Cláudio Divino

Cláudio Divino

I believe that Renẽ Padilla’s article, “Global Urbanization and Integral Mission,” was right on. Global urbanization is a trend that can be seen everywhere in the world. The reality is that many urban dwellers are somehow “forced” to move to the urban concentrations because their labor in rural areas is not able to provide for them and their families anymore. They see the cities as places where they will find the solution for all of their problems. I have lived in large metropolitan areas (São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) long enough to know that many people moving from the rural to the urban areas do find the employment and the answer to their needs they are looking for. However, not all of them are able to find employment and supply their necessities. Many, if not most of them, do fall into a pattern of poverty and need.

Padilla is very clear on what he believes to be the church’s mission in today’s globalized world: “If the power of the gospel is to be manifest in the city today, it has to

be proclaimed by a church that does not only speak about but also lives out God’s love in Jesus Christ.” He even goes one step further when he writes that, “A large number of Christians have totally misunderstood the gospel. They have assumed that all that God requires from them is that they leave time in their busy schedule to give their dues to him and to secure for themselves inner peace in the present and life beyond death in the future.” I appreciate the three examples that Padilla offers on how to have a ministry that has an effective impact on the lives of the poor and the needy (Viv Grigg, John Perkins, and Christian and Christine Schneider). The powerful examples show us that not all is lost; there are still some people who do understand what Christianity is all about when people are faced with poverty.

Coming from a Majority World country (Brazil) has allowed me to see firsthand the consequences of this global urbanization in the lives of my country people. I have many times had the opportunity to minister to people who live in “favelas” (urban slums). I

NEW URBAN WORLD

have also been to many other countries where I was again confronted with this reality, especially in the Philippines, India, Guinea Bissau, and Mozambique, among others.

I look at Jesus Christ’s life and what do I see? I see God incarnated and caring about the suffering and needy people around him. His first disciples were fishermen. He blessed the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those persecuted because of righteousness. He touched a man with leprosy. He welcomed the demon- possessed. He called a paralytic “son.” He called the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years “daughter.” He called Matthew the tax collector to be his disciple. He ate with tax collectors and sinners. He healed a ruler’s daughter. He healed a Canaanite woman’s daughter. He said, “Whoever does the will of my Father is my brother and sister and mother” (Matt 12:50). He defended his disciples when they ate without washing their hands. He said, “Let the little children come to me” (Matt 19:14). On the other hand, Jesus also told a rich man to sell all he had and give it to the poor and the man went away sad. He drove those buying and selling out of the temple. He said, “Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites” (Matt 23:15). He does that seven times in Matthew 23 and he also calls them blind several different ways: blind guides, blind fools, blind men, and blind Pharisee, along with being snakes and

a brood of vipers.

Looking at Jesus’ life and teaching, it is pretty clear to me that we Christians have a mission in this global world that produces so much richness and poverty. Our mission is to read Matthew 25:31-46 (the Sheep and the Goats) and do like the righteous did— take care of our needy brothers and sisters. I strongly embrace Padilla’s teaching and recommend that all of us respond to his challenge according to Jesus’ recommendation to those who heard him telling the parable of the Good Samaritan: “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37).

Dr. Cláudio Divino had been a successful minister in Brazil for 15 years before coming to the United States. His last church, in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area, grew from 650 to 2,500 in a five-year period. Cláudio has served God in his church as editor of Bible School Lessons Publication (1984- 1993) and in various administrative positions in his church. He is currently the academic dean at Crossroads College, Rochester, Minnesota.