2016 Society for Pentecostal Studies: A Personal Reflection and General Report
The exhibit area also provided a positive feature of SPS. As always, SPS serves as a great opportunity to check out the very latest in Pentecostal scholarship, with books galore. The exhibit area is likely to be the place where one might run into other friends too. I happened to be walking with Mel Robeck when Chris Thomas (CPT) caught up to him with a couple of volumes in which he’d apparently earlier expressed interest. After thanking Chris and watching him walk away, Mel joked that he was trying to think of a way to tell Patsy how much he’d spent this year on books. It was at the John Goldingay plenary (quite interesting, especially after Scott Ellington explained some pertinent background to me over lunch at the airport) that Chris’ partner-in-crime, Lee Roy Martin, caught up to me with a (small) royalty check for my Toward a Pentecostal Theology of Religions. By the way, anyone who spent time at the Brill table discovered, if they didn’t know it full well already, what a pleasant person Mirjam Elbers (Netherlands) is to be around.
Of course, when it comes to food and fellowship there were two caucus breakfasts around specific themes. This year Cheryl Johns and Arden Lockwood led the “Women’s Caucus Breakfast.” Lockwood also chaired the “Student Caucus Breakfast” with Amos Yong as guest speaker. Yet the traditional Saturday evening SPS banquet was climactic. What a special joy to sit with old friends and/or meet new ones in more of a formal dinner setting. At the banquet Michael Wilkinson presented Murray Dempster, Byron Klaus, and Doug Petersen with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Lois Olena interviewed the trio on the topic of “Pentecostalism: Past, Present, and Future.” It was all quite entertaining and pleasant.
Looking Back and Moving Forward
In her closing remarks at the banquet outgoing Executive Director Lois Olena expressed, “I have been so blessed to work with a remarkable Executive Committee the past five years! This year, Kenneth J. Archer, Michael Wilkinson, Jacqui Grey, Dale M. Coulter, Zachary Tackett, Peter Althouse, and Robby Waddell, as well as my assistant Kim Roebuck were such an encouragement to me as I wrapped up this term.” Olena also expressed appreciation for incoming Executive Director, Margaret (“Peg) English de Alminana. Olena noted of de Alminana, “She has worked so hard to prepare for this new role. May God bless her and all of SPS as you move into the future!”
We’re all indebted to Lois for her hard work and dedication to SPS. When I asked Doug Olena what is ahead next for his wife Lois in the immediate future, he, true to form, had a quick quip: “Well, for one thing, we’ll probably have time to watch more television!” Thanks, Lois. All of us at SPS do so appreciate all you’ve done. We wish you the best as you seek to follow out God’s direction for your next steps. By the way, Doug, we’re also glad that you’ve got that odd right brain-left brain arrangement that enables a philosopher type like you to set up complex SPS computer programming too!
Category: In Depth, Winter 2016
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