Paradigms from Luke-Acts for Multicultural Communities

The Author: Richard B. Harms is an Episcopal priest who has served Hispanic communities in Puerto Rico, Texas, and California. He is a former Archdeacon of San Diego and is currently part of a team ministry with Latinos/Latinas in the San Diego area.

"Luke's Gospel of the Spirit-filled Jesus and story of the Spirit-led communities of faith provide paradigms for contemporary mission incarnated among the burgeoning Latino people of California. Combining careful analysis of the work of the Episcopal Church in California with sound missionary theology and a discussion of different approaches and strategies, Richard B. Harms offers both motivation for this mission and thoughtful insights into ways that it may be carried forward." (Frederick H. Borsch, Episcopal Bishop of Los Angeles; Former Professor of Religion, Princeton University)
"Richard B. Harms brings together a rare combination of academic disciplines and pastoral insights. He strives for a faithful biblical hermeneutic in his treatment of Luke's Gospel and Acts and draws attention to Luke's distinctive emphases on liberation, the poor, and women. Harms is deeply appreciative of Luke's missional perspective as a Gentile author relating the Jesus story and the Church story to a readership that is distanced both geographically and culturally from the events. He writes as a person committed to his Episcopal tradition who has explored the relationship between Jesus, the Son of Man filled with the Spirit, to the community of Christ whose ministry is modeled on that of Jesus, and likewise needs to be filled with the Spirit. Harms also engages in critical contextualization, applying his insights with theological integrity, missiological savvy, and pastoral sensitivity to the ministry among Latino communities in California." (Edmund Gibbs, Donald A. McGavran Professor of Church Growth, Fuller Theological Seminary)