Winter 2017

• Staff and Salary, Part 2

  Continuing with the second part of this mini-series on staff and salary, we’ll cover — the wrong reasons to increase salary, key issues in setting the first salary, and key issues to consider when increasing a salary. As you pray and do your homework, this ... Read More

• Holy Spirit and Mission in Canonical Perspective, by Amos Yong

  In the Spring of 2015, Fuller Theological Seminary published this series of articles by Amos Yong on its Patheos blog.   Holy Spirit and Mission in Canonical Perspective   The Life-Giving Spirit Genesis 1:3 & 6:3 – Creation and Fall: The Life-Giving Spirit If the wind or breath of God ... Read More

• Lesson from a Lion: A Fresh Look at First Kings 13

  Introduction Prophets with no names, lions that do not clean their plates, altars that split without an axe and a king with an arm that looks like a raisin: all these elements contribute to an intriguing and sometimes baffling story found in First Kings 13. Evangelicals ... Read More

• A Lesson from the Past

  I hope that you are off to a great year. First, I want to remind you that greatness is not the absence of adversity. Greatness is deeply rooted in our faith that God is God in spite of circumstances. It is such faith that empowers ... Read More

• Lee Grady: Set My Heart on Fire

  J. Lee Grady, Set My Heart on Fire: Ignite Your Confidence, Boldness, and Passion for God (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2016), 240 pages, ISBN 9781629986104. Lee Grady is well known in Pentecostal and Charismatic circles. For a number of years he served as the ... Read More

• Journey with the Orthodox: Biography of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew reviewed by Harold D. Hunter

  John Chryssavgis, Bartholomew: Apostle and Visionary (Nashville, TN: W. Publishing Group, an imprint of Thomas Nelson, 2016), 272 pages, ISBN 9780718086893. My journey with Orthodox brothers and sisters started with Brighton ’91. With assistance from Monsignor Peter Hocken, I put together this first global conference for ... Read More

• Steven Studebaker: From Pentecost to the Triune God

  Steven M. Studebaker, From Pentecost to the Triune God: A Pentecostal Trinitarian Theology, Pentecostal Manifestos series (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2012), 270 pages. In his monograph From Pentecost to the Triune God, Steven M. Studebaker argues that theological reflection upon “fundamental pneumatology” and Trinitarian ... Read More

• Vanhoozer and Treier: Theology and the Mirror of Scripture

  Kevin J. Vanhoozer and Daniel J. Treier, Theology and the Mirror of Scripture: A Mere Evangelical Account, Studies in Christian Doctrine and Scripture series (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2015), 298 pages. Kevin J. Vanhoozer is Research Professor of Systematic Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in ... Read More

• Which Way the Trolley: America’s Hot Wars During the Cold War, Part 2

    In Part 2 of “Which Way the Trolley: America’s Hot Wars During the Cold War,” William De Arteaga continues to challenge assumptions and asks if the Korean and Vietnam Wars could have been Just Wars.     The Indochina Wars The First Indochina war (1946-1954) began right after the ... Read More

• Oxygen Masks

  A story of justice and judgment from the life of Jesus. You can hear the same words every time you fly a commercial airline. “In the unlikely event the cabin should suddenly lose pressure … please fit the mask securely around your nose and mouth ... Read More

• Captivity Of The Mind: Spiritually Understanding Abnormal Human Behavior

  Recently I was in a South Florida home with a young man who had captured a wild hawk and in a short time had converted it into an obedient Falcon. At the sound of a whistle, the bird would fly from its perch, light on ... Read More

• Listening for God’s Voice and Heart in Scripture: A conversation with Craig S. Keener

  New Testament scholar Craig S. Keener speaks with PneumaReview.com about his new book, Spirit Hermeneutics.   PneumaReview.com: Please define for our readers what you mean by “Spirit Hermeneutics.” Craig S. Keener: Spirit hermeneutics is listening for God’s voice and heart in Scripture. Obviously I do believe in doing ... Read More

• Amos Yong: The Bible, Disability, and the Church

  Amos Yong, The Bible, Disability, and the Church: A New Vision of the People of God (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2011), viii+ 161 pages. Amos Yong is professor of theology and mission and director of the Center for Missiological Research at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California. His ... Read More

• Jurgen Moltmann: The Living God and the Fullness of Life

  Jürgen Moltmann, The Living God and the Fullness of Life (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015), 232 pages. Moltmann characterizes his monograph, The Living God, as a “contribution to a theology of life” and a continuation of his works The Spirit of Life (1992) and ... Read More

• Anthony Thiselton: A Shorter Guide to the Holy Spirit

  Anthony C. Thiselton, A Shorter Guide to the Holy Spirit: Bible, Doctrine, Experience (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2016). Anthony Thiselton’s Shorter Guide is a “shorter guide” in that it was written at the request of his publisher to provide a shorter treatment (228 ... Read More

• The Future of the Church in China: Why China’s House Churches will Prevail

  If you are a Christian from North America or Europe, when you enter the Holy Trinity Church in Kunming, China, the architecture of this beautiful, stately structure will immediately remind you of home, of traditional churches in the West. It even has a steeple. The ... Read More

• David Fiensy: Christian Origins and the Ancient Economy

  David A. Fiensy, Christian Origins and the Ancient Economy (Cascade Books, 2014), 236 pages, ISBN 9781625641816. Christian Origins and the Ancient Economy is a fascinating study of the socioeconomic environment during the “Second Temple Period” which included the time Jesus lived among us. Professor David Fiensy’s ... Read More

• More Mercy

  What have Christians believed through history about the ultimate fate of non-Christians? What about those who died before hearing about Jesus? What do Roman Catholics believe about purgatory and where does this belief come from? How would our theology about the deceased lost change if ... Read More

• The Shepherding Pastor

  Becoming spiritually successful in ministry means becoming a spiritual shepherd.   Psalm 23:5 … You anoint my head with oil … Luke 10:34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. The search for becoming a successful minister in a successful ministry appears to be a ... Read More

• Lee Grady: The Holy Spirit Wants to Fill You Again

  J. Lee Grady, “The Holy Spirit Wants to Fill You Again,” Fire In My Bones (February 22, 2017). This is a brief, but important article. Lee Grady, one of the most mature and experienced Charismatic leaders of the present generation, urges us to be filled ... Read More

• The Power of the Cross and Healing in a Pastor’s Ministry

  Introduction As a Christian youth, the first book I read from cover-to-cover was David Wilkerson’s The Cross and the Switchblade. For my senior paper in college, I wrote about “The Wisdom of the Cross in 1 Corinthians 1:18.” Throughout my life, the theme of the cross ... Read More

• Pentecostal Theological Education: FIRE School of Ministry

  FIRE School of Ministry What does Spirit-filled education look like around the world? Brandon Paul, Director of Academic Affairs for FIRE School of Ministry, gives a brief sketch of the school and how they prepare men and women for ministry that makes a difference in the ... Read More

• The Insanity of God, reveiwed by John Lathrop

  The Insanity of God (LifeWay Films 2016). The film, The Insanity of God, is based on the book with the same title; it tells the story of Nik and Ruth Ripken’s involvement in missions. Ripken, by the way, is not their real name, it is a ... Read More

• Full Circle with Compassion

  Anita Charles has a powerful story to tell about how God used a couple in Oregon to help rescue her from childhood poverty in India, through Compassion International, to become a Jesus-follower ministering around the world. Now, after nearly 50 years of life-changing ministry to ... Read More

• Scott Camp: A Primer on Power

  Scott Camp, A Primer on Power: Discovering the Dynamic Ministry of the Holy Spirit (Franklin Publishing, 2016). It is with thanks to Scott Camp for the chance to review his book, A Primer on Power: Discovering the Dynamic Ministry of the Holy Spirit (Franklin Publishing, 2016). ... Read More

• The Great Civil War Revival: God at Work in Unlikely Places

  Pastor Wes Shortridge presents a short history of the astounding revival that occurred on both sides of the American Civil War and how it impacted the nation for decades.   Introduction America in 1861 presents a painful and complex chapter in history. God, however, had a plan for ... Read More

• Speaking with Don Horwitz

  The Executive Director of Christians Care International, Don Horwitz, speaks with PneumaReview.com about anti-Semitism, the relationship between the Church and Judaism, and his own journey to help the vulnerable and abused in the former Soviet Union.   PneumaReview.com: Please tell us a little about yourself, your religious ... Read More

• Winter 2017: Other Significant Articles

  Karl Vaters, “Deal-Breakers: 7 Ways God May Tell a Pastor to Leave a Church” Pivot (December 15, 2016). The byline of this blog by Karl Vaters reads, “Long-term pastorates are almost always good for the church and the pastor. But when these things happen, it’s ... Read More

• 5 Ways to Strengthen Your Church in 2017

  In this guest article by Rev. Percy McCray, he offers excellent practical suggestions for strengthening your local community of Jesus followers. It’s the start of a new year and thoughts turn to eating better, getting more organized, or even reconnecting with old friends. But within your New Year’s resolutions, are you ... Read More

• Miracles in Mendi

  I am Evangelist Matti Wendelin from Finland, and I was able to hold a crusade at Mendi, Papua New Guinea, January 8 through 12. Local churches came together to make this outreach possible. Thousands of people come every night, and hundreds got saved every single ... Read More

• Amos Yong speaking on his books published at Wipf and Stock

  Publisher Wipf & Stock interviews Amos Yong about his background and introduction to his books they have partnered to published. In his own words, Amos Yong explains what these books mean to him and why he thinks them significant to his own development. Originally published in ... Read More