In this review essay by seasoned missionary-scholar Dave Johnson, he takes a more nuanced approach to globalism, colonialism and the Filipinos efforts to contextualize the gospel and Church practices in the Philippines.

Hannah Keziah Agustin, “Colonialism Brought Evangelicalism to the Philippines. Churches Are Now Untangling the Two: Five Filipino Christian leaders weigh in on the American church’s influence on worship, culture, and politics” Christianity Today (June 28, 2023).

I would like to thank the editor of Pneuma Review for the opportunity to respond to Hannah Agustin’s article. I will divide this response into areas where I agree, issues that I think need clarification and points where I respectfully dissent. But first, I need to challenge her demographic facts. While she is correct that 80% of Filipinos are Catholic, the waters get muddied in identifying everybody else. The Pentecostal-Charismatic (PC) movement crosses all denominational lines and defies neatly packaged definitions. It also challenges statistics related to size. For example, the Catholic Charismatic movement, which holds as dearly to the Bible as do Evangelicals, numbered over ten million in 2008.[1] This does not include classical Pentecostals, such as the Assemblies of God and other groups, which are normally counted as Evangelicals, or Pentecostal Third Wave independent churches, some of which are huge. The origin of the majority of these churches, as well as some Pentecostal denominations, are indigenous. Considering that the population of the Philippines was 109.04 million in 2020,[2] it is safe to say that PC Christians comprise of at least 10% of the total Filipino population.

That said, she is correct in noting the strong impact of American evangelicalism in the Philippines. I share the respondents’ frustration about the importation of American culture, intentional or not, along with the gospel. While this is unavoidable to a certain extent, much could be done to reduce this by equipping missionaries with the tools of cultural anthropology. Unfortunately, most do not take advantage of this training. But the assumption of cultural superiority, intentional or not, also needs to be nuanced. This is not just an American problem. It’s a been a human problem since the time of Nimrod (Gen. 10) and Filipinos are no exception. Moreover, I have been appalled that perhaps as many as 95% of missionaries working here, whether from the West or other Asian nations, have made little effort to learn any of the indigenous languages.

All of the respondents mentioned things that the American missionaries brought into Filipino churches and allegedly forced on Filipinos. While much of this is true, none of the respondents mention efforts made by Filipino leaders to change things once the churches were turned over to them. This reflects the Filipino attitude of bahala na, which loosely means, “whatever will be will be and cannot be changed.” Fortunately, this is now beginning to change and I applaud these efforts.

Furthermore, the Filipino churches may be more indigenous than the respondents realize. Here, let me be clear that I am speaking from within my own PC tradition. In the Filipino Assemblies of God (AG), for example, the national ecclesiastical structure is almost a carbon copy of its counterpart in the States. How those leaders function within the structure, however, is completely Filipino. On the local church level, the differences between the churches in the Philippines and the United States are substantial.

More importantly, Obed Reliquette’s comment about American Evangelicalism’s attitude towards animism is largely true, but also needs nuancing in regards to the PC movement. PC spirituality, with its focus on the person and miraculous power of the Holy Spirit, resonates deeply with the Filipino’s original indigenous religious spirituality, which is focused on supernatural power. This morphed into Folk Catholicism in the Spanish era and continues to this day. This is probably the most significant reason for the stupendous growth of the PC movement in the Philippines in the last fifty years.

Finally, in an article about the Philippines, I do not understand why the author included a Filipino respondent living in the United States. The situation of Filipino-Americans, as reflected in their comments, is vastly different from Filipinos living at home. This should not have been included.

In summary, I agree with much of what has been said and share the respondents’ desire for greater indigeneity. I also think that the author should have done much more background research. Had she done so, she would likely have discovered that the situation is much more complex and nuanced than is reflected in this article. Thank you again for this opportunity.

PR

Notes

1. Christl Kessler and Jürgen Rüland, Give Jesus a Hand: Charismatic Christians: Populist Religion and Politics in the Philippines. Quezon City, Philippines: Ateneo de Manila Press, 2008.
2. Population of Philippines 2020 – Search (bing.com) https://www.bing.com/search?q=population+of+philippines+2020

In the preface to the book, Veith sets forth the premise that his book is intended to be a companion volume to Lewis’ work, originally written for children, that “will help you unpack the meaning of the story.” It also shows how Lewis’ book fits in with the whole heritage of Christian literature, particularly that form to which many Christian writers have gravitated: fantasy. Veith’s book is divided into two parts in accordance with these premises. Veith contends that his book can be read in the way that books are normally read or simply used as a resource. My impression is that the book is best when read in the normal manner.

Veith shows a great depth of understanding of literature, especially as it relates to the Christian faith, which I personally found to be quite educational. The book also reflects that Veith himself is well grounded in the Scriptures and has a solid evangelical understanding of the Christian faith. Veith also adroitly deals with the use of the imagination to communicate divine revelation. Some people, according to Veith, question the legitimacy of this method of communication. Veith citing Hebrews 11:1, and the reality that the Bible makes ample use of narrative and poetry.

Veith regards Lewis as a master of the fantasy genre, especially given Lewis’ background as a literary expert. The use of fantasy requires the ability to express thought in vivid, concrete images that stimulate the use of the imagination. To explain how Lewis uses fantasy so well, Veith uses several pages to tell the gist of the story of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe for those who may not have read it, or who may have read it so long ago that they have forgotten it. In doing so, Veith explains that in order for Lewis to help children apply the truths learned in their lives, the story must be anchored in the real world. In The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, the setting is the Battle of Britain in World War II. This part of the story, Veith notes, may be somewhat autobiographical, as Lewis himself protected children during the Nazi Blitz at his home outside of London. It may be that he saw himself in the character of the old professor.

Narnia, as Veith points out, is rich in symbolism, especially as revealed in its characters. Lewis, according to Veith, intentionally used the symbolism to communicate biblical truths. Aslan clearly symbolizes Christ while his archrival, the Wicked Witch, clearly demonstrates some of the characteristics of Satan. The story, then, is a fantasy clearly written within the biblical paradigm of good and evil with human beings, in this case, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, in the center of the drama. Humans are portrayed here as free moral agents who are the objects of Aslan’s love and the Witch’s wrath, who are called upon to choose whom they will serve. Veith rightly regards Lewis as a deft theological.

In the second part of the book, acknowledging that fantasy has become an extremely popular reading genre, he compares Lewis to J.K. Rowlands’ Harry Potter series and His Dark Materials, another series of books by Philip Pullman. While I have not read any of the Potter books and have never heard of Pullman’s series, I am quite familiar with the tenets that underpin witchcraft, which permeates the Potter books, and well understand the justified reasons why Christians should be concerned about such practices. Veith notes that children in particular have been drawn to the Potter series, finding it to be a great read. His conclusion is that the best antidote to the theological errors in Harry Potter is to not only solidly ground children in the reality of the Word of God but to also expose them to good fantasy literature such as The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.

PneumaReview.com speaks with Dave Johnson about the publication of his book, Answering God’s Call: Reflections of a Veteran Missionary in Asia.

Pneuma Review: Please tell our readers how you came to understand that the Lord was calling you into missions.

Dave Johnson: I was in the Navy when God called me to the ministry. When I got out of the Navy, I went to Bible College to prepare for that calling, although I did not know at the beginning the kind of ministry to which God was calling me. In my senior year, God spoke to me about becoming a missionary, but he first directed me to further education.

Pneuma Review: What advice would you give to a person who thinks that they may be called to missions?

Dave Johnson, Answering God’s Call: Reflections of a Veteran Missionary in Asia (APTS Press, 2021).

Dave Johnson: They should be sure of their calling, grow in their spiritual disciplines and in their walk with God, gain some ministry experience at home first and then pursue their calling without fear.

Pneuma Review: Once it has been determined that an individual is called what should they do in order to prepare for the field?

Dave Johnson: This depends on the person and the ministry to which they feel called. They should certainly gain some ministry experience here and formal training is usually a good idea. They should also talk with their pastor and contact the leadership of the mission they wish to join to see what their requirements and advice would be.

Pneuma Review: What are some of the challenges that a missionary can expect to encounter on the mission field?

Dave Johnson: Probably the greatest challenge is to die to ourselves. We must die to our desires, our dreams, as well as the prejudices and the narcissism of our age that have so greatly impacted the Church. Missions is not about me or my own fulfillment. It’s about loving God and responding to his dreams for our lives. After 29 years in missions, this remains my greatest challenge.

Pneuma Review: Give us an example of how you dealt with one of these challenges.

Dave Johnson: I’ll tackle language and cultural adjustment here. My approach was to immerse myself in the language and culture from the very beginning. I was single at the time and took the opportunity to live with a Filipino family. They were very Filipino about their approach to life and this presented me with the opportunity to experience life through their eyes from the very beginning. While the adults normally preferred to speak to me in English, much to my dismay, the children were happy to converse in Tagalog. Since my fluency level was much lower than theirs, I had to become like a child again in learning the language and culture. It was a humbling but ultimately a very rewarding experience. On any given day, living in another culture could be very rewarding or very frustrating. It was often both on the same day!

Pneuma Review: Have you ever doubted your missionary call? If you have, how did you get past that doubt?

Dave Johnson: In the years following seminary I followed the Lord’s leading and engaged in evangelistic work, which included short term missionary trips. Since the door to full time missions wasn’t opening as I had hoped, I went through a period of doubt that I called “The valley of the death of the vision.” After a few years, however, the Lord resurrected my vision and sent me forward into missions.

Pneuma Review: How important is self-care for the missionary?

Dave Johnson: It is critical. Missionaries should always take the long view of their missions calling. Leading a balanced life and making time for intimacy with Christ and with time with our spouse and children, as well as time for ourselves, is important to remaining on the field long-term. We need margin in our lives because we are human. God never intended that we work all the time.

Pneuma Review: Missionary work is not “one size fits all.” You have served in a number of different ministries. Please tell our readers about them.

Dave Johnson: I arrived in the Philippines in 1994. After taking a year for language learning and cultural adjustment, I reengaged my calling as an evangelist and began traveling to many parts of the Philippines, along with an assistant, to conduct Good News Rallies for existing churches and new church plants. At first, I based in Manila. After Debbie and I married and she had completed language studies, we ultimately moved to the Legazpi City area, about 350 south of Manila, and continued evangelistic ministry, although we restricted ourselves to southern Luzon and engaged in working in a Bible school to honor Debbie’s calling and gifting in teaching. We remained in the area for 13 years.

In 2012, I was invited to become the managing editor of the Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies, the official publication of the Asia Pacific Theological Seminary (APTS), the Assemblies of God school for higher theological education in the Asia Pacific, which is located in Baguio City, Philippines. At first, these positions were part-time, but in 2013, the Lord lead us to terminate our ministry in Legaspi and move to APTS and become part of the full time faculty.

In addition to all of these roles over the years, I tried to support Debbie in the various roles that she undertook.

Pneuma Review: You are currently involved in publishing with Asia Pacific Theological Seminary Press. Tell us a little about the purpose, or focus, of the books that you publish.

Dave Johnson: The purpose of both the Press and the Journal is to deal with theological, missiological and ecclesiastical issues that pastors, theologians and churches deal with in Asia. Due to the different cultures and the strong presence of other global and local religions, the issues faced in Asia are substantially different than those in the West. This means that books and journals from western authors often do not address the real and felt needs of Asians. We seek to fill that lacuna.

Pneuma Review: Where can people purchase your book Answering God’s Call and the books published by Asia Pacific Theological Seminary Press?

Dave Johnson: All of our books and Journal editions are available at www.aptspress.org. We also license most of books to Wipf & Stock and can be accessed at www.wipfandstock.org. They can also be read for free at Open Access Digital Theological Library, www.oadtl.org. The books can also be purchased directly through www.amazon.com and www.kobo.com.

PR

Notes

[1] Editor’s note: Led By the Spirit is being published serially in Pneuma Review. Read the first chapter. Read Malcom Brubaker’s review of Led By the Spirit.

The last service was held at the cemetery. In the Philippines, the water table is too high to bury most people below the soil, so they are encased in cement in tombs above the ground with a gravestone on one end of the encasement. After the service, I found myself glancing around, reading names and pertinent dates on the other tombstones. I found myself asking “who were these people, what did they do with their lives, and what did they leave behind?” While I couldn’t answer these questions regarding these people, I could reflect on Pastor Andy’s life.

Although he wasn’t poor, Pastor Andy didn’t have much regarding the things of this world. I never heard him complain, and I will long remember his warm smile and kind demeanor. He had invested his life in pastoral ministry—caring for people in the name of Jesus. He loved both the Lord of the work and the work of the Lord. What did he leave behind? A wife and three children who loved him, many friends, like me, who were deeply touched by his life, and no doubt countless others, whose lives were transformed by the gospel he preached. In the things that mattered, Pastor Andy was a rich man.

Like everyone else, I yearn for my life to count for something, to leave this world a better place, and to do something of benefit to others that will last long after I have gone on to glory. I know that, if done for God’s glory and His name, those dreams can be fulfilled. But I also hear the echo of the siren song of this world, luring me into the lie of self-fulfillment, self-aggrandizement, and building a name for myself, only to leave me shipwrecked on the shores of ruined dreams and broken lives. My prayer is that, like Pastor Andy, I would invest my life in things that matter. What about you?

©2012 Dr. Dave Johnson. Used with permission. Originally published on the Pneuma Foundation (parent organization of PneumaReview.com) website. Later included in the Summer 2022 issue.

Also, please visit www.prayforbuddhists.com and consider signing up to be part of a prayer movement to reach Buddhists for Christ.

Many thanks,

Dave

At the time of publication, the full issue of the journal was available at: https://www.aptspress.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/AJPS-24.2-Full-Interior-as-of-AUG-20-Updated.pdf

These Bibles don’t just appear overnight. A lot of work must be done both in the States and on the field.  In the States, funds must be raised. When the Tagalog edition came out in 2004, the price tag was about $162,000.  The Cebuano edition, at the time of this writing, will cost about $318,000, most of which has still not been raised (if you would like to help, please visit www.lifepublishers.org). On the field, a managing editor, normally an AGWM missionary must be chosen and contracts must be signed with the local Bible Society for rights to their Bible translations. Then translators and editors must be selected and trained. In time, secretaries, copy editors, readers, and other people need to be added.  This phase of the project alone normally takes about two and one half years.

But what does all this have to do with a fishing net?

The answer is, well, rather simple. Several years ago God gave my wife a prophetic word that he was going to send an unprecedented revival to the Philippines, a land that has seen wonderful seasons of refreshing in the past. God also commanded us to ‘get ready, get ready, get ready.’ How does one prepare for revival? By making a fishing net.  Not the kind that comes from a pole with a short scoop on the end but the kind that is staked out in the ocean at night, tied to huge hawser ropes at least two hundred feet in length, and takes entire fishing village to haul in to shore in the morning. Like any good fishing net there are many interlocking strands that must be woven in for the net to be strong.

This excerpt from Led by the Spirit: The History of the American Assemblies of God Missionaries in the Philippines is the third chapter. Missionary-scholar Dave Johnson has brought together a chronicle of over 300 Pentecostal missionaries serving in the Philippines from 1926 through the first decade of the new Millennium.

Regrouping and Moving Forward

After the war, the Philippine District Council (PDC) lost no time in organizing and getting on with the job of fulfilling the Great Commission. The Missionary Field Fellowship also organized and received evaluation and direction from the Foreign Missions Department regarding relations with the PDC.

The National Church Regroups

The fourth District Council was held in Camiling, Tarlac, about ninety miles north of Manila in December 1945. Since no missionary could be present, the Foreign Missions Department had given permission to elect an acting superintendent whom they would ratify later. Rudy Esperanza was elected to this position as well as to his former post as district secretary. Several months later, Noel Perkin confirmed Esperanza’s appointment by letter with a slight but important change. The word acting was not mentioned, and he was appointed as the district superintendent with full power to act in that authority.[1] Why this action was taken is not explained. It may be because there was no missionary available. It is also possible that, because of the pending independence of the Philippines and the renewed emphasis on the indigenous church, the Foreign Missions Department wanted to transfer authority to Filipino leadership as quickly as possible. Also, the United States gave the Philippines its independence on July 4, 1946, removing the legal necessity of American leadership in the PDC. No American would ever again hold the leading office, although Americans would hold other offices within the PDC and later, the General Council.

Those who attended this convention found the fellowship sweet. They were happy to be together again after the terrible war. The meetings were marked with a wonderful presence of the Holy Spirit, reminding the conferees that God had not abandoned them as well as no doubt challenging them to get on with the task of reaching the lost now that the restrictions of war were no longer present. One of the key issues to getting the work back on track was to reopen Bethel Bible Institute, this time in Esperanza’s hometown in Pangasinan.[2] No reason is given for reopening there instead of Baguio even though the road to Baguio, which ran through Pangasinan, had been heavily bombed and was hard to travel. The move also may simply have been due to a more preferred location because Esperanza was pastoring there and could more easily oversee the school.

The PDC continued to hold annual conventions where business was conducted, officers elected, and God’s will sought on various issues facing the nation. The ravages of the war continued to be felt, and the country struggled to recover. All over the world nationalism, with its anti-Western posture, began to rise as the colonial powers, themselves devastated by the war, were unable to maintain control of their colonies. One by one, these colonies began to gain their independence, often by bloodshed. While the Filipinos had gained their independence peacefully, they were not immune to these events. At the 1950 convention, there was some discussion of nationalism. However, those attending the convention, admittedly with a strong missionary contingent present, went on record as expressing great appreciation for the missionaries and the sacrifices they had made, and expressed the desire that more would be sent. Part of this positive attitude may have come from the fact that during the convention, they were dedicating some permanent BBI facilities financed by missionary supporters. However, the general feeling was appreciation for a growing unity in spiritual things.[3] This must also be seen in the national context where Americans were esteemed because American and Filipino blood had mixed freely in the war.

During the historic 1953 convention, the PDC was recognized by the Foreign Missions Department as a sovereign General Council with the freedom to elect its own officers and govern its own affairs. In all practicality, it had been doing so since the end of the war. The PDC changed its name to the Philippines General Council of the Assemblies of God (PGCAG). Rudy Esperanza was elected as the general  superintendent. Three districts were formed: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, with authorization to divide into more districts as the work expanded. The genius of forming these districts was that it allowed closer oversight of the 103 ministers and seventy-five established and pioneering churches among the far-flung islands of the archipelago.

Organizing the Philippine Field Fellowship

The missionaries also formed themselves into the Philippine Field Fellowship (PFF), incorporating with the Philippine government’s Securities and Exchange Commission in 1949. Although the details are far from clear, it appears that there was a field committee in place by 1951, although apparently not all missionaries were informed about it—which may have caused a bit of consternation for one couple.[4] The earliest minutes date back only to 1959 and indicate that the missionaries were actually divided into two smaller field fellowships until that year. The missionaries on Luzon were part of the northern fellowship, and those in the Visayas comprised the southern fellowship (there were no missionaries in Mindanao until the 1960s). The entire field was administered by one committee with representatives from each of the fellowships. When the two fellowships merged into one field in 1959, the missionaries began meeting annually for business and election of officers. The meetings were normally one day or a part of a day in length but eventually expanded to as long as four or five days as worship services, ministry to children, and a retreat were included.

The missionaries were part of the PDC/PGCAG and served in various capacities in official district and General Council positions. In that sense then, they came under the leadership of the PDC/PGCAG. However, because the missionaries were under the authority of the FMD, they also had their own leadership structure with the establishment of the field committee and the new office of field secretary, a new level of leadership within the FMD that was instituted during the war years.

With the advent of the field secretaries, the FMD began to take a stronger hand in governing the various fields and making missionaries more accountable to the home office. The field secretary was responsible for making this happen. The first field secretary for the Far East was Howard C. Osgood, a former missionary to China. He served as field secretary until 1955, when he was succeeded by Maynard Ketcham. A former missionary to India, Ketcham was field secretary for Southern Asia from 1951 until he succeeded Osgood in 1955. Ketcham defined the field secretary as a liaison between the missionaries and the national church bodies on the one hand and, between the U.S. constituency and the FMD on the other, as well as a recruiter of new missionaries.[5]

From all appearances the relationship between the missionaries and the PGCAG leadership was good, but Ketcham saw the need to address tensions between the two groups so in April 1958, he wrote an open letter to the missionaries. To get a clear understanding of his view of the way things were and the way he felt they should be, the letter is quoted here at some length:

I stated that there is more good will toward American missionaries in your land than I have seen anywhere else in the world. And, I firmly believe this to be the true [sic]. However, that feeling of good will, and the kindly nature of our beloved Philippino [sic] co-workers, should not blind us to certain fundamental facts. True, we Americans have drive, energy, vision, organizational ability. On the other hand, we are strangers in a foreign land. And, the only real excuse for our presence in the Philippines is as invited guests to counsel, advise encourage, [sic] stimulate, teach—but never to boss or to ‘carry the ball.’

It appears that we have two parallel organizations in the Philippines—the Missionary Fellowship (s) [sic] and the National church. Presumably all our missionaries are members of the Assemblies of God of the Philippines. And yet, while I was in the Philippines, I got the feeling that our Filipino brethren felt that the Fellowships were the organizations of the missionaries and the A.G. of the Philippines was the organization of the Filipinos. Frequently, in conversation with the local brethren, I heard the words ‘they’ (the missionaries) and ‘us’ (the Filipinos). I can realize that no one person or group is responsible for this situation. But, we must do all in our power to break it down. . . .

Then we must explain to our national brethren that the Fellowships are only concerned with the personal lives of missionaries. We must also explain to the Nationals (by word and deed) that our ministry comes under the direction of the A. G. of the Philippines. Then, I believe that missionaries will be elected to office in the National organization and the missionaries will be considered as [an] integral part of the same.

May I suggest certain steps which I believe should be taken, to implement the provisions of the Manual in regard to this matter:

1. Be very certain that the Missionary Fellowships live up to their names and are only ‘Fellowships’ of missionaries dealing with matters which are of peculiar interest to missionaries themselves.
2. Take all possible steps to explain this situation to the Nationals, so they will realize that the missionaries, in their Fellowship meetings are not making decisions which affect church members.
3. Take an active part as possible in all gatherings of the Assemblies of God of the Philippines, and accept any office offered to missionaries.
4. Try to work things out, as rapidly and gracefully as possible, so that all Bible Schools are on a plane of equality and come under the overall supervision of the national church. (A very delicate matter, I know!!)
5. See that local congregations have at least some say in the choosing of pastors for all churches.
6. See that the national organization has the privilege of stating if they approve the re-appointment of a missionary, when he proceeds on furlough.
7. See that the national organization has at least some say in the allocation of missionaries.[6]

Ketcham went on to say that if the missionaries would deal kindly with their Filipino counterparts, the Filipinos would respond in kind and issues such as the re-appointment of missionaries would not be a problem.

Ketcham’s comments must be understood in light of the times. When this was written in 1958, the PGCAG was only eighteen years old and was rapidly expanding. Consequently, it had not yet had the time to develop the leaders necessary to fill all of the positions that needed to be filled for the PGCAG to move forward. Therefore, missionaries were appointed or elected to fill these positions, hopefully according to their gifts and callings. Being in these positions, then, demanded that they submit themselves to the PGCAG leaders. In noting the missionaries’ drive, goal orientation, and efficiency to get things done, he recognized some legitimate cultural differences between the missionaries and their Filipino counterparts.

Points six and seven reveal the missionaries’ tendency to be independent and indirectly admitted to a failure on the missionaries’ part to consult the PGCAG leadership regarding missionary placement. The first generation of Assemblies of God missionaries, which some of these were, were known for being independent spirits and most likely found fitting into any organization a bit difficult. Yet Ketcham was correct in calling for them to do so since it was essential to demonstrate respect for and support of the Filipino leadership for the long-term success of the mission.

The organizational structure of the PFF and PDC/PGCAG now detailed serves as a backdrop to the work of the individual missionaries during the period after World War II.

PR

This chapter is an excerpt from Dave Johnson, Led By The Spirit: The History of the American Assemblies of God Missionaries in the Philippines (Pasig City, Philippines: ICI Ministries, 2009). Used with permission.

Notes for Chapter 3: Regrouping and Moving Forward

1 Letter from Noel Perkin to whom it may concern, February 22, 1946.

2 Rudy Esperanza, “Pentecostal Convention in the Philippines,” Pentecostal Evangel, March 23, 1946.

3 Minutes of the Eighth District Convention of the Philippine District Council of the Assemblies of God, April 24–30, 1950.

4 Letter from Oneida Brengle to Maynard Ketcham, March 20, 1956.

5 McGee, This Gospel, vol. 1, 173.

6 Letter from Maynard Ketcham to the missionaries of the PFF, April 14, 1958.

Further Reading:

Read Malcolm Brubaker’s review of Led by the Spirit in the Summer 2010 issue of The Pneuma Review: http://pneumareview.com/dave-johnson-led-by-spirit/

Download the full book (in PDF) at: https://www.academia.edu/34297392/LED_BY_THE_SPIRIT.pdf

Find more excellent books from APTS Press, home of the Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies.

This excerpt from Led by the Spirit: The History of the American Assemblies of God Missionaries in the Philippines is the second chapter. Missionary-scholar Dave Johnson has brought together a chronicle of over 300 Pentecostal missionaries serving in the Philippines from 1926 through the first decade of the new Millennium.

Interned by the Japanese

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and the United States was drawn into World War II. The Philippines was eighteen hours ahead of Hawaii, meaning that the Pearl Harbor attack would have occurred just after 2 a.m. on the morning of December 8. Several hours passed before the news would reach the Philippines. Elizabeth Galley (later Wilson), described how they heard the news:

As the sun rose, Doris Carlson, Gladys Knowles, and I ate a hurried breakfast and prepared to go to the College of Chinese Studies where we were students.

The sound of footsteps on the stairs and the pounding on the door caused us to rush to answer. On the threshold stood Robert Tangen. “Girls,” he said, “Japan has just bombed Pearl Harbor.” This left us all aghast, and we pondered what the future might hold.¹

They were not left to ponder long. As they were receiving this news, planes appeared overhead, which they momentarily mistook for friendly forces. Flying over the U.S. air base at nearby Camp John Hay, the planes, now identified as Japanese, began bombing which caused a number of casualties.² A long nightmare had begun.

The Japanese landed almost unopposed on the beaches of Lingayen Gulf, on the northwestern coast of Luzon and twenty two miles west of Baguio.³ Some of the Japanese turned east and headed for Baguio while the main body of the army drove towards Manila. With Japanese aircraft already bombing Camp John Hay, those in Baguio, which included about five hundred foreigners all totaled, knew they would be receiving unwanted company soon.⁴ They did not have long to wait. In addition to the other foreigners, a fair number of Japanese citizens married to Filipino women also lived in Baguio. Because the mayor was afraid of offending these, he refused to take the steps necessary to maintain law and order. Mass chaos prevailed throughout the city. Leland Johnson joined a group of civilians who took things into their own hands, appointing patrols to maintain order and enforcing a blackout designed to hide the city from Japanese planes at night. Bombing raids made walking outside in the daylight a dangerous venture.

The situation became more precarious when the Allied troops left the city, because Baguio did not afford the best place to make a last stand and removed to Bontoc, about one hundred miles away. Their departure led to an immediate problem as there was no one to spot attacking planes and give the civilians fair warning to take cover. Johnson’s group filled the gap, appointing plane spotters from among members of their group, which undoubtedly saved many lives. The Tangens, who lived in the same apartment complex as Galley, Carlson, and Knowles, moved in with the Johnsons and the single ladies moved elsewhere when they realized that the apartments might be bombed.⁵ Johnson and Tangen also dug an air raid shelter in Johnson’s backyard, something which would benefit them greatly later. Apparently, they had some idea of where they might be interned as they stocked food at Brent International School. This was an exercise in futility because the Japanese later took all of it.

Introduction to the latest issue of AJPS, 22:2, from Dave Johnson.

In this issue of the Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies we are pursuing a more general theme called Theological Issues in Asia. While a multitude of issues could be chosen, our intent here is to allow the various authors to define the issues for the contexts in which they serve. The Journal is downloadable for free at www.aptspress.org.

Jacqueline Grey, an Old Testament scholar who served as an Australian missionary in a Muslim majority nation for three years, opens this edition by discussing the concept of the Missio Dei (Mission of God), limiting her treatment to Isaiah 6:1-9:6.

Prudencio Coz, a Filipino pastor, opens his article by posing the question, “What is the difference between Monday morning and Sunday?’ He then deals with the issue of vocation and its reciprocal economic and spiritual implications.

Korean scholar Sang Yun Lee, drawing from his book, A Theology of Hope: Contextual Perspectives in Korean Pentecostalism (Baguio City, Philippines: APTS Press, 2018), takes a serious look at Yonggi Cho’s well-known Three Fold Blessing theology. Originally formulated and taught in the context of the devastation of post-war Korea, Lee contends that Cho’s message needs to be recontextualized to address the ecclesiastical and sociological challenges of the 21st century.

Myanmar pastor Stephen Shwe concludes this edition with a two-part article dealing with the tension between zeal and knowledge, especially when it comes to theological education or ministerial training.

The entire Journal team joins me in wishing you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

In Christ,

Dave Johnson, DMiss
Managing Editor

This excerpt from Led by the Spirit: The History of the American Assemblies of God Missionaries in the Philippines is the first chapter. Missionary-scholar Dave Johnson has brought together a chronicle of over 300 Pentecostal missionaries serving in the Philippines from 1926 through the first decade of the new Millennium.

The Early Years in the Philippines

As the Assemblies of God in the United States grew, so did their vision to send missionaries to the far-flung corners of the globe, including the Philippines.

The First Missionaries Arrive

The first United States Assemblies of God (AG) missionaries to the Philippines were Benjamin and Cordelia Caudle, who, with their children, arrived in Manila in September 1926.¹ The Caudles came from Kansas. Like many of the early missionaries, neither had any Bible school education, and it appears that they had little ministry experience. Caudle had only been a Christian for about six years before arriving in the Philippines. Yet they had heard the call of God, and for them and those who supported them, that call was sufficient. At the same time, their application for appointment indicates that they were well aware that sacrifice and privation awaited them.2 To what extent they were actually prepared for life in the tropics can only be conjectured.

They settled in Manila and quickly began to work. Manila, a city of at least three hundred thousand people at the time, was the logical choice because it was both the capital and hub of the nation. By the time the Caudles arrived, the Filipinos had been under American rule for twenty-eight years and many had learned English to the point that the Caudles felt it was becoming the lingua franca of the country.3

The Caudles were thoroughly convinced of the validity of the Pentecostal message and had a deep burden for the lost. In an article for the Pentecostal Evangel, the official voice of the Assemblies of God USA, Caudle’s passion for the lost and commitment to Pentecost is revealed:

Do you know that there are many millions of people here that need the Gospel preached to them with power and in demonstration of the Holy Ghost? The Pentecostal message is yet a stranger to the Philippine Islands, but by God’s grace it will not remain so long. For there shall be established in these Islands a lighthouse of the Pentecostal truth where men and women can be free.4

While the claim to be the first to proclaim the Pentecostal message in the Philippines cannot be verified with certainty, it may have been true since the Pentecostal Movement was young at the time. Caudle’s remarks that the Pentecostal message, with its emphasis on signs and wonders, would spread throughout the country, was prophetic, although it didn’t happen as quickly as he hoped.