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.
As David deSilva has experienced the ancient wisdom of the Book of Common Prayer, he's been formed spiritually in deep and lasting ways. In these pages, he offers you a brand new way to use the Book of Common Prayer, exploring how Christians can be spiritually formed by the sacraments of baptism, Eucharist, marriage and last rites.
This volume of ecumenical documents, key texts, and critical essays is the first collection of its kind exclusively dedicated to Pentecostalism and its contributions to Christian unity. In the first part, a cadre of internationally renowned scholars addresses the ecumenical heritage and perspectives of the Pentecostal movement since the early twentieth century. Part 2 offers a collection of final reports from international dialogues with Pentecostal participation. The final part contains programmatic essays in response to The Nature and Mission of the Church, a major study on the doctrine of the church published by the World Council of Churches. Most of these essays were first presented by the ecumenical-studies group of the Society for Pentecostal Studies, currently the only organized ecumenical think tank among Pentecostals in North America. Since its formation in 2001, the group has encouraged Pentecostal participation in ecumenical concerns, has hosted Roman Catholic-Pentecostal conversations at the annual meeting of the Society, has invited international scholarly debates on ecumenical matters, and has engaged in the study of ecumenical consensus statements. The essays and documents in this collection model the dedication and commitment among Pentecostals today that engage the challenges and opportunities of Christian unity from the perspective of a tradition that has often been falsely accused of being anti-ecumenical. This collection presents an invaluable resource for teachers, scholars, and pastors interested in engaging the global Christian arena from the worldwide and ecumenical image of Pentecostalism. Contributors Carmelo E. Alvarez Harold D. Hunter Douglas Jacobsen Veli-Matti Karkkainen Frank D. Macchia Raymond R. Pfister Cecil M. Robeck Jr. Paul van der Laan Wolfgang Vondey
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.
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.
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'.
"This is my body," said Jesus at the Last Supper. What did he mean? Throughout church history, there have been various interpretations of his words. These differences have caused denominational ruptures that have yet to heal. In A Holy Meal, Gordon T. Smith shows that we cannot appreciate the Lord's Supper until we understand it. In light of the renewed attention given to the sacraments by all branches of the church, he examines the historic interpretations and seeks common ground among believers. In the process, he shows how the Lord's Supper can infuse new meaning into the church as it confronts the forces of postmodernism and secularism. A Holy Meal is essential reading for Christians who want to ponder the Lord's Supper again--perhaps truly for the first time.
Offers a fascinating look at Pentecostalism's place in global theology and shows how Christians from other traditions can benefit from recent developments in Pentecostal theology.
This book is a constructive attempt at formulating a contemporary Pentecostal theology grounded in worship and witness. The theological vision expounded here is grounded in the Pentecostal story with its emphasis upon the fivefold Gospel. The doxological confession of Jesus as Savior, Sanctifier, Spirit Baptizer, Healer, and soon coming King provide the basic organizational structure of a Pentecostal narrative theology. Each chapter takes seriously these central convictions and allows them to shape, form, and reform various theological loci. Important issues such as methodology, hermeneutics, and theology as embodied worship and witness are addressed. The result is a vibrant and integrative theology fueled by a dynamic spirituality.
