If you read the biographical information about Dr. Hämäläinen on the back cover of the book you will see that he is very involved in both Pentecostalism and missions. Here are just two of the ministries that he has served in: the World Missions Commission of the Pentecostal World Fellowship, he was its founding chairman, and the Asia Pentecostal Mission (back cover). He is also the co-author of To the Ends of the Earth: Building a National Missionary Sending Structure (Baguio City, Philippines: Asia Pacific Theological Seminary Press, 2020) which he wrote with Ulf Strohbehn [Editor’s note: read John Lathrop’s review]. The Holy Spirit and missions go together, Jesus connected the two in Acts 1:8. In that verse He said that the power of the Holy Spirit would enable His followers to be witnesses for Him.

Section 1 of the book is called “Vital Aspects of the Holy Spirit” (pages 5,10). Hämäläinen says that this section deals with “matters related to the actions of the Holy Spirit” (page 8). After an introductory section the remainder of this section is divided into five subcategories (page 5). He writes about why the Baptism with the Holy Spirit is important (pages 10-16), the purpose of the power of the Holy Spirit, which is equipping for outreach (pages 16-21), spiritual gifts (pages 22-48), the fruit of the Holy Spirit (pages 49-61), and how signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word of God (pages 61-64).

Section 3 is titled “Features Related to Church Activities” (pages 5, 89). The writer says that this section deals with “characteristics related to the activities of the church” (page 8), it contains 9 subcategories (page 5). These deal with: the importance of the local church, with considerable space given to the subject of water baptism (pages 89-95), evangelism and church growth (pages 95-98), revival and success (pages 99-102), the “Priesthood of All Believers” (pages 102-107), the central importance of the Bible (pages 107-113), a holistic view of humanity (pages 113-117), being culturally sensitive (pages 118-122), church unity (pages 123-128), balancing structure and the leadership of the Holy Spirit (pages 129-132), and prayer (pages 132-139).

The conclusion of the book is very brief, just 2 pages. In it the author references Psalm 71:18 in which the psalmist speaks about declaring God’s power to the next generation. This is Dr. Hämäläinen’s desire. He wants to point the younger generations to the time-tested truths that have produced great blessings to peoples around the globe (page 140). He believes that the ministry of the Holy Spirit has played a vital role in the growth and success of the Pentecostal/Charismatic movements (pages 140-141). Near the beginning of the book he urged readers to “dig into the original foundations” which caused such tremendous growth in the early church (page 9). When we do we will have a truly biblical Pentecostal faith.

As one scans the topics mentioned above it becomes clear that a lot of ground is covered in this volume. Some of the material is decidedly Pentecostal in nature and some of the content would be held in common with other Bible-believing Christians. The author affirms the positive aspects of Pentecostalism, for example its belief in and reliance on the ministry of the Holy Spirit (page 9) but he also acknowledges some of its weaknesses. For example, some in the Pentecostal Movement adhere to a Word of Faith or prosperity gospel (page 101) and Pentecostalism has a reputation of fracturing or dividing (page 123). Dr. Hämäläinen is very familiar with the Pentecostal experience and movement. He was filled with the Holy Spirit when he was 12 years old (page 13). And his ministry involvements, which are listed on the back cover of the book, have put him in touch with Pentecostals around the world.

Reviewed by John Lathrop

Further Reading

“The Importance of Baptism with the Holy Spirit” an excerpt from Arto Hämäläinen’s book, The DNA of the Spirit-Empowered Christians and Churches

The review is based on a special edition of the book that was released to Oral Roberts University students. A printed version is being prepared for publication.

Todd M. Johnson holds a Ph.D. in International Development with a concentration in empirical analysis of Christianity and world religions from William Carey International University, Pasadena, CA (1993).[1] He is the Eva B. and Paul E. Toms Distinguished Professor of Mission and Global Christianity, and Co-Director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.[2] Gina A. Zurlo holds a Ph.D. in History and Hermeneutics from Boston University School of Theology (2017) and is the Co-Director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (South Hamilton, MA).[3] Both Johnson and Zurlo are the co-editors of the World Christian Database (Brill), co-authors of World Christian Encyclopedia, Third Edition (Edinburgh University Press, 2019), and co-editor and associate editor respectively of the World Religion Database (Brill). 

Johnson and Zurlo have published this manuscript designed especially for those who study, or are interested in, global Spirit-Empowered Christian movements. Spirit-empowered Christian movements can be allocated by the taxonomies of Denominational Pentecostals (Type 1), Charismatics (Type 2), and Independents Charismatics (Type 3). The authors estimate there are “644 million Spirit-empowered Christians in 2020. This is about 26% of all Christians, expected to grow to one billion by 2050 (30% of all Christians)” (6).

Further elucidation is required on the descriptions of Spirit-empowered movements as the data was assimilated and counted based on these taxonomies. “First, there are Denominational Pentecostals (Type 1) that include Classical Pentecostals (such as the Assemblies of God and the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel) and Oneness Pentecostals (such as the United Pentecostal Church). These groups tend to emphasize speaking in tongues as initial evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, even when the practice is not universal. Second, there are Charismatic (Type 2) who are found in mainline churches. These individuals have been baptized by the Spirit but remain Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, Methodist, and others. They might speak in tongues but tend to focus on other gifts of the Spirit. The language of renewal movement is common among these groups. Third, there are Independent Charismatics (Type 3). These are both brand new groups as well as denominations and networks that have broken off from Type 1 and Type 2 denominations. This represents a broad category that includes African Independent churches, Chinese house churches, and white-led denominations such as the Association of Vineyard Churches. They also might speak in tongues but emphasize power, healing, and miracles in the daily lives of their members” (5).

In Chapter Two, Pentecostals in Global Christianity (pp. 32–145) provides context of Pentecostalism (Types 1–3) to the total Christian population and global population numerically and by percentage for the years 1900, 2020 and projections for 2050. Statistics also explore Spirit-empowered Christians by continent for these same years, revealing the explosive growth and shift of Pentecostalism from the Global North to the Global South in the twentieth century. There are numerous maps, statistical tables, and pie-charts analyzing a plethora of data on Spirit-empowered Christianity for the period 1900–2020. Finally, a historical and theological narrative supported by statistical tables and denominational flowcharts is presented for each of the major organizations within each of the three types of Spirit-empowered movements.

Chapter Three, Pivotal Trends of The Spirit-Empowered Movement (pp. 146–171) explores the issues and trends of woman in leadership, social justice, prosperity, and mission within Spirit-empowered global contexts. “The trajectory of such trends and their effects upon church and society may reflect either innovation upon or replication of cultural influences; nevertheless, they carry significant theological implications for the Church at large” (146).

In Chapter Four, Methodology (pp. 172–182) details the systematic journey of research that this book is built upon and how it has evolved. The authors credit Anglican researcher David B. Barrett who began this research in the mid 1960’s, which blossomed into the World Christian Encyclopedia, First Edition in 1982. Johnson worked with David Barrett to co-author the World Christian Encyclopedia, Second Edition, published in 2001. “In 2010, in partnership with the Pew Research Center (who used Barrett’s statistics in a 2006 report on Pentecostalism), the Center for the Study of Global Christianity (CSGC) embarked on a new assessment of Pentecostalism in every country of the world” (177). This research was included in the World Christian Encyclopedia, Third Edition (2019) and in the World Christian Data Base (launched online originally in April 2007 but overhauled in 2018). Each iteration was critiqued for taxonomies and methods then updated. Source documentation of the counting methodology is “firmly based on membership statistics of denominations in each country of the world, of which the CSGC has now identified approximately 45,000, and each of these denominations belongs to one of four Christian traditions (Independents, Orthodox, Protestants and Catholics)” (178).

The Bibliography (pp. 183–205) is followed by the Appendix: Pentecostals/Charismatics by Country, Region, Continent and Globe (pp. 206–222). This reports the statistical data from approximately 234 countries and territories of the world for 1970 and 2020, with sub-stratification for Pentecostals/Charismatics by Types 1,2 and 3.

This book’s significance to the global Spirit-empowered movement is enormous. “There are least five distinctives to this book. They are: 1) It presents a complete taxonomy of global Pentecostalism. Carefully showing who considers themselves a part of this movement and who does not; 2) It offers a method for counting Pentecostals. While this method has appeared in article and chapter form in numerous books and journals, here it serves as the basis of the book, providing a different perspective on the Pentecostal and Charismatic movement than other surveys; 3) It includes a full-cover overview of the movement in maps, graphs, charts, tables, and photos; 4) The global movement is placed in the context of a careful assessment of all of global Christianity; and 5) It introduces a new concept to consider the movement as a whole. Following the lead of the Empowered21 movement, it introduces the idea of Spirit-empowered Christianity, which ties together the myriad forms of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity, ranging from Classical Pentecostals to Catholic Charismatics to independent churches like the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in Brazil” (3–4). “This book also is unique in that it provides is a series of profiles of individual Spirit-empowered denominations around the world, profiles that include brief histories, theologies, and contemporary controversies. It highlights some key social factors of the movement such as the role of women and the prosperity gospel. Perhaps its most unique feature is the inclusion of extensive statistics on the number of Pentecostals, Charismatics, and Independent Charismatics by country, region, continent, and globe” (4).

In conclusion, I highly recommend that this book be read as a textbook, or supplemental readings in both seminaries and universities from the undergraduate to PhD levels. It is suitable for classes on theology, history, and sociology, especially those who desire to study about Spirit-empowered Christianity, which is the fastest growing sector in Christianity. Likewise, this book would be advantageous for clergy and independent scholars who might have interest.

Reviewed by Michael A. Donaldson

Publisher’s page: https://oru.libguides.com/introsecBook

Preview: https://oru.libguides.com/INTROSECPreview

Website: https://introsec.pressbooks.com/

Further Reading:

Read the interview with authors Todd Johnson and Gina Zurlo, “Spirit-Empowered Christianity” as they define what it is and talk about the third edition of the World Christian Encyclopedia.

Notes

[1] https://www.gordonconwell.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Tjohnson-CV.pdf. Accessed February 26, 2021.

[2] https://www.gordonconwell.edu/faculty/current/todd-johnson/. Accessed February 26, 2021.

[3] https://www.gordonconwell.edu/faculty/adjunct/dr-gina-zurlo/. Accessed February 26, 2021.

What does Spirit-empowered Christianity look like around the world? Pneuma Review speaks with Todd M. Johnson and Gina A. Zurlo, directors of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity and editors of the third edition of the World Christian Encyclopedia.

PneumaReview.com: What is Spirit-Empowered Christianity and how is it defined?

Todd M. Johnson is the Paul E. and Eva B. Toms Distinguished Professor of Mission and Global Christianity and co-Director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts. His most recent book is the World Christian Encyclopedia, 3rd edition (Edinburgh University Press, 2019). He also serves as a Series Editor for the Edinburgh Companions to Global Christianity (Edinburgh University Press).

PneumaReview.com: How many Spirit-Empowered Christians are there in the world and where are they?

Johnson and Zurlo: Today there are 664 million Spirit-Empowered Christians in the world, or about 26% of all Christians. Of these, 124 million worldwide are Pentecostals; 268 million are Charismatics in mainline churches; and 252 million are Independent Charismatics. The growth of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movement over the last 120 years has been in tandem with dramatic changes in Christianity’s overall cultural and linguistic composition. In 1900, over 80% of all Christians were European or North American. Today, that percentage has fallen to less than 33%. This demographic shift has formed the basis for most major analyses of world Christianity in the past 40 years. Perhaps not surprisingly, the shift has been more pronounced among Spirit-empowered Christians. Today, fully 86% of all Spirit-empowered Christians live in the Global South (Asia, Africa, Latin America).

Gina A. Zurlo is co-Director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, South Hamilton, Massachusetts. Her most recent book is the World Christian Encyclopedia, 3rd edition (Edinburgh University Press, 2019). She is co-editor of the World Christian Database and Associate Editor of the World Religion Database.

PneumaReview.com: In which part of the Global South has the greatest growth taken place?

Johnson and Zurlo: In the past 120 years the greatest growth has been in Asia and Latin America. But today Spirit-empowered Christians are most numerous in Africa (230 million), with Latin America following (195 million). Spirit-empowered Christians grew fastest in Asia and Oceania over the period 1900–2020, but Africa will likely grow the fastest from 2020–2050. We project that there will be 450 million Spirit-empowered Christians in Africa by 2050.

PneumaReview.com: What factors have contributed to the growth of the movement in the Global South?

PneumaReview.com: Spirit-Empowered Christianity is growing in Asia, Africa, and Latin America (Global South).  Is it growing as rapidly in the Global North?

Johnson and Zurlo: Spirit-Empowered Christianity is growing in the Global North (Europe and North America) but not rapidly. SEC represented 2.2% of all Christians in the Global North in 1970, today they represent 8% of all Christians and by 2050 we project that this will be 10%. This growth has been the combination of success by the Assemblies of God as well as the growth of the Charismatic individuals in mainline Christian denominations. In addition, Spirit-empowered Christians from the Global South have moved to the Global North, planting large churches in Europe.

PneumaReview.com: Has Spirit-Empowered Christianity in the Global North contributed in any way to the growth of the movement in the Global South?

Johnson and Zurlo: The major way that the North has contributed has been through the sending of missionaries. Most of the American and European Pentecostal denominations have been active for more than 100 years in missions to Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Oceania. Consequently, today, denominations like the Assemblies of God are found all over the world. A second way that the North has been involved is in theological and missionary training; many Christians from the global South come to the North for formal training. A third way is by hosting global conferences that bring people together from around the world. But, despite all of this, it has to be acknowledged that the vast majority of the work of evangelism and renewal in the Global South has been done by indigenous workers, many of whom we do not know their names, such as Bible women (indigenous evangelists) in Africa and Asia.

PneumaReview.com: Are there differences between Spirit-Empowered Christians in the North and the South? If so, what are they?

Johnson and Zurlo: There major difference between Spirit-empowered Christians in the North and South relates to their context. In the North, Spirit-empowered Christians live in the shadow of Christendom, a time when virtually everyone was a Christian but now many have abandoned faith for a secular worldview. In the South, the reality of the spiritual world, perceived through traditional religions, has given Spirit-empowered Christians a place to experience the power of the Spirit in everyday life. Most Christians in the global South have found Spirit-Empowered Christianity to be a better cultural fit than Western Christianity.

PneumaReview.com: Is Spirit-Empowered theological education readily available in the Global South?

Johnson and Zurlo: There are a wide-range of theological institutions that serve Spirit-empowered Christians in the Global South. First, there are strong denominational schools. For example, the Assemblies of God in Brazil was initially resistant to formal theological education. However, the church eventually established its own formal institution of theological education – the Instituto Bíblico das Assembleias de Deus (IBAD) in 1958. Second, many interdenominational seminaries train Spirit-empowered Christians from around the world. Yet, surveys of theological institutions show that theological education is not readily available in much of the Global South. The majority of the schools and the resources are still found in the Global North.

PneumaReview.com: What are the greatest needs of Spirit-Empowered Christians in the Global South?

Johnson and Zurlo: The Spirit-empowered Movement has spread across the globe, through different cultural contexts, with remarkable speed and dynamism. While its emphases on the charismatic gifts of the Spirit and experiential validation may often preclude its theological import in certain circles, the Spirit-empowered Movement in the Global South is marked by pivotal issues that deserve mention, notably in the role of women in leadership, the prosperity gospel, and media for mission. These particular issues represent important identity markers for many Pentecostal/Charismatic churches and movements around the world. Historically, Pentecostal/Charismatic churches have championed women in leadership in mission, with, for example, women serving as some of the early Pentecostal missionaries from the Azusa Street Revival. However, many women founders of revival movements lost their positions of leadership when their movements became institutionalized into churches. Pentecostal churches are sometimes prosperity gospel churches because they teach victorious, prosperous and healthy living in the spiritual as well as in the physical realm. They often start from the premise Jehovah Jireh our provider, is a God of abundance. God owns everything and wants his children to prosper. Prosperity churches also teach that Christians should excel in material wealth, which is one reason why so many of their pastors wear expensive clothes and own luxury cars. These new Pentecostals are sophisticated in their use of marketing techniques by selling books and other resources such as seminars covering subjects from deliverance to marriage. They also create elaborate signboards and posters for their churches and events.

PneumaReview.com: What was the most interesting thing that you learned in the research for Spirit-Empowered Christianity?

Johnson and Zurlo: Female Spirit-empowered influence has expressed itself in a variety of ways throughout history and within the movement today, such as missionaries (especially single missionaries), as pastor’s wives (who often have more influence within congregations than their husbands), as evangelists (historically, often unnamed), and as everyday keepers of faith and tradition to pass down to generations. Our research highlights some Pentecostal and Charismatic women from around the world who have been founders of movements and denominations and sparked revivals.

PneumaReview.com: What can the church in the Global North learn from the growing Spirit-Empowered Movement in the Global South?

PR

More from the Center for the Study of Global Christianity:

John Lathrop writes: “Here is the link to the opening of the new location of the Center for Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. The program begins at about the 12 minute mark. When it begins there is no sound but they fix it quickly. They give a virtual tour of the center after the ribbon cutting. It is very nice.” https://www.facebook.com/GordonConwell/videos/3257646254361607/

Visit the CSGC page for the latest edition of the World Christian Encyclopedia: https://www.gordonconwell.edu/center-for-global-christianity/publications/world-christian-encyclopedia/

It was with joy that I read through this perceptive article by Dr. Wonsuk Ma. Dr. Ma is a Pentecostal scholar whose ministry experience was gained in four countries. A large portion of his spiritual and academic development grew in the Philippines where he and his wife were engaged in evangelism, church planting among mountain tribal groups, and heavy involvement with the Asia Pacific Theological Seminary. As a result of his enriching experiences, he developed a strong sense of what it means for Pentecostals to undertake ‘Mission in the Spirit’. Dr. Ma is both a skilled writer and teacher. Indeed, his insights serve as valuable resources to the wider Body of Christ.

This short article, focusing on the tragic examples of Samson and Saul, was motivated by the dire need to address the issue of moral failure in charismatic leaders. In particular, the question being explored is whether the intention of the Spirit’s presence includes both internal transformation as well as empowerment for external tasks. Dr. Ma sets out to prove that the internal working of the Spirit is no less important than the outward empowering. His goal in writing this article is to demonstrate through systematic examination of the stories that these heroes’ failure to receive the private and internal transformation of character led to their ministry failure.

Because this is a topic so close to my own heart, I was more than delighted to read what this scholar had to say. Though there are several other characters whose lives may have been examined, Samson and Saul were chosen because of the frequency in which the Spirit is mentioned in their stories (four positive mentions for Samson – Judg. 13:25; 14:6,19; 15:14, and ten mentions of ‘spirit’ for Saul: five refer to an evil spirit from God – 1 Sam. 16:15,16,23; 18:10; 19:9, two to the Spirit’s departure and opposition – 1 Sam. 16:14; 19:23, leaving three positive references – 1 Sam. 10:6,10; 11:6).

A great insightful from Dr. Ma is that these initial experiences of the Spirit with these men (Judg. 13:25; 1 Sam. 10:6-9) were:

1. more private than public, away from people,
2. with no enemy or danger coming against them, and
3. with no public exploit immediately undertaken.

Their primary experiences are described as Samson being ‘agitated’ and Saul was ‘turned into a different person’, and ‘having received another heart’. What does it mean to be made restless by the Spirit? What does it mean to have a new heart? The author uses a variety of cross references throughout scripture to shed much light on these phrases! Does not the Spirit grant radical inner change which cannot be attributed to human behavioral change?

How do these three observations carry meaning for us? Are our initial experiences of the Spirit meant to take us out of our comfort zones, open our eyes to a new way of perceiving the world around us, to make us more fully aware of our life’s calling and stir us towards it? Are these initial Spirit stirrings meant to cause us to enhance God’s giftedness, and to challenge us to submit to the process of character development? If that is truly the case, then the author correctly argues that divine success through us is dependent upon an appropriate response from us.

I had been given opportunity to review Denzil R. Miller’s 35 page booklet, Spirit-Empowered Mission: Africa’s Decade of Pentecost and the New Testament “Strategy of the Spirit.” Miller gives us here a brief overview of a continent-wide initiative of the Africa Assemblies of God Alliance (AAGA) from 2010-2020 known as the Decade of Pentecost (DOP) to evangelize Africa.

Denzil Miller offers a brief but honest evaluation of the work, its successes and challenges in terms of the Great Commission to evangelize the sub-Sahara Africa and Indian Ocean Basin areas of the continent which requires indigenously raising all the resources, finances as well as personnel, to “go into all Africa” and “make disciples of all African tribes and clans.”

Miller supports a Pauline approach to evangelization. A large part of this brief work is taken up in referencing Paul’s missionary focus. And as Paul pointed out to community after community, this work requires an empowerment only available with an infilling of the Spirit. Miller refers to this as “A Spirit-driven Call to Missions.”

“The evangelization of Africa,” Miller maintains, “[needs] an ongoing information database … to be shared with our constituent national churches, strategic partnerships across the continent between the national churches affiliated with the [AAGA], a strategic prayer network focusing on the unreached peoples of Africa, missional mentoring among … national churches [the indigenous principle, and] … compassion ministries, all the while remaining focused on the core mandate of the church, that is, reaching the lost for Christ.”

He concludes by saying, “Therefore, during these final seven years [since 2013] of the DOP initiative, we anticipate the greatest forward advance, and the greatest harvest of souls, in the one-hundred year history of the church of Africa.”

Reviewed by John King

Find Spirit-Empowered Mission on the Decade of Pentecost free download page: http://www.decadeofpentecost.org/booklets/

In Matthew 3:11, John the Baptist refers to Jesus, saying, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy and fire.” The Bible is very clear that Jesus is the one who implements this baptism, immersing us in the Holy Spirit. We also read in Act 1:8, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you”. This is a biblical truth that can transform our lives, however we need to recognize the importance of retaining and cultivating our relationship.

I am so thankful to Denzil R. Miller’s reminder of the importance of maintaining the Spirit-Empowered life. As he mentioned, “Failure to do this will result in backsliding and loss of power.” It is clear to me, that failure to see the importance of maintaining the Spirit-Empowered life will produce a devaluing of what God is valuing.

Denzil R. Miller will encourage the reader to value the Baptism of Holy Spirt in a way that will be fruitful in your life and ministry. You will want to read and study what he gives as the, “Guidelines for Maintaining a Spirit-Empowered Life.” As he beautifully states, “Life in the Spirit in not an automatic thing. It must be nourished and cared for.” His teaching encourages me to continue to pray, Dear Jesus, let me value what you value.

Reviewed by Alan James Schrader

Find Maintaining the Spirit-Empowered Life on the Decade of Pentecost free download page: http://www.decadeofpentecost.org/booklets/