Samuel Rodriguez Jr. (born September 29, 1969) is an
Evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
American
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
leader born to Puerto Rican parents in the United States. He is a pastor, movie producer, author, civil rights activist and television personality. He is the president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.
Ministry
At age 16, Rodriguez delivered his first sermon. He quickly grew to be a leading and acclaimed evangelical preacher.
In 1992, he became an ordained minister in the
Assemblies of God
The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination."Assemblies of God". ...
, a
Pentecostal
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement denomination.
In 2000, he founded the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC/CONEL), the largest
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
Evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
Christian organization in the world. With over 40,000 Latino Evangelical churches as members, NHCLC/CONEL helps to cultivate a network of Latino leaders in the Christian community.
Rodriguez became a member of the board of the
National Association of Evangelicals
The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) is an association of evangelical denominations, organizations, schools, churches and individuals, member of the World Evangelical Alliance. The association represents more than 45,000 local churches ...
in 2006.
Books and films
In June 2016, Rodriguez's book, ''Be Light'', reached #1 on the ''Los Angeles Times'' Bestseller List. ''You Are Next'', released in 2019, was a Publishers Weekly bestseller.
''Persevere with Power'', Rodriguez's 2021 release, made both English and Spanish best-seller status on ECPA's Christian Bestsellers Lists, as well as reaching #20 on ECPA's January 2022 Christian New Releases.
Rodriguez was the executive producer for the 20th Century Fox motion picture ''
Breakthrough,'' which received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song and received a GMA Dove Award for Inspirational Film of the Year. In 2019, Rodriguez was announced as the executive producer for the Fox Searchlight film ''Flamin Hot'', a true story about the man behind Flamin' Hot Cheetos. The film was produced by DeVon Franklin of Franklin Entertainment and directed by Eva Longoria.
Political activity
During the George W. Bush administration, Rodriguez advocated for bipartisan discussion on immigration reform. He was brought in as an advisor to President
Bush
Bush commonly refers to:
* Shrub, a small or medium woody plant
Bush, Bushes, or the bush may also refer to:
People
* Bush (surname), including any of several people with that name
**Bush family, a prominent American family that includes:
*** ...
and later also served in an advisory capacity for Presidents
Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
and
Trump
Trump most commonly refers to:
* Donald Trump (born 1946), 45th president of the United States (2017–2021)
* Trump (card games), any playing card given an ad-hoc high rank
Trump may also refer to:
Businesses and organizations
* Donald J. T ...
.
He participated in President Obama’s 2009 inaugural prayer service at Saint Johns Episcopal Church, reading from the Gospel of Luke. As a spokesperson for Hispanic evangelicals, Rodriguez has been a featured speaker in
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
and congressional meetings. He has served on the President's Advisory Council for the
initiative with the Fatherhood and Healthy Families Task Force and also on the Abortion Reduction Task Force (both under President Obama).
Rodriguez was invited to offer readings and deliver an invocation at the inauguration of
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
on January 20, 2017. In his remarks, Rodriguez read from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. On Inauguration Day, Rodriguez was interviewed by CNN. Rodriguez met with Trump administration officials to discuss a comprehensive immigration reform measure that would provide a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
In a letter acquired by ''Politico'' in January 2017, Rodriguez was one of several evangelical leaders that pressed President Trump to reconsider the suspension of the refugee resettlement program that temporarily prevented refugees from several countries from emigrating to the U.S. The letter argued that the program provided a lifeline to many oppressed individuals and an opportunity for churches to minister to them.
On January 25, 2017, Rodriguez issued a statement indicating he agreed with President Trump that securing the U.S/Mexico border was vital for the safety of the U.S. He added that he opposed forcibly removing undocumented individuals and families already in the U.S. (with the exception of criminals and drug dealers).
Also in 2017, Rodriguez was involved in a conversation at the White House with
Jared Kushner
Jared Corey Kushner (born January 10, 1981) is an American businessman and investor. He served as a senior advisor to 45th U.S. president Donald Trump, his father-in-law. Since leaving the White House, Kushner founded Affinity Partners, a pri ...
and
Ivanka Trump
Ivana Marie "Ivanka" Trump (; born October 30, 1981) is an American businesswoman and the first daughter of Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. She was a senior advisor in his administration, and also was the ...
that led to the creation of the
First Step Act
The First Step Act, formally known as the Formerly Incarcerated Reenter Society Transformed Safely Transitioning Every Person Act, is a bipartisan criminal justice bill passed by the 115th Congress and signed by President Donald Trump in Decembe ...
, which helps to prevent individuals who have served time from returning to prison.
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rev. Rodriguez joined the Heritage Foundation as a spokesperson for the National Coronavirus Recovery Commission.
Rev. Rodriguez signed an amicus brief on behalf of the NHCLC along with the Frederick Douglas Foundation, Dr. Alveda King, Deacon Keith Fournier, Esq., and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tyler, which was cited in the historical ''Dobbs v. Jackson'' case that overturned ''Roe v. Wade'' in June 2022.
Recognition
In 2008, ''Newsweek'' called Rodriguez one of the "Top 12 People to Look For." Presented by the Congress of Racial Equality in 2011, Rodriguez was awarded the Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Award. In 2013, Rodriguez received a nomination for ''Time Magazine''
's "Top 100 Most Influential People." That same year, he became the first Latino keynote speaker at the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Service. Rodriguez has been a part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Service four times (2010, 2011, 2013 and 2021); he is the only person to be features on this many occasions. In 2015, ''Latino Leaders Magazine'' included him on their "101 Most Influential Leaders" list as the first evangelical leader to make the list. The ''Wall St. Journal'' has called Rodriguez one of the top 12 latino leaders. Rodriguez was also included in ''Charisma Magazine's'' "40 People Who Radically Changed Our World" series. He has received honorary doctorates from
William Jessup University
William Jessup University is a private Christian university in Rocklin, California, with an additional site in San Jose, California. The university had 1,743 students during the 2019–20 academic year, over 1650 being full-time equivalents. Foun ...
,
Northwest University and
Baptist University of the Americas. Rodriguez regularly comments for publications and media outlets such as CNN, Fox News, PBS, Telemundo, NBC and others.
In 2015, Rodriguez and his wife, Eva, received The Rosa Parks Courage Award for their civil rights work from the Southern Youth Leadership Development Institute (SYLDI) and the
Montgomery Improvement Association The Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) was formed on December 5, 1955 by black ministers and community leaders in Montgomery, Alabama. Under the leadership of Ralph Abernathy, Martin Luther King Jr. and Edgar Nixon, the MIA was instrumental in ...
(MIA). The award was granted in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery bus boycott was a political and social protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama. It was a foundational event in the civil rights movement in the United States ...
.
In 2021, Rodriguez was named in 'Israel's Top 50 Christian Allies' by The Israel Allies Foundation. This exclusive list selects Christian leaders who remain steadfast in their love and support of Israel, which stems from their Christian faith.
In 2022. ''Deseret Magazine'' named Rodriguez one of their 20 “New Reformers,” referring to faith leaders “challenging the conservative movement to change,” citing his advocacy for granting immigrants immediate citizenship.
Filmography
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Samuel Jr.
1969 births
American people of Puerto Rican descent
American evangelists
Living people