This article is a chapter from the Rev. William De Arteaga’s forthcoming book, Saints, Heroes and Villains of the Anglican Healing Awakening.

To my knowledge no other Anglican church, or any other church, has such an effective and robust ministry of healing and deliverance as The Falls Church Anglican of Falls Church, Virginia (Ok, just a bit confusing, “Falls Church” is the name of the town, and “The Falls Church Anglican” refers to the church in the town of Falls Church).[1] At this church the healing, deliverance, and intercessory prayer ministries are woven into the core of church life.

Its clergy and members understand their calling as a “three streams” congregation. That is, a church where the different aspects of liturgical and sacramental worship, evangelical preaching and Christian good works, and the gifts of the Spirit operate and interact among various groups and ministries, according to their preferences and needs. To be specific, the gifts of the Spirit operate mostly among the healing and intercessory prayer ministries, and a few home groups, but not in the main liturgical services.

The town of Falls Church, Virginia, is a suburb of Washington DC., and many of the parishioners are executives, government employees, and current or former military personnel. Its parishioners and its excellent staff make it one of the most prominent churches in the greater D.C. area.

The Falls Church building in 2009. Originally built in 1769, with evidence of repairs to the structure (note the newer brick under the first floor windows) after the American Civil War.
Image: Wikimedia Commons

The historic Falls Church was established during the colonial period. Its first building arose in 1732. Later, George Washington was a warden of the church in the 1760s and oversaw the construction of the brick church building to replace the original wooden structure. The Falls Church served as both a church and recruiting station for the American Army during the War of Independence. Later, the church served as a Union hospital during the Civil War, as Northern forces quickly took over the territory around Washington, D.C.

After that terrible conflict, The Falls Church was restored to its original status, but did not really thrive, and Sunday attendance dropped to less than a hundred. But in 1935 the Rev. Watkins was called as rector, and by the time his tenure ended (1945) church attendance was in the 300s.[2] The Falls Church grew steadily from that time as the population of Washington D.C. continued to grow as World War II morphed into the Cold War with the Soviet Union.

However, The Falls Church did not become the prominent church it is today until the pastorship of the Rev. John Yates, who came in 1979. He and his wife were both from devoted Christian homes.[3] The Rev. Yates’ mother was prominent in CFO circles in the 1950s and 1960s, and her son John accompanied her at those CFOs on several occasions.[4]

Stephen Long, Saving Karl Barth: Hans Urs von Balthasar’s Preoccupation (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014), 272 pages, ISBN 1451470142

Stephen D. Long, professor of systematic theology at Marquette University, presents a remarkable rendering of the long ecumenical discussion and theological friendship between Hans Urs von Balthasar and Karl Barth. While Balthasar received significant backlash for this friendship, he felt that in Barth he had discovered a Protestant theology grand enough to enter into a discussion with Catholic theology. Long primarily follows the younger Balthasar’s interpretation of Barth and traces the influence of Barth’s theology—albeit not uncritically—on Balthasar. This relationship allowed both theologies to interact, challenge, and shape the other at their strongest and most divisive points. While disagreements continued to exist, Long suggests ultimately a stronger theology emerged.

The work begins with a description of Barth’s and Balthasar’s largely unknown friendship that involved not only Balthasar’s book on Barth, but vacations, participation in each other’s seminars, and extensive letter writing. Balthasar rarely made the friendship public due to both Catholic and Protestant disagreement with his Barthian preoccupation. This chapter alone will be of interest to scholars. The second and third chapters set out Balthasar’s reading of Barth and the contemporary rejection of that reading from both Catholic and Protestant theologians. The remainder of the work rehabilitates Balthasar’s reading of Barth for contemporary theology. In turn, Long examines Balthasar’s interaction with Barth on the realm of God dealing with the question of natural theology and revelation, the realm of ethics dealing with the move from a propositional ethic to one that spreads the glory of the Incarnation to creation, and the realm of the Church as means for both renewal and unity.

Barth and Balthasar agreed that the incarnation, rather than a conception of God constructed from within the realm of natura pura (a state of pure nature), was the starting point of theology. Theology radiates outward from the incarnation into nature to define nature in light of the person and work of God-in-Christ becomes the challenge and beauty of the theological enterprise. To first discover God from nature and only then move towards the Incarnation and Trinity, places the unity of God ontologically prior to the Trinity and risks constructing a god from abstraction that inevitably conforms to the image of man rather than the particularity of the revealed God. Barth argued a natura pura does not exist for there is no place that exists into which God has not spoken in Christ (3); as such there is no need for an analogia entis (analogy of being) to bridge the creature-Creator gap. The dividing difference between Catholicism and Protestantism, therefore, was to be found in the analogia entis dogmatized in the Vatican I’s duplex ordo cognitionis (two-fold order of knowledge) that asserted a natural realm in which God could be known via reason outside of God’s revelation in Christ (155).

An interview with Andrew Schmutzer about The Long Journey Home: Understanding and Ministering to the Sexually Abused, and part 1 of his chapter, “A Theology of Sexuality and its Abuse: Creation, Evil, and the Relational Ecosystem” as appearing in Pneuma Review Summer 2013.

 
A Theology of Sexuality and its Abuse—Part 1 A Theology of Sexuality and its Abuse—Part 2

Interview 2 Interview 3

Note from the Editors: Beginning a conversation about sexual abuse is uncomfortable, but we feel strongly that this topic is something the church needs to address. We believe the testimonies of authentic recovery can help us embrace the pain of the hurting and make openings for God to bring healing.

Pneuma Review: Are seminaries preparing church leaders to deal with sexual abuse?

Andrew Schmutzer:

Andrew J. Schmutzer discussing The Long Journey Home in 2011, by Lulu Hé. Courtesy of Moody Bible Institute.

Historically, no; but some are now trying. Abuse trauma is not simple and trying to train for the complexity of abuse—something that wasn’t even discussed in churches 15 years ago—begins to show the magnitude of this challenge. Seminaries need to start offering (requiring?) courses on a theology of sexuality and its legal and pastoral implications. Academic programs need far more team-teaching from different professionals. Just bringing in a survivor for the class to interact with would make a serious contribution toward pastoral preparation. Issues in sexuality are utterly exploding on so many fronts today: from gender-bending among youth and same-sex “rights” to the ever-present plague of sexual abuse. There are many expectations on our seminaries, and pastors are pulled in so many directions already, I understand that. But sexual abuse is a bleeder that must be tied off immediately. To be ill-equipped and ignorant of sexual abuse today is like living in tornado alley with no alarm system. It’s unacceptable. It’s a disaster itself.

More particularly, we’re going to have to network more between organizations, and frankly, embrace a more holistic anthropology that moves beyond the protracted gender wars and fear of therapy. More aggressive study of relational patterns (e.g., Family Systems Theory) and how power is heard and felt by victims is a practical issue that will have to be woven into standard leadership training and core curriculum—internships may need to become more apprentice-like. There is a complexity to the human-induced trauma of sexual abuse we’re only beginning to face. Unlike some addictions, one doesn’t choose to be a victim of sexual abuse, but the way we process this has not caught up to the complexities we’re now learning about how complex PTSD and mental health affect the entire person. Pastors need to understand: (1) the multi-factorial backdrop of sexual abuse (e.g., beliefs about sex, toxic family traditions, superficial healing rituals, cultural modes of thinking, etc.), (2) and the complex reasons that victims often go on to abuse others (i.e., trans-generational sexual abuse). Specialized training might need to look like continuing education classes or periodic seminars. It should go without saying, but church leaders need to stop avoiding passages in Scripture that address sexual perversion, rape, and standard biblical ethics.

An excerpt from The Long Journey Home: Understanding and Ministering to the Sexually Abused, edited by Andrew J. Schmutzer.

Several terms, prompted by an asterisk (*) in the chapters appearing in Pneuma Review, have been defined by pastors, therapists, and theologians that contributed to the book and are included in a select glossary. Please also continue the conversation with Andrew Schmutzer as he answers questions throughout this series.

Chiastic Structure. Derived from the Greek letter chi (X), it is a literary device employing words and poetic lines that are inversely repeated for rhetorical effect. Chiastic structures shape episodes, speeches, or entire stories (e.g., Amos 5:4b–6a).

Community Consultation. The coordinated integration of various community agencies and organizations to help provide for the best level of care and support for targeted individuals and groups. Such usually involves a collaborative relationship among hospitals, mental health and substance abuse treatment agencies, as well as other supportive organizations.

Conspiracy of Silence. Having to do with a condition or matter which is known to exist in a family or other social group but which, by implied or unspoken agreement, is not talked about or acknowledged. Such matters are typically considered to be shameful or taboo (e.g., of a family regarding their abusing member). (See also Taboo)

Corrective Rape. A criminal practice where men rape lesbian women, purportedly as a means of “curing” the woman of her sexual orientation.

Domestic Violence. Any pattern of violence or abuse (e.g., physical, sexual, emotional) that occurs within the context of the home or other intimate relationships. (See also Sexual Abuse)

Dualism. The concept that the world is ruled by opposing realities, whether visible and invisible or forces of good and evil; the concept that humans have two basic natures, the physical and the spiritual, body and soul or mind and matter. Most dualistic philosophies celebrate the soul or spirit while denigrating flesh, bodies, and material creation.

Family Dysfunction. Family dysfunction is any interactive process in the family that limits the effective and healthy development of family members. Such processes may include things like poor communication patterns, enmeshed relationships, poor boundaries between members, unclear roles, spiritual chaos, and poor problem-solving.

Fertility Cult. In general, fertility cults have believed there is a causal connection between the fertility and blessing of the cropland, herds, and other such forms of prosperity to the sexual relations enacted by the “divine couple,” priests and priest­esses, or by cult prostitutes. Such activity is viewed as an act of worship intended to emulate the gods’ creative abilities, or seen as an act of imitative magic by which the gods are then compelled to preserve the earth’s fertility.

Forgiveness. Forgiveness extends grace to the offender for a relationship that has been ruptured due to the violation or sin of one party against the other. Forgiveness does not cancel any legal verdict, nor does it dismiss, minimize, ignore, or forget the pain. In forgiveness, the offended party relinquishes the right to vengeance, thus often called the act of forgiveness.

Hendiadys. A figure of speech using two parts (noun or verb), connected by a conjunction, to express a single idea (e.g., “pain and trembling” = “labor pains” [Gen 3:16a]; “full of grace and truth” = “God’s gracious truth” [John 1:17]).

Imago Dei. Latin, “image of God.” Image of God is a phrase used in theology to describe the uniqueness of humankind among God’s creatures (Gen 1:26–27). Theologians differ on what the “image of God” actually refers to, but there seems to be some combination of internal and external aspects, though reason, will, and relationality have traditionally received greater emphasis. Whether or not the image of God was actually damaged in the Fall is also debated (cf. Gen 9:6; Jam 3:9).

Thomas G. Long, Preaching and the Literary Forms of the Bible (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1989), 144 pages.

I recommend this book to all preachers who are serious about being true to the specific genres within the Scriptural text. Applying the principles in this book will help you in your preaching ministry and open up your mind to the different genres of Scripture. You will want to keep this volume in your library and read it several times.

Thomas G. Long is a senior fellow of the Academy of Homiletics and is one of the leading homileticians of our time. One of his main themes is the form and the function of the text—the genre of the text and things implied in the text. His method builds upon the exegetical and historical method.

This book will be helpful to preachers who want to accurately translate the text, exegete it and apply it to their preaching. One of the things missing among some preachers is a proper grasp of the homiletical genres of the text. Preaching the genre of the text will help you to be true to the Word of God, preaching more accurately. For example, the genre of the Psalms is different from the genre of the parables, therefore sermons should each be outlined differently.

One of the problems I had reading Long’s book was understanding his writing style. However, once you understand his method of writing, this book is good reading. He does not give examples of the genres until chapter eight were he gives general principles in outlining the genres of the Bible. I felt that this chapter should have been the first chapter of the book.

Thomas G. Long

In chapter eight he gives some very good principles. In moving from the text to outlining the sermon, he suggests the preacher should do a number of things. Allow the movement of the sermon to follow the movement of the text. In other words the main points should flow from the main blocks of thought in the sermon. Allow the opposing forces of the text to become the opposing forces in the sermon. For example, in Psalm 1 the text compares the good man and the evil man. Allow the central insight of the text to be the central insight of the sermon, therefore, if the main idea of the prodigal son is God’s love for the undeserving sinner; then the preacher’s main theme should be God’s love for the undeserving sinner. Allow the mood of the text to set the mood of the sermon. Generally I find this idea works well if the mood of the sermon is joy, such as in Phil. 2:5. However this becomes problematic when the theme of the text is sorrow. I found these principles to be very helpful in preparing sermons.

The only contention I have with the approach above is that it is much better to end a sermon on the major theme of the New Testament: the resurrection. The resurrection can be translated into hope, victory and celebration. Celebration is a major theme of the New Testament and of African American preaching. In our preaching style we want to give hope to a dying world. For example, we can preach about Hell as a place of torment where we do not want to go, but we need to point out that we have hope in Jesus and heaven to gain if we trust Him as our Savior.

Reviewed by Aldwin Ragoonath

Aldwin Ragoonath, a Canadian pastor and homiletician in the Pentecostal tradition and a participant in the Academy of Homiletics, has written a book that is shaped as a basic preaching textbook but that also serves as an apologetic for a distinctively Pentecostal approach to homiletics. Ragoonath, who is informed by the standard works in the field (e.g. Craddock, Lowry, and Buttrick), nevertheless insists that “Pentecostal and Charismatic preaching is …different from all other forms of preaching.” As such, he desires to wean his approach away from contemporary homiletical and rhetorical theory and to base it essentially on what he understands to be biblical principles and on preaching models provided by Jesus and the apostles.

Ragoonath winds his way through all the basic loci—exegesis, form, delivery, etc.—putting his own Pentecostal stamp on each. He calls for preachers to be prepared to spend much time in prayer and fasting, for a process of biblical interpretation “not encumbered by higher criticism” that seeks to re-experience both the “truths and the feeling” of a text, and for a preaching of the “full gospel,” namely that “Jesus saves, sanctifies, heals, baptizes in the Spirit and is coming back to this world—soon.”

Even for readers unpersuaded by Ragoonath’s approach to homiletics or his Adventist theology, this book provides a fascinating glimpse into Pentecostal practice. He provides a concise guide to the history of Pentecostal preaching and discusses such matters as dress codes (“It’s always safe to have a suit with you in case you have to use it.”), the logistics of “healing and deliverance” services, the practice of “tarrying” (a prayer-like waiting for divine action), and signs that a preacher is truly anointed by the Holy Spirit (e.g. the preacher preaches with boldness; the sermon is accompanied by “signs, wonders, and miracles,” and the preacher often speaks in “a higher pitched voice” and “his facial expression begins to glow”).

Reviewed by Thomas G. Long.

Part 3 and conclusion of Professor Grudem’s exegetical study of 1 Corinthians 13. The Duration of Prophecy: How Long Will Prophecy Be Used in the Church?

“The Duration of Prophecy” is Chapter 12 from The Gift of Prophecy in the New Testament and Today by Wayne A. Grudem.

The Relationship between the Gift of Prophecy and Scripture

In addition to the interpretation of 1 Corinthians 13:8-13, there is one other area of concern to the question of whether prophecy should continue being used in the church today. That area is the relationship between New Testament congregational prophecy and Scripture.

Does the continuation of prophecy challenge the sufficiency of Scripture or the closed canon?

Those who take a cessationist view of prophecy argue that once the last New Testament book was written (probably the book of Revelation around a.d. 90), then there were to be no more “words of God” spoken or written in the church. Scripture was the complete and sufficient source of God’s words for his people, and to add any more words from continuing prophetic utterances would be, in effect, either to add to Scripture or to compete with Scripture. In both cases, the sufficiency of Scripture itself would be challenged, and, in practice, its unique authority in our lives.

If New Testament congregational prophecy was like Old Testament prophecy and New Testament apostolic words in its authority, then this cessationist objection would indeed be true. If New Testament prophets today, for example, spoke words that we knew were the very words of God, then these words would be equal to Scripture in authority, and we would be obligated to write them down and add them to our Bibles whenever we heard them. But if we are convinced that God stopped causing Scripture to be written when the book of Revelation was completed, then we have to say that this kind of speech, uttering the very words of God, cannot happen today. And any claims to have new Scripture, new words of God, must be rejected as false.

This question is very important, because the claim that New Testament prophecy had authority equal to Scripture is the basis of perhaps every cessationist argument written today. Yet it must be noted that charismatics themselves do not seem to view prophecy that way. George Mallone writes, “To my knowledge no noncessationist in the mainstream of Christianity claims that revelation today is equal with Scripture.”¹⁴ Perhaps it would be good for those arguing against continuing prophecy today to give a more sympathetic hearing to the most responsible charismatic spokesmen, simply for the purpose of being able to respond to something that charismatics actually believe (even if not always expressed in theologically precise form) instead of responding to something that cessationists say that charismatics believe or say that charismatics should believe.

Part 2 of Professor Grudem’s exegetical study of 1 Corinthians 13. The Duration of Prophecy: How Long Will Prophecy Be Used in the Church?

“The Duration of Prophecy” is Chapter 12 from The Gift of Prophecy in the New Testament and Today by Wayne A. Grudem.

Objections to This Interpretation

Various objections to this conclusion have been raised, usually by those who hold that the gift of prophecy has ceased in the church and should no longer be used. In this section, we shall examine those objections one at a time. Some of them deal with 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 specifically, and others deal with broader concerns.

1. “This passage does not specify when the gifts will cease”

The first objection to our conclusion above comes from Richard Gaffin’s thoughtful study, Perspectives on Pentecost. While Gaffin agrees that “when the perfect comes” refers to the time of Christ’s return, he does not think that this verse specifies the time of the cessation of certain gifts. He thinks, rather, that Paul is just viewing “the entire period until Christ’s return, without regard to whether or not discontinuities may intervene during the course of this period.”⁴

In fact, Gaffin argues, Paul’s overall purpose is to emphasize the enduring qualities of faith, hope, and love, especially love, and not to specify the time in which certain gifts will cease. He says:

Paul is not intending to specify the time when any particular mode will cease. What he does affirm is the termination of the believer’s present, fragmentary knowledge . . . when “the perfect” comes. The time of the cessation of prophecy and tongues is an open question so far as this passage is concerned and will have to be decided on the basis of other passages and considerations.⁵

In response to this objection it must be said that it does not do justice to the actual words of the text. Evangelicals have rightly insisted (and I know that Gaffin agrees with this) that passages of Scripture are true not only in the main point of each passage, but also in the minor details that are affirmed as well. The main point of the passage may well be that love lasts forever, but another point, and certainly an important one as well, is that verse 10 affirms, not just that these imperfect gifts will cease sometime, but that they will cease “when the perfect comes.” Paul specifies a certain time: “When the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away” (1 Cor. 13:10, rsv). But Gaffin seems to claim that Paul is not actually saying this. Yet the force of the words cannot be avoided by affirming the overall theme of the larger context instead.

Part 1 of Professor Grudem’s exegetical study of 1 Corinthians 13. The Duration of Prophecy: How Long Will Prophecy Be Used in the Church?

“The Duration of Prophecy” is Chapter 12 from The Gift of Prophecy in the New Testament and Today by Wayne A. Grudem.

Introduction

Many people reading this study have never seen the gift of prophecy functioning in their local church. In fact, outside of the charismatic movement and certain traditionally Pentecostal denominations, this gift is not now used and has not been used in recent history—for many churches, it has not been used in the history of their denominations.

Why not?

Is the non-use of this gift part of God’s plan for the church? Was this gift only to be used during the New Testament time, then to fade away? Or is this gift still valid for use today, still valuable for the church—and perhaps even necessary if the church is to function the way God intends it to function?

This is the question of the duration of prophecy. Can we solve this question by examining the New Testament? In the New Testament itself, are there indications of how long God expected prophecy to function in the church?

On the one side of this question are charismatic and Pentecostal Christians who continue to use this gift, and who say it is valid for the entire church age.

On the other side are some Reformed and dispensational Christians who say that prophecy was one of the special gifts associated with the foundation of the church at the time of the apostles, and that it was expected to cease functioning at a very early date, either around the time of the deaths of the last apostles or at the time that the writing of the books of New Testament Scripture was complete. Their view is commonly called the cessationist view.

Probably in the middle are most contemporary evangelicals—neither charismatics nor cessationists but still undecided about this question, and wondering if it can be decided clearly.

The Interpretation of 1 Corinthians 13:8-13

This passage is important to the discussion because in it Paul mentions the gift of prophecy as something that is “imperfect,” and then says that what is “imperfect” will “pass away” (1 Cor. 13:10). He even says when this will happen. It will happen “when the perfect comes.” But when is that? And even if we can determine when that is, does that mean Paul had in mind something that would answer this “cessation” question for the church today?

Zeb Bradford Long and Douglas McMurray, Receiving the Power: Preparing the Way for The Holy Spirit (Grand Rapids: Chosen Books, 1996), 251 pages.

The authors of the book The Collapse of the Brass Heaven have teamed up again to write about finding power to do what Jesus did. Coming from a Third Wave or what they call a neo-evangelical viewpoint, they introduce readers to the biblical concept of empowerment for ministry and offer practical explanation of how to receive this power from God.

This book appears to be written to those who have been somehow wounded or ostracized by Pentecostal and charismatic churches but who know there must be more of God’s power available to the believer than what they are presently experiencing. Nevertheless, even for Pentecostals and charismatics this is an excellent introduction to the thought of the Third Wave. This book also represents a revival of the theology and renewal experience of R. A. Torrey.

Although many outside of the charismatic movement see virtually no difference between the Third Wave and other charismatics, Brad Long and Doug McMurray make it clear what the basic difference is: initial evidence. They believe that this teaching that tongues (glossolalia) is the evidence of being “Spirit-filled” has prevented Pentecostals and charismatics from further reaching the world because of the division that they say this teaching brings. They state, “The present activity of the Holy Spirit around the world requires us to find some other way of interpreting twentieth-century outpourings than by means that exclude everyone but tongues-speakers” (p. 30).

Zeb Bradford Long

It is true that many among the Pentecostals teach that not only is tongues the normal initial evidence of being baptized with the Holy Spirit, they teach that it is the only evidence of being Spirit filled. However, it is a leap for the two authors to maintain that classical Pentecostals are trapped and are without a theological basis for initial evidence (see pp.136-137). The trap they claim that has been set is that if “you must speak in tongues to be Spirit-filled”, then logically, you must not be saved if you cannot speak in tongues.

What can be said about this? This review is not sufficient to answer the “initial evidence debate.” It is obvious that the simplistic explanations given of what charismatics and especially Pentecostals teach regarding this issue do not truly represent either of these “waves” as a whole. Disturbingly, the authors do not seems to be aware of anyone from the Pentecostal or charismatic movements that believes tongues to be, yes, the normal initial evidence but necessarily the only evidence of being Spirit filled.