Pastor & Writer
T. Carlos Anderson is an author, activist, pastor, and speaker who lives and works in Austin, Texas. He directs social ministry efforts for Austin City Lutherans, a non-profit organization that supports a food pantry and an early childhood development center for low-income families. There is a Balm in Huntsville is his second book. His first book, in support of the revered American trait of egalitarianism, Just a Little Bit More: The Culture of Excess and the Fate of the Common Good, was published in 2014.
The Pen Name
“I’ve worked as a parish pastor since the late 1980s when we lived in Perú, South America. For more than twenty-five years, I served dual-language congregations in Houston and Austin. I’m an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), and most everyone calls me by my given first name of Tim. While living in Perú, it seemed natural to use the Spanish translation of my name, Timoteo – until a taxi driver set me straight.
“After some general conversation, the taxi driver asked my name before dropping me off at my destination. I told him ‘Timoteo’ which produced raucous laughter. He told me, ‘Hombre, acá en el Perú el nombre Timoteo es un nombre para gatos y perros.’ Translated: ‘Hey, pal, here in Perú the name Timoteo is a name for cats and dogs.’
“I immediately started to use my middle name – Carl for my dad, or Carlos. Little did I know that the taxi driver provided me with a pen name that I would use twenty-five years later. I wasn’t surprised to discover while preparing to market my first book that the name Tim Anderson was ubiquitous on Amazon.com. ‘T. Carlos,’ a simple bilingual twist on my given name, was free and clear. No other authors had the name, and as far as I know, neither do any cats or dogs!”
T. Carlos Anderson 