Faith on the Road

Latin America is a land of extremes. It is the continental region with the highest percentage of Christians in the world in relation to total population, warm with many vibrant cultural identities, yet deeply scarred by pervasive corruption, brutal violence, and abysmal economic disparity.César Lopes knows these extremes all too well. For three decades now, he has served Latin America through theological education – not as an end in itself but as a means for the transformation of the people and communities he loves.In this episode, César reflects on his journey from chemical engineering student to theological educator – and on why he believes theology must be done from life and for life. Join this conversation about faith on the roads of Latin America!---César serves as president of the Comunidad de Estudios Teológicos Interdisciplinarios (CETI by its Spanish abbreviation). He earned a PhD in Educational Studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) in Illinois, USA, with a scholarship from Scholar Leaders.

What happens to a person's inner world when they are displaced from home, community, and belonging? How does trauma reshape the way we relate to God, to ourselves, and to others? And what does spiritual formation look like in the midst of deep suffering?In this episode, we sit down with Kevin Yau, current Leader Studies recipient and faculty member at Asian Theological Seminary whose work focuses on trauma, spiritual formation, and the wellbeing of refugees and low-income communities across Southeast Asia.Drawing from his clinical and community-based work, Kevin reflects on what displacement does to the human soul, the complex relationship between trauma and faith, and why healing is rarely as straightforward as we imagine. We talk about post-traumatic growth, the tensions surrounding hope and recovery, the church's relationship with mental health care, and the spiritual practices that can sustain people through suffering and uncertainty.Grab a chair and join us at the dialogue table with Global Church theological leaders!

Across South India, Hepziba Arputharaj has observed a troubling pattern in marriages, including Christian ones: women suffering in silence from verbal abuse, financial control, psychological manipulation, and varied forms of nonphysical violence.Recent reports confirm the scale of the crisis: nearly 89% of women in Indian Christian homes experience one or more of these forms of abuse. Nevertheless, they often go unnamed and normalized within society and the Church. Hepziba is currently completing PhD studies in contextual theology at Asbury Theological Seminary focused on this issue and how the Church can respond to it. We sit with her to hear about her journey, ministry work, and what her research has revealed so far. Join us in this conversation!

As of today, "Colombia is home to nearly 7 million internally displaced peopled, one of the largest internally displaced populations in the world" (UN Refugee Agency). This displacement is primarily driven by armed conflict and violence: ongoing conflict between guerilla groups, paramilitary groups, and the State.We sat with Dr. Milton A. Acosta Benítez to hear about:his journey,what led him to Old Testament studies and to enter theological education,and his work with displaced communities in Colombia.Dr. Acosta Benítez is professor of Old Testament and chair of the Biblical Sciences Research Group at the Fundación Universitaria Seminario Bíblico de Colombia (FUSBC) in Medellín. He is the author of several publications, including Fe y Desplazamiento: La investigación-acción misional ante la crisis colombiana del desplazamiento forzoso (Resource Publication, 2022), co-edited with Scholar Leaders' president Christopher M. Hays.---This episode is brought to you brought to you by Eerdmans and the book Eight Million Exiles: Missional Action Research and the Crisis of Forced Migration by Christopher M. Hays. This book is at once a theological methodological treatise and a story. It is a story of how a handful of theologians in a little evangelical seminary on the wrong side of Medellín responded when they came to comprehend that the lives of eight million of their countrymen had been destroyed by the violence of Colombia's armed conflict.Get your copy here!

In our season finale, Christopher M. Hays and Evan Hunter talk with premier African theologian Dr. Tite Tiénou about the future of theological education. Drawing from decades of leadership and ministry across Africa and North America, Dr. Tiénou reflects on what first drew him to theology, the mentors who shaped his vision, and the challenges theological institutions face today.This is a podcast of Scholar Leaders. For more information, visit https://www.scholarleaders.org/