Although the accuracy of teaching is preeminent when judging the quality of a book, credit must be given for its tone when appropriate. From page one of Hull’s work, the reader is struck with the author’s sincerity, transparency, his passion for people, his drivenness for all that God has for him, and his willingness to risk all for his perception of the will of God in relation to the charismata.

This book comes from the heart of a pastor. More specifically, from the heart of a pastor who is trying to transition parishioners of a cessationist mindset into the fullness of the gifts of the Spirit. There is a generous mix of true-life anecdotes and biblical teaching. Some anecdotes leave you laughing or celebrating, others leave you in tears. At times his language is plain, but poignant: “If you lay your heart on the altar, someone will come and jump up and down on it” (p. 172).

Aside from Hull’s firm belief in the continuation of spiritual gifts in today’s church, even miraculous ones, perhaps his greatest contributions are in the chapters on healing and on hearing God’s voice, in which are packed practical guidelines that encourage faith while acknowledging God’s sovereignty.

It is, however, with reservations that I recommend Straight Talk to Pentecostals. With characteristic frankness, Hull admits that “I have had a prayer language for more than thirty years, but I am still not 100 percent sure it is God or my own flesh” (p. 118). More important, Hull holds an unbiblical view of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which he views as conversion (p. 116). Although he decries cessationist thinking as “inbred” and based more on “custom” than “study,” he is himself a Lukan cessationist when it comes to the baptism in the Holy Spirit, stating that the Pentecostal interpretation of Spirit-baptism is “impossible” (p. 111).

He bases his interpretation of the six occurrences of Spirit-baptism in Matthew, Mark, and Luke-Acts on the one occurrence in Paul (1 Corinthians 12:13), arguing that Paul’s usage is more weighty because it was seventh and last and twenty years removed from the “fluidity of the first years when they [the first Christians] were all trying to figure out the role of the Holy Spirit” (p. 114). One problem with this is that 1 Corinthians 12:13 appears to be the believer’s baptism by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ (a sensible and universal experience of all Christians), not the believer’s baptism in the Holy Spirit by the Heavenly Jesus that imparts a prophetic empowerment for service (a likewise sensible though not universal Christian experience; cf. R. Menzies’ Empowered for Witness). Hull shows no appreciation for the diversity of the NT writers and no appreciation for Luke’s uses of “filling” synonyms, which occur over 50 times in Acts alone. Neither does he show any appreciation for the probability that Luke, as a close companion of Paul and as someone who held Paul in high regard as a great man of God, is applying his considerable training in the Greco-Roman narrative style of historiography to clarify Paul’s epistolary writings for Christians thirty years removed from Paul. Instead, Lukan cessationist like Hull have effectively silenced Luke’s majority usage of “baptized” (3x) and “filled” (9x) in favor of Paul’s single usage of each term (1x[?]/1x). This use of Paul to parse Luke is a practice left over from cessationist Protestantism, and a hearty adieu by biblical exegetes is long overdue. (For more thorough discussion, see Roger Stronstad’s Spirit, Scripture and Theology: A Pentecostal Perspective and The Charismatic Theology of St. Luke).

Ricky Roberts, Just When Did Spiritual Gifts Cease? (Florida: Creation House, 2003), 112 pages, ISBN 9781591852353.

The basis of this short book is that the spiritual gifts have never ceased. Roberts divides his argument into scriptural and historical evidence. Roberts builds a case that the spiritual gifts were not intended to be temporary, (tied to the apostolic age) but rather continue until the age of perfection (the second coming of Christ). The author uses scriptural interpretation and the church fathers to support his case. In this, he does a fairly good job.

However, in the historical section of the book, Roberts case left me disappointed. Roberts does not give a complete view of the reformers and he uses a Gnostic gospel as support. Roberts also defends Montanism as a legitimate group, but falsely accused. While they may have started out as a legitimate group, they did not end that way. This historical evidence is shaky at best.

Roberts makes an interesting claim in his book that the tongues (i.e. language) will cease because in heaven we will communicate mentally. After speaking with some colleagues, among them some theologians, there was a 50/50 split on whether this idea might be correct. There is also a problem with his transliteration (for example, διδομι [didomi] is written as thethome). Roberts may also hit a nerve with some readers because of his claim that all for whom Christ prayed were not healed (in places other than the account in Mark 6:5). He further claims that God places disease on His children as a punishment or test.

I requested to review this book because it pertained to my dissertation topic, however I was disappointed with it. Any reader looking for a better overview of the understanding that church leaders had of the Holy Spirit and His work should read the trilogy on the Holy Spirit by Dr. Stan Burgess. Even though I have had personal experience with this subject, Roberts did not convince me that the gifts had not ceased. This book is by no means scholarly and I would only recommend this book as an example of how not to write.

Reviewed by Patricia Riley

This review was originally published on the Pneuma Foundation (parent organization of PneumaReview.com) website on September 12, 2007. Later included in the Spring 2024 issue.

Many negatives can distract leaders daily. Consequently, they may fall prey to these external influences, lose their vision and become spiritually powerless. But leaders can regain power over their lives by focusing on their main goals and ordering everything else around those goals. Then they can succeed in their ministries or personal lives. But that is only the beginning. To truly be influential, leaders should duplicate their successes in church members’ lives by improving their “serve.” Serving may cause leaders to feel like slaves, not realizing how church members perceive them. But, often, church members perceive such leaders as heroes. It is the art of serving that makes leaders out of ordinary people. Spiritual leadership teaches the art of serving, which is really the art of helping others succeed and fulfill their dreams.

Servanthood begins with identifying customers and then attending to them. Leaders should see, not only church members, but also everyone within their spheres of influence as their customers. A customer is anyone with whom a leader comes into contact. This outlook facilitates these three things: expanding one’s sphere of influence for Christ, being charismatic, and developing a spiritual edge. These things attract new church members and opportunities to serve. The best customers are repeat customers. And the best church services are those that attract repeat customers. Spiritual leadership empowers church members to develop their own customer base through offering outstanding services to those within their own sphere of influence and expanding their sphere of influence in the body of Christ.

When I attended Southern California College from 1975-1979, Mario Murillo was our guest chapel speaker one morning. Afterward, as he greeted students outside the chapel doors, I asked him, “What is the greatest way one can glorify God—through witnessing, or other ways?” Mario replies, “The greatest way to glorify God is in your heart.” I took this to heart. I believed and received it, and have been acting on it to this day. That truth impacted my life and made a difference in me, my ministries, and all I do.

So, I would like to challenge spiritual leaders to deepen their walk with the Holy Spirit, and see what Christ will do for you and those you impact.

A guest article by Tracy Close, introducing you to the gifts of the Holy Spirit spoken of in the Bible.

Charismata is the plural form of the Greek word charis, meaning grace. Charismata are the visible effects of grace in word or deed, known more commonly to us as spiritual gifts.

Image: Stan Myers. Used with permission.

Much has been written about the subject of charismata, enough that one could devote quite possibly a lifetime to the reading of all of it in the pursuit of total understanding and grasp of exactly what gifts of the Spirit are, how they are used, whether they exist or not(if that understanding is actually possible).

There are many belief systems or theories existing today regarding Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

One theory, called cessation, states that spiritual gifts died with the apostles of Paul’s time (sometime around the end of the first century AD). It is believed that charismata existed to empower the budding Christian church, to ensure that through miraculous happenings people would be brought to a belief in Jesus Christ as the Savior and therefore the church would increase in numbers. Once the church was on it’s feet, so the theory goes, the gifts were no longer needed and therefore ceased. There are other cessation theories, but this seems to be the most popular.

However, this author takes the stance that the gifts of the Spirit are now and have always been present. No where does the Bible state that the gifts of the Spirit were to cease for the Church, not until Jesus comes again. There are historical accounts of the manifestation of charismata in the church through the ages. Most importantly, because I believe I have personally witnessed spiritual gifts in practice, I believe that they are alive and well in many churches today.

Having said that, the purpose of this article is to provide what I hope is a minimal education as to what spiritual gifts are and what they are not. The statements contained herein are derived from studying The Bible, literary resources, online articles and teachings in local churches.

The prophet Joel predicted, before Jesus walked the earth, that spiritual gifts would be made available to many. “It shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions; And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days” (Joel 2:28). No longer would the prophets and miracle workers be a small group of people.

So it happened at the first Pentecost after Jesus ascended to heaven that the prophecy was fulfilled. “They were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:4)

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

Having recently read and reviewed Angels of Light by Eddie Hyatt, Pastor Larry Russi asks questions to clarify and go even more in-depth.

Larry Russi: Thank you Dr. Hyatt for agreeing to do this interview. I was greatly blessed by your book.

Eddie L. Hyatt, Angels of Light: False Prophets and Deceiving Spirits at Work Today in the Church and the World (Hyatt Press, 2018), 120 pages, ISBN 9781888435252.
Read the review by Larry Russi.

Larry Russi: What were the main factors that prompted you to write Angels of Light?

Eddie Hyatt: Having been in Pentecostal/charismatic ministry for almost 50 years and having done my doctoral dissertation on spiritual awakenings in church history, I was aware of the good in Holy Spirit movements but also the dangers and pitfalls. In contemporary prophetic and revival movements I could see many of the same trends that had led to entire movements falling into heresy and destructive practices. This is what inspired me to write Angels of Light. I wrote out of a deep concern that we learn from the lessons of history and not repeat the same mistakes.

Larry Russi: What has been the response to this work?

Eddie Hyatt: The volume of response has been moderate, but the quality of response has been very enthusiastic.

To cite one example: Before he passed away, T.L. Osborn read one of the chapters in the book, which was published as an article at the time. He strongly commended what I had written and went on to say how shocked and embarrassed he was at some of the things going on in the modern charismatic movement—particularly in people chasing signs and miracles, rather than preaching the gospel and letting the signs follow the preaching the word.

Larry Russi: As for the future of Pentecostal/charismatic churches, do you see this deception continuing and intensifying or do believe that we will return to our Biblical roots.

Eddie Hyatt: I believe the Bible teaches a mixture in the last days.

Charles Kraft has taught at Fuller Seminary and has served as a missionary in Nigeria. In addition to these ministries he has also written a number of books including: Christianity With Power: Your Worldview and Your Experience of the Supernatural, The Evangelical’s Guide To Spiritual Warfare: Scriptural Insights and Practical Instruction On Facing the Enemy, Defeating Dark Angels: Breaking Demonic Oppression in the Believer’s Life, and I Give You Authority: Practicing the Authority Jesus Gave Us. This brief sampling of titles indicates that the topics of spiritual power and spiritual conflict are subjects of great interest to him; he has written about them a number of times. This, his newest book, also deals with the subject of spiritual conflict or spiritual warfare, specifically the power encounter.

The author says that the term “Power Encounter” came from the late Alan Trippett who was a missiologist at Fuller Seminary (page 1). Kraft describes a power encounter as “an encounter or confrontation between false gods and the true God” (page 3). Trippett reported that this type of encounter brought large numbers of people to Christ in the South Pacific when they saw that the Christian God was superior to their ancestral gods (page 1). Conversions took place when a priest or chief challenged the ancestral gods and broke their allegiances to them and the ancestral gods could not respond (page 2). Kraft points out that power encounters are now widely accepted by missiologists as valuable in the work of evangelism (page 2). Also in chapter one, he draws from a couple of Trippett’s reports about power encounters in the South Pacific in order to illustrate what they are. Kraft says that some power encounters are unsought but others, such as those in the Bible between Moses and Pharaoh, and Elijah and the prophets of Baal and those in the South Pacific, were sought in that they were open challenges (page 10). The author does not point out the events from Scripture and the South Pacific for merely historical purposes. He believes that the church today, like Jesus and the early church, ought to exhibit spiritual power such as we see in the Bible which includes healings and deliverances (page 15).

Read articles by Charles Kraft at PneumaReview.com

In chapter 2, Kraft surveys a number of power encounters in Scripture, drawing examples from both the Old and New Testaments. These are clearly conflicts between good and evil, some of the ones he mentions include: Moses and Pharaoh, Elijah and the prophets of Baal, Jesus and Satan in the wilderness, and Paul and the demon-possessed girl in Acts 16. In chapters 3, 4, and 5, Kraft sets forth principles related to spiritual warfare. One very important point he makes in chapter 3 is that many in the West tend to view most spiritual beings and spiritual power as the things that fairy tales are made of (page 32). This can be true with reference to both the supernatural power of God and of the enemy (pages 32-33). This is what is sometimes called the anti-supernatural Western mindset. At least in part, this book seeks to serve as a corrective to that error. In chapter 5, Kraft is clear that though there is a kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of God, the rulers of these kingdoms are not equal; God is much more powerful than Satan (page 48).

The Centre for Pentecostal Theology (CPT) Press is initiating an ongoing series of “short introductions”. To date they include the present volume by Onyinah under review and Lee Roy Martin, Fasting: A Centre for Pentecostal Theology Short Introduction (2014). Several others are expected to follow in due time. The Centre for Pentecostal Theology is a residential library dedicated to facilitating the conception, birth, and maturation of constructive Pentecostal Theology across the theological disciplines. Obviously, CPT Press is the publishing arm of that same endeavor. (In the interest of full disclosure, I have previously published with CPT but not in the series under discussion.) The Series Preface explains that these short introductions “offer a distinctively Pentecostal perspective on various topics that are of relevance to the movement.” Further, they “are designed to introduce the reader to the topic at hand while not overwhelming him or her with all the secondary literature.” To be clear, “The goal is a straightforward introduction with helpful assessments by leading scholars in the tradition.” We may approach Onyinah’s Spiritual Warfare from this declared context. However, a reading of Onyinah indicates he has his own contextual concerns as well, which nevertheless appear complementary with those of CPT without necessarily completely contained therein.

Professor Opoku Onyinah is an Apostle of the Church of Pentecost (COP). He holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Theology from the University of Birmingham (United Kingdom). Currently, he is the Chairman of The Church of Pentecost. The Church of Pentecost originated in Ghana but now claims 20,000 congregations worldwide with more than three million members. Given Onyinah’s diverse background, it will not be too surprising to discern in Spiritual Warfare administrative and pastoral concerns articulated alongside biblical and theological scholarship. Indeed the Introduction affirms an intention to address laity, clergy, and academia.

Spiritual Warfare is organized in four sections: Part One: The Nature of Spiritual Warfare, contains three chapters surveying the history of demonology in Pentecostalism; Part Two: Redefining Spiritual Warfare, contains two chapters articulating the importance of the life and victory of Jesus Christ for demonology; Part Three: The Devil’s Scheme: Strongholds, has eight chapters identifying specific areas of demonic activity; and, Part Four: The Weapons of our Warfare, has thirteen chapters (including the Conclusion) which lift up resources available to believers in resisting and overcoming demonic powers.

As implied earlier, Onyinah’s Spiritual Warfare is very contextual. It draws heavily on the experiences of COP believers and churches in Ghana and similar locales. Since African Christianity, and especially African Pentecostal Christianity, has a distinctive appreciation and emphasis for the reality of the demonic, this contextualization is a decided strength of the work. Global Christianity can learn much here that can be of benefit for many other contexts. However, it is also the case, as it perhaps always is, that one context does not necessarily transfer to another in a straight line, so to speak. Readers from international contexts will likely wish to appropriate particular themes in a somewhat selective manner.

Spiritual Warfare has administrative insight, pastoral concerns, and academic depth. Often these are intertwined together on the same page or even the same paragraph. I found it interesting that Onyinah brings these diverse agendas together in ways that are often mutually enriching and challenging simultaneously. I imagine that pastors and laypeople will be stretched by the academic theological considerations. I also imagine that academicians will be stretched by the pastoral applications. And I am sure both will be enriched. Generally, it works well.

Spiritual Warfare indulges in some sweeping generalizations. For example, it castigates postmodernism without bothering to understand it or engage it. Accordingly, it misses sometimes. It also makes assumptions about praise and worship that fit more with populism than Biblicism. And it is quite selective in its list of categories of demonic activity, focusing on individual fetishes and mostly ignoring social atrocities. Admittedly, these features may be—to an extent, at least—elements of the contextualization mentioned earlier. Or they may simply be due to the creative attempt to accomplish so much on several different levels. However, the work would be stronger with more care in such conversations.

Perhaps the greatest value in this volume is that it addresses the topic of spiritual warfare at all. Or at least that it takes the topic seriously. Many modern theologians avoid the topic (even Pentecostals) or approach it only in abstract form (Tillich) or primarily as institutional expressions (Wink). Onyinah takes the topic seriously and addresses it with theological credibility from a historic Pentecostal perspective. To an extent, this text may help to authenticate and legitimate Pentecostal theological discussion of demonology. Overall, I would certainly recommend Spiritual Warfare to readers—as Onyinah intends—from the Church and the Academy. Furthermore, if Spiritual Warfare by Opoku Onyinah (and Fasting by Lee Roy Martin) is a representative foretaste of CPT’s Short Introduction Series, one can only hope and pray that further volumes will be forthcoming soon and frequently.

Reviewed by Tony Richie

This is a three part series that Dr. Eddie Hyatt presented at a “Revive America” weekend at Christian Life Assembly of God in Picayune, Mississippi. In this series, he documents the radical Christian character of the first immigrants to this land and shows how the nation was formed out of prayer and a great Spiritual awakening.

For the rest of the series:

• Reclaiming America’s Godly Christian Heritage (Part 1): “It Began with a Vision“
• Reclaiming America’s Godly Christian Heritage (Part 3): “A Nation Birthed in Prayer“

Images: left: Ayn Rand’s influential Atlas Shrugged; center: conservative writer William F. Buckley, Jr. and President Ronald Reagan at President Reagan’s 1986 birthday party; right: The Blue Book from the John Birch Society.

It has been the most difficult (and personally sad) blog posting I have ever written, as I have been a devoted Republican most of my adult life. I make the point that the present Republican Party has been poisoned by an excess of Libertarian philosophy, especially of the Ayn Rand variety, and it no longer has a spiritual advantage for the Christian voter in comparison to the equally (but differently) flawed Democratic Party.  Many of you will disagree with parts or all of it. I am anxious to see your comments.

http://www.pentecostaltheology.com/decline-and-fall-of-the-republican-party/

[Editor’s note: William De Arteaga’s article was originally published in 2016, republished in 2019 at PentecostalTheology.com.]