Pentecostals and the Poor: Reflections from the Indian Context [Large Print]

By Ivan Satyavrata

Th e immediate occasion for my refl ection on this theme was

an invitation from the Asia Pacifi c Th eological Association APTA]

to address their General Assembly at Chiang Mai, Th ailand, in the

Fall of 2011. I was asked to present four lectures, reflecting on

the topic of Power, Tradition & Social Engagement, with a focus

on how these themes may be integrated in theological education

and the equipping of leaders for ministry in Asia.

Although the theme was not my selection, it was not long

before I found myself deeply absorbed in it for several reasons. To

begin with, my personal spiritual journey had involved exposure

to several older Christian traditions. My paternal grandfather was

a Presbyterian minister in the German Basel Mission, which had a

strong presence along the south west coast of India during the

earlier years of Protestant missions in India. My parents, however,

attended a Methodist Church during my growing years in the city

of Bombay (now Mumbai) and later became members of an Evangelical

Alliance Church. My schooling was in a Church of England

school, but it was the Charismatic movement in Bombay that shaped

my discipleship following my conversion at the age of seventeen.

Later, I found my church home in the Assemblies of God.

My subsequent theological journey exposed me to infl uences

from a wide variety of traditions, including Pentecostal, Brethren, Baptist, Reformed Anglican and Roman Catholic. Whenever I

heard references being made to the "Reformed" tradition or

"Anglican" tradition or "Roman Catholic" tradition, I would oft en

wonder whether it would be appropriate to speak of a "Pentecostal"

tradition and, if so, how should it be described? My research

led me to conclude that not only was it appropriate to refer to a

Pentecostal tradition, but that despite some challenges of characterization

posed by the diverse nature of the Pentecostal movement,

the "traditioning" process was in fact an urgent necessity. Failure

to do so in a timely manner could result in the emergence of inauthentic

and inadequate depictions of the Pentecostal tradition that

fail to fairly represent its roots and distinctives. Th ese papers are a

small contribution towards a broader ongoing global task that I

trust more Pentecostal scholars will pay attention to in future.

A second reason this theme gripped my interest was because it

brought together two of my deepest passions in ministry. My earliest

years in ministry were spent as a grass-roots evangelist in the

streets and slums of Bombay. I was engaged subsequently in

church-planting eff orts, fi rst in downtown Bombay and then in a

city in North India. When I joined the faculty at Southern Asia

Bible College (now Centre for Global Leadership Development),

Bangalore, it was because of the promise it held for raising leaders

who would powerfully impact Christ's Church-in-mission all

across South Asia. Aft er twenty-one years in institutional leadership

training, we were called to a very unique pastoral ministry in

Kolkata-a local church which served as the hub of a Mission with a

strong social outreach across East India.

One of two questions that frequently had me preoccupied and

with which I oft en struggled in the course of my mission engagement

was: How should the relationship between evangelism and social

• Format: Paperback
• Large Print: Yes
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9718942149
• ISBN13: 9789718942147
• Release Date: June 2017
• Publisher: Asia Pacific Theological Seminary
• Length: 90 Pages
• Weight: 0.29 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 6.0" x 9.0"