Collection 361 [February 22, 2001]
Padilla, Carlos Rene "Rene"; 1932-
Interviews; 1987
4 Audio Tapes
Restrictions
There are no restrictions on the use of this collection.
COMPLETE TRANSCRIPTS TO ALL THE TAPES (T1,T2,T3,T4) IN THIS COLLECTION ARE AVAILABLE.
Biography
Rene Padilla was born in 1932 in Quito, Ecuador, the son of a tailor/evangelist and the sixth of eight children. The Padillas moved to Colombia in 1935, but they returned to Ecuador in 1944 due to the intense persecution of Protestants by the Roman Catholic majority in Colombia; they relocated in Quito, where Rene remained until 1953, when he came to the United States to study at Wheaton College. He had a conversion experience when he was 15, and subsequently became an active evangelist by participating in a jail ministry, radio preaching on radio station HCJB, and street preaching.
Padilla attended Wheaton College between 1954 and 1957, and continued in Wheaton's Graduate School, where he completed his masters degree in biblical studies in 1960. Although invited to the staff of International Fellowship of Evangelicals (IFES) in 1957, Padilla delayed his acceptance until he had completed his graduate work. Following his graduation in 1960, he was appointed to work as International Fellowship of Evangelical Student's (IFES) Latin American traveling secretary for Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. In 1961, he married Catherine Feser, and they settled in Bogota, Colombia. They eventually had four daughters and a son. In 1963, the Padillas moved to Manchester, England, where Padilla worked on his PhD in New Testament under F.F. Bruce.
He was appointed IFES's Associate General Secretary for Latin America in 1966 after completing his PhD, and the Padillas then returned to South America to Lima, Peru. Rene worked among university students, overseeing the training of student leaders, and the development of campus and national movements throughout Latin America. In 1967, the Padillas moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to oversee IFES's literature work. In 1972, Padilla was appointed the director of IFES's publishing division, Ediciones Certeza. In 1973, Padilla became editor of IFES's magazine, Certeza.
Padilla worked with IFES until the end of 1981. In 1982 he joined the staff of Latin America Mission to become the associate editor of Latin America Mission Publications (Editorial Caribe) and develop Mission, a Spanish magazine. He was selected to be the General Secretary of the Latin American Theological Fraternity (an association of Latin American theologians somewhat like the Evangelical Theological Society) in 1984.
In addition to his work among students, Padilla authored books and articles, and participated in international and regional conferences, including the 1969 Latin American Congress on Evangelism, the 1974 Lausanne Congress, the 1980 International Simple Lifestyle Consultation, and the 1982 Consultation on the Relationship Between Evangelism and Social Responsibility. Padilla presented a plenary paper at the Lausanne Congress and was instrumental, along with other participants, in advocating a more active role among evangelicals in addressing social issues.
In 1973, Rene became involved in a suburban church, the Evangelical Baptist Church of La Lucila;
in 1976 he joined its pastoral team. The church developed ministry among slum dwellers and drug
addicts, learning about and serving as a model for ministry to diverse human needs, fusing
evangelism and social action.
Scope and Content
Rene Padilla was interviewed by Paul Ericksen on March 12, 1987, at the Archives office in Wheaton, Illinois; T4 was a telephone interview on the same day. The dates of the events covered by the interviews were: T1, 1935-1966; T2, 1959-1973; T3, 1974-1987; T4, 1974. The boldfaced entries correspond with the Cross Reference List at the end of this guide and are intended to highlight the topics covered in the interview. Time elapsed in minutes and seconds is recorded to the left of the topics discussed in the interview. The index is keyed to the cassette copy and not to the reel-to-reel original.
T1 - side 1 (Click to
link to the full transcript of this tape. Or click here to listen to an excerpt from this interview. You can also visit the Archives exhibit with the audio excerpt and accompanying transcript.)
00:00 Beginning of tape.
00:30 Introduction to interview on March 12, 1987.
01:00 Father's occupation as tailor and evangelist; necessity for an evangelical to be a witness;
chaplain for HCJB hospital; methods of church planting; other recollections of
father.
05:30 Persecution in Colombia's Pro-Catholic environment; demand for witness; personal
experiences; parents' conversions.
10:45 Preaching in Quito jails as a teenager; other preaching experiences: open-air, opposition,
message content.
13:45 Conversion. Reputation for witnessing.
15:45 Comparison between the religious freedom in Ecuador and Colombia.
17:00 Radio ministry at HCJB: programing, preaching, audience.
20:30 Wheaton College: decision to attend, financing, employment, initial English study,
international students, influential faculty, value of philosophy courses, spiritual
environment, Dr. Edman.
35:30 Comparison of educational and church experiences in Ecuador and in America;
American church's adaptation to its culture, materialism.
39:30 Wheaton College: decision to enter the Graduate School; draft status during Korean
War, appeal.
43:45 End of side 1.
T1 - side 2
00:00 Beginning of tape.
00:15 Overlap from side 1.
01:30 Exemption from army duty.
03:00 Wheaton College: changes in facilities, programs, openness to world issues, size.
Meeting his wife; involvement in Foreign Missions Fellowship.
09:00 Ministry to Hispanics in Elgin and Chicago; treatment of Hispanics in US; experiences
among Hispanics while a student.
19:15 Manchester University: doctoral studies, development of eschatological beliefs.
23:30 End of side 2 and tape.
T2 - side 1 (Click to
link to the transcript of this tape)
00:00 Beginning of tape.
00:30 International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES): first contact, invitation to join
by Stacey Woods, Samuel Escobar, first traveling assignment.
07:00 Colombia: changes since his childhood. Work among Colombian students: lack of
cooperation from pastors, example of conversions, evangelism.
13:30 IFES: publishing, relationships between students in the different Latin American
countries, a typical campus group (size, outreach), impact of Marxism, relationships
with other religious organizations, leadership in confronting social issues and
developing Christian social ethic.
25:00 Potential staff, appointment and duties as Associate General Secretary for Latin
America, administrative structure, development of national groups, literature
program (Ediciones Certeza, publishing Certeza magazine), publishing Latin
American authors.
35:15 National student movements developed in Peru, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Dominican
Republic, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico; demise of work in Paraguay;
changing role for IFES; greater participation by Christian professionals (laity) in
ministry among students.
40:30 Changes in Latin America's evangelical church: wider acceptance, greater political
involvement.
44:00 End of side 1.
T2 - side 2
00:00 Beginning of tape.
00:00 Overlap from side 1. Continuation on changes in the evangelical church: reduced
commitment, lack of inter-evangelical cooperation.
03:00 Relationship with Roman Catholics; changes in Latin American Catholicism.
08:30 Evangelical theological education in Latin America: lack of seminary trained clergy,
influence of North American institutions and missionary input through finances and
personnel, hopeful signs, response to liberation theology, influence and contribution
of the Latin American Theological Fraternity.
20:00 End of side 2 and tape.
T3 - side 1 (Click to
link to the transcript of this tape)
00:00 Beginning of tape.
00:45 Lausanne Congress: invitation, reactions to his paper, covenant and alternate covenant
(A Call to Radical Discipleship), informal meeting to discuss social justice issues,
backlash, implications for the 1980 Consultation on World Evangelization (COWE)
and the Lausanne movement.
17:30 World Evangelical Fellowship's Theological Commission on Evangelism and Social
Ethics Unit.
18:45 Faith and Life group: development, impact of attendance by drug addicts, facing social
issues and needs, ministry in slum area meeting spiritual and social needs,
cooperation by community churches.
31:45 Lessons learned during career: "Every human need is an opportunity for service;" the
importance of the local church, church/parachurch relations.
35:00 Teaching in the US and challenging middle class values: student reactions, value
changes.
41:45 End of side 1 and tape.
T4 - side 1 (Click to
link to the transcript of this tape)
00:00 Beginning of tape.
00:15 Introduction to telephone interview on March 12, 1987.
00:45 Lausanne Congress: response from Congress organizers and supporters, the Billy
Graham Evangelistic Association, and Billy Graham.
05:00 End of tape.
Provenance
The materials in this collection were received by the Center in March 1987 from Rene Padilla.
Accession : 87-24
January 5, 1990
Paul A. Ericksen
K. Elwell
June 6, 1990, revised
Lisa A. Ferguson
LOCATION RECORD
Accession : 87-24
Type of Material: Audio Tapes
The following material is located in the AUDIO TAPE FILE:
T1 - Reel-to-reel, 3-3/4 ips, one side only, approximately 70 minutes (1 hour, 10 minutes). Interview with Rene Padilla by Paul Ericksen. Discussion of Padilla's childhood, family, evangelism in Colombia and Ecuador, persecution by Catholics in Colombia, Wheaton College, ministry among Hispanics and the church's response to human needs. March 12, 1987.
T2 - Reel-to-reel, 3-3/4 ips, one side only, approximately 65 minutes (1 hour, 5 minutes). Interview with Rene Padilla by Paul Ericksen. Discussion of International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES), work among university students in Latin America, Protestant and Catholic churches in Latin America, evangelical theological education and liberation theology. March 12, 1987.
T3 - Reel-to-reel, 3-3/4 ips, one side only, approximately 40 minutes. Interview with Rene Padilla by Paul Ericksen. Discussion of the Lausanne Congress and covenant, evangelical responses to human needs, the ministry of Padilla's church in Buenos Aires among drug addicts and slum dwellers, and the primary role of the church in ministry. March 12, 1987.
T4 - Reel-to-reel, 3-3/4 ips, one side only, approximately 5 minutes. Telephone interview
with Rene Padilla by Paul Ericksen. Discussion of the Lausanne Congress. March 12,
1987.