Archives For Costa Rica

Latin American history in 14 minutes

September 15, 2012 — Leave a comment

Today marks the 191st anniversary of the independence of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. Today is also the start of Hispanic Heritage Month here in the U.S.

Though a bit goofy and irreverent at times, here’s an entertaining — and yes, moderately educational — video covering some of the key moments in Latin American history, with a particular emphasis on revolutions.

Crash Course World History, the series this video belongs to, also covers Haitian Revolutions, Venice and the Ottoman Empire, and The Dark Ages…How Dark Were They, Really?, and a whole lot more.

In Culture , , , , , , , , ,
permalink

Incarnational ministry and holistic discipleship in Latin America

July 30, 2012 — Leave a comment

Earlier this month in Costa Rica, Christian leaders and pastors from across Latin America met for CLADE V, the Fifth Latin American Congress of Evangelization (great photos here). The congress, put together by the Latin American Theological Fraternity (FTL), has gathered once a decade or so over the past 40 years. This time the chosen theme was “Following Jesus in God’s Kingdom of Life. Guide us, Holy Spirit!”:

The focus will be on incarnational ministry with a commitment to holistic discipleship, God’s kingdom of life in the context of so much death, a plea for God’s presence and power in Latin America, and a confession of Latin American Christians’ weakness and unfaithfulness in living Christ-like lives of love.  Through the congress and the participatory processes linked to it, the FTL seeks to foster a Christian movement in Latin America that aligns with these themes and radically engages with the realities and hardships of the Latin American context with the hope of the Gospel.

I wasn’t able to be there, but I enjoyed following along as much as possible and have appreciated various reports on it since then. Amy Reynolds, a sociology professor at Wheaton College who attended the event, reflects on the social and political contexts in which Latin American evangelical theologies have taken root and what the rest of us can learn from them. She issues this challenge:

In an age of globalization, we have more chances than before to be a part of global networks, with those in different positions in the international system. How might we—here, I specifically mean people of faith within the United States—allow ourselves to think more critically about our own context and how it shapes our theology?  How might we think about issues like economic globalization (which tend to benefit many of us in the middle or upper class of the United States) as deeply theological ones? These are issues of life and death, as my brothers and sisters consistently confirmed last week. As people of faith, we can not afford to ignore the context of our own theologies.

Here also is the translation of part of a presentation given by Carlos Herfst of Guatemala on mission and relationship:

Our ecclesiological “being” which consists in our participation in the body of Christ is something that occurs between us and the triune God, among us and the other members of the body of Christ, and among us and our neighbors from the world in which we live. Mission does not simply consist in the transmission of ideas, doctrines or propositional truths, but rather it consists of entering into relationships that transform us as well as those with whom we share the good news of the kingdom of God. Being a Christian is having an ecclesial identity that is dynamic and relational and that liberates us through our participation in the life of the Trinity so that we can share with others the love and hope of God with open hearts and open hands.

If those snippets intrigue you, and if you speak Spanish, you may be interested in watching videos from the gathering, available here. Many more written reflections from participants including René Padilla, Loreto Fernández, and Juan Stam are also available at El Blog de Bernabé, a blog with the wonderful tagline “Christianity, faith, and mission along with a coffee.”

Once again, the website for CLADE V is here, and video from the opening night is below, which includes a great panel discussion. That conversation begins at around five minutes after the one hour mark.

Watch live streaming video from cladev at livestream.com

[Photo credit: CLADE via Facebook]

In Gospel, Justice , , , , , ,
permalink

Repaso: Euro 2012 photos; Cristianismo Hoy; civility in America; business discipleship in Costa Rica; dying for land in Brazil

June 15, 2012 — 4 Comments

1. Euro 2012 photos
I’ve been enjoying watching some of the Euro 2012 matches on watchespn.com, though I can’t say I particularly have a vested interest in any one country. The Big Picture has a great collection of photos of fans from the first few days of the tournament, held this year in Ukraine and Poland.

2. Cristianismo Hoy
It sounds like Christianity Today may begin publishing a Spanish language magazine in 2013:

The decision marks a significant step to engage the United States’ exploding Latino  church community—nearly 15% of Latinos in America are now evangelical, according to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, and that number continues to rise. “Cristianismo Hoy aims to provide a credible, balanced, and unifying evangelical voice for Spanish speaking church leaders in the United States and around the world,” reads the new edition’s working purpose statement.

3. Civility in America
There’s an interesting new infographic out on civility in the US. Here’s the intro paragraph:

A rancorous political environment is primarily responsible for driving a “national civility disorder” and most Americans say politics is increasingly uncivil, complicating resolution of major issues and deterring qualified people from entering public service. Weber Shandwick and Powell Tate partnered with KRC Research to conduct the third annual poll on Civility in America: A Nationwide Survey.

4. La Vida Plena
EFCA Today magazine has an inspiring story on business discipleship ministry in San Jose, Costa Rica, written by Daniel Jenkins who leads the ministry there (HT R.J. Caswell):

Many organizations teach the poor job skills and business practices. But as the church, we bring something more: the gospel of Jesus Christ. This gospel calls us to la vida plena, or “full life,” and it transforms every aspect of our lives, including our work.

5. Dying for Land
If you’ve seen the 1980s movie The Mission, based on historical events in South America in the 1700s, watch this video to see what life is like for the Guaraní in Brazil today:

Repaso is intended as a thought-provoking compilation of news and commentary from the past week related to the intersections of faith, development, justice and peace. As always, I welcome your thoughts on any of the links and ideas in this roundup!

[Photo credit: Andres Kudacki/Associated Press via The Big Picture]

In Repaso , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
permalink

Zero Down Development

November 16, 2011 — Leave a comment

After a wonderful wedding and honeymoon, and a corresponding break from all things Internet, I’m slowly but surely going to be blogging again — though probably not quite as frequently as before, at least for now. I’ll kick things off by highlighting what looks to be a really cool event.

My friends at the Association for Development through Education in Costa Rica, with whom I lived and worked for a couple of months in early 2010, are planning a conference for January that will certainly be one unlike any other conference you’ve ever been to. In partnership with a Costa Rican seminary, a mission organization and a community health group, they’ll be exploring the “zero down” development model ADE is using, and considering its wider implications for various sectors in different places. Here’s the blurb:

A bilingual conference looking at answers to the tough questions of the interaction between faith, missions, money, and development. No one is coming with all the answers, but as we come together, learn from each other, and look specifically at the “zero down” model we hope to take steps forward to further understand these difficult relationships.

Here’s the conference promo video (also available in Spanish):

If you’re interested in reading more about my experiences with ADE, here are a few posts from that time:

  • I wrote about teaching English via Cha Cha Slide here;
  • I gave a Palm Sunday sermon about Jesus, friend of chorizeros, described here; and
  • I gave a video tour of the community and house where I lived here.

Please do learn more about ADE and their Zero Down development conference.

In Justice , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
permalink

Rick Warren and the Purpose Driven Iglesia

June 10, 2011 — 1 Comment

It’s been almost a decade since Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life was published, selling over 30 million copies in its first five years alone. Warren’s influence on the North American evangelical church cannot be overstated, and it is also well known that he and his church have undertaken some ambitious development initiatives, starting in Rwanda. More recently, a nationwide Purpose Driven Living campaign was launched in neighboring Uganda.

Meanwhile, the teachings of The Purpose Driven Church, a book Warren wrote several years before his mega-bestseller, seems to be taking root in Latin America:

Juan Carlos Flores, president of the Foundation of Leadership and Innovation Liderinnova, along with his wife, Orietta Oreamuno, began in 2002 to teach the paradigm presented in The Purpose Driven Church both inside and outside of Costa Rica to other Spanish speaking countries. He was one of six American teachers in the 40 Days Campaign produced by Purpose Driven Ministries.

The foundation has already reached Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Argentina and Venezuela. In 2007, they held a conference in Venezuela, where hundreds of pastors and Christian leaders gathered to talk about the “Purpose Driven Church.”

For more on the significant connections between megachurches in the United States and Christians in developing countries, see the paper I co-wrote for Transformation, the journal of the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies.

In Culture, Gospel , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
permalink