Study Bible Series

There has been a growing number of Study Bibles released in the last few years and Dony Donev is reviewing them along with some classic Study Bibles. Dr. Donev will be evaluating each of the Bibles by focusing on subjects such as the gifts and ministry of the Holy Spirit, free will and the security of the believer, as well as prophecy and eschatology.

John C. Maxwell, ed., Maxwell Leadership Bible, Revised and Updated edition (Thomas Nelson, 2007).

The Maxwell Leadership Bible has drawn lots of attention especially with the publication of John Maxwell’s new bestseller Sometimes You Win—Sometimes You Learn: Life’s Greatest Lessons Are Gained from Our Losses, which deconstructs the winning model of church leadership on a totally different level. We’ve used his study Bible through the years especially in cases of young ministers’ training and mentorship.

Instead of a page by page annotation, the Maxwell Bible setup contains inline articles and discussions on various leadership issues within the text. Over 100 biographical profiles of Biblical leaders and short articles are combined with the philosophy behind two other bestsellers on leadership by the author: The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader: Becoming the Person Others Will Want to Follow.

John C. Maxwell

The Maxwell Bible is not oriented to be organized by doctrines. Therefore, there’s not much on eschatology and particularly little regarding either the Rapture or Tribulation. Nevertheless, the lessons from the Seven Churches of Revelation are abundantly annotated and worthy to be read privately or taught in a classroom setting, intended to be taken literary and applied to today’s ecclesial reality.

Dony K. Donev, The Life and Ministry of Rev. Ivan Voronaev: Now with a Special Addition of the (Un)Forgotten Story of the Voronaev Children (Spasen Publishers, 2011), 72 pages, ISBN 1477496939.

Dony Donev has provided a rare glimpse into the life of purportedly one of the most influential early Pentecostal church planters in Eastern Europe and Russia whose name was (at one point) “Ivan Voronaev” (among other forms and variants). This volume is neatly divided into two sections: first, the story of Voronaev; second, the story of his children. Each of these sections represent a paper presented at the Society for Pentecostal Studies and have conveniently found their place joined together into this volume. While this is not a typical biography it still offers personal insights drawn from letters and family interviews which provide a glimpse into the work of this missionary pastor.

Several things which would have helped this work better communicate Voronaev’s story: further editing, maps tracing the proposed journeys of Voronaev as well as possible explanations or clarifications for those less familiar with names of cities pre-WWII. Also, while the numerous pictures at the end of the volume are helpful and such things included in a historical piece are always welcome, they would likely be more helpful if the images were cleaned up for clearer viewing of names in any future revision.

Dony K. Donev is a regular contributor to PneumaReview.com.

Donev’s work is easy to read and well-documented throughout even when he surmises potential motivations for certain events. His writing style is enjoyable to read though it would be great to find him expounding on the various phases of Voronaev’s work further to create a more personal engagement with Voronaev. Of particular interest is the seemingly controversial account of Voronaev’s children that is provided in the second section of this volume. Donev attempts to steer an objective course in his portrayal of the account/s of the children though the controversies have a way of finding inclusion as influencing his tales. Some of this is a given when dealing with personal accounts that are emotionally charged.

The numerous pictures and letters add tremendous value to his work by offering a view of some of the original documents referred to elsewhere. Perhaps he might also consider mentioning the respective picture in the writing proper for better cross-referencing in future printings.

Study Bible Series

There has been a growing number of Study Bibles released in the last few years and Dony Donev is reviewing them along with some classic Study Bibles. Dr. Donev will be evaluating each of the Bibles by focusing on subjects such as the gifts and ministry of the Holy Spirit, free will and the security of the believer, as well as prophecy and eschatology.

Fire Bible: Global Study Edition (Hendrickson Publishers, 2010).

I’ve been personally following and using the Fire Bible since it was called the Full Life Study Bible. And not mainly because it is Pentecostal (much like Dake’s and Spirit Filled Life Bibles), but more so because a good portion of the commentaries were written by one of my favorite professors in seminary, Dr. French Arrington. Therefore, I was very truly blessed when our ministry was able to participate in the translation and promoting this great work in Bulgaria.

Beginning with our usual control passages from the Old Testament, Number 6 contains a great detail of explanation on the vow and practice of the Nazarite law. Furthermore, there is a special note on “Wine in the Old Testament” in the Fire Bible, and the Aaronic benediction at the end of the chapter is specifically marked, outlined and discussed as two articles are cited in connection with “Faith and Grace” and “The Peace of God.”

Our second control passage in Jeremiah 18 is also not left without discussion. Actually, the commentary in v.8 makes two powerful points on God taking account spiritual changes in our lives and not forcing our decision despite knowing the final outcome; thus presenting a typical Pentecostal approach on free will, God’s sovereignty and foreknowledge, which is further discussed in the article on “Election and Predestination.”

The doctrine of the Rapture is not only mentioned in Revelation 4, but preceded with a special article from 1 Thessalonians and a detailed chart of Last Day Events in the forward of Revelation in both the early and the Fire editions. The Tribulation is also clearly explained as a post-Rapture event, divided in two parts and well documented with Scripture references. Additionally, in a very balanced Pentecostal manner, the dispensations, although noted by some, are not explicitly defended in the pre-Millennial system. The significance of the phrase “in the Spirit” is dully noted, which brings us to pneumatology.

In regards to Pentecostal theology, the doctrine of Trinity is presented in a careful, orthodox way that follows the Athanasius Confession. The only possible criticism could be that there’s no mention of the fact that some early Pentecostal groups did indeed teach Jesus-only doctrine. The Holy Ghost baptism is both theoretically and practically explained in the forward to Acts, while there’s an additional article on Speaking in Tongues after Acts 2. This is further mentioned in a comment after Mark 16 followed by an article on Spiritual Gifts in 1 Corinthians 12.