Pentecostal Formation


Book Description

The Pentecostal movement has been subject to some negative external assumptions. In this enlightening and challenging book, Cheryl Bridges Johns argues that, in fact, Pentecostals employ a powerful process of formation of catechesis, which has enabled millions of believers to own and articulate the Christian story. She engages dialectically with the work of Paulo Freire, a specialist in education among the marginalized. As well as looking more broadly at the nature of all catechesis, there is also an attempt to move beyond the rationalism found in a praxis epistemology.




Towards A Pentecostal Theology of Praxis


Book Description

This book outlines a Pentecostal theology of praxis while also providing a concrete example of how such a theology is fleshed out. By investigating various elements of Pentecostal and Liberation theologies and highlighting various similarities and differences between the two camps, John Mark Robeck constructs a framework through which a Pentecostal theology of praxis might be observed. Taking a step further, he offers a case study of three Pentecostal churches in El Salvador as an example of how such a theology is lived out. Robeck examines the lives of the pastors of these congregations, the engagement of these congregations in activities of social engagement that serve to bring about various forms of liberation, as well as the participation of the congregations and their communities in transformative actions which serve to bring about real change.










Pentecostal Theology


Book Description

Pentecostals (traditionally) do not think theologically so much as do it practically. This book will present Pentecostal theology as well as the particular style of Pentecostal thinking and praxis that makes it different. Pentecostalism is not just distinctive because of its belief base but also because of the worldview it owns. The latter is based on a certainty that a religion that does not work is not worth much. Consequently, they look for expressions of life and vitality in their faith. These dominate, rather than an expression of the cerebral, though this is changing. Nevertheless, the sense of the immediate, the God of the now not the distant past, underlie how they do theology. Pentecostal theology tends to be seen through the eyes of people, not theologians; through the community, not traditions (though they have them); through their faith and worship, not ancient creeds. It is a theology of the dynamic, seen through the lens of experience. It is a functional theology that exists to operate; to incorporate an experiential dimension. Pentecostal theology does not operate as other theologies which often only detail a list of beliefs; it does this but also and (more) importantly, it explores them in the context of praxis. Thus, this volume incorporates praxis as part of the enquiry relating to theology.




Pentecostal Ecclesiology


Book Description

This reader in Pentecostal ecclesiology, edited by Chris Green, brings together in a single volume a number of critically important previously-published essays written by leading Pentecostal and charismatic scholars addressing the theology of the church, sacraments, and ministry in the Pentecostal/charismatic traditions. Contributors include: Estrelda Alexander, Peter Althouse, Jonathan E. Alvarado, Ken Archer, Daniela Augustine, Simon Chan, Graciela Esparza, Jenny Everts, Chris E. W. Green, Walter Hollenweger, Cheryl Bridges Johns, Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Andy Lord, Frank Macchia, Clark Pinnock, Margaret M. Poloma, Lisa Stephenson, Wolfgang Vondey, and Amos Yong.




Essentials of Pentecostal Theology


Book Description

Only a few decades past, academia tended to scoff at the very idea of serious Pentecostal theology. Today profound and variegated theological implications of this dynamic movement are the object of exploration and development across the entire spectrum of the Christian theological corpus. Arguably, an acute need has arisen for identification and evaluation of the Pentecostal movement’s original and ongoing theological “essentials.” What is Pentecostal theology really all about anyway? This volume realizes that Pentecostal theology is at its heart a working theology undergirding and energizing believers’ worship of God in prayer and praise, in holy living, and in witness to a personal experience of the risen Lord and Savior manifested in the continuing power of the Holy Spirit. Authentic implementation, if not explicit articulation, of fervent Pentecostal theology often occurs in the vitality of local churches, house fellowships, and various mission settings in America and around the world. Birthed in the fires of revival movements, essential Pentecostalism, including Pentecostal theology, continues to burn brightest wherever it is fueled most directly.







The Globalization of Pentecostalism


Book Description

""This book, comprising a sweeping range of well-documented articles on Pentecostal theology, hermeneutics, missiology, and the social sciences, provides for the student of Pentecostals a window on contemporary Pentecostal scholarship that discloses vigorous engagement with critical issues. The editors have provided a resource that promises to stimulate further research and reflection."" William Menzies, Chancellor, Asia Pacific Theological Seminary, Baguio City, Philippines. Excerpts from Respondents Jose Miguez Bonino on Changing Paradigms: ""An updating of Pentecostal thinking on a whole spectrum of theological disciplines: systematics, missiology, biblical studies, history, and praxis . . . a wealth of information and reflection."" Vinay Samuel on Global Culture: ""Global Pentecostalism can bring a new impetus to the movement for Christian unity . . . it has much to contribute to the shaping of a new 21st century definition for Christian unity."" Harvey Cox on A Postmodern World: ""There was a time when Pentecostals warned themselves and anyone else who would listen not to become entangled with and dependent on the 'things of the world.' Pentecostals were suspicious of the passing fads of stylish clothing, the latest hairdo, and glitzy new consumer products. They were also, as it turns out rightly, suspicious that the powerful new mass media could be a seductive lure, tricking people into the empty values of the consumer market culture. Perhaps it is time for a rebirth of that ethic of simplicity, that suspicion for 'the things for the world' for which the early Pentecostals were so famous.""