From Brazil
Aug
14
Written by:
Saturday, August 14, 2010
The last few days I have been in Brazil, working with Pastor Eduardo Rosa Pedreira, James Bryan Smith, and CJ Fox (The Aprentis Institute) on the efforts of Renovaré Brazil. As a result I have a few reflections about the intentional spiritual formation movement and Renovaré here in Brazil . . .
The last few days I have been in Brazil, working with Pastor Eduardo Rosa Pedreira, James Bryan Smith, and CJ Fox (The Aprentis Institute) on the efforts of Renovaré Brazil. As a result I have a few reflections about the intentional spiritual formation movement and Renovaré here in Brazil.
Beginning. While to be sure lots of good churches are doing lots of good work connected with spiritual formation and discipleship here in Brazil, in large part what Renovaré cares about has not been pursued. This is the opinion of Pastor Eduardo and is apparent in the literature available—there are very few of the historic devotional classics in print—and the conference resources—most of these have to do with Christian leadership and the prosperity gospel. The “spiritual formation concept,” as Pastor Eduardo puts it, is "new" here in Brazil, and Renovaré Brazil is in a position to lead this conversation in ways that Renovaré USA could not in its early years. Rightly so, Renovaré USA spent its first 20 years developing resources to nurture the conversation rather than primarly creating forums for it, and these resource are something from which Renovaré Brazil will benefit now.
Church. The church groupings in Brazil are quite similar to the United States, with Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, and Mainline expressions. In size, Roman Catholic is the largest, closely followed by Pentecostal, and with Mainline by far the smallest group. Presently there is very little conversation between these communions, something with which Renovaré Brazil can help even though it is being founded with primarily Mainline contacts (Pastor Eduardo is an ordained Presbyterian minister). Also of note is that here in Brazil the large part of the Mainline church expressions—Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, etc.—in the United States would be considered “Evangelical.” It seems there is comparatively little theological liberalism in Brazil.
Contextualtization. One of the challenges and opportunities for Renovaré Brazil will be contextualizing the Renovaré content for its setting. For instance, because Brazil is less affluent than the United States and yet nearly as big—in geographic size, nearly identical; in population size, just short of 200 million—it will not be able to count on a sizable conference ministry to spread the message, as did Renovaré USA. Instead, Pastor Eduardo is working through a 3-year mentorship program for 35 pastors, with meetings every six months. The hope is these pastors will embrace the Renovaré principles, incarnate them in their communities, and then provide leadership through other mentorship groups throughout the country. This is but one example of the ways Pastor Eduardo and Renovaré Brazil are taking the values and ideas represented by Renovaré and using appropriate models to spread them in the Brazilian context.
Accomplishment. Since becoming a Renovaré international expression in late 2007, Renovaré Brazil has already established the pastors mentorship group mentioned above, held a number of local events, established contact with seminaries, and become connected in other relational ways. Pastor Eduardo has also established a significant partnership with Editoria Vida publishers, which has led to the translation of many Renovaré (Rios de água viva, Clássicos Devocionais, Experimentando o profundo amor de Deus) and Richard Foster (Celebração da disciplina, A liberdade da simplicidade, Oração: o refúgio da alma, Sedentos por Deus Os sete caminhos da devoção cristã) titles. With Vida as the publisher, Pastor Eduardo has rewritten A Spiritual Formation Workbook (Jornada de formação espiritual) for the Brazilian context, shortening the content of the sessions and including a study guide for Streams of Living Water. Vida is also publishing James Bryan Smith’s “The Apprentice Series” trilogy. Renovaré Brazil has worked with Ichtus Editorial on publication of the Bíblia de Formação Espiritual Renovaré (The Renovaré Spiritual Formation Bible) and Vida com Deus (Life with God) . Many of Dallas Willard’s books are available through Editoria Mundo Cristão. In short, it has been a fruitful beginning for Pastor Eduardo and Renovaré Brazil and, as such, it is well-positioned for future ministry.
Learning. Renovaré USA has a lot to learn from the methods and spirit of Renovaré Brazil. In the near-term we hope to do this in at least three ways. First, Pastor Eduardo is working on a book on Christian spirituality for the urban context, a book that we will no doubt help make available in English. I expect this will be the first of other Renovaré Brazil projects that will be translated into English. Second, The Aprentis Institute at Friends University, a Renovaré USA partner, is building a relationship with Renovaré Brazil that will lead to ministry possibilities. Third, for August 2011 we are partnering on an international event in Rio de Janeiro that will further the Renovaré cause in Brazil and serve as a resource for attendees from all over the world. I hope you will consider joining us.
In short, Renovaré Brazil is a wonderful endeavor and meaningful partner for Renovaré USA.
Copyright ©2010 LYLE SMITHGRAYBEAL