Walking in the Footsteps of David Wilkerson is the journal of a young man (the author) who walked much the same journey as the famed David Wilkerson (founder of Teen Challenge, Times Square Church, World Challenge, and many other ministries). The book offers a very detailed account, even a word for word interaction, between the life of a mentee and a mentor. Although the relationship was never planned or formal, Simpson shares how the paths of these two men were intertwined for years, benefiting both Charles and “Pastor Dave,” as he has been affectionately called.

Charles Simpson was born and raised in Tennessee, the eleventh of twelve children. After his conversion at the age of 17, he received a missionary call to New York City where he has spent most of his adult life, pastoring, planting churches, and working in Bible schools. While serving as the Pastor of Prayer at Times Square Church, he met and married his wife, Lynn. They have been privileged to work alongside great leaders such as David and Don Wilkerson, Michael Brown, Peter Wagner, Brian Simmons, Vincent Buonfiglio, Joel Sadaphal, and Russell Hodgins. Charles is currently (as of 2018) the Campus Pastor at Brooklyn Teen Challenge and the Director of its School of Ministry.

The book begins with the personal life of the author, hailing from rural life in Tennessee. He compares his youth and upbringing to the early years of David Wilkerson. Both were raised in a strict environment, both felt led to serve in New York City, both were out of their comfort zones (racially, socially, and in other ways), both had a heavy burden and believed that God wanted them to serve those who might be categorized as “unreached” due to their status, both had a prophetic ministry, and both saw the importance of prayer (for themselves and for those they served). How these pilgrims met, how they found each other on that same path, and what that relationship meant to a budding next generation minister is laid out for all to read (the good and the less good).

Typically, some would write a book about their association with the “greats” to impress the reader. “It is who you know that gets you ahead in life,” is often said. But Simpson humbly lays out his faults as well as his accomplishments and includes those of Bro. Dave. Rather than boast, the author shares the importance of having a godly mentor in life that will change both the mentee as well as those they reach. Truly, this was accomplished thorough this association. But he also realizes how important it is to be a mentor himself: “I have learned through the years, the fastest way to [be] a spiritual father—like Paul was to Timothy—is to focus on pouring into the Timothys you can find all around you” (page 170). He learned well.

In one of the last chapters, he lists a few of the mantles that were thrown over his shoulder by the departing mentor: he always listened to God, he was pliable in God’s hands, he was a faithful steward of his giftings, he was willing to admit his mistakes publicly, he deliberately took himself off our pedestals, etc. (Chapter 13).

I was especially interested in reading the account of Pastor Dave’s life because, although not in any way equaling the relationship between Simpson and Pastor Wilkerson, my life has also somehow followed a thread with that “country preacher.” Growing up in New York City and living in Brooklyn and the Bronx, being a part of the early ministry of Pastor Dave when his ministry at time was known as Teenage Evangelism, and later being on the staff of his Bible School in Pennsylvania, I had moments of nostalgia as I recalled so many of the incidents cited in this journal. I believe Simpson caught the essence of his mentor quite vividly and fairly.

Charles Simpson is presently the Campus Pastor at Brooklyn Teen Challenge and the Director of its School of Ministry. I recommend that everyone in leadership should read his account and evaluate whether mentorship is a priority and part of their own ministry responsibilities.

Reviewed by Nat J. Saginario

About the Reviewer: Nat J. Saginario, M.Ed. (R.I. College), has served the body of Christ around the world by teaching at various Christian Bible Colleges in the USA, as pastor and assistant pastor, as short-term missions team leader and with Barnabas leadership training teams to over 85 countries. His association with David Wilkerson began in 1958 as director of the Teenage Evangelism Youth Choir from churches around the NYC Metropolitan area that ministered on the Teen Challenge (the eventual name of Wilkerson’s ministry) TV weekly program. He later went on to serve as a member of the faculty and administrative staff of Mt. Zion, later Summit International School of Ministry, the school in PA founded by Wilkerson and now the Bible School of Times Square Church.

Further Reading:

Charles Simpson, “The Cross and the Screwdriver” DestinyImage.com (July 28, 2018).

God wants to unleash the life-changing, bondage-breaking power of the Holy Spirit in your life. Pastor Chas Carrin points out what the Apostle Paul had to say about this and encourages every Jesus follower to pursue spiritual gifts.

The Apostle Paul encountered Jesus on the Damascus Road and was born again; three days later in the Damascus Room through the laying-on-of-hands by Ananias he encountered the Holy Spirit and received the Spirit’s baptism. Later, this same man wrote an 84 verse treatise on spiritual gifts: First Corinthians 12,13,14. His Biblical explanation provides the most comprehensive, authoritative information we have on the subject. More importantly, it is the only resource bearing the seal of Divine Authorship. All conflicting opinions, no matter how cherished or long-established, are but human speculation and must be discarded. Scripture is our final, absolute authority.

The Apostle begins his dissertation with the plea: “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant” (12:1). Interestingly, this appeal that we “not be ignorant” appears seven times in the New Testament concerning different topics. Once, it is by Peter and six times by Paul. Each time, the request reveals an especially deep concern of the writer. Its’ appearance here should command the attention of every conscientious believer. The Apostle then proceeds carefully to detail the operation of nine grace-works of the Spirit. These are the direct result of the Spirit’s baptism. Having defended the need and purpose of the gifts, Paul then concludes his discourse with the stirring rebuke, “But if anyone is ignorant, let him be ignorant!” (14:38). In other words, he says, “After this careful explanation of spiritual gifts, if anyone refuses to learn, I have nothing more to say to him. Let him remain illiterate!” Paul seemingly anticipated that some believers would reject his teaching on miraculous works of the Spirit and added this harsh warning:

“If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 14:37).

1. “Earnestly desire spiritual gifts” (1 Corinthians 12:31).
2. “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy” (14:1).
3. “Since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel” (14:12).

These admonitions do not indicate the reluctance that typifies the modern church’s attitude against spiritual gifts. There was no such lukewarmness on the part of Paul or the Corinthians. Identically, believers today are encouraged to exercise the gifts for the benefit of everyone: “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all; for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills … But if anyone is ignorant, let him be ignorant” (1 Corinthians 12:1;4-11;38).

Charles Kraft has taught at Fuller Seminary and has served as a missionary in Nigeria. In addition to these ministries he has also written a number of books including: Christianity With Power: Your Worldview and Your Experience of the Supernatural, The Evangelical’s Guide To Spiritual Warfare: Scriptural Insights and Practical Instruction On Facing the Enemy, Defeating Dark Angels: Breaking Demonic Oppression in the Believer’s Life, and I Give You Authority: Practicing the Authority Jesus Gave Us. This brief sampling of titles indicates that the topics of spiritual power and spiritual conflict are subjects of great interest to him; he has written about them a number of times. This, his newest book, also deals with the subject of spiritual conflict or spiritual warfare, specifically the power encounter.

The author says that the term “Power Encounter” came from the late Alan Trippett who was a missiologist at Fuller Seminary (page 1). Kraft describes a power encounter as “an encounter or confrontation between false gods and the true God” (page 3). Trippett reported that this type of encounter brought large numbers of people to Christ in the South Pacific when they saw that the Christian God was superior to their ancestral gods (page 1). Conversions took place when a priest or chief challenged the ancestral gods and broke their allegiances to them and the ancestral gods could not respond (page 2). Kraft points out that power encounters are now widely accepted by missiologists as valuable in the work of evangelism (page 2). Also in chapter one, he draws from a couple of Trippett’s reports about power encounters in the South Pacific in order to illustrate what they are. Kraft says that some power encounters are unsought but others, such as those in the Bible between Moses and Pharaoh, and Elijah and the prophets of Baal and those in the South Pacific, were sought in that they were open challenges (page 10). The author does not point out the events from Scripture and the South Pacific for merely historical purposes. He believes that the church today, like Jesus and the early church, ought to exhibit spiritual power such as we see in the Bible which includes healings and deliverances (page 15).

Read articles by Charles Kraft at PneumaReview.com

In chapter 2, Kraft surveys a number of power encounters in Scripture, drawing examples from both the Old and New Testaments. These are clearly conflicts between good and evil, some of the ones he mentions include: Moses and Pharaoh, Elijah and the prophets of Baal, Jesus and Satan in the wilderness, and Paul and the demon-possessed girl in Acts 16. In chapters 3, 4, and 5, Kraft sets forth principles related to spiritual warfare. One very important point he makes in chapter 3 is that many in the West tend to view most spiritual beings and spiritual power as the things that fairy tales are made of (page 32). This can be true with reference to both the supernatural power of God and of the enemy (pages 32-33). This is what is sometimes called the anti-supernatural Western mindset. At least in part, this book seeks to serve as a corrective to that error. In chapter 5, Kraft is clear that though there is a kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of God, the rulers of these kingdoms are not equal; God is much more powerful than Satan (page 48).

Charles Carrin: I had a specific God-instruction to write a “charismatic catechism” for the benefit of Spirit-filled believers who had no such resource. I began working and the book assumed the nature of a theological-treatise. There are 300 questions and answers on a progression of 18 sub-topics, beginning with “Who Is God?,” and including questions about the Kingdom, the Church, the Bible, Mankind, Israel, Church History, Spiritual Gifts, the Devil/Demons, and Significant People. A beneficial feature of the book is that it can be opened at any page and the reader can begin studying a “capsule” of important Christian truth. The period of study can effectively be three minutes or three hours.

PneumaReview.com: Whom do you feel will benefit the most from this book?

Charles Carrin: There is something for every age and specialty-interest. Youth, middle-aged, seniors, will find an introduction to the Bible, Christianity, church history, and other important information. It will be of special help to the new Christian who is just beginning their learning process of Kingdom facts, or the long-time believer who needs to re-fresh his Christian education.

PneumaReview.com: How did you select the subjects that you included in the book?

Spirit-Empowered Theology (Chosen, 2017).

Charles Carrin: There were two motivations: A Catechism contains a progression of theological and historical topics. The format reads in an expanding way. One topic leads into another and as far as possible I pursued that development of thought. Themes were chosen in the hope that readers would continue pursuing them beyond the Catechism. Secondly, I prayed, seeking God’s direction for the fields I covered.

PneumaReview.com: Why did you include entries about things outside of the Bible, such as events and people in post apostolic church history?

Charles Carrin: I have been in ordained ministry almost 70 years and have had opportunity for long-range observations of strengths and failures among believers. Most Christians, including many pastors, are woefully uninformed about their own church history. In brief, I have included such historical facts as Emperor Theodosius decreeing in 380 A.D. that only those churches accepting Imperial endorsement and known as Roman Catholic would be recognized as official. All others would be heretic. Modern Christians need to know that there were more Bishops who boycotted this decree than accepted it. Even so, the minority was declared “official” and the others heretic. My hope is that the reader will be motivated to explore the church’s historical field far beyond what I have written. Most Protestants are unaware of their own antiquity.

This is a very fine book about Charles Wesley. Yes, I did say “Charles Wesley”. As author Gary Best points out, there have been many books written about John Wesley, but his brother Charles has not been so fortunate. This biography seeks to address that imbalance and in the process reveal Charles Wesley to be much more than a hymn writer, though his hymns and other poetry are scattered throughout the book’s pages. Best argues that Charles has not been given the credit due to him for his important part in the founding of Methodism.

Charles, like his brother, was a traveling preacher for many years. Some contemporaries regarded him as a better preacher than John. It could be said that John’s preaching was logical, Charles’s was passionate, and their contemporary George Whitefield’s was dramatic and dynamic.

Charles Wesley was born prematurely and nearly did not survive. Probably partly because of that, in later life he suffered from a range of medical conditions, which limited his outdoor ministry from late middle age. His happy marriage to Sally Gwynne also contributed to his giving up the life of a traveling preacher, though this did not stop him ministering in London and Bristol in the south of England.

He was four years younger than John, and usually bowed to his older brother’s authority. Yet it was Charles, not John, who started the Holy Club at Oxford, though when John moved back to Oxford he took on its leadership. It was even Charles who first experienced his heart being warmed by God’s Holy Spirit in May 1838. That is, Charles was converted a few days before his older brother (assuming that the experiences of God that they had at that time were their conversions).

One mistake, I think, the Wesley brothers made was to insist on Methodism remaining in the Church of England. With the benefit of hindsight, it appears to have always been a vain hope. John insisted that the movement remain in the Established Church, though he occasionally wavered; Charles insisted on it and never for one moment doubted the correctness of his belief and actions. Yet when both were dead Methodism drifted from the Anglican Church.

At times the brothers clashed. One area of dispute was over the issue of Christian Perfection. Both Charles and John believed that a Christian could be perfect in this life (though there is disagreement about what they meant by that). John wrote a book about it, A Plain Account of Christian Perfection, and Charles, inevitably, wrote hymns that taught it. One of his hymns on perfection is “God of all power and truth and Grace”. It has such lines as “perfect holiness in me”, “Purge me from every evil blot”, “cleanse me from every sinful thought”, “Give me a new, a perfect heart”, and, in case those prayers might be thought to refer to our existence in heaven, he says “O that I now, from sin released…”

But while the brothers agreed on the teaching they did argue on its outworking. John was more ready than Charles to regard some fellow Christians as having reached perfection. Charles warned his brother that many of those who were claiming to be perfect were boasting about the fact. In other words, not unreasonably, Charles thought that the boasters were far from perfect. John disagreed and this did cause tension between them.

There is, I believe, one major problem with this book. Best gives what I think is an unfair picture of John Wesley. He makes a lot of criticism of him and offers too little praise. It is true that John wanted to be boss, made sure that he was boss, and made it clear to everyone, including Charles, that he was boss, but there was a better side to him. He was often compassionate and caring, and he had a wonderful rapport with the poor that few, if any, well-educated men of his time could match.

Having offered that criticism let me make it clear that this is a fine book and well worth reading. It is also an important book because of the lack of other material on the life of Charles. Gary Best captures Charles Wesley as a man of courageous action as well as a thoughtful churchman, theologian and poet. He also gives some wonderful insights into early Methodism. Make sure you read it.

Reviewed by David Malcolm Bennett.

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

“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

PR

From Charles Carrin Ministries monthly newsletter, Gentle Conquest. Used with permission from Charles Carrin Ministries (www.CharlesCarrinMinistsries.com).

Charles W. Fuller, The Trouble with “Truth through Personality”: Phillip Brooks, Incarnation, and the Evangelical Boundaries of Preaching (Eugene, Ore.: Wipf & Stock, 2010), 137 pages, ISBN 9781608994038.

‘Preaching is the bringing of truth through personality,’ stated Phillips Brooks, the former rector of Trinity Church in Boston and later Episcopal bishop of Massachusetts who lived from 1835 to 1893, to the original listeners of his now famous lectures on preaching at Yale College.[1] Many preachers and homileticians have quoted his definition ever since. But what does it actually mean? Charles W. Fuller, pastor of Bethany Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky and adjunct professor of Expository Preaching at Boyce College of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, examines Brooks’ sermons, lectures, and writings in an attempt to find out exactly.

The author forthrightly states the main thesis of his book in its introduction: “This book assesses, from an evangelical perspective, Brooks’s [sic] classic definition of preaching as ‘truth through personality’ and, after pinpointing its substantial weaknesses, salvages the concept by reconstructing it with solidly evangelical doctrines (p. xviii).

Though Fuller claims to write as an evangelical, the non-Calvinistic reader soon begins to wonder with what form of evangelicalism does the author identify himself? Since he serves as an adjunct professor Boyce College of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, it seems safe to assume he alludes to those Calvinistic evangelicals who consider themselves the only true proclaimers of the pure unadulterated gospel of Jesus Christ. The Southern Baptist Seminary has become known in recent years as a bastion of high or five-point Calvinism. Since Brooks tended to lean away from high Calvinism, even to the point of questioning the teaching of what is now known as eternal security (a distinctive doctrine of the church Fuller pastors), this reviewer wonders if this is the reason Fuller accuses Brooks of unorthodoxy?

Over all, the book tends to be blatantly negative of Brooks, as the author frankly admits and laments. A major concern for Fuller is his belief that Brooks emphasized the importance of personality over truth. He alleges Brooks did so because of his less than evangelical theology, the influence of the teaching of evolution and higher criticism in his day, and his wide reading of philosophic Romantic literature. He especially takes exception to what he perceives as Brooks’ emphasis on Jesus’ example over His atonement.

Fuller contends three problems confront any academic study of Brooks: his popularity, his ambiguity, and his idealism (pp. xxi-xxii). Brooks was an immensely popular preacher in his day. By his own admission, Brooks felt he was at his best when he spoke in general rather than in specific terms.[2] And Brooks was a product of Romanticism to some extent with its emphasis on feelings over the facts of faith. But Fuller makes Brooks into more or less a liberal in his day. He does so by evaluating Brooks’ theology in four areas: biblicism, crucicentrism, conversionism, and activism (to use Fuller’s own categories). He finds Brooks deficient on every evangelical scale he proposes. He never seems to give Brooks the benefit of the doubt. He apparently finds little, if anything, to admire in the man or his ministry, although many people in Brooks’ own day felt decidedly positive toward him.

For instance, Fuller often quotes what appear to be clear affirmations of evangelical theology by Brooks only to turn right around and explain them away. This unusual methodology gives the impression Brooks could not do or say anything right in the mind of Fuller.