Atlanta, Georgia
Image: Brett Weinstein / Wikimedia Commons

That was not the only session where forgiveness and justification was more than hinted at as interrelated with each other. Needless to say I found this ETS meeting exhilarating, not only because of the program[s] but also because of the mix of the people present, old friends and new, and the variety of Christian experience. There were others with the Assemblies of God besides me. There were men from Central Bible College in Springfield, MO, and Southwestern Assemblies of God University at Waxahachie, TX. But to mingle with the Mennonites, the Presbyterians, the Methodists, Baptists of different affiliations, Adventists, Anglicans, Brethren in Christ, Lutherans, and whoever else has always been helpful to me. I am somewhat a “High Church Pentecostal.” What is most interesting to me is the extent to which the Holy Spirit affects the entire spectrum of the Christian experience irrespective of denominational membership. For myself, I was with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for many years as a minister before crossing over to the Assemblies of God. My baccalaureate was gained from Texas Christian University. My Seminary training was at Duke Divinity School. My doctorate came from O.R.U. I have preached in predominantly African-American Churches, Baptist and AME, and a Church of the Brethren. On the Walton side are Adventists; on mother’s side are Brethren and Mennonites. I serve “a Kingdom without Borders,” to borrow a phrase from writer Miriam Adeney.

Professor Coulter invites us to discover some of the surprising similarities between these two renewal movements.

Full issue of AG Heritage: ifphc.org/pdf/Heritage/2010.pdf (updated Mar 10, 2014)

W. Rodman MacIlvaine III, “How Churches Become Missional” Bibliotheca Sacra 167 (April-June 2010), pages 216-233.

MacIlvaine says it is crisis that drives churches to become missional. He explores what such crisis may look like and discusses the crucible model of leadership.

Enrichment (Spring 2010).

The theme of this issue is “Church and Law: Navigating the Legal Maze.” Find articles on estate planning for pastors, finding legal counsel and several others including: Frank Sommerville, “Rendering to Caesar What is Caesar’s: How Tax Laws Affect the Church” and an interview with Richard R. Hammar, Bradley Jacob and Michael Paulsen discussing the US First Amendment and religious liberty.

Full issue of Enrichment Spring 2010: enrichmentjournal.ag.org/201002

The Kingdom and the Power. The Pneuma Review has received permission to reprint chapters from this important work that asks: “Are Healing and the Spiritual Gifts Used by Jesus and the Early Church Meant for the Church Today?” The Fall 2010 issue will continue this series with “Models of Prayer for Healing and Related Phenomena.”

Professor Lee Roy Martin looks at some of the most troubling biblical heroes in, “Judging the Judges: Searching for Value in these Problematic Characters.”

How should we lead the church?

Tony Richie: “Leadership in the Local Church: Discerning Practical Value and Developing Theological Foundations”

Some reviews to look for in the Fall 2010 issue:

John Lathrop reviews former Charisma editor J. Lee Grady’s latest book, The Holy Spirit is Not For Sale (Chosen Books, 2010).

Alister McGrath’s book from the 2009 Gifford Lectures, A Fine-tuned Universe: The Quest for God in Science and Theology (Westminster/John Knox Press, 2009), is reviewed by Wolfgang Vondey.

Ken Walker, “A Legacy of Faith” Charisma (February 2010), pages 24-28, 54.

This tribute to Oral Roberts includes numerous sidebars and quotes from numerous Pentecostal/charismatic leaders about his life and ministry. http://www.charismamag.com/site-archives/947-exclusive-content/tribute/8383-oral-roberts-tribute-christian-leaders-remember [link updated May 13, 2014]

Organic Church

Mark Galli, “Long Live Organic Church!: But what do we do if the world isn’t transformed?” christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/januaryweb-only/11-41.0.html

In January 2010, Christianity Today featured an online discussion about organic church starting off with a “Soulwork” column by senior managing editor, Mark Galli. This was followed by online responses.

Neil Cole, “Long Live the Organic Church: A Response” christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/januaryweb-only/12-21.0.html

Author and church planter, Cole says, “We can live faithfully in the moment while attempting to transform society.”

Frank Viola, “Why Organic Church Is Not Exactly a Movement: If the driving force of any movement or phenomenon is not Jesus Christ, we are building castles in the air.” christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/januaryweb-only/12.31.0.html

J. I. Packer and Gary A. Parrett, “The Lost Art Of Catechesis: It’s a tried and true way of teaching, among other things, Christian doctrine” Christianity Today (March 2010), page 26.

Does your church struggle with instructing new believers in central biblical beliefs and values? Did you know that catechism has a long and successful history of grounding Christians in the basic tenets of their faith?

christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/march/14.26.html

Two Recent Theological Controversies

James K. A. Smith, “Whose Rome? Which Catholicism? A Review of Beckwith’s Return to Rome” The Other Journal 17 (2010).

Jamie Smith reviews Francis J. Beckwith, Return to Rome: Confessions of an Evangelical Catholic (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2009) in Mars Hill Graduate School’s The Other Journal, to which Beckwith responds to at length in his blog.

Review: http://theotherjournal.com/2010/03/24/whose-rome-which-catholicism-a-review-of-beckwith%E2%80%99s-return-to-rome [link updated May 13, 2014]

Beckwith’s response on his blog: http://romereturn.blogspot.com/2010/03/how-to-diminish-heart-felt-narrative.html

Tony Jones at the Society for Pentecostal Studies

Author and theologian Tony Jones was invited to present a paper at the 39th annual Society for Pentecostal Studies convention that was hosted by North Central University, an Assemblies of God school, in Minneapolis, from March 4-6, 2010. Jones’ invitation and his participation in the annual meeting became a point of contention for some Society leaders, meeting attendees and denominational leaders. The Pneuma Review editors (two of whom attended the meeting) recommend reading Tony Jones’ blog which gives his side of the story while including responses from numerous meeting participants and organizers.

http://blog.tonyj.net/2010/03/the-pentecostal-controversy

http://nearemmaus.wordpress.com/2010/03/25/george-o-wood-responds-to-tony-jones-et-al/ [As of May 13, 2014, this link is no longer available. October 29, 2014 update: a snapshot of the page was found on this time machine website: http://web.archive.org/web/20110413225141/http://nearemmaus.wordpress.com/2010/03/25/george-o-wood-responds-to-tony-jones-et-al/]

Reviewed by the editors.

Sarah Pulliam Bailey, “‘A Voice for Sanity’: J. Lee Grady doesn’t want your gold. The journalist wants a ‘Holy Ghost housecleaning’ of the charismatic movement” Christianity Today (Nov 2009), pages 42-45.

ChristianityToday.com/ct/2009/November/33.42.html

See also the online-only article: Sarah Pulliam Bailey, “Modern-Day Mordecai: When he’s away from his day job, Charisma editor J. Lee Grady is probably working on a project to empower women and confront abuse” ChristianityToday.com/ct/2009/novemberweb-only/147-11.0.html

In February 2010, J. Lee Grady announced that he is stepping down as editor of Charisma to enter public ministry. charismamag.com/index.php/fire-in-my-bones/26289-the-lord-will-make-a-rehoboth-for-you

Also in the November 2009 issue of Christianity Today, a discussion about prosperity teaching. J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, “Did Jesus Wear Designer Robes?: The gospel preached in Africa’s New Pentecostal Churches ends up leaving the poor more impoverished than ever” with online responses from Pentecostal scholar Amos Yong and others. ChristianityToday.com/GlobalConversation/November2009

Calvin L. Smith, “Pentecostal presence, power and politics in Latin America” Journal of Beliefs and Values 30: 3 (December 2009), pages 219–229.

Although religion in general was once regarded as irrelevant by sociologists and political scientists, Latin American Pentecostalism is now often treated as monolithic and inherently conservative. Smith argues that Pentecostals in Latin America, in their many circumstances and expressions, are actually rather diverse in their cultural and political responses, defying easy stereotypes. “The explosive growth of Latin American Pentecostalism has strongly challenged Catholicism’s religious hold and as such has arguably ushered in a new Reformation in that continent during the latter part of the twentieth century which is no less profound than the Reformation in sixteenth century Europe” (p. 227).

Roger E. Olson, “Theologian of the Spirit: Calvin was no charismatic, but he was closer to it than some Reformed people readily admit” Christianity Today (Sept 2009), pages 33-34.

Christianity Today celebrated John Calvin’s 500th birthday by featuring several tributes, even from those that are decidedly not Calvinists. Roger Olson, a professor of theology who grew up in a Pentecostal heritage, comments on what Calvin got right. “Many Calvinists and charismatics will be surprised to read these passages [his doctrine of Word and Spirit in the Institutes], because in them Calvin rests all true knowledge of God on the inner testimony of the Holy Spirit. In my experience, too many Calvinists talk too little of the Holy Spirit, while too many Pentecostals and charismatics know little to nothing about Calvin’s emphasis on the third person of the Trinity.” ChristianityToday.com/ct/2009/september/19.33.html

Two controversial topics sure to animate any conversation: speaking in tongues and predestination. But what if John Calvin himself spoke in tongues? In the same issue, Ben Witherington said, “I remember reading in Gordon-Conwell’s newspaper a rather interesting historical curio from a letter of Calvin about how one morning he woke up and found himself speaking in lingua barbaria. The article went on to speculate that Calvin may have spoken in tongues!” in Ben Witherington, “Man of the Bible: When it comes to careful exegesis and consistent theological systems, Calvin set the bar high” Christianity Today (Sept 2009), pages 33-34. ChristianityToday.com/ct/2009/September/18.33.html

Someone has found and scanned the original newspaper article and discusses at: www.OldInTheNew.org/?p=411, including a comment by Jon Ruthven [available at time of printing].  The quote about Calvin’s alleged “ecstatic utterances” in Quent Warford, “Calvin Speaks Unknown Tongue” The Paper: Student Paper of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary 1.6 (March 24, 1975), page 6, may be even more interesting than what Dr. Witherington remembered:

On several occasions, Calvin, in his devotions, found himself uttering a lingua non nota et cognota mini. That is, the language was not known or understood by him.

The Pneuma Review has approached numerous church leaders and bible teachers to answer the question: “How should we lead the local church?” The Summer 2010 issue will launch the dialog with a series of articles representing diverse perspectives, beginning with NT scholar Andrew Clarke interviewing the Apostle Paul.

The Kingdom and the Power. The Pneuma Review has received permission to reprint chapters from this important work that asks: “Are Healing and the Spiritual Gifts Used by Jesus and the Early Church Meant for the Church Today?” The Summer 2010 issue will continue this series with the appendix “Spiritual Warfare: A Biblical View of Demons and God-Directed Weapons.”

In his article, “Cautious Cobelligerence?” Bernie A. Van De Walle looks at how the Divine Healing Movement interacted with the explosive advances of medical science in 19^th Century America.

Some reviews to look for in the Summer 2010 issue:

Woodrow Walton reviews William D. & Aida Besancon Spencer and Steven R. & Celestia G. Tracy, Marriage at the Crossroads: Couples in Conversation about Discipleship, Gender Roles, Decision-Making and Intimacy (InterVarsity Press, 2009).

Eric Newberg looks at the appeal for action by Charles P. Lutz and Robert O. Smith in their book Christians and a Land Called Holy: How We Can Foster Justice, Peace, and Hope (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2006).

Kevin Williams reviews The Jews, Modern Israel and the New Supercessionism: Resources for Christians, edited by Calvin L. Smith.

The book A Pauline Theology of Church Leadership (T & T Clark, 2008) by Andrew D. Clarke is reviewed by James Purves.

John Miller says that Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2007) by Mark D. Roberts makes an excellent introduction to biblical criticism.

Some reviews to look for in the Spring 2010 issue:

John Poirier reviews William Tabbernee, Prophets and Gravestones: An Imaginative History of Montanists and Other Early Christians (Hendrickson, 2009).

Religion writer Phyllis Tickle’s book, The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing and Why (Baker, 2008) is reviewed by Pentecostal scholar Wolfgang Vondey.

Professor Mara Crabtree reviews an article by Jennifer Cisney, “Healing From the Pain of Sexual Assault” that appeared in Enrichment (Spring 2009).

Also coming soon: “How should we lead the church?”

The Pneuma Review editorial committee asks New Testament scholars, experienced pastors and ministry leaders about the doctrine of the church. How should we lead the church?

The Kingdom and the Power. The Pneuma Review has received permission to reprint chapters from this important work that asks: “Are Healing and the Spiritual Gifts Used by Jesus and the Early Church Meant for the Church Today?” The Spring 2010 issue will continue this series with Kingdom and the Power editors Gray Greig and Kevin Springer look at charismata and ask who is doing the work, in “Spiritual Gifts—A Wonder-Working God Versus a Wonder-Working Church?”

Some reviews to look for in the Spring 2010 issue:

John Poirier reviews William Tabbernee, Prophets and Gravestones: An Imaginative History of Montanists and Other Early Christians (Hendrickson, 2009).

Religion writer Phyllis Tickle’s book, The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing and Why (Baker, 2008)is reviewed by Pentecostal scholar Wolfgang Vondey.

Professor Mara Crabtree reviews an article by Jennifer Cisney, “Healing From the Pain of Sexual Assault” that appeared in Enrichment (Spring 2009).

Also coming soon: “How should we lead the church?”

The Pneuma Review editorial committee asks NT scholars, experienced pastors and ministry leaders about the doctrine of the church. How should we lead the church?

The capacity of Latino Pentecostalism to bring hope and even initiate a new form of democracy is an unmeasured potential, but their independence and neo-Pentecostalism has no instrument for maintaining doctrinal purity and may leave them with little connection to classical Pentecostalism.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/august/11.40.html

Mission Frontiers (May-August 2009).

Few have left such a mark on global missions as did Dr. Ralph D. Winter (1924-2009). The special May-August issue offers a 60-page tribute to this innovative missionary, missiologist and educator.

Find the full issue of the magazine: www.missionfrontiers.org/issue/archive/ralph-d.-winter-1924-2009 [available Mar 13, 2014]

An opportunity to share a significant memory at:

www.frontiermissionfellowship.org/index.php/forums/viewthread/1/.

Cary McMullen, “Holding Their Tongues: The Assemblies of God asks whether its distinctive teaching is being lost in outreach efforts” Christianity Today (October, 2009), pages 15-17, 18-19.

www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/october/5.15.html

David Ruis, “Canned Worship: We’ve refined it, packaged it, branded it, marketed it and made and industry of it. But is God buying our modern worship?” Ministry Today (July/August 2009), pages 36-38, 40.

Ruis exposes deep problems that have arisen from us commodifying “worship” and offers church leaders suggestions for expressing a new kind of liturgy that is worthy of God.

Read the full article online:

http://www.ministrytodaymag.com/index.php/ministry-life/worship/18501-canned-worship

The Kingdom and the Power. The Pneuma Review has received permission to reprint chapters from this important work that asks: “Are Healing and the Spiritual Gifts Used by Jesus and the Early Church Meant for the Church Today?” Kingdom and the Power editors Gray Greig and Kevin Springer take a brief but in depth look at John 14:2, answering cessationist criticisms of the commission to all believers to do the miraculous works of Jesus.

Charles Carrin reminds us of some of the Spirit’s astonishing demonstrations of power in past centuries in the brief article, “Between the Living and the Dead.”

Some reviews to look for in the Winter 2010 issue:

Tony Richie reviews the 2003 reprint of Simon Chan, Pentecostal Theology and the Christian Spiritual Tradition (Sheffield Academic).

Pastor Murray Hohns interacts with E. Myron Noble’s study of Washington D.C. African American Pentecostal-Holiness churches, And They Yet Speak (Middle Atlantic Regional Press, 2006).

Malcolm Brubaker looks at Philip’s Daughters: Women in Pentecostal-Charismatic Leadership (Pickwick Publications, 2009)which was edited by Estrelda Alexander and Amos Yong.

The study of Canadian Pentecostalism: Transition and Transformation (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2009), edited by Michael Wilkinson is reviewed by Pentecostal scholar Wolfgang Vondey.

Professional translator Jonathan Downie reviews David Livermore’s Cultural Intelligence: Improving your CQ to Engage our Multicultural World (Baker Academic, 2009).