By Jeff Brumley and Kalie Lowrie
Hispanic Baptists and other Christians have so much to offer the American church and society that they must avoid the pitfalls of secularism and consumerism, Latino religious leaders say.
That was part of the message during the June meeting of the Convencion Bautista Hispana de Texas, which was hosted by Hyde Park Baptist Church in Austin.
And it’s the constant refrain in other settings, where Hispanic pastors see the potential gifts of their culture and faith eroded by the lure of materialism and comfort associated with their new host nation.
“Here in Central Florida, my competitor is Disney World, relaxing, consumerism and wanting to be in the air conditioning all the time,” said Ruben Ortiz, the pastor at La Primera Iglesia Bautista de Deltona, a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship church located about 30 miles north of Orlando, Fla.
‘Christ is our center’
That competition can also be summed up as “the American way of life,” Ortiz said.
The response he offers his congregation and other Hispanics is simple, he said: “Remember where you came from, remember your passion for Christ and remember your passion for the church.”
That was very close to the word preached to 1,529 attendees, including 487 messengers, during the Convencion Bautista Hispana de Texas.
Preaching from Matthew 16:13-19, Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, encouraged Hispanic Baptists to stand firm in their faith, not responding to questions about Jesus’ identity based on what culture suggests, but rather what the scriptures proclaim.
“If the church does not know who Jesus is, how will the world know who Jesus is?,” Rodriguez asked. “Do we know who Jesus is? How can we reach people for Christ if we do not know who He is?”
As believers and followers of Christ, “we are who we are because Jesus declared our identity,” he said. “His word defines us. Christ is our center.”
‘Another great gift’
It’s important that Hispanic Christians remember that their passionate approach to the faith can help restore and revive other wings of the American church, Ortiz said.
Hispanics “have a calling for and a need for evangelizing and a passion for connection,” he said. “That’s the DNA we bring from Latin America and South America.”
That fervor also manifests itself as a longing for communion with other Christians, regardless of denominational affiliation, he said. The common denominator is to be part of a movement of passionate Christians.
“And that can be very revitalizing for the church in America,” Ortiz said.
One way it could do that is by helping revive the small-group movement in the American church — a movement often impeded by Americans’ discomfort in opening their homes to strangers, Ortiz said.
However, that is an ingrained value in Hispanic communities.
“We have this great gift for the church in America,” he said.
Latino Christians also can help Americans by modeling racial unity. Ortiz said social struggles in Latin America are more about economics than ethnicity.
Strident denominational divisions also are rare in Central and South America, he said.
“Our message is if you came here as a Christian you belong, no matter what,” Ortiz said. “That is another great gift we are giving to the church in North America.”