Global Warming

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Global Warming GLOBAL WARMING THE FIRE OF PENTECOST IN WORLD EVANGELISM An anecdotal history of the work of Elim Missions (1919 – 1989) Peter Smith GLOBAL WARMING Copyright © 2006 Peter Smith B. Th. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978-0-9556085-0-6 Published by the Elim Pentecostal Irish Churches Printed by Antrim Printers, Steeple Industrial Estate, Antrim, BT41 1AB Tel: 028 9442 8053 CONTENTS FOREWORD ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PREFACE INTRODUCTION SECTION ONE - EUROPE 1.Albania 2.Armenia 3.Belgium 4.Elim Relief Association (ERA) 5.Europe (General) 6.Euroteams 7.Elim Women‟s Missionary Auxiliary (EWMA 8.France 9.Greece 10.Spain SECTION TWO - AFRICA 11. Botswana/Bechuanaland 12. Belgian Congo/Zaire/Democratic Republic of Congo 13. Egypt 14. Ghana 15. Kenya 16. New Zealand (Zambia/Malawi) 17. Tanganyika/Tanzania 18. Transvaal/South Africa 19. Zimbabwe (Southern Rhodesia) SECTION THREE - CENTRAL & SOUTHAMERICA 20. Brazil 21. Guyana 22. Honduras SECTION FOUR - INDIA & THE FAR EAST 23. China/Hong Kong 24. India 25. Japan 26. Malaysia 27. Mongolia/Formosa/Taiwan 28. Thailand 29. Conclusion FOREWORD By Pastor John Glass General Superintendent, Elim Pentecostal Church The Early Church was born amidst the flames of missionary zeal. In some cases, the fire generated had been first lit in an upper room on the day of Pentecost and blazed in as many combustible lives as would place themselves on the altar of service. On other occasions, the fire took the form of persecution as witnesses were thrust out to Regions that they would not normally have traversed had they not experienced the inferno fanned by ferocious enemies of the Gospel. As is so often the case, God causes the wrath of men to praise Him; and what was meant for evil turned out for good. No period of history, however dark the age or dry the land, has been without its witnesses and it is to a small seventy year section of it, 1919-1989, that Peter Smith draws our attention in the pages that follow. The author has „earned the right to speak‟ as he has given many years of his life in dedication to the cause of world mission via his involvement in strategic planning on councils and committees, as well as direct engagement by visiting the Fields himself - applying his wisdom and teaching gifts to the benefit of the local churches. You are about to read of lives propelled, not by the security net of financial guarantees but by a simple trust in a God who is bound to grant the means to sustain a call that He has placed upon the lives of His people. There will be countless others whose names are not recorded here but are indelibly printed in the pages of heaven‟s eternal audit. Over time, the form that mission takes inevitably changes – yet its heart still beats to the same rhythms of grace and a call of God that never drops a decibel in its volume or a syllable in its challenge to reach a lost world for Christ. Many mentioned here have already reached their reward. This text is not for them – they have no need of it. This book is for us. It transcends cold data and serves to inspire us to a higher level of commitment to the subject that is the nearest to God‟s heart and the purpose of the cross. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am indebted to Pastor John Glass and the NLT for their encouragement and permission to use the reports in the Elim Evangel as the basis for much of the content in this book. My thanks also to Pastor D. W. Cartwright, Elim‟s archivist and Mr. David Womersley of CAM for their help and input. I acknowledge, with grateful thanks, the willing co-operation and help of missionaries, both serving and retired, together with the children of some who have passed on to their reward, who all responded to my search for information. I have appreciated the unfailing support of my family who have put up with my long absences at the computer. Last, and most importantly, I acknowledge the God of all grace whose eternal love has provided us with a theme for such a publication and for whose glory all that has been recorded and written was undertaken. DEDICATION To Janet The love of my life and the mainstay of my ministry PREFACE GLOBAL WARMING - ecologically and environmentally a potential disaster, but spiritually, an absolute prerequisite to the return of Jesus Christ. “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Matthew 24:14) God has presented Himself to us as fire throughout Scripture. He spoke to Moses from the burning bush. A pillar of fire during the wilderness wanderings signified His presence among His people. John the Baptist declared of Jesus that He would “baptise with the Holy Ghost and fire.” (Matthew 3:11) The two disciples on the road to Emmaus testified - “Did not our hearts burn within us?” and, in more recent times, John Wesley‟s well-documented experience with God was that his “heart was strangely warmed”. It is interesting that, in the physical world, fire is sustained by a supply of flammable material and oxygen. So too, in the spiritual, the fire of evangelism rests on a supply of flammable material - willing, servant hearts, and the oxygen of the Divine Spirit. Edwin Orr, in his appraisal of the Second Evangelical Awakening,i finds an abundance of both. He makes the interesting observation that “every revival of religion in the homelands is felt within a decade in the foreign mission-fields”. He goes on to say that the revival of 1859 “helped to lay the foundations of the modern international and interdenominational missionary structure.” Indeed, the period around 1859 gave rise to some of the most noted names in missionary endeavour - David Livingstone, George Grenfell, Mary Slessor and many others. Shortly afterwards, and as a direct result of the awakenings of those times, James Chalmers went to his martyrdom in New Guinea and James Hudson Taylor opened up the work in China. Orr continues: “Only when the bulk of the foregoing material had been assembled was it possible to gain a comprehensive view of the Awakening and its relationship to the movement as of the fifty years following. It has been concluded that the fifty years following 1858 constituted a distinct and definite period of expansion of the Christian Church, in fact, a nineteenth century evangelical awakening comparable to its noted predecessor of the eighteenth century.” It is his opinion that the Awakening of 1858-59 created new organisations of a permanent character and increased the efforts of all Christians to fulfil the Great Commission and carry the Gospel to every creature, at home and abroad. The Welsh Revival of 1904 had also a remarkable impact on the work of spreading the Gospel overseas. Places as far removed as India, Madagascar and Patagonia responded to the Spirit‟s influences. Mainland Europe was not untouched. Africa, Asia and Australasia were all impacted by the revival. Eifion Evans reports that the Christian and Missionary Alliance recorded, with reference to India, “The revival has given a new body of native evangelists and most of our native preachers have experienced a baptism of the Holy Ghost which has completely transformed their spirit and work”. ii It is against this background and historical legacy that the Elim churches responded to the challenge of the Great Commission. The founder of the Elim Pentecostal Church, George Jeffreys, was born in February 1889. He was born again in 1904, during the period of the Welsh revival and, in 1910, received his baptism in the Holy Spirit. Others have traced his life story, so it is not fitting that this should be repeated, except to say that, in a very short time, he began to preach locally in Wales and that signs and wonders followed his ministry. At the age of 24, he responded to an invitation to preach in Ireland and, subsequently, the Elim Church came into being. E.C.W. Boulton‟s book, A Ministry of the Miraculous,iii traces his career through to 1928 and it is evident that he was a gifted evangelist, on fire for God and committed to winning souls for Christ. In his early years, George Jeffreys had a profound interest in overseas missions. His associations with the early Pentecostal pioneers of the twentieth century meant that he was open to developments in thinking relative to the evangelistic outreach of the churches with a Pentecostal ethos then in the process of being formed. Following on the principles adopted by Hudson Taylor and the China Inland Mission, Alexander Boddy and Cecil Polhill set up the Pentecostal Missionary Union in 1909. William K. Kay in his book, Inside Story,iv traces the development of this movement in its early years. He notes that the founding of the Congo Evangelistic Mission by William Burton and James Salter in 1915 “had the unintentional result of deflecting missionary finance to that field and away from PMU workers in China, India and the Tibet areas.” George Jeffreys‟ early Bible training came about indirectly as a result of the formation of the PMU. This was because the PMU used the Bible School set up by Thomas Myerscough at Preston and George Jeffreys went there in 1912, remaining until the following year.
Recommended publications
  • Exec. Summary
    April 2010 Executive Summary NEWS BRIEFS, condensed version (for the complete news briefs, go to: www.lausanneworldpulse.com/newsbrief.php/1271/04-2010) AROUND THE WORLD: GoBible Traveler Holds Entire Audio Bible The GoBible Traveler is available in two new portable audio Bible editions: The GoBible Traveler and the Spanish GoBible Viajero. The GoBible Traveler is a lightweight, hand-held, portable device preloaded with the entire audio version of the Bible featuring over seventy hours of audio. It is offered in either the King James Version, The New International Version, or The Nueva Versión Internacional. (Assist News Service) CHILE: Speaking Hope in the Aftermath of the Earthquake As the nation of Chile continues suffering from the aftermath of the March earthquake, TWR was also affected as its partner office there, Radio Trans Mundial (RTM), sustained severe damage. The extent of the damage and what it may cost to repair are still being assessed. TWR’s Member Care Radio, in partnership with Dr. Brent Lindquist of Link Care Center, is responding to comfort the people of Chile by distributing a series of radio programs in Spanish for caregivers and survivors of crisis and catastrophe. (TWR) DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Major League Baseball Player Spreads Christ’s Love While the United States is gearing up for America's favorite pastime, a Major League baseball player is helping kids learn the game while also introducing them to Christ. According to Kathy Redmond of Compassion International (CI), Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals sponsors CI’s entire child survival program in Batey Aleman, a community of Haitian migrant workers who harvest sugar cane in the Dominican Republic.
    [Show full text]
  • The Early Apostolics and the Trinity
    Chapter 3 The Early Apostolics and the Trinity The Tenets of the Apostolic Church begin with the Trinity (a feature which curiously sets them apart from most other evangelical and Pentecostal state- ments of faith).1 While most other evangelical and Pentecostal movements commence their doctrinal statements with reference to Scripture, the Tenets do not mention Scripture until the eighth position (between the Sacraments and Church government, and thus firmly within the context of ecclesiology). This primacy of the Trinity in the order of the Tenets was not accidental. Rath- er, the early leaders of the Apostolic Church were making clear their firm belief that the doctrine of the Trinity was the doctrine upon which all others rest and from which all others derive their meaning. Hence, unsurprisingly, some of these early leaders devoted significant reflection to the doctrine of the Trinity. 3.1 D.P. Williams and Thomas Rees: The Trinity and the Trinitarian Undergirding of All Theology In 1939 D.P. Williams wrote a two-volume work entitled The Trinity.2 The draft was intended as the first in a series exploring the Tenets of the Apostolic Church. However, due to the outbreak of war, it was never published, and when, after the war and ensuing paper shortages concluded, a series of works on the Tenets was finally published, the volumes included in the series were much less substantial. In fact, these works were not published until after the death of Williams, and thus without any contribution from his pen. When a volume on the Trinity was eventually published in the series of ‘Te- net Booklets’, it was a very short work by Thomas Rees.3 However, this work by 1 The statements of faith of the Elim Pentecostal Church and AoG (the other two indigenous British Pentecostal denominations) both commence with a statement on Scripture.
    [Show full text]
  • 16. Eschatology
    16. Eschatology 16.1. INTRODUCTION The Sunbogeum church borrowed its eschatology from the American Assemblies of God. Therefore, it shares the same theological outlook with that of pentecostalism in general.1 The article of the Korean Assemblies of God, which is contained in its constitution, writes of the hope for rapture, the millennium, the lake of fire, and the new heaven and new earth.2 However, seeing the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as the Latter Rain which has to do with the harvest, and holding pretribulationism and antinomianism in connection with eschatology, Sunbogeum eschatology has a more urgent motivation for world evangelization/mission than pentecostalism generally has.3 Jan A. B. Jongeneel, who discusses eschatology in relation to missiology, coined the term ‘missionary eschatology.’4 Sunbogeum eschatology can also be understood as a missionary eschatology even though it does not label itself as such. There are two currents of thought when discussing eschatology in Sunbogeum- ism. One is Yonggi Cho’s teaching about the last days expressed in his book of collected sermons on the A Commentary on Daniel for Laymen and the A Commentary on the Revelation to John for Laymen (both published in 1976). The other is the theological discussion of eschatology from a pentecostal view produced by the International Theological Institute at Yoido Sunbogeum Church and by Jeong-Ryeol Pak. These two different trends of Korean Sunbogeumism (Cho’s Bible-interpreting radical Sunbogeumism and theologically-considered classical pentecostalism of same Sunbogeumists)5 are especially highlighted in the subject of eschatology. We will discuss the latter as a criticism of Cho’s eschatology because his radical view discloses both strengths and weakness in pentecostal eschatology.
    [Show full text]
  • Grave Negotiations: the Rhetorical Foundations of American
    GRAVE NEGOTIATIONS: THE RHETORICAL FOUNDATIONS OF AMERICAN WORLD WAR I CEMETERIES IN EUROPE by David W. Seitz Bachelor of Arts, Johns Hopkins University, 2002 Master of Arts, Johns Hopkins University, 2005 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2011 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by David W. Seitz It was defended on May 17, 2011 and approved by Dr. Neepa Majumdar, Associate Professor, Department of English Dr. Brenton Malin, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication Dr. Gordon Mitchell, Associate Professor, Department of Communication Dr. Kirk Savage, Professor, Department of History of Art and Architecture Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Ronald J. Zboray, Professor, Department of Communication ii Copyright © by David W. Seitz 2011 iii GRAVE NEGOTIATIONS: THE RHETORICAL FOUNDATIONS OF AMERICAN WORLD WAR I CEMETERIES IN EUROPE David W. Seitz, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2011 This dissertation uncovers the processes of negotiation between private citizens, President Woodrow Wilson’s administration, the War Department, and the Commission of Fine Arts that led to the establishment and final visual presentation of the United States permanent World War I cemeteries in Europe (sites that are still frequented by tens of thousands of international visitors each year). It employs archival research and the analysis of newspapers and photographs to recover the voices of the many stakeholders involved in the cemeteries’ foundation. Whereas previous studies have attempted to understand American World War I commemoration practices by focusing on postwar rituals of remembrance alone, my study contextualizes and explains postwar commemoration by analyzing the political ideologies, public rhetoric, and material realities of the war years (1914-1918)—ideologies, rhetoric, and material realities that shaped official and vernacular projects of memory after the Armistice.
    [Show full text]
  • Personal Music Collection
    Christopher Lee :: Personal Music Collection electricshockmusic.com :: Saturday, 25 September 2021 < Back Forward > Christopher Lee's Personal Music Collection | # | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | | DVD Audio | DVD Video | COMPACT DISCS Artist Title Year Label Notes # Digitally 10CC 10cc 1973, 2007 ZT's/Cherry Red Remastered UK import 4-CD Boxed Set 10CC Before During After: The Story Of 10cc 2017 UMC Netherlands import 10CC I'm Not In Love: The Essential 10cc 2016 Spectrum UK import Digitally 10CC The Original Soundtrack 1975, 1997 Mercury Remastered UK import Digitally Remastered 10CC The Very Best Of 10cc 1997 Mercury Australian import 80's Symphonic 2018 Rhino THE 1975 A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships 2018 Dirty Hit/Polydor UK import I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful THE 1975 2016 Dirty Hit/Interscope Yet So Unaware Of It THE 1975 Notes On A Conditional Form 2020 Dirty Hit/Interscope THE 1975 The 1975 2013 Dirty Hit/Polydor UK import {Return to Top} A A-HA 25 2010 Warner Bros./Rhino UK import A-HA Analogue 2005 Polydor Thailand import Deluxe Fanbox Edition A-HA Cast In Steel 2015 We Love Music/Polydor Boxed Set German import A-HA East Of The Sun West Of The Moon 1990 Warner Bros. German import Digitally Remastered A-HA East Of The Sun West Of The Moon 1990, 2015 Warner Bros./Rhino 2-CD/1-DVD Edition UK import 2-CD/1-DVD Ending On A High Note: The Final Concert Live At A-HA 2011 Universal Music Deluxe Edition Oslo Spektrum German import A-HA Foot Of The Mountain 2009 Universal Music German import A-HA Hunting High And Low 1985 Reprise Digitally Remastered A-HA Hunting High And Low 1985, 2010 Warner Bros./Rhino 2-CD Edition UK import Digitally Remastered Hunting High And Low: 30th Anniversary Deluxe A-HA 1985, 2015 Warner Bros./Rhino 4-CD/1-DVD Edition Boxed Set German import A-HA Lifelines 2002 WEA German import Digitally Remastered A-HA Lifelines 2002, 2019 Warner Bros./Rhino 2-CD Edition UK import A-HA Memorial Beach 1993 Warner Bros.
    [Show full text]
  • The Move to Independence from Anglican Leadership
    THE MOVE TO INDEPENDENCE FROM ANGLICAN LEADERSHIP: AN EXAMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ALEXANDER ALFRED BODDY AND THE EARLY LEADERS OF THE BRITISH PENTECOSTAL DENOMINATIONS (1907-1930) by KYU-HYUNG CHO A Thesis Submitted to The University of Birmingham For the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion College of Arts and Law The University of Birmingham September 2009 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. ABSTRACT This thesis examines the relationship between the leaders of the Anglican Church, centring on Alexander Alfred Boddy (1854-1930), considered the father of British Pentecostalism, and the young Pentecostals in the process of formation of the three major Pentecostal denominations, namely, the Apostolic Faith Church, the Assemblies of God and the Elim Church. Although there were not many Anglican participants in British Pentecostalism and most Pentecostals came from Nonconformist backgrounds, Boddy dominated the leadership from the beginning. As a result, most of the British Pentecostals who were actively involved in the forming of Pentecostal denominations were either directly or indirectly influenced by him. However, as Pentecostalism grew, disagreement and conflict appeared over certain issues and intensified during the period when the Pentecostal denominations were taking shape.
    [Show full text]
  • The Black Majority Church: Exploring the Impact of Faith and a Faith Community on Mental Health and Well-Being
    Middlesex University Research Repository An open access repository of Middlesex University research http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk Burrell, Rachel-Rose (2019) The Black Majority Church: exploring the impact of faith and a faith community on mental health and well-being. Other thesis, Middlesex University / Metanoia Institute. [Thesis] Final accepted version (with author’s formatting) This version is available at: https://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/26479/ Copyright: Middlesex University Research Repository makes the University’s research available electronically. Copyright and moral rights to this work are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners unless otherwise stated. The work is supplied on the understanding that any use for commercial gain is strictly forbidden. A copy may be downloaded for personal, non-commercial, research or study without prior permission and without charge. Works, including theses and research projects, may not be reproduced in any format or medium, or extensive quotations taken from them, or their content changed in any way, without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder(s). They may not be sold or exploited commercially in any format or medium without the prior written permission of the copyright holder(s). Full bibliographic details must be given when referring to, or quoting from full items including the author’s name, the title of the work, publication details where relevant (place, publisher, date), pag- ination, and for theses or dissertations the awarding institution, the degree type awarded, and the date of the award. If you believe that any material held in the repository infringes copyright law, please contact the Repository Team at Middlesex University via the following email address: [email protected] The item will be removed from the repository while any claim is being investigated.
    [Show full text]
  • At the Edge of Faith: an Ethnographic Study of British Pentecostalism
    Durham E-Theses AT THE EDGE OF FAITH: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY OF BRITISH PENTECOSTALISM Cookson, Helen How to cite: Cookson, Helen (2008) AT THE EDGE OF FAITH: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY OF BRITISH PENTECOSTALISM, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1340/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 At the Edge of Faith: An Ethnographic Study of British Pentecostalism. Helen Cookson Submitted for the degree of Doctorate of Philosophy Department of Anthropology University of Durham 2008 The copyright of this thesis rests with the author or the university to which it was submitted. No quotation from it, or information derived from it may be published without the prior written consent of the author or university, and any information derived from it should be acknowledged. 2 6 JAN 2009 At the Edge of Faith: An Ethnographic Study of British Pentecostalism.
    [Show full text]
  • List of Christian Denominations - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia Page 1 of 18
    List of Christian denominations - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Page 1 of 18 List of Christian denominations From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected fromChristian Denominations) List of Christian denominations (or Denominations self-identified as Christian) ordered by historical and doctrinal relationships. (See also: Christianity; Christian denominations; List of Christian denominations by number of members). Some groups are large (e.g. Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans or Baptists), while others are just a few small churches, and in most cases the relative size is not evident in this list. Also, modern movements such as Fundamentalist Christianity, Pietism, Evangelicalism, Pentecostalism and the Holiness movement sometimes cross denominational lines, or in some cases create new denominations out of two or more continuing groups, (as is the case for many United and uniting churches, for example). Such subtleties and complexities are not clearly depicted here. Additionally, some groups viewed by non-adherents as denominational actively resist being called a "denomination" and do not have any formal denominational structure, authority, or record-keeping beyond the local congregation; several groups within Restorationism fall into this category. Note: This is not a complete list, but aims to provide a comprehensible overview of the diversity among denominations of Christianity. As there are reported to be approximately 38,000 Christian denominations,[1] many of which cannot be verified to be significant, only those denominations with Wikipedia articles will be listed in order to ensure that all entries on this list are notable and verifiable. Note: Between denominations, theologians, and comparative religionists there are considerable disagreements about which groups can be properly called Christian, disagreements arising primarily from doctrinal differences between groups.
    [Show full text]
  • 'They Came to Elim'
    DIRECTION The Elim Pentecostal Church is 90 years old this year, though that’s young compared with many other denominations. But it’s a good time to reflect on the development of Elim – its founding in 1915 and subsequent growth is an exciting story of faith. For both those new to Elim and long-time members who would like to know more about our past, Desmond Cartwright, the Movement’s official historian, takes us on a 90-year journey back to our roots… ‘They came to Elim’ Discovering the remarkable story of nine decades of Pentecostal witness The man who under God that they wanted more than George was also healed of a Above founded the Elim Pentecostal what some of the existing stammer and facial paralysis. Evan Roberts, the leader Church, George Jeffreys (1889- churches were providing, and George, still in his early 20s, of the Welsh revival that brought the young 1962), was brought up in the they were not satisfied with the began doing a little preaching in George Jeffreys to faith Welsh Independent (Congrega- dry routine of orthodoxy or a some of the small mission halls tional) Church. He came to faith creeping liberalism. in Wales around 1910. As he Main pic during the first period of the George and his older brother, began to develop in this, there Crystal Palace was packed Welsh Revival of 1904, when he Stephen, were first opposed to came increasing demands for his in 1936 as Pentecostals gathered for Elim’s ‘Coming was 15 years old. the Pentecostal manifestations ministry and this brought him of Age’ celebrations A few years later, after the into contact with the Pentecostal initial impact of the revival had The meetings continued Missionary Union (PMU).
    [Show full text]
  • A Guide to Pentecostalism for Lutherans; It Is Also a Well-Written Text That Can Challenge Pentecostals to Understand How Other Christians See Them
    A Guide to Pentecostal Movements for Lutherans Sarah Hinlicky Wilson Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Table of Contents Preface Acknowledgements Introduction Azusa Pentecostals Lutherans Baptism I Baptism II Charismata History Power Prosperity Experience Conclusion Bibliography Preface In 2008 when I first met Sarah Hinlicky Wilson on a cold December day in Zürich, Switzerland, I encountered a person who was willing to get into a discussion. We had been invited to talks on our respective views of our traditions, Pentecostal and Lutheran. Like the weather, the situation was at first a bit frosty, as if the world of Lutherans and that of Classical Pentecostals were like two continents still drifting apart. So no wonder if the conversations would be careful and characterized by a certain distance. Eight years have since passed and we have come to appreciate our common Christian faith—we have become friends without having to abandon our basic beliefs and religious roots. Sarah has studied Pentecostalism in great detail and has now written this book, testifying to the ecumenical importance of nursing conversations between Lutherans and Pentecostals. This book is being published at a time when official dialogue between the Lutherans World Federation and Classical Pentecostals is about to begin. Besides introducing the reader to both the Pentecostal movement and the Lutheran confession, she addresses major issues that arise when the two groups talk together. Do we have a common understanding of baptism? How can we understand the role of charisms in the church? But she does not stop at clarifying theological ideas.
    [Show full text]
  • Spirit-Filled Immigrants Bring Revival to Germany
    Spirit-Filled Immigrants Bring Revival to Germany http://www.charismanews.com/world/34289-spirit-filled-immigrants-b... Charisma News Spirit-Filled Immigrants Bring Revival to Germany 6:00AM EDT 10/10/2012 Peter K. Johnson At Hillsong Church-Konstanz, the fastest-growing Pentecostal ministry in Germany, Sunday services draw 800 people—a number far above the national norm for Pentecostal churches. (Hillsong Germany) Ulf Bastian tramped into Christengemeinde Elim Pentecostal church in Hamburg, Germany, parading his punk-rocker duds: hair dyed a shocking bright color, black leather jacket, torn jeans and a T-shirt screaming the angry message, “Hate Mankind.” His ex-girlfriend, who had become a born-again Christian (and is now his wife), urged him to attend. “I thought she was crazy,” he says. “I did not want to be part of Christian people.” Still, the Holy Spirit coaxed him to return a second time. Arriving late, he grabbed a chair in the last row. The worship music and pastor’s preaching about sin and the cross of Christ hit home. Weeping, he rushed to the altar at the end of the service and told the pastor, “I need forgiveness.” He learned later that people had been praying for him from the first time he stepped into Elim, especially older members of the congregation. He was embraced by the group, despite his edgy appearance, and now serves as children’s pastor. “Jesus did a great wonder in my life,” he says. Bastian’s conversion took several years, a common trend in post-Christian Germany, where many tune out the gospel and, until recently, the spiritual fires of previous eras had been all but snuffed out.
    [Show full text]