Los Evangélicos Portraits Of Latina O Protestantism In The United States.

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Pneuma 33 (2011) 109-169

Book Reviews

Juan F. Martínez and Lindy Scott, eds., Los Evangélicos: Portraits of Latina/o Protestantism in the United States. (Eugene, Ore.: Wipf & Stock, 2009). xxiii + 208 pp. $26.00 paper.

Teaching a new course always prompts the inevitable question of which textbooks are going to provide the best reading material for students. Te perfect book would be broad enough to cover the scope of the course’s subject matter, deep enough to contain a critical analysis of the major topics, recent enough to provide a current overview of the status of the ﬁeld of study, and brief enough so one does not feel like excessive punishment is being placed on students. To the chagrin of students, however, one often needs three or four books because the perfect book we are searching for does not exist. A recent search for a textbook led me to use Los Evangélicos not because it was the “perfect book,” but because it ﬁlled gaping holes other books failed to address in the history of Latina/o Religion.

In the prologue to this book, Justo González employs the image of a family photo album in order to establish the importance of understanding where we come from, which is the task of history. In reading the history of the Latina/o church, though, one ﬁnds missing pictures in the album. In a way, it is as if Latina/o Protestantism was like that unknown cousin who intermittently appears in albums, but no one really knows who she is; plenty of pictures of Latina/o Catholicism available, but only a selected few of the not-so-distant cousin. Yet, one could take it one step further and consider that in Protestant albums the pictures of Latina/o Evangelicals and Pentecostals are also missing. In their edited volume, Martínez and Scott provide us with some of those lost pictures, signiﬁcant portraits which tell the story of the progress, struggles and future of Latinas/os working within and outside the major Evangelical and Pentecostal denominations/movements.

In the ﬁrst part of the book, Martínez and Scott provide us with a collection of the lesser- known stories within Latina/o Protestantism. Martínez introduces the collection exploring the origins of the Latina/o Protestant movement in the southwestern region of the US. In itself, this is a valuable read for it traces the initial movements and expansion of Latina/o Protestants from the middle and up to the end of the nineteenth century, pinpointing along the way how and where the movement ﬂourished and listing some factors that limited its growth. In another portrait painted in this section (chapter 5), Scott presents the labor and struggle of Latina/os within the Evangelical Free Church of America as a microcosm of what is taking place in the US — the move toward a multicultural ministry that embraces diversity. Te other stories told are: the pioneering missionary work of Latina/o Baptists (chapter 2); the origins of Latina/o Pentecostalism (both Trinitarian and Oneness) set within the broader context of Pentecostalism in the US (chapter 3 and 4); and, the more

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Book Reviews / Pneuma 33 (2011) 109-169

recent tale of Ministerios Llamada Final (Last Call Ministries), a Spirit-led ministry which begun by the visionary work of a Guatemalan pastor, Otto René Azurdia (chapter 6). Another important aspect of this collection of essays is highlighted when one compares the book to a media album, which contains not only picture but also video, sound, and music. In the second part of the book, the editors provide us with diﬀerent images and voices that resonate with vividness and clarity as the challenges of Latina/o Protestantism in the US are presented. Martinez portrays the key issues and problems surrounding the migratory experience of Latina/o Protestants projecting the inherent challenges and poten- tial promise of acculturation (chapter 7).

Nora O. Lozano records some previously unheard voices by mixing together the strug- gles and accomplishments of Hispanic Baptist, Methodist, and Pentecostal women, whom she qualiﬁes as doubly invisible on account of race and gender (chapter 8). Other pieces included in this section are: a lively dramatic portrayal of the exploits and motivations of Pentecostal activist Reies Lopéz Tijerina (chapter 9); a rhythmic narration of the largely ignored and untapped power and depth of Latina/o Protestant hymnody (chapter 10); a prophetic border-oriented missiology set to the tone of practicality and relevance (chapter 11); and, an inspiring potpourri of the use of mass media in the expansion of Latina/o Protestantism (chapter 12).

In the ﬁnal analysis, then, would this book be the best source for covering the wide- ranging subject matter in the history of Latina/o Protestantism? Perhaps not, but then again, there is no textbook that could single-handedly provide the resources needed to teach a course in this ﬂourishing ﬁeld. In fact, the editors are consciously aware of this concern from the outset, for no panoramic history of Latina/o Protestantism yet exists. However, this book oﬀers a starting point for navigating the diversity of Latina/o Protestantism. What it lacks could easily be remedied by supplementation with speciﬁc readings which provide past and current portraits of the endeavors of Latinas/os within major denominations and move- ments (e.g., Latina/o Methodist and Presbyterian churches), cover other transplanted churches/movements which migrated to the US (e.g., Elim International), and attempt to write the undocumented histories of the ever-growing number of independent Latina/o churches, especially those of the Pentecostal and Charismatic tradition. Despite its limita- tions, though, it is the most complete history of Latina/o Protestantism available today. Yet, there is no reason to limit the potential use of this book to courses in Latina/o Prot- estantism, for it also serves to ﬁll the empty pages in the scrapbook of US Protestant church history. Tis book tells some of the untold stories not available in textbooks, which pretend to cover the story of US Protestantism. Given the growth of the Latina/o community and church in the US, the religious history of this nation can no longer aﬀord to keep these (or any other ethnic) portraits of the church family in separate albums. Tus, this book’s most signiﬁcant contribution is providing the greater album of church history with portraits which are not stagnant images of what life was like, but rather descriptive and engaging stories which wrestle with critical questions aﬀecting the global church today.

Reviewed by Sammy Alfaro

Assistant Professor of Christian Studies Grand Canyon University, Phoenix, Arizona [email protected]

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