One Year! Exciting is one word to describe what the editors and writers have seen happen this year. From a humble beginning, the Pneuma Foundation and the Pneuma Review journal have grown to have international recognition and (we trust) spiritual impact. It is a blessing to be a part of this ministry, for we know that all glory goes to God in this endeavor. Without Him, none of this would have been possible.

Rejoice with us as we continue in our vision for seeing Pentecostal and charismatic believers come to a greater knowledge of God’s Word.

— Raul Mock, Executive Editor

John Maxwell and Jim Dornan, Becoming a Person of Influence: How to Positively Impact the Lives of Others (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997), 214 pages.

In one of his latest of a growing list of writings, John Maxwell, pastor, conference speaker, and leadership mentor teams up with businessman Jim Dornan to write, Becoming a Person of Influence. This is a book about leadership, and the title bears the heart of what the writers claim leadership is all about: influence.

This book is not directly spiritually oriented or for that matter overtly biblically referenced in its approach to the subject of leadership. Nevertheless the model and ideas presented are generally rooted in Christian concepts. The result is a very practical and positive display of leadership thinking, that combines the personal experience of the authors with a plethora of examples from mostly famous individuals, encasing them in a simple, well-defined strategy for influence.

Maxwell and Dornan established a basic 4-step progressive model for influence consisting of: 1) modeling, 2) motivating, 3) mentoring, and 4) multiplying. Each of the steps involves certain qualities that round out the concept and provide the catalyst for advancement. It is in these qualities that one can see the Christ-character content. In paging through the chapter on faith the most obvious of such character is expressed. Also developed are qualities of integrity, nurture, understanding, and listening, etc. These qualities are then presented through the 4-step model in a specific sequence so as to spell out the acronym INFLUENCER.

One could regard the efforts of the authors as just another in a growing library of books on leadership technique. And while it is that, the practical and easy to remember models and qualities provide a great base by which one can commit the teaching to remembrance. Mixing this in with humor, passion, and the experiences of people we all know of, Becoming a Person of Influence is a valuable tool for everyone from hopeful novice to seasoned leader. It is a useful aid in developing a positive influence in the corporate arena or the everyday home life, and so enable others to be all God intended them to be.

Reviewed by Ronald Messelink

Debra Wood, “Local Church Missions for the New Millennium” Ministries Today 17:2 (March/April 1999). Pages 64-68.

As the new millennium approaches, amidst all the sensationalism and millennial hype, there is at least one positive emphasis shining through all the nervous excitements: renewed zeal for missions and evangelism.

A number of articles about missions and evangelism, from many streams of Evangelicalism, have recently appeared among periodicals (see Other Significant Articles).

The article, “Local Church Missions for the New Millennium” in the March/April Issue of Ministries Today is an extortive challenge to get radical about missions in your local church. This challenge for developing a successful missions program is given by an up-close look at three missions-oriented churches. The testimonies of Pastor David Kim of Grace Korean Church, Pastor Ted Haggard of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, and Pastor Zacharias Fomum of Christian Missionary Fellowship in Yaound, Cameroon will encourage you to seek God for a fresh expression of the Great Commission in your congregation.

Each of these pastors shares how their burden for missions has grown within their churches, beginning with them and their congregations catching the same vision. David Kim speaks of how early on he laid the groundwork for Grace Korean Church to be missions-focused. According to Ministries Today, Pastor Kim told his three-family fledgling congregation that they should start supporting a missionary. Startled at first, they expressed their desire to have some “basics” first like a building and a piano. Kim said, “There are 400 churches in this area. If you do not want to do the will of Jesus, why do want to start a church with me?” Today they still do not have a building, but they have planted over 2,400 churches worldwide. They have planted a church for nearly every member of their 2,500-member church.

Ted Haggard has been stirred to see the spiritual powers in heavenly places be brought low. He has personally traveled to many nations to pray for the overthrow of these demonic forces. As a part of this personal emphasis, every week he reads a profile of a Joshua Project people, one of the people groups the A.D. 2000 & Beyond Movement has identified as needing a church planting effort. He and his church have also been an integral part in seeing the new World Prayer Center, based in Colorado Springs, become a reality. Already it is apparent that this intercessor’s center is going to be a hub for prayer efforts in the coming years. Pastor Ted Haggard believes that for a church to have an effective missions program the leadership needs to set an example of prayer and missions outreach—guilt-laden lectures are not the answer. He says, “The church’s vitality rests on the spiritual life of the leadership, particularly the senior pastor. He must ‘do it himself’ before he can lead the flock.”

Wayne Grudem, ed., Are Miraculous Gifts for Today? Four Views (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996), 368 pages, ISBN 9780310201557.

Are the supernatural gifts for today? In this book, four different authors from four different viewpoints have sought to answer that question.

Could it be better? The four views represented are Pentecostal/charismatic, Third Wave, Open but Cautious, and Cessationist. Giving the Pentecostal/charismatic viewpoint is Douglas A. Oss. Dr. Oss is professor of hermeneutics and New Testament and chairman of Bible and theology at the Assemblies of God’s Central Bible College in Springfield, Missouri. Dr. C. Samuel Storms represents the Third Wave view, president of Grace Training Center that is connected with the Metro Vineyard Fellowship of Kansas City. Representing the broad center of evangelicals in what this books calls “Open but Cautious” is Robert L. Saucy, Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology at Talbot School of Theology in California. The Cessationist viewpoint is presented by Dr. Richard B. Gaffin. Gaffin is professor of systematic theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. His book, Perspectives on Pentecost: Studies in New Testament Teaching on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit (Phillipsburg, N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1979) has already had a significant influence upon cessationist perspectives.

Although it is beyond the scope of this review to summarize the four viewpoints presented in this book, there are some points of interest that merit mention. First, one of the reasons this book makes such a considerable contribution to the discussion about the contemporary gifts of the Holy Spirit is that the authors have carefully chosen to avoid emotionally charged arguments. There is no name-calling or anyone taking cheapshots here. Defamatory generalizations are avoided and no one uses anecdotes about what an untrained popularizer in another viewpoint has said or done to demonstrate the author’s point.

Secondly, the balance that comes from approaching this subject on a theological and philosophical basis instead of an emotional one opens the way for real dialogue. As the authors express, there are things that each viewpoint can learn from the others. Third Wavers and Cessationists can still agree to disagree without losing respect for the other’s position. Both Pentecostal/charismatic and Open but cautious Evangelicals can admonish one another to pursue the truth of God’s Word by living it out in today’s world without demeaning or, worse yet, demonizing one another. Pentecostals, charismatics, and Third Wavers really do have much to learn from the rest of Evangelicals about the Word being our one rule of faith and practice. Likewise, non-charismatic Evangelicals truly need the power of the Holy Spirit empowering them for service.

The way that this book has come together certainly fosters on-going discussion. Each author presents their position and then the other three authors respond. As the General editor Wayne Grudem expresses in his introduction, it is also this editor’s hope that the discussion on this subject will continue. Since teaching on the Biblical use of spiritual gifts is much of the emphasis found within the Pneuma Review, it is our hope to in some way fill the call that Are Miraculous Gifts for Today? makes for continued contributions to this field of study.

Reviewed by Raul Mock

Preview Are Miraculous Gifts for Today? online: books.google.com/books?id=-65AMieVZ0kC

Vinson Synan, “Pentecostal Millennialism: The Second Comers: At first, the gift of tongues meant one thing: Jesus was returning soon” Christian History, Issue 61, pp. 38-39

The Christianity Today publication Christian History has recently featured an issue on the history of eschatology, answering the question: What have believers taught and believed about the return of Christ? Among the various essays appears a brief article by historian Vinson Synan of Regent University, perhaps best known for his recent book The Holiness Pentecostal Tradition (Eerdmans, 1997).

Professor Synan says that for the early Pentecostals, the reemergence of the gift of tongues meant Jesus was returning soon. Although the Pentecostal movement has come to be known by others for being a tongues movement (see Robert Graves’ article in this issue about this), Synan states that early on it was more a Jesus-is-coming movement.

In this article subtitled “Pentecostal Millennialism,” Synan briefly sketches the beginnings of the Pentecostal movement, mentioning its major figures including Agnes Ozman, Charles Fox Parham, William J. Seymour, and George Floyd Taylor. Also spoken of are the proto-Pentecostal stirrings in England of the 1830’s and their link to the development of dispensational eschatology which emphasizes the Rapture. Two topics that are briefly explained in their historical context are the early Pentecostal’s concepts of xenoglossolalia, otherwise known as missionary tongues, and of tongues being the “sealing” of the Holy Spirit thereby qualifying them for the Rapture.

One note of interest is the editor’s caption appearing under a dynamic picture of people gathered at the altar at Brownsville Assembly of God, “Come Again? Early Pentecostals focused less on tongues and more on what the tongues were saying. At the 1906 Azusa Street Revival, William Seymour reported, ‘”Jesus is coming soon” is the message that the Holy Ghost is speaking today through nearly everyone that receives the baptism with the Holy Ghost.’ This emphasis was especially evident in England where Pentecostals were usually called ‘Second Comers.’ More recently, Pentecostal churches such as Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Florida, have downplayed prophetic themes.” Although this editor is by no means an expert on the teachings of Brownsville Assembly of God, I am unaware that they downplay the Assemblies of God’s denominational emphasis on last things and the Rapture. Perhaps what is discouraged is the idea that “this revival” is the last great revival before the Lord’s return, a teaching popular among many in the charismatic prophetic movement.

While this issue of Christian History may not be a good introduction to eschatology, it is fascinating reading for any amateur church historian and those interested in the development of doctrines in the church. As with all issues, the articles are generally even-handed, extremely readable and informative.

Reviewed by Raul Mock

Read the original article: www.christianitytoday.com/ch/1999/issue61/61h038.html

Editor Note: This issue introduces an on-going word of exhortation from Pastor C. J. Halquist. He has served as a pastor for over 35 years in the Assemblies of God, serving the last 16 years at Central Assembly of God in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Pastor Halquist has been ministering to other shepherds and those preparing for ministry for many years. He has earned a reputation of being a pastor’s pastor in his own fellowship and beyond. Please welcome the fatherly wisdom of this Senior pastor.

Character. Character? That topic crops up now and then. Some say character is not very important. Frederica Matthewes-Green, in The Real Issue, says she believes that character really does matter. Politicians, businessmen, and even pastors can be “successful” without character. However, we know that Biblical leadership is defined as being an example. This means that it is the holy imperative of every leader to demonstrate godly character in all of life and conduct.

Nevertheless, I have noticed trends in the years that I have pastored that run contrary to this Biblical mandate. It seems that whenever a national or political leader has been caught in a moral failure, there has been a wave of similar failures to follow in the lives of many all around us. Of course, moral failure is not just sexual immorality, for it is the “little things” that destroy the integrity of men and women. As a pastor, I have tried to stop such trends from creeping into the church by preaching squarely on the issue of integrity. Still, there are those that get caught up with this renewed attitude of “Well, if he can get away with it … so can I.”

The question I lay before you is this: Have you lowered your standards? Has the degeneration of virtue in our society had an affect on your own character? Satan is on the attack. He is trying to destroy any and all of God’s leaders if he can. He knows our undoing starts when we fall in areas that at first are not seen by anyone but ourselves. Our character is demonstrated by what we do when we think no one else is looking. Or another way of saying it, the real me is found when I am all alone. What this means is if our faithfulness in little matters is faltering, it is only a matter of time before that which is greater will be consumed in our faithlessness.

You do not have to be a sociologist to see that our culture is starving for real leaders. Our congregations are looking for quality character that exemplifies Jesus Christ. In the tough times that the people in the pew are facing, we need to show them that it is possible to stand up for what is right. We must be men and women of character. We must be standing in the Faithfulness of Jesus Himself.

The third chapter of the Praying in the Spirit Series.

Robert W. Graves wrote Praying in the Spirit (Chosen Books) in 1987, when it received great reviews from a number of Pentecostal/charismatic scholars and leaders including John Sherrill, Dr. Vinson Synan, Dr. Gordon Fee, Dr. William Menzies, Dr. Howard Ervin, Dr. Walter Martin, and Dr. Stanley Horton. It is the great privilege of the Pneuma Review to republish it here.

The strongest criticisms leveled at the charismatic renewal seem to center on two theories: one, the experience is tongues-centered, and two, the experience is Spirit-centered. The two have in common, of course, the inference that the source and focus of the baptism and its attendant gifts are something (or someone) other than Jesus. Let us take a look at whether or not these two charges are accurate.

Is the Pentecostal-Charismatic Experience Tongues-centered?

More than one critic of the charismatic renewal has labeled it the “tongues movement.” This, of course, does not speak highly of it. In fact, it’s hard to think of a more degrading label! The implication is that what many believe to be a work of God is in fact the work of carnal man based on incomprehensible gibberish.

According to one non-Pentecostal historian, tongues-speaking for the Pentecostal has become “an end in itself, and the central teaching of the Pentecostal movement” (R. M. Anderson, p.96). For non-Pentecostal Donald Burdick, this may be too mild an indictment. He suggests that Pentecostalism seeks “to convert people to tongues” instead of to Christ (p. 88). Non-Pentecostal minister Robert Gustafson also believes that “the mission of the tongues movement is not to lead souls to Christ but is to evangelize the gift of tongues” (p. 95).

And if anyone should stray from these principles, we have these words of the late Pentecostal leader Donald Gee to hearken us back:

Nothing more surely defeats the purpose of any love gift than for the recipient of it to put the gift before the giver. Yet such a danger is decidedly real where spiritual gifts are concerned. There can easily arise a morbid ‘gift-consciousness’ that dwells upon either the real or the fancied possession of some spiritual gift far more than upon the life of fellowship with the Giver. There have been believers who have become so taken up with gifts and offices that the whole subject has become nauseous. Only the divine Giver can satisfy the soul—never His gifts.

(Concerning, pp. 78-79)

© Stan Myer

Learn a First-Century Jewish perspective of Passover from Messianic teacher Kevin Williams.

Messianic Foundations
Artwork by Steve Grier © 1997 RBC Ministries. Used by permission.

Within the overall context of Passover, the details for the Christian to experience are few. We know little of a typical four hour celebration meal. Little of the preparatory cleaning that goes into making a house “kosher” for Passover. We know virtually nothing about the elements on the Seder plate or the ceremonial “four cups,” though the traditions go back to the second Temple period and were observed by Jesus and his disciples. We might know that you eat “matzah ball soup” during Passover because leavened products are forbidden by the Law of Moses, but beyond that, our knowledge is slim at best.

There are 28 references to Passover in the New Testament, and scant little information on the Last Supper except as recorded in just a few verses. There is the complete history of the first Passover recorded for us in the book of Exodus, and over 100 references in the Old Testament to the God who “brought you out of Egypt,” all of which allude to the miracles of the Almighty and His unique and awesome lessons revealed in the Passover. But what does the average non-Jew really know about such things?

Colossians 2:17 refers to the sabbaths, festivals, and new moon observances as “things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.” This has often been interpreted as a discouragement from investigating the traditions or observances of these God ordained times and seasons. Personally, I feel this style of interpretation has unfairly robbed believers of much of their biblical heritage and separated them from a legacy that is theirs to claim.¹ In Lenski’s The Interpretation of St. Paul’s Epistles to the Colossians, to the Thessalonians, to Timothy, to Titus and to Philemon, he draws a poignant conclusion to Colossians 2:17.

We should not think slightingly of the shadow. It was no less than the Divine promise of all the heavenly realities about to arrive. The shadow proved the actuality and even the nearness of the realities, for only an actual body and one that is not far away casts a shadow.²

If we can accept, for the moment, the concept that the shadow points out something near and perceivable, then the “sabbaths, festivals and new moon observances” Paul references should be able to point out a great deal about the character and will of God. These Jewish observances should be able to give us a fuller vision of who God is.

Pastor Michael Peters looks at the Baptism with the Spirit in light of the whole salvation experience.

Editorial Introduction

This article is a chapter from Michael Peter’s book In Defense of Charismatics. In Defense was written as a response to John MacArthur’s book Charismatic Chaos and as a defense of charismatic beliefs and teachings. Peters wrote in the introduction to his book:

There is a lot of good among charismatic Christians that is worth defending. But, whenever God uses human instruments there are failings; therefore some criticism is justified. My purpose is not to defend every charge against individuals, but to defend charismatic teaching.

Because the emphasis is upon defending charismatic teaching, any number of noncharismatic authors could have been quoted. However, MacArthur’s book includes all the significant doctrinal differences, therefore his is the primary author quoted. The reader should not assume that MacArthur has a vendetta against charismatics or that charismatics do against him.

MacArthur has provided a service to the body of Christ by expressing his concerns and beliefs. It affords the opportunity to respond. Some would rather keep such doctrinal differences concealed. But Paul taught that we are to speak truth in love so that we can grow up in Christ (Eph. 4:15). If we cannot openly address differences we are destined to immaturity.

My hope and prayer is that upon reading this book, charismatics will become deepened in their convictions, and that noncharismatics will grow in their appreciation of charismatics by understanding that we too only want scriptural Christianity.

The Baptism with the Spirit—Distinct from Salvation? by Michael D. Peters

Linda had been a Christian for three years but felt something lacking. She couldn’t explain it except to say she needed more of God. Her praying and witnessing had diminished, and she didn’t feel as tender in heart toward God. She continued to attend meetings, and as the leader spoke on being closer to God, she listened. When he called for those to come forward who wanted more of God, she went. In a matter of minutes she was speaking in tongues. She didn’t go forward for tongues, but for God. Later, some told her that she was baptized with the Holy Spirit. She thought that she already had the Spirit but simply wanted to get closer to God. She continued to attend her family’s Lutheran church and to go to charismatic meetings. The Lutherans taught her that it was normal for Christians to receive the Spirit at conversion. The charismatics taught her that it was normal to receive the Spirit at the Baptism with the Spirit. She wondered which was normal? Or, we might ask, what is the normative Christian experience?

Part 1 of Tongues and Other Miraculous Gifts

Part 2 of Tongues and Other Miraculous Gifts

Part 3 of Tongues and Other Miraculous Gifts

Richard M. Riss presents evidence for the operation of the gifts of the Spirit throughout the Church Age.

Clare of Montefalco

Among several thirteenth-century figures we have discussed, St. Clare of Montefalco (d. 1308) has had a number of miracles attributed to her, as well as frequent ecstasies and supernatural gifts, which she used for the good of people both outside her convent and within it.⁷⁴ One of her biographers, Mosconio, wrote that an unbelieving physician,, Philip, admitted that he had listened enviously when Clare uttered praises to the Lord and “engaged in holy conversations, speaking heavenly words about heavenly things.”⁷⁵

Bridget of Sweden

One of the most important saints of the fourteenth century was Bridget (A.D. 1303-1373) who founded the Order of the Most Holy Saviour (the Brigittines) in Sweden. It was her personal revelations that had made her famous. In the late 1340’s, she received a command of the Lord to go to the royal court and warn King Magnus of the judgement of God on his sins. She did this, and also warned the queen, the nobles and the bishops. For a while, the king repented. He provided a great deal of money for the founding of a monastery at Vadstena that Bridget had decided to begin in response to another vision. During the fifteenth century this monastery became the literary center of Sweden.

Among the most well know event in the life of Bridget were the many revelations that she received from God on the sufferings of Christ and on events that were about to happen in certain kingdoms. Her prophecies and revelations were directly related to most of the important political and religious issues of her time in both Sweden and Rome. At one point she prophesied that the pope and emperor would soon meet peaceably in Rome, and this was fulfilled between Pope Urban V and Charles IV in 1368. Bridget always submitted her revelations to the judgement of the pastors of the church. In Alban Butler’s Lives of the Saints, it is written that “to have the knowledge of angels without charity is to be only a tinkling cymbal; both to have charity and to speak the language of angels was the happy privilege of St. Bridget.”⁷⁶