I hope your week has been wonderful. This week holds special significance as we delve into the theological meaning of Holy Week, which is central to the Christian faith. Jesus endured suffering, died, and triumphed over death!

I want to share some insights from my devotions this week. Each day, I reflected on the Passion of Christ and composed 25 meditations on Holy Week. My prayer is that they resonate with you.

With the peace of Christ,

Dr. Antipas

Image: Kelly Sikkema

Meditations on Holy Week

1. As we enter the sacred time of Holy Week, let us take a moment to reflect deeply on the profound journey of Jesus. The gravity of the Resurrection is illuminated through the trials and tribulations outlined during this significant week.
2. Today marks Palm Sunday, the ceremonial beginning of Holy Week. This is an opportunity to learn from Jesus, who exemplified the art of repositioning Himself for what lay ahead. He made a remarkable entrance into Jerusalem, riding on a humble colt, an emblem of simplicity and vulnerability. How might you prepare yourself, adjusting your stance for the divine plans God has in store for your next chapter?
3. Riding a young donkey, though seemingly mundane, speaks volumes of Jesus’ readiness to embrace the challenges ahead. This choice symbolizes the discomfort and struggle that would unfold throughout the week, as He traversed a path marked by pain, ultimately leading to a victorious destiny. Repositioning ourselves often demands radical and even uncomfortable changes.
4. The journey of Holy Week is steeped in profound humility, a call to lay aside our egos and acknowledge something greater than ourselves. Lord, forgive us for the moments when we fail to embody humility, and guide us to walk faithfully in the footsteps of Christ’s example!
5. Holy Week serves as a powerful testament of faith played out in the public arena. Jesus showcased unwavering love even amidst brutal and violent opposition. Though love may sometimes be overshadowed or trampled, His steadfast commitment to love remained resolute. Indeed, love is far mightier than hate.
6. Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem was laden with prophetic significance. The crowd recognized His divine essence as they cheered, witnessing the spectacle of His arrival on a colt. Their adoration hinted at the ultimate victory to come, despite the turbulent path ahead, fraught with pain, betrayal, and denial. While we may know the conclusion of the story, it was a profound and challenging faith journey for Him.
7. The journey of faith is not one of flawless perfection but rather one of exploration and growth. As we navigate through life, we encounter moments of learning and reflection. It echoes the sentiment of Bishop Anselm of Canterbury, who spoke of “Fides quaerens intellectum”—faith seeking understanding. May this week serve as a transformative journey filled with fresh insights, nurturing our lived witness to the world.
8. After sharing His last meal with His disciples, Jesus spoke these comforting words: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth… You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.” (John 14:16-17) Come, Holy Spirit!
9. During Holy Week, a poignant and transformative moment unfolded as Jesus knelt before His disciples to wash their feet, symbolically commissioning them for a life of unwavering service. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. profoundly stated, “You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.” Jesus exemplified this truth, His actions a masterclass in humility! What about us?
10. Faithfully pursuing the depth of Christ’s love demands a spirit of humility and a commitment to serve. The Master Teacher and Lord, in a gesture of unparalleled love, lowered Himself to the dusty ground, knowing that among those He served, two would soon betray and deny Him. Christ’s love is boundless and knows no restrictions, reaching even the most unreachable hearts.
11. As we meditate on the Passion Story, our focus is drawn to the profound hope we find in Christ’s enduring promise. This sacred week serves as a reminder that mental stress and emotional turmoil are transient; they do not linger. Sunday’s resurrection is coming, heralding a new dawn!
12. Holy Week unveils a deep and transformative connection between love and hope. God’s love extends to every individual, even to those who seem difficult to embrace. Lord, in Your infinite mercy, guide us to love as You do. Hope, after all, is a relentless force. Our struggles do not dictate our destiny; rather, through them, we find resilience and emerge even stronger!
13. We must not underestimate the profound devastation of feeling crushed; it brings pain, a burden that resonates with many hearts. Jesus intimately understood the depths of this agony. Yet, it’s essential to recognize that these crushing experiences do not define us—our true beauty does.
14. In the midst of suffering, a glimmer of hope emerges as beauty slowly reveals itself. Just as wine is born from the pressing of grapes and oil flows from the pressing of olives, our life’s true purpose often springs forth from the trials we endure. Jesus faced His own moments of crushing anguish in Gethsemane, a testament to the human experience. Soon, we will gather to celebrate the immeasurable lesson uncovered in such trials: while crushing moments are temporary, the victories they yield are everlasting!
15. J.P. Lederach reminds us that theo-moral imagination invites us to envision ourselves within a vast network of relationships—one that even includes our enemies. It encourages us to embrace the complexities of life without reverting to simplistic dualistic thinking, to pursue creativity boldly, and to bravely accept the inherent risks of venturing into the unknown.
16. Let us not rush to the resurrection; there’s a compelling story that unfolds before the glory! Let’s take time to reflect on that narrative. Jesus endured profound suffering, reminding us that if we seek His resurrection power, we must also partake in His suffering (Phil 3:10). Beyond the shadows of despair lies magnificent glory!
17. The term “Maundy” derives from the Latin word for “commandment,” a poignant reference to Jesus’ profound humility on Maundy Thursday when He washed His disciples’ feet and called them to embody that same spirit of service and love. Lord, in Your boundless mercy, guide us toward a deeper understanding of how to love and serve others with true humility.
18. Have you ever felt the sting of loneliness or the weight of abandonment? Consider that even Jesus experienced such heart-wrenching emotions on the cross, crying out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” Remember, even in the heaviest of moments, this is not the end for you—in this life and beyond. A brighter dawn is ahead; just wait and see!
19. “Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.’ Having said this, he breathed his last.” Luke 23:46. Like Jesus, entrust everything into God’s capable hands. Let it go. Trust that God can carry your burdens with grace and strength.
20. “On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross; The emblem of suffering and shame, And I love that old cross where the dearest and best; For a world of lost sinners was slain….” (Hymn)
21. Through the boundless love of Jesus, vividly revealed on the cross, we encounter a profound and transformative truth: True love, at its core, endures suffering. The ultimate victory of love emerges only through the crucible of pain and sacrifice. In essence, love bears the weight of suffering; yet it also triumphs in unfathomable ways!
22. Good Friday is a sacred moment of reflection, a time to honor a Savior who willingly gave His life for the sins of the world. St. Augustine reminds us, “The death of the Lord our God should not be a cause of shame for us; rather, it should be our greatest hope, our greatest glory.” In the face of the cross, we witness the profound generosity of our loving Jesus. Yet, paradoxically, this true love exposes its vulnerability, open to the wounds inflicted by those who abandon, betray, deceive, strive to sow discord, and walk away. The depth of this love makes the hurt all the more poignant and real.
23. Good Friday beckons us into a deep theological reflection on the suffering Christ—a Jesus who embraces pain with open arms. Theologian Jurgen Moltmann articulates beautifully that the God who suffers is the God who loves deeply. Our God is not distant; rather, He is profoundly moved by our own struggles and heartaches. In our moments of vulnerability and distress, God draws nearer, embodying the essence of true and abiding love.
24. In the words of scripture, “Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’” (Matt 26:27-28) Our sins are forgiven, and we can respond with fervent joy: Hallelujah!
25. Revelation 5:9 resounds with triumphant praise, declaring, “They sing a new song: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slaughtered, and by your blood, you ransomed for God saints from every tribe and language and people and nation.’” In these words, we find the powerful truth that the blood of Jesus Christ has redeemed us, wrapping us in grace and love beyond measure.

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Over the years I have collected bits of wisdom from different sources. I share a few of them with you. When known, authors are named.

“There are none so enslaved as those who falsely believe they are free.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“When people regard a portion of the truth as if it were the whole truth it becomes more dangerous than an untruth.” Jack Taylor

“Most preachers would make good martyrs; they are so dry they would burn well.” Charles Spurgeon

“Don’t be afraid that your life will end. Be afraid that it will never begin.” Grace Hansen

“The danger is not that God has set the ‘bar too high’ and that we will miss it–the danger is that we have set the bar too low and will make it.”

“A woman’s heart should be so hidden in Christ that a man would have to seek Him first to find her.” Maya Angelou

“The church must feed people the food–not merely show them the menu.”

“We make a living by what we get; We make a life by what we give.” Sir Winston Churchill

“Patience is the weapon that forces deception to expose itself.”

“Americans will die on their feet before they will live on their knees.” George Washington

“The task ahead of you is never as great as the Power behind you.”

“People like us who believe in physics know that the distinction between past, present, and future, is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.” Albert Einstein

“Pray that people will meet Christ before they meet the church.”

Bumper Sticker: “I love Jesus–I just don’t like some of His Fan Clubs.”

“Sanctification is an impartation–not an imitation.” Oswald Chambers

“Find out what you are following–compare it to Christ–you will find yours to be inferior.” Perry Comas

“Do not lower God’s word to the level of your experience.” Randy Clark

“The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.”

“We better find out what God is doing today less we be found arranging chairs on the deck of the Titanic tomorrow.”

“The Bible is a verb; not a noun.” Rick Cross

“It takes a steady hand to hold a full cup.”

“The Bible was not given to replace direct revelation or the miraculous but to correct abuses.” Martyn-Lloyd Jones

“Demons are like rats at the garbage dump. Unless you get rid of the garbage they will be back.”

“One who judges others proclaims himself to be God.”

“Burnout is operating outside your anointing; it is a breakdown–not a breakthrough.” Tod Zeiger

“Success is never permanent; failure is never final.”

“When the tide comes in all the ships in the harbor rise with it.”

“Jesus is ‘Lord over the Church'; The Holy Spirit is ‘Lord in the Church’.” Derek Prince

“Follow the cloud–or follow the crowd.” James Robinson

“‘Tradition’ is the living faith of a dead past; ‘Traditionalism’ is the dead faith of a living past.” Jack Taylor

Image: Wesley Tingey

“The one who kneels before God can stand before anyone.”

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” Anais Nin

“Life is too short to be too little.” Benjamin Disraeli

“Truth is in the Scripture; Power is in the truth.” C. Carrin

“Private victories precede public victories.” Stephen Covey

“Appeasement is like feeding the alligators–hoping they will eat you last.” Sir Winston Churchill

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From Charles Carrin Ministries monthly newsletter, Gentle Conquest. Used with permission from Charles Carrin Ministries (www.CharlesCarrinMinistsries.com). Later included in the Winter 2026 issue of The Pneuma Review.

I did it! I finally read this book from cover to cover. I had started it many times since it was sent to me to review, but I never finished it and finishing is what counts. It is easy to start things, but finishing is the real deal.

John Stackhouse is the real deal too. He is the Songwoo Yulong Chee Professor of Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, Canada. Stackhouse presents a three point progression to demonstrate and strengthen the believer’s need to be humble and prepared in doing apologetics with our neighbor.

Stackhouse points out that apologetics is an old subject, one that has been around since God banished Adam and Eve from the garden along with the consequences of their sin and the God given hope that they would somehow survive.

The book begins with a discussion of the contemporary culture in which we live, a culture that includes pluralism, post modern thought and consumerism. With this in place the author moves into a theological presentation of conversion and then concludes with suggestions of how to communicate our faith in a natural and appealing way.

The suggestions strongly urge us to think about defending and presenting our faith to our neighbors so that we are welcome and welcoming.

Reviewed by H. Murray Hohns

Publisher’s page: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/humble-apologetics-9780195307177

Originally published on the Pneuma Foundation (parent organization of PneumaReview.com) website. Later included in the Winter 2026 issue.

Jade taught me how pentecostals listen to and wait on God. She spoke of a repeated mystical experience that transpired over an extended period during the Sunday evening worship service of her pentecostal church in which she saw herself as a little girl of approximately five years of age. In this repeated experience, Jesus approached the little girl and said, “I want to take you to meet my Father,” to which she responded, “Okay.” However, after they had taken three or four steps, the little girl announced, “Oh, I’ve changed my mind. I want to go play in the park,” to which he replied, “OK. Let’s go play in the park.” Over and over again, Jade envisioned the two of them going to the park and swinging in the swings together instead of going to the Father. After several months of this repeated scenario, on one particular Sunday evening, the little girl did not ask to play in the park, but she accompanied Jesus to meet the Father. Jade believed this change in her response signaled her having experienced sufficient relational healing regarding fathers, affording her a readiness to encounter Jesus’s Father.

This is an excerpt from: Pamela F. Engelbert, See My Body, See Me: A Pentecostal Perspective on Healing from Sexual Violence (Pickwick Publications, 2024)

As Jesus and Jade continued walking along a pathway, they came to a doorway, and Jesus said, “This is as far as I can go. You can go in, and the Father is sitting in there on a chair.” When Jade went through the doorway, she entered into a brightly lit room in which she saw God the Father without clearly seeing the Father’s face. As she walked over to the Father, the Father picked her up and placed her on his lap. The Father then lifted her high above his head, moving her around a little while simultaneously tickling her so that the two of them laughed together. After the Father put the little girl down, they began to play hide-and-seek in which she peeked around the Father’s chair and looked at the Father, generating laughter first from the Father and then from her. When she returned to the front of the chair, the Father picked her up and again placed her on his lap and said, “I’m your dad, you know.” The shock of this realization caused her to cry as this was quite exciting for the five-year-old-emotional part of her heart. Amidst her excitement, she went to the far corner of the room and pulled on a huge angel’s robe, saying, “He’s my dad, you know,” and the angel nodded. She then walked over to Jesus, pulled on Jesus’s garment, and said, “He’s my dad, you know,” and Jesus replied, “I’ve been trying to tell you that for a long time.”

It was not until after she had repeatedly experienced this mystical encounter that she realized its significance. When she was almost six years of age, she learned that her stepfather was not her biological father. Her older sister informed her that what Jade believed to be her surname was not actually hers. Her sister warned her: “If you’re bad, my dad is gonna send you to your dad, and your dad doesn’t want you.” Such news shattered Jade’s world as she no longer knew where she belonged. The five-year-old Jade realized in that moment: “Everyone else belongs in this family but me.” But God saw and heard and continued to be aware of her need for healing even when she remained unaware as an adult. As she stood in a worship service, being open and listening during these divine-initiated encounters, Jade’s unknown needs for identity and belonging were being healed.

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Image: Pham Manh

Further Reading

More about See My Body, See Me: A Pentecostal Perspective on Healing from Sexual Violence: An interview with Pamela F. Engelbert

As an educated Baby Boomer (but not an American history major), I found much of the narrative informative. For instance, at the pivotal Battle of Kings Mountain, there was only one British officer present who led Loyalist regiments against the Patriots. Throughout the series the Loyalists were presented fairly, as persons who followed their conscience, not as fools or villains, although some, like Colonel Tarlton, were.

George Washington is highlighted as man of tact and courage, indispensable in keeping the poorly supplied Continental Army and its untrained militias together. The series stressed that the American victory ultimately came because the Americans wore the British out, not that they had won many battles.

Washington’s choice of resisting being crowned after the war and retiring to Mt. Vernon, plus his refusal to run for a third term, were shown as pivotal for the democratic development of our nation. We can be especially thankful of this in view of the tragedies and tyrannical governments that followed the 1960s era of independence from French and British colonial governments where insurgent generals often became cruel and long-lasting tyrants.

On the other hand, The American Revolution made a frank presentation of Washington’s involvement in land speculation of Indian-owned territory and his order for the destruction of towns and crops of the Indians in Western New York. The description of that campaign was especially difficult to watch, as it must have been for many of my Baby Boomer contemporaries. We were not normally taught these negative aspects about Washington, even though such things are now routinely taught in practically every American history course. Washington’s role as slave owner was also clearly shown, including how he meticulously administered the return of runaway slaves to their owners at the end of hostilities.

This differs with the traditional versions we Baby Boomers learned as high-school and college students. You can find such a perspective in the video, “The First American” (2015) put out by the Gingrich Foundation and hosted by Newt and Callista Gingrich along with a roster of conservative luminaries. In this presentation, the only reference to Washington’s relationship with slavery was about his will, in which he freed his slaves. Also not mentioned were the campaigns against the Indians. However, to be fair about the latter, some sort of military action was necessary to secure the New York and Pennsylvania fronts from constant Indian raids.

But conservative critics do have real reasons for their claim that Burn’s The American Revolution was partly a “hatchet job” (pun intended). A detailed review by Dan McLaughlin in the National Review, “No, Ken Burns, the United States Is Not an Iroquois Nation” (Nov 22, 2025), cites several historical errors including a big ideological misinterpretation.

Most disturbing was the absence of any description of English constitutional history in forming the opinions and attitudes of the Colonists. All but the most uneducated Colonists were aware that their “rights as Englishmen” were related to the Magna Carta and its interpretive development. They also knew that the English Civil War overthrew and executed one King, and later the “Glorious Revolution,” idolized by most colonists as a triumph of Protestantism, deposed another. All of this makes the colonial attitude towards their rights and their King historically located and understandable. None of this was mentioned in The American Revolution. This reflects a Leftist disdain of constitutional history as “bourgeois” and irrelevant. Indeed, this is the most serious error and omission of the series.

Despite these flaws, I would affirm that The American Revolution reflects in a major degree the biblical perspective of history. That is, that heroes have serious flaws, but are still providentially used by God. In the Bible the real hero of the Old Testament is God, with multiple “supporting characters” who are imperfect and sometimes disreputable. Moses sinned by destroying the tablet of the Ten Commandments. His brother Aaron, first High Priest, lied about his role in forming the golden calf. In fact, the heroes in the Book of Judges, who were chosen by God to save the Israelites from destruction and oppression, had major flaws, as in Samson and his inability to keep his pants up. David, certainly Israel’s best king, is not spared narrative criticism. His adultery and murder of Uriah was exposed by the prophet Nathan and detailed in the book of Second Kings (chapter 12). And although David repented (Psalm 51) he could not avoid the consequences of his sins. These included a rebellion against him by his son Absalom and ultimately a divided kingdom.

In the New Testament, we see Peter denying Christ three times. After Pentecost, when he was indeed strengthened by the Holy Spirit, he slid away from the freedom of the Gospel and cowardly appeased the “men from Jerusalem” (Galatians 2:11-14).

So perhaps the “heroes” of the Bible were mostly like our Washington. He was the Father of a nation, hero in battle, master of fortitude and resiliency in the midst of setbacks But he also had the flaws of accepting slavery even though he knew it was evil, and perpetuating injustices towards the Indians.

The Founding Fathers’ faults have been routinely taught in American schools for decades now. Most recently, The New York Times’ “The 1619 Project” exaggerated these to the point of mendacity. The ill effects of such a negative focus will be felt in American educations for decades to come. It has resulted in a noticeable, some say catastrophic, decline in patriotism among the younger generation. (What will be the outcome of some future conflict with China fought by a demoralized and unpatriotic draftee Army?)

We can never revert to the traditionalist narrative of neglecting the negative aspects of American history – that would be both impossible in a free society, and more importantly, unbiblical. The Trump administration has begun to undo some of the gross exaggerations by attempting to mold educational textbooks and curriculum to a patriotic position. But American education is largely a state issue, and reversing decades of the exaggerated anti-American narrative and “The 1619 Project,” now embedded in the attitudes of teachers, would be an especially difficult task. Saying this, I commend reasonable attempts, as for example those done in Florida and other conservative states to correct the anti-American narrative with more balanced textbooks and curricula.

Since if we are not likely to get back the traditional patriotism of “The Greatest Generation” which lived through and fought the Second World War, what type of patriotism can come from a biblical perspective? That would be a reasonable love of country that cherishes its good points and achievements, but does not hide its sinful mistakes. St. Augustine, who did not use the term patriotism but rather love of one’s own homeland, noted: “So long as we are in this mortal body, we are away from the Lord… and we love, as is natural, our own land where we live for a time” (The City of God XIX.17).

Augustine also noted that our love of country was to be subordinated to our loyalty and love for the Kingdom of God, and he was especially aware of the temptation to glorify early kingdoms to the point of idolatry. This happened significantly in the Roman Empire when its citizens were required to offer incense to the Emperor – and many Christians were martyred for not doing so.

I talked about Mexico and how God must be pleased with how – after conquest and much injustice to the Indians by the Spaniards – Mexico has developed a largely “mestizo” culture, where their races have been blended and are now living harmoniously. Other countries, like Bolivia, have no done so well. I also noted how successive Mexican governments since the Revolution of 1917, which many Mexicans idolize, had begun a tradition of government corruption that was never effectively confronted. This led to the present danger of having Mexico divided into a collection of drug “principalities” where gangster lawlessness prevailed. Their patriotism and prayers for Mexico must continue in spite of an imperfect home country.

Then I called on them to love and respect their present homeland where they had come to live and work. Here they establish businesses without having to bribe the police or government bureaucrats. America fought wars for freedom which destroyed both Fascism and Communism, something to be immensely proud of.

And yes, American culture has many faults. But again, my congregants had the biblical obligation to pray for the American presidents and state governors and its governments. It was especially important to pray for wisdom in the American presidents with their ability to begin and end wars. At the time, several in my congregation already had children in the Armed Forces (that was fifteen years ago, I wonder if any died in Afghanistan or Iraq).

All of which is to say, there can be an Augustinian-Christian approach to patriotism that takes into account mankind’s universal sinfulness in its different national manifestations, but celebrates one’s national achievements.

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Presence Is a Verb—a State of Being and an Action

The woman abruptly arose from the Sunday dinner table and accusingly spoke to her husband, “You wouldn’t care if I drowned in the waterhole.” She then turned and walked out the door.

It had been a typical Sunday for the sixteen-year-old girl. The Pentecostal family had dressed in their Sunday best, driven to church, and come home to eat a pot roast that had been cooking in the oven. But the tenor of the day had abruptly changed, and silence now ensued in her mother’s absence. The daughter stared in panic and disbelief while her father paused only momentarily before continuing with his meal. He outwardly appeared unphased by his wife’s startling behavior. Bewildered by his stoic demeanor, her mind whirled, “Why didn’t he say anything? Why didn’t he chase after her?” She learned later that he had not understood his wife’s words. He, too, had been lost amidst the chaos.

The family was aware of the risks of the nearby waterhole. The sudden drop-offs or deep holes underneath the murky water caused it to be potentially perilous. Added to this watery death trap was the reality that her mother could not swim. A brain operation at age twenty had saved the mother’s life but had left her with an inability to walk a straight line on flat terrain, and being in water only exacerbated the unsteadiness. The daughter worried that she had just seen her mother alive for the last time. Like Ebenezer Scrooge facing the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, the teenager envisioned a life of darkness and separation brought on by death—her mother’s. At that moment, she desperately longed for her father to protect their family, to keep them safe from the terrors of death.

Concepts of this article are taken from Engelbert’s first book, Who is Present in Absence?: A Pentecostal Theological Praxis of Suffering and Healing (Pickwick Publications, 2019). The book is based on interviews with eight Classical Pentecostals, and their experiences are combined with psychology, culture, and Scripture/theology. In this article, Engelbert builds from some of the book’s principles to demonstrate how Pentecostals are uniquely qualified through our emphasis on the Spirit to be empowered to be present when God is apparently absent.

Amidst this chaos, the phone rang. The daughter answered. On the other end, she heard the voice of another 16-year-old girl who lived 180 miles away. The familiar voice said, “God told me to call you. What’s up?” Through this voice, God ministered to the panicked teen in her darkness. God revealed Godself as a minister to a 16-year-old teen through another 16-year-old in a void without safety and protection. God saw the daughter’s distress and invited her friend to participate in God’s ministry to be with the scared teen before her mother returned later that day.

God is revealed as a minister to a teenager, bringing healing presence to an impossible situation. God invites a long-distance friend to unite with God in another friend’s despair through listening and prayer. It conveys that God is a minister who invites humans to participate with God in God’s healing ministry of presence in the world. In what follows, I seek to demonstrate how presence is an act of healing ministry in which Pentecostals are uniquely equipped to participate in the power and the presence of the Spirit. To accomplish this, I draw from Pentecostal experiences, the field of psychology, and Scripture/theology.

Experiencing God’s Presence

The above supernatural incident and others like it are familiar to Pentecostals. We are a people who seek God’s presence. We call on God for revival, an encounter with God in which the Spirit convicts, heals, and renews God’s people. Our worship creates space in a service, which nurtures an expectation of experiencing God’s presence. We emphasize coming forward to the front (the altar) to a place where people may encounter God, be it for salvation, the baptism of the Spirit, healing, or sanctification. We stress the importance of prayer, which includes requests that God would supernaturally intervene. We highlight testimonies that give reports of our experiences of God, such as divine healing. In short, Pentecostals seek, hope, and/or expect to experience God’s presence.

I draw from our emphasis on God’s presence when I teach a course on Pentecostal pastoral care, in which I stress the importance of being present. At first, students push back on this idea. They desire action, such as learning how to use Scripture to solve people’s problems. For them, learning how to be present to others via empathy is not action. Presence does not fix it, so it is equated in their minds with doing nothing. It is devoid of the action necessary to generate transformation (similar to state of being verbs). As one who was born and raised Pentecostal, I relate. We are a pragmatic people who want a theology that works—an action that culminates in a definitive solution. I learned from my junior high English teacher, Mrs. Folkestad, that a noun is a person, place, or thing, and a verb expresses action or state of being; therefore, presence is a thing, not an action. But later in life (my apologies to Mrs. Folkestad), I came to see how presence is also a verb—it is both an action and a state of being.

Consider this question: What transpires when you experience the presence of God? Pentecostals typically respond with phrases like, “I felt love”; “I experienced a tremendous peace”; “I was no longer alone.” Many admit that although their circumstances did not change, they were strengthened through God’s presence. In that moment, they knew God was with them. This gave them courage to walk through their difficult valley, their impossibility. God’s presence transformed them, and it is this transformation that validates their experience as being a genuine act of ministry. When a sixteen-year-old friend participates in God’s ministry in the Spirit’s power by being present to an overwhelmed teenager through a phone call, God’s healing presence is encountered. This presence is an act of ministry. But Pentecostals are not alone in experiencing presence as being powerful for transformation. Psychology also supports that presence changes a person.

Humans Psychologically Need Healing Presence

At the time John Bowlby introduced attachment theory to the discipline of psychology, Western psychological theories tended to mirror our individualistic culture. Psychoanalysis was the dominating theory, focusing on the internal world of the person (think Freud’s ego, id, and superego). But Bowlby’s observations of children with their parents caused him to focus on relationships, not the inner parts of an individual. As such, he developed his theory of attachment. For Bowlby, humans (from infant to senior) instinctively long for the other’s presence to soothe them.

Image: Samuell Morgenstern

Bowlby believed we have an innate attachment behavioral system. When we are threatened, we seek to be close to someone who is stronger and wiser (an attachment figure) for support. Many of us may recall as children being awakened by a loud clap of thunder, and our fears being heightened by the bright, blinding bursts of lightning during a summer storm. As a two- or three-year-old, I was terrified, which meant my attachment behavioral system was activated. I was alone in the dark, feeling unsafe. Like any small child, I voiced my distress by crying loudly, and my mother responded by coming to be with me. Although my parents were unable to make the thunder and lightning cease, I received their support through their presence. As I curled up between them in the comfort of their bed, I felt safe and secure in their presence. Being with them enabled me to relax, and my attachment behavioral system was deactivated, allowing me to sleep. Their presence changed me without transforming the situation. The thunder was still loud and frightening. The lightning was still bright and scary. But their state of being present to me was an act of ministry—it brought healing comfort to my terrified being.

Scripturally/Theologically God Ministers through Presence

Thus far, we have seen how experiencing God’s presence in our worship services changes us. We have also recognized that psychologically we are created to be near others amidst our distress. The presence of those who are wiser and stronger brings about a sense of safety and security. Scripture and theology, too, reveal that God ministers through God’s being to humanity. Throughout human history, God enters into human chaos, or impossibilities, by joining humans in their powerlessness. For instance, when God enters the impossibility of an elderly couple’s childlessness, Abraham and Sarah have a son. God unites with Hagar and Ismael in their despair in the wilderness, delivering them from death (Gen 21). God joins the Hebrew slaves in their impossible situation by calling Moses, an elderly sheep herder, to participate in God’s ministry of deliverance (Ex 3). God repeatedly enters situations in which people experience separation, helplessness, and hopelessness—places of death. I am not speaking only of a physical death, but I am following Andrew Root by expanding death to include impossibilities, limitations, or a deep need that is beyond our reach. Each time that God comes into human impossibilities, God is revealed as minister through God’s being. God ministers by entering into a couple’s childlessness, a mother and son’s abandonment, a people’s oppression, and a sixteen-year-old’s fear of death.

Image: Vitaly Gariev

Such ministry through God’s being is most clearly seen in the person of Jesus Christ. Humanity is in an impossible situation. We are destined for death. As Paul informs us, the wages of our sin are certain death. All our attempts to escape death fall miserably short. Neither our good works, our praying and fasting, nor our offerings enable us to avoid death’s grip and ultimate separation. It is an impossible situation. And it is in this impossibility where God joins humanity.

John 3 reminds us that God’s love for the world initiates God’s act of sending the Son into the world to be with humanity in death. The Son, who is the very being of God, embodies God’s act of ministry to the world by joining with humanity. We may immediately call to mind that Jesus was present to humanity while he walked on this earth. However, I am referring to a ministry that is deeper than this. It is inward, taking place within the being of Jesus Christ. This ministry is seen more clearly through the theological concept called the hypostatic union. The hypostatic union states that Jesus is both fully divine and fully human. Two distinct natures. One divine. One human. Both are in one person without any blending or altering. Since they are in one person, the two natures are united, or in relationship, while remaining distinct in Jesus Christ. The divine is eternally connected with humanity within Jesus. That is, the divine is forever present to humanity in Jesus’s being. Because of the hypostatic union, God is revealed, and humanity is healed (reconciled). Both of these movements are transpiring in the person of Jesus Christ, who is God’s act of ministry.

This ministry that is taking place in Jesus, as seen in the hypostatic union, is both a healing ministry of presence and a healing action. In Jesus, presence becomes a ministry that is both a state of being and an act. The divine nature is present to and in relationship with the human nature in Jesus while healing humanity. In this light, Jesus is the embodiment of God’s ministerial act of healing presence (state of being and action). This is an ongoing healing ministry of the divine ministering healing presence to humanity. Through the power and the presence of the Spirit, we are now caught up in that healing act of presence. We are joined with Jesus’s humanity through the Spirit.

Moreover, we are invited to participate in this ministry of healing presence through the power of the Spirit. When we unite with other persons in the power of the Spirit in their impossibilities through presence, we are joining with God in God’s healing presence to them, which is occurring in the being of Jesus Christ. Therefore, God invites us, such as long-distance friends, to join others, like an overwhelmed sixteen-year-old, in their deaths. Transformation occurs because through the power of the Spirit, we are uniting with God in the ministerial act of God’s presence. This healing presence communicates, “You are not alone. I see you. I am here.” It ministers peace amidst chaos. It brings healing transformation.

A Pentecostal Response

Joining others in their deaths, limitations, or impossibilities calls for us to see God as a minister and to be dependent on the Spirit’s power. Too often we rely on our understanding in response to a hurting individual. We focus on ways to fix the issue or to find reasons why the impossibility exists. These types of responses to hurting people frequently include a form of avoidance, self-agency, or positivity. Avoidance fails to respond to the person who is hurting. Self-agency informs sufferers that their own action or inaction is causing the pain, e.g., You must pray more. Positivity places the onus on the distressed to be optimistic, believing this will change the circumstances, e.g., Trust that God has something for you just around the corner.

Image: Taiki Ishikawa

The emphasis on God being a minister is essential if we are to abstain from unhelpful responses. It expands our perception of God beyond the narrow view of problem solving. When God is perceived as a minister, our perception moves beyond the image of a genie who grants my wishes. It surpasses the restricted depiction of a mechanic who fixes my car or a lifeguard who rescues me from drowning. While the concept of God being a minister may include those aspects in a limited way, it is more. God is a minister who comes close to those experiencing any kind of death. And now God invites us to join God in this healing place.

But more than a change in perception, we need the power of the Spirit to be present to hurting persons and to refrain from avoidance, self-agency, and positivity. We require the Spirit’s power to have courage and strength to sit amidst uncertainty and ambiguity with those in despair rather than fleeing from or fixing them. We need to be empowered by the Spirit so that we are exhibiting the Spirit’s fruit, not blame and shame. We must have the power and presence of the Spirit to be present to those in pain in a similar way that God is present to them. Through our act of ministry of presence, the hurting then may see that God’s healing presence is with them, strengthening and upholding them. And that is ministry, which is both being and action.

Further Reading

Pentecostal Encounters with Suffering: an interview with Pamela F. Engelbert

My mother, Assemblies of God Evangelist Verna M. Linzey, enjoyed taking time out of her busy schedule to fellowship with fellow Navy Officers’ Wives as part of her “Ministry of Presence” on the base. My father, first-ever Assemblies of God Active Duty Navy Chaplain Stanford E. Linzey, Jr., was stationed on the USS Holland, which was homeported at Charleston. Mother was on the Navy Wives Bowling League and had won a trophy for being an outstanding bowler.

I was looking forward to my donut on that mild, sunny day in October 1963. Then a short while after crossing the Wappoo Creek Bridge, we came to the railroad tracks before an intersection, and the light turned red. The cars ahead of us did not cross the intersection and we had to come to an abrupt stop on the railroad tracks.

It seemed like an eternity that we waited for the green signal so that we could get off the tracks, but finally the light turned green. Then, just as the car in front of us accelerated, the railroad lights started blinking and the bells began ringing. Mother pressed on the gas pedal, but the front tires were stuck on the railroad tracks. The car would not accelerate. The train was quite a distance away, but it was coming quickly. Mother kept pressing the accelerator pedal while praying, but the car would not budge. We were stranded on the tracks.

I was in the far back of the station wagon, which was off the tracks, and Mother knew there was no time to get me out of the back of the car. She figured that I would survive if the train hit the car. So, praying all the while, she threw open the door and jumped out of the car so that she, too, could survive.

Suddenly, a man appeared and told her to get back in the car and floor the gas pedal, and “don’t let off.” She risked her life for me, rushed back inside the car, and floored the gas pedal, with her heart pounding and the palms of her hands and forehead perspiring. Then the tires screeched and the car abruptly “jumped” off the railroad tracks to safety just before the train crossed the street. After the train cleared the street, the stranger was nowhere to be found. We had never seen him before, nor did we ever see him again. But I’ll never forget the day when my life was saved by an angel.

Image: Jad Limcaco

Not only did the angel come to us in our time of need, but also my mother’s unhesitating obedience to what the angel told her to do saved both of our lives.

Looking back, I think about what would have happened had I been killed. How deeply would this have impacted the lives of people to whom I would not have ministered as a military chaplain and as a civilian minister? And what about the lives of those who would never have been spiritually impacted by the Modern English Version Bible, which I edited?

God had plans for my life. He gave me a mother who risked her life for me and He sent an angel to intervene that day so that His purpose for me would be fulfilled.

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.

Have you ever wondered why some things you have asked God for never seem to come to pass?

The fall term at the local Bible College will start in a few days, and I will be teaching the second year core ministry course on Signs, Wonders and Revivals. The course covers some of the most fascinating and challenging areas of Christendom. I have experienced signs and wonders myself. I have seen several miracles happen in my own life. I have prayed for miracles to happen for others and have seen them come to pass. I witnessed the miraculous healing of a close relative in 1970 at a church meeting in Toronto, Canada. Moreover, I am one of those people who has been slain in the Spirit, fallen backwards and landed on the floor when a minister prayed for me. Indeed this has happened several times and with different ministers, one of whom was a female evangelist with the gift of Healing.

And yet with all that first hand experience and even teaching the subject, I still wonder about some of the things I see on television and in person when it comes to healing. I wonder about the healings that are claimed to have occurred, and if they are real. I wonder why them and not me? My late son-in-law went to every kind of healer including bathing in the waters at Lourdes in France, as he fought multiple myeloma for nearly five years before succumbing to that terrible disease. He became a Christian one glorious Easter morning two years before he died, but he died, and all our prayers and his efforts were seemingly to no avail. He was too young to die, there was so much to live for, it seemed so unfair, but he is gone.

Image: Gabriel Cox

How about other things aside from healing, things like unanswered prayers? I decided back in November 1995 that I would pray everyday about two things I wanted to come to pass. That now translates into almost six years of daily focused praying, but so far nothing has happened to even indicate that my prayers did anything more than bounce off the ceiling if they got that far. No answers! It seems so unreasonable, I don’t understand why it has to be this way, and sometimes I get to feeling sorry for myself over those unanswered requests. I think of the story Jesus told about the poor widow lady who went to the unjust judge with her request over and over again until she wore him down. I feel like I have surely exceeded her efforts–but unlike the story, I still have no relief.

How long, O Lord, How long?

The prophet Habakkuk asked the Lord, “How Long?” In the end, Habakkuk wrote that he had decided to praise the Lord and live for Him no matter what was wrong. God gave him deer’s feet so he could climb above it all and live up in the high places rather than in the daily fray–that if not managed well can consume us all. How about you? Are you feeling sorry about your plight? Are you asking “How Long?” Are you endeavoring in prayer? The answer is simple. We are to keep on doing what we know we should do. Do not give up. We certainly do not know the mind of the Lord or His timing. But we must hold on to Him with unshakable trust. What we think is the best maybe is not the best. Trust your God more than your idea of what is best. It is just that easy, even if we, like my son-in-law, have to die in the process. God’s plan is better than ours.

This article by Pastor Mur first appeared in the September 2001 issue of Pneuma Informer published by the Pneuma Foundation. Later included in the Fall 2025 issue.

Image: FreeImages.com/Bas van den Eijkhof

The most powerful discipleship method for new believers is prayer. We MUST pray for them so that they will be able to conform to the image of Christ. The Lord’s Church should be filled with individuals who are growing in their relationship with their Lord and Savior and experiencing spiritual growth. If the Church will pray for and train up every new believer in love and service, we will be better equipped to advance God’s kingdom on this earth! Some churches form a prayer circle around new believers upon their confession of faith and make a commitment before the Lord to nurture and train them. Here are several key prayers to pray for the brand new in faith:

• For Spiritual Maturity: Father, I pray that this one who has just recently placed his/her faith in you will grow to spiritual maturity, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. May he speak the truth in love so that he will in all things grow up into Christ. (Ephesians 4:13-15).
• For Humility to allow others to teach and train: Lord, may this new believer open his/her heart to those who are more mature in faith so that his love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that he may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God (Phil. 1:9-11).
• Pray that they, being filled with the Holy Spirit, will discover and utilize the gifts God has given and use them to the best of their ability.
• Pray that they will have a daily, disciplined quiet time in order to know the Word of God and develop a powerful life of prayer.
• Pray that they will be able to resist the enemy and overcome sin when it arises in their lives.
• Pray that they will develop a fruitful ministry for the kingdom in their local church, community and beyond through the power of the Holy Spirit.
• Pray that they will be bold in their witness to unbelievers, having courage to share their testimony.

From The Harvest Prayer Messenger. Used with permission of www.harvestprayer.com.

Originally published on the Pneuma Foundation (parent organization of PneumaReview.com) website. Later included in the Summer 2025 issue.