Browsing by Author "Castelo, Daniel"

This abstract describes an oral thesis documentary project aimed at honoring the stories and experiences of trailblazing Black students who integrated Duke Divinity School in 1962 and the development of the Office of Black Church Affairs in 1972. The author/producer, an Interim Director at the Office of Black Church Studies, combines her film production, music, and marketing expertise to produce a documentary highlighting over 50 years of Black student matriculation at Duke Divinity and their empowerment as leaders. The documentary features interviews with historically silenced voices, including the first Black men (1962) and women (1973) to attend Duke Divinity School, providing a lasting testament to the transformative power of education in the face of adversity. The author/producer explores the intersections of faith, leadership, and social change, providing a valuable resource for future research.

Moreover, the author’s research aims to recover narratives of Black women who have actively challenged the status quo regarding who should be granted access to theological education and who should be allowed into the pulpit to preach the Gospel. This focus broadens our understanding of the complexities of the Black religious experience and contributes to ongoing discussions about the role of gender and race in shaping theological discourse. The story of Duke Divinity School’s decision to admit Black students in 1962 and establish the Black Church Studies program in 1972 bears witness to the transformative power of diversity and inclusion in theological education, serving as a reminder of the importance of embracing and celebrating diversity as a reflection of God’s love for all people.

There is a growing number of people going through deconstructive faith experiences in Latin American Pentecostal churches. Factors like globalization, individualism, high educational rates, the post-colonial experience of the Latin American church, fundamentalism, connectivity, and others contribute to accelerate this trend and shape the environment of faith communities that find themselves amongst increasingly postmodern tendencies. Most pastors are either ignoring the situation, rejecting deconstruction all together, or embracing it blindly. I propose a pastoral response from a distinctively Pentecostal perspective that engages deconstruction of faith critically, while staying open to conceive it as a tool for Spirit-led discipleship that can produce a more mature faith.I examine six affirmations made by Jacques Derrida that explain deconstruction as something that happens, happens from the inside, is not a method, is call, is a yes to the other, and is affirmative of institutions. Each of these is contrasted with specific examples of cultural changes in Costa Rica, Peter’s experience at the house of Cornelius, and a Latin American Pentecostal perspective. By exploring a variety of authors, I have identified different tools that can help Latin American Pentecostal pastors to better engage in discipleship practices that can produce mature believers in a postmodern era.

The aim of this project is to provide a compelling and theologically sound understanding of the ordination of Elders in the United Methodist Church. Unfortunately within 21st century United Methodism, the telos of the ordination process is often portrayed as a credentialing or licensure that most poignantly speaks to what someone has done to receive such a certification, but says little to nothing about what lies beyond it. This unintended and inadequate portrayal of the telos of the ordination process bears significant consequences for the depth of ordained leadership and the vitality of the church. In this thesis, I will argue that the ordination of Christian leaders is primarily a covenant made between God, the church, and the ordained regarding a particular ordered way of living that provides leadership to the church for the flourishing of communities and in service and witness to the Triune God. Ordination is not a possession. It is a confession and patterning of lives around the life of Jesus. In particular, I will demonstrate how this understanding of ordination is deeply “at-home” within the Methodist tradition, and how this understanding and praxis of ordination can cultivate a vibrancy in both ordained and lay leadership for the flourishing of our communities.

In order to make this argument, I will draw from the resources of scripture, tradition, reason, and experience which offer a fourfold lens of theological engagement that is central to the Methodist tradition. This project will begin by exploring a theology of ordination more broadly, followed by a more specific exploration of ordination in the Methodist movement. From here, this project will draw on the ecumenical witness of Saint Óscar Romero who offers a critical example for what ordination as an ordered way of living looks like. Finally, this thesis will work to establish the fourfold ministry of Elders – Word, Sacrament, Service, and Order – not simply as duties or tasks to complete, but rhythms by which Elders and congregations can pattern their lives in witness to the Reign of God being revealed in our midst.