Dr. Ruth Padilla DeBorst - Integral Mission and Decolonizing Theology

Think Global, Do Justice

There is no escaping the reality that much of what we're familiar with in global missions and development has some roots in colonialism. There is no better person to help us disentangle God's work from worldly power structures than Dr. Ruth Padilla DeBorst. Dr. Padilla DeBorst is the Richard C. Oudersluys Associate Professor of World Christianity at Western Seminary. She describes how integral mission addresses gaps in many traditional approaches to missions and what it looks like to live out a contextualized gospel in Latin America.

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Resources and Links from the show

Dr. Ruth Padilla DeBorst's Work Online

Good News From Latin America Book

Conversation Notes

• An introduction to integral mission and what deficiencies it was addressing in world missions
• Disentangling God's work in Latin America from European colonization
• How neocolonialism continues to affect Christian missions and development work
• Ethical practices in global partnerships for missions and development organizations
• Contrasting Jesus' proclamation of the Gospel against the backdrop of Roman imperial rule
• Exiting our echo chambers to hear from Christian leaders in other global contexts

Theme music Kirk Osamayo. Free Music Archive, CC BY License