Neopentecostalism and changes in the identity of the Baptist churches of Cali. 1990-2010 Chapter 2 The Baptist history and its development in Cali. Pablo Moreno

The main argument The history of Baptists in Colombia was not only the result of exogenous factors, but also endogenous. There was an internal origin through churches and leaders not affiliated with any denomination before baptists missionaries came to Colombia. That leadership and those churches left their own imprint on the Baptist identity, not learned from the missionaries but from other sources and from the study of doctrines in a self-taught way. The congruence between the teaching of the missionaries since 1942 with these antecedents gave rise to the Colombia Baptist Convention, in which there were coincidences and difficulties between missionaries and Colombian leaders because of the different ways in which they understood their Baptist identity.

The main argument The beginnings of the Baptists in Cali were most influenced by the baptist Mission, more than the baptist history in Cartagena and Barranquilla. The 1980s saw the greatest growth of Baptist churches in Cali. Product of the influence of missionaries and the Baptist Theological Seminary a very Americanized Baptist identity emerged. At the beginning of the 1990s there was a rupture of relations among Colombian Baptists in Cali; one of the main factors being the impact of neo-Pentecostalism. This opened a new stage in the history of Baptists in Cali, as well as in Colombia as such. The formation of Baptist identity has been a process of permanent change, reformation and reformulation.

The originality of the research This research focuses on the study of the dynamic of Baptist identity among the churches of Cali, particularly on the impact of neo-Pentecostalism. This study analyzes the perception of the change of, not only pastors and leaders, but also members of the church. It includes founding members and members recently linked to the church. It is taken into account how the interviewees received this impact, how it affected their vision of the doctrine, modified their practices and their assessment of the role of the church in the public sphere. One of the results of the research will help to understand how the impact of neo- pentecostalism is seen in Baptist churches by those who do not make the decisions in a church.

How does the chapter fit into the overal argument This chapter contributes to all the research with a historical background of the birth, development and separation of the Baptist churches in Cali. It helps to understand the changes that have taken place in the formation of a new Baptist identity such as: the understanding of the doctrine, the application of morality to the public, political participation and its position towards the peace agreement in Colombia. It will help to evaluate in later chapters, the magnitude of the changes occurred in the Baptist identity during the period studied. Finally, it will allow to formulate a theological proposal that can contribute to the formation of the Baptist identity in this period.

What are the limitations of my work and what difficulties or challenges am i facing? This work is limited to the field of historical theology, because it is focused on showing the development of Baptist identity and the changes that took place in the 1990-2010 period. This investigation diagnoses what has happened to the Baptist identity and proposes some theological elements that could be of support to the new configuration of the Baptist identity in the current Colombian context. The main challenge is to meet the time schedule that I have proposed to complete the full draft this year.

Difficulties and goals The major problem, my dedication to write the dissertation non pause. The main challenge is to get all the documents and to interview all the people I want to interview. The best results will be being able to share with as many as posible the results and insights of this investigation concerning the baptist identiy, whereas many people do not know its roots. Get a draft of the thesis ready before the end of this year.