This book lives up to its claim to study global Pentecostalism, not because it covers it country by country, but because it is grounded in the places in the world where Pentecostalism has had a major impact on society. These places are Brazil, sub-Saharan Africa, China, Russia and the Ukraine, India and the Philippines. However, the case of the Philippines, the reflections relate mainly to the Catholic Charismatic Movement, the largest Pentecostal/charismatic group in the country.

The book is written from a sociological point of view and the focus is detailing Pentecostalism’s impact on things like economics, community life, and politics. Other issues, such as one’s relationship with God and dealing with the ever-present spirit world in the Majority World, are noted (p. 116) but not considered in depth.

The layout of the book is straightforward and not divided into sections. Following Hefner’s introductory chapter, “The Unexpected Modern—Gender, Piety and Politics in the Global Pentecostal Surge,” there are a total of eight lengthy chapters. (1) “Pentecostalism: An Alternative Form of Modernity and Modernization,” by David Martin. (2) “The Future of Pentecostalism in Brazil: The Limits to Growth,” by Paul Freston. (3) “Social Mobility and Politics in African Pentecostal Modernity,” by David Maxwell. (4) “Tensions and Trends in Pentecostal Gender and Family Relations,” by Bernice Martin. (5) “Gender, Modernity, and Pentecostal Christianity in China,” by Nanlai Cao. (6) “The Routinization of Soviet Pentecostalism and the Liberation of Charisma in Russia and Ukraine,” by Christopher Marsh and Artyom Tonoyan. (7) “Pentecost amid Pujas: Charismatic Christianity and Dalit Women in Twenty-First Century India,” by Rebecca Samuel Shah and Timothy Samuel Shah. (8) “Politics, Education and Civic Participation: Catholic Charismatic Modernities in the Philippines,” by Katharine L. Wiegele. Peter Berger’s afterward then sums up the book excellently by tying the articles together.

As Hefner and others note (p. 9) Pentecostalism focuses much more on personal rebirth or transformation than social structural change. All authors report, however, that the personal transformation also brings positive to change to families and communities. Men no longer visit the bars and brothels and pour their resources into their families instead, providing social lift. Women, who are often oppressed in male dominated societies, find their voices in the Pentecostal Movement. Martin, for example, mentions that women are often used in prophecy (p. 38). Transformed individuals then, do positively impact broader society.

A lot of attention is given throughout the book to the impact of the prosperity gospel in the Majority World. Much of the impact has been positive, although the prosperity gospel in these regions is much less focused on money than its American counterpart and appears to be more along the line of Yonggi Cho’s three-fold blessing prosperity gospel based on 3 John 2.

PneumaReview.com invites you to interact with this academic paper by Pastor Adeboye Godwin.

Abstract

Today it is most difficult to teach or write about the Holy Spirit. This is because there are several arguments, different teachings, various thoughts, different beliefs and divisions arising from the teaching on the Holy Spirit. The aspect of doctrine of Holy Spirit which has been the most controversial is the case for Spiritual Gifts. Spiritual Gifts is given to unite Christians, but it has been the major cause of conflict and ecclesiastical disunity.[1] There are two Greek words generally used to describe spiritual gifts. The first is pneumatikos, meaning “Spiritual things or things pertaining to the Spirit.” This word emphasizes the spiritual nature and origin of spiritual gifts. The other words often used to identify spiritual gifts is charisma, meaning “grace gift.” The word charisma (pl. charismata) emphasizes that a spiritual gift is a gift of God’s grace: it is not a naturally developed ability but rather a gift bestowed on a believer for God’s service (1 Cor. 12:1-7). The interpretation and discussion of the charismata have varied from the various extremes.

Pastor Adeboye Godwin

This research is purposeful. It is to remedy the misconceptions on the possession and exercise of spiritual gift in the community of believers. Nowadays, there appears to be much emphasis on the Holy Spirit, and charismata are gaining more prominence than ever before, it is expedient that Christians be taught the purpose and the appropriate use of charismata. The subject of spiritual gifts has aroused unprecedented interest in every religious circles. With almost universal appeal, the tide of charismatic theology has cut across all theological barriers and ecclesiastical institutions. This works reveals that the spiritual gifts are not given to engender pride, hierarchy and disunity in the church but for the purpose of building up the church and also that charismata are not end themselves but a means to an end, and that end is oikodomen (Building up of the body of Christ)

Introduction

The singular issue that has most divided the body of Christ today is the lopsided orientation about the proper usage and purpose of the Spiritual Gifts. The use of spiritual gifts can mar or make the church. Any casual survey of Christian bookstore and libraries will show that the subject of the Spiritual gifts is a “hot item nowadays.”[2] For the fact that 21st century christian ministry is pneumacentric (full of and centered around the manifestation of Holy Spirit) has made the issue of the Holy Spirit to be in the forefront. Over the last decades the volume of the books written on the Holy Spirit have sprang in to a large proportion. Peter Wagner’s prefatorial words affirms this current trends. He says “I need to make a good case for adding another book to the already too-long list of book on spiritual gifts.”[3] This shows that a lot has been said about the concept of Holy Spirit. Also, the Wagner’s assertion reflects that the most pneumatological concepts that has been widely discussed and demonstrated is the “Charismata.”  Some of the questions that have been raised and misunderstood are: “what are the biblical methodology for the usage of charismata? what is the intention of God in giving out the charisma to some individuals? how can these charismata be appropriately utilized in the body of Christ? Should the charismata be theocentric or anthropocentric? How can egocentric notions be removed from the usage of charismata? and which of the charismata should be given the highest preeminence in christian body? Answers to these questions are important to how united the church will be. And how united the church is will affect the extent the church will go on the Great Commission.

Doug Beacham, General Superintendent of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church, shares a timely challenge about giving an answer for the hope within us.

The year 2008 is shaping up as an unusually violent period of natural disasters around the world. In the United States tornados are destroying homes, business, and in some cases, entire towns, at a record pace. Myanmar (Burma) had the double calamity of a devastating typhoon and a paralyzed police-state response. China continues to crumble from the effects of the earthquake in Sichuan province that left over 60,000 dead and thousands more injured and homeless.

I’ve wondered what the Christian response will be to these contemporary natural problems, as well as our continued response to the front page issues of terrorism, war, poverty, AIDS, malaria, and a host of other issues confronting our troubled world. I pray our response will be similar to what Rodney Stark describes in how Christians in the first three centuries of our era responded. In The Rise of Christianity: How the Obscure, Marginal Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force in the Western World in a Few Centuries, Stark showed that when epidemics, fires, earthquakes, and ethnic violence spread through densely populated cities, the Christian commitment to love one’s neighbor gave Christians a reason to stay in the mess, while rulers, philosophers, and pagan religious leaders fled to the countryside. Yes, many Christians died nursing their neighbors, but others became immune and established networks of care, love, and faithfulness.

Stark wrote, “To cities filled with the homeless and impoverished, Christianity offered charity as well as hope. To cities filled with newcomers and strangers, Christianity offered an immediate basis for attachments. To cities filled with orphans and widows, Christianity provided a new and expanded sense of family. To cities torn by violent ethnic strife, Christianity offered a new basis for social solidarity. And to cities faced with epidemics, fires, and earthquakes, Christianity offered effective nursing services.”¹