Byasse

interviews Ary Velloso and presbyterian Almeida on evangelicalism in Brazil¹ (8)

"Both men view the tremendous church growth in Latin America as a two-edged sword."² (8)

complain about lack of commitment to the church as a body and the lack of deep teaching³ (8)

"The two contend that Brazilian churches have imported some of the worst aspects of American evangelicalism: individualistic piety, superficial catechesis and a competitive spirit among churches. Velloso sees the rise of evangelicals as a case of converts going "from superficial Catholicism to superficial evangelicalism." ⁴(8)

Velloso--follower of Warren and Hybels: "Velloso has seen church-growth methods work to change lives, heal addictions, patch up families and mobilize Christians to serve the poor." ⁵(8)

Almeida, Warren and Hybels part of the problem in encouraging a focus on numbers⁶ (8)

belief that a reduction in corruption would mean that evangelicalism had taken roots in the country ⁷(9)

"South American evangelicals are more like their counterparts around the world than like many of their counterparts in the U.S. They support stewardship of the environment, multilateral approaches to international politics, and governmental provision for the poor. For them one's political party is far less important than one's allegiance to Christ's church. And evangelicals like Almeida and Velloso want to avoid any potential stumbling block to evangelism." ⁸

1 J Byassee, ' Purpose-driven in Brazil', Christian Century 123:7 (2006) 8–9, 8.

2 J Byassee, ' Purpose-driven in Brazil', Christian Century 123:7 (2006) 8–9, 8.

3J Byassee, ' Purpose-driven in Brazil', Christian Century 123:7 (2006) 8–9, 8.

4J Byassee, ' Purpose-driven in Brazil', Christian Century 123:7 (2006) 8–9, 8.

5J Byassee, ' Purpose-driven in Brazil', Christian Century 123:7 (2006) 8–9, 8.

6J Byassee, ' Purpose-driven in Brazil', Christian Century 123:7 (2006) 8–9, 8.

7J Byassee, ' Purpose-driven in Brazil', Christian Century 123:7 (2006) 8–9, 9.

8J Byassee, ' Purpose-driven in Brazil', Christian Century 123:7 (2006) 8–9, 9.