¿Cómo Oirán? A Spanish Preaching Postil for English Speaking Pastors

Ad Crucem provides publishing support to Saint John the Baptist Press for a new Spanish Preaching Postil by Rev. Dr Geoffrey Boyle, funded by the Office of National Mission and the Kansas District.

“The Word of the Lord remains forever,” Isaiah said (in Hebrew, Isa 40:8); and Peter echoed it anew (in Greek, 1 Pet 1:25). The Latin, Verbum autem Domini manet in aeternum, served as the motto of the Reformation (VDMA). Today the Word remains with us in thousands of languages from thousands of pulpits, and men are being raised up at our seminaries to preach this Word with clarity and conviction. We know well the great need we have for preachers. One of those preachers is Rev. Dr. Geoffrey Boyle. He is the Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Missions at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne. He has authored articles for Concordia Theological Quarterly, the Journal of Scriptural Reasoning, and Lutheran Theological Review. He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, the Society of St. Polycarp, and the Eighth Day Institute. With a facility for the Spanish language, he also teaches occasionally for Seminario Concordia El Reformador – República Dominicana. You can find several of his works here. He is a seasoned and faithful preacher. We could not be more excited to announce his latest work:  ¿Cómo Oirán? A Spanish Preaching Postil for English Speaking Pastors.

One of his colleagues, Rev. Dr. Don Wiley, has this to say about the man and the endeavor:

“I am excited about the Spanish Language Postil by Geoffrey Boyle! The need to proclaim the pure Gospel to our Hispanic neighbors in the US is great. 43 million people over the age of five speak Spanish at home. Lutheranism has recognized the importance of proclaiming the Gospel in the mother language of the people ever since Luther placed the liturgy, preaching, and hymnody into German. Many faithful pastors can lead the Divine Service in Spanish, but fewer have enough experience to write weekly sermons in Spanish. This resource will allow many pastors to begin outreach to Hispanics now—drawing them together around Word and Sacrament—while they grow in their ability to preach in Spanish. Rev. Dr. Boyle is an esteemed colleague at CTSFW who has a gift for preaching and zeal for Hispanic ministry. He contributes to the Pastoral Formation for Hispanic-America online program in Latin America and the Specific Ministry Pastor–Español/English here in the United States."

Rev. Dr. Don Wiley
Chairman and Associate Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Missions
Director of the Specific Ministry Pastor Program (including SMP–Español/English)
Concordia Theological Seminary–Fort Wayne (CTSFW)

Again, we know well the great need we have for preachers. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Fewer still are those trained to preach in other languages to other cultures. “Yet hearts are brave again, and arms are strong!” (LSB 677:5). Like Christ Himself, the Church seeks the lost, wherever the sheep may be scattered. The Holy Spirit still calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies by the preaching of the Word of Christ in whatever language He sees fit. And as we find the mission field coming to our cities and villages, we see the great need to bring this word of Christ all the more. And thank God for those who step out in faith to bring this Word to peoples and cultures beyond their own!

This book of sermons is for those whose hearts are set on serving the Lord in this unique and daring context. It is for those who love their Spanish-speaking neighbors and are unwilling to let the language barrier impede the Gospel of Christ. Learning a new language is daunting. Yet, thank God for those who brave the challenge! But we cannot wait for fluency to bring the comfort of the Gospel to a dark and despairing world.

While preachers expand their knowledge of the Spanish language, they have orthodox Lutheran sermons here for every Sunday of the Church Year, including several feasts and festivals. These sermons were preached chiefly to the Spanish-speaking saints at Grace Lutheran Church (now joined with Trinity Lutheran Church) in Wichita, KS. They fed the flock and guided them to the Word of the Lord that remains forever.

Rev. Dr. Benjamin T. G. Mayes, Associate Professor of Historical Theology, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, makes clear the seriousness of the issue facing our congregations: 

“In the USA, 42 million people speak Spanish; presently, only about 100 LCMS congregations have a Spanish-language outreach. To preach the Gospel to the second-biggest language group in the USA is an important task for which most LCMS pastors feel ill-equipped. Yet the difficulty is no excuse for inaction. Now, we can turn to the sermons of the Rev. Dr. Geoffrey Boyle, an excellent Spanish preacher with years of experience. With this postil in hand, Lutheran pastors will grow in their abilities to preach good sermons in Spanish. ¡Que Dios les bendiga a todos los leyentes y predicantes!”

We pray that this collection of sermons—this postil—will carry on the tradition of Luther and those who followed. We want to urge on the faithful preaching of Christ and Him crucified, and do it for those who find themselves amid changing communities. Hispanic ministries are popping up far beyond the southern border. They stretch from coast to coast and arise in cities and rural communities. As Pastors learn to read the Scriptures and liturgy in Spanish, we hope to provide them with faithful sermons to preach until they gain the fluency to write their own. That, too, was Luther’s intent when he first published his Church Postils. His work began in 1521 while undercover at Wartburg Castle and continued to mature until Veit Dietrich’s edition in 1544. He wanted to give the parish Pastor the help needed for faithful proclamation of the Word of God. And so do we.

Whether the sermons are preached verbatim, simply read aloud to the faithful, or used as prompts, devotionals, and ideas for growing fluency, these sermons are offered to help the Pastor who seeks to serve his Spanish-speaking neighbors with the Gospel of Christ. The Word of the Lord remains forever—and in Spanish, too!

For those that don't know Spanish or are still learning, the title of the postil, ¿Cómo Oirán?, comes from Romans 10, in which Paul asks “how shall they hear without a preacher?” This is the impetus for this work. If someone only speaks Spanish, ¿cómo oirán?—how will they hear?—if no one preaches in Spanish? Seasoned Spanish-speaking pastors can use these sermons, but the aim is to provide English-speaking pastors trying to do Spanish ministry a much-needed tool. If the pastor has this postil and the Himnario Luterano, he can faithfully conduct a Spanish service. He may not know what every word means, but the people will. He can conduct the liturgy in Spanish and preach these sermons in Spanish as his own.  

To explain the importance of this resource, Rev. Tyler McMiller Church Planter/Theological Educator in Italy through LCMS OIM has this to say:

“As the second most spoken language in the United States, with 42 million speakers, Spanish is heard from urban centers to rural small-town America. CTSFW Professor, Dr. Geoff Boyle’s latest book ¿Cómo Oirán? A Spanish Preaching Postil for English Speaking Pastors provides our congregations with Spanish sermons for the entire church year. Printed by Ad Crucem and published by Saint John the Baptist Press, it will prove to be an unparalleled resource to the Lutheran pastor desiring to faithfully preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to this growing demographic. Pastors who wish to engage in Hispanic outreach often ask, where to start? The task can seem overwhelming, especially the idea of writing weekly sermons in a language they are still learning… but with ¿Cómo Oirán? the faithful Lutheran pastor has a starting point in Hispanic ministry according to the words of St Paul, ‘How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?’ (Romans 10:14). May our Lord Jesus Christ greatly bless us in his mission field.”

If God so wills it, this work will be available for purchase for Christmas 2024.

Publishing Model

This postil is the product of a budding relationship between Ad Crucem and Saint John the Baptist Press, a small publishing house based in Kansas. Both parties desire to continue partnering to produce several books that will aid pastors in their ministry.

If God so wills it, works on private confession, first communion, how to conduct weddings and funerals, and commentaries on topics and books of Scripture will all be produced in the coming years. The Office of National Mission of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and the Kansas District have underwritten the Spanish Postils project. We are deeply indebted to them for their partnership in the Gospel. Due to the nature of the underwriting, the postil will undergo the synodical doctrinal review process before publication. 

Design

The book design is an original work by Ad Crucem's graphic design collaborator, Sam Novak. He writes:

In the interior of the book, various ascension-themed woodcuts will be featured. For the cover, I took some inspiration from Folio Society edition books, which usually are a good mixture of classic and bold design. I wanted to try something that looked uniquely Spanish/Latin American yet would still complement the ascension theme of the book. The mosaic tile is meant to be evocative of clouds, with the complementary blue color symbolizing the sky. The mosaic cross amidst the clouds represents Christ's ascension into heaven, with the gold accents representing the heavenly city. The red and gold together tie the book's design with other Synodical resources.

The book focuses attention on the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, where He commanded His disciples to teach everything that He had commanded and gave gifts to men to preach and teach the faith “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Eph 4:12). It is a fitting theme for this postil because that is exactly what the pastors who use this will do: teach everything Christ has commanded and thereby edify the body of Christ.

The art will also include the ascension of Enoch and Elijah, two Old Testament types that teach us about Christ’s Ascension. Moses tells us that “Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him” (Gen 5:24). With Elijah, we hear that as he and Elisha “went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it and cried, ‘My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!’ And he saw him no more” (2 Kings 2:11-12). Why does that matter, either to the Ascension or pastors’ preaching? Because our Lord says that “every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old” (Matt 13:52). This is the duty of preachers: to rightly handle the Word of Truth and bring out the treasures of both Old and New Testaments. How the Old points to the New, how the New fulfills the Old, and how both teach us Christ. This is precisely what this work aims to do.

Spanish Ministry

Are you a pastor or member of a church that has thought about starting a Hispanic ministry?  Our author, Dr. Boyle, would love to help. First and foremost, if you serve in a Spanish language context, this postil is a must-have. As Rev. Dr. David Petersen, Pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church, Ft. Wayne, says: 

“This collection of faithful, Lutheran sermons in Spanish by Geoff Boyle will be a great blessing not only for new Hispanic mission starts but also for Spanish learners. What a joy to have solid but accessible Spanish sermons for outreach, devotions, or even to preach in Spanish language services!” 

Another must-have resource for Hispanic ministry is the Himnario Luterano. It too is an invaluable resource for conducting services in Spanish. (You can read Dr. Boyle’s review of Himnario Luterano, the recent publication of the Lutheran hymnal in Spanish, here.) Beyond that, Dr. Boyle would happily answer all your questions about starting a Hispanic ministry. Several parish pastors are also doing Hispanic ministry to whom Dr. Boyle can direct you. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to him. Whatever you are doing for the elect's sake, be steadfast, immovable, as you abound in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. Rev. Justin Panzer, President of the Kansas District, sums it up well when he says:

“‘After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’’ (Revelation 7:9-10). It is long past time for us to reach the Hispanic neighbors in our communities with the pure Word of Christ as we believe, teach, and confess it in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. This hurting and dying world desperately needs what we have to give them—the Good News of the crucified and risen Christ must go out from our churches. This timely resource developed by Dr. Geoffrey Boyle and Saint John the Baptist Press is one resource that we can utilize to serve our neighbors.”

Rev. Justin Panzer, LCMS Kansas District President