Latino American Christianity

Introduction

The church –local and universal– and her participation in God’s mission to the world is one of the central themes in the discussion of theology of mission. However, this focus on the church per se, seems to overshadow other important factors such as the pastor’s role and how him/her can lead the local church in God’s missional task. There is scarce literature dedicated to this particular topic; hence this paper seeks to be a contribution as it underscores the role of the pastor as an agent of mission, specifically among Latino American Christianity.

The first section of the paper will describe what is theology of acompañamiento. Then, the paper will present a scant biblical overview, which serves as a foundation for such pastoral

Goizueta, Caminemos Con Jesús: Toward a Hispanic/Latino Theology of Accompaniment (Maryknoll, N.Y: Orbis Books, 1995), 202–203.

Rifat Odeth Kassis, Forward in Ecummenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel, “A Theological Reflection on Accompaniment” (World Council of Churches, 2005), 8.

Ibid., 7. Unless notified all scripture references are from New American Standard Bible 1995 version.

Justo L González, Teología Liberadora: Enfoque Desde La Opresión En Una Tierra Extraña (Buenos Aires: Kairos, 2006), 219. My translation and emphasis added.

Richards, L., & Richards, L. O. (1987). The teacher’s commentary (p. 62). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, (electronic source accessed May 17, 2014). Lalsangkima Pachuau, “Vulnerability and Empowerment in Crossing Frontiers: A Christian Theology of Mission,” The Asbury Journal 68, no. 2 (January 1, 2013): 80.

Ibid.

Darío López Rodriguez, The Liberating Mission of Jesus: The Message of the Gospel of Luke, Pentecostals, Peacemaking, and Social Justice Series (Eugene, Ore: Pickwick Publications, 2012), 9. Emphasis mine.

Ibid. Craig S. Keener and InterVarsity Press, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press, 1993),

Bevans, Constants in Context: A Theology of Mission for Today, American Society of Missiology Series, no. 30 (Maryknoll, N.Y: Orbis Books, 2004), 7.

Estrada Adorno, Pastores O Políticos Con Sotanas?, 29. As cited by David Jacobus Bosch, Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1991), 72.

Estrada Adorno, Pastores O Políticos Con Sotanas?, 34.

Lalsangkima Pachuau, “Biblical Theology of Mission” (Asbury Theological Seminary, lecture 2014).

González, Teología Liberadora, 218.

Estrada Adorno, Pastores O Políticos Con Sotanas?, 184.

Robert W. Jenson, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2: The Works of God (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), 95. Robert W. Jenson, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, 95.

Craig A. Evans, Luke, New International Biblical Commentary 3 (Peabody, Mass: Hendrickson Publishers, 1990), 350.

Carmen Nanko, Theologizing En Espanglish: Context, Community, and Ministry, Studies in Latino/a Catholicism (Maryknoll, N.Y: Orbis Books, 2010), 81. Emphasis mine. Robert J Schreiter, Constructing Local Theologies (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1985), 3.

Eldin Villafañe, The Liberating Spirit: Toward a Hispanic American Pentecostal Social Ethic (Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans, 1993),