Some Official Assessment

The wonderful folks of Life Pacific College (International Church of the Foursquare Gospel), located in beautiful San Dimas, California, were exceptionally gracious hosts. It was a special pleasure to be greeted in the first plenary by Jim Adams, LPC president, and the famous Jack Hayford (King’s University). LPC facilities were perfect for the needs of the Society, with ample space in a compact setting. And what a gorgeous campus! Aside from aesthetics, the statistics are impressive as well. Kim Roebuck, Assistant to the Executive Director, reports that there were 331 in attendance. Zach Tackett, SPS Secretary/Treasurer, informed the membership at its annual business meeting that the SPS 2015 figures represent the best membership roll in 5 years and that the Society is financially solvent. Certainly these appear to be signs that SPS continues to flourish as a vital venue for Pentecostal scholarship.

SPS could not happen without the diligent work of a great team of Interest Group Leaders: Scott Ellington, Daniela Augustine, Christopher Stephenson, Leah Payne, Sarita Gallagher, Doug Olena, James Bowers, Clifton Clarke, and Sammy Alfaro. As well, the work of Diversity Committee leader Meghan Musy, Librarians and Archivist chair, Derrick Rosenior, and other session leaders such as Dale M. Coulter and Daniel Tobin (Roman Catholic-Pentecostal dialogue) provided spiritual refreshing.

The plenary sessions with Linda Ambrose, John Goldingay, Teresa Berger, the Latino/a Pentecostalism session with Daniel Ramirez, Urias Mendoza, and Sammy Alfaro, and the great presidential address by Michael Wilkinson, were invigorating. Further, the artistic expressions by Carlynn Reed and Carlos Zapata, Jennifer Miskov and team, and Steven Felix-Jager were a refreshing innovation that ministered to all.

Lois Olena

Outgoing Executive Director Lois Olena (Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, Springfield, MO) noted in her closing remarks at the SPS banquet that of its current membership of 557, SPS enjoys representation from 18 nations, 30 U.S. states, and 41 Christian denominations/traditions.

To me, in spite of its challenges, SPS has been to me “little taste of heaven,” because it has served in my life as a place where brothers and sisters in Christ, of diverse ethnicities and denominations, can experience “the other” in rich fellowship, mentorship, learning, collegiality, and laughter, as well as engage in times of challenging one another, searching and discovering, sharing ideas, celebrating one another’s accomplishments, and supporting friends through their struggles—not only once a year but all throughout the year as we continue to interact. SPS has been a place of vocational nurture, as our late president, Brother Jeff Gros, said in his 2012 presidential address: “The Pentecostal scholar in whatever church has a calling to be of service to the whole people of God and to the churches in their task of preaching, handing on the faith and nurturing the faithful. This Society has been a place where this ecclesial vocation has been and can be nurtured” [Pneuma 34, no. 2 (2012): 167.]

PneumaReview.com speaks with Becky Halstead—the first woman general to lead in combat at the strategic level*—about faith, leadership, and how churches can support the men and women who serve in the military.

PneumaReview.com: Please tell us about where you come from and why you aspired to become an officer, and ultimately a Brigadier General, in the US Army.

Retired Brig. General Becky Halstead, the first female commanding general in the U.S. Military history to lead at the strategic in combat operations.

Retired Brig. General Rebecca Halstead: I was born and raised mostly in upstate New York. Our little town of Willseyville (where I lived) and Candor (where I went to school) had no traffic lights. We were considered mostly a dairy area, and the majority of our time was spent in school, church and community activities. My father worked for IBM, and my mother was a dental hygienist. I loved playing sports and wanted to be a physical education teacher. However, in 1976 my mother read in the newspaper about the military academies opening up to women. My mom thought I was the perfect fit for what they looking for and she encouraged me to apply. My mom and dad were loving, strong and disciplined Christian parents. I reluctantly agreed to put my nomination packet together. After visiting several of the Academies, I decided if I was going to attend, I wanted West Point for its rich history and discipline.

In the late spring of my senior year of high school, 1977, I received my acceptance letter from West Point. I began my military journey just a few days after high school graduation in July 1977. Before leaving for West Point I had key people in my life sign my Bible: youth group leader, Sunday school teachers, Pastor and his wife, parents, and some best friends. During my four years at West Point I read their words of encouragement hundreds of times. My goals were simple: don’t quit, don’t let my family and friends down, and pray to graduate.

Upon graduation in 1981, I was commissioned an officer in the United States Army. I was a Second Lieutenant. There was never any intent on my part to serve more than my mandatory five years after graduation. However, as the years unfolded, God blessed me with opportunities after opportunities, and numerous promotions. Again, I never aspired to become a General Officer, but after 16 different duty assignments and 23 years of serving and leading America’s sons and daughters, I was promoted in 2004 to Brigadier General.

With my promotion to Brigadier General came orders for combat. In 2005, my command in Germany was selected to deploy to Balad, Iraq for one year. In Iraq I had 20,000 soldiers in my command and we provided distribution of all the logistics for the 250,000 coalition men and women stationed there. It was the hardest, most challenging year of my life, but it was also the most rewarding. I grew as a leader, both personally and professionally. My faith walk was tested and strengthened as I dealt with tragedy and disappointments, complex missions, and the very worse, yet the very best at times, of mankind.

Becky Halstead’s first book, 24/7: The First Person You Must Lead Is YOU.

I returned to the United States in 2006 and took my last command in the army at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. I was responsible for all the military training associated with men and women in the Ordnance Corps—the second largest branch in the Army. Unfortunately, I was dealing with a personal illness, chronic fibromyalgia, and after thoughtful prayer and consideration, submitted my retirement in 2008. I was only 49 years old, and I hated to leave the military that I come to love, especially because of the men and women I served with and led. I have always believed and practiced that God places nothing in front of us that He is not willing to help us through. So, I considered this a new mission and by retiring I could wrap my arms around the disease and figure out what was next.

Church of God Presiding Bishop Mark Williams preaching.

Official church historians consider the Church of God (Cleveland, TN USA) the oldest continuing, and one of the largest, Pentecostal ecclesial organizations in the world. It dates back to 1886 with roots in the Unicoi Mountains of Eastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina. It considers itself more of a movement than a denomination, more of a dynamic and organic union than an institution. Yet with around 7 million members worldwide and a constituency closer to 15 million the Church of God certainly has developed some of the trappings of an organized institution. One of these institutional necessities has been its biennial General Assembly.

True to its origins in the American Wesleyan Holiness Movement the Church of God early adopted a mostly Episcopal form of government. Among other things, this has meant a centralized polity, although with some admittedly hybrid elements of congregationalism showing through here and there. Every two years Ordained Bishops of the Church of God meet in a General Council to elect leaders, discuss business, and address pressing issues in the church and in society. Then the General Assembly, which still includes the General Council but adds other credentialed ministers as well as registered lay delegates, meets to confirm (or not) the suggestions of the Bishops. The General Assembly is the highest governing body of a group that insists it adheres strictly to the teachings of Scripture in its beliefs and practices. In between General Assembly sessions the Church of God is led by an International Executive Committee consisting of a Presiding Bishop (General Overseer), three assistants (executive bishops), and a Secretary General together with 18 councilors comprising the International Executive Council. The Presiding Bishop moderates the General Council and the General Assembly.

For me, this opening process suggests something of an interpretative key for the 75^th General and what it says about where the Church of God is today and what it is about. Two words come to my mind: retention and expansion. The course of this General Assembly suggests to me that the Church of God is engaged in Herculean labors to retain its Holiness-Pentecostal heritage and identity and also to expand its ministries and mission for contemporary relevance and effectiveness in a world that has changed dramatically since the turn of the 20^th century. As a Church of God member, bishop, pastor, and educator, as well as something of an interlocutor with others, I applaud these dual drives. However, I recognize that there is an inherent tension in remaining rooted in the past while taking wing into the future. Nevertheless, I’m convinced that the most consistent way forward for the Church of God still involves integrating just such continuity and creativity.

I am especially grateful to have been the first ever formally endorsed invited guest and observer from the Church of God (Cleveland, TN) at the National Council of Churches General Assembly in Minneapolis, Minnesota (Nov 10-12, 2009). This was truly an historic occasion.

The theme of the Assembly was “Rejoice Always, Pray without ceasing, Give thanks in all circumstances (I Thessalonians 5:16-18, NRSV.) Some commented that although at first glance this seemed inappropriately optimistic in the face of world conditions, it actually reflects the Church’s faith that God has called them together to proclaim the gospel and restore justice to the world. Staff leaders of two sister two organizations – the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches, and the Rev. John L. McCullough, Executive Director and CEO of Church World Service – each described alarming conditions in which millions live in the nation and around the world, and called upon the member communions to recommit themselves to proclaiming this gospel of hope and justice. Dr Kinnamon in particular said it was appropriate for Christians to be openly outraged about the state of the world. However, he also called the NCC to repentance and to remember the cause for which God first raised it up: the unity of the body of Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Dr Kinnamon also invited me to address the Assembly briefly, bringing greetings from the Church of God and from other Pentecostals in expressed appreciation for the meeting. I particularly stressed the work of the Holy Spirit in the world today. There was a great deal of applause then and later personal expressions of affirmation for the global role of the Church of God and Pentecostalism in general today. Partly as a result of this public exposure and partly as a result of some previous personal relationships, I spent a great deal of time talking with people about global Pentecostalism. I also passed out some literature and contact information. Many inquirers approached me. In short, I shared my Pentecostal testimony with others!

The NCC GA also had regular worship services with each one led by a different Christian tradition, and daily prayer times and Bible studies (with Bibles provided by the American Bible Society through the mediation of President R. Lamar Vest, former Presiding Bishop of the Church of God). The emphasis overall, however, was on social action. Emphasis was on alleviating poverty and establishing justice and peace; but economic crisis, health care reform, nuclear proliferation, and global water shortages were also addressed. A few times climate change came up too, along with some evidence of prolife presence and women’s rights advocacy. Ecumenism and interfaith issues repeatedly surfaced. A highlight was when Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty came. After breakfast, he addressed the GA, highlighting the importance of God and religion in American public life and government. Further, Dr Richard L. “Dick” Hamm, Executive Director of Christian Churches Together (CTT) was present and strongly stressed partnering with Evangelicals and Pentecostals to the entire GA. We have agreed to follow up on discussing Pentecostals and CTT.

As it turns out, another Pentecostal, my friend Andrew Hudson, was also present. Andrew was one of two senior stewards at NCC. He was a steward last year as well through application and this year he was asked and nominated to be one of the leaders of this group. He was also the chair of the worship committee for the New Fire young adult ecumenical conference in the preconference program. The committee was made up of 3 members and 12 denominations. Brother Hudson was the only Pentecostal. He is the son of a Church of God pastor and is himself an ordained minister from Western North Carolina. Andrew is a 2nd year Master of Divinity student at Princeton Theological Seminary. Further, he is the co-moderator for ACTS (Association of Charismatic and Pentecostal Theological Students) at Princeton Seminary. He is the multicultural ministries director for Mt. Bethel Church of God in Trenton, NJ and a member of the youth advisory board for the Church of God in NJ. Brother Hudson is as an example of some of our best and brightest young ministers and students who are becoming increasingly interested in ecumenical ministries. We were both very well received.