Stephen D. Barkley, director of pastoral leadership and campus pastor at Master’s College and Seminary in Ontario, Canada, offers an intriguing study on contemporary prophetic practice in the Pentecostal/Charismatic context. Barkley, being a Pentecostal scholar and practitioner, explores anew the prophetic ministry through the lens of socio-theological inquiry. His utilization of both social scientific lenses and theological lenses resulted in this empirical study that explores, analyzes, and consequently validates the sacramental and contemporary significance of prophecy in the Christian church today.

The prophetic ministry has been plagued by controversies both within and outside Pentecostal circles. Numerous publications have been produced in the theological effort of exploring, understanding, and analyzing the ongoing practice of prophecy in Pentecostal/Charismatic churches worldwide. Barkley joins the conversation by dialoguing Old Testament prophecy with present-day personal experiences in Pentecostal/Charismatic circles. Interestingly, he finds an avenue for dialectic conversation in the intersection of social science and theology. The resulting research became his dissertation, now published in this book form, Pentecostal Prophets.

Having clearly stated the book’s underlying assumption, Barkley describes charismatic prophecy as a “leitmotiv” in the Bible as well as in Christian Church history (11). Simply defined, prophecy for him, is a message communicated from God through a spokesperson for a recipient (whether a community, an individual, or an occasion) (13). Barkley affirms the centrality of prophecy in the ministries of Pentecostals, and its various streams like those affiliated with the Third Wave movement or those considered as Charismatic or Neocharismatic. For Pentecostals, prophecy or the prophetic experience is a key component of Christian spirituality.

The book comprising of six chapters flows like a dissertation report, but with reader-friendly editing. In the first chapter the basic details of the study are clearly laid out, including research questions, assumptions, and methods. In chapter two, the literature review is presented. In said chapter, theoretical and empirical studies done on the practice of prophecy are thematically discussed. The chapter ends with Barkley by offering the study as a contribution to the ongoing theological discussion and a corrective to the over-emphasis on discontinuity between Old Testament prophecy and New Testament prophecy.

In chapter 3, Barkley discusses the experience of Hebrew prophets, specifically highlighting Jeremiah. In chapter 4, he presents data on contemporary experience of prophecy from personal experience, as well as from respondents who are practitioners in prophetic ministry. In chapter 5, the author brings both worlds of Old Testament prophets and contemporary prophets in dialectical conversation. The final chapter offers the author’s findings, limitations, conclusions, and suggested areas for research. The book is a tightly presented case for Pentecostal/Charismatic prophecy.

I recommend the book to those interested in understanding prophetic practice and spirituality. As Barkley explains, the book is beneficial to “the ordinary, the ecclesial and the academic” (17). His study certainly gives us a new perspective in understanding the similarities (or dissimilarities) between Old Testament prophetic practice and contemporary prophetic practice. It also provides insights into a specific context of prophetic ministry, namely that of the PAOC and PAONL. The theological reflections offered can guide the praxis and policy development of prophetic practice in Pentecostal/Charismatic churches today.

Reviewed by Lora Angeline E. Timenia

Publisher’s page: https://wipfandstock.com/9781666768022/pentecostal-prophets/

Dr. Eddie Hyatt is a veteran in the Pentecostal Movement. He has written previously about the subject of spiritual gifts in his book 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity. In Prophets and Prophecy he says that throughout its history the church has tended to go to extremes regarding prophetic ministry (page 5). In view of this he tells us why he wrote this book, “My purpose in writing this book is to strike a balance between openness and naiveté concerning prophecy and the miraculous gifts of the Spirit” (page 5). One thing that is clear in this book is that the author believes that the gifts of the Spirit are for today. He has personally had experience with them, he says that he has both given and received prophetic words (page 6). So he is not in favor of setting aside the gifts of the Spirit because of mistakes that have been made by some people who have practice them. Instead, he offers guidelines that will help minimize such mistakes.

The main body of the book is made up of 13 chapters. In the course of these chapters, Dr. Hyatt covers a number of key topics related to the subject of prophecy. In chapter one he looks at some of what the Bible says about the gifts of the Spirit, which includes the gift of prophecy. Here he includes information from the Greek text of 1 Corinthians 12 and tells us what these Greek words tell us about the gifts of the Spirit. In chapter 2 he contrasts Christian prophecy with pagan prophecy. Chapter 4 is given to the subject of “Learning To Think Critically Without Quenching the Spirit.” Chapter 7 deals with warning signs which indicate that a prophetic ministry has gone off track. These signs are: “When Prophecy is Used to Enhance the Status of a Movement and Its Leaders,” When Prophecy Becomes the Primary Means for Determining the Will of God,” “When Prophecy is Preoccupied With Images, Numbers, and Symbols,” “When Those Prophesying Are Not Open to Testing or Correction,” and “When Prophecy Becomes a Replacement for the Scriptures and Common Sense.” Chapter 11 is given to the subject of “The Prophethood of All Believers.” In chapter 12 he sets forth criteria for judging prophetic words. These criteria are: “The Heart Test,” “The Vision Test,” “The Word Test,” “The Freedom Test,” and “The Character Test.”

If you are interested in the gifts of the Holy Spirit (especially the gift of prophecy), spiritual discernment, or how to balance Word and Spirit in your own experience or that of your church this book will prove helpful. May the Lord help His church, His whole church, to appreciate and operate in the gifts of the Spirit within the parameters He has given to us in the Scriptures. This will help us carry on more effective ministry.

Reviewed by John Lathrop

Robert Shinkoskey has two main proposals in Do My Prophets No Harm. The first proposal is that the Ten Commandments provide ancient Israel’s constitutional government. In theory, the Ten Commandments are “purely secular law, rather than a mixture of cultic and civic law” (p. 81). The first five commandments serve two purposes: the preservation of “freedom of religion for prophets and other dissidents who work to restore worship of the God of their ancestors” (back cover summary); and an adversarial purpose: to stand separate from the civic government. The role of the prophet is to call into question any policy or personal power that negates or abuses the last five of the commandments.

Shinkoskey’s second proposal is to challenge the notion of the cessation of prophecy. God always reveals Himself to those who are sensitive to Him, namely the prophets. This is necessary in order to preserve not only the first five commandments but also the second five. The prophets urge Israel to repent and return to their calling. Israel’s call is to honor and keep the second five commandments and to be a light to the nations: how to treat one’s neighbor in love and mercy and the stranger or alien among them.

This reviewer finds Shinkoskey’s analysis intriguing. He seems to suggest that the observance of the second five of the Decalogue promotes the worship of the God of the Exodus, the one who brought them out from slavery to Egypt. New revelation from God restores the people of Israel to their calling to be light to the nations. The prophets are those receptive to that revelation and must prophesy; hence, “Do my prophets no harm.” It is Shinkoskey’s contention that when a government exceeds its bounds whatever its form, monarchy, democratic republic, theocratic, those in governance seek to silence the prophets. It also occurs when complacency or satisfaction occurs in a nation. This is where religious liberty is threatened.

John Lathrop has written an excellent survey of what is commonly called the “five-fold ministry gifts” of Ephesians 4:11, giving special attention to the ministries of the “apostle” and “prophet” since these are the most controversial in the contemporary Pentecostal\charismatic movement. He carefully examines each ministry in the light of Scripture and brings balance and clarity to what has been, in recent years, an over-emphasis on the restoration of apostles and prophets and their governmental authority.

He brings balance by showing from Scripture why these ministry gifts should be seen as ministries and functions rather than offices and titles. He clearly shows that all who function in these ministries do so as servants, not as despotic rulers. In a unique and clever way he alleviates potential concern about designating people as apostles or prophets by pointing out that these words have taken on unwarranted connotations of magnitude and importance, and reminds his readers that apostle can mean “messenger” and prophet can mean “an inspired speaker.”

Lathrop is not only Biblical and theological in his approach, but also practical. He is very thorough in delineating what a modern apostle or prophet will look like and what they will not look like. He also shows from Scripture that women may also function as prophets, apostles and pastors and points out that, apart from Jesus, no Christian leader in the New Testament is referred to as a pastor.

Overall, I consider this an excellent work and I highly recommend it to anyone who desires to better understand the five-fold ministry in the Church today, especially that of apostles and prophets.

Reviewed by Eddie L. Hyatt

Publisher’s page: www.xulonpress.com/bookstore/bookdetail.php?PB_ISBN=9781606474594

Preview this book: books.google.com/books?id=UmOHZYHbgegC

The Montanists were an important early Christian movement that began in Asia Minor during the late second century. They were essentially a charismatic upstart group, headquartered in the towns of Pepuza and Tymion, and disliked by the bishops for their perceived resistance to the bishops’ authority. Montanism is a movement that Pentecostals should know something about. Although they were widely condemned by a number of church fathers, virtually all their modern students, beginning with John Wesley, have found nothing heretical within their belief system.

As the world’s leading authority on Montanism, William Tabbernee is just the person to write a popular level introduction to the Montanists’ textual and archaeological remains. Prophets and Gravestones, however, is no normal introduction. As the subtitle suggests, this is an “imaginative history”. It is written in narrative form as a series of very short stories. This is Tabbernee’s way of fleshing out to the remains of this movement. Each narrative vignette is based upon a specific inscription or patristic detail. In effect, Tabbernee tries to imagine what went through a Montanist’s mind in the face of some personal crisis.

I can recommend this book only to those inclined toward an “imaginative history”. The study of Montanism is important, but most readers (and all serious students) should discover the facts about Montanism through some other source.

Reviewed by John C. Poirier

Preview this book online at: books.google.com/books?id=cDuQwlKJqdUC

Publisher’s page: bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/prophets-and-gravestones/334550

Ritva H. Williams, Stewards, Prophets, Keepers of the Word: Leadership in the Early Church (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2006), 228 pages, ISBN 9781565639492.

Williams approaches the subject of leadership in the early church through an examination of the social and cultural customs of the Greco-Roman civilization during the first and second centuries. In addition to canonized and apocryphal scriptures, she has engaged early Church and public documents to support her research. Her scholarship follows the popular disciplines of Funk’s Jesus Seminar and her presuppositions follow Bultmann’s demythologization of the scripture, whereas her interpretation of scripture follows the historical-critical methodology.

There is much to recommend regarding this book’s discussion of stewards and prophets. First, Williams lays a foundation, describing the Greco-Roman patron-client social paradigm. She takes great effort to describe how the patron-client model is evident in the gospel narratives of Jesus and in the teaching and the plots of his parables. She added a valuable word study on “steward” (oikonomos) to specify how church leadership in the early centuries followed the social norm and role of the household steward. The primary strength of Williams’ thesis rests on the dynamic of the role of the steward (oikonomos) of the church. Additionally, Williams explores the Pauline idea of being in Christ as the exemplar of the steward who finds authority and security as the broker of his master’s household, wealth, and social status.

William’s conclusion is open-ended and she declines to “provide a blueprint for what it means to be a faithful steward, a true prophet, and/or a genuine keeper of the word.” An additional chapter that proposes an application would strengthen the book and satisfy its argument. In this, Williams demonstrated a postmodern ending to her research on leadership in the early Church. What is the role of the steward today? One can only speculate if the role of the steward is to be the role of the church leader or even a paradigm for denominational reformation.

Reviewed by John R. Miller

Preview this book: http://books.google.com/books?id=u1yJ5joHOcYC