Currents in Theology and Mission

A Drop in the Bucket

Barbara K. Lundblad — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0600

Preaching Helps submitted by colleagues of our readers for the weeks from January 5 through March 30.

Embodying La Fiesta

Patricia Cuyatti-Chavez — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0600

“Embodying La Fiesta: A Tribute” is a way to delve into the treasures José David Rodríguez and Javier (Jay) Alanis have given us through their ministerial and educational work. José and Jay taught, wrote, and led learning processes with a relational and community perspective, which the present article celebrates. From the centrality of their communities, José and Jay have engaged other people and communities to continue developing theology and ministries “En conjunto”—together. These conjoint efforts have nurtured people to serve in different capacities in churches and faith organizations.

Confessing the Faith in Spanglish

Carmelo Santos — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0600

This essay celebrates the theological contributions of professors José David Rodríguez and Javier “Jay” Alanís to Lutheran theology. From José, among many other things, we are reminded that the Christian faith is not merely a set of intellectual beliefs held in the privacy of one’s individual thoughts but rather it is meant to be confessed as a way to bear witness to the gospel. In order to do this, Rodríguez reminds us of a deep Lutheran conviction that sometimes is forgotten, namely the centrality of the vernacular. When the faith is confessed in the vernacular people can receive it in the language of their heart, but new dimensions of the gospel message are also revealed that in turn enrich the larger church. From Alanís we learn about his journey with migrants crossing the borderlands between Mexico and the U.S. He explains that such third space is an epiphanic space where the Holy One is revealed as one who walks with the people, loving them with the deep affection of a parent. Thus, Jay lifts up the Spanish name “Diosito” to convey that affection and intimacy. In the journey accompanying each other through the desert, like the disciples on their way to Emmaus, not only is the Holy One revealed but also the indelible image that we all bear, namely the image of God. It is that conviction, that we all bear the image of God, that grounds the sense of dignity of the migrant Latino community which is often vilified and marginalized. The contributions of José and Jay to Lutheran theology are important and ought to be celebrated and communicated to the wider church.

Theological Education en Español

Francisco Javier Goitia Padilla — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0600

This article explores the situation of theological education in the United States, with attention to the ELCA theological network, and drafts a latines contribution as we envision the future. Using Martin Luther’s understanding of the vernacular and relating it inductively to his Puerto Rican identity, the author relates the colonial nature of the Western canon of knowledge and its use of power to the U.S. theological education system. The article proposes a latines way of going forward that is “collaborative, pluriversal, communion-oriented, postcolonial, diverse and inclusive.” It relates theological education en español with José David Rodríguez’ understanding of theology as a praxis en conjunto.

Ambidextrous Leadership

Ruben Duran — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0600

Abstract: The teaching of Dr. Martin Luther’s Two Kingdoms Theory is resurging with greater clarity and relevance at a crucial time in the life of a church experiencing decline and disconnection from its surrounding communities. A historical misunderstanding has been to think of these two kingdoms as basis for the separation of church and state. Dr. Nessan asserts that this teaching refers to the struggle between the forces of God’s Kingdom and the kingdom of evil. And God uses God’s right and left hands as two divine strategies to overcome evil and bring in the Kingdom. God works in and through the church and God works in and through civic society. God is ambidextrous.

Dr. Duran illustrates this teaching through the life and ministry of two dear colleagues, Dr. José David Rodríguez, and Dr. Jay Alanis. And, with gratitude for their ambidextrous leadership, he calls on all church leaders to experience greater vitality and capacity for ministry by participating in the actions of the right and left hands of an ambidextrous God.

Baptism á la Chilaquil

Eliseo Pérez Álvarez — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0600

This essay argues that the original baptismal formula of Gal 3:26-28 has been “the great omission” throughout the Westernized version of Christianity. Nevertheless, it is the author's conviction that this formula, enfleshed in communal practices (Acts 2, 4) of Jesus' movement is interpreted koinonia in non-dichotomous spiritual and material realms.

From the metaphysical interpretation of “the great commission” (Matt 28:19), baptism was undermined from its horizontal imperatives imbricated in class, race, gender, cultural, and geopolitical oppressions. The port of departure of this essay is the naming of a myriad of dividing social “isms,” and the port of arrival is the Reign of God of equality and diversity here and now.

Theology and the Church in a Populist Era

Guillermo Hansen — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0600

The logic, discourse and practices of right-wing populism in the U.S. are characterized by a “thin ideology” which is parasitic on religious preexisting narratives and practices. Populism depends on thicker “host ideologies,” and in its capacity to tap into unconscious root metaphors. Evangelical Christianity, which has structured its discourse around the metaphor of the “strict-father” serves the right-wing populist agenda by providing it with moral traction and “thickness.” This collusion must be contested not just through a progressive political ideology, but a critical theology centered on the biblical “nurturing” root metaphors that may contribute to a different conceptual and axiological framing. This new horizon presents a creative challenge for Lutheranism to correct the instabilities of the so-called doctrine of the two regiments with its mixture of authoritarian and nurturing metaphors.

My Journey with Liberation Theology

Craig L. Nessan — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0600

This article is written to honor Javier Alanis and José David Rodríguez in recognition of their lifetime contributions to Latiné ministry and the mission of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The author reflects on his introduction to Latin American liberation theology and engagement through doctoral study in Germany. The method of liberation theology has been a source of creativity for global theology, including in North America and Europe, and for Lutheran theology. The article concludes with consideration of the significance of Our Lady of Guadalupe for the Lutheran tradition.

From Origins to the Table

Rafael Malpica Padilla — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0600

Catherine M. LaCugna argues that the doctrine of the Trinity is a “doctrine for the life of the church.” This article explores the movement and dance within the Trinity as constitutive for our human experience and its implications for God’s mission to the world. In these very divisive times, reflecting on the journey from our origins to the table offers us the opportunity to explore the contours of a relational ontology that drives us into a future of hope.

On the Inadequacy of Personal Sin

Stephen D. Morrison — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0600

This article reflects on the inadequacy of a strictly personal definition of sin. It is a concept that no longer speaks in our present situation, plagued by systemic injustices, such as climate change, inequality, and global neoliberalism. The author reflects on religious trauma, soteriology, escapism, cheap hope, and the radical hope of resurrection. The vital question today is: What does the gospel mean for the systemic injustices of our time?

In Remembrance...

Larry Laine, Diane Laine — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0600

These evocative poems reflect experiences, thoughts, and emotions at the death of a daughter and sister. These poems of grief, love, and reconciliation were written over a period of months following her death.

Book Reviews January 2025

Craig L. Nessan, Troy M. Troftgruben — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0600

Book Reviews are provided for select works of interest to the readers; they are submitted by our readers.

Introduction to the Issue

Kathleen D. Billman, Rafael Malpica Padilla — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0600

Biographical Sketches of Rodríguez and Alanis