When we talk about our identity in Jesus, we often use terms that are singular and individualistic. “I am a child of God.” “My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and I am a member of the Body of Christ.” These are truths we need to be reminded of. However, we should also use plural and collective statements to identify with the people of God’s redemptive covenant.

Paul describes what being in Messiah means in Romans 6 when he answers the rhetorical question, “Shall we continue in sin so that grace may grow even more?”

Romans 6:2-5 (NKJV): “Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united [planted] together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection.”

In the early passages of his account, Nehemiah learns of the grave difficulties Jewish people are experiencing in the conquered and devastated land of Israel. Although he was born in captivity and was serving as cupbearer to the king of Persia, he identified not only with those suffering in the land of their ancestors but with those ancestors who broke covenant with God. He owned the sins of his fathers as if they were his own. Nehemiah knew he was a participant, he was in the covenant God made with Abraham, Isaac, and Israel.

Image: Andrea Lightfoot

We are in Messiah more completely than when the nation of Israel was in David, the runt of Jesse just in from tending sheep, when he went up against the champion, a giant named Goliath who was trained for war all his life.

In all our beautiful difference, despite our shortcomings and failures, from many tribes and cultures, we are one in Messiah.

Perhaps because I’ve recently been spending of lot of time in Frank Viola’s magisterial The Untold Story of the New Testament Church, but I’ve been thinking about the Roman Empire. The Romans believed they had conquered the known world because their gods were stronger, better. When in reality, the one true God and Master of the Worlds was using an immoral and cruel Empire to allow for the rapid spread of the Good News on great roads across much of the world in languages that were well-known to multitudes of people.

When I think of the revolutions in communications that have come and are coming (because of the relative time of peace the world has known since the end of the Great World War) with the global internet, cell phones, social media, and Artificial Intelligence: Are we here at the crest of the wave because God wants his people to be proclaiming in a fresh way the love, power, and forgiveness found only in Jesus?

Image: Matt Jones

What is this resource? The Consortium of Pentecostal Archives (CPA) has brought together the written history of numerous denominations, authors, and ministries into one open access portal. Here are serials and books that are long out of print as well as some that are recent issues. Over 20 thousand books and publications are now available and they have seen significant growth even this year.

I find the site easy to use and navigate. That is important with almost half-a-million scanned pages already on file.

I deeply appreciate this resource because I love to see Pentecostal and Charismatic denominations and fellowships working together. This collaborative effort across denominational lines represents Christian unity at work.

Also, while I am neither a professional historian or archivist, I appreciate this opportunity to research and study these materials that most of us would be unable to access any other way. I am glad to see that these materials are not all in English, either. So far, I see Spanish, Portuguese, Norwegian, Chinese, Armenian, German, Haitian Creole, and I expect this list will grow as people continue to make contributions.

Does your denomination already have a membership in the CPA? There is information on the site about how contributions can be made, and I encourage you to consider it.

Christian history connects us with the cloud of witnesses that have told us what God has done for them. Their testimonies remind us that the same God will do the same and more for us today as we put our trust in him.

Make use of PentecostalArchives.org soon and often.

Further Reading:

Darrin Rodgers, Director of Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (Assemblies of God) and part of the CPA’s Executive Committee, posted this update: “Consortium of Pentecostal Archives: Upgraded Website Launched” iFPHC.org (April 10, 2023).

To celebrate some of his many contributions to Spirit-empowered ministry, please peruse some of this content available at PneumaReview.com:

John Lathrop reviews S. David Moore, Pastor Jack: The Authorized Biography of Jack Hayford (David C. Cook, 2020).

David Bradnick reviews Jack W. Hayford with Rebecca Hayford Bauer, Penetrating the Darkness: Discovering the Power of the Cross Against Unseen Evil (Chosen Books, 2011).

Mike Dies reviews Jack W. Hayford, “Practicing What We Preach” Ministries Today (Nov/Dec 2003).

Jack Hayford is one of the leaders featured in Dean Merrill, 50 Pentecostal and Charismatic Leaders Every Christian Should Know (Bloomington, MN: Chosen Books, 2021), reviewed by John Lathrop.

Jack Hayford / The King’s University

I can remember several occasions as a young leader when listening to Pastor Jack was something God used to allow me to see truth more clearly and embrace a greater love for fellow Christians I had theological disagreements with. We who remain will miss this well-spoken statesman for the fullness of the good news about what Jesus has done, is doing, and will complete.

Image: Ismael Paramo

First up is a podcast from the National Association of Evangelicals. Their introduction is: “Hispanics make up nearly 20 percent of the U.S. population. They have played a major role in driving population growth in our country and in revitalizing our churches over the past decades. In Today’s Conversation, Dr. Gus Reyes offers thoughtful and pastoral insight into this community, including generational dynamics and subsequent implications for ministry and outreach.”

“The Heartbeat of the Hispanic Community”

Pastor Eli says: “This is a great 40 min podcast on what US Latino evangelicals are like and the challenges we face.”

Next up is a 4-minute broadcast news story, about which Pastor Eli says: “This is a great report by NBC News on US Latinos who speak English. Sadly, this is a divisive matter in the US Latino community and including most US Latino evangelical churches. The majority lose their 2nd generation and beyond because they do not use English as part of their ministries.”

Are you Latino if you don’t speak Spanish?

Pastor Eli is right, the audience of PneumaReview.com needs to connect with these matters.

If you want to connect with Pastor Eli, try these links:

https://garzavista.wordpress.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/eli-garza-741903200/

Volunteers are currently preparing a new server to make PneumaReview.com more user-friendly, have faster loading speeds, and ready for future updates. Because we have not been able to publish articles on both servers at the same time, our backlog of ready-to-publish reviews and featured articles will be available soon after re-launch.

Our current go-live day is set before the end of July.

Thank you for your patience.

Raul Mock
Executive Editor
June 26, 2021

Update

We celebrate Pentecost Sunday when Jesus poured out his Spirit on his disciples and the Church began.

Recent articles and reviews about the contemporary ministry of the Holy Spirit

Spirit-Empowered Christianity

What does Spirit-empowered Christianity look like around the world? Pneuma Review speaks with Todd M. Johnson and Gina A. Zurlo, directors of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity and editors of the third edition of the World Christian Encyclopedia.

Discovering the Reality of God in Word and Spirit: an interview with R. T. Kendall

Dr. R. T. Kendall  is a strong advocate for bringing together in the church the exposition of the Word and the power of the Spirit.

Frank D. Macchia, Jesus the Spirit Baptizer: Christology in the Light of Pentecost — reviewed by Wolfgang Vondey

Jack S. Deere, Why I Am Still Surprised by the Power of the Spirit: Discovering How God Speaks and Heals Today — reviewed by John Lathrop

Getting Spiritually Equipped for Ministry that Matters by Chas Carrin

“To be genuinely equipped for life-in-the-Spirit, our experience with Jesus absolutely must go beyond academic, literary information about Him.”

Testimonies about the Spirit’s work in our lives

Total Surrender: Finding Messiah at an Italian Pentecostal Church, an interview with Michael Brown

An Italian Pentecostal Church played an important role in Dr. Michael Brown’s spiritual journey.

Receiving the Baptism in the Holy Spirit: A Testimony

Chaplain Jim Linzey shares a testimony of coming into the fullness of the Spirit and a simple guide for how you might help others experience this for themselves.

From the archives:

Embrace the Spirit this Pentecost

How to Speak in Tongues

What did God have in mind for you when he gave the gift of tongues to the church? What can you do to prepare yourself to receive this blessing? An excerpt from Larry Christenson’s classic work, Answering Your Questions About Speaking in Tongues.

PR

“We are excited to announce the line-up of Spirit-empowered leaders from around the world who will be joining us virtually in January. They will share insights about how you can effectively reach the next generation with the gospel.”

• Gibson Anduvate, Kenya
• Max Barroso, USA
• Eli Bonilla, USA
• Stephan Christiansen, Norway
• Jamie Corcoran, Ireland
• Daniela Freidzon-McCabe, Argentina
• Ben Gomez, USA
• David Grabovenko, Russia
• Josh Heward-Mills, Ghana
• Rob Hoskins, USA
• Tan Seow How, Singapore
• Terry Parkman, USA
• Steve Patta, India
• Assif Reid, USA
• Jeremy Seaward, Singapore
• Andrew Yeo, Singapore
• Vanessa Mistretta, Israel
• Sharon Witton, Canada
• Ben Woodman, USA
• Billy Wilson, USA

Worship and Creative Arts

• Cornerstone, Singapore
• International Christian Centre, Kenya
• Jesus Revolution, Norway
• Lighthouse Church, Ireland
• ORU LIVE, USA
• Rey de Reyes Worship, Argentina
• Southeastern University, USA
• The Awakening, USA

Register  

“The NextGen Network exists to empower the next generation of leaders in the global Spirit-empowered community.”

The vision statement of Empowered21: “That every person on Earth would have an authentic encounter with Jesus Christ through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit … by Pentecost 2033.”

The Bible in Hebrews 13:3 command Christians to pray for those suffering as if they themselves were suffering. In other words, the Bible calls us to not only remember those who suffer but to also be one with them in their suffering. In keeping with this scriptural command, the International Days of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) has united millions of Christians in prayer for the suffering Body of Christ around the world. After all, as the Bible says: If one suffers, we all suffer.

Over the years, the IDOP has served as a platform to highlight the stories of persecuted Christians and mobilise the global Church to respond to their plight. Moreover, in so doing, the IDOP has also been a source of solidarity and encouragement to persecuted Christians by reminding them that they are part of a larger, global family of believers.

We believe that God uses the prayers of his people to strengthen and deliver suffering saints. However, in order to pray for these suffering brothers and sisters, we must first listen to their stories. It is only in knowing their plight that we can truly identify with them in their suffering.

We invite you, therefore, to join us this year on 1st and 8th November as we unite globally to pray for the persecuted. Let’s pray that in spite of the pressure and persecution, our suffering brothers and sisters –where ever they may be in the world — would stand firm in their faith, hold fast to the promises of God, and live victoriously in Christ.

Blessings,

Godfrey Yogarajah
Executive Director
WEA Religious Liberty Commission

Watch the IDOP 2020 1:09 minute video (Vimeo) and share it with your church.

What: This webinar celebrates the sesquicentennial (150 years) of the birth of William J. Seymour. The Alliance for Black Pentecostal Scholarship mark this important landmark with two lectures given by scholars of Pentecostal studies and a panel discussion.

When: Oct 9, 2020 09:00 AM in Pacific Time (US and Canada)  

Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_tDjUzCiPSJGLOC1a273Jyg