Presbyterians in South America have a bad name, and rightfully so. The PC(USA)’s Presbyterian Mission Agency first landed in Bolivia in 1982. Since then, they have ‘planted’ a handful of churches (20 or so) around the country. By all accounts, they have incorporated classic colonial-era tactics in their missiology – heavy-handed with an arrogant and condescending disposition; withholding training from pastors, and dangling church buildings in front of the pastors to buy their allegiance. The horror stories of garden variety abuse by the Presbyterians abound – pastors offered a church, only to be later charged fees to use the building; bi-monthly dues to be paid to the ‘missionaries’ along with threats of physical violence. Perhaps the most disturbing is the ministerial and theological training used to entice these pastors, only to be told later that all of that is unnecessary – they don’t need training and education, they need to do as they are told. You can only imagine the reputation Presbyterianism has, after forty years of this, thanks to these ‘missionaries.’ Even with such abuse, many pastors still sign on with them. Granted, when they build a church, there’s usually a parsonage that is built with it, so they’re building not only churches, but homes for the pastors, all but insuring allegiance. If you cross the missionaries, you could not only lose your church, but your home as well.
My philosophy of ministry could not be anymore different. Missions is an extension of pastoral ministry – shepherding – albeit shepherding shepherds. My job is to equip pastors with what they need for faithful ministry, providing them with the tools necessary to be effective in their own ministries. I’ve provided many with complete electronic Spanish language theological libraries, spent countless hours shaping their views of pastoral ministry from the scriptures – all with no strings attached. My only goal is the flourishing of their church. I’ve raised the funds to cover the expenses and charged these pastors nothing.
I make no attempt to hide which ecclesial and theological distinctive I belong to, or why I believe it to be the most faithful to the Bible. Usually, I’ve been met with a mix of wonder and amusement. First, as another person of color, and second, that I do not come across as paternalistic or condescending. I have to go above and beyond to be winsomely Reformed, accessible, and inclusive; my goal is to be warm and engaging. After all, I am there to give them the benefit of my education and gifting. As such, I let them know I am a Reformed and confessional Presbyterian – just not the type they’ve been acquainted with. Because the only contact with Presbyterians they’ve had has been from the Presbyterian Mission Agency, they believe Presbyterianism in the United States to be a great uniform monolith and a single denomination. I have to explain to them that the Presbyterians they’ve come to know only represent a single Presbyterian denomination, and that there are in reality four additional Presbyterian denominations, each stemming from the one they’re acquainted with, but with broad theological distinctives. (At this point, to bring clarity, I have to go into a 60-year history lesson over the various denominational splits, and how it is that the PC(USA) managed to have the broadest footprint in Latin America.)
Without fail, a discussion will follow on the theology of the Reformation as well as the Presbyterian distinctives – from the Westminster Confession of faith along with the scriptures. This is done to contrast biblical Presbyterianism with the fraudulent Presbyterianism they’ve only known.
There have been brave pastors who have broken the ties with the PC(USA) missionaries, launching their own indigenous Presbyterian denomination, the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Bolivia. Right now, they consist of four churches, and I am actively working with them to develop their churches, raising leaders, and expand the scope of their ministries. There are other, evangelical churches, who’ve been monitoring the situation with the PC(USA) planted churches from a distance, aware of the strings attached, I’ve also begun to become acquainted with. Thus far, I’ve preached and been invited to speak in conferences at two of their churches, with one wanting to start discussions about joining the Presbyterian Church in Bolivia.
As I’ve stated before in other places, these pastors are not theologically inept. Nearly all of them hold some sort of Theology or Bible degree from various seminaries and Bible colleges; what they’ve not had or been exposed to is functional Presbyterianism, and this is what they get with me.
My goal isn’t necessarily to plant new churches, but rather plant presbyteries, bringing existing churches into the denomination and equipping them for faithful ministry. The thinking that an outsider can come into a new culture and just start something new is simply recycling the missionary failures of the past. This type of missions model typically results in little more than transplanting one culture on top of another, with the work either dying out completely or being significantly reduced after the missionary returns home or moves on. But if we simply equip the pastors, giving them the tools they need to flourish, they, in turn, will train the next generation of pastors who will go out and plant new churches.
