Dr. Chima Umejiaku is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies, which is a classical Pentecostal denomination. He currently serves as pastor of Christian Assembly Church in Lynn, Massachusetts and has been involved in the planting of a new church in Lowell, Massachusetts.

The main body of this book consists of ten chapters. As the title indicates the author’s focus is revival/renewal. In the course of his writing he draws from the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments. Some of the Old Testament revivals he cites are those that took place during the times of kings Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah. He also references the work of God that took place through the ministry of the prophet Jonah. Drawing from the New Testament, he references the revivals that took place through the ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ.  He also calls attention to the great moves of God that took place through the ministry of the first century church after the Holy Spirit was poured out. In addition to the biblical accounts, the author also includes information about various figures in later church history. Some of the key figures he refers to are: Jonathan Edwards, George Whitfield, Charles Finney, and Joseph Lanza (more on him below). The result of all of this is that the author gives the reader a brief glimpse into the history and dynamics of revival.

The author also points out the importance of the Holy Spirit in revival. He calls the Holy Spirit “The Chief Agent of Revival” and devotes two chapters to the subject of the Holy Spirit (Chapters 6 & 7). He looks at the work of the Holy Spirit in the Bible and also makes brief mention of the Azusa Street Revival and the impact that is being made by the Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements.

Chima Umejiaku

The book also includes the questions that were used in a survey that was conducted in Dr. Umejiaku’s church, Christian Assembly in Lynn, MA. This survey was designed to identify both the practices and the needs of the congregation. In the text, the author interprets some of the findings of the survey.

One thing that surprised me was mention of the Quakers’ Clearness Committee. This committee was used in Quaker congregations to help their members who were facing difficult decisions. It served to help people have greater clarity and discernment about what they should do regarding important decisions. The author details the specifics of how the committee functioned. He has used it in his church and he supplies the reader with information about how it was implemented there. He also gives four examples of specific cases in which it was used with members of his congregation.

One aspect of this book that was of particular interest to me was the information about the pastors of Boston Christian Assembly. Dr. Umejiaku and I are both part of the same movement and Boston Christian Assembly (which has relocated to a neighboring city and is now called Christian Assembly) is part of our movement. It was nice to learn a little more about the history of one of our churches. There is a section in the book that focuses on the second pastor of the church, Pastor Joseph Lanza. He was an important figure in the growth of the Boston church and the expansion of the movement in Massachusetts.

Reviewed by John Lathrop

Andreas J. Kostenberger, Excellence: The Character of God and the Pursuit of Scholarly Virtue (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011), 270 pages, ISBN 9781581349708.

As suggested by the title, Kostenberger’s interest in “excellence” has to do with Christian scholarship. For Kostenberger, Christian scholarship is the “pursuit of truth on mission for God in the world” (p. 66). The study of Scripture “must always lead to application” (p.80). The goal is “always obedience” as “there is no place in the Bible where God’s people are enjoined to study solely for the sake of study” (p. 80). The pursuit of excellence is different from the pursuit of perfection. Excellence is to not settle for mediocrity. It is pursued in order to fulfill one’s calling effectively, whatever that calling may be and to “bring glory to God.” Kostenberger’s purpose is “to identify, describe, and encourage those virtues essential to fulfilling the specific call to glorify God in the finest way possible through Christian scholarship. Rather than an end in itself, as adding to our own learning, Christian scholarship is a means of “engaging the unbelieving world with the truth of God’s gospel” (p. 65).

Fundamental to “excellence” in Christian scholarship are holiness and spirituality and he relates them not so much to the process of communication as to the person who is doing the communicating. The character of the scholar “bleeds through” what one says or writes and can have either a positive or negative effect upon the hearer or reader. In part two of the book, Kostenberger identifies six different virtues that lead to vocational excellence. These are diligence, courage, passion, restraint, creativity, and eloquence. His recommendations are priceless. This reviewer encourages any would-be writer to take to heart what Kostenberger shares in this part of his book.