Frank Macchia is one of the most recognizable Pentecostal theologians well-known for his advocacy of Spirit baptism. Far from engagement with insider concerns that are of interest only to Pentecostals, Macchia is a constructive and ecumenical thinker with particular emphasis also on the doctrines of the Trinity and the kingdom of God. Along the demands of this broader theological engagement, his latest works have taken the theme of Spirit baptism as the basis for constructing works on Justification (Justified in the Spirit), Christology (Jesus, the Spirit Baptizer), and ecclesiology (The Spirit Baptized Church). With Tongues of Fire, Macchia now offers a comprehensive systematic theology—albeit not explicitly under the theme of Spirit baptism but under the scandalous expression of this theme taken from the “tongues of fire” (Acts 2:3) in the biblical story of Pentecost. “Tongues of fire,” writes Macchia, “ultimately define our capacity to experience God” (p. 88). Still, apart from a dozen or so references throughout the text, the book has far more to say about Spirit baptism, including a dedicated section (pp. 299-317), than about “tongues.” Even the publisher’s description suggests that the book was “written with Christ’s outpouring of the Holy Spirit from the heavenly Father at Pentecost as its dominant motif.” This observation is not insignificant to a reviewer who has always encouragingly reminded Macchia that his early work on tongues will be remembered as his most evocative theology. But with the obvious reference to Spirit baptism already taken by one of Macchia’s other books (Baptized in the Spirit), the choice of title is undoubtedly a well-considered reflection of his life-long work and the underlying intentions of this systematic theology. Tongues of Fire will attract Pentecostal readers and yet challenge them to “interpret” the “tongues” differently from what they might have expected. What the book promises as a theme all-too familiar to Pentecostals is transformed into a metaphor for Pentecostal scholarship that is far more provocative.

Writing and publishing a systematic theology as a Pentecostal scholar is no easy feat. There is still a persistent stereotype among some publishers about the theological contributions of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. On the other hand, many of the once thriving series dedicated to Pentecostal scholarship are no longer published, and publishers who were once able to sustain a larger body of Pentecostal literature are forced to direct proposals towards textbooks rather than research-based monographs. That this work is published in a bespoke series “Word & Spirit: Pentecostal Investigations in Theology and History” testifies to the dilemma that integrating Pentecostal works in the established theological publishing landscape remains difficult. The challenge is hidden on the first pages in the Library of Congress subject headings which identify the content as “Pentecostal churches–doctrines” yet also “Theology, Doctrinal” (p. iv). Macchia’s path is the ambitious road between, a trail all Pentecostal theologians have to navigate with far more care than many of the theologians of other traditions. This context places the achievement of the book in a different light. What Macchia proposes is not simply a Pentecostal version of traditional doctrines but a Pentecostal approach to theology as “tongues of fire” that represent “an overload of prophetic communication” where “the fire signifies the purity of truth” (p. xvii). What Macchia is after is a declaration of the wonders of God where the Pentecostal theological language is not an exception but can be understood in all the languages of the world. “Theology, as an academic discipline, joins the church’s speech,” Macchia proposes, “in a search for fitting understanding and declaration” (p. xviii-xix). Reading the book as just an attempt to interpret the spectrum of Christian doctrines from a Pentecostal perspective therefore diminishes its intentions. That Tongues of Fire is a biblical metaphor applied to an academic endeavor should alert Pentecostals to the possibility that the Spirit poured out on all flesh can indeed be received in academic theology and publishing.

The book is comprised of six parts: the first three chapters address (1) the task of theology, followed by four chapters on (2) God, and two chapters each on (3) Christ, (4) Holy Spirit, (5) Church, and (6) final purpose. With this outline, Macchia follows the organization of traditional evangelical systematic theology. About two decades ago, Pentecostal scholars held a prolonged discussion on the idea whether there could be a “systematic” Pentecostal theology in the first place. Macchia answers this question in the affirmative. A particular debate since then has been what that systematic theology would look like, whether it follows the traditional theological patterns, and what exactly it contributes to that tradition. Macchia’s project endorses the traditional order, and this choice has the advantage that his proposal will be familiar to a wide audience, allowing them to integrate the Pentecostal perspective into an already established way of thinking. Macchia is aware of the history of systematic theology (pp. 11-16) and views it as a discussion of “doctrinal proposals in a way that shows the coherence and unity of truth across the specific topics” (p. 11). Hence, he asserts that “the loci of systematic theology rightly put God first” (14) and “the first three loci of the Triune God have prime of place” (15) followed by salvation, church, and the perfection of new creation. In the larger historical tradition, Tongues of Fire joins the modern “struggle to understand the top loci of systematic theology” (61) in what may be described as a Pentecostal commentary on the articles of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. More specifically, the Pentecostal perspective engages with the core doctrines of Christology and pneumatology. Adapted to read through a Pentecostal lens, in this theology “Christ himself is present in the presence of the Spirit and it remains by the Spirit that we confess Jesus as Lord to the glory of the Father” (16). The greatest advantage of Macchia’s approach is that it allows Pentecostals to situate their place in the history of the theological tradition and to proceed from there as an original theological trajectory that can now be further developed.

Reviewed by Wolfgang Vondey

Further Reading

Frank Macchia’s webpage: https://www.frankdmacchia.com/

Tony Richie’s review of Baptized in the Spirit: A Global Pentecostal Theology

Pastor Joseph Fiorentino reviews a classic book about the Azusa Street Revival in the early Twentieth Century, the birthplace of the Pentecostal movement.

Cover from the 2000 edition.

Frank Bartleman, Azusa Street: An Eyewitness Account to the Birth of the Pentecostal Revival (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 1982), 171 pages, ISBN 9780883686386.

The turn of the twentieth century marked a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit. New life was breathed into receptive parts of the Church universal as a result of the overwhelming spiritual hunger for God in people like Frank Bartleman. In the aptly named book Azusa Street, originally published as Another Wave Rolls In, Frank Bartleman painstakingly records the events leading up to the apparent and influential revival at the Azusa Street Mission in 1906 and a behind-the-scenes look at the many other supernatural works of the Holy Spirit taking place in various locations around the world. In addition, Bartleman unknowingly lays the early groundwork for burgeoning Pentecostal doctrines such as the baptism of the Holy Spirit evidenced by speaking in tongues, prayer, revival, and eschatology—all important emphases in his reflections.

Frank Bartleman was the son of a Pennsylvania farmer who decided that farming was not for him. Shortly after his conversion to Christ, Bartleman engaged in full-time ministry; however, his allegiance to any one Christian organization was always short-lived, moving from church to church or group to group. His constant migration brought him and his family across the entire country to Sacramento where he worked at a Holiness mission. Difficult circumstances brought Bartleman and his family to Los Angeles in December of 1904. Just one month later, the family lost their first-born child, Esther. Her death prompted Bartleman to give his life fully to God which was realized as “a great burden and cry … for a mighty revival” (8).

The Azusa Mission was a spiritual haven for people from diverse races, colours, and national origins. The atmosphere seemed to be filled with God’s love and many desired the baptism of the Holy Spirit. All people were treated with equity at the Azusa Mission. Bartleman wrote, “We had no respect of persons. The rich and educated were the same as the poor and ignorant …” (56). It was this egalitarian belief that reinforced Bartleman’s negative attitude towards any form of hierarchy and ecclesiasticism. William J. Seymour was responsible for the Mission, but ultimately God was in control of the revival. Bartleman described God’s direction by writing, “Demons are being cast out, the sick healed, many blessedly saved, restored, and baptized with the Holy Spirit and power” (64). In Bartleman’s understanding, this three-year move of God was possible because “the whole place [Azusa Mission] was steeped in prayer” (58).

It was prayer that led Bartleman to start a mission at Eighth and Maple Streets, and it was in this particular mission that he first spoke in tongues. Almost ten pages of this book are dedicated to his supernatural experience. Bartleman, quite unintentionally, laid out a simple doctrine of the baptism of the Holy Spirit—which is quite ironic since, in his view, doctrine binds and causes division within the church. One element of the baptism, which stands out from the rest, is Bartleman’s observation that all who received the baptism of the Spirit also spoke in tongues. In his personal experience, a person fully yielded to and wanting more of God will not struggle or have difficulty receiving the baptism of the Spirit. But “the baptism is not all tongues,” writes Bartleman, it is a “place of illumination and abandonment” (80). Finding himself in this spiritual place, Bartleman decided to hand over responsibility for the Eighth and Maple Streets mission and started out on a global ministry tour that lasted about three years.

Between 1907 and 1911, Frank Bartleman traveled throughout the United States, the Middle East, and Asia preaching in various churches. When he was back home in Los Angeles, he observed that the local missions were in bad shape spiritually, especially Azusa Mission. But this condition at Azusa would change upon the arrival of William Durham to the mission in early 1911. Durham ministered in Azusa Mission until Seymour had him locked out: Durham rented a mission at Seventh and Los Angeles Streets and “Azusa became deserted” (118). According to Bartleman, 1911 was a wonderful year for Durham’s mission because “much of the old-time power and glory of the Azusa Mission days returned to us” (120). Subsequently, the years 1912 to 1914 were spent doing mission work in Europe, but the war forced Bartleman to return home.

The last chapter of Azusa Street consists of a message that Bartleman wrote in 1925. In this message, Bartleman presents his concerns about movements and what must take place so that they continue moving forward according to God’s eternal purpose. There are five “we must” statements which pave the way towards the full restoration of the true Church. The first and fourth declare unity, “We must work for the kingdom of God as a whole, not for some pet individual party, organization, or movement” (137) and “We must recognize the whole body of Christ” (142). Bartleman speaks out against the “isms” that separate the one, whole body of Christ: hierarchicalism, ecclesiasticism, sectarianism, and denominationalism. The second of the five statements is simple yet motivating, “We must keep moving!” (138). Bartleman’s point is that until “full restoration” of the Church is realized, Christians must continue to forge ahead seeking God in unity. The third statement pushes toward theological reform, “We need a readjustment of all our doctrines to the full, clear light of God in the Word” (138). Analyzing and redefining past experiences in “clear light” will bring the “church within the church” to full maturity. The fifth and last declarative touches on heart and attitude, “We must have the spirit of Caleb and Joshua, a different spirit from the multitude” (144). For Bartleman, the key to full restoration involves joining “God in His great movement” for the end is near!

Early Pentecostals used eschatological rhetoric quite frequently because they believed that the return of Jesus Christ was imminent. Throughout the book, Bartleman uses phrases like “we are rounding the corner,” “the end of the age,” “we are nearing the awesome climax,” “we are rapidly approaching the last days,” “we are reaching the culmination of this age,” and “this last hour,” which provides the reader with a powerful sense of urgency. His tract, “The Last Call” is another example of an urgent call to repentance and is strongly indicative of the early Pentecostal understanding of the apocalyptic Scriptures.

As much as Azusa Street is an eyewitness account of the mighty spiritual revival at the Azusa Mission, it is also a cautionary corrective for every Pentecostal or Charismatic follower of Christ. We must work towards unity in the body of Christ. We must continue to seek all that God has for us, while maintaining a spirit of humility and repentance before the Spirit of God. Jesus is coming back soon!

Reviewed by Joe Fiorentino

Further Reading:

Cecil M. Robeck, Jr., The Azusa Street Mission And Revival: The Birth of the Global Pentecostal Movement (Thomas Nelson, 2006).

Darrin J. Rodgers, “The Azusa Street Revival: What Frank Bartleman’s Eyewitness Account Reveals about the Worldview of Early Pentecostals” iFPHC.org (March 9, 2017).

Pentecostals are well acquainted with the baptism in the Holy Spirit and the argument that it is Jesus who baptizes the church at Pentecost. But if Jesus is the Spirit baptizer, what does this act mean for our understanding of Jesus himself, for Jesus’ own history, and for the way he imparts the Spirit at Pentecost? These are the main questions Frank Macchia pursues in his book, Jesus the Spirit Baptizer. Macchia has been relentless in his focus on Spirit baptism as an organizing principle or the “crown jewel” of Pentecostal theology, as he calls it in his earlier work. For much of his career, he has provided a pathway to envision and revise what is arguably at the center of Pentecostal history by pointing to the wider ecumenical and theological implications of Pentecostal thought for the Christian world. This volume continues on the same path with a refreshing and inspiring analysis of the person and work of Christ by arguing that it is Pentecost, not Easter, that is the climax of the Incarnation.

The argument unfolds in three parts, each comprised of two chapters. Part 1 explains the task of Christology in the terms of traditional Christological method (chapter 1) and the challenges to Christology in the light of Pentecost (chapter 2). Part 2 focuses on Christ’s Incarnation (chapter 3) and his baptism and anointing (chapter 4). The final part addresses the death and resurrection (chapter 5) and Christ’s act of baptizing with the Spirit (chapter 6). With these significant discussions, Macchia hopes to address the chief questions of Christology: Who is Jesus in relation to God? Is Jesus truly divine? Who is Christ in relation to humanity? Is he truly human? And how do we understand his work and its ongoing significance?

PneumaReview.com speaks with Christian historian and renewalist, Frank Billman, about John Wesley, the Methodist Church, and the supernatural ministry of the Holy Spirit today.

PneumaReview.com: You have written a book called The Supernatural Thread in Methodism. Please tell our readers a little bit about the book.

Frank H. Billman, The Supernatural Thread in Methodism: Signs and Wonders Among Methodists Then and Now (Creation House, 2013).

Frank Billman: I have always had an interest in history, especially church history. And when I took the Methodist history course required for United Methodist ordination at a United Methodist seminary, I really enjoyed the course. The course was taught by the author of the textbook we used, a well-known Methodist historian. However, sometime after seminary graduation I began to read some other books and articles that highlighted supernatural elements of our Methodist history that I never learned about in seminary—like John Wesley praying for healing and casting out demons, and experiencing angelic encounters, and even raising a man from the dead. Wesley taught that all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the Bible (including speaking in tongues) are valid for today. Methodists rested in the Spirit, and experienced trances and visions and dreams. The power of God would show up in Methodist preaching services, love feasts, communion services, camp meetings, even annual conference sessions. This supernatural history is not only the heritage of United Methodists, but all the denominations today that trace their history back to John Wesley and the Methodists.

So as I would share in various settings about what I found in our history I was encouraged to gather my findings together in a book. It was published by Creation House Press, a publishing arm of Charisma Magazine. Charisma Media shut down that part of their publishing business so the book has gone out of print. (Aldersgate Renewal Ministries still has some copies and I have some.) I am in the process of revising and updating the book with some additional chapters and I need to connect with a new publisher.

PneumaReview.com: How did you personally come into the charismatic experience of the Spirit?

Frank Billman: I grew up in the Methodist Church. My parents and grandparents were Methodists. I gave my life to Christ at a Lay Witness Mission that came to our Methodist church in Philadelphia when I was in high school. Although this event was not about the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit was very much a part of that weekend. It was during that weekend that I first heard people speak in tongues.

When I went to college I got involved with a Catholic Charismatic prayer group. Although the majority of those in this group were Catholic there were also a number of us Protestants from various denominations. That group prayed for me to be baptized in the Holy Spirit and shortly thereafter I began to speak in tongues. In my college and seminary years I was involved with a number of different charismatic groups. And when I graduated from seminary and began pastoring a local United Methodist church I knew I would have to find some like-minded Spirit-filled United Methodists if I was going to survive.

In Frank Matera’s God’s Saving Grace: A Pauline Theology the author considers with careful and solid scholarship the totality of Paul’s themes in the canonical thirteen letters of scripture. Matera, a Roman Catholic and professor of Biblical Studies at Catholic University of America, Washington D.C., speaks as a scholar who studied Reformation teaching. He recaptures Pauline theology, succinctly unwrapping the apostle’s original framework concerning salvation in Jesus Christ. Utilizing Paul’s conversion experience and call, he builds a case that the grace of God remains the foundation for the apostle’s soteriology. In Ephesians 2:8-9 (NRSV) he states “for by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God-not the result of works, so that no one may boast.” Matera writes, Paul “no longer knows God except in Christ;”(248) therefore, there is nothing that sustains him but Christ alone. Again, he continues, “once the mystery of God’s redemptive plan has been revealed, however, it is clear that there has always been one plan, which is revealed in Christ”(248). Through the motif of the saving grace of Jesus, Matera outlines the meaning of salvation and redemption in his book.

Ch 1 A Pauline Theology of God’s Grace

Ch 2 Paul’s Experience of God’s Saving Grace

Paul’s calling and apostleship is grounded in the Damascus Road christophany (Acts 9) where he encountered with Christ. In Gal. 1:13-2:21, the apostle’s autobiography divulges this defining moment of his life. Matera indicates that a number of his letters commence with the launching of his apostleship by “the will of God” (1 Cor. 1:1). Paul defends his ministry with the Damascus christophany as his conversion was both a transformation and calling in one event. As Matera examines each of the three accounts of his christophany recorded in Acts 9, 22, 26, he writes that Paul’s commission was of divine origin, built on the kerygma of the cross of Christ (1 Cor. 1:18). Hence, he observes “Paul’s call, his gospel, and his apostleship are intimately related to each other” (42). Matera’s Pauline theology, is established in the Damascus Road christophany, and in that momentous event, Christ became the focus of the apostle’s life.

Frank Viola, From Eternity to Here: Rediscovering the Ageless Purpose of God (David C. Cook, 2009), 320 pages, ISBN 9781434768704.

In times of postmodernism, when metanarratives, and especially Biblical metanarratives, are being deconstructed and questioned by just about every secular movement, there has been a consistent attempt to explain the story of the Bible again to a postmodern and unchurched generation in a way they would actually understand.

To begin with the obvious, the book is comprised of three familiar narratives that have already been openly discussed: the Bride of Christ, the House of God, and finally the Body of Christ and the Family of God. The careful reader immediately notices that all three of these narratives are framed with the language of family. The story of the first family in Genesis, is not merely the fall of Adam and Eve, but how the whole creation is God’s very plan for redemption of the universe and the salvation of mankind. This perspective changes the understood purpose of the Gospel from being preoccupied with the fall of humankind to God-centered Missio Dei.

From Eternity to Here resembles the expository apologetic style of Augustine in De Civitate Dei. But instead of being philosophical, what we have here is much more a narrative, very similar to the approach taken by St. Symeon the New Theologian.

The view of God’s love being presented is similar to the way Karl Barth treats it in his commentary to the Romans. Perhaps this is because Viola sees it from his own experience of knowing God which tries to see it from God’s own perspective through God’s grace. When speaking of the ultimate purpose of God for mankind and the universe, Viola, almost like Barth, walks on the edges of universalism. While it is true that God draws the creation to Himself through His love, a careful theologian would make their audience aware of the danger of universalism, unless they believe such a soteriological view. So, I wrote Viola to ask if he subscribes to universalism and his response was that he did not. And it seems it would be quite difficult for him to be a Universalist, because of what he believes about the reality of Hell.

The three discourses of the book have been much discussed since its publication, yet a few observations are in order. Part one represents an ageless romance of a transcendent and eternal God who creates His bride and reconciles the entire creation with Himself in order to redeem her back to His love. It is a passion that passes through space and time like no other.

The second narrative shows God on a mission. And while the Creator is described as “homeless” and searching for a home within His own creation, His mission is only completed in making mankind His home. Thus, the creation searches with God and a deserted and wildered mankind is found by God and finds eternal rest in Him alone.

This introduces the third “new species” discourse that resolves the dilemma of one whole generation, reconciling the story of the Bible with a postmodern mindset. The union of Adam and Eve also puts a completely new perspective on the Biblical role of women and it makes an interesting case for their equal roles in creation and ministry.

Disappointment has been expressed in the unchurched language used in the book to describe God’s emotions, but what about a sermon preached in 1741 by Jonathan Edwards under the name “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”? Yet, a warning is indeed in order as the beginning of the 21st century is marked by a surge of postmodern apologetics through which Christian authors address issues outside the institutionalized church (social, political and economic) with the language of the people. But this attempt often goes so “deep undercover” that it remains foreign even to the church itself. A prime example for this phenomenon was the Purpose Driven Church, which being a powerful address to the unchurched, often remains a mystery to many mainline Christians who simply could not separate themselves from the known church language. Could we find a balanced way to present Biblical truths while keeping the language of the Bible itself?

Theology professor, Frank Macchia, talks about better ways to approach prosperity teaching in this Seven Minute Seminary from Seedbed.com of Asbury Theological Seminary.

Part 1 of a conversation between Lawrence Wood and Frank Macchia on the link between Wesleyan and Pentecostal traditions. Originally posted by the Asbury Theological Seminary.

Frank D. Macchia, ThD (University of Basel, Switzerland) is professor of theology at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, California. He has served as president of the Society of Pentecostal Studies and is a member of the Faith and Order Commission of the National Council of Churches. Frank is senior editor of Pneuma: The Journal for the Society of Pentecostal Studies.

Pentecostals and Reformed affirming the value of all of the New Testament Gifts
Frank Macchia

In the context of this hoopla over cessationism, it might be interesting to see how the issue of spiritual gifts was dealt with in the first round of international talks between the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Pentecostals (of which I was a participant). We agreed together that all of the gifts from the New Testament have value today, but that both global church families tended to favor different lists of gifts from the New Testament. In response, we affirmed that no single list of gifts is to be held up as all determinative for judging the quality of a church’s spirituality and that both sides must expand its horizons by embracing the value of the gifts cherished by the other side. Here’s the important paragraphs, a joint statement shared by both sides:

“The participants in this Dialogue affirm that the gifts of God to the Church are real, the Holy Spirit is the Giver of gifts to the Church, and the gifts are given to the Church to work together for the common good. Reformed as well as many Pentecostal churches acknowledge that their understanding of the Spirit’s gifts is broader than the classic list of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10… As we, the Reformed and Pentecostal participants in this Dialogue, have reflected on the biblical texts and the life of the Church, we have been convinced that no single gift or set of gifts is normative for every believer, every congregation or every church in every time, or place. We share the conviction that gifts are not permanent possessions of believers or congregations, for the Spirit gives various gifts at different places as those gifts are needed. We also agree that no biblical listing of gifts is a template to be laid over the entire Church. On the one hand, we recognize that many Pentecostals limit the gifts of the Holy Spirit to those mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10. They do not value the charismatic nature of those mentioned elsewhere in the Bible (Cf. 1 Corinthians 12:27-30; Romans 12:3-8; Ephesians 4:11; 1 Peter 4:10-11). On the other hand, many Reformed Christians recognize the theoretical possibility that the gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 might somewhere be appropriately exercised, but normally they do not encourage or even sanction them to be exercised in their own services. In addition, there are those in both traditions who value one gift over the contribution of another, or who seem to limit the Holy Spirit’s sovereign distribution of gifts… It is our mutual conclusion that these positions are ultimately no less than concessions to the reality of our separated existence as Christian churches. We believe that those who embrace these positions, or elevate their status by giving voice to them in doctrinal or political statements, must be challenged to recognize their limitations. They need to be asked to broaden their understanding of the gifts, which the Holy Spirit desires to give to the Church. Only in so doing can they enter fully into the life of the Church as the body of Christ. Only in so doing can they participate in what it means to be a priesthood of all believers. Only in so doing can they experience the fullness of what Joel prophesied, and Peter proclaimed on the Day of Pentecost, that God’s Spirit would be poured out on all flesh, thereby equipping them to participate in God’s work in the world.”

(#54-55, 57, Word and Word and Spirit, Church and World, The Final Report of the International Dialogue between Representatives of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches And Some Classical Pentecostal Churches and Leaders 1996-2000).

(PS- there was not a cessationist among them)

Frank D. Macchia, ThD (University of Basel, Switzerland) is professor of theology at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, California. He has served as president of the Society of Pentecostal Studies and is a member of the Faith and Order Commission of the National Council of Churches. Frank is senior editor of Pneuma: The Journal for the Society of Pentecostal Studies.

Frank Macchia, (ThD, University of Basel, Switzerland) represents that interesting paradox once thought of as a possible oxymoron: a true Pentecostal scholar. At least no one who reads his Baptized in the Spirit should any longer doubt the evident reality, vitality, and maturity of today’s Pentecostal scholarship. Dr. Macchia, one of the world’s leading Pentecostal theologians, is currently a professor of theology at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, CA, serves as senior editor of Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies, is a former president of the Society of Pentecostal Studies, and serves on the Faith and Order Commission of the National Council of Churches. Some have yielded to a temptation to paste Pentecostal insights onto an already existing theological paradigm but Macchia proposes a truly all-encompassing theology organized around Spirit baptism that is a profound integration of an authentic Pentecostal ethos with classic and contemporary Christian theology. As such it deserves to be read widely by Pentecostals themselves and by others seeking to understand Pentecostal theology today.

Professor Macchia begins his task by “framing the issue” in a helpful introductory chapter. Here he shares his exciting Pentecostal testimony of being baptized in the Holy Spirit. That Spirit baptism is much more to Macchia than an interesting item for intellectual reflection is readily apparent. Then he outlines the main themes he develops throughout the book: that Spirit baptism “involves experience;” is a “fluid metaphor surrounded by ambiguous imagery” capable of encompassing numerous emphases; is both charismatic (Lukan) and soteriological (Pauline) in nature; and, that it includes “a Pentecost/kingdom of God correlation” in which “the highest description possible of the substance of Spirit baptism is an eschatological gift that functions as an outpouring of divine love.” Significantly, Macchia maintains that the Holy Spirit’s work “cannot be compartmentalized or separated,” chiding Pentecostals for being too narrow and consequently not developing a broader (and deeper?) pneumatology. He declares that “the vision of the whole for which this book reaches” is that purposeful development.

Macchia insists that though many helpful and insightful Pentecostal monographs have been produced, a central focus on Spirit baptism is regrettably missing in more recent scholarship. He therefore calls for a return to Spirit baptism as the central distinctive of Pentecostals. His survey of the historic development and current state of Pentecostal theology and his passionate argument for completing “the unfinished business of Pentecostal theology” is worth the price of the book. Macchia makes plain his wish to expand the boundaries of Spirit baptism to include applications to all of Christian life and even God’s eventual and ultimate cosmic presence. For him, Spirit baptism in the present age points to and partakes of existence with God in the resurrection and the new heavens and new earth. Macchia places Spirit baptism in Trinitarian perspective. He elucidates the Pentecost-Kingdom connection he argues for throughout the book, the Church’s faith in Jesus as Spirit Baptizer, and in an especially stimulating section, the Trinitarian implications of Spirit baptism itself, before unpacking his understanding of how Spirit baptism impacts present and future life in the Kingdom. Macchia confessedly shows his “Pentecostal colors” here. Then he extensively examines ecclesiology in light of Spirit baptism. Among other things, Macchia stresses koinonia in the Spirit as a possible key to Pentecostal progress on understandings of the Church and also argues for a more pneumatological anthropology. Macchia takes a prime opportunity to address the problems of contemporary religious pluralism too. He describes the uniqueness of the Church in terms of “a critical dialectic” of witness and sign of God’s grace in an all-too-graceless world before addressing the more traditional marks of the Church. He confessedly shows his “Barthian colors” here. The capstone of the book argues emphatically for the Spirit baptized life as an expression of the depths of divine love. Macchia suggests an integrative theology of love that relates cardinal Christian virtues and incorporates sanctification and charismatic gifting/empowerment, personal and social transformation, and historical and eschatological concerns and values through the doctrine and experience of Spirit baptism.