist" (or white nationalist) the reaction to the mere fact of his performance is, even before we get to the performance content. The expectation is that a performer at the SuperBowl must perform primarily in English. What if instead we went in with an accompaniment mindset - with values like mutuality inclusivity, vulnerability, empowerment and sustainability in the forefront? What if we asked questions (of ourselves and our children) like:

What must it be like for people whose primary language is other than English to operate in a mostly-English world? (As someone who lived in a non-English-speaking country as a Lutheran missionary for a year, I'll tell you that hearing English delighted me every single time it happened!)

How does it feel for a Spanish-speaking kid to hear their own language used and celebrated on this national stage?

If something about this performance makes me uncomfortable, why is that? Is it because it is unfamiliar to me and different from my own culture? Or is it the content or presentation itself? Why?

What can I learn about my own cherished culture, by watching this celebration of a different one (that also exists in my country)?

What can I learn about Puerto Rico and its culture from this - knowing that PR is an American territory about which I know very little?

What do I have in common with this celebration of Latino culture? What do we share?

What is different that I actually kind of like? What do I wish my own culture had more of? (In interfaith dialogue, this is called "holy envy" - what do I see in a different tradition that I wish my own had more of?)

It makes me sad how many people were simply unwilling to engage in this opportunity to learn, to see how another kind of American understands this identity we share. I believe such exposure helps us understand our colorful country better, and to value it more deeply and more complexly. But I also believe deep in my being that the more we are willing to learn from people who are different from us, the better we can know God, who made all humankind in God's image. 

(Disclaimer: I don't know if this image is copyrighted! But I'm seeing it all over social media, so I'm hoping it is okay to use it here, since I'm not profiting on it.)