The Feature by World Outspoken

On this bonus episode of the Mestizo Podcast, Emanuel sits down with last years Scholars in Residence to discuss their work for the year. They share about who they were listening to and how they were listening to serve.

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Have a question you want answered on the podcast? Leave us a message at 312-725-2995. Leave us a 30 second voicemail with your name, city, y pregunta and we’ll discuss it on the last episode of the season. You can also submit a question using the form on this page.

Merch: Whether you want a t-shirt, hoodie, baby onesie, journal, mug, or sticker, tenemos un poquito de todo. My favorite is the recently released "Product of Abuela's Prayers" crewneck, celebrating the theology we inherit from nuestras Abuelitas. Check out our New merch store by visiting our store.

Courses: Want to take courses that prepare you to face the challenges of doing ministry in the hyphen? Visit learn.worldoutspoken.com today and enroll in one of our newest courses.

Learn more about the SIR: Here is the link to the Scholar in Residence Program.

We are excited to share the story of Dr. Nathan Luis Cartagena, one of our new scholars-in-residence. Dr. Cartagena shares his testimony of faith, the migration journey of his family, and how he hopes to contribute to the World Outspoken community.

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More On Dr. Cartagena

A son of the US South (Mom/Madre) and Puerto Rico (Dad/Padre), I was born in Charleston, South Carolina and raised in Somerset, New Jersey. Both sides of my family have been committed Christians for generations. And both sides encouraged me to pursue my teaching gifts to edify the Church catholic. After finishing my PhD in philosophy at Baylor University, I became an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Wheaton College (IL), where I teach courses on race, justice, and political philosophy, and am a fellow in The Wheaton Center for Early Christian Studies. I serve as the faculty advisor for Unidad Cristiana, a student group working to enhance Christian unity and celebrate Latina/o cultures, and a co-host for the forthcoming podcast From the Underside. I am currently writing a book on Critical Race Theory with IVP Academic, and am excited to join World Outspoken as a scholar-in-residence committed to loving God and neighbor through my work for and from the Church. I look forward to contributing neighbor-loving resources through WOS.

We are excited to share the story of Dra. Itzel Reyes, one of our new scholars-in-residence. Dra. Reyes shares her testimony of faith, how language shapes the experiences of the marginalized, and how she hopes to contribute to the World Outspoken community.

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More On Dra. Reyes

As an academic from el barrio, I strive to engage in scholarly work that honors and gives visibility to my community. My identity as a U.S. Latina woman of faith and as a daughter of immigrants who was a first-generation college student and a teenage mother is an integral component of my academic formation. My faith drives my passion for justice as I seek to reveal the ways in which certain language ideologies are constructed to operate unjustly against our communities. My work acknowledges language as a powerful tool and promotes linguistic diversity in its different manifestations. Bicultural and bilingual identities are at the center of my work. I am a Spanish professor by vocation and truly enjoy teaching my family’s language as a second language, to students who might not have a strong background in Spanish, and as a heritage language, to Latina/o students who are relearning or enhancing their skills in their heritage tongue. These passions, understood from an academic and experiential perspective, will drive my contributions at World Outspoken.

Bienvenidos to The Feature, a podcast where we highlight individuals who are doing great work in the culture, bearing witness to the Kingdom, bringing about justice, or addressing a cultural change. In honor of Women’s History Month, we partnered with scholars Sito and Ina Esquilin to bring you the stories of two Latina ministry pioneers of the Hispanic church in the US. As second and third generation Latin@ church leaders, we need reminding of the rich heritage of faith and theology that was given to us by our abuelitas. To honor the legacy of these women, the following interviews are en Español. We hope that these stories will remind you to treasure the history of the brown church in the US.

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Introduction

Greetings, dear family! My name is Ina Esquilin. In this opportunity, I will be with my sister in the faith, Matilde Serrano. Who has become, lovingly, a grandmother figure to many in the fellowship of Assembly of God in Manhattan, of which I’m, currently, also a part. Our sister Matilde is an example worth following because, in spite of the adversities, she remains faithful to the Lord. In the 70s, after the death of her husband David Serrano, she moved to the big city, where she started a new phase of her life, as a single mother. Here, is where she helped her children grow, get an education, and become professionals. After her oldest son invited her to church, she gave her life to the Lord and that’s where the importance of this interview lies. From that moment on, the Lord has blessed her mightily. Four of her children became pastors of Assembly of God churches, while her other children help, not just the community in general, but mainly help the faith community by providing social services. Currently, our sister Serrano is a tremendous blessing because she shares her knowledge with humility and joy wherever she goes.

In times, such as the ones we are living in, with social distancing being our everyday norm now, it is refreshing to find a person who is always so willing to open her arms and, with everything she has in her heart, warmly embrace anyone she can reach.

Our sister, as a single mother, a Latina mother, a Christian mother, can show us it is possible to make a difference in this world, truly, passionately, and with longevity by believing in Christ.

Interview

I was born on September 5th, 1926, in the quaint small town known as Toa Alta in Puerto Rico.

We were a family of 7 siblings, 4 men and 3 women, of which only I remain alive; all my siblings went to be with the Lord.

I’m second to last among my siblings.

I grew up in a Christian environment but Catholic because my parents were Catholic.

I used to go to church, but I wasn’t really familiar with the Bible. In the Catholic church they didn’t teach much about the Word, but I always went to that church.

I realized that families went to church a lot; the fathers, the mothers, and all the children, they all went to church together. There was a lot of unity too, the neighbors always were willing to help, if one of them had something they would always share it with their neighbors. If anyone was sick, people would go to their house to help that person, if the lady of the house was sick, neighbors would go to her house and do the laundry, make the food, and clean her house for her. The environment was very nice, it was a community of unity and love.

My husband was a baseball player, he used to play with the double A class (AA). He was also a painter, carpenter, electrician, everything! He did it all! But one time he broke a foot and he couldn’t run anymore, because of this he couldn’t play baseball anymore. So then he focused on work, working as an electrician with my brother. He always said to me that maybe, some time, in the future, we were going to live, perhaps, in a better place; that God was going to give us a better life.

But for that moment, God was giving me everything I needed to live a quiet and content life. Living with my husband and my children, we were happy. He was a very good man, a very responsible father, and husband; he was good.

God gifted me 10 children.

All of my children were born there (in Puerto Rico). So once my husband died, my older children moved to the States to be able to help me. In 1970, they asked for me to be brought here with the rest of my children.

4 of my children are pastors. My son Luis was a pastor and chaplain for the New York police department — he went to be with the Lord. My son José, my son David and my son Ricardo are also pastors.

My son José is the pastor of the Jehova Jireh church, and my son David is the pastor of Tesalónica church, and my son Ricardo is the pastor of Tabernáculo de Gracia church. (13) I also have a granddaughter who is the pastor of a church in Florida.

When I and the rest of my children moved here, my son Luis already lived here and was married to his wife, Abigail. They both went to Macedonia church, and they brought all my other children and me, to that church. That’s where I found the Lord. At that time the pastors of that church were Reinaldo and Blanca Romero. They helped me so much in studying the Bible. They helped me so, so much! So that I would have a better life, because I was still a little sad since I was missing my husband so much. These pastors helped me understand that God was with me, that He was going to help me. They told me to be faithful to the Lord and that He was going to provide anything I could ever need, and that has been true in my life.

All of my children serve the Lord.

I believe they have seen me being faithful to God, as a testimony, how I’ve always been faithful to Him. I’ve taught them that the best way to live is being close to God, because He can help us! The same way he helped me when I became a widower, and He provided for me, and I never lacked anything. I always tell them that God is going to help them. They started going to church too, and little by little, they gave their lives to the Lord as well. Now they are all faithful to the Lord and serve him, all of them do.

I went to study in the Juan 3:16 Institute when sister Carmelia was the principal there.

My children were teachers in the institute too. My sons Luis and Ricardo were teachers at the institute. My son Jaime and my daughter Sonia also studied at the institute, and I also got to teach a class there. When I finished my 4th year, sister Carmelia allowed me to teach the Pauline epistles class. That’s what I was teaching for more than a year, after that I didn’t continue because I was taking care of my grandchildren, by then and I was also working here, in New York.

I worked for 10 years at a school; I was working as a teacher’s assistant.

Sister Carmelia always used to tell me: you have a gift, the gift of teaching! She always used to tell me that.

Well, what I always them is that they need to be faithful to the Lord. That’s my main advice to them, to always be faithful to God, to never stop being honorable and responsible. I tell them, “If God has given you a ministry, be responsible in that ministry God has given you!” And they truly are responsible. “Always go to church, teach your children in the ways of the Lord. Just like God has helped me, He is going to help each and every one of you too.” I tell all of them the same things, even the pastors. Because my son Luis and his wife, my son Ricardo and his wife, all of them are Christians, and all their families too. They all go to church with their children. Seeing them all, like a momma hen with their little chicks, that makes me so happy!

I am happy, but most of all thankful to the Lord. That’s the first thing for me. I thank God for everything He’s done with my family. Every day I tell Him: “Lord, my words are not enough to thank you for so many blessings you have given me and my family!” And my prayer is always, “Lord, cover each one of my children, my grandchildren, and my great-grandchildren with your protection!” I pray for each one of them every day. I keep on placing them in God’s hands. That is the happiness that has allowed me to live for so many years because my children make me happy. They buy for me everything I may need; they visit me, they are very good to me. I believe that is what has kept me alive all these years, their love for me.

I would like to see a change in this world. I would like to see people being better people, and more love and unity in this world. A lot of times I feel a little sad because I don’t know why people’s love has grown colder, like the Bible says it would. One of my goals is to reflect love in the lives of the people I know. Even in those that I don’t know, I just want to see that— more love in this world, more unity.

I’m constantly praying, not just for my family, I pray for the whole world. I always tell God, “Lord, rebuke this pandemic, rebuke it in the whole world!” I know that there has been a lot of sadness and so much death. That’s why I’ve been asking God, I always pray, at all times of the day, and that’s what I ask God now, for this pandemic to disappear.

I would tell them to draw closer to God, to walk away from those things that can harm them. There’s a saying that goes “whoever leans on a good tree would be covered by a good shade” That’s the saying that my dad taught me when I was little. What I’m saying is that you should look for people that will help you, instead of people who will harm you. One should always follow the path of goodness and not the bad path. If we take the wrong path we will stray. If we follow the right path, we’ll see that God will help us, that God is there! God is always waiting for us to talk to Him, to ask Him for anything. Because He always gives us everything we want as long as it’s something beneficial for us.

I always say that we should draw near God and seek him more, walking away from things that can damage us.

Always look for places that won’t harm us and people who will help us. Anyone who is feeling depressed or sad, look for someone who can help you. A pastor, or a mentor, an older person, a relative, someone who can help, but seek that help. Nowadays, people who don’t see help end up doing whatever they think is best, but it’s always better to find help.

The first thing I do if I have a problem, whatever it might be, is to seek God. That’s the first thing I do, ask “Lord, tell me what I should do, how should I do it, and when should I do it. Help me, Lord! Because I can’t do it on my own.” You know, every time I’ve had a problem, like you said, or when I’ve felt sad, or whatever, I run to God, and I see that the answer is there. There, at that moment, when I seek God, it is like a little green light turns on in my mind and shinning light on me and telling me what I have to do. That always happens to me.

I tell my children the same, sometimes they come to me, and they tell me, “Mom, look, this thing happened, what do you think I should do?” I answer, “Well, first we must seek God!” and I start thinking, and I say, “Wait! Do this thing!” Like in that moment, God tells me what I have to tell them they should do. God puts the answer in my mind, I’ve come to notice that, so God tells me, and I tell them what they should do. That is why I feel so thankful to God.

For example, I have lost tings, like my glasses, or money or something, and I can’t find it, and I go, “Oh my God! I lost this thing!” “Lord, I don’t know where it is, but You do! Please, Holy Father, tell me where the thing is, guide me!” and I start thinking for a while, and all of a sudden, it comes to my mind! Like God telling me, “look in this place,” and I go there and there it is, what I’ve been looking for! “Thank you, Lord, Thank you! Thank you!” that’s all I can say to Him.

I’m trusting, oh Lord, in You. I remember when my son was sick, I kept saying, “I’m trusting in You, Lord!” because we have to trust in Him.

That one (hymn) that says, “You are faithful, Lord, so faithful to me”? That one, right?

“Even though I’m weak, I am trusting, oh Lord, in you!” My whole life I’ve trusted God.

I want to tell you something before you go, you know which one is my favorite Bible verse? It’s Psalm 37:25 “I have been young and now I’m old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.”

Interview host Ina B. Esquilín is a Master’s Degree candidate at Gordon-Conwell Seminary and a credentialed minister with the Spanish Eastern District of the Assemblies of God. Esquilín’s interests are missiology, music, teaching and health and wellness within the Latinx Pentecostal Church.

Researcher R. L. Ortiz, Jr. (Sito) is a PhD candidate at Regent University, an adjunct professor at New York Theological Seminary & an ordained minister with the Spanish Eastern District of the Assemblies of God. Ortiz’ research interests are the genesis and development of 20th century Latinx Pentecostalism on the east coast of the United States and contemporary renewal movements within New York City.

How can the Church thrive even in times of crisis? Roadblocks are nothing new to the Venezuelan church. In fact, they have been ministering through national crisis for years. We recently interviewed Pastor Jose Hernandez to ask how his pastoral ministry has developed as the layers of crises grew in his context. There is much we can learn more about how to minister from our Venezuelan brothers and sisters. The interview is partially in Spanish, but the conversation that follows is edited and condensed version that can be read in English.

Question 1- Introduction

Hi! How are you guys doing? My name is Pastor Jose Hernandez. My family is doing well, thank God, although we are currently in quarantine. We’re just trying to take safe precautions, that’s our motto around here.

Question 2- Profile

I’ve been pastoring Centro Evangelistico Peniel (CEP) for 4 decades. Prior to being a pastor at CEP, I was an itinerant evangelist for 7 years. After my time as an evangelist, my wife, Esther, and I planted CEP.

At first CEP was a community of believers that organized a series of evangelistic gatherings in Valencia, Venezuela in order to start a church and they invited me to come to preach. During the course of these gatherings, the organizers begged me to stay as their Lead Pastor because they had not found one yet (lol). It’s been a while and they still haven’t been able to find another Lead Pastor so I’ve stayed. Thus, I’ve been pastoring CEP since 1981; a church that has been influential in our city and a church community that has done a great job in developing pastors and ministries.

Question 3- La Crisis

The Venezuelen humanitarian crisis dubbed, ‘La Crisis’, has been in effect for a number of years now. Interestingly, ‘La Crisis’ helped both pastors and the church mature in Christ, but we must understand the dimensions of the crisis. First of all, ‘La Crisis’ has everything to do with political ideology. When the current governing authorities came into power, they entered a capitalist form of government but made it their agenda to install communist form of government. This created polarization between those who sympathized with the government and those who opposed the government; even between pastors and therefore the church. The tension was so tense in the church that many churches in Venezuela divided. Thus, pastors became a sort of ‘referees’ between both sides. That was our initial experience with ‘La Crisis’. Second, the conflicting worldviews of ‘La Crisis’ brought forth much societal strife, which impacted the economy. Because it impacted our economy, Venezuela then entered a humanitarian crisis.

In the midst of ‘La Crisis’, our church made many adjustments to our work. First, we had to adjust our worship services. For example, we used to have multiple services throughout the week, but now we only have 2 worship services. As a matter of fact, we have had to reschedule the days and times of our services. Another adjustment we had to make was in regards to the way we did discipleship. Our discipleship method used to be more centralized; we used to have discipleship classes offered on 2 different campuses. However, we had to decentralize these classes. Our people could no longer access our building due to the absence of public transportation. Furthermore, if public transportation was running, prices were too high to afford because the sector was experiencing an economic deficit. Hence, we’ve had to adjust in order to survive.

Although ‘La Crisis’ has impacted the church severely, it has not stopped the work that God has called us to do in Venezuela. This is very important to highlight because since ‘La Crisis’, the church in Venezuela has done more than ever before.

Question 3b-Ministry at CEP

CEP has been a church that has experienced significant growth. When we first planted CEP, we had 1 pastor, a leadership board, and the congregation. Later we grew into having a pastor, a volunteer ministry staff, and the congregation. Now my wife and I serve as lead pastors, we have a pastoral team, a leadership team, a volunteer ministry staff, and we have the congregation. This is to say that our leadership structure has grown as the congregation has grown.

The ministry philosophy of CEP can be summed up in one word: care. We believe that growth must give a great amount of attention to caring for the holistic needs of one’s humanity. This means we care for the family unit too: young adults, children, women, men, and youth. Up until this point, I’ve been speaking about our ministry within the church.

We also have ministry from the church to our wider community. We call this initiative, “The Church Outside the Walls.” This initiative does everything from street evangelism to creative intercessory campaigns; praying with the community and for the city. Also, CEP provides food for hospitals and jornada integrales in the poorest neighborhoods of our city [jornadas integrales are outreach fairs that include food distribution, medical help, evangelism, performances, and prayer]. In addition to this, we do cross-cultural missions to places in Venezuela that have indigenous/native populations.

Question 4- COVID-19 in Venezuela

To be sure, the COVID-19 pandemic has created chaos in Venezuela. It has produced significant changes in our context. Obviously the church has not been able to escape the realities of this pandemic. We are currently ordered to practice social distancing and to be in quarantine [per the government] to the degree that the church has not been able to gather in the same way as before. As of right now, our public worship services have been canceled. We are still wrestling with the prolongation of our canceled in-person services.

In facing this crisis, one of the essential practices that we’ve developed as a church is prayer. If there is 1 good motivation that has developed through this pandemic, it’s a motivation for prayer. And I’m not just saying this for just CEP, I am also noticing this among my pastoral colleagues and their churches. I’ve even noticed this motivation to pray on social media. So I would say that this has been amazing because this means the church is winning and will ultimately be victorious through this process of suffering.

The other essential practice we’ve had to adopt is to stay connected through social media as a church community. However, this is difficult because we have internet connection that is extremely slow and is unreliable. Yet we are doing everything we can to make things work.

Question 4b- Pastoral Development in Venezuela

My pastoral formation came about more than 40 years ago, and I’ve lived through various turning points in CEP and through various turning points in Venezuela’s history. With that said, I think pastoral formation must include a keen awareness of their particular social context. What I am about to say is different from when I was training for pastoral ministry. Current pastoral training must take into account that our pastoral theology remains, but our theology must work itself with a high capacity to engage sociological themes. More specifically, pastors need to know how to engage new ideas pertaining to sexuality and the breakdown of the family. Nowadays we need to put much emphasis on the character of the minister and integrity because we live in a world that is extremely broken. Furthermore, society can only be transformed if we have pastors that are holy and that really challenge hell.

Question 5- Ministry Practice in COVID-19

What I think is playing the greatest role in the church in Venezuela right now is social media. Social Media has helped us cultivate relationships even though we are not able to hold public services. In terms of church structure, every pastor is assigned a group of ministry leaders to provide oversight and care; every ministry leader has leaders under them; and then there are congregants. In this format, the lead pastor, which is me- Jose Hernandez, sends voice messages through Whatsapp that can be passed down through the chain… you know, these past few days I’ve been thinking about what I call, “Floaters.” I refer to “Floaters” as folks who are not as engaged with the church and more of Sunday attenders. These are the sheep that concern me the most. However, I’m glad because we have been able to connect with our cell groups via their leaders on social media platforms like Whatsapp. [Cell groups from CEP exist all over the city of Valencia.] So this is what we are doing to stay connected relationally.

The other thing I’m doing is preaching via live stream on Youtube, Facebook, and Instagram. I do this to orient people toward God, to teach God’s Word, to edify and to motivate. And this actually helps with relationship building because it helps us to mobilize our evangelistic efforts. As a matter fact, I was recently speaking to our church leaders via Zoom. I told them the church buildings are closed, but the church is still open, which means that the church is still speaking. Frankly, there is a voice that is speaking and that’s the voice of the church- the voice of every man and woman- that is speaking about Jesus in one way or another. We are preaching about the signs of the times, how we should live, and about deliverance from these times. That’s evangelism to the degree that the church preaches the Gospel to the greatest dilemmas of the world.

Hence, I believe that the church will come out strengthened because our leadership is already seeing it. We’ve heard from our ministry leads and cell groups that many people are coming closer to Jesus. Some have even placed faith in Jesus! Others have asked for prayer. What I’m saying is that the church is alive and active; praying, caring for one another, and preaching the Word of God.

Question 6- Lessons from Venezuela

Attempting to teach something to the brothers and sisters in America requires some good analysis and evaluation. Surely, it's one thing to speak of learning theology or evangelism, topics the church in the US played a role in shaping for the evangelical churches in Venezuela, given that we’ve received American missionaries for years. But, we are talking about ‘La Crisis’ and what it can teach Americans. Honestly, the situations are different, given that we have different cultures; Americans and just different than Venezuelans. Still, there is something that can be learned from us for the Americans.

For instance, speaking of cultural differences, the Venzuelan is very empathetic. We are a close people. We like to establish relationships, and enjoy a good deal of physical contact. This characterizes us. On the other hand, Americans seem to be more distant; they are not as interested in close contact. Maybe I am wrong, but that’s what I have seen during my visits. And, well, in a situation like this pandemic, where believers cannot meet in-person for their worship service, one of the main points of contact, American believers may have a harder time losing their main point of contact. But, for us, we hunt for ways to further connect because we are used to reaching out when we miss contact. So, when we see each other via zoom, social media, or these other social platforms, that generates great joy. When people write us or reach out, there is an expectation, an anticipation, of the contact that is coming. I think, if there is something we can project from our culture as a lesson for Americans, it is the need to grow in empathy - be friendlier, be closer, more communicative. I think that is important and it is something the American church can do. You guys depend a lot on the meeting for your only contact. I think this will be good. I think it will bring good in that it will develop closeness and empathy for your church.

So, how has ‘La Crisis’ prepared us? Well, it forced us, as I mentioned, went through some hard things that pressed us to change service schedules, our teaching styles, etc. When this pandemic came, we felt prepared to go through it, given all the changes we’ve made in the past. We have 20 years of economic, social, and public crisis. I’ve reminded my pastoral leaders, we are ready for this.

Question 6b- Lessons from the Past

I think my colleagues in the US should learn from this crisis to be more personal in their pastoral ministry, to get closer to the people. Sometimes there is a distance between the pastor and people caused by the pulpit, so sometimes we become distant pastors. I believe pastors should be as close to the people as possible. This is what we’ve learned from Christ’s ministry. Today more than ever, the pastor should be an open, close person. I imagine this isn’t possible for every member at the church, particularly for larger congregations, but at minimum, the pastor should be close to his leaders and empathetic with them because this will inspire them to be likewise with the rest of the congregation. And this is absolutely necessary given the way society works today. With all the different crises, growing loneliness, the fear of the future … today more than ever, people need both spiritual and emotional support. The pastor is an important figure that can bring that kind of help to people.

Obviously, this crisis has also changed the way we sing, the way we worship. I believe the content of the music that we are commonly singing today is mostly about adoration - by which I mean the recognition of who God is and the expression of our profound need for His presence. The other theme that comes up frequently is the theme of prayer because, of course, that is our greatest need. These make sense because they reflect our greatest need: to get close to the God who can do all things, confess Him to be the one who can do all things, and ask, from the depths of our hearts, for Him to intercede in the things we need to resolve this situation. The theological themes we’ve been preaching from the pulpit, even before the pandemic because of our other crises, has been the theme of hope and peace.

May we preach, sing, and provide hope and peace to churches and communities both in Venezuela, the US, and the globe.

Looking back at 50 years of ministry, Tim Keller says this about the Western church: “While many Christian leaders were bemoaning the cultural changes, Western churches continued to minister as before – creating an environment in which only traditional and conservative people would feel comfortable … All they preached and practiced assumed they were still in the Christian West, but the Christian West was vanishing.”[1] The church got stuck moving to the same rhythms, singing the same songs, year after year until the world around them no longer understood the melody. Today, as non-Hispanic whites already are less than 50 percent of the youth population in 632 of America’s 3,142 counties, worship leaders like Sandra Van Opstal introduce us to The Next Worship.

This is not about updating the playlist for relevancy or belittling the old hymn. It is about worship that captures the full picture of God’s Church, His mestizo people. How do we worship God in a diverse world? Should a monocultural church really sing songs in different languages? What forms of leadership do we need to make the diversity of the Church plain in our context? What if we don’t have the musicians to pull this off? We explore these questions and more with your host Emanuel Padilla and our guest, author Sandra Maria Van Opstal.

I was recently in Israel touring the historical sites. Early in the trip, my guide asked, “It’s violent there, right?” when I said I was from Chicago. To think, across the world, in a place marked by conflict and decades of war, my guide – who had never visited the city – still imagined Chicago to be a dangerous and undesirable home. Apparently, this story of Chicago is everywhere, but what happens when a group of young girls decide to tell a new story of the city? What happens when they take the broken shards left by violence and restore them to beauty? What does that make the city? What does that make them?

On this episode of The Feature we sat down with Hannah Olson, the director of Arise Creations, to hear stories of what drew her to Chicago, what keeps her here, and how a jewelry making program is changing the story of her neighborhood. She tells us about the urban hope necklace and the girls who make them. She introduces us to a beauty that emerges from the violence of the city.

In 2015, over one million refugees arrived to Greece, a country roughly the size of Alabama. Just 16,000 kilometers from Turkey, Greece is a gateway for refugees escaping oppressive governments, life-threatening crises, and violent conflicts in their home countries. Upon arrival, however, they are confronted by the reality of a crippled economy and a limited infrastructure that cannot meet basic needs like food, housing, and medical attention. And things only became more strained as the refugee crisis reached new heights. According to recent UN estimates, there are 22.5 million refugees globally. In a country like Greece, the solutions had to come from somewhere beyond government aid programs.

In light of these realities, the evangelical community responded with remarkable speed. On today’s episode of The Feature we have a conversation with Matt Gulley, the director of Mercy Ministries, and discuss how his team responded by establishing hospitality centers, in some cases even having refugees in their homes. In 2018 alone, Mercy Ministries served more than 40,000 meals and provided medical services to 2,500 people.

One Mercy Ministries staffer wrote, “The trauma of escaping from war and conflict-torn countries brings people to Greece with a great desire for a new way of life.” In this episode, you’ll also here from Masoud Gormani. Masoud is from Afghanistan and his story is an inspiration. You’ll only hear parts of it referenced in our conversation since this was recorded during the Anastasi conference. Masoud escaped Afghanistan after seeing the threat radical groups presented to his family; he fled to Turkey. Not long after, he realized his family was still not safe, so they got on a boat for Greece. During the voyage, his son nearly drowned, so when he arrived in Greece, he was desperate. Christians attached to Mercy Ministries took him and his family in. When he realized they were believers, Masoud said he was alarmed. Being a Muslim, he’d heard stories of how Christians demanded conversion in exchange for their aid, but these believers demanded nothing. They cared for his family. Offered meals; taught him Greek. After months, he knew they had Bible studies and prayed before meals, but they never required this of him. Eventually, his curiosity about this led him to ask why nothing was demanded in exchange for their help. They shared the story of Jesus and now Masoud is a believer and pastor of a refugee church showing the same hospitality that was once shown to him.

Crises like these force the Christian community to wrestle with the connection between the gospel and human needs. One Greek pastor, writing about the movements in Athens, saw two types of responses from the church. He wrote, “At one end of the spectrum is the fundamentalist trend, which views the refugees chiefly as objects of evangelism, only to be clothed or fed if it leads to an opportunity to share the gospel. At the other end is the social gospel trend, which views sharing bread already as sharing Christ and considers verbal gospel proclamation unnecessary and even undesirable.”

What you are about to hear is a conversation with Masoud and Matt on this question. This was recorded during our time in Greece at the Anastasi conference, so you’ll hear some ambient sounds and some fluctuations in our voices. We apologize about that in advance, and we’re confident the conversation will still be enriching. In a world needing a story that makes the city whole, Matt and Masoud share compelling testimonies of integration, hospitality, and grace.

If you would like to financially partner with Mercy Ministries, please follow this link:

https://hellenicministries.org/give

For more information or ways to get involved please send us an email at [email protected].

There is a short film about a young, Dominican man named Miguel “Sugar” Santos who moves to Iowa to play in the minor leagues. He dreamed the dream of many young Caribbean-Latino young men; all he wanted was to be a professional baseball player. However, the movie highlights the challenges of being an international player, and the ending is a bleak reality-check of the more likely outcome. Sugar never makes it big, and the audience last sees him playing pickup baseball in an amateur league. Few “Sugars” make it to the minor leagues, and even fewer make it into the MLB. Because of this, some people question Major League Baseball’s relationship with Latin-American countries like the Dominican Republic. Is the MLB good for Latin America?

We had the opportunity to sit down with Joel Araujo, an MLB executive responsible for international player development, to discuss his work overseas. Joel is himself Dominican-American, and his work reflects his commitment to the growth of baseball AND the health of the countries he serves. In the video below (in Spanish), Joel shares his vision for players who become healthy, whole, and active citizens whether they make it to “the Show” or not. Joel is a bridge-builder, a link between two worlds that brings flourishing to both. Listen to this week’s podcast and watch the video below to learn more about Joel’s work supporting the countries he serves.

Joel Araujo is the senior manager of Major League Baseball’s International Talent Development Department where he leads the group’s talent development efforts abroad. Since joining MLB in 2008, he has been involved with nearly every aspect of international baseball operations, from contracts and visas to winter leagues and international talent procurement. He founded the Major League Baseball Amateur Prospect League, which gives Dominican prospects a weekly opportunity to showcase their talents before officials from all 30 MLB Clubs, and the first-ever MLB Elite Development Program for Puerto Rican high school players. He now oversees MLB's Elite Baseball Development Programs in Brazil, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Curacao and South Africa. Araujo also established the MLB International Showcase, an annual event which allows Clubs to view and evaluate the best international amateur talent on the market, as well as the Coach Development Program, a two-week course that trains coaches from around the globe so that they can better develop players in their home countries. MLB now holds multiple showcases in various countries each year (some of which are attended by upwards of 300 Club scouts), and over the last four years, more than 500 coaches from 30 different countries across four continents have completed the coaching curriculum. He continues to work to expand MLB’s baseball development efforts into new markets.

A recent Metropolis article opened by asking, “If Jesus were alive today, would he be a property developer?” The question is being asked by a writer who is recognizing the Church’s behavior as a reflection of Jesus’ character. Because churches are partnering with developers to create new places of worship and community service, the writer identified this as a potential testimony of who Jesus would be today. It isn’t clear if this writer fully grasps the implications of what she asked, but her question says something about the work of gospel-preaching and ministry. To quote another journalist, “Shouldn’t it be our moral responsibility to finally make it our city's top priority to aggressively rebuild parts of [the city] that in some ways our city leaders have had a hand in helping destroy?”[1]

Dr. A.R. Bernard and his congregation have answered yes to this second question, choosing to address the gentrification of Brooklyn, New York with an astonishing development plan. In partnership with a developer and working with the city’s existing policies, the Christian Cultural Center is working an aggressive plan to build an 11-acre Urban Village equipped with a performing arts center, local retailers, affordable housing, and everything necessary for a walkable community. The project, an estimated $1.2 billion endeavor, will begin as early as next year. Speaking at the 100 Cities Summit, Dr. Bernard said this about the project:

“In cities like New York, there is gentrification taking place. Gentrification could be racial, it could be economic. For us it is economic. Individuals who are working class or in a certain income range are being squeezed out. We wanted to respond by creating affordable housing. We didn’t want to do what has typically been done over the last 70, 80 years in America and that is warehousing people with one income, which perpetuates poverty and perpetuates inner city condition.”[2]

We sat down with Dr. Bernard to discuss the Urban Village, asking him about the way the project developed for the church, how they chose their partnerships, and how this project could be replicated. At a fundamental level, this church is making something new of the city, choosing to shape a large section in response to the broken structures of New York and as a testimony of the kind of community that is promised in Scripture. In this way, the Urban Village is a new World Outspoken, a story told in concrete buildings that point to what Jesus is doing in the city. Listen to the podcast to learn more.

A.R. Bernard enjoyed a successful career in finance before opening a small storefront church in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. From a handful of members the church has blossomed into the Christian Cultural Center (CCC), one of America’s fastest-growing churches with 40,000 members.

Considered by many to be the most influential and respected Christian in America, A.R. Bernard has been featured on Fox News, CNN, NBC’s Today, MSNBC, CBS News, and BET — and has his own weekly show on Daystar TV. Revered as the “Power Pastor” by The New York Times, Pastor Bernard was recently a guest on Oprah Winfrey’s SuperSoul Sunday, where he discussed his bestselling book, Four Things Women Want from a Man.

[1] Mark Konkol, “Rahm Is Right: We Have a Moral Obligation To Save City From Itself,” DNAinfo.com, November 05, 2015, Accessed December 16, 2015, http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20151105/auburn-gresham/mayor-emanuel-is-right-we-have-moral-obligation-save-city-from-itself.

[2] “AR Bernard’s Brooklyn Megachurch to Build $1.2 Billion Housing Community to Address Gentrification,” accessed December 28, 2018, https://www.christianpost.com/news/ar-bernards-brooklyn-megachurch-to-build-12-billion-housing-community-to-address-gentrification.html.