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The Nature and Significance of Prophecy in Pentecostal- Charismatic Experience: an Empirical-Biblical Study

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THE NATURE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF PROPHECY IN PENTECOSTAL- CHARISMATIC EXPERIENCE: AN EMPIRICAL-BIBLICAL STUDY By SAMUEL W. MUINDI A Thesis Submitted to The University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Theology and Religion College of Arts and Law The University of Birmingham November 2012 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. THE NATURE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF PROPHECY IN PENTECOSTAL- CHARISMATIC EXPERIENCE: AN EMPIRICAL-BIBLICAL STUDY by Samuel W. Muindi ABSTRACT The notion of prophecy is a Leitmotiv, both in Scripture and in the Church. However, the most common form of prophecy that is witnessed in the Church today is the charismatic prophecy manifestations in the Pentecostal-charismatic movement. Although the latter is now billed as the fastest growing Christian movement in church history, and has brought to the fore the biblical notion of the charisms of the Holy Spirit, the subject of charismatic prophecy has received limited attention in Pentecostal studies. There is therefore a gap in knowledge. The present study is an attempt to address the lacuna from an empirical-biblical perspective. The study answers the question: “What is the nature and significance of charismatic prophecy as observed in a particular context of the Pentecostal- charismatic Movement?” The overarching methodology of the study is hermeneutical; it is an empirical- biblical interpretive study of charismatic prophecy in the light of critically reflected empirical observations in an African Pentecostal-charismatic context. The choice of the African context for the study is informed by the observation that the rise of Pentecostal- charismatic spirituality in the early twentieth-century was greatly enriched by African spirituality. Therefore the African context plausibly offers etymological perspectives of the Pentecostal-charismatic phenomenon. The specific Pentecostal-charismatic context is an African Initiated Church, the Redeemed Gospel Church (RGC), based in the most evangelical African nation, the country of Kenya. The RGC is a typical African Initiated Church which utilizes categories derived from African culture in understanding and interpreting the Christian message. It, nonetheless, manifests typologies of global Pentecostalism since it was formed in the early 1970s as a breakaway from a foreign missionary church and has continued to have close links with international Pentecostal- charismatic missions. It therefore offers an ideal context for studying a universal aspect of Pentecostalism in a particular significant setting. The empirical study process is a hermeneutical-praxis model; it employs the case study method, entailing exploratory and evaluative case studies, including ‘focus group’ as an adjunct data gathering strategy. The study then forges a dialectical synthesis between empirical data, scripture and espoused beliefs of the Pentecostal-charismatics in order to offer an empirically-biblically grounded thesis of charismatic prophecy. The study presents a particular thesis: that charismatic prophecy, as observed in Pentecostal-charismatic congregational settings in the African context, is sacramental in its nature and parakletic in its functional significance. Thus, the charismatic prophecy experience is viewed as an intense moment of a participatory interface between the divine Spirit and the human spirit in which the divine Spirit infuses the human conscious dimension with revelatory impulses. The experience is parakletic in the sense that it edifies, encourages, and comforts the church in congregational settings. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis is, in many ways, the outcome of the invaluable advisement that I received from the faculty of the University of Birmingham. However, my deepest gratitude and appreciation go to my supervisor. Dr. Mark J. Cartledge. Throughout the course of my research work he has patiently and diligently guided me with invaluable suggestions and helpful critique which enabled me to accomplish my research study. Also deserving gratitude are all those who made my project feasible. I am particularly indebted to the leadership of the Redeemed Gospel Church Inc. for facilitating the empirical part of the study. I am also indebted the Library staff at the University of Birmingham Library, Andover- Harvard Theological Library, and Boston University School of Theology Library. The financial assistance that I received from my home church and from my family, as well as from well-wishers, is greatly appreciated. “May God make all grace abound to them, so that in all things at all times, having all they need, they will abound in every good work” (2Cor 9:8 paraphrase). Special gratitude is due to my family who not only braved the pain of extended periods of my absence from them but also encouraged me to finish my course with success. May the Lord who comforted them in their pain of loneliness not only refresh ,שׇׁ לוֹם their hearts with joy at the completion of this project but also reward them with his shalom. Above all, “to our God and Father be glory forever and ever, Amen” (Phil4:20). THE NATURE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF PROPHECY IN PENTECOSTAL- CHARISMATIC EXPERIENCE: AN EMPIRICAL-BIBLICAL STUDY CONTENTS I. CHAPTER ONE: CHARISMATIC PROPHECY: AN INTRODUCTION….…...........1 1.1 The Pentecostal-Charismatic Phenomenon………………………………………….....3 1.2 The Pentecostal-Charismatic Experience………………………………………........…9 1.3 The Study Context……………………………….....…………………………….…..12 1.4 Study Outline………………………………...…………………………………...…..17 1.5 Scope and Limitations of the Study……….........…………..……………...…..…..…19 1.6 Significance of the Study………………...……………..……………………....….…20 II. CHAPTER TWO: METHODOLOGY: AN EMPIRICAL-BIBLICAL APPROACH…………………………………………………..…………..……...…….....23 2.1 Introduction……………...……………...….…….………………………………..….23 2.2 The Biblical-Hermeneutical Paradigm………..........…...……………………….…....24 2.3 The Empirical-Biblical Method…….…….…….….……………………………….…30 2.4 A Hermeneutical-Praxis Model……...………………………………………….….…38 2.5 The Empirical-Biblical Process….….……….……………………………….…….…41 2.6 Research Problem and Goal…….….………….………………………………….…..46 2.6.1 Development of Research Problem 2.6.2 Development of Research Goal 2.7 Empirical Induction……………………….…………………………………….……48 2.7.1 Perception 2.7.2 Reflection 2.7.3 Formulation of Research Question 2.7.4 Empirical Research Design 2.8 Empirical Deduction…………………………………………….….………..……..58. 2.8.1 Conceptualization 2.8.2 Conceptual Model 2.8.3 Operationalization 2.9 Data Collection and Analysis…….….……………………………….……….……..62 2.9.1 Data Collection 2.9.2 Preparation of Data Sets 2.9.3 Data Analysis 2.10 Evaluation…………………..…………………………………..………………….70 2.10.1 Interpretation and Reflection 2.10.2 Methodological Reflection 2.11 Summary…………………..………………………………………………….……73 III. CHAPTER THREE: INDUCTIVE- EXPLORATORY CASE STUDY………...…..75 3.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………....….……..75 3.2 The Case Study Method……….……….…………………………………..…………76 3.3 The Case Study Setting…….….………………………………………….…..………79 3.4 The Redeemed Gospel Church………..………………………………………....……81 3.5 Participant Observation…………….....………………………………..…….……….85 3.6 Focus Groups…………………………………………………………………….……88 3.7 Analysis…………………...…………………………………….……………….……92 3.8 Findings and Discussion…..……………………..……………………………..……..96 3.9 Reflection on Van der Ven’s Model and Focus Group Strategy………………….…104 IV. CHAPTER FOUR: A REVIEW OF LITERATURE………..…………………....…107 4.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………….…..…..107 4.2 Prophecy: A Conceptual Description…….….....….……………………………..….108 4.3 Prophecy: A Biblical Perspective……….…..…..……………………….…..…...….111 4.3.1 Prophecy in the Old Testament 4.3.2 Prophecy in the New Testament Church 4.4 Prophecy and the Spirit of God…………………………………………..…..……..122 4.5 Charismatic Prophecy: Definition and Description…………..………………..……126 4.5.1 Charismatic Prophecy: A Social Scientific Perspective 4.5.2 Charismatic Prophecy: An Empirical-Theological Perspective 4.6 Charismatic Prophecy: Voices of the Pentecostal-Charismatics…......…….….……150 4.7 Charismatic Prophecy: Emerging Theoretical Constructs……...………….…….….157 . V. CHAPTER FIVE: DEDUCTIVE- EXPLANATORY CASE STUDIES…….….…..161 5.1 Introduction……………………………………………………….………….……...161 5.2 Participant Observation……………………………….......…………….…………...162 5.3 Focus Groups………………………………………………………………….…….164 5.4 Analytical Approach……………………….……….……………………….………166 5.5 Interpretation and Reflection …………………...…………………………………..168 5.5.1 Empirical-Analytic Results and Scripture 5.5.2 Empirical-Analytic Results and Praxis in Church History 5.5.3 Empirical-Analytic Results and Contemporary Praxis 5.6 Charismatic Prophecy: Emerging Concepts……………………………...…………204 5.7 Methodological Reflection…………………………………………...……………..206 VI. CHAPTER SIX: CHARISMATIC PROPHECY: AN EMPIRICAL-BIBLICAL MODEL………..………………….………….……..….211 6.1 Review of Empirical-Biblical Process….………..…………………………………..211 6.2 Charismatic Prophecy: A Sacramental-Experiential Model……….……...…………214 6.3 Charismatic Prophecy:
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