Pentecostal or Charismatic Churches Books

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Theological Hermeneutics in the Classical Pentecostal Tradition: A Typological Account, L. William Oliverio Jr. accounts for the development of Classical Pentecostal theology, as theological hermeneutics, through four types: the original Classical Pentecostal hermeneutic, the Evangelical-Pentecostal hermeneutic, the contextual-Pentecostal hermeneutic, and the ecumenical-Pentecostal hermeneutic. Oliverio gives special attention to key figures in shaping Pentecostal theology and the underlying philosophical assumptions which informed their theological interpretations of reality. The text concludes with a philosophical basis for future Pentecostal theological hermeneutics within the contours of a hermeneutical realism that affirms both the hermeneutical nature of all theology and the implicit affirmation of realism within theological accounts.Trade Review"The book deserves to be widely read, not just by those working in the field of Pentecostal and Charismatic studies but also by those working in the field of historically informed theological hermeneutics more generally. I expect that it will become a standard advanced text in many theological colleges and seminaries." Mark J. Cartledge, University of Birmingham, UK "Oliverio provides the first comprehensive account of the history of Pentecostal theological hermeneutics. He shows that Pentecostalism did not simply borrow the theological categories of its Holiness and Reformed predecessors. The early Pentecostal theological hermeneutic—centered on the four/five fold Gospel, the restorationist motif, biblical authority, and pragmatic realism—created a new theological tradition. Highly recommended for its readability and effective charting of the development and diversification of theological methods among historical and contemporary Classical Pentecostals." Steven M. Studebaker, Associate Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology, Howard and Shirley Bentall Chair in Evangelical Thought, McMaster Divinity College "If the new dialogue between biblical exegetes and systematic theologians is indeed the most significant theological development in the last two decades, as Miroslav Volf has recently claimed, then the largely unsung contribution of Pentecostal thinkers to this discussion surely ranks as the next most significant development. In providing a typology of Pentecostal approaches to theological hermeneutics, Oliverio’s fine study not only helps non-Pentecostals to understand what has been happening (“Pentecostal Scholasticism” – who knew?) but also proffers fresh resources – in particular an expansive and realistic “contextual-Pentecostal” hermeneutic of “the full gospel” that views word-Spirit-community as inextricably linked – for tired Protestant discussions about the theological interpretation of the Bible." Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Research Professor of Systematic Theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Deerfield, IL)Table of ContentsAbbreviations ... xi Acknowledgments ... xiii Introduction ... 1 1. Theological Hermeneutics, Paradigms and Interdependence ... 2 2. Classical Pentecostalism as a Tradition ... 5 3. Review of the Literature ...12 4. An Overview of My Thesis ...15 1 The Theological Roots of Early Pentecostal Theology ...19 1.1 Theological Roots of Classical Pentecostalism and the “Full Gospel” ... 20 1.1.1 Roots in the Wesleyan-Holiness Tradition ... 21 1.1.2. Roots in the American Revivalist Tradition and Radical Evangelicalism ... 24 1.1.3. Roots in the Keswick Movement ... 27 1.1.4. Roots in Premillennialism ... 28 1.2. Conclusion: The Roots of Early Pentecostal Theology ... 30 2 The Original Classical Pentecostal Hermeneutic ... 31 2.1. Major Interpretations of Early Pentecostal Hermeneutics ... 34 2.1.1. Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen ... 35 2.1.2. Grant Wacker ... 36 2.1.3. French Arrington ... 41 2.1.4. Kenneth J. Archer ... 44 2.1.5. Douglas Jacobsen ... 48 2.1.6. Conclusion: Interpretations of Early Pentecostal Hermeneutics ... 50 2.2. Early Pentecostal Hermeneuts: Four Exemplars ... 51 2.2.1. Charles Fox Parham: Proclaiming the Everlasting Gospel ... 51 2.2.2. William Joseph Seymour and the Azusa Street Apostolic Faith Mission: The Cradle of Early Pentecostalism ... 57 2.2.3. Charles Harrison Mason: Interpreting the Signs in God’s World ... 66 2.2.4. Garfijield Thomas Haywood: Apostolic Interpretation ... 73 2.3. Conclusion: The Original Classical Pentecostal Hermeneutic ... 78 3 The Early Evangelical-Pentecostal Hermeneutic ... 83 3.1. The American Evangelical Tradition and the Authority of Scripture ... 85 3.2. Daniel Warren Kerr and the Early (Re)Turn to Evangelical Theological Method ... 88 3.3. Pentecostalism and Fundamentalism ... 104 3.3.1. American Fundamentalism ... 104 3.3.2. Pentecostalism and Fundamentalism ... 106 3.3.3. Dispensationalism and Pentecostal Hermeneutics ... 113 3.4. The Emergence of “Pentecostal Scholasticism” ... 116 3.4.1. P.C. Nelson’s Translation of Eric Lund’s Hermeneutics: Common Sense Grammatical Biblical Hermeneutics ... 118 3.4.2. Myer Pearlman: Organizing and Delineating Pentecostal Doctrine ... 121 3.5. Conclusion: The Early (Re)Turn to Evangelical Hermeneutics ... 130 4 The Contemporary Evangelical-Pentecostal Hermeneutic ... 133 4.1. Contemporary Evangelical Theological Hermeneutics: The Penultimate Authority of Scripture ... 136 4.2. The Contemporary Evangelical-Pentecostal Hermeneutic ... 141 4.2.1. The Hermeneutics of Inerrancy in the Evangelical-Pentecostal Hermeneutic ... 142 4.2.2. The Author-Centered Evangelical-Pentecostal Hermeneutic ... 148 4.2.3. Pneumatic Interpretation in the Evangelical-Pentecostal Hermeneutic ... 157 4.2.4. David Bernard’s Apostolic Interpretation ... 165 4.3. Gordon Fee and the Debate over the Hermeneutics of Pentecostal Doctrines ... 167 4.3.1. Gordon Fee’s Hermeneutics and Pentecostal Theology ... 168 4.3.2. Luke as Theologian: Roger Stronstad, Robert Menzies and the Biblical Justifijication for the Distinctive Pentecostal Doctrines ... 177 4.3.3. The Signifijicance of the Debate ... 182 4.4. Conclusion: The Signifijicance of the Contemporary Evangelical-Pentecostal Hermeneutic ... 182 5 The Contextual-Pentecostal Hermeneutic ... 185 5.1. Hans-Georg Gadamer and Contemporary Philosophical Hermeneutics ... 187 5.2. The Postmodern Contextual-Pentecostal Critique of the Evangelical-Pentecostal Hermeneutic ... 190 5.3. Ethnic and Cultural Contexts and Pentecostal Theology ... 202 5.4. James K.A. Smith’s Creational Hermeneutic: An Incarnational Pentecostal Hermeneutic after the Linguistic Turn ... 204 5.4.1. Creation, Finitude and the Ubiquity of Interpretation: Smith’s Turn to Temporality, Situationality and Traditionality ... 209 5.4.2. Smith’s Creational Hermeneutic and Its Incarnational Strategy ... 215 5.4.3. Smith’s Creational Hermeneutic and Ethical Responsibility toward Authors ... 218 5.4.4. The Pentecostal Speech of the Christian Community ... 220 5.4.5. Smith’s Hermeneutic as a Contextual-Pentecostal Hermeneutic ... 223 5.5. John Christopher Thomas and Kenneth J. Archer: Narrative and Communitarian Approaches to Pentecostal Hermeneutics ... 224 5.5.1. John Christopher Thomas and the Role of Community in Biblical Hermeneutics ... 224 5.5.2. Kenneth J. Archer and the Making of Meaning in Pentecostal Communities ... 227 5.6. Amos Yong’s Trinitarian-Pneumatological Approach to Pentecostal Hermeneutics ... 232 5.6.1. Trinity, Epistemology, Metaphysics and Pneumatology ... 233 5.6.2. Discernment of Spirit(s) ... 238 5.6.3. The Trialectic Movement of Spirit-Word-Community ... 240 5.7. Conclusion: Evaluating the Development of the Contextual-Pentecostal Hermeneutic ... 247 6 The Ecumenical-Pentecostal Hermeneutic ... 253 6.1. Classical Pentecostalism and Ecumenism: A Brief Historical Overview ... 255 6.2. Pioneering Toward an Ecumenical-Pentecostal Hermeneutic ... 264 6.2.1. Ernest Swing Williams: A Mid-Twentieth Century Pentecostal Dialectician ... 264 6.2.2. Cecil M. Robeck, Jr.: Ecumenism’s Pentecostal Advocate ... 272 6.2.3. Pentecostal Theological Hermeneutics in Ecumenical Dialogues ... 279 6.3. The Contemporary Ecumenical-Pentecostal Hermeneutic ... 292 6.3.1. Frank D. Macchia and the Expansion of the Boundaries of Spirit Baptism ... 293 6.3.2. Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen and the Development of Consensual Doctrines ... 300 6.3.3. Simon Chan’s Call for Pentecostal “Traditioning” ... 306 6.3.4. Koo Dong Yun and a Dialectical Approach to Baptism in the Spirit ... 308 6.4. Conclusion: Tradition, Systematic Theology and Pentecostalism ... 310 7 Toward a Hermeneutical Realism for Pentecostal Theological Hermeneutics ... 315 7.1. Theological Hermeneutics in the Classical Pentecostal Tradition: Summarizing a Typological Account ... 315 7.2. Toward a Hermeneutical Realism for Pentecostal Theological Hermeneutics ... 319 7.2.1. The Linguistic Turn and the Rejection of a Foundationalism of Indubitable Beliefs ... 320 7.2.2. Paradigms and Best Accounts of Our World ... 327 7.2.3. The Hermeneutic Responsibility toward the Real ... 342 7.2.4. Fides Quarens Intellectum: Faith and Theology ... 343 7.2.5. Meaning, Reality and Hermeneutic Responsibility ... 345 7.3. Resources (and Our Guide) for Pentecostal Theological Hermeneutics ... 354 7.3.1. The Spirit, Our Guide ... 355 7.3.2. Word ... 357 7.3.3. Creation and Culture ... 358 7.3.4. Tradition ... 360 7.4. Conclusion: Growing in Faith, Hope and Love ... 361 Bibliography ... 363 Index ... 377

Read more less

Book SynopsisPentecostals have not sufficiently worked out a distinctively Pentecostal philosophy of art and aesthetics. In Pentecostal Aesthetics: Theological Reflections in a Pentecostal Philosophy of Art and Aesthetics, with a foreword by Amos Yong, Steven Félix-Jäger corrects this by reflecting theologically on art and aesthetics from a global Pentecostal perspective, particularly through a pneumatic Pentecostal lens. Félix-Jäger contends that a Pentecostal philosophy of art and aesthetics must comply with the global, experiential, and pneumatocentric nature of the Pentecostal movement. Such a philosophy can be ontologically grounded in a relativistic theory of art. Theological reflections concerning the nature and purpose of art must then be sensitive to the ontological foundations secured thereof. In this fashion, Pentecostals can gain ample insight about the Spirit’s work in today’s contemporary artworld.Trade Review“This book is striking and unusual, coming as it does from a practising artist, and one steeped in the Pentecostal/charismatic tradition. Félix-Jäger seeks nothing less than an 'ontologically grounded' global Pentecostal philosophy of art and aesthetics. The result is an engaging and readable work, offering an imaginative reorientation of the theology and arts field around the person and work of the Holy Spirit.” - Jeremy Begbie, Thomas A. Langford Research Professor of Theology at Duke University “The linking of the Holy Spirit with artistic skill by Christian theologians goes back to St Clement of Alexandria in the 2nd century. Dr Félix-Jäger is, therefore part of a long tradition in discussing Pentecostalism and the arts, and he makes a valuable and fascinating contribution to his topic.” - Patrick Sherry, Professor Emeritus at Lancaster University “Félix-Jäger’s book on 'Pentecostal Aesthetics' is a very welcome addition to the conversation on theology and art. It represents a movement away from the generalized approaches to more specific interaction with theological traditions and the specific practices of these traditions. The book lays out a helpful framework for considering a Spirit based aesthetic and puts this in conversation with other voices. The book both invites and advances a broader conversation on religion and the arts.” - William Dyrness, Professor of Theology and Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary, author of "Poetic Theology" God and the Poetics of Everyday Life" (2011).

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Middle-Class Pentecostalism in Argentina: Inappropriate Spirits Jens Koehrsen offers an intriguing account of how the middle class relates to Latin America´s most vibrant religious movement. Based on pervasive field research, this study suggests that Pentecostalism stands in tension with the social imaginary of the middle class and is perceived as an inappropriate lower class practice. As such, middle class Pentecostals negotiate the appropriateness of their religious belonging by demonstrating distinctive tastes and styles of Pentecostalism. Abstaining from the expressiveness, emotionality, and strong spiritual practice that have marked the movement, they create a milder and socially more acceptable form of Pentecostalism. Increasingly turning into a middle class movement, this style has the potential to embody the future shape of Pentecostalism.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Lewi Pethrus’ Ecclesiological Thought 1911-1974: A Transdenominational Pentecostal Ecclesiology, Tommy Davidsson presents a chronological survey of the ecclesiology of the Swedish Pentecostal pioneer, Lewi Pethrus (1884-1974). The presentation is the first study of its kind and it demonstrates by means of a historical analysis the underlying factors that contributed to the formation of ecclesiological beliefs among Pentecostals. The insights from the historical analysis are then applied to a global setting. By employing Roger Haight’s Transdenominational Ecclesiology, Davidsson proposes a methodology that serves as a helpful tool when assessing the unifying values that characterise highly diverse Pentecostal communities worldwide.Trade Review"Gerade darin liegt jedocht der besondere Wert des Buchs: Neben den materialen (Neu-)Erkenntnissen zur Geschichte von Pethrus' Theologie regt es dazu an, ein analytisch schärferes Instrumentarium zum Umgang mit dem Universalismus/Partikularismus-Problem innerhalb der Pentkostalismusstudien zu erarbeiten und Darstellungsformen zu finden, die der Komplexität des Forschungsgegenstands gerecht werden." - Giovanni Maltese, Theologische Literaturzeitung Vol. 141 (2017) 5.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis reader in Pentecostal ecclesiology, edited by Chris Green, brings together in a single volume a number of critically important previously-published essays written by leading Pentecostal and charismatic scholars addressing the theology of the church, sacraments, and ministry in the Pentecostal/charismatic traditions. Contributors include: Estrelda Alexander, Peter Althouse, Jonathan E. Alvarado, Ken Archer, Daniela Augustine, Simon Chan, Graciela Esparza, Jenny Everts, Chris E. W. Green, Walter Hollenweger, Cheryl Bridges Johns, Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Andy Lord, Frank Macchia, Clark Pinnock, Margaret M. Poloma, Lisa Stephenson, Wolfgang Vondey, and Amos Yong.Table of ContentsContents Introduction Part 1 - Church Church as Charismatic Fellowship: Ecclesiological Reflections from the Pentecostal-Roman Catholic Dialogue Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen Mother Church: Toward a Pentecostal Ecclesiology Simon Chan Church in the Power of the Holy Spirit: The Promise of Pentecostal Ecclesiology Clark H. Pinnock Pentecost Communal Economics and the Household of God Daniela C. Augustine Towards a Pentecostal Ecclesiology: Participation in the Missional Life of the Triune God Peter Althouse Charisma, Institutionalization and Social Change Margaret M. Poloma Mission Eschatology: A Framework for Mission in the Spirit Andrew M. Lord Part 2 - Sacraments Tongues as a Sign: Towards a Sacramental Understanding of Pentecostal Experience Frank D. Macchia Nourishment for our Journey: The Pentecostal via Salutis and Sacramental Ordinances Kenneth J. Archer Getting Our Feet Wet: The Politics of Footwashing Lisa P. Stephenson Pentecostal Epiclesis: A Model for Teaching and Learning Johnathan E. Alvarado “Then Their Eyes Were Opened”: Pentecostal Reflections on the Church’s Scripture and the Lord’s Supper Chris E.W. Green Between This and That: Reality and Sacramentality in the Pentecostal Worldview Wolfgang Vondey and Chris W. Green Part 3 - Ministry Prayer, Evangelization and Spiritual Warfare: A Pentecostal Perspective Cheryl Bridges Johns Evangelism: A Non-Colonial Model Walter J. Hollenweger Pentecostal Ecclesiology and Eucharistic Hospitality: Toward a Systematic and Ecumenical Account of the Church Wolfgang Vondey Liturgy in Non-liturgical Holiness-Pentecostalism Estrelda Y. Alexander Brokenness as the Center of a Woman’s Ministry Janet Meyer Everts Let’s Question the Ministry of Women Graciela Esparza Disability and the Gifts of the Spirit: Pentecost and the Renewal of the Church Amos Yong Selected Bibliography Index of Biblical References Index of Authors

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Pentecostal experience of Spirit baptism remains an important topic of discussion more than a century after the inception of the Pentecostal movement. In Spirit Baptism: The Pentecostal Experience in Theological Focus David Perry moves beyond traditional debates by focusing on the meaning and function of the experience within the Pentecostal community. Grounded in the Pentecostal experience itself, he explores the meaning of the experience in terms of its cognitive, effective, constitutive and communicative function. He demonstrates the enduring value of the experience of Spirit baptism to the Pentecostal community and emphasises what is centrally important – a powerful and transformative encounter with the Holy Spirit.Trade Review"In many ways, this should be a welcome addition to the debate on Spirit Baptism among Pentecostals. Methodologically, it brings something new to the discussion. It avoids the biblical-exegetical approach which is a well-trodden path often comprising quotations and counter-quotations on the various points. It also consciously tries to avoid the common points of contention, such as sequentialism and initial evidence. In this sense, this is a breath of fresh air to the debate on the issue of Spirit Baptism." Chigor Chike, University of Roehampton, PentecoStudies 18.1 (2019), pp. 117–118. "C’est ce à quoi sont consacrés les chapitres suivants, fondés sur la réflexion de Lonergan, qui cherchent à expliquer la signification du baptême dans l’Esprit pentecôtiste selon les quatre dimensions du sens dégagées par le théologien canadien : cognitive, efficiente, constitutive et communicative." Istina 2019/2, pp. 268-269.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Preface Introduction 1 How Did We Get Here?  1.1 Towards a Working Definition of Spirit Baptism  1.2 Spirit Baptism in Pentecostal Focus   1.2.1 Biblical Analysis   1.2.2 Exegetical Challenges   1.2.3 Theological Contributions  1.3 The Need for Further Reflection 2 Experience and Meaning  2.1 Pentecostal Philosophy and Worldview  2.2 Experience   2.2.1 Overcoming the Subjective/Objective Divide   2.2.2 Experience as Pre-conceptual   2.2.3 Experience as a Source of Doctrine   2.2.4 The Interpreted Character of Experience   2.2.5 Summary  2.3 Bernard Lonergan’s Functions of Meaning   2.3.1 Lonergan and Spirit Baptism Elsewhere  2.4 Concluding Remarks 3 Spirit Baptism and Cognitive Meaning  3.1 The Cognitive Function of Meaning Revisited  3.2 What has Commonly Been Asserted about Pentecostal Spirit Baptism?   3.2.1 Distinct From or Subsequent to Conversion   3.2.2 The Purpose of Spirit Baptism is Enduement with Power   3.2.3 Evidenced by Speaking in Tongues   3.2.4 Summary  3.3 Identifying the Core Assertions about Spirit Baptism   3.3.1 To Name is to Give Meaning   3.3.2 The Distinction between Judgement and Understanding  3.4 Spirit Baptism is an Experience of the Holy Spirit   3.4.1 Phenomenology   3.4.2 The Question of Authority and the Chosen Sources   3.4.3 Scripture   3.4.4 Understanding  3.5 Concluding Remarks 4 Spirit Baptism and Effective Meaning  4.1 The Effective Function of Meaning Revisited  4.2 Spirit Baptism and Eschatology  4.3 Spirit Baptism as a Catalyst for Evangelism and Missions  4.4 Shifting Eschatology  4.5 Spirit Baptism and Social Action  4.6 Changes in Effective Meaning  4.7 The Effective Function of Spirit Baptism Today   4.7.1 Created Participation in Passive Spiration   4.7.2 An Outpouring of Divine Love   4.7.3 A Broader Concept of Empowerment  4.8 Concluding Remarks 5 Spirit Baptism and Constitutive Meaning  5.1 The Constitutive Function of Meaning Revisited  5.2 The Constitutive Function of Pentecostal Spirit Baptism   5.2.1 Historically   5.2.2 Presently  5.3 Concrete Ecclesiology and the Challenge of Constitutive Meaning  5.4 A Way Forward   5.4.1 Institution and Charisma   5.4.2 Operators and Integrators   5.4.3 The Capacity for Spirit Baptism to Function Constitutively  5.5 Concluding Remarks 6 Spirit Baptism and Communicative Meaning  6.1 The Communicative Function of Meaning Revisited  6.2 Glossolalia as a Communication of Elemental Meaning   6.2.1 Theological Perspectives   6.2.2 Narrative Perspectives  6.3 The Communication of the Doctrine of Spirit Baptism   6.3.1 Case Study: Pentecostal Spirit Baptism in Ecumenical Discussion  6.4 A Suggested Rewording of the Doctrine  6.5 Concluding Remarks Appendix A: Testimonies of Pentecostal Spirit Baptism Appendix B: AG US Conversions and Spirit Baptisms 1979–2003 Appendix C: AG US Water Baptisms and Spirit Baptisms 1979–2012 Appendix D: ACC Conversions and Spirit Baptisms 2005–2013 Appendix E: ACC Water Baptisms and Spirit Baptisms 2005–2013 Appendix F: National Church Life Survey 1991–2011 Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis volume offers a landmark analysis of the trinitarian impulses in contemporary worship music used by the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC). It considers whether the lyrics from the most commonly used PAOC songs are consistent with this Evangelical group’s trinitarian statement of faith. Colin Gunton’s trinitarian theology provides the theological rationale for eight original and qualitative content analyses of these songs. Three major areas are considered—the doctrine of God, human personhood, and cosmology. Making use of Gunton’s notions of relationality, particularity, and perichoresis, along with several key Pentecostal scholars, this book serves as a helpful descriptive and prescriptive theological resource for the dynamic practice of a trinitarian faith.Trade Review"Tapper’s volume collects of an incredible amount of data, analyzes and compiles it, and comes complete with helpful and colourful charts, diagrams, and extensive appendices. (...) Overall Tapper’s is an excellent and crucial study which I would highly recommend to all students of Pentecostal theology and liturgy, and especially to PAOC pastors, worship leaders, and songwriters." - Aaron Ross, University of Toronto-Wycliffe College, in: Pneuma 40:3 (2018), pp. 438-441.Table of ContentsCONTENTS Introduction Chapter 1. Influence of Eastern and Western Trinitarian Thought Chapter 2. Canadian Pentecostals and the Trinity Chapter 3. Colin Gunton Chapter 4. Critiquing Gunton’s Trinitarian Theology Chapter 5. A Framework for Trinitarian Evaluation of Canadian Pentecostal Music Chapter 6. Lyrics and Theology Proper Chapter 7. A Canadian Pentecostal Approach to God Chapter 8. Lyrics and Anthropology Chapter 9. A Canadian Pentecostal Approach to Human Personhood Chapter 10. Lyrics and Cosmology Chapter 11. A Canadian Pentecostal Approach to the World Epilogue: Leading Pentecostals Forward in Trinitarian Thought Bibliography Appendixes Indexes

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Transnational Religious Organization and Practice Stanley John provides the first in-depth analysis of a migrant Christian community in the Arabian Gulf. The book explores how Kerala (South India) Pentecostal churches in Kuwait organize and practice their Christian faith, given the status of their congregants as temporary economic migrants and noting that the transient status heightens their transnational orientation toward their homeland in India. The research follows a twofold agenda: first, examining the unique sociopolitical and migrational context within which the KPCs function, and second, analyzing the transnational character and structural patterns that have emerged in this context. The ethnographic research identifies and analyzes the emerging structures and practices of the KPCs through three lenses: networks, agents, and mission. This study concludes with a proposal for an interdisciplinary theoretical framework to be employed in the study of transnational religious communities.Table of ContentsList of Illustrations 1 Diaspora Pentecostal Churches in an Era of World Christianity Part 1: The Context of Kerala Pentecostal Churches in Kuwait 2 Demographic Analysis of Transnational Fields 3 Conceptualizing Temporary Economic Migration 4 The History of Christianity in the Transnational Fields Part 2: Transnational Religious Organization and Practice 5 Transnational Ecclesial Networks 6 Transnational Ecclesial Agents 7 Transnational Practice of Faith: Mission of the Church 8 Conclusion: Kerala Pentecostal Churches in Mission Appendix: Employment Contract Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisFaith in African Lived Christianity – Bridging Anthropological and Theological Perspectives offers a comprehensive, empirically rich and interdisciplinary approach to the study of faith in African Christianity. The book brings together anthropology and theology in the study of how faith and religious experiences shape the understanding of social life in Africa. The volume is a collection of chapters by prominent Africanist theologians, anthropologists and social scientists, who take people’s faith as their starting point and analyze it in a contextually sensitive way. It covers discussions of positionality in the study of African Christianity, interdisciplinary methods and approaches and a number of case studies on political, social and ecological aspects of African Christian spirituality.Trade Review"This is an important book that indicates a paradigm shift in the study of religion in Africa. It is the first serious attempt to bring anthropological and theological perspectives together in a single analytical framework. The book provides new methodological approaches and offers refreshingly new insights on much-debated issues, notably on contemporary forms of charismatic and Pentecostal Christianity. This is all done with due attention for historical contexts. African Christian spirituality, the book shows, is marked by an historical openness towards the spirit world that is perpetuated in the present. This is the case in Africa as well as among African Christians outside the African continent. [..] Several of the chapters have been contributed by young and upcoming scholars, representing a generational shift in the study of Christianity in Africa. This is a welcome development that will help bring about the much needed decolonization of the academic mind in the study of religion in Africa generally. This book is an exemplary case. [..] Faith in Lived Christianity in Africa is an innovative collection of essays that takes the academic debate to a different level. It should be read by all those engaging in the academic debate on Christianity in Africa." — Gerrie ter Haar, Em. Professor, International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University "For a long time, anthropological and theological approaches to the study of Christianity in Africa have existed alongside each other but with little dialogue and exchange. This important book demonstrates how enriching and stimulating it can be when the boundaries between these disciplines are explored and transgressed. The various contributions offer inter- and transdisciplinary interpretations of diverse forms of Christian faith and practice as lived religion in contemporary Africa, and they reflect critically on the methodological questions at stake." — Adriaan van Klinken, Associate Professor of Religion and African Studies, University of LeedsTable of Contents Forewordvii  Notes on Contributorsviii  1 Faith in African Lived Christianity – Bridging Anthropological and Theological Perspectives: Introduction  Mika Vähäkangas and Karen Lauterbach Part 1: Normativity and Positionality in Anthropology and Theology  2 World Christianity and the Reorganization of Disciplines: On the Emerging Dialogue Between Anthropology and Theology  Joel Robbins  3 From Objects to Subjects of Religious Studies in Africa: Methodological Agnosticism and Methodological Conversion  Frans Wijsen  4 Liberationist Conversion and Ethnography in the Decolonial Moment: A Finnish Theologian/Ethicist Reflects in South Africa  Elina Hankela  5 Re-thinking the Study of Religion: Lessons from Field Studies of Religions in Africa and the African Diaspora  Galia Sabar Part 2: Methods and Approaches: From Anthropology to Theology and Back  6 Fakery and Wealth in African Charismatic Christianity: Moving Beyond the Prosperity Gospel as Script  Karen Lauterbach  7 How to Respect the Religious Quasi-Other? Methodological Considerations in Studying the Kimbanguist Doctrine of Incarnation  Mika Vähäkangas  8 Pentecostal Praise and Worship as a Mode of Theology  Martina Prosén  9 The Sounds of the Christians in Northern Nigeria: Notes on an Acoustic History of Bachama Christianity  Niels Kastfelt  10 What Has Kinshasa to Do with Athens? Methodological Perspectives on Theology and Social Science in Search for a Political Theology  Elias Kifon Bongmba Part 3: Theology in Lived Religion: Case Studies  11 African Migrant Christianities – Delocalization or Relocalization of Identities?  Stian Sørlie Eriksen, Tomas Sundnes Drønen and Ingrid Løland  12 Going to War: Spiritual Encounters and Pentecostals’ Drive for Exposure in Contemporary Zanzibar  Hans Olsson  13 The Dramatization and Embodiment of God of the Wilderness  Isabel Mukonyora  14 Breathing Pneumatology: Spirit, Wind, and Atmosphere in a Zulu Zionist Congregation  Rune Flikke  15 Gendered Narratives of Illness and Healing: Experiences of Spirit Possession in a Charismatic Church Community in Tanzania  Lotta Gammelin  16 Revealed Medicine – As an Expression of an African Christian Lived-Out Spirituality  Carl Sundberg  Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisWorship and Social Engagement in Urban Aboriginal-led Australian Pentecostal Congregations: (Re)imagining Identity in the Spirit provides an ethnographic account of three Australian Pentecostal congregations with Aboriginal senior leadership. Within this Pentecostalism, Dreaming realities and identities must be brought together with the Christian gospel. Yet current political and economic relationships with the Australian state complicate the possibilities of interactions between culture and Spirit. The result is a matrix or network of these churches stretching across Australia, with Black Australian Pentecostals resisting and accommodating the state through the construction of new and ancient identities. This work occurs most notably in context of the worship ritual, which functions through ritual interaction chains to energise the various social engagement programs these congregations sustain.Table of ContentsList of Illustrations List of Abbreviations Part 1 Prelude: A Short Political History of Australia Introduction to the Research  1 Religion-as-Practiced  2 Introduction to Australian National Identit(ies) Today  3 Malcolm Calley and the Bundjalung Pentecostals  4 Australian Pentecostal Religiosity  5 Disciplinary Location  6 Overview of the Research 1 Learning to Yarn  1.1 Researching Colonized Peoples  1.2 My Location: Stumbling Towards Songlines  1.3 Agency and Freedom: The Right to Choose Christianity  1.4 Participation as a Value of International Development Research  1.5 “Yarning”  1.6 The Affective Encounter in Yarning  1.7 Concluding the Yarns 2 A “Corroboree” of Literature  2.1 Dialoguing with the Anthropological Resources  2.2 Dialoguing with Development Resources  2.3 Dialoguing with Theological Resources  2.4 The Intersections: Pentecostalism, Poverty, and Development  2.5 Concluding The Dancing Circle 3 Methodology  3.1 Theoretical Foundations: IRCT  3.2 Theoretical Foundations: An Appreciative Lens  3.3 The Research Questions and Propositions/Hypothesis  3.4 Method: Ethnographic Research  3.5 Method: Interviews  3.6 Data Analysis: Interviews  3.7 Research Assumptions and Delimiters  3.8 Conclusions Part 2: Research Findings 4 The Aboriginal Pentecostal Network  4.1 The Significance of Oral History  4.2 Denominational Affiliation  4.3 The Three Congregations and Their Leaders  4.4 Finding 1: The Urban Australian Pentecostal Network  4.5 IRCT and Historical Themes  4.6 Conclusions 5 “There’s a Christian Welcome here”: Worship Practices  5.1 Analyzing a Congregation as an Interaction Ritual Chain  5.2 Participant Attitudes Towards Self Determination and Culture  5.3 Finding 2: Welcome or Inclusion, and Yarning  5.4 IRCT and Cultural Strategies in Worship Practice  5.5 Ganggalah Cultural Strategy  5.6 POTS Cultural Strategy  5.7 Eagle Rock Cultural Strategy  5.8 Conclusions on Worship Practices 6 Narrating the Self and the Collective  6.1 Finding 3a: Affective Spirit Encounter Transforms the Self  6.2 Finding 3b: Finding Symbols from Group Narrative  6.3 IRCT and Forming Narrative Theologies  6.4 Conclusions 7 Individual Well-being and Worship  7.1 Finding 4: Worship Improves Self-Reported Well-being  7.2 IRCT and Individual Well-being  7.3 Conclusions regarding Individual Outcomes 8 Social Engagement Practices  8.1 Finding 5: Social Engagement Programs  8.2 Participant Attitudes towards Evangelism and Social Justice  8.3 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Connections  8.4 Finding 6: Missional Strategies for Social Engagement Programs  8.5 IRCT and Social Engagement  8.6 Conclusions on Social Engagement Practices 9 Linking Worship and Social Engagement  9.1 Linking Worship and Social Engagement Practices  9.2 Congregations as Interaction Ritual Chains  9.3 Conclusions about Social Engagement Part 3 10 Reflecting on Interaction Ritual Chain Theory  10.1 Reflecting upon IRCT  10.2 Organizational Leaders as Symbols  10.3 Congregations as Interaction Ritual Chains  10.4 Limitations on the Research  10.5 Conclusion 11 Final Conclusions  11.1 Summary of the Research and Findings  11.2 Conclusions  11.3 Contributions of this Study  11.4 Recommendations to Researchers  11.5 Concluding the Research Appendix A Interview Questions Appendix B Key Church Leader Questions Appendix C Experience of the Spirit Glossary References Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book is the first detailed academic study of megachurches in the UK. In particular, it explores the nature and significance of social engagement by megachurches in the context of London. The research contains empirical case studies of two Anglican and three African diaspora Pentecostal churches. As well as exploring the range of social engagement activities provided by these churches, the study offers explanations in term of theological motivations and the influence of globalisation. Subsequently, the book outlines the importance of the findings for the relationship between church and society in the contemporary context, addressing the implications for social policy and practice. The book advances discussions in public theology, megachurch studies, Pentecostal and Charismatic studies and ecclesiology.Trade Review"The rise of megachurches in the latter part of the twentieth century is an unprecedented phenomenon in the history of global Christianity. Opinions differ as to their constructive contribution to the betterment of society. In this groundbreaking book, a team of scholars has collaborated to produce the most substantive empirical study of the megachurch phenomenon and their social engagement to date. This book is highly recommended!" — Clifton R. Clarke, Assistant Provost and Associate Professor of Black Church Studies and World Christianity, Fuller Theological Seminary. "The co-authored Megachurches and Social Engagement both identifies a gap in the literature and goes a long way to fill it. The gap is the absence of work on an increasingly important phenomenon - the growing number of megachurches in Europe, not least the ten in London. The response is an empirically driven, theologically informed and carefully written account of five of these churches paying particular attention to their involvement in social engagement. I recommend it warmly to a wide variety of audiences both within the churches and beyond." — Grace Davie, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of Exeter.Table of ContentsPreface XI List of Table and Figures xiii  1 Introduction  1.1Aim, Scope and Contribution of the Study  1.2The History and Context of Evangelicalism in the Church of England  1.3African Pentecostalism in London  1.4Theoretical Fields: Public Theology, Megachurches and Social Engagement  1.5Research Methodology  1.6Outline of the Chapters Part 1: Theoretical Fields  2 Megachurch Studies  2.1Introduction  2.2Megachurches in the usa   2.2.1 A Megachurch Typology?   2.2.2 Megachurches and the Religious Market   2.2.3 Megachurches and the Mainline   2.2.4 African American Megachurches  2.3Megachurches in the South  2.4Megachurches in Europe  2.5Megachurches in the United Kingdom  2.6Explanations of the Emergence of Megachurches  2.7Conclusion  3 Public Theology, Social Theory and Social Engagement  3.1Introduction  3.2Public Theology  3.3Changing Society, Changing Church  3.4Faith and Social Policy: Concepts and Context   3.4.1 Conceptualising the Relationship between Faith and Social Policy   3.4.2 Mapping the Contemporary Policy Context  3.5Defining the Churches’ Social Engagement  3.6Sociological Perspectives on the Churches’ Social Engagement   3.6.1 Types of Service Provision   3.6.2 Understanding the Tensions   3.6.3 Faith and Social Capital  3.7Understanding the ‘Why’: Theology, Social Theory and Ecclesial Practice  3.8Conclusion Part 2: Empirical Studies  4 The Church of England  4.1Introduction  4.2Description of Holy Trinity Church, Brompton   4.2.1 The Parish   4.2.2 History   4.2.3 Current Vision   4.2.4 Worship Services   4.2.5 Alpha   4.2.6 Global Reach  4.3Social Engagement   4.3.1 William Wilberforce Trust   4.3.2 Alpha in Prisons   4.3.3 Caring for Ex-Offenders   4.3.4 Homeless Drop-in   4.3.5 Homeless Winter Shelter   4.3.6 Recovery Course   4.3.7 Money Course   4.3.8 Crosslight Debt Advice   4.3.9 Radical Hospitality   4.3.10 Community for the Elderly   4.3.11 Marriage and Marriage Preparation Courses   4.3.12 Parenting Children and Parenting Teenagers Courses   4.3.13 Post-Abortion Healing Course   4.3.14 Bereavement Journey   4.3.15 New ID (Eating Disorders) Course  4.4Holy Trinity Church, Brompton: Summary and Emerging Themes  4.5Description of All Souls Church, Langham Place   4.5.1 Historical Background   4.5.2 Contemporary Vision   4.5.3 Worship Services   4.5.4 Fellowship Groups   4.5.5 Christianity Explored  4.6Social Engagement   4.6.1 Homeless Ministry   4.6.2 Community Centre   4.6.3 Engaging with Central London  4.7All Souls Church, Langham Place: Summary and Emerging Themes  4.8Conclusion  5 African Diaspora Pentecostalism  5.1Introduction  5.2Description of Kingsway International Christian Church   5.2.1 Location, Context and History   5.2.2 Local and Global   5.2.3 Congregational Numbers   5.2.4 Leadership and Organisation   5.2.5 Denomination and Worship  5.3Social Engagement   5.3.1 Educational Initiatives   5.3.2 Careers Counselling   5.3.3 Homeless Ministries   5.3.4 Christmas Hampers   5.3.5 Prison Ministry   5.3.6 Care Home Ministry   5.3.7 Other Activities  5.4Kingsway International Christian Church: Summary and Emerging Themes  5.5Description of Jesus House for All Nations   5.5.1 History and Location   5.5.2 Congregational Numbers   5.5.3 Spheres of Influence   5.5.4 Inter-Church Relations   5.5.5 Denomination and Worship  5.6Social Engagement   5.6.1 The Novo Centre   5.6.2 Food Bank   5.6.3 Christmas Activities   5.6.4 Christians against Poverty   5.6.5 Football Academy   5.6.6 Prayer Walking   5.6.7 Volunteering: A Call to Serve  5.7Jesus House for All Nations: Summary and Emerging Themes  5.8Description of New Wine Church   5.8.1 Location, Context and History   5.8.2 Congregational Numbers   5.8.3 Leadership and Organisation   5.8.4 Denomination and Worship   5.8.5 Ministries  5.9Social Engagement   5.9.1 The John Wilson Pantry   5.9.2 Christmas Activities   5.9.3 Community Outreach   5.9.4 Prison and Immigration Ministry   5.9.5 Care for the Elderly   5.9.6 Overseas Mission   5.9.7 Other Activities  5.10New Wine Church: Summary and Emerging Themes  5.11Conclusion Part 3: Explanations and Implications  6 Theological Motivations  6.1Introduction  6.2Description of Findings   6.2.1 Church Activities   6.2.2 Volunteers’ Motivation  6.3Theorising the Findings   6.3.1 The Theory of Godly Love   6.3.2 Discussion  6.4Conclusion  7 Globalisation and Social Engagement  7.1.Introduction  7.2Globalisation Theory  7.3Globalisation and Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity  7.4Global Anglicanism  7.5Globalisation and Megachurches  7.6Megachurches and the Global City of London   7.6.1 The African Diaspora Pentecostal Model: A Bridge-Head   7.6.2 The Anglican Model: Parish Life and Discipleship Training  7.7The Significance of Globalisation for Social Engagement  7.8Conclusion  8 Implications for Church and Society  8.1Introduction  8.2Ecclesial Practice-Informed Public Theology   8.2.1 A Relational Faith   8.2.2 Discipleship, Transformation and the Common Good   8.2.3 Scale, Structure and Social impact  8.3Implications for Churches and Church Leaders   8.3.1 Language and Story-Telling   8.3.2 The Scope of Social Engagement   8.3.3 Power and Empowerment   8.3.4 Resources and Collaboration  8.4Implications for Social Policy   8.4.1 A Relational Approach   8.4.2 A Values Approach   8.4.3 Specific Recommendations  9 Conclusion  9.1Summary  9.2Towards an Ecclesiology of Social Engagement  9.3Significance of the Study and Areas for Future Research

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Australian Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements: Arguments from the Margins, Rocha, Hutchinson and Openshaw argue that Australia has made and still makes important contributions to how Pentecostal and charismatic Christianities have developed worldwide. This edited volume fills a critical gap in two important scholarly literatures. The first is the Australian literature on religion, in which the absence of the charismatic and Pentecostal element tends to reinforce now widely debunked notions of Australia as lacking the religious tendencies of old Europe. The second is the emerging transnational literature on Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. This book enriches our understanding not only of how these movements spread worldwide but also how they are indigenised and grow new shoots in very diverse contexts.Table of Contents  Foreword   Acknowledgements   List of Figures and Tables   Notes on Contributors   Introduction: Australian Charismatic Movements as a Space of Flows    Mark Hutchinson, Cristina Rocha and Kathleen Openshaw Part 1: Situating Pentecostal Charismatic Christianities in Australia 1 Reframing Howard Carter: Alternative "Routes" for the Emergence of the Australasian Charismatic Renewal    Mark P. Hutchinson 2 Australian Proto-Pentecostals: The Contribution of the Catholic Apostolic Church    Peter Elliott 3 City, Portal and Hub: Brisbane and Catholic Charismatic Renewal    John Maiden 4 Strong Church or Niche Market? The Demography of the Pentecostal Church in Australia    Andrew Singleton Part 2: Home-grown Australian PCMs 5 A Match Made in Heaven: Why Popular Music is Central to the Growth in Pentecostal Charismatic Christianities    Daniel Thornton 6 Marketing and Branding Practices in Australian Pentecostal Suburban Megachurches for Supporting International Growth    Mairead Shanahan 7 Andrew Evans: The Making of an Australian Pentecostal Politician    Denise A. Austin 8 “The Work of the Spirit”: Hillsong Church and a Spiritual Formation for the Marketplace    Tanya Riches 9 The Wacky, the Frightening and the Spectacular: Hearing God’s Voice in Australian Pentecostal Churches    Tania Harris Part 3: A Meeting between Pentecostalism from the Global South and North 10 “Living the Dream”: Post-Millennial Brazilians at Hillsong College    Cristina Rocha 11 Extraordinary Sacrifice and Transnational Spiritual Capital in the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God    Kathleen Openshaw 12 “The demon is growing with sins, but there are angels around”: Bundjalung Pentecostalism as Faith and Paradox    Mahnaz Alimardanian   Epilogue    Allan Anderson  Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe full significance of Cecil Henry Polhill (1860-1938), the wealthy squire of Howbury Hall, is known to few, yet he was one of the founding fathers of the Pentecostal-Charismatic tradition in Britain, and his impact and legacy stretch far beyond British shores to North America, the Far East and elsewhere. In Cecil Polhill: Missionary, Gentleman and Revivalist John Usher comprehensively connects Polhill's early life and former experiences as an Evangelical Anglican missionary in China, a member of the Cambridge Seven, with his time as a pioneer of early Pentecostalism, and in doing so reveals a much more richly contoured and multifaceted picture of the development of early Pentecostalism than previously achieved.Trade Review"Usher’s book has left few bibliographic stones unturned. The scope of the research is amazing... Usher, the editors of Global Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies, and Brill are to be thanked for producing what will long be a crucial standard work for the study of UK Pentecostalism, Pentecostal mission, and more generally of global Pentecostalism." - David Bundy, Manchester, UK, in: Journal of the European Pentecostal Theological Association (2022). “It is extremely rare to find, among those who have written on early Pentecostal figures, many who have taken the time to work in such detail and it may be the first such study that I have found on a British figure. It is first rate.” – Cecil M. Robeck, Jr., Professor Church History and Ecumenics, Fuller Seminary. “Undoubtedly highly original and a significant contribution to knowledge…some truly excellent archival research underpinning the writing….” – Andrew Davies, University of Birmingham.Table of Contents Acknowledgments  Foreword  List of Illustrations  Abbreviations  Introduction 1 From Eton to China (1860–1885) 2 Imperial China: Frequent Danger and the Power of the Holy Spirit (1885–1888) 3 Mysterious Tibet: The Land “in Gross Darkness with Hardly a Gleam of Light” (1888–1900) 4 Life in England, “for China and Tibet, and for Worldwide Revival,” Prayer and Activism between Leaving China and Discovering Pentecostalism (1900–1907) 5 Embracing and Leading Early British Pentecostalism (1908–1910) 6 A Vision Realised, “The Tribes Abound and Are Clamouring for the Gospel,” Polhill and the Pmu at the Tibetan Border (1910–1914)  Appendix 1 The Testimony of Wang Tsuan Yi (Uang-Ts’Ong-I)  Appendix 2 Full Text of the “Memorandum of Agreement between the China Inland Mission and the Tibetan Band” 1896  Bibliography  Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisEmmett contributes to missional pentecostal historiography through bringing a pre-eminent figure in early British Pentecostalism into the limelight. He shows how Pentecostalism in Belgian Congo was pioneered by W.F.P. Burton alongside local agency. Central to Burton’s contradictory and complex personality was a passionate desire to see the emancipation of humankind from the spiritual powers of darkness believing only Spirit-empowered local agency would enduringly prove effective. Burton’s faith believed for Spirit intervention in church communities converting lives, bringing physical healing and transforming regions. In the maelstrom following Congolese Independence, Burton’s belief in his own brand of indigenisation made him an outlier even among Pentecostals. Burton’s pentecostal faith engendered an idealism which frustratingly conflicted with those not sharing it in the way he pursued it. This book thus serves Pentecostals and historians by clarifying Burton’s ideals and revealing the reasons for his frustrations.Trade ReviewW.F.P. Burton was a mythic and enigmatic figure of early Pentecostalism. Fiercely independent, inconsistent, and successful, he was an unstoppable force (with James Salter) building the Congo Evangelistic Mission, one of the earliest Pentecostal mission societies. Scholars of Pentecostalism and World Christianity have, until now, mostly shied away from Burton, justifiably intimidated by the complications of researching scattered archives, publications in not-yet digitized periodicals, books that are difficult to interpret, and a mass of uncritical popular literature with crucial details lurking in texts aimed at fund and prayer solicitation. David Emmett has had the courage to assemble, sort, and interpret these in the context of the repressive Belgian colonial structures and the evolving UK Pentecostal mission policy and politics. The resulting scholarly interpretation of Burton, his relationship with the Congo, and his role in global Pentecostalism is a historiographical tour-de-force. — Dr. David Bundy, Associate Director, Manchester Wesley Research Centre This book is an important addition to the thriving field of studies on global Pentecostalism. Written in lucid and erudite style, it examines one of the most important Pentecostal missions in Africa, the Congo Evangelistic Mission, through a biography of its founder, the British Pentecostal W.F.P. Burton. Emmett shows how Pentecostalism in the Belgian Congo was pioneered by Burton alongside local agency. The study explores Burton’s pioneering role within two strands of the global Pentecostal movement, British Pentecostalism and Congolese Pentecostalism. Emmett portrays Burton as a frustrated idealist whose ideal of an indigenous church in Congo was frustrated in his lifetime. On the one hand, the book charts the life story of a Pentecostal pioneer and advocate of indigenisation, who has been largely neglected within Pentecostal historiography. On the other, it restores the role played by local agents in establishing Congolese Pentecostalism by creating a historiography ‘from below’. Emmett draws upon both archival and oral sources, which are used critically to illuminate the nature of missionary and Congolese interaction. The book makes a significant contribution to Pentecostal historiography and to our understanding of the evolving interplay between missionaries and indigenous evangelists in one of Africa’s most populous nations. — Dr Richard Burgess, University of Roehampton, UK Given the enormous impact of global Pentecostalism on Christianity in general and African Christianity in particular, few Western figures in twentieth-century Christianity have been more unjustifiably neglected in biographic treatment than William Burton. A majority of academic biographies of early Pentecostals so far have focused on figures in the West, but the ministry of Burton and his African colleagues was highly influential; unlike many stories, it also left behind numerous contemporary records. Emmett is to be commended both for his choice of subject and for his engaging, sympathetic yet critical, and extremely well-researched treatment of this important figure. Emmett is also one of the few scholars, and at one of the last possible times in history, to be able to engage actively much reliable oral memory of this significant leader. — Craig S. Keener, F. M. and Ada Thompson Professor of Biblical Studies, Asbury Theological Seminary Pentecostal Pioneers deserve more than hagiography. William Burton was a pioneering maverick whose insights disturbed existing paradigms and provoked significant changes in outlooks and practices. Dave Emmett's work provides a clear-sighted outline and evaluation of Burton's contribution while also introducing Western readers to the lives and ministries of hither-to overlooked local leaders. This book will serve a future generation to understand its own history with nuanced appreciation. — Rev Dr Neil Hudson, adjunct Lecturer, Regents Theological College, Malvern, UK Burton’s remarkable life can be appreciated at a human level and this book will bring his enthralling story to a wider audience but, when put into the context of the first part of the 20th century, his achievements stand tall. He can reasonably be compared with John Wesley, Hudson Taylor or William Booth. — William K. Kay, Revd Professor, Glyndŵr UniversityTable of ContentsForeword Preface Acknowledgements List of Illustrations Abbreviations Glossary Quotations 1 Introduction  1.0 A Study Worth Doing  1.1 A Study within a Broader Context  1.2 A Brief Survey of Burton’s Resonance in British Pentecostalism  1.4 Methodologies  1.5 The Value of Burton’s Letters  1.6 Preserving Archives  1.7 Personal Connections  1.8 Methods and Approaches to Historiographical Writing  1.9 An Overview  1.1 0Conclusion: the Significance of this Study 2 Emerging as a Pentecostal (1886–1914)  Introduction  2.0 Family Background  2.1 Burton’s Conversion  2.2 Journey into Pentecostalism  2.3 Burton’s Pentecostal Missionary Union Application  2.4 Burton in Christian Ministry  2.5 Frustration with Missionary Societies and Missionary Candidates  2.6 Conclusion 3 Established Leader of Pentecostal Missionaries (1915–1958)  Introduction  3.0 Leaving for Africa in Isolation  3.1 South Africa  3.2 The 1914 Pentecostal Mission Journey to Congo  3.3 Burton’s Journey to Congo  3.4 Early Years at Mwanza  3.5 1921–1922 Burton back in Britain: Assemblies of God Initiative  3.6 The Crawford Link  3.7 The So-called ‘Revolutionary Idea’ of Indigenous Church  3.8 Conclusion 4 Burton’s Relationships with Congolese Pentecostals, Especially Ngoloma Ndela Bantu (1916–1939)  Introduction  4.0 The Frontier Narratives of the CEM  4.1 Ngoloma: one of the ‘Native Evangelists’  4.2 Considerations Based on the Ngoloma Story 5 Evangelising through Shalumbo (1916–1937)  Introduction  5.0 Shalumbo’s Name  5.1 Shalumbo’s Importance  5.2 Pre-Angola  5.3 In Angola  5.4 The Journey to Mwanza  5.5 A ‘Quantum-Leap'  5.6 Shalumbo’s Return to the Basongye  5.7 Back to Mwanza  5.8 Shalumbo and Masele Return to Kipushya with the Burtons  5.9 Burton’s Perceived Need for Spirit-filled Agency  5.10 Missionaries to Kipushya  5.11 The Complicating of Shalumbo’s Relationships  5.12 Shalumbo’s Death  5.13 Considerations on Shalumbo’s Life  5.14 Conclusion 6 Burton’s Devolving Power: the CEM 1959–1964  Introduction  6.0 Conferences, Administrative Board Meetings and Mood Swings 1959–1960  6.1 Growing Triggers for Indigenisation  6.2 Salisbury: July, End of August and Start of September 1960  6.3 June–December 1960: The ‘Hodgson-Knauf affair’  6.4 Time to close the Congo Evangelistic Mission?  6.5 Burton Believes the Old Days are Gone  6.6 Burton’s Post Congo Years  6.7 Conclusion 7 Conclusion: Frustrated Idealist  7.0 Conclusions on Burton’s Impact  7.1 Significance for African Pentecostalism  7.2 Significance for Pentecostals Today  7.3 Significance for Scholarship and Missiological Research Appendices Appendix 1 Timeline of Burton’s life Appendix 2 Burton’s letter to the PMU Council 16/10/1913 Appendix 3 Extract from Burton’s letter to Mundell 24/10/1913 (sic) Appendix 4 Extract from Burton’s letter to the PMU 07/12/1913 Appendix 5 The Rights and Wrongs of Indigenous Principles Appendix 6 Burton’s 1926 map of the working sphere of the CEM Appendix 7 Burton’s 1933 map of the working sphere of the CEM Appendix 8 Harold Womersley’s map of the CEM field in 1935 Appendix 9 Harold Womersley’s map of the CEM field in 1965 Appendix 10 Map of the Burtons’ and Shalumbo’s Return journey from Mwanza to Kipushya Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Transatlantic Charismatic Renewal, c.1950-2000, Andrew Atherstone, Mark Hutchinson and John Maiden bring together leading researchers to examine one of the globally most important religious movements of the twentieth century. Variously referred to as the charismatic ‘renewal’ or ‘revival’, it was a key Christian response to globalization, modernity and secularization. Unlike other accounts (which focus either on denominational pentecostalism or charismatic phenomena outside the West), this volume describes transatlantic Christianity drawing deeply on its pneumatic roots to bring about renewal. New research in archives and overlooked journals illuminate key figures from David du Plessis to John Wimber, providing insights which challenge the standard interpretations of the charismatic movement’s origins and influence.Table of ContentsNotes on Contributors Introduction The Evidence of Things Unseen: The Transatlantic Charismatic Movement in the Postwar Period   Mark P. Hutchinson, Andrew Atherstone, and John Maiden 1 Missionary of the Holy Spirit: David du Plessis and the Historic Denominations   Joshua R. Ziefle 2 Robert Walker’s Christian Life Magazine: A Missing Link between Mainstream American Evangelicalism and Charismatic Renewal   Amber Thomas Reynolds 3 Mediating Renewal: Logos International Fellowship and Charismatic Renewal in the United States and beyond   John Maiden 4 Charismatic Renewal in France: Origins and Trajectories   David Bundy 5 ‘On the Edge of Spiritual Revival’? Charismatic Renewal in Wales   David Ceri Jones 6 Charismatic Renewal in Cambridge from the 1960s to the 1980s   Ian Randall 7 The Origins of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the United States: The Experience at the University of Notre Dame and South Bend (Indiana), 1967–1975   Valentina Ciciliot 8 Rendering History Obedient: The Catholic Charismatic Movement and Historical Imagination   Mark P. Hutchinson 9 Encounters with the Spirit among the Quiet in the Land: A Case Study of American Mennonites and Charismatic Renewal   Devin C. Manzullo-Thomas 10 John Wimber’s European Impact   Andrew Atherstone Epilogue Charismatics, Pentecostals, and Contemporary Culture   David Bebbington Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Matarenda/Talents in Zimbabwean Pentecostalism, the fourteen contributors to this multidisciplinary collection reflect on how Pentecostalism contributes to the empowerment of marginalised societies, how it empowers women in particular through the matarenda (talents) principles, and how it contributes to the development of wider society. All but three of the authors are Zimbabwean Pentecostals. The book deals with such subjects as gender equality, economics and finance, poverty alleviation and sustainable development, education, and entrepreneurship. A remarkable independent Zimbabwean church has harnessed biblical principles from the Parable of the Talents to empower women and those marginalised by economic disasters. It is particularly relevant for understanding the potential of African Pentecostalism in dealing with social and economic challenges.Table of ContentsPreface List of Figures and Tables Notes on Contributors PART 1 Gender and Empowerment 1 Matarenda and Its Significance   Sunungurai D. Chingarande 2 Rethinking Religion and Gender Inequality: An Interrogation of Matarenda in ZAOGA   Sunungurai D. Chingarande 3 Talents as Economic Development Consciousness for Women: A Feminist Hermeneutic of Matthew 25:14–30   Caroline Dimingu and Henerieta Mgovo PART 2 Poverty Alleviation and Development 4 Financing the ‘working of talents’ Ventures: The Role of Innovative Finance   Tonderai Kapesa, Faustino Kufakunesu and Alexander Cheza 5 Fostering Local Enterprise Development in Resource-Constrained Developing Countries: Matarenda and Microcredit Compared   Juliana Siwale, Juliet Thondhlana and Roda Madziva 6 Determinants of Prolific Coopetition in the Working of Talents   Faustino Kufakunesu, Tonderai Kapesa and Tapiwa Takundwa 7 Community Matarenda Tourism and Entrepreneurial Poverty Alleviation: The Case of Mount Selinda Forest   Gaylord Hlabiso and Tapiwa Takundwa PART 3 Education and Entrepreneurship 8 Entrepreneurship in Matarenda: Some Case Studies   Allan H. Anderson, Mike Clifford, Roda Madziva, and Juliet Thondhlana 9 Subsistence Entrepreneurship and Its Impact on Livelihood   Tapiwa Takundwa, Faustino Kufakunesu and Gaylord Hlabiso 10 Unpacking Education for the Matarenda (Talents) Model of Entrepreneurship   Juliet Thondhlana 11 Matarenda as Entrepreneurship: A University-Wide Course at Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University   Phillip Musoni 12 Pentecostalism, Matarenda and Development   Allan H. Anderson  Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis commentary, written from a distinctively Pentecostal perspective, is primarily for pastors, lay persons and Bible students. It is based upon the best scholarship, written in popular language, and communicates the meaning of the text with minimal technical distractions. The authors offer a running exposition on the text and extended comments on matters of special signicance for Pentecostals. They acknowledge and interact with alternative interpretations of individual passages. This commentary also provides periodic opportunities for reflection upon and personal response to the biblical text.Table of ContentsSeries Editor’s Foreword Volume Editor’s Foreword Preface Introduction  1 Literary Identification  2 Authority  3 Authorship  4 Lukan Authorship  5 The Addressees  6 Hebrews: Epistle or Pastoral Letter/Homily?  7 Rhetorical Style  8 Theological Emphases Commentary 1 Hebrews 1.1–2.4—God’s Revelation of Himself  1 Hebrews 1.1—God’s Revelation of Himself in the History of Israel  2 Hebrews 1.2–4—God’s Revelation of Himself in His Son  3 Hebrews 1.5–14—The Contrast between the Son and Angels  4 Hebrews 2.1–4—Salvation Provided in the Son 2 Hebrews 2.5–18—The Incarnation and Its necessity  1 Hebrews 2.5–8—The Subjection of the World to Humankind  2 Hebrews 2.9–18—Jesus’ Incarnation Being a Little Lower Than the Angels  3 Reflection and Response—Part One 3 Hebrews 3.1–5.10—Jesus: Apostle and High Priest  1 Hebrews 3.1–6—Jesus, Moses, and Joshua  2 Hebrews 3.7–15—The Exhortation that Follows  3 Hebrews 3.16–19—The Example of Israel  4 Hebrews 4.1–16—Specific Exhortations Based on This Foundation  5 Hebrews 5.1–10—Priesthood by Divine Appointment 4 Hebrews 5.11–6.12—Warnings against Apostasy  1 Hebrews 5.11–6.3—Inexcusable Nature of Their Immaturity  2 Hebrews 6.4–6—The Extreme Danger of Apostasy  3 Hebrews 6.7–8—The Continued Mercy of God for All  4 Hebrews 6.9–12—The Author’s Expectation of the Hebrews  5 Reflection and Response—Part Two 5 Hebrews 6.13–8.13—Provision of a New Covenant and the Priestly Role of Christ  1 Hebrews 6.13–20—Provision of a New Covenant  2 Hebrews 7.1–28—Priesthood according to the Order of Melchizedek  3 Hebrews 8.1–5—Priesthood in the Oath Bound Covenant  4 Hebrews 8.6–13—New Priesthood and the Heavenly Tabernacle Call for a New Covenant 6 Hebrews 9.1–10.39—The Two Tabernacles and Their Orders of Worship  1 Hebrews 9.1–10—The Earthly Tabernacle and Its Furnishings  2 Hebrews 9.11–22—The Roles of Jesus as Priest and Sacrifice  3 Hebrews 9.23–28—Christ: Priest for the Heavenly Tabernacle  4 Hebrews 10.1–18—The Supremacy of the New  5 Excursus on Sacrifices  6 Hebrews 10.19–36—Exhortations and Warnings Based on the New  7 Hebrews 10.37–39—The Eschatological Expectations under the New  8 Reflection and Response—Part Three 7 Hebrews 11.1–40—The Nature and Moral Necessity of Faith  1 Hebrews 11.1–3—The Nature of faith?  2 Excursus on the Greek Word for Faith (πίστις)  3 Hebrews 11.4–7—Exemplars of Faith: Abel, Enoch, and Noah  4 Hebrews 11.8–12—Exemplars of Faith: Abraham and Sarah  5 Hebrews 11.13–22—The Prophetic Nature of Faith  6 Excursus  7 Hebrews 11.23–28—Moses the Leader of Faith for Israel  8 Hebrews 11.29–38—The History of Israel as the People of Faith  9 Hebrews 11.39–40—Faith and Promise  10 Reflection and Response—Part Four 8 Hebrews 12.1–17—The Nature and Purpose of the Lord’sChastening  1 Hebrews 12.1–4—Looking for Jesus  2 Hebrews 12.5–11—The Purpose and Nature of Discipline  3 Hebrews 12.12–17—Exhortations to Peace and Holiness 9 Hebrews 12.18–29—The Two Mountains: Earthly and Heavenly  1 Hebrews 12.18–24—The Description of This Mountain  2 Hebrews 12.25–29—Exhortations Based on This Promise 10 Hebrews 13.1–25—Closing Exhortations and Blessings  1 Hebrews 13.1–18—The Exhortations  2 Hebrews 13.19–25—Closing Words and Benediction  3 Reflection and Response—Part Five Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisGrieving, Brooding, and Transforming: The Spirit, The Bible, and Gender is a collection of scholarly essays by Pentecostal women. It explores troubling biblical texts, as well as those of contemporary church life, in regards to the portrayal of women. The authors seek to identify the presence and work of the Spirit that is often hidden within the contours of these texts. A Pentecostal feminist hermeneutic desires to move beyond suspicion into the deeper terrain of the Spirit’s mission of grieving, brooding, and transforming a broken world. The essays point to the purposes of God toward justice and the healing of creation.

Read more less

Book SynopsisPentecostal theology is burgeoning in the academy, and a vast body of literature continues to grow. With precision and ease, Stephenson carefully leads readers through an array of theological topics, texts, and figures. Combining original analysis and constructive contributions, he classifies diverse and complex ideas in pentecostal biblical studies, systematic theology, and theological ethics. Whether they are beginning students seeking an accessible initiation into an area that newly piques their interests or established scholars who need a sophisticated crash course in a yet unexplored field of inquiry, readers will find Stephenson’s accounts to be a reliable guide through this daunting topic.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhat does Luke mean when he describes the Spirit as gift (Acts 2:38)? This study explores the social implications of gift-giving in the Greco-Roman world, arguing that gifts initiate and sustain relationships. Therefore, the description of the Spirit as gift is inherently social, which is shown in the Spirit’s empowerment of the teaching, unity, meals, sharing of possessions and worship of the early Jesus community. The Spirit as gift then leads us to see that the early Jesus community is “the community of the Holy Spirit.”Table of ContentsIntroduction  1 The Spirit as Gift in the Previous Research   1.1 Gonzalo Haya-Prats   1.2 William H. Shepherd   1.3 Max Turner   1.4 Craig Keener   1.5 Summary  2 A Fresh Approach to the Spirit as Gift   2.1 The Spirit and the Greco-Roman World   2.2 The Spirit and Sociological Models  3 Reading Acts 1 Methodology  1 Sociological Approaches to the New Testament   1.1 An Outline of the Social-Scientific Approach   1.2 Comparison with Socio-Historical Criticism   1.3 Critiques of Sociological Approaches   1.4 Implications for this Study  2 Sociological Approaches to Gift-Giving in the New Testament   2.1 The Context Group and the Taxonomy of Reciprocity   2.2 John M. G. Barclay’s Reconfigured Gift Theory  3 Conclusion 2 Sociological Approaches to Gift-Giving  1 Marcel Mauss and Gift-Giving  2 The Exchangist-Structuralist Gift  3 The Economistic Gift  4 The Impossible Gift  5 The Sociability of Gift-Giving  6 Conclusion 3 Gifts in the Greco-Roman World  1 Gifts and Sociability in the Greek Literature   1.1 Δωρεά in the General-Soldier Relationship   1.2 Plutarch and Gift-Giving   1.3 Josephus and Gift-Giving   1.4 Appian and Gift-Giving   1.5 Summary  2 Gifts and Sociability in Latin Literature   2.1 Livy, Valerius Maximus and Gift-Giving   2.2 Cicero and Gift-Giving   2.3 Seneca and Gift-Giving   2.4 Summary  3 Conclusion 4 The Summary Statements  1 The Translation and Difficult Phrases   1.1 The Translation of Acts 2:42–47, 4:32–35, 5:12–16   1.2 Issues with Translation  2 Approaching the Summary Statements  3 The Spirit and the Summary Statements  4 Conclusion 5 Witnessing, Teaching, Wonders and Joy  1 The Testimony of the Apostles  2 The Teaching of the Apostles   2.1 Teaching and Social Space   2.2 Teaching in Complementary Couplets   2.3 Teaching and the Reinterpretation of the Hebrew Bible   2.4 Summary  3 Signs and Wonders  4 The Great Joy  5 Conclusion 6 The Gift of the Spirit and Prayer, Praise and Gratitude  1 Prayer   1.1 Prayer in the Summary Statements   1.2 Prayer and Gratitude   1.3 Prayer, Gift-Giving and the Spirit   1.4 Summary  2 Praising God   2.1 Praise and Gratitude   2.2 Praise and the Spirit in Acts   2.3 Summary  3 Conclusion 7 Gift-Giving and the Lukan Jesus  1 The Sermon on the Plain   1.1 The Golden Rule   1.2 Credit and Reward   1.3 Divine Repayment   1.4 Summary  2 Gift-Giving and the Sharing of Meals  3 Conclusion 8 The Communal Sharing and Sharing of Meals  1 The Descriptions of the Communal Sharing   1.1 Shared Property or Shared Access   1.2 Communal Sharing as Distribution   1.3 Wealth in Acts 3–5   1.4 Summary  2 The Various Allusions in the Communal Sharing   2.1 The Hebrew Bible   2.2 The Friendship Tradition and Utopian Ideals   2.3 Ancient Associations   2.4 Kinship Sharing   2.5 Summary  3 Shared Meals  4 Conclusion 9 The Gift of the Spirit and Communal Sharing  1 The Gift of the Spirit and the Communal Sharing  2 The Great Grace upon the Community  3 The Gift of the Spirit and the Promise of Reward  4 Imitation in the Communal Sharing  5 The Gift of the Spirit and the Sharing of Meals  6 Conclusion 10 The Unity of the Community  1 The Gift of the Spirit as Transcending Status   1.1 The Joel Quotation in Relation to Gender, Class and Age   1.2 The Gift of the Spirit and Regional Identities   1.3 The Gift of the Spirit and Ethnic Identities   1.4 Summary  2 The Unity of the Early Jesus Community  3 Sharing all Things   3.1 κοινὰ τὰ φίλων in the Primary Sources   3.2 The Gift of the Spirit and   3.3 Summary  4 Conclusion Conclusion  1 Areas of Further Research  2 Implications for Pentecostal Pneumatology Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis commentary, written from a distinctively Pentecostal perspective, is primarily for pastors, lay persons and Bible students. It is based upon the best scholarship, written in popular language, and communicates the meaning of the text with minimal technical distractions. The authors offer a running exposition on the text and extended comments on matters of special signicance for Pentecostals. They acknowledge and interact with alternative interpretations of individual passages. This commentary also provides periodic opportunities for reflection upon and personal response to the biblical text.Table of ContentsSeries Preface Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction 1 The Creation of All Things 2 The ‘Second’ Creation Account 3 The Fall of Humanity 4 The Second Fall: The Account of Cain and Abel 5 The Lineage of Seth 6 The Lead up to the Flood 7 The Flood Begins 8 The Rains of the Flood Cease 9 God Establishes His Covenant with Humanity 10 The Table of Nations 11 The Tower of Babel and the Line of Shem 12 Abram Leaves Haran for Canaan 13 Abram and Lot Part Ways 14 The War with the Kings of the East 15 God’s Unilateral Covenant with Abram 16 Abram Marries Hagar 17 Circumcision as the Sign of the Covenant 18 God Visits Abraham 19 God’s Judgment on the Cities of the Plain 20 Abraham’s Encounter with Abimelech 21 The Birth of Isaac 22 The Near Sacrifice of Isaac 23 The Death and Burial of Sarah at Machpelah 24 A Wife for Isaac 25 The Death of Abraham and the Ascendancy of Isaac 26 Isaac and Abimelech 27 Jacob Deceives Isaac for the Blessing 28 Jacob Leaves Home and Encounters God at Bethel 29 Jacob Arrives in Haran 30 Jacob Flourishes in Haran with Children and Flocks 31 Jacob Leaves Haran 32 Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau 33 Jacob and Esau Meet 34 The Rape of Dinah and Massacre of the Shechemites 35 Jacob, Bethel, and the Beginning of Jacob’s Heartaches and Losses 36 The Genealogies of Esau 37 Joseph Is Sold into Egypt 38 Judah and Tamar and Levirate Marriage 39 Joseph in Potiphar’s House 40 Joseph as Dream Interpreter 41 Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dreams 42 Joseph Meets His Brothers after 22 Years 43 Joseph’s Brothers Return to Egypt 44 Joseph Confronts His Brothers’ ‘Theft’ 45 Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brothers 46 Jacob Moves to Egypt 47 Jacob Settles in Egypt 48 Jacob Blesses Joseph’s Sons 49 Jacob’s Final Words to His Sons 50 The Burial of Jacob and the Death of Joseph Bibliography Index of Authors Index of Biblical (and Other Ancient) References

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis volume explores issues and themes related to violence against women. It is distinctive in two ways. First, the editors have convened an international cohort of contributing scholars, whose assessment of the pervasiveness and urgency of the problems and their proposals for solutions derives from their pneumatology: their theology of the Holy Spirit. Second, this book represents quite simply the first sustained effort to bring together in one volume Pentecostal voices from a variety of academic disciplines, ecclesial traditions, and cultural situations to address the urgent issues associated with violence toward women.Trade Review"Sisters, Mothers, Daughters: Pentecostal Perspectives on Violence Against Women offers an excellent, scholarly, nuanced, thoughtful and compassionate portrayal of the interweaving of religion and abuse within the global Pentecostal community. While the chapters are written by different authors, they are of a consistently high quality, offering interesting, informative, and useful ways to engage readers and the broader public with the suffering that so many women experience. This book is a must read for every pastor and every theological student." - Nancy Nason-Clark, Professor Emerita, University of New Brunswick, author of many books including Intimate Partner Violence and Religion, and Men Who Batter.Table of ContentsPreface   Michael D. Palmer Acknowledgements Notes on Contributors Notes on the Cover Image Introduction   Catherine Holtmann 1 Pneumatology in the Time of #MeToo An Exploration of the Spirit’s Role in Suffering 13   Cheryl M. Peterson 2 Toxic Spirituality Reexamining the Ways in Which Spiritual Virtues Can Reinforce Violence Against Women 33   Lisa P. Stephenson 3 Nevertheless, She Persisted Freeing Women’s Bodies from Silent Theological Sacrifice Zones 49   Tanya Riches 4 Shaming the Men into Keeping Up with the Ladies Constructing Pentecostal Masculinities 69   Linda M. Ambrose 5 Speak to the Heart Orthopathic Hermeneutics and Telling the Whole Story of the Woman Cut into Pieces 86   Casey S. Cole 6 Trouble in Paradise Exploring Gender Roles and Violence against Women in Song of Songs 5:2–8 104   Jacqueline N. Grey 7 Miriam Toews’ Women Talking A Call for Artistic Prophethood 121   Martin W. Mittelstadt 8 Shanghai Brothels, Spirit Baptisms The Door of Hope Women as a Source for Pentecostal Ressourcement 135   Alex R. Mayfield 9 From Medical Kits to Fighting Rape as a Weapon of War The Development of Scandinavian Pentecostal Medical Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 154   Tommy Davidsson and Rakel Ystebø Alegre 10 A Jesus Follower Responds To Sexualized Violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 185   Rory Randall 11 Toward A Pentecostal Ecclesiology Making Room for Survivors of Gender-Based Violence 207   Lauren J. Raley 12 Toward a Rhetoric of the Spirit Assault, Abuse, and a Theology of Women’s Empowerment 223   Joy A.E. Qualls 13 The Shifting Face of Violence among Taiwanese Women in Confucian Society A Charismatic Perspective with a Womanist Slant   Judith C. P. Lin Afterword   Kimberly Ervin Alexander and Melissa L. Archer Appendix Pentecostal Sisters Too: A Call to Redeem our Bodies Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisPentecostal forms of Christianity have now taken a dynamic role in contemporary Christianity, often at the vanguard of new movements and spiritual vitality among Christians in the late modern world. The many movements which constitute global Pentecostalism share in common an intense commitment to the Bible and life in the Spirit. Over the past several decades, Pentecostal biblical scholarship has played an important role in resourcing Pentecostal theologies. These elements come together in this volume in which leading Pentecostal biblical scholars from around the world account for the appearance of the divine Spirit, putting forth a defining work from a seminal generation of scholars. Contributors are: J. Ayodeji Adewuya, Kenneth J. Archer, Melissa Archer, Emma M. Austin, Holly Beers, Michael L. Brown, Blaine Charette, Jacob Cherian, Roger D. Cotton, Daniel K. Darko, Finny Philip, Roji Thomas George, Jacqueline Grey, Alicia R. Jackson, Wonsuk Ma, Lee Roy Martin, Robert P. Menzies, Brian Neil Peterson, Rebecca Skaggs, Joe Thomas, John Christopher Thomas, Robby Waddell, Rick Wadholm, Nimi Wariboko, Cynthia Long Westfall.

Read more less

Book SynopsisEuro-Western descriptions of knowledge and its sources fall short of accommodating the spiritual, experiential terrain of the imagination. What of the embodied, affective knowing that characterizes Pentecostal epistemology, that is, the distinctive Pentecostal-Charismatic knowing derived from dreams and visions (D/Vs)? In this stunning ethnographic work, the author merges African scholarship with an investigation of what visioners say about the significance of their D/Vs for Christian life and spirituality. Revealing data showcases case studies for their biblical and theological articulations of the value of D/V experiences and affirms them as sources of Pentecostal love, ministerial agency, and the missionary impulse.Trade ReviewAlthough established wisdom in scholarship has confirmed the assertion that Pentecostalism has blossomed across sub-Saharan Africa precisely because the movement resonates with Africa’s primal cosmologies, this thesis has not been tested in relation to African Pentecostalism’s appropriation of dreams and visions. Anna Droll’s Dreams and Visions in African Pentecostal Spirituality not only probe these issues in West Africa – Pentecostalism’s epicenter – but explores how the movement’s practices reflects contexts similar to what obtains in the Ancient Near East. By this tripartite exploration of the biblical material, African primal worldview and the espoused theologies of key Pentecostal actors in West Africa, Droll’s volume succeeds in showcasing how the theologies about dreams and visions produced by African Pentecostalism interacts with these sources to make sense to constituents. - Dr Bosco Bangura, Catholic University of Leuven and Protestant Theological University, Groningen There is no better study of the narratives of dream and vision in African Pentecostal spirituality than this brilliant book. Droll offers a perceptive appraisal of their epistemic valence, missiological import, spiritual meaning, and theological framing. This book is a nuanced and delicate study of a pentecostal way of knowing. - Nimi Wariboko, Boston UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgements List of Figures and Tables Abbreviations 1 Dreams and Visions in African Pentecostal Spirituality  1 Dreams, Visions, and Pentecostal Epistemology 1.1 Dreams and Visions in Africa: Piercing the Veil for Pentecostal Knowing 1.2 A Dream in Dar es Salaam  2 Methodology: Mark J. Cartledge: Practical Theology for Charismatic Practitioners 2.1 Renewal Methodologies 2.2 Renewalist Hermeneutics 2.3 Experience and Affectivity  3 Concepts for Exploring Dream and Vision Narratives 3.1 The Big Dream and the Spontaneous Dream or Vision Narrative 3.2 Root Metaphor and Piercing the Veil 3.3 Populations, Codes, Frequencies, and Associations for Narrative Analyses  4 Author’s Location, Thesis, and Map of this Book 2 Dreams, Visions, and Near East Religions  1 Dreams and Visions and Hebraic Theology 1.1 Dreams, Visions, and Patriarchs 1.2 Dreams, Visions, Kings, and Prophets 1.3 Dreams and Visions in the Apocrypha and Jewish Thought  2 Dreams and Visions in Christianity 2.1 Dreams and Visions in the New Testament and Early Church 2.2 Dreams and Visions in Late Patristic Thought 2.3 Aquinas, Kant, and Swedenborg on Dreams and Visions  3 Dreams and Visions in Islam 3.1 Dreams and Visions in the Qurʾān and Hadith 3.2 Dream Manuals and Their Transmission in Islam 3.3 Dreams and Visions as Legitimizing Elements in Islam  4 Conclusion 3 Dreams and Visions in African Contexts  1 Dreams in Traditional African Religions 1.1 Dreaming and the Akan 1.2 Dreams and the Diola of Senegambia 1.3 Islam and Dreaming among the Tukolor Weavers  2 Dreams and Visions in the aic s and among Zambian Baptists 2.1 Dreams and Visions in New Movements of West Africa 2.2 Dreams and Visions and the Bantu Prophets 2.3 Dreams and Visions among Zambian Baptists  3 Opoku Onyinah on Pentecostal Dreams, Prophecy, and Angels 3.1 The Role of Dreams and Visions in Abisa 3.2 The Sleeping State and the Diagnosis of Witchdemonology 3.3 The Sleeping State and Angelology  4 Conclusion 4 Epistemology: African Perspectives  1 Knowledge, Ontology, and the Holy Spirit 1.1 Voices from African Studies 1.2 Voices from African Christianity 1.3 The Holy Spirit and Knowing  2 Nigerian Perspectives for Dreams and Visions Analyses 2.1 Pentecostal Principle and Emergence for Dreams and Visions Analyses 2.2 Piercing the Veil for Dreams and Visions Analyses 2.3 Spiritual Warfare and Dreams and Visions  3 Conclusion 5 The Big Dreams of African Pentecostals Visionary Impact and the Christian Life  1 Continuity and Discontinuity: Dreams and Visions and the Spirit in Africa 1.1 Spirit Hermeneutics and Universal Dreams 1.2 The Spirit and Ancestor Dreams 1.3 The Agency of the Spirit and Pentecostal Visioners  2 Dreams and Visions and the Christian Life 2.1 Visioners and Spirit–Word–Community 2.2 Dreams, Visions and Practical Spirituality 2.3 Attitudes in the Church toward Dreams and Visions  3 Conclusion 6 Dreams and Visions and the Pentecostal Warrior Prayer, Identity, and Agency  1 Dreams and Visions and the Pentecostal Pray-er 1.1 Dreams and Visions and the Pentecostal Warrior 1.2 The dame Dream or Vision and Pentecostal Agency  2 Dreams and Visions and Pentecostal Agency 2.1 The Agency of Visionary Women 2.2 Visionary Love and Ministerial Agency 2.3 The Visionary Church and Missionary Agency  3 Conclusion 7 African Dreams and Visions for Pentecostal Epistemologies  1 African Dreams for African Pentecostal Theology  2 African Dreams for Western Pentecostal Epistemologies 2.1 Religious Language and Hearing God’s Voice 2.2 Relational Knowing and Orthopathy 2.3 Embodied Knowing 2.4 Knowing in the Trialectic of Spirit–Word–Community  3 Conclusion 8 Conclusion Dreams, Visions, and the Missiological Spirit Appendix 1 Written Survey and Interview Guide Appendix 2 Coding for Surveys and Personal Interviews Glossary Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book on Egyptian Pentecostalism is considered the first integrated monograph on the topic. It invites scholars and students of Religions, Renewal Studies, and Pentecostalism around the world to discover a new arena of research. Due to the sociocultural perspective of this study on Pentecostalism in Egypt, the book also invites sociologists and scholars who study sociocultural and religious context of the Middle East and North Africa to add new trajectories to their studies. No doubt that this study reveals what was concealed for decades regarding movements and revivals that broke out in Egyptian cities and villages! A must-read!Trade ReviewIn his Egyptian Pentecostalism, Tharwat Adly has written what surely will be the definitive work on Egyptian Pentecostalism, a subject that has been long overlooked. This book is thoroughly researched, documented and above all well-written. Thank you Dr. Tharwat for this very valuable book. - Vinson Synan, Oral Roberts UniversityTable of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations 1 Introduction Setting the Stage 1 Purpose of the Study 2 Previous Glimpses on the Topic 3 Methodology and Description of the Primary Sources 4 Historical Background of the “Waves” Theory 4.1 The First Wave: Classical Pentecostals 4.2 The Second Wave: Charismatic Renewal 4.3 The Third Wave: Neo-charismatics 4.4 The Fourth Wave: New Apostolic Reformation 4.5 Critiques of the Three-Wave Taxonomy 5 Anderson’s Alternative Taxonomy 6 The Study of Egyptian Pentecostalism and the Usage of the “Waves” Analogy Part 1 Historical Narrative  Introduction to Part 1 2 The Early Protestant Missions in Egypt during the Ottoman Rule (1517–1798) until the Coming of the American Presbyterian Mission to Egypt in the Nineteenth Century 1 Introduction 2 The Early Protestant Missionary Work in Egypt during the Ottoman Rule (1517–1798) until Muhammad Ali’s Rule (1805–1848) 2.1 A Socio-cultural Background 2.2 Peter Heyling (1633–1634) 2.3 The Moravian Mission in Egypt (1750–1782) 2.4 Church Missionary Society (cms) Mission in Egypt (1825–1862) 3 The Rise of Protestantism in Egypt 3.1 The Egyptian Socio-political Context during the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century 3.2 The Coptic Church in the Mid-nineteenth Century 3.3 The Coming of the American Presbyterian Mission to Egypt 3.4 The Establishment of the First Egyptian Organized Protestant Denomination in Egypt: the Egyptian Presbyterian Church 4 A Discussion of Various Narratives and Interpretations of the Western Missionary Efforts in Egypt during the Nineteenth and Twentieth Century 5 A Case Study: a Brief Examination of the Case of the cms Mission according to the Previous Examined Narratives 3 The Pre-Pentecostal Era in Egypt (1899–1906) and the Wesleyan Holiness/Pentecostal-Like Movements during the First Half of the Twentieth Century 1 Introduction 2 The Ecclesiastical and Social Landscape in Egypt during the Last Decade of the Nineteenth Century 3 The Emergence of the Canadian Holiness Movement Church (hmc): a Theological and Socio-Cultural Background 4 The Emergence of the Egyptian Holiness Movement Church (ehmc): Cyclones of the Divine Power Reaches Upper Egypt 4 The Birth of Egyptian Pentecostalism The Classical Pentecostal Movements in Egypt from the Beginning of the Twentieth Century until the Final Composition of Egyptian Pentecostal Denominations by the Mid-1960s 1 Introduction 2 Three-Blessing Theology in Transition: from Pentecostal-Like Holiness Movements to Classical Pentecostalism 3 The Emergence of the Classical Pentecostal Wave in Egypt 3.1 The Formative Years (1907–1912): Who Was the First to Light the Pentecostal Flame in Egypt? 3.2 George S. Brelsford’s Mission in Egypt (1909–1912): Theological Characteristics and Missionary Strategies 4 Major Developments during the Middle Years (1913–1930s) 4.1 A Shift Towards Durham’s “Finished Work” Theology and the Establishment of the Egyptian Assemblies of God 4.2 H. E. Randall’s Pentecostal Ministry in Egypt: the Early Phase (1912–1914) 4.3 Dāir el-Jārnoūs’ Revival and the Early Phase of Boutros Labib’s Ministry (1913–1914) 4.4 The Rise of Native Pentecostal Ministers in Egypt: Amir Abdel Malik (1893–1989) and Salib Boulos (1897–1946) as Models 4.5 Early Egyptian Pentecostalism (1907–1920) between Proliferation and Marginalization 4.6 Rejection of the Oneness Theology in the Ancient Trinitarian Land: Randall’s Embrace of the Unipersonal Belief in 1915 and his Repentance in 1921 4.7 Years of Expansion and Stabilization of the aog Denomination (Al-Kānīsā Al-Rāsūlīyah) in Egypt (1920s–1930s) 5 The Establishment of the Pentecostal Church of God (cog) in the Early 1940s 6 Samuel Mishreky’s Ministry and the Establishment of the Central Pentecostal Church of God in Cairo 7 The Establishment of Luxor Independent Oneness Church in the Late 1950s 8 Various Narratives of the Emergence and Development of the Classical Wave of Egyptian Pentecostalism: a Brief Analysis 5 The Neo-charismatic Movement in Egypt from Its Emergence in the 1980s until the Present Time 1 Introduction 2 The Second Wave of Pentecostalism: the Charismatic Movements in Egypt 3 The Third Wave of Pentecostalism: the Neo-charismatic Movements in Egypt 3.1 House-Church Movements 3.2 Independent Classical Spiritual Ministries 3.3 Ecumenical Ministries 3.4 Neo-charismatic Mega-conferences 3.5 Fivefold Ministries and nar Structures 4 The Third Wave of Egyptian Pentecostalism in the Light of the First Wave: Organizational and Ecumenical Aspects Part 2 Theological Analysis  Introduction to Part 2 6 The Undeveloped Theological Aspects of the Classical Wave of Egyptian Pentecostalism The Contextual Pentecostal Theology of Samuel Mishreky 1 Introduction 2 The Trinitarian Aspect of Mishreky’s Theology 3 The Christological Aspect of Mishreky’s Theology 4 The Wesleyan Aspect of Mishreky’s Theology 7 Historical Developments of the Doctrine of Baptism of the Holy Spirit in Relation to Major Eschatological and Ecclesiastical Aspects of Egyptian Pentecostalism 1 Introduction 2 Baptism of the Holy Spirit in the Western Context: a Brief Historical and Theological Background 3 Baptism of the Holy Spirit in Egyptian Pentecostalism: Historical and Theological Developments 4 Baptism of the Holy Spirit in Relation to Major Ecclesiastical and Eschatological Aspects in Egyptian Pentecostalism 5 Baptism of the Holy Spirit in Egyptian Pentecostalism: Speaking in Tongues and Other Manifestations 6 Baptism of the Holy Spirit in Egyptian Pentecostalism: Debates with Other Christian Traditions 8 Historical Developments of Healing Theologies in Egyptian Pentecostalism 1 Introduction 2 Healing Theologies in the West from Wesleyan Tradition to Classical Pentecostalism: a Theological Landscape 3 Developments of Healing Theologies and Practices in the First Wave of Egyptian Pentecostalism 3.1 Healing Theologies and Practices in Early Pentecostal Missions in Egypt 3.2 Healing Theologies and Practices in the Major Egyptian Pentecostal Denominations: the Egyptian aog, cog, and pcog 4 Developments of Healing Theologies and Practices in the Neo-charismatic Wave of Egyptian Pentecostalism Part 3 Case Study  Introduction to Part 3 9 Women in Egyptian Pentecostalism 1 Introduction 2 Women’s Ministry in the Early Holiness/Pentecostal Traditions in the West: a Brief Historical Background 3 History of the Early Holiness/Pentecostal Women Missionaries in Egypt and the Egyptian Women’s Involvement in Ministry 3.1 Women’s Ministry during the Holiness/Pre-pentecostal Era in Egypt 3.2 Women’s Ministry during the Early Egyptian Classical Pentecostalism 3.2.1 Lucy M. Leatherman (c. 1870–1925) 3.2.2 Sarah A. Smith (c. 1844–1918) 3.2.3 Lillian H. Trasher (1887–1961) 3.2.4 Mabel Dean (c. 1884–1961) 4 Women in the Contemporary Egyptian Pentecostal/Neo-charismatic Context 4.1 An Examination of the Contemporary Egyptian Pentecostal/Neo-charismatic Teaching on the Role of Women in Ministry 4.2 Ordinary and Non-prominent Pentecostals/Charismatics’ Beliefs 10 Conclusions and Additional Insights 1 Summation of Findings and Major Contributions 2 The Acceptance of Pentecostalism in Egypt in the Light of Egyptian Cultural Context and Social Ethos: Additional Insights 3 The Road Ahead: Possibilities for Further Studies and Contributions to Renewal Studies Appendix 1: Figures Appendix 2: A Translated Version of the Original Arabic Survey: the Role of Women in Ministry Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe ‘hearing God’ experience is a prized feature of Pentecostal-Charismatic spirituality, yet one that is often shrouded in controversy and confusion. Drawing on the findings of a unique and ground-breaking practical theological study, this book provides a theological framework and ministry strategies so that the experience can be fully harnessed for kingdom purpose.Trade ReviewIn Hearing God’s Voice Tania Harris joins biblical, epistemological, sociological, and theological perspectives on the human experience of hearing God speak and tests the ideas with a case study on the ordinary theology of revelatory experiences in different Australian Pentecostal churches. The result is not only one of the first Pentecostal proposals on the understanding of revelation but a passionately argued and praxis-oriented guide for hearing, recognizing, and responding to the experience culminating with a call for developing more sustainable communities attuned to hearing the voice of God today. - Wolfgang Vondey, Professor of Christian Theology and Pentecostal Studies, University of Birmingham, UK Tania Harris addresses a surprisingly neglected area of practical theology in the pentecostal tradition: revelatory experience. Considering Pentecostals prioritize encounter with God, especially hearing God’s voice, this theoretical and applied exploration is much needed for the global church today. Based on her fieldwork among Australian pentecostal churches, Harris provides practicable solutions for local church leaders seeking to facilitate the prophetic voice of God in their communities. This book will be of great interest to pastors, students and professors alike. - Jacqueline N. Grey, Professor of Biblical Studies, Alphacrucis University College, Australia Many Christians are profoundly suspicious of others telling them “God said…..”, and often with good reason. But Tania Harris is a passionate follower of Jesus whose life has been inspired by such encounters with God. In this book, you will find a practical and profoundly theological discussion of what it means to ‘hear God’s voice’ and how this should be outworked in life and local churches. You will be impressed with the study of how three Australian churches have managed this tricky area, as well as challenged by the theological discussion and sometimes surprising conclusions Tania has come to. - Jon K. Newton, Associate Professor of New Testament and Pentecostalism, Alphacrucis University College, Australia Tania Harris richly defends the bold claim that God speaks today to ordinary Christians in a way that is personal and unmediated, just as God did in the narrative of scripture. Without denying the need for scripturally-informed discernment, she convincingly overturns theological assumptions that limit revelatory experiences to that which is mediated through scripture or prophetic ministry. Anyone interested in ecclesiology or practical ministry will benefit greatly from her penetrating insights. I found her book to be a compelling read from beginning to end. - Frank D. Macchia, Professor of Systematic Theology, Vanguard University “Hearing God’s voice,” is a regular part of Pentecostal and charismatic testimony. Tania Harris has taken this problematic experience seriously, and by employing the methodology of empiric and constructive theology has provided the Christian community with a well-researched explanation of why such a religious phenomenon is important, and even more significantly how to properly discern the voice of God. Such an important and noteworthy work is a timely contribution to the ongoing understanding and further development of pentecostal-charismatic theology and spirituality. - Kenneth J. Archer, Professor of Theology and Pentecostal Studies, School of Divinity, Barnett College of Ministry & Theology, Southeastern University, Lakeland, FL, USATable of ContentsAcknowledgements Author's Note List of Figures Part 1 Introduction to the Revelatory Experience 1 God Speaks Back: Hearing God’s Voice in the Pentecostal Tradition 1 What Do Pentecostals Mean by Hearing God’s Voice? 1.1 Experiential, Extrabiblical, Unmediated and “High-Level” Revelation 1.2 Phenomenological Equivalency with the Biblical Experience 1.3 Universal Accessibility Distinct from Specialist Gift of Prophecy 2 The Ministry Impact of Contemporary Pentecostal Revelatory Experience 2.1 Ministry Outcomes 2.2 Pastoral Fallout 2.3 Institutional Instability 3 The Theological Problem of Spirit versus Scripture 4 Neglect in the Academy 4.1 Lack of Connection to the Spirit’s Outpouring at Pentecost 4.2 Focus on the Gift of Prophecy 4.3 Rejection of Dream-Visions as a Revelatory Mode 5 Aim of the Study 6 Outline of the Book 2 Cessationism Meets Continuationism: Four Theological Frameworks for Contemporary Revelatory Experience 1 The Pentecostal Tradition 1.1 Pentecostalism in Australia 1.2 Pentecostal Distinctives 2 The Evangelical Tradition 3 Four Theological Frameworks 3.2 Acceptance in the Pentecostal-Charismatic Tradition 3.3 Alternate Distinctions 3.4 Problems with the Phenomenologically Inferior Position 3.5 Summary 3 Bridging the Gap between Theology and Practice: a Study in 3 Churches 1 The ‘Ordinary Theology’ of Revelatory Experience 1.1 Mark Cartledge’s Concept of Dialectic 1.2 Jeff Astley’s “Ordinary Theology” 1.3 David Martin’s Concept of “Rescripting” 1.4 Epistemological Assumptions 1.5 An Insider Perspective 2 Study Design 2.1 Data Collection 2.2 The Sample 2.3 Data Presentation and Analysis 2.4 Study Limitations Part 2 Hearing God in Sociological Perspective 4 From Acquaintance to Partner: the Social Dynamics of Revelatory Experience 1 The Content of Revelatory Experiences among Australian Pentecostals 1.1 Personal and Particular 1.2 New and Previously Unknown Information 2 Charles Glock and Rodney Stark’s Taxonomy of Religious Experience 2.1 Glock and Stark’s Theory and Other Pentecostal Studies 3 The Sociological Nature of Revelatory Experience 3.1 The Relational Development of Revelatory Experience 3.2 The Disruptive Nature of Revelatory Experience 3.3 Power Shifts in Relational Development 3.4 The Role of Discernment in Maintaining Institutional Stability 3.5 Discernment as an Act of Power 4 Reflection on Glock and Stark’s Theory 5 Summary 5 A World in Continuity with the Early Church: Hearing God in the Local Community 1 Approach to Revelatory Experience in Three Pentecostal Churches 1.1 Introducing Church a 1.2 Introducing Church b 1.3 Introducing Church c 1.4 The Frequency of High-Level Revelatory Experiences 2 Peter Berger’s Theory of World Construction 3 The Social World of Three Churches 3.1 A World in Continuity with the Early Church 3.2 The Language of Pentecostal Revelatory Experience 3.3 Legitimations in the Pentecostal World 3.4 Regulatory Controls in the Pentecostal World 4 Reflection on Berger’s Theory 5 Summary Part 3 A Close Theological Analysis of Revelatory Experience  Introduction to Part 3 6 Does God have anything More to Say? The Content and Function of Revelatory Experience 1 The Content and Function of Revelatory Experiences among Australian Pentecostals 1.1 Build “Personal Relationship” with God 1.2 A Vehicle of Divine Presence 1.3 Provision of Divine Care and Protection 1.4 Personal Transformation and Sanctification 1.5 Revelation of “God’s Plan” 1.6 Mobilisation to Ministry and Mission 2 Niels Hvidt: Christological Content and Function 2.1 Material and Formal Revelation 2.2 The Actualisation of Doctrine 3 Rescripting Ordinary Theology 3.1 The Limits of “New” Revelatory Content 3.2 The Future-Orientation of Revelatory Content 3.3 The Christocentric Function of Revelatory Experience 3.4 The Role of Revelatory Experience in the Development of Doctrine 4 Summary 7 Hearing God’s Voice: Dream-Visions, Voices and Senses 1 Revelatory Modes among Australian Pentecostals 1.1 Voices 1.2 Dreams and Visions 1.3 Sensory Impressions 1.4 Scripture 1.5 “Creative/Experiential” Use of Scripture 1.6 Teaching via Sermons, Books and Religious Material 1.7 Prophecy 1.8 The Counsel of Others 1.9 Circumstances 1.10 Nature 2 Niels Hvidt: Historic Concepts of Revelation 3 Rescripting Ordinary Theology 3.1 Modes of Revelation 3.2 Legitimacy of Revelatory Modes 4 Summary 8 Recognising God’s Voice: How Did They Know It Was God? 1 The Epistemological Reliability of Revelatory Experience 1.1 Epistemological Reliability of Revelatory Experience among Australian Pentecostals 1.2 Niels Hvidt: the Mixed Nature of Revelatory Experience 1.3 Rescripting Ordinary Theology 2 Discernment Criteria for Revelatory Experience 2.1 Discernment Criteria for Revelatory Experience among Australian Pentecostals 2.2 Niels Hvidt: Three Criteria for Discernment in the Catholic Tradition 2.3 Rescripting Ordinary Theology 3 Responsibility for Discernment 3.1 Responsibility for Discernment among Australian Pentecostals 3.2 Niels Hvidt: Responsibility for Discernment in the Catholic Tradition 3.3 Rescripting Ordinary Theology 4 Summary 9 Responding to God’s Voice: the Faithfulness of God and the Unfaithfulness of Humanity 1 Responses to God’s Voice among Australian Pentecostals 2 Niels Hvidt: Experience as Divine Imperative 3 Rescripting Ordinary Theology 3.1 The Response of Obedience 3.2 Interaction of Divine Fulfilment and Human Free Will 4 Summary  Summary: the Theology and Practice of Revelatory Experiences among Australian Pentecostals Part 4 The Relationship of Contemporary Revelatory experience to the Theology of Scripture  Introduction to Part 4 10 The Communicating Spirit: Inspired Experiences and Inspired Scripture 1 Charles Kraft’s Communication Model for Inspiration 2 Rescripting Ordinary Theology 2.1 Efficacy of Divine Communication 2.2 The Personalised Nature of Revelatory Experiences 2.3 Use of Biblical Narratives as Models 3 Summary 11 Is This a Trick Question? The Site of Divine Authority 1 James K.A. Smith’s Work on Textualization and Orality 2 Rescripting Ordinary Theology 2.1 The Authority of Revelatory Experience 2.2 The Tension between Orality and Textuality in Pentecostal Communities 2.3 The Meaning of the Phrase “Word of God” 3 Summary 12 The Epistemological Role of Revelatory Experience in Spiritual Development 1 James K.A. Smith’s Work on the Epistemology of Pentecostal Experience 2 Rescripting Ordinary Theology 2.1 The Role of Revelatory Experience in Relational and Spiritual Development 2.2 The Element of Divine Authority in Transformation 2.3 The Epistemology of Revelatory Experience and the Study of Scripture 3 Summary  Summary: the Relationship of Revelatory Experience to the Theology of Scripture Part 5 Hearing God’s Voice Today 13 The Theology and Practice of “Hearing God’s Voice” 1 Towards a Theology of Contemporary Pentecostal Revelatory Experience 1.1 The Basis for Phenomenological Equivalency 1.2 The Content and Function of Revelatory Experience 1.3 The Process of Revelatory Experience 2 The Relationship of Revelatory Experience to the Theology of Scripture 2.1 Contemporary Revelatory Experience and Existing Pentecostal-Charismatic Bibliologies 2.2 A Bibliology for the Phenomenologically Equivalent Approach 2.3 An Expanded Role for the Community 3 Recommendations for Ministry Praxis 4 Evaluation of the Study 4.1 Opportunities for Further Study 5 Conclusion Appendices Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisVibrant worship music is part of the Charismatic liturgy all around the world, and has become in many ways the hallmark of Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity. Despite its centrality, scholarly interest in the theological and ritual significance of worship for pentecostal spirituality has been sparse, not least in Africa. Combining rich theoretical and theological insight with an in-depth case study of worship practices in Nairobi, Kenya, this interdisciplinary study offers a significant contribution to knowledge and is bound to influence scholarly discussions for years to come. The book is a must-read for anyone interested in Pentecostal worship, ritual, and spirituality.Trade ReviewThis work is an excellent study of lived theology. In Björkander’s analysis, the theological riches of Pentecostal spirituality come to the fore. - Mika Vähäkangas, Professor, Director of Polin Institute of Åbo Akademi University Björkander here makes a significant contribution to a pentecostal theology of worship that accounts for the various affective, performative, and embodied dimensions of pentecostal spirituality, enabled through meticulous ethnographic foregrounding of two charismatic East African congregations and their ritual practice. This is practical theology at its best, lifting up the many (disciplinary) tongues and (linguistic) accents of global pentecostal-charismatic Christianity. - Amos Yong, Professor of Theology and Mission, Fuller SeminaryTable of ContentsPrelude List of Figures and Tables 1 Introduction  1 The Task at Hand  1.1 Background  1.2 Introducing the Research Study  1.3 Introducing the Researcher  2 Worship in Pentecostal Spirituality: Previous Research and Study Rationale  2.1 Ritual Perspectives  2.2 Theological Perspectives  2.3 Congregational Music Perspectives  2.4 Africanist Perspectives  2.5 Study Rationale  3 Step by Step through This Book Part 1 Theory and Method 2 Worship, Ritual, and Pentecostal Spirituality-as-Theology  1 A Spirituality Approach to Pentecostalism  1.1 The Pentecostal-Charismatic Tradition  1.2 Pentecostal Spirituality as Theology  1.3 Worship as Orthodoxa  2 A Practice Approach to Theology  2.1 Starting with Practice  2.2 Researching the Lived and the Local  2.3 Worship as a Modus Theologicus  3 A Ritual Approach to Worship  3.1 The Lacuna in Pentecostal Studies  3.2 Perspectives in Ritual Theory  3.3 Embodiment and the Study of Pentecostal Ritual  3.4 Worship as ‘The Rite of Worship and Praise’  4 A Combination of Approaches 3 Research Design and Method  1 Case Study Design  1.1 Critical, Multiple-Case, Embedded-Case Study Design  2 The Fieldwork Journey  2.1 Choosing a Topic, a Method and a Field  2.2 Two Phases of Fieldwork and Two Cases  3 The Data-Collection Maze  3.1 Observation and Participation  3.2 Field Notes, Audio-Visual Recordings  3.3 Interviews  3.4 Lyrics  3.5 Research Surveys  3.6 Summary of Collected Data  4 The Quagmire of Analysis  4.1 Analysing Lyrics in Search of Theology: A Special Excursion  5 Ethical Considerations  5.1 Access, Anonymity and Informed Consent  5.2 Copyright Issues  5.3 The Role of the Researcher Part 2 Cases and Context 4 Urban, Progressive Melting Pots  1 Urban Pentecostalism in Kenya  1.1 Historical Background  1.2 One Charismatic Community, Two Influential Church Families  2 Introducing Woodley and Mavuno  2.1 citam Woodley  2.2 Mavuno Church Bellevue  2.3 Demographic Profiles and Affiliation  3 Situating Woodley and Mavuno Theologically  3.1 Pentecostal or Evangelical?  3.2 Cultural, Theological, and Liturgical Melting Pots  Interlude  1 Sunday Worship in Mavuno Church, Bellevue, January 2014  2 Sunday Worship in citam Woodley, January 2014 Part 3 Worship in Pentecostal Spirituality-as-Theology 5 Orthopraxis: Worship as Ritualized Practice  1 Ritual Dynamics in Worship  1.1 Music and Singing within the Larger Ritual System  1.2 The Rhythm of Sunday Services  1.3 The Rhythm and Flow of Worship and Praise  2 Core Elements of Worship  2.1 Ritual Preparation and Production  2.2 Ritual Actors and Groups  2.3 Ritual Objects and Places  2.4 Ritual Languages  3 Conclusion: the Ritualization of Pentecostal Worship 6 Orthopathos: Worship as Embodied Practice  1 Bodies together as One: Why Community Matters  1.1 Nurturing Community through Worship  1.2 Conflicts, Power Play, and the Body of Christ  2 Bodies in Motion: Why Movement Matters  2.1 Kinesthetic Dimensions of Worship  2.2 Dance, Spirituality, and Liturgy  3 Bodies Dressed for Service: Why Clothes Matter  3.1 Dress Codes and Holiness Ideals in Worship  3.2 The Social Skin: When Style is Everything  4 Bodies Feeling and Not Feeling: Why Emotion Matters  4.1 Affective Dimensions of Worship  4.2 The Emotions of a Worship Leader  5 Conclusion: The Embodied Character of Worship 7 Orthopistis: Worship as Theologizing Practice  1 What Does the Bible Sing? Singing the Scriptures  1.1 Emic Voices on the Bible in Worship  1.2 Tabernacle and Throne: How Selected Passages Recur in Song  1.3 A Psalter-Inspired Typology of Worship Songs  2 Christology as the Hub of Pentecostal Theology  2.1 Patterns of Trinitarian Thought in Contemporary Worship  2.2 Jesus Is the Centre of It All: Not the Spirit  2.3 Christ as (Newborn, Crucified, and Triumphant) Saviour and King  3 Conclusion: Theologizing through Worship 8 Orthodoxa: A Rhythm That Connects Our Hearts with God  1 Pentecostal Spirituality-as-Theology Revisited  1.1 Theoretical Remarks on This Study’s Contribution to Knowledge  2 Worship as Unio Mystica  2.1 Transformation as a Key Concept in Pentecostal Spirituality  2.2 Songs That Carry Salvific Transformation  2.3 Sung Worship as a Mediator of the Divine-Human Relationship  2.4 Becoming Fearless Influencers: The Missional Goal for Worship  3 BTW, What Is Worship?  3.1 Worship Is a Lifestyle: It Encompasses Everything  3.2 Worship Is Biblical: It Is Modelled on Scripture  3.3 Worship Is More Than Music, Yet Music Is Critical for Worship  4 Living a Life of Love: Worship as Orthodoxa Appendix 1: Interview Guides and Examples Appendix 2: Observation Guides Appendix 3: Lyrical Content Analysis Guide Appendix 4: Research Surveys Appendix 5: Research Survey Results, Mavuno Church Appendix 6: Research Survey Results, CITAM Woodley Appendix 7: Primary Sources Bibliography Index of Scripture Index of Subjects

Read more less

Book SynopsisPentecostalism has traditionally always been other-worldly in the sense that Pentecostals tend to believe that people’s lives are controlled by unseen powers that are responsible for both good and bad. This makes people look for a power that is stronger than those of evil and can ensure that believers enjoy good health and prosperity. Pentecostals find this power in Jesus Christ, who is victorious over all evil powers, and therefore pray that Jesus will save them. For them, life is characterised by suffering and evil, but in Christ they are conquerors, and life is full of concrete blessings. Using songs and sermons, this book shows the main widespread beliefs of the leadership and grassroots members of the Church of Pentecost (Ghanaian Pentecostals) on Christology and evil. It discusses their fear of evil and their finding solace in the power of Jesus. The author supplements this attitude by the biblical calling to help build a just and peaceful society. He thus develops a theology of the public domain in which the church can make a difference by developing its diaconal services, establishing more educational institutions, and helping—together with people who want to collaborate—build a just and more affluent society with good healthcare and a literate and thriving population. This book balances on the interface between traditional African religious ideas and practices and Christian ideals for a more humane society.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Abbreviations Why Study Christology and Evil in Ghanaian Pentecostalism? Motivation and Objective Description and Complexities of the Journey Method Role of the Researcher Problems/Limitations of this Study Content of the Chapters The Nature, Person, and Work of Jesus Christ Introduction Christ, Evil, and Suffering in the Ghanaian Pentecostal Liturgy Akan Traditional Religion and Culture and the Jesus Story Christ, Evil and Suffering in the New Testament Christological Subversions Contextual Issues Believers are Victorious in Christ Conclusion The World as a Place of Evil and Suffering Introduction The Nature and Phenomena of Evil and Suffering Causes of Evil and Suffering: Ghanaian Pentecostalism vis‐à‐vis Akan Traditional Religion Evil and Suffering in the Bible A Holistic Contextual Approach? Conclusion The Battles of Life: Implementing Christ’s Victory over Evil and Suffering Introduction Victory over Life’s Battles Sources of Victory and Freedom in Christ Sources of Victory and Freedom in Ghanaian Pentecostalism and Akan Traditional Religion Overcoming the Battles of Life in the Bible Inadequate Contextualisation in “Witchdemonology”? Conclusion The Good God and the Good Life Introduction Ideas about the Good God and the Good Life Akan Traditional Views of the Good God and the Good Life Biblical Ideas about God’s Goodness and the Good Life Ghanaian Pentecostals Struggling with Evil and Suffering Conclusion Ghanaian Pentecostal Christology and Public Theology Introduction The Tasks of the State The Tasks of the Church in Society How Pentecostals Can Improve Church‐State Relations Conclusion Summary and Conclusions Introduction Summary of the Chapters Reflections and Observations A Christology of Power Unsettled Christology Concluding Remarks Sources for the Empirical Data Bibliography Annex: Ghanaian Pentecostal Songs in Akan and English Appendices Index of Authors Index of Subjects

Read more less