Developing Civically Engaged, Justice Oriented Churches Right from the Start - a Hispanic Pentecostal Perspective
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Southeastern University FireScholars Doctor of Ministry (DMin) Barnett College of Ministry & Theology Fall 2019 DEVELOPING CIVICALLY ENGAGED, JUSTICE ORIENTED CHURCHES RIGHT FROM THE START - A HISPANIC PENTECOSTAL PERSPECTIVE Elizabeth D. Rios Southeastern University - Lakeland, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://firescholars.seu.edu/dmin Part of the Biblical Studies Commons, Christianity Commons, Comparative Methodologies and Theories Commons, and the Practical Theology Commons Recommended Citation Rios, Elizabeth D., "DEVELOPING CIVICALLY ENGAGED, JUSTICE ORIENTED CHURCHES RIGHT FROM THE START - A HISPANIC PENTECOSTAL PERSPECTIVE" (2019). Doctor of Ministry (DMin). 18. https://firescholars.seu.edu/dmin/18 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Barnett College of Ministry & Theology at FireScholars. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Ministry (DMin) by an authorized administrator of FireScholars. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Developing Civically Engaged, Justice Oriented Churches Right from the Start – A Hispanic Pentecostal Perspective By Elizabeth D. Ríos A Project Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF MINISTRY 2019 Doctoral Mentor: ___________________________ Melissa Archer, PhD Second Reader: ___________________________ Efrain Agosto, PhD Doctor of Ministry Program Director: ___________________________ Jim P. Vigil, DMin 1 Acknowledgments “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” ― Ursula K. Le Guin What a journey it has been to get to this point! What will forever leave its imprint on my heart are the Spirit-filled teachers who would on occasion stop teaching to start interceding for us and with us students. Thank you Dr. Samuel Hemby and Dr. Alan Ehler: those first courses set the tone for the three years I would be in this program. Thank you especially Dr. Ehler for your integrity and fairness as you manage this entire department. Thank you to Dr. Jim Vigil: I believe with all my heart that you were God- ordained to lead this program. Your pastoral heart, words of wisdom, and gentle handling of students have helped to guide and heal so many who have seen a tough side of ministry. I will never, ever forget my role as an under-rower and I will alWays keep my oars in the water, so help me God. Particular gratitude is extended to my dissertation committee: Dr. Melissa Archer, Who was a most excellent mentor throughout the process; and Dr. Efrain Agosto, Who saved the day and stepped in as a second reader to get me to the finish line after losing my first tWo readers. One quite literally passed aWay days after telling me how sorry he was that he could not continue, but encouraged me to keep going because “nuestra comunidad necesita tu voz.” A general in the kingdom and the Hispanic community, you will be greatly missed Rev. Dr. Jesse Miranda. The other reader was Dr. Gastón Espinosa, Whose work originally stirred my desire to learn more about Latinos in civic activism and who gave me constructive feedback at the genesis of this project and launched me in a good direction. I am also indebted to Dr. Thomas Gollery, who at the 2 recommendation of my Writing Center editor, Dr. Cynthia Campbell, agreed to help me With his superb methodology skills, Which were so vital to the success and evaluation of this project. There are others Who have inspired me and guided me in a variety of ways, including giving of their time to help me on this project as subject matter experts. Among them are: Rev. Dr. Traci West of DreW University Theological School, Lisa Sharon Harper of FreedomRoad.us, Lisa Trevino Cummins of Urban Strategies, and Rev. Dr. Gabriel Salguero of National Latino Evangelical Coalition. Sincere gratitude to those Who gave me critical feedback on my proposal and/or first chapter, among them my spiritual dad and mentor, Rev. Dr. Raymond Rivera, and Latino scholars and pastoral practitioners Drs. Sam Cruz and Pablo Diaz. In addition, I thank Rev. Dr. Alexia Salvatierra for embracing my work and sharing hers freely When I began this journey. However, it was God who kneW the plans he had for me and saW me through yet again! Lastly I thank my familia: they are my world and they never complained about me not doing something because I Was “dissertating.” Samuel Eliu Rios, may you alWays know you’re deeply loved and highly treasured. Daniel Jeremiah “DJ” Rios, my silent prophet, you changed my life forever. Hiram Rios, my most fierce supporter, the one I get to call husband, you have my heart completely; I would not have finished Without your constant support, love, dedication—and amazing café con leche. Yes, I did it again, but it was because you were with me the whole time. Te quiero para siempre, mi amor. 3 Abstract Most church planting training programs train pastors in typical church operations systems as well as how to build their teams with a strong mission. However, often their training is vague and even non-existent in the area of biblical justice and advocacy, an area of pressing need in the changing face of the United States. We are more racially divided than ever, and we struggle with a myriad of socio-economic issues that need to be addressed at the root level. Those who are called to plant churches must therefore understand that unlike any other time in history, church planting today requires an additional set of skills, particularly when planting in urban locations Where lack of justice abounds. This research project provides a biblical basis and justification for training church pastors to establish civically engaged, justice-oriented churches right from the start by returning to an old frameWork of partnership betWeen evangelization and justice, Which I suggest is particularly important for churches who desire to make a real difference in their communities and to be more effective in bringing long-term, sustainable change. Chapter One introduces the problem, and its relation to the ministry of the writer. Chapter TWo explores a biblical and theological frameWork in support of justice-oriented church planting through a selective reading of key texts. Chapter Three discusses the Hispanic population's importance in the United States, Which is the particular population of interest as it relates to church planting. Chapter Four reports on data collection and 4 analysis as well as describing the content of seminar sessions. Chapter Five and Six discuss lessons learned and recommendations for further research. 5 Table of Contents Chapter One: Introducing the Project 8 Purpose for Addressing the Challenge 17 Central Research Questions 23 Subsidiary Questions 24 Relation of Research Project to the Ministry of the Writer 24 Contextual Scope, Limitations, and Delimitations 25 Assumptions 26 Definition of Major Terms 26 Project Goals and Objectives 31 Anticipated Outcomes 32 Seminar Description 33 Project Chapter OvervieW 34 Chapter Two: Project in Perspective 36 Introduction: Toward a World of Justice and Shalom 36 Biblical and Theological Dimensions of this Study 38 A Biblical Theology of Justice 38 Kingdom Praxis 39 A Brief Canonical RevieW of Select Scripture 41 The Torah – Shalom, a Key Aspect of Justice 41 The Prophets as Social Justice Champions 47 Amos 5: The Urgency of Justice 48 A Look at Micah 6:8 53 Malachi: The Messenger of Social Responsibility 56 The Gospels and Jesus 61 MattheW 62 The Acts of the Apostles 73 Jesus, A Most Perfect Model 79 Theological Foundations for Justice: Moving from Jesus to Today 86 Social Action in the Evangelical-Pentecostal Community 100 Advocating for Justice 106 Conclusion: God Will Meet Us at the Margins 108 Chapter Three 111 Hispanics, Progressive Pentecostalism, Activism, and the Spirit 111 6 Hispanics in General 111 Abuelita Theology 118 Progressive Pentecostals 119 Hispanics and Civic Activism 123 Spirit-Empowered Praxis 128 Contemporary Faith-Rooted Thought Leaders and Practitioners of Justice 133 Chapter 4: The Project Narrative 145 Research Design 146 Study Sample 147 Instrumentation 147 Procedures 148 Data Analysis 149 Research Questions 150 Analyses by Research Question 151 Seminar Design 152 Pedagogy 158 Conclusion 160 Chapter 5: The Project Evaluated 162 Research Process 162 Evaluation Model 164 Study Results 166 Discussion of the Findings for Research Questions 173 Summary 180 Chapter 6: The Project Conclusions 182 Final Thoughts 184 Lessons Learned 187 Factors for Improvement 190 Implications of the Project and Considerations for the Future 191 Recommendations for Further Study 193 BIBLIOGRAPHY: The Project Resources 195 Appendices – The Project Data 213 Appendix A: Group Cover Letter 214 Appendix B: Preliminary Participant Survey 215 Appendix C: Pre/Post-Project Participant Survey 217 Appendix D: Group B Telephone IntervieW Questions (for Subject Matter Experts) 219 Appendix E: Seminar Flyer 220 7 Chapter One: Introducing the Project The purpose of this project is to develop a training seminar entitled “Right from the Start: Developing Civically-Engaged, Justice-Oriented Churches.” This training seminar Will be geared to prospective Hispanic church planters and pastors in their first three years of church planting including non-Hispanics who seek to minister to and with Hispanics. The goal is to prepare these participants to understand why the world needs churches that go beyond rhetoric and that from the outset are planted with the intention of returning to a partnership betWeen evangelization and justice, and betWeen spirituality and civic action, both of Which are at the heart of the gospel message. In addition, an important consideration for churches who desire to make a real difference in the communities in which they are planted is that churches that have been able to advocate for their communities have shown to be more effective in bringing long-term, sustainable change.