Christians tend to divide into three camps: evangelical, sacramental, and pentecostal. But must we choose between them? Drawing on the New Testament, Christian history, and years of experience in Christian ministry, Gordon T. Smith argues that the church not only can be all three, but in fact must be all three in order to truly be the church.
THE BODY OF CHRIST NEEDS HEALING This is my journey to a real and engaging relationship with Jesus. It's how I became born again among Evangelicals, was empowered by the sacrament among Catholics, received the baptism of the Spirit among Pentecostals, and was transformed by social justice ministries among Oldline Reformers. But it's also about how the Church has divided by these four very ways people meet Jesus, sabotaging both its credibility and mission. In fact, this division in the Body of Christ reflects the same shame-based spirit of religion that fueled both the Pharisees and the 9/11terrorists. Above all, this book is about how Jesus is battling to heal His broken Body unto today, and through it, this broken world. It's time we joined Him. His victory--and ours--demands it. GOD HAS A PLAN-ARE YOU READY? Chapters: 1. "Are You a Christian?" Toward a Spiritual Ecumenism 2. Platypus Christian: A Strange but Holy Mixture 3. From Blah to "Aha!" Rediscovering a Whole Faith The Evangelical Witness 4. A Time to Die, A Time to Be Born-Again The Sacramental Witness 5. Nothing but the Blood: Getting Ready for Communion 6. A Protestant Confession: Power in the Sacrament The Pentecostal Witness 7. Faith Encounters of the Third Kind: God's Larger Reality 8. Who Is Holy Spirit? Meeting the Active Presence of God Today 9. Healing Emotional Wounds: Seeing the Past as Jesus Sees It 10. Cleaning Lady to the Rescue: Power to Heal Bodies The Social Justice Witness 11. From Pier to Ocean: Adventuring into the World with Jesus 12. Of Jogging and Cat Food: Meeting Jesus Where It Hurts 13. The Mirror of Prejudice: Overcoming Personal & Corporate Racism 14. Jesus Is Our Peace: The Alternative to Warmaking Healed by God 15. Blackmailed by Shame, Freed by Grace and Truth Epilog - Rise and Jog SOUND BITES * I found myself sneaking from camp to camp, learning from Catholics, Evangelicals, Pentecostals, and Oldline social reformers, yet being careful not to reveal in any one church my sympathies for the others. * Most people don't want to be healed--at least, not as badly as they want to cover their shame. * God's love is not a zero-sum game. There's plenty to go around. You don't have to condemn someone different in order to affirm yourself. You just have to know how much your Father loves you. * To look forward to communion with excitement--as my friend looked forward to being with his wife again--you must believe that Jesus will actually be there at the table with you, alive and active, even in your behalf. * Biblical faith redefines safety--indeed, peace itself--not as the absence of threat, but the presence of Jesus. * Those who have little of the world's resources reflect the deeper reality that we all have nothing except what God has graciously given us. * Material comfort and security are good insofar as they are seen as the undeserved gifts of a graceful, loving God, and evil insofar as they separate us from the needs of others and make us unresponsive to their suffering. * Christians are not called to fit into this world, but to change it. * Moses came to tell us what to do; Jesus came to show us Who does it.
Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a sacramental encounter. The embodied spirituality of Pentecostalism, expressed in the doctrine of the baptism in the Holy Spirit, suggests that Pentecostalism is essentially sacramental. Sacraments are spiritual graces and those who participate in faith encounter the "real presence" of Christ through the Holy Spirit. As we approach the altar to participate in sacramental worship, we do so "in the Spirit." The Holy Spirit makes us aware of heavenly realities, and we experience heavenly mysteries. The primary Pentecostal sacraments are Water Baptism, The Lord's Supper, Footwashing, and the Anointed Touch - Laying on hands. These sacred actions are not mere symbols, but acts of worship in which Christ is present and the Holy Spirit is active. This revised edition includes more than 50 pages of new material derived from the Pentecostal Worship Assessment which included over 300 participants. The assessment demonstrates that Pentecostals are intuitively sacramental and that the celebration of sacraments enriches Pentecostal worship. "Daniel Tomberlin . . . dares to say that Baptism, the Lord's Supper, Feet Washing and Anointing with oil are all sacramental means of grace enabling us to remember, experience and anticipate the mysteries of salvation. Together they symbolize the Christian's journey from initiation to glorification and our need for continual cleansing along the way. Drawing from ecumenical dialogues, scholarly research, devotional reflections and 30 years of pastoral experience, Tomberlin adds valuable insights to the discussion on what it means to be Pentecostal and how Spirit filled believers view the practices Christ instituted." Dr. Mark Williams Church of God, Cleveland, TN ." . . a book that takes a new direction in commending the sacraments to a Pentecostal audience . . . It is hard to covey the richness of the tapestry that Tomberlin brings together, that inspires both the mind and heart, the scholar and the practitioner, the teacher and the worshipper. Deeply rooted in the Church of God tradition and yet ecumenical in engagement. From my charismatic-catholic-evangelical Anglican background I found it quite a wonderful stimulus to prayer and further thought." Rev. Andy Lord, Ph.D. Church of England Nottingham, United Kingdom "This is the most academically sound and instructive work in popular theology I have ever read . . . Daniel Tomberlin encourages Pentecostal ministers to forsake their frequently minimalist sacramental devotion and adopt a comprehensive theology of the sacraments-specifically, water baptism, Lord's Supper, footwashing, and anointing with oil/laying on of hands. He exposes non-specialists to some major theoretical questions surrounding sacraments, just as he raises some important practical questions that professional theologians should also consider. His investigations are historically informed, balanced with numerous accounts from thinkers in early Christianity and early Pentecostalism . . . In light of its potential to transform worship in local churches when critically appropriated, it will have been worth his effort if only ten Pentecostal pastors read it and learn from it. May 10,000 do so." Christopher Stephenson, Ph.D. Lee University, Cleveland, Tennessee Pneuma: The Journal for the Society for Pentecostal Studies (33:3)
Though a variety of studies have treated individual sacramental practices in Pentecostalism, in this volume Daniel Tomberlin offers a full-length treatment of the theology and practice of Pentecostal sacraments. The study draws on the strength of decades of pastoral practice and significant experience as a theological educator in the formation of local pastors. Grounded in the conviction that 'encounter with God at the altar' is primary for Pentecostal worship, Tomberlin explores the Spirit as 'the Spirit of Grace' and the role of Christ and the Spirit in sacramental practices, before turning his attention to the individual sacraments of anointing with oil, water baptism, the Lord's Supper, and footwashing. Drawing on early Pentecostal literature, the writings of early Christian authors, and pastoral practice, Tomberlin goes on to contextualize each practice in Scripture. The volume concludes with an empirical study of the thoughts and practices of several Pentecostal pastors in order to assess the impact of this study on the life of the church.
Because Pentecostalism is a Spirit movement, Pentecostals favor worship in which the Spirit moves. Pentecostal worship means experiencing the Holy Spirit in the fellowship of the Church. This worship experience includes anointed singing, inspired preaching, and observance of the holy sacraments. However, the goal of worship is to encounter the Holy Spirit at the altar. It is in the altar that souls are "gloriously saved," converts are sanctified, the sick are healed, and seekers are baptized in the Holy Spirit. These altar calls may be noisy and chaotic events, or they may be somber and tearful events, but those who witness and participate in this Spiritual worship walk away from the altar deeply moved and inwardly transformed. Pentecostal worship is not simply enthusiasm, nor is it entertainment - it is an evangelistic encounter with God's holy presence.
The Discipline of the Pentecostal Holiness is an important document in the history of the Pentecostal Movement. The document outlines the beliefs and constitution of the Pentecostal Holiness Church.
Spirit and Sacrament by pastor and author Andrew Wilson is an impassioned call to join together two traditions that are frequently and unnecessarily kept separate. It is an invitation to pursue the best of both worlds in worship, the Eucharistic and the charismatic, with the grace of God at the center. Wilson envisions church services in which healing testimonies and prayers of confession coexist, the congregation sings When I Survey the Wondrous Cross followed by Happy Day, and creeds move the soul while singing moves the body. He imagines a worship service that could come out of the book of Acts: Young men see visions, old men dream dreams, sons and daughters prophesy, and they all come together to the same Table and go on their way rejoicing. In short, Spirit and Sacrament is an appeal to bring out of the church's storehouse all of its treasures, so that God's people can worship our unrivaled Savior with sacraments and spiritual gifts, raised hands and lowered faces.
Many American Christians remain ignorant of black Pentacostalism. In this expansive historical overview, Estrelda Alexander recounts the story of African American Pentecostal origins and development. Whether you come from this tradition or you just want to learn more, this book will unfold all the dimensions of this important movement's history and contribution to the life of the church.
This book deals with the problem of Pentecostal 'traditioning'. Traditioning has been ineffective thus far because the richness of Pentecostal faith and experience has been inadequately captured in the classical Pentecostal doctrines of Spirit-baptism and glossolalia. A more adequate understanding of the key theological symbol of Pentecostalism, glossolalia, emerges when it is interpreted in the light of Christian spiritual tradition. Within this larger tradition glossolalia can be seen as bringing together both the ascetical and contemplative dimensions of the Christian life. Chan thus explores the shape of Pentecostal ecclesiology as 'traditioning community'.
In Pentecostals and Roman Catholics on Becoming a Christian, Dr. Karen Murphy explores the fifth round of the International Roman Catholic-Pentecostal Dialogue (1998-2006). Discussing Spirit-baptism, faith, conversion, experience, and discipleship, Dr. Murphy notes areas in which the Dialogue has evolved since its inception in 1972. She unpacks the commonalities that bond Catholics and Pentecostals and examines theological divergences and challenges to dialogue. While Catholics approach becoming a Christian from a sacramental perspective, most Pentecostals think of Christian initiation in non-sacramental, or conversionist, terms, a reality that fosters ongoing tensions between the two traditions. Dr. Murphy reveals how Catholics and Pentecostals seek to overcome this dichotomy by honoring spirituality and experience as integral to the ecumenical encounter.
