Kevin Williams investigates the significance of the ram’s horn trumpet.

In this edition of Messianic Foundations, we’re going to take a look at the ram’s horn trumpet called the shofar in Hebrew. It has played an important role throughout Scripture, and will play a crucial role in the days that lie ahead as we wait for the return of the Messiah. We are going to look at some of the different ways the shofar was used, what symbolic representations it took on as Jewish theology was molded, and how all of these things might apply to us today. We’re going to cover:

• The Akedah (The Binding of Isaac)
• The Call to Repentance
• The Call to Assemble
• The Last Trumpet

Introduction

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

Over the last decade there has been a growing trend in churches to incorporate the shofar or ram’s horn into praise and worship. This uniquely stylized trumpet has become one of the few symbols in traditional Judaism which the church has felt comfortable adopting, and rightfully so. It has a meaningful position in our biblical heritage dating all the way back to Abraham, and plays a crucial role in prophetic events as believers in Messiah listen for the “last trump.”[1]

There are two basic types of shofars. The oldest, and still widely accepted type among much of the Orthodoxy (Chassidim), is short with one curve in it. The timbre is usually a “tenor” sound. The shofar gaining wider popularity is the more recent, long, gently curving and twisting Yemenite shofar. These produce a lush baritone sound that carries further and seems to be more desirable. The tone is produced in the same way a person blows a trumpet, by pressing the lips tightly together and making an “elephant” noise into the narrow opening. With a little practice, almost anyone can produce a sound. Some people can produce two or three notes, and one Israeli believer I know can play two at the same time!

The pictures, at least during the Temple period, are vivid. Imagine if you will, the walls of the Temple surrounding the outer most gates, lined shoulder to shoulder by levitical priests. Each has in his hand a shofar. The sun is sinking low in the western sky, casting the Holy City, Jerusalem, in a blazing golden hue against her sandstone buildings. For miles around the sacred mount, the gold topped Temple looks like fire. Your nose twitches with the fresh scent of the ketoret the holy incense now being burned on the altar of incense. “Soon,” you say to yourself, “Very soon now.”

You cannot see it, but you know that somewhere in the middle of that column of smoke rising into the heavens, is the presence of the Almighty, the God of Israel. And where the Shekinah glory rests, is the Ark of the Covenant also known as the Tree of Life. Images of Moses at the burning bush spring to mind. Just as the tree would burn yet was not consumed, so it was now in Israel. The Tree of Life was burning with God’s holy presence, yet was not consumed. Rather the truth of the God of the Hebrews was spreading throughout the pagan world as gentile “God-fearers” were joining synagogues in ever-increasing numbers.

The sun sets and a quiet expectation rests on the Promised Land. The column of smoke has now become a pillar of fire, and the Temple no longer reflects the sun’s brilliance, but has become its emanating source as the external glory has become internal a foretaste of the coming One who whose light would be seen by all, and then radiate within the living temple.[2]

Daniel E. Albrecht, Rites in the Spirit: A Ritual Approach to Pentecostal/Charismatic Spirituality, Journal of Pentecostal Theology Supplemental Series 17 (Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999), 280 pages, ISBN 9781841270173.

Pastors and Church leaders in the Pentecostal and charismatic movements should take note of this book written by Albrecht, Professor of Church History and Christian Spirituality at Bethany College of the Assemblies of God (Santa Cruz, California). It is valuable for the three objectives the book achieves. Whereas many Pentecostals and charismatics think themselves to be anti-liturgical or anti-ritual, Albrecht unveils the liturgical and ritual structures underlying our worship practices. He shows that Pentecostal/charismatic worship includes the sight, sound and touch dimensions of human experiences. Therefore, Pentecostal/charismatic worship embodies both the sacramental—whereby the spiritual realm is mediated through the material—and ritual. Albrecht distinguishes rituals from rites. He states that rituals are the, “acts, actions, dramas and performances that a community creates, continues, recognizes and sanctions as ways of behaving” employed in worship services. Rites are the specific portions or phases of these services. Albrecht discusses in detail pre-service gathering or greeting rites, rites of worship and praise, rites of preaching, altar and response rites, and post-service dispersal and farewell rites. He shows how these provide a structure through which Pentecostals and charismatics encounter God.

Rites serve as a window into the Pentecostal/charismatic self-understanding and worldview. The appropriate sensibilities—embodied attitudes, orientations, and affections—with which worshippers come are crucial regarding the performance of these rites. Albrecht shows how Pentecostal/charismatic worshippers participate fully in the service and are transformed by expressing sorrow and contrition, contemplating and celebrating God’s presence through ecstatic and ceremonial experiences. Further, Pentecostal/charismatic commitments to being led by the Spirit—what Albrecht calls spontaneity and improvisation—combats stagnation by ensuring that rites evolve dynamically and vary in terms of format and/or performance. Of course, this dynamism extends to the relationship between the rites and the sensibilities as well, since the rites foster these sensibilities in devoted worshippers even as the sensibilities shape the very experience of the rites in turn.

Finally, in addition to providing structure and shaping sensibilities, Pentecostal/charismatic rites are both expressive and efficacious on the congregational and the individual levels. Rites provide opportunities for expression in three important areas. First, for human concerns there are faith in prayer rites, repentance at altar rites, communal solidarity in greeting or dispersal rites etc. Second for social configurations rites aid in distinguishing pastoral from lay leadership, confirming prophetic roles or calling, and allowing the emergence of charismatic giftings and perhaps vocations. Lastly rites aid in determining theological relationships within the local congregation, in mission to the world, and vertically toward God himself. In a purely pragmatic sense, these expressions also aid in fostering community, nurturing wholeness, motivating action and enabling transformation.

Amos Yong challenges classical Pentecostals to re-examine what ecumenism really is.

I am pleased to present this important series by Professor Amos Yong. The subject of what ecumenism truly is and what it means to the Pentecostal/charismatic is an important one today.

This article has been specifically written to classical Pentecostals, those whose traditions come from the Azusa Street Outpouring of the early 20th Century. Classical Pentecostals have historically been predisposed against ecumenism. The reason for this is that ecumenism has often been viewed as an attempt by ungodly men to bring together all religions of the earth into a compromised one world religion.

Perhaps at no other time in North American history has the church been on the precipice that we are today. While the rest of the nations of the earth are experiencing dramatic awakenings, the church of North America continues to lose ground. Morally and evangelistically (if nothing else), the church is not the agent for change or preservation she was just decades ago. Some have forecasted persecution of Christians in the relative near future. All Christian leaders seem to realize that something must change in order for the church to impact the rising generations of fatherless, visionless youth.

Whether the woes of the church can be rectified such that she regains her saltiness is more than a matter of eschatology. Whether you believe that the church is going to usher in the Millennial reign of Christ or that we are on the brink of the Tribulation, we have standing commands in God’s Word to embrace believers as brethren and love one another. My prayer is that you will study this subject with heart tuned to what the Spirit is saying to the church. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

— Raul Mock, Executive Editor

Introduction
In this paper, I would like to raise and attempt to answer four questions. First, is there a biblical ecumenism, and if so, what does that mean (this will be answered in Part 1)? Second, what are some of the classical Pentecostal objections to ecumenism, and how might these be answered (Part 2)? Third, does Pentecostalism have an ecumenical history, and if so, how has this related to the ecumenical movement in the mainline churches (Parts 3-4)? Finally, what is the future of Pentecostal ecumenism and what might be ways we could contribute to such a venture (Part 5)? Let us plunge right into this difficult topic.

From the Worship Leader series.

I like the “Five Step Discipleship model” I learned from John Wimber:

1. Lead worship with a worship leader in training in attendance.
2. Have that person play alongside you while you lead.
3. Have that person lead while you play alongside him or her.
4. Talk about the worship time afterward.
5. Finish the process by letting them lead alone.

As long as you’re a page ahead of the people you’re leading, you have something to say!

Copyright Stan Myers. Used with permission.

Be committed to building God’s kingdom, not your own. If there’s only one weekly meeting in your church, you might have to share your space! Co-lead with an apprentice. Gradually increase his or her levels of responsibility.

Worship leaders have more authority when their lives match their songs. Outstanding worshippers in the Bible are also noted for their acts of service to God. Furthermore, when the church sees someone who is “going for it” in God’s kingdom they are more willing to follow that person in worship.

At the Anaheim Vineyard, we have a gifted worship leader named Mike Kinnen. Mike spearheaded worship in a local church plant. He had lots of responsibilities that were new to him, like raising up a worship band and worship with a P.A. system. Then, he raised up other worship leaders and left them doing it in his place. I like to work with risk-takers who don’t quit even when the going gets tough.

You can’t lead people that don’t want to follow you. The most fruitful mentoring relationships I’ve have are those in which there is mutual admiration between the two parties. If a person has the skills, experience, knowledge, perspective and character that I admire, I’ll have a reason to pursue them.

The best worship band leaders are good pastors and leaders. Worship team members need to be cared for as people, not just deployed as musicians. If a young leader has a compassionate heart and is a good people person, he or she can be trained to pastor.

Give someone a little responsibility and see how it goes. It is important to determine if the worship trainee is “faithful with the little things.” Even if God speaks to you powerfully about a person’ calling, a proven track record will confirm what god has shown you before you give someone a permanent position.

The Classroom

The basics of worship and worship leading can be taught once or twice a year through a six or eight session course. Worship leaders and take more advance course once they are leading. When they find out what they don’t know, they’re more teachable.!

Doug Bannister, The Word & Power Church: What Happens When a Church Experiences All God Has to Offer? (Zondervan Publishing House, 1999), 208 pages, ISBN 9780310227106.

Doug Bannister is one of an increasing number of voices crying out for the Church to awaken to its full potential in the power of the Word and of the Spirit. Here, this Evangelical Free Church pastor recounts his own pilgrimage from a cessationist seminary education to the pentecostal experience and a Spirit-filled life. He writes with both passion and concern—passion to share his life-transforming encounter with the Spirit, and concern that the Church not be one-sided in either direction, but fully embrace life in, through, and with Word and Spirit.

The structure of the book thus reflects Bannister’s own journey. Part One contains his appeal to transcend the former antagonism and suspiciousness that characterized evangelical-charismatic relationships. It includes a brief history of evangelicalism in layman’s terms which retrieves and highlights charismatic elements as part and parcel (rather than outside intrusions) of that heritage. The distinctive strengths of both evangelicalism and the charismatic movement are delineated to lead the reader to appreciate Bannister’s pastoral convictions regarding the importance of a Word-and-Spirit Church. Here, the balance between Word and Spirit is depicted at its best, and will appeal to both evangelical charismatics—committed charismatics who yearn for more of the Word—and charismatic evangelicals—committed evangelicals who yearn for more of the Spirit.

In Part Two, however, Bannister turns to address his target audience: conservative evangelicals and cessationists who have traditionally placed a premium on Word because of either neglect or experiential ignorance of Spirit. In successive chapters, he discusses what it means to believe in a God that speaks today, presents a evangelical-charismatic theology of tongues, explains the dynamics of a Spirit-filled and empowered life, and describes the contemporary revival of worship in the Church that is both edifying for believers and evangelizing for unbelievers or those on the margins. Yet Bannister is not oblivious to the concerns that many conservative evangelicals have had about the charismatic experience, especially given some of the excesses which have followed the movement. His chapter on “Power and Pain” is an even-handed treatment of how evangelicals and charismatics should respond to situations when prayers for the sick are unanswered. The theology of healing proposed strikes a balance between charismatic enthusiasm/fanaticism and conservative evangelical stoicism/determinism.

A number of features make this book eminently useful. It is readable, anecdotal and personable. Almost every page contains captions which highlight important points. Each chapter concludes with study questions to facilitate review and reflection. And, readers of the Pneuma Review will not be disappointed to find a theologically sound engagement with cessationist arguments in the first appendix. This book will stimulate thought and discussion for church study groups, weekend retreats, and even pastoral ministry seminars. It makes a nice gift for evangelical friends—pastors and layleaders alike—who are open to or looking for more of the Spirit-filled life.

Reviewed by Amos Yong

Preview The Word & Power Church: http://books.google.com/books?id=5SH1nwoS-hcC

Cutting Edge 2:1 (1998)

Jeff Bailey, “Worship and Spirituality in the New World” Cutting Edge (Vol 4, No 2, Summer 2000), pages 16-18.

Jeff Bailey, co-editor of Vineyard Churches’ (USA) church planting magazine Cutting Edge, has been interviewing and conversing with a number of postmodern theologians in the last few issues. In the July 2000 issue of Cutting Edge, Bailey talks with Robert Webber about the postmodern threshold Webber sees Christianity crossing.

Webber recently took a post at Northern Baptist Seminary in Lombard, Illinois, having served as the professor of historical theology at Wheaton College for over 30 years. He is best known for extensive studies on worship including over 20 books, a monthly column in Worship Leader magazine and editing the Complete Library of Christian Worship.

Webber says that as Christianity enters post-modernism, theology must be rethought and ancient forms of worship must be reclaimed. He believes that postmoderns are looking for more visible and tangible ways of expressing faith, including symbols that touch spiritual realities. He says, “Christians in the postmodern world will succeed, not by watering down the faith, but by being a counter-cultural community that invites people to be shaped by the story of Israel and Jesus” (p. 16). However, from the excerpts given in this article, the ancient forms of worship he is suggesting reclaiming have more the flavor of early Gentile Christianity than the earliest Messianic Judaism.

Webber says that spirituality must be properly understood as turning our backs on evil and embracing Christlikeness, the essence of true humanity. One of the ways to become spiritual is then to rightly read the Bible. Too many of us have been duped into thinking that we cannot really understand what the author intended and therefore we do not read it to learn what God is saying to us. The Bible is God’s Word, it is what He intended. Therefore, we do need to do our homework on the background of the passage we are studying, but then we also need to read devotionally. For example, if we believed that out in front of where we lived was buried one billion dollars in gold, we would be making tremendous effort to locate it. We know that God’s Word is treasure, and we must go digging for the wealth it contains. Webber says, “As long as our interpretation doesn’t contradict the faith or ethics of the Church, I think we can say that we’ve heard from God” (p. 17).

Webber has some deep criticisms of modern evangelicalism. He says, “Evangelicalism is all about power: how to get it, how to use it, how to build big churches, how to have political influence … the opposite of what Jesus is all about. I often tell people, ‘Find out what church growth is telling you to do, and then do the opposite’” (p. 18). While evangelicalism may be experiencing much confusion as it transitions (or fails to transition) into a post-modern world, Webber’s definition is too biting for me. Anyone who is seeking power instead of serving in love is in the wrong. I, for one, cannot simply equate evangelicalism with power-mongering.

Pastor Mur talks about the long term benefits of staying planted at a local church.

I have six stories to tell to set the stage for where I want to go. They are short stories, and they are true stories. You will like the stories. I know the people in each of them.

Image: Stan Myers

I will start with one where I was directly involved. A few months ago my wife, Jean, and I went 2500 miles from our home and attended a Sunday morning service at the church of her youth. It was the weekend of her 50th High School Reunion and also the first time that she had been back to that area since she graduated in 1950. Jean’s Dad pastored that church for 13 years from 1938 to 1950. My wife grew up in its parsonage, and had gone to elementary school and then junior and senior high in the same town.

Jean remembered the church and the 300-400 people that used to fill it every Sunday. She still knew some of them there the Sunday we visited even though 50 years had passed. Later at lunch she talked about how her father and mother had loved and served all those people during those 13 years. She remembered her Dad on his knees daily praying for various members of the church. My wife knew her Dad as a godly man and remembers him, as do I, as just that.

Jean’s Dad was ordained in a holiness denomination where the national church polity gave the congregation the responsibility to vote on the acceptability of their pastor each year, and his/her contract was renewed for another year after the vote. While there were and are instances where the denomination allowed contracts longer than one year, the polity essentially was and still is one where the pastor serves at the sheep’s pleasure. In the summer of 1950 after 13 years of dedicated loving service, her Dad’s congregation voted him out of his pastorate by one vote.

My second story is about one of my daughters. A couple of years ago she asked me what I thought she should do with her tithe. Her church was buzzing with rumors that the pastor was misusing church funds. She was uncomfortable with giving her money to a bad cause. What should she and her husband do?

The next story is about a retired businessman who had held ministerial credentials in his denomination off and on over his career. He had a seminary degree, was well read in theological matters, and late in his life was an unpaid though recognized and respected member of the pastoral staff in one of the denomination’s largest churches. He did a lot of counseling, and the congregation always enjoyed his thoughts when he was allowed to teach from the pulpit. It was a growing church and people were constantly being saved which meant a baptismal service was held every month for a hundred or so candidates that wanted to follow that ordinance. My friend was one of the dozen pastoral staff members who administered those rites on that monthly Sunday afternoon.

The eighth chapter of the Praying in the Spirit Series. Author Robert Graves looks at the on-going ministry of the Holy Spirit in the Spirit-filled believer’s life.

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.

I know a young man named Bob, a Pentecostal, who has not spoken in tongues since his initial encounter with the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, he is just one of many who have had an incomplete charismatic experience. Perhaps they were taught that the experience was once-and-for-all and never to be repeated. Or maybe, in their minds, the encounter was so exalted that they believed a common occurrence of it would diminish its value. Others may have been startled, even frightened, by this awesome contact with God—further familiarity was not considered reverent. Still others, having experienced tongues only after much tarrying, agonizing, and begging, may have concluded that once was difficult enough. For whatever reasons, many charismatic Christians have lost out on the richness of this experience because they were not instructed that they could and should continue to use their prayer language.

Using the Prayer Language

The apostle Paul implied that he prayed in tongues as much as he prayed with his understanding: “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind… I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you” (1 Cor. 14: 14 – 15, 18). Since Paul was reluctant to speak in tongues to edify the church, he must have spent most of his time speaking in tongues in personal prayer and praise of God. These verses show that Paul did not stop speaking in tongues after his initial experience and that he used glossolalic utterances in his personal prayer life beyond the “church walls.”

In this passage of Scripture, Paul uses three words in his description of glossolalic language that provides us with indicators of his own use of tongues. In verse 14 he calls it “praying” (proseuchomai); in verse 16 he calls it “praising” (eulogeo);” also in this verse he calls it “thanksgiving” (eucharisteo). If we are to use the prayer language Biblically, certainly we should let the words of Paul, Spirit-inspired apostle and charismatic par excellence, inform our doctrine and practice. According to Paul, we may use our heart-language to pray to God—that is, petition Him; we may use it to praise Him for who He is; or we may use it to thank Him for what He has done.

John G. Stackhouse, Jr., “The Seven Deadly Signs” Christianity Today (June 12, 2000), Pages 54-57.

What is the mark of success? What is the sign of failure? In this article by John Stackhouse, we are given seven specific statements to measure if our business, ministry, or family is in danger of financial indiscretion.

Stackhouse challenges us to take sin seriously when it comes to financial matters. “None of us plans to deceive and cheat and steal. We intend to do the right thing all the time. It’s only when the truth becomes uncomfortable, inconvenient, or even dangerous that we are tempted to lie, and manipulate, and cover up” (p. 55). Life has a way of messing with our theology and principles, though. Temptations are little things that are before us everyday. If we think we are immune, we deceive ourselves.

The seven warning signs that Stackhouse gives us are: 1) You’d rather not have to talk about a financial matter. Disclosure and openness with supporters is the only path of truth for an organization. At home, financial privacy can lead to secrecy, and “secrecy shuts our the light of another’s loving counsel” (p. 56). 2) It’s been a while since someone has said no to you or told you that your idea is bad. Stackhouse says that unless you are surrounded by yes-men or are always right, this is a sign that you have enclosed yourself in darkness such that even those closest to you cannot breach it with light. Unquestioned authority without checks and balances is a setup for abuse. If dissent cannot be heard without reprisal, whether at home or in a corporation, the organization is sick and needs graceful intervention. 3) You find yourself paying unhealthy attention to “competition.” Envy is a serious thing. Stackhouse says, “We all have needy egos, and we are prone to sin in order to satisfy the demands of those egos. We each need someone in our lives who will help us admit to the evil strategies we follow in order to advance our own interests at the expense of others” (p. 56). Certainly in our day and age there is a need for mentors and accountability. 4) There’s no one on your leadership team who can provide expert advice on thorny issues. Street savvy entrepreneurs and financiers may make great board members, but only if balanced out with the resident theologian or ethicist. If there is no one to point you back to Jesus and his call on your organization, you may be tempted to make decisions for the wrong reasons. Doing things right costs something. 5) You have an uneasy feeling about a recent financial matter or decision. Perhaps our bodies are signaling us that there is something wrong spiritually. 6) Your organization is under financial stress and you are finding it hard to pay your bills. One thing institutions tend to never consider is that their usefulness to the body of Christ may be over and that need to disband. “Financial struggles are often tests of faith and shapers of character. … But unless we believe our organizations should go on forever, there must come a terminus sooner or later. The decline of financial support may be one way in which the body of Christ is communicating God’s will for our ministry: scale down, or even stop work. Are you transparent to this possibility and seeking more light on the matter?” (p. 57). 7) You have apprehensions about someone else’s financial decision, but you cannot obtain reliable information to evaluate this decision. Stackhouse says that the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals has recently completed a major investigation of American evangelical use and abuse of money. One of the findings of this study is that many institutions have been governed by people (elders, trustees, presidents, etc.) who were kept in the dark by defensive or even deliberately deceptive executives or pastors. There may also be a misleading of contributors. “In short, some evangelical homes are run as if Mom and Dad are never wrong and can never properly be challenged by the children. Even worse, some are run as if only one parent is infallible and cannot be corrected even by the spouse. Some churches are run as if the senior pastor or board chair alone should have all the facts and therefore make all the final decisions. Some Christian businesses and nonprofit ministries are run as if the leaders are omnicompetent and could never make a mistake—innocent or otherwise—and they are entirely sanctified and thus would never sin against anyone. So structurally there is little accountability for those leaders, even less protection of employees, and no real openness to dissent” (p. 57).

Notes from the Editor:

This tenth issue begins our fourth year of publication. I trust that you have found the Pneuma Review to be a publication that you can use.

Unfortunately, one promised ingredient in this issue has been postponed until the future. Kingsway Publications of Great Britain had extended permission to the Pneuma Review to reprint portions of the out-of-print book by Wayne Grudem, The Gift of Prophecy in the New Testament and Today. The North American publisher of this important book has recently gone to press with a revised edition. Graciously, Crossway Books has extended permission to reprint portions from this new edition. This should only mean a short delay before the Pneuma Review will be including this in a series of articles. In the meanwhile, you should be able to order The Gift of Prophecy in the New Testament and Today through your local Christian bookstore in early 2001.

As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome.

In His service and yours,

— Raul Mock, Executive Editor