Dr. L.S. Carlos A. Thompson

Dr. L. S. Carlos Thompson was born in the Latin American coastal port city of Cartagena, Colombia. After being adopted by an American family, he was raised in Fargo, North Dakota. Dr. L. S. Carlos has earned a B.S. in Church Ministry from Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida; an M.A. in Religious Studies from the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida; and an M.Th. in Ministry and Mission (Practical Theology) and Ph.D. in Divinity from the University of Aberdeen, King’s College, in Aberdeen, Scotland. Dr. L. S. Carlos is also a recipient of the Henri Nouwen Doctoral Fellowship here at Western Theological Seminary.

Dr. L. S. Carlos’ research centers around inviting the Church, and those who are called to shepherd her members, to be more faithful to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Within this general call, Dr. L. S. Carlos aims to draw attention to particular ways that the Church can practice more faithfully in the midst of hardships—suffering, the lived experience of chronic illness, and/or the reality of enduring bodily impairments (disability).

For him, faithful Christian practice must be grounded within the holy Scriptures, examined alongside the traditions of our community, and enacted through the Holy Spirit. As a result of these convictions, the following questions are foundational to Dr. L. S. Carlos’ present research and spiritual reflection: what is it that makes a Christian community ‘Christian’ and ‘communal’? What does it mean to be ‘healed’? How are Christians to understand ‘healing’ in the midst of enduring disability and chronic illness?

Dr. L. S. Carlos is a Charismatic-reformed Pentecostal who lives with congenital Cerebral Palsy. Dr. L. S. Carlos lives in the Friendship House with his wife and daughter. When he is not writing or catching up on reading, he enjoys eating food with friends, lifting weights, spending time by the water, playing the piano, drinking good coffee, and savoring good tea. He has always wanted to try sky-diving, learn how to sail, and to visit the monasteries on Mount Athos.

Areas of Expertise 

Dr. L. S. Carlos’ research, writing, and ministerial practice centers around: 

• Christian Discipleship/Spiritual Formation 
• The formation and stewarding of Intentional Christian Community
• The relationship between Christian Community, Health, and Healing 
• Theologies of: health, healing, suffering, disability, anthropology/identity, community, and hospitality
• The work and Christian spirituality of Henri Nouwen 
• Hermeneutics and homiletics vis-à-vis the lived experience of disability

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