The Kingdom of God as Liturgical Empire is Dr. Hahn’s finest work. This reviewer has read some of Hahn’s other works and has some of them in his personal library. He is a professor of Scripture and Theology at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, and holds the Pope Benedict XVI Chair of Theology at St. Vincent Seminary. Dr. Hahn has occasionally been part of the Evangelical Theological Society, where this reviewer has met him at a national gathering.

What Dr. Hahn maintains in this commentary is that First and Second Chronicles comprise not an history of Israel between the reigns of Saul, David, Solomon, and their successors up to the Babylonian Exile, but a liturgical recall of those events in order to evoke repentance and renewal of both the Kingdom and of the people of God. “The writing of Chronicles is an act of what the Hebrews called zakkor, an act of remembrance that aims to bring one into the living and vital contact with events recalled” (p. 2). The “why” of Israel’s history is the reason for Chronicles. The why lies in the well-known and often recited passage in 2 Chronicles 7:14, “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Scott W. Hahn

Hahn makes a very strong case for treating First and Second Chronicles as a liturgical recalling and retelling of Israel’s story. “For the Chronicler, the key to is the Kingdom of David, established by divine covenant and embodied in the temple at Zion at its liturgy (p. 13). The Hebrew terms zakkor (remembrance), seper toledat (assembly/congregation), ma’al (unfaithful), and bekor (first born) appear frequently within Chronicles.

This reviewer had never before thought of Chronicles as a liturgical retelling of the story of Israel, within a rebuilt temple, to remind the people of God of what it takes for God once more to restore, heal and bless them. Yet the retelling of incident after incident was meant to prick consciences, encourage, and renew both people and the Kingdom of God. They were to represent the Lord of the covenant who had delivered them time after time.

It is with thanks to Scott Camp for the chance to review his book, A Primer on Power: Discovering the Dynamic Ministry of the Holy Spirit (Franklin Publishing, 2016). Scott Camp is a full-time traveling evangelist who also teaches Evangelism at the SUM Bible College and Seminary in Oakland, California. Scott is in the midst of finishing up his Doctor of Ministry (DMin) from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in Springfield, Missouri. He has extensive pastoral ministry, evangelistic, and leadership experience.

Camp wrote this book, “as a ‘primer’ in the hopes it will create within the hearts of all who read it a hunger for a deeper experience with the Holy Spirit” (25). He also shares from his own personal experience with the Holy Spirit. He writes: “I am unapologetically Charismatic. I believe in an experience of empowerment subsequent to regeneration which has commonly been referred to as the baptism of the Holy Spirit” (25). This leads into his purpose for writing, “The purpose of this book is to introduce this subject in the hopes that my readers may enter into this fullness of the life of the Spirit and His ministry gifts” (25). Camp believes the church in the West is in desperate need of revival. He unashamedly contends that this revival comes only through a direct encounter with the power of the Holy Spirit and Christians experiencing the fullness of the Spirit in their lives (26).

A Primer on Power is a strong mix of anecdotal accounts and biblical-theological exegesis. Camp begins by showing how the church at large is lacking in its ability to function in the power of the Holy Spirit. 78% of Evangelical churches in the U.S. are plateaued and/or declining (31). The remaining 22% growth occurs through transfer membership. Very few new salvations occur on a regular basis. The church in America needs a revival! The key to that revival, argues Camp, lies in experiencing a dynamic power encounter with the person and work of the Holy Spirit. He challenges readers to actively experience the Spirit’s empowerment to dynamically engage others. He quips, “While Jesus has called us to be ‘fishers of men,’ we are content to be “keepers of the aquarium” (31).

Why does Camp want to see renewal in the church? The centerpiece and unwavering purpose for revival exists in effectively carrying out Christ’s mandate, the Great Commission. Prioritizing preaching the gospel to all creation and making disciples of all nations is imperative. Christians lack an ability to accomplish this mandate effectively apart from the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Camp asserts, “Jesus’ Great Commission mandate could not be carried out without the active ministry of the Holy Spirit. Throughout the Church Age, the Holy Spirit would take the will of King Jesus and communicate it to His Church, filling believers with faith and supernatural power to extend His reign upon the earth, ‘making disciples of all nations’” (47).

The essence of the book then centers on the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the initial physical evidence of “speaking and praying in tongues” for the purpose of mission. However, the book refrains from centering on tongues. The thrust of the Spirit’s baptism produces supernatural power to fulfill the Great Commission. Receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues serves, for Scott Camp, to “discover the dynamic ministry of the Holy Spirit.” Moreover, this experience allows one to know and experience God on a new level. It enacts strength along with an ability to share the gospel with others in a distinctly new way.

The Steward Leader begins by telling the reader that the book is not about the “how” of leadership but about the “who”—who God is and who we are as stewards in God’s kingdom. Author Scott Rodin calls the book an invitation to a journey in which we learn about God, ourselves, and our identity and purpose in life. Christians are called first to be stewards, and some of us are called to be steward leaders. Rodin describes four levels of transformation represented by our relationships to God, ourselves, our neighbors, and the creation. By living a life of transformation we cease to set ourselves up as owners of things, positions, and people, and become stewards of all that God has given us; we cease to feel obligated to perform for God and others, and are liberated to serve out of joyful obedience. Indeed, joyful obedience is the heart of the steward leader, and this theme is carried throughout the book from cover to cover.

The book contains three sections plus an introduction and conclusion. The first section is a kind of prologue to the remainder of the book, in that it introduces the idea that we are called to be steward leaders of “no reputation” based on the passage from Phil. 2:7. That is, as steward leaders we are to be like Jesus, who made himself of no reputation and took upon the form of a servant. Rodin lays out five areas in which leaders must position themselves in order to take on the mantel of stewardship. The first area, for example, distinguishes between anointing and appointment. Frequently, leaders are appointed to an office, and then they are anointed for that position by those who appointed them. However, Rodin argues that biblical accounts suggest the reverse order: God anoints a person who is then appointed to a leadership position. An appointment to leadership does not require humility or service toward others, but an anointing to leadership requires that leaders submit everything to God. Rodin stresses that “submission is the disposition of the heart of the steward leader.”[i] The remaining areas concern this notion of submission, servanthood, and stewardship. Rodin argues that our sole calling is to be like Jesus and him alone. As we respond faithfully to God’s calling and humble ourselves we will be transformed into his likeness.

The second section deals with three foundations upon which we lead as stewards in God’s kingdom. The first foundation recognizes that we are made in the image of a triune God, and we were created to bear this image in community with others who bear his image. The implications for this assertion serve as the definition of what a godly steward is. Rodin writes,

As God’s people, we are called to reflect the image of our Creator God through whole, redeemed relationships at four levels—with God, with our self, with our neighbor and with creation—bringing glory to God and practicing in each the ongoing work of the faithful steward.[ii]

Rodin then describes each part of the definition as a three-part story with four levels, which center explicitly on relationships. The author explains the Christian’s purpose through the lenses of these relationships. God has called us “to respond to Christ’s redemptive work at all four levels.”[iii] We must take responsibility for our relationships, and this responsibility-taking Rodin sees as an obedient response to God’s call to be a godly steward.

Rodin lays two other foundations for the development of the steward leader. Those foundations are stewarding in freedom and characteristics that steward leaders have. “Obedient and joyful response . . . is the only requirement of the steward leader.”[iv] This new paradigm for leading requires freedom over ownership, Rodin states. Indeed, Rodin frequently juxtaposes the ideas of stewardship with ownership. Stewardship is what Christians are called to; only when we are stewards are we truly free to lead. Ownership, on the other hand, is what we are in bondage to when we seek to control our relationships, when we use others as a means to achieve our purposes, and when we place more value in what we own than in what God created. Rodin argues that steward leaders are not stewards in order to be effective; rather, their actions are grounded in obedience to God. It is the joyful and obedient response to God first that determines whether a steward leader will be effective. Steward leaders are consistent in their witness to God’s purposes for them and their organizations. Rodin warns that leaders lose their effectiveness when they model inconsistent behavior and allow their organizations to do the same.

Ian W. Scott, Paul’s Way of Knowing: Story, Experience, and the Spirit (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009), 368 pages, ISBN 9780801036095.

There have been a number of studies published recently on Paul’s epistemology – several of them trying to show that Paul’s epistemology was somehow “narratival”. The notion of a narrative epistemology is not that easy to grasp and is often confusing, especially since different people mean different things by it.

Ian Scott’s Paul’s Way of Knowing belongs squarely within this turn toward a narrative epistemology. Although there are problems with this position, it must be said that Scott avoids the gravest pitfalls. This is especially because he generally avoids confusing the issue of knowing with the issue of truth (a pitfall that mars a recent book by Andre Munzinger). Once in a while, however, a tendency toward the wilder side of the turn to narrative shows through, as in Scott’s confusion about where “meaning” lies (pp. 116-17), and it certainly doesn’t help Scott’s case that he uses Hans Frei as a support.

I should point out, however, that this book is less about narrative than the title implies. In fact, it was originally published by Mohr Siebeck under the title Implicit Epistemology in the Letters of Paul, which is a better title, as it more accurately relates the contents of the book. I say that because the current subtitle “Story, Experience, and the Spirit” does not describe much of the contents of the book, including, perhaps, its main points. One wonders whether the folks at Baker were just trying to capitalize on the current narrative craze.

A lot of what this book deals with are issues of central importance for the study of Paul, and readers can learn a lot about the present state of Pauline studies from this book. Scott’s judgments are refreshingly level-headed, and at times he makes welcome departure from problematic trends. For example, on pp. 183-85, he bucks the trend by rejecting the reading of pistis Iesous Christou as a subjective genitive.

This is a book for serious students of Paul. Its language is accessible to a wide range of readers, and I certainly recommend it for seminary students, but I fear the importance of its subject matter might escape most lay readers.

Reviewed by John C. Poirier

Preview Paul’s Way of Knowing: books.google.com/books?id=m96VFOxBKlkC