Global Renewal Christianity: Latin America Spirit Empowered Movements: Past, Present, and Future

By Charisma House

The growth of Spirit-empowered Christianity has been nothing short of phenomenal. From a handful of believers in the early twentieth century to over six million people in almost every culture and denomination today, those who embrace the Holy Spirit and His gifts are not the fastest-growing religious group in the world. But if any generation ceases to emphasize the Holy Spirit’s power, the movement likely will lose its distinction. This second of four volumes is an authoritative collection from nearly two dozen leaders and scholars of the Spirit-empowered movement in Latin America. Focusing on the history and future of the movement, these world-renowned scholars address the theological and cultural challenges facing Pentecostals throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, and share emerging insights on how to meet them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Charisma House
• Release date: May 3, 2016
• ISBN: 9781629989297

Book preview

California.

Introduction

A Century of Pentecostalism in Latin America

Miguel Álvarez

Pentecostalism proposes to the popular masses faith in a God of love, the certainty of salvation, the safety of a community and participation in the carrying out of duties in a common work.¹

—CHRISTIAN LALIVE D’EPINAY

THIS WORK OVERVIEWS recent developments among Pentecostals in Latin America and explores current trends about Pentecostalism in the region. Not only is there an analysis of the strengths and positive impact of the movement, but there is also a discussion of weaknesses and challenges confronting Pentecostals in Latin America today. We review current issues in academic scholarship and pay attention to emerging contemporary ministries, such as church growth and other tendencies. The paper also explores opportunities and challenges for ministries among the poor and marginalized in the Latin American context.

We will look at works that have contributed significantly to the understanding of Pentecostalism in the area² and will consider issues in contemporary Pentecostalism, such as the emphasis on numerical church growth and the expansion of the church within the cultures of Latin America. At the end, we will anticipate new opportunities for service that have emerged in the Latin American Pentecostal church. Some of these components have to do with theological developments and social concerns that are associated with Pentecostalism.

Pentecostals have reached one hundred years of history in Latin America. The first known Pentecostal outpouring occurred in Chile in 1909, in the southernmost country of the American continent. A few years ago, William D. Taylor said, The Holy Spirit, as the traveling Agent of the Trinity, has now flown south.³ In his statement, Taylor acknowledged the spiritual awakening that was occurring in most regions of the Southern Hemisphere. Taylor continued, The fire continues to extend, as if it were an Olympic flame lit by the Holy Spirit, to all countries and cultures in the South and from the South. This spiritual awakening that began in the early twentieth century can now be seen in every nation. Here we focus on the case of Latin America, making general observations as well as drawing on scholarship on the movement.

MOST RECENT ACADEMIC ACTIVITY

Recent scholarship, especially of renowned thinkers in the West, has observed the changing role of Pentecostals in Latin America.⁴ While these works have spurred Western interest in the development of Pentecostalism in the region, Latin Americans themselves have been researching the Pentecostal movement since the 1960s.⁵ One significant research forum in the region was recently initiated by La Red Latinoamericana de Estudios Pentecostales (RELEP) [Latin American Network of Pentecostal Studies]. They have convened in countries such as Chile, Mexico, Brazil, and Ecuador to discuss Pentecostal history, theology, and ministry. RELEP has published a number of articles in a series of volumes, Voces del Pentecostalismo Latinoamericano⁶ (Voices of Latin American Pentecostalism).

Furthermore, several Latin American Pentecostal scholars, such as Juan Sepúlveda, Norberto Saracco, Darío López Rodríguez, and Bernardo Campos have made significant contributions.⁷ On the other hand, non-Pentecostal writers have done important research on Pentecostalism also, including Manuel Gaxiola, Luis Segreda, Samuel Escobar, and C. René Padilla.⁸ In both cases, it is common for researchers of Pentecostalism to cite the classic works of Emilio Willems, Christian Lalive d’Epinay, Francisco Rolim, and Jean-Pierre Bastian.⁹ In anticipation of these writers, in 1962, Samuel Escobar stated that Latin American Pentecostalism had become already the fastest-growing church in the Western Hemisphere.¹⁰

From a non-Pentecostal point of view, Samuel Escobar studied Pentecostalism, and through his contributions, the movement gained credibility among Latin American scholars.¹¹ Escobar engaged sociological and anthropological issues in his various books and scholarly articles. For Escobar and other Christian scholars, the new era of evangelization for Latin America and the world is closely related to the development and advancement of Pentecostalism.¹² Along with Escobar, others have also added significantly, pointing to the new challenges and opportunities facing Pentecostalism in recent years.¹³

Bernardo Campos recently introduced the concept of Pentecostalidad (Pentecostality) of the church, which he defines as the universal experience that expresses the occurrence of Pentecost¹⁴ in the body of Christ. The occurrence of Pentecost is the key event that characterizes the life of those who identify themselves with the rebirth of the historical Pentecostal experience in the daily life of the church. Campos also sees the historical events of Pentecostalism as differing in relation to their historical manifestations, yet although they are different, they also form part of the Pentecostality of the church. Campos maintains that the Pentecostality of the church must be understood as a pluralist and diverse movement.¹⁵ Christologically, Pentecostality is the strength of the Spirit¹⁶ that makes it possible for the church as the body of Christ to connect with the people.¹⁷ In principle, Pentecostality surpasses any historical Pentecostal event (experience) that would claim to be the only model of Pentecost, denying others the uniqueness of their own Pentecostal experience.¹⁸ In reality, the Pentecostality of the church refers to the mission of all believers who, after being filled with the Holy Spirit, operate in the world showing the marks of the incarnate Christ, who redeems human beings and their world.

The work of Campos is significant, for it makes Pentecostality the common experience of all believers throughout history. Every believer that follows Christ Jesus and obeys His commands can show the marks of Pentecost in his or her life and ministry. Thus, Pentecostality is the mark of the church and could be seen in its nature and mission. Campos’s notion of Pentecostality thus deconstructs the Pentecostal exclusivity with regards to spiritual and ecclesiological matters. He has initiated an eye-opening conversation—we all, at least potentially, are Pentecostals, for we all are brought by and follow the same Spirit, who is the cause of Pentecost. This insight should foster cooperation and stimulate fellowship among Christians in Latin America, and perhaps around the world.

Another contemporary scholar of Latin American Pentecostalism is Darío López Rodríguez. He has urged that the Pentecostal experience is relevant to the poor and the marginalized. López maintains that Pentecostals ought to take up the arduous challenges of poverty and marginalization in Latin America. The fact that the majority of Latin American Pentecostal churches are located in marginal areas promotes and should motivate at least Pentecostal scholars to defend the dignity of all human beings.¹⁹ From his pulpit in a marginalized zone in Lima, López encourages a change of attitude in the church that seeks the spiritual and social transformation of the poor, the weak, and the marginalized.²⁰

In much of these most recent works, Latin American Pentecostals are engaging political and social concerns. They have begun to criticize the establishment and status quo and are proposing solutions to common problems among the people of Latin America.²¹

AN OVERVIEW OF TRADITIONAL STEREOTYPES

In order to understand Latin American Pentecostalism, one has to consider some of the traditional historical stereotypes. It is well known that Pentecostals are a large community with different cultural backgrounds.²² The movement has been enriched by a colorful blend of race, language, and geography, including history and politics. In the book Crisis and Hope in Latin America,²³ William D. Taylor described the generational transformation that took place in recent years in Latin America. There were significant political and socioeconomic changes that forced Christians from all denominations to adjust. Taylor pictures this change by recalling stereotyped images, such as a man sleeping under his sombrero (broad-brimmed hat); or with the son of a former guerillero (guerrilla), who in recent years held on tensely to a machine gun, but now, his grandson holds a cellular phone to keep in contact with his own business.²⁴ Drastic changes took place in cities, and entire nations have been affected. They have also changed the church, and they also changed Pentecostalism.

Furthermore, Houtart and Pin remind us that some time ago, Latin American Pentecostals operated in a region where liberation theology was in vogue. This was particularly the case of the decades of the 1960s and ’70s. Arguably, liberation theology proposed an approach that combined Marxist ideology with Christian theology in a path that both fascinated and repulsed, but it soon faced its own crisis due to the collapse of European Marxism at the end of the so-called Cold War.²⁵

Thus, in recent years, Latin American Pentecostals have lived and grown numerically in a region of crisis. The political reality and a poor economy have created an unstable environment. But Pentecostals have emerged strong and confident, with a message of hope in this chaotic scenario. The movement made its impact through evangelism, establishing new churches and ministries, particularly in the most remote and marginalized areas.²⁶ Voluntarily and courageously, Pentecostals practice their faith in an attitude of obedience to the Great Commission of Christ Jesus.

THE ROLE OF PENTECOSTALISM IN THE EXPANSION OF THE CHURCH

To better understand the role of Pentecostals in Latin America, we need to examine some factors that may correlate with Pentecostal numerical growth. Berg and Pretiz have identified some of the values of Pentecostalism in Latin America.²⁷ These features can be observed in most Latin American contexts, although some similarities can be found in other regions of the world where Pentecostalism is also expanding.

Role of the supernatural in the practice of faith

Latin American Pentecostals accept the baptism with the Holy Spirit as an initiation into a new reality. The believer is radically reoriented to experience a new relationship with God and is enabled to serve his or her community effectively. Naturally, it is expected that different gifts of the Holy Spirit will operate in the lives and ministry of believers, who would either sacrifice themselves for the cause of Christ or will simply experience the power of the Holy Spirit in their Christian service.²⁸

In Latin America, most Pentecostals anticipate the arrival of a new world order, where justice and peace will prevail; however, they believe that this will not occur until the completion of the work of Christ when He returns. In the meantime, the use and impartation of the supernatural is needed, which manifestations demonstrate the presence, testimony, and power of God through the lives of believers. Miraculous healings and supernatural events in the family and the community convict sinners and strengthen faith in Christians. As a result, conversions ensue, church attendance increases, and believers are mobilized.

When supernatural phenomena are experienced, Pentecostals are certain that they are moving under the unction of the Holy Spirit. Signs and wonders confirm the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in their lives and ministries.²⁹ Their hearts overflow with joy and expectation. They are convinced this leads to experiencing the promises of God. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are sought and exercised for the benefit of the community of faith and taken as a sign to unbelievers. Pentecostals lay hands on the sick and expect healing to follow. They attempt to remain in close connection with the Holy Spirit and anticipate that supernatural events may occur any time.

Relationship to the Catholic Church: retrospect and prospect

In Latin America, classical Pentecostals generally identify the Catholic Church as a fallen religious system. The Catholic Church has the doctrine, the Scripture, and the theology, but the religious system obscures these from the people. So Pentecostals resent the fact that the Catholic Church kept them, for centuries, alienated from the experience of communion with the Holy Spirit, which they have now rediscovered. For that reason, they see the Catholic religious system as an agent of alienation, oppression, and complicity with the demonic powers that rule the world.³⁰ The Spirit of Pentecost represents the new wine that must be preserved in new wineskins.

For Pentecostals in Latin America, then, the action of witnessing is directed to those who have remained ensconced within the obsolete Catholic religious system.³¹ Pentecostal conversion occurs when the individual understands the gospel as revealed by Scripture or by the Holy Spirit. By faith, the person receives Christ Jesus into his or her heart and joins the Pentecostal family. This is followed by a new paradigm for life and ministry, which is offered by the community of believers.

Yet as much as Pentecostals continue to perpetuate this anti-Catholic rhetoric, there is also no denying that Pentecostal converts from nominal Roman Catholicism bring their previous faith with them, including their Catholic theological background. Their basic knowledge of Christianity is informed by Catholic faith, tradition, and practice.³² As such, there may be more continuity between Catholicism and Pentecostalism than the latter are willing to grant. Perhaps this is why Pentecostals, Charismatics, and neo-Charismatics are successful in evangelizing nominal Roman Catholics. The Holy Spirit refreshes their common Catholic background to become solid witnesses of Christ. Eventually, Latin America may spawn a new breed of Christianity that combines Roman Catholic theology and culture with Pentecostal zeal and empowerment.³³ This phenomenon will have to be studied carefully.

Response to the condition of poverty and marginalization

With the exception of some classical Pentecostal denominations of North American origin, most Latin American Pentecostal movements are indigenous in leadership.³⁴ They mobilize their congregations in the poorest and most marginalized communities. That is why Pentecostal churches have taken root among the poor masses, contrary to what has happened with the majority of historical Protestant and Evangelical churches that have developed their congregations predominantly among the middle class.

The poverty amidst which many Pentecostals live provides occasion for the poor to voice and articulate their understanding of the revelation of Christ. For Pentecostalism, there can be no dichotomization between theory and praxis.³⁵ Here, theory derives from praxis and leads back to ecclesial and social transformation. Pentecostals in Latin America are now serving the poor and marginalized. They are becoming aware that their service is critical in the transformation of the poor.

A Pentecostal distinctive: mobilization of believers and cross-cultural ministry

Pentecostals in Latin America emphasize participation of the laity in the ministry of the church. This feature differentiates Pentecostal congregations from denominations of North American origin and from the Catholic Church. It also differs from those American-based Pentecostal denominations in which hierarchical power has relegated the laity to limited participation in ministry.³⁶ Contrary to that, most Pentecostal churches in Latin America have adopted a different attitude toward laity. However, there are some North American Pentecostal scholars who have embraced lay leaders as active participants in church ministry. One of them is Cheryl Bridges Johns. She said, The active presence of the Holy Spirit in the Pentecostal congregation calls for a radical balance in ministry between men and women, blacks and white, rich and poor.³⁷ Obviously, Johns’s argument has a prophetic purpose for a North American context; however, the message fits what is happening among Latin American Pentecostals ministries today.

The priesthood of all believers has become one of the most effective tools in their practice of mission.³⁸ In fact, most prominent Pentecostal leaders in Latin America are lay ministers. Some of them are professionals who left aside their professional fields to devote themselves completely to ministry. Most of them are practitioners in ministry and do not have adequate theological training. However, the success of these pastors is evident. They have been able to plant new and strong congregations, and some are pastors of megachurches. Others are head leaders of social and development organizations.³⁹

Pentecostals thus understand the Great Commission as an inescapable mandate in which all believers participate diligently. The task of evangelization knows no racial, political, or cultural barriers; it is an undertaking of all the saints and not just of a few specialized in missions.⁴⁰ This is a key element of the cross-cultural vocation of the Pentecostal church.

The difference between the cross-cultural evangelization practiced by the Pentecostal movement and the one practiced by the Evangelical movement lies in their stance on the Great Commission. For Pentecostals, evangelization is a corporate responsibility, and the main objective is to plant churches that can be reproduced in all cultural contexts where all believers live. For traditional Evangelicals, a cross-cultural mission is the responsibility of a few missionaries who, in the majority of cases, leave everything behind and go to a chosen place to carry out their mission. Generally, such efforts are costly and demand a great sacrifice for the career missionary.⁴¹ Most Pentecostal churches do not have career missionaries. They approach cross-cultural missions corporately. They commission Great Commission–committed believers who are sent to evangelize and plant churches in all places and contexts where the Holy Spirit leads.

This approach to mission is exhibited by the impressive and rapid growth of Pentecostal congregations in the world. Some have mistakenly criticized Pentecostals for not having vision for cross-cultural ministries. On the contrary, the goal of Pentecostals is to fulfill the Great Commission of which all are part.⁴² It is true that they do not have career missionaries, because in their mind-set, all believers are career missionaries. This assessment may stand in conflict with the traditional Evangelical conception that it is necessary to recruit, train, and send cross-cultural missionaries to the unreached people groups. Such conception could be justified in spiritual settings where the community of faith has not experienced a true Pentecostal experience. That is not the case of the Pentecostal congregations. For them, the formation and training of missionaries refers to equipping all believers to carry the Great Commission to all people groups.

One way to reconcile these opposing views would be for traditional denominations to incorporate those Pentecostal dynamics and passion for ministry into their career missionary endeavors, while Pentecostals should incorporate the well-designed mission strategies of traditional Evangelical churches to their passion for ministry. Such an attempt would result in the integration of a cross-cultural missionary outreach much more effective than those carried out today.

PENTECOSTALS AND THEIR LIMITATIONS

Latin American Pentecostals also have some limitations. They are confronted by problems of lack of training, limited resources, the temptations of the prosperity theology, and other factors. They also face social alienation and marginalization in their communities.⁴³ In the following, I discuss some of these matters.

Theological and leadership training

Pastors who have not completed undergraduate degrees lead most Pentecostal churches, and few have graduate levels of education. In most cases, they were chosen from the laity for their testimony of commitment to the church and for their ability to naturally lead other believers. Such lack of theological training leads many to embrace dubious teachings. Church growth generates wealth, which is attractive to those who profess to have the latest revelations of God, thus bringing division and suspicion among brethren. I will return to this issue in a moment.

On the other hand, neo-Pentecostal pastors are prone to embrace contemporary teachings related to financial prosperity, spiritual authority, and excessive supernatural experience.⁴⁴ Every new Christian fad finds fertile ground in neo-Pentecostal congregations, as they do not have ways to regulate their approach to these teachings. These issues are a matter of concern particularly with those who have a prophetic perspective on new developments of the church.

Yet after the era of violent revolutions and the surge of Internet information, Pentecostals are learning to connect as individuals and as institutions to promote the cause of the kingdom. They have engaged the ranks of higher education to seek feasible solutions to their common concerns and to excel in Christian service. Furthermore, it is known that some Pentecostals in Latin America are developing comprehensive educational programs. Most of these programs are in the stage of formation but may become stronger as more students join them.

However, Pentecostals still lack biblically and theologically grounded leaders. But this scenario is changing due to more Pentecostal participation in several international forums. One of the first forums for theological dialogue and reflection in the general Evangelical world was the Fraternidad Teológica Latinoamericana (FTL, or Latin American Theological Fellowship) created in 1970. FTL was the effort of a group of scholars that shared similar concerns for the interpretation and implementation of Christian faith in Latin America.⁴⁵ Currently, more scholars are engaged in other educational organizations. Those platforms offer constructive ideas for the advancement of leadership and administrative skills. In addition, they provide in-depth views of formal studies, pastoral training, and psychological formation suitable for the community of faith.

Limited resources

Contrary to neo-Pentecostalism, Pentecostals have limited resources and labor under financial constraints. There are, however, some pastors who come from middle-class levels who have the capability to fund their ministries. They are able to mobilize and attract other Christians into their church programs. However, most pastors have limited resources, and because of that, they struggle to sustain their ministries.

As a result, over time, members of classical Pentecostal churches migrate to the most attractive megachurch in town. In Latin America today, it is customary to see former members of small congregations become new leaders of faster-growing megachurches. This situation raises issues with regards to evangelism, church growth, and ethics in ministry that will have to be properly addressed.

Even in the first quarter of the twenty-first century, Pentecostals continue to move their resources toward evangelization and planting new churches. They are also developing strategic ideas to address social concern. Some Pentecostal leaders are becoming involved in the political arena (with mixed results). Others are involved in theological reflection. Some are exploring ways to participate in cross-cultural service.⁴⁶ This may be an optimistic stance on what the Holy Spirit has been doing among Pentecostals, in general. However the limitations are still tremendous compared to the current hints of numerical growth.

Wealth, prosperity, and other challenges

Scripture does not guarantee that peace, prosperity, power, and privilege measure success among God’s people. On the contrary, Christ promised that His church would be built in spite of the conflicting forces of evil. Latin American Pentecostals have lived this reality, and they have done so in a context of poverty and violence, but the Holy Spirit has prospered their efforts.⁴⁷ Ironically, in the immediate future, Pentecostals could suffer from a growing secularism and materialism that could shake their Christian values.⁴⁸

Some Pentecostals have incorporated attitudes, habits, and administrative styles as shown by contemporary churches in North America. Others experience the influence of Charismatic and neo-Charismatic anti-denominational movements. Could these religious habits neutralize their principles and values? Are we approaching the edge of a new, triumphalist neo-Pentecostal subculture?⁴⁹

On the other hand, it is very significant that church growth is occurring on multiple fronts, with many congregations of different denominations growing rapidly, especially in the urban areas. Nevertheless, this phenomenon also has its critics. Some are concerned about their theology—the validity of supernatural manifestations and other practical issues. Others are concerned about the lack of trained leaders to handle the numerical growth. However, the strongest and most resistant opposition proceeds from the secular press allied with the Catholic Church. Furthermore, sects also take advantage of the situation, particularly the Mormons, who have already sent thousands of new missionaries throughout the continent.⁵⁰ The Jehovah’s Witnesses are mobilized,⁵¹ and even different forms of spiritism, imported from Brazil,⁵² have found their way in an environment of spiritual hunger and personal emptiness.

In response to some of those concerns, Samuel Escobar has highlighted the topic of the social and spiritual life in Latin America.⁵³ Escobar calls for solid education of the leaders. He advocates for honest Evangelical-Evangelical, Pentecostal-Pentecostal, and Evangelical-Pentecostal dialogues.⁵⁴ Those dialogues may provide wisdom and understanding for strategic evangelism, church planting, and social action among Evangelicals and Pentecostals.⁵⁵

THE PRESENT SITUATION

Guillermo Cook also referred to the dynamic tensions caused by social, political, and religious changes that are now taking place in Latin America. A few years ago, he published a book called The New Face of the Church in Latin America: Between Tradition and Change. In a significant statement, Cook affirmed, The new face of the church in Latin America is also largely a history of Pentecostalism.⁵⁶ Cook also acknowledged that there is not a single face that identifies the church in Latin America. By saying so, he recognized the multiplicity of expressions of the Christian faith that coexists in the continent.

Demographic data confirms Cook’s claims. Some statistics claim that the growth of the renewal movement in Latin America comprises 33 percent of all Christians.⁵⁷ According to 2010 figures from the World Christian Database, all Pentecostals together represent 30 percent, or about 181,738 million, of Latin America’s population of nearly 596,191 million.⁵⁸ On the other hand, a Gallup poll on the growth of several Pentecostal and Evangelical churches revealed that if the percentage of Protestants in 1988 was 16 percent, in 2010 it stood at 38 percent.⁵⁹

Pentecostal leaders will have to analyze this data strategically. Although Pentecostals are now more involved in public life than before,⁶⁰ in countries such as Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, where the number of Pentecostals has grown considerably, they are yet to make a significant socioeconomic and political impact. So far, Pentecostals seem to have been more focused on numerical growth and new, sensational spiritual teachings rather than facing the severe human reality of their communities. Extreme poverty remains untouched. Violence and drug traffic continue to harm those Central American countries. It is clear that Pentecostals have a share in their society, so their participation in the solution of these social ills is vital.

Priorities

For now, the priority of the Latin American Pentecostal movement is strategic training and equipping the leadership. Solid theological formation will secure the foundations of ministry for the emerging generations.

Samuel Escobar has suggested a few indicators to watch for those interested in the numerical growth of Latin American Pentecostalism: (1) spiritual factors, such as the free action and sovereign work of the Holy Spirit; (2) anthropological motives, such as hunger for God; (3) sociological elements, which provide believers with a sense of personal and communal identity and a sense of refuge and security in a hostile world; (4) pastoral methodology, such as how the priesthood of all believers is promoted; (5) psychological and cultural reasons, such as freedom of worship and the expression of emotions; and (6) creative worship, such as the use of contemporary music allowed in the service.⁶¹ These elements are already observed in growing Pentecostal congregations. Even Protestant and Evangelical churches, as well as the Roman Catholic Church, have adopted them in their liturgy, particularly in praise and worship.⁶² Pentecostals have extensively influenced the life and ministry of Christianity in Latin America.⁶³

Facing social needs

Much was said and written during the last quarter of the twentieth century about the isolation that characterized Latin American Pentecostalism. For example, in his 1965 analysis of Chilean Pentecostalism, Christian Lalive d’Epinay discovered, among other things, that most Evangelical pastors, including Pentecostals, believed that the proclamation and practice of the gospel should not mix up with politics.⁶⁴ They also affirmed that the church should not get involved in sociopolitical problems, to the point of not even mentioning them from the pulpit.⁶⁵ A lot has changed since 1965. A new generation of Pentecostals is now getting involved in politics, addressing socioeconomic problems, and proposing solutions to the community at large. Although this thrust is still limited, there is hope that further participation will contribute to the transformation of Latin America.

In addition, Pentecostal thought was labeled as one that polarized the spiritual versus the material and the church versus the world. Pentecostals were identified with those who rejected the present world in anticipation of the future. In Latin America, this dichotomy emerged as consequence of the alliance of the Catholic Church with the wealthy class.⁶⁶ These circumstances sparked the longing for liberation among those who yearned for a better world, where justice and equality would be practiced. Naturally, during those days, Pentecostals were incapable of denouncing injustice observed in the sociopolitical structures of power. They found comfort in the spiritual teachings of Scripture. Others were required by North American missionaries to submit to the government without questioning, whether these forces were politically just or unjust.⁶⁷

We have seen that due to their extreme apolitical position, Latin American Pentecostals have not questioned the establishment, especially in cases of injustice or immorality. North American missionaries taught them that being apolitical was a Christian virtue.⁶⁸ However, some leaders began to question the role that Pentecostals could assume to further sociopolitical changes in the region. In the twenty-first century, a new generation of Pentecostal thinkers is emerging with new hermeneutics concerned for the holistic needs of the community.⁶⁹ There are also Pentecostal voices that call out for social justice and are opting to serve and defend the poor, the weak, and the marginalized.⁷⁰ However, this awareness of social justice issues and opting in favor of the poor and marginalized are incipient among Pentecostals. Nevertheless, more people are uniting efforts to elevate social concern in the church. Hence, theological education, pastoral formation, and Christian service are being challenged to adjust to the fullness of the gospel in the context of church and society.

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

At the end of the twentieth century, Latin American Pentecostals were also confronted by the tendencies of a postmodern society. Relativism, liberalism, materialism, secularism, and individualism were the common denominator in a world of rapid changes. On the other hand, the world was experiencing an unprecedented spiritual revival with the coming of the new millennium. The great majority of members of the Christian church were undergoing unusual levels of concern due to the eschatological implications of the end of a millennium and the start of a new one.

It is clear that Latin American Pentecostals in the twenty-first century are at a crossroads. On one side, there is a segment of the church that has become satisfied, established, and wealthy. This is the case of most neo-Pentecostal churches, which will continue to emphasize the condition of prosperity as a result of true faith. This stance is more visible in areas influenced by Western cultures and mainly affects the wealthy class of Latin America. Some Latin American neo-Pentecostals and Charismatics embrace this tendency, which may culminate in a post-Christian society. Consequently, this neo-Pentecostal movement may experience a spiritual decay in the upcoming years. Eventually, people get tired of the fallacies of the same rhetoric, day after day. The spiritual level of such congregations could reach a low level, where secularism, supported by technological and information advances, could endanger the health of the church.

But on the other side, there will remain a solid and militant congregation composed of Pentecostals who will remain committed to the practice and teachings of the Word. They will obey the leading of the Holy Spirit. These have interpreted the arrival of the twenty-first century as the best opportunity ever granted to the church. However, this level of commitment could cost enormously those who are devoted to the Great Commission. Persecution could be another element that would eventually require serious consideration by the Pentecostal church. There have been recent reports of increased persecution for a number of Christians.⁷¹ But historically, Pentecostals have operated well under persecution. Latin American Pentecostals will need to operate wisely and in the mind of the Holy Spirit in this time of opportunities and new developments.

Chapter 1

A Third Phase of Christianity: Reflections on One Hundred Years of Pentecostalism in Mexico

Philip Wingeier-Rayo

DAVID STOLL ASKED in the title of his book, Is Latin American Turning Protestant?¹ However, Stoll largely assumed that Pentecostalism was Protestant. This year marks the one hundredth anniversary of the arrival of Pentecostalism in Mexico, making this an important milestone worthy of reflection on the origin and place of Pentecostalism in religious history. This paper will examine Stoll’s assumption that Pentecostals are part of Protestantism and will suggest that this movement is fundamentally different. The paper will begin retracing the history of Roman Catholicism and mainline Protestantism as the first two phases of Christianity in Latin America and then will focus on the development of Pentecostalism in Mexico as a third, distinct incarnation of Christianity more fully adapted to the needs and realities of Latin Americans in the twenty-first century.

SECOND PHASE OF CHRISTIANITY IN LATIN AMERICA: ROMAN CATHOLICISM

Roman Catholicism arrived in Latin America from Spain and Portugal and was imposed upon the native inhabitants.² Protestantism arrived in the nineteenth century from European and North American expatriates and missionaries introducing the ideals of liberalism, rationalism, and democracy that embodied modernity.³ The general terms for Protestants in Spanish are evangélicos or Cristianos, and most people assume that Pentecostals and traditional, mainline Protestants fall under this category. This paper, however, will argue that Pentecostals have a distinct origin, arrived in Latin America during a later period, meet a different need, and reach a distinct population sector, thus making them a third embodiment of Christianity. Whereas the Roman Catholicism that arrived in Latin America was developed in the medieval period and Protestantism in modernity, Pentecostalism is the incarnation of Christianity for postmodernity.

The Roman Catholic Church worked beside the conquistadores to Christianize the native peoples of Latin American. On October 12, 1492, Columbus spotted the Caribbean island of Guanahani and thought it was a western island off the coast of India. Later, the island was renamed San Salvador (St. Savior), indicating the religious implications of the discovery.⁴ The main goal of Columbus’s expedition was the search for riches, with missionary obligation a close second, so the Spanish crown sent a priest, Ramon Pané, on the second voyage, in 1493. The pope granted the Spanish un derecho y el jus patronatus, or possession over newly discovered lands and the right to propagate the faith. In May 1493, the pope issued two bulls, Eximiae Devotionis and Inter Coetera, which allowed the inhabitants of newly discovered lands to participate as members of the church in the benefits of the gospel.⁵ This marked the first time in history that the pope gave a state the power both to colonize and missionize, joining the temporal and the supernatural along with the political and the ecclesial. This policy was an extension of Christendom, believing that the governors of a given conquered territory (kingdom) have the authority to convert their subjects.

Spanish explorers, such as Juan Ponce de Leon and Vasco Núñez de Balboa, continued to conquer territories of Hispaniola, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Florida, and Panama early in the sixteenth century. The Spanish Crown established the system of encomiendas to settle conquered territories. The prerequisite for settlement was the reading of the Requirement, which stated that local people must acknowledge the dominion of the Catholic Church, the pope, and the king and permit the teaching of Christianity. Not always read in good faith, the Requirement was used to justify the seizure of property, forcible conquest, and the enslavement of women and children, citing the biblical example of the Israelite conquest of Jericho.

Specifically, the encomiendas were land grants in exchange for the Christianizing of the residents. Franciscan, Dominican, and the newly formed Jesuit orders often accompanied the settlers, with the goal of converting the native inhabitants to Christianity, often with the sincere belief that participation in the Catholic sacraments, especially baptism, would save heathens from being tormented in hell. In sum, the Spanish conquest of Latin America came with military, economic, cultural, and religious domination of the indigenous inhabitants and continued colonization through the independence movements beginning in 1806 and ending in 1825.

FIRST PHASE OF CHRISTIANITY IN LATIN AMERICA: PROTESTANTISM

Early Protestant mission work was primarily conducted in English and aimed toward American expats and their families. The first Protestant sermon preached in Latin America occurred in Argentina by John (Diego) Thomson in 1820.⁶ At that time, Protestantism was illegal, so missionaries were forbidden to preach in Spanish. Nevertheless, during the mid-1800s, there were Protestant mission efforts that started English schools, preached and taught religious education in foreign languages, and ministered to their expats living in Latin America. The liberal impact of Protestantism was in Latin America as a voice of reason, democracy, and development. President Benito Juárez in Mexico received support and encouragement from Protestants and liberals, which eventually inspired a new constitution in 1857 that guaranteed freedom of religion and the separation of church and state, thus officially opening the door to Protestantism.⁷ To this day, Benito Juárez is a national hero of Protestants in Mexico for standing up to the Roman Catholic Church and fighting on behalf of religious pluralism.

One of the soldiers who fought in Juárez’s resistance army was Alejo Hernandez. He had been a candidate for the priesthood until he heard about Juárez’s movement and left seminary in Aguascalientes, Mexico, to join Juárez’s fight against the French invasion in 1862. While in Juárez’s army, Hernandez read an anti-Catholic treatise left by the North American soldiers during the Mexico-American war entitled Nights With the Romanists. His curiosity aroused, Hernandez went to Brownsville, Texas, to find a Protestant Bible and had a profound religious experience.⁸ He served as a Methodist pastor from 1871–1875. Once the doors were open for Protestant mission work, eighteen denominations arrived and established work, beginning with the Presbyterian missionaries Rev. and Mrs. William Wallace in 1872 and Rev. William Butler, who purchased the Gante Methodist Church in 1873 where Hernandez served as pastor.

The Protestant values were forged during the Enlightenment based on rationalism, liberalism, and a search for certainty. Jean-Pierre Bastian writes about the role of Protestants in the struggle for democracy in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He argues that Protestantism is a religion of written, civic, and rational education.⁹ The Protestant work in Mexico embodied these ideals in the struggle against the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz (1830–1915) and was a threat to both the hegemony of the Roman Catholic Church and authoritarian governments. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Daniel Miller writes, Mexican Protestants viewed themselves as advocates of social and political progress in contrast to the Catholic Church which they stigmatized as arrogant and reactionary.¹⁰ Many individuals and congregations broke away from the Roman Catholic Church, and Protestant missionaries began joining forces with them in a larger struggle for democracy.¹¹

Mexico and Latin America were not on the agenda at the 1910 World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, as the organizers decided to focus on non-Christian lands. The German mission societies objected to the inclusion of Latin America on the grounds that it was nominally Christian.¹² The World Missionary Conference was held in 1910, and no one could have predicted that later this same year, the Mexican Revolution would explode under the leadership of Emiliano Zapata—in part because of the rational, liberal, and pro-democratic teachings of Protestantism.¹³

At the same time of the civil explosion within Mexico over distribution of wealth, land, and human rights, the Pentecostal explosion was spreading around the world. Physician and Methodist missionary Dr. William Hoover had experienced a baptism of the Holy Spirit and shared his experience in Valparaiso, Chile, in 1909, leading to the start of the Methodist Pentecostal Church.¹⁴ Mainline Protestant churches did not initially place much importance on Pentecostalism early in the twentieth century. Even though the Azusa Street revival had already occurred and Pentecostalism was spreading around the world, there was no mention of this at the World Missionary Conference. For Protestants, the early twentieth century was a time of great optimism. John R. Mott had written a book in 1900 entitled The Evangelization of the World in This Generation.¹⁵ He chaired the World Missionary Conference with this same optimism that led to the hope that the twentieth century would be the Christian Century, the century in which the world would become Christian.¹⁶ It is well documented that this conference was overwhelmingly European, North American, and male. It was the vision of the conference that the European and North American mainline Protestant churches would be the protagonists to carry Christianity into the world. One of the difficulties of this assumption was that the European and North American missionary endeavor was riding on the wings of British imperialism, European colonialism, and American neocolonialism. Therefore, the gospel that missionaries