Review: Dalit Pentecostalism

Dalit Pentecostalism: Spirituality of the Empowered Poor, by V. V. Thomas. Bangalore, India: Asian Trading Corporation, 2008.

Dr. V. V. Thomas is one of the leading historians of Indian Pentecostalism.  His book, Dalit Pentecostalism: Spirituality of the Empowered Poor, is an excellent study, which in a creative manner interprets the history of Pentecostalism in Kerala from the point of view of the Dalits experiences and perceptions.  The study is not only based on valuable new historical material with regard to the issue of Pentecostalism in Kerala but also interrogates it with a subaltern perspective.

In a focused way the material is systematically approached and presented which shows original thinking.  The author’s critical ability is evident throughout the book in that he has critically used several primary sources available both in Malayalam and English.  Bot analysis and narration are combined in a balanced way while looking at the historical developments without losing sight of the socio-cultural contexts within which the Dalits experienced Pentecostalism in Kerala.  The author’s arguments are strong in many ways basically because of his being a personal witness to the problems, in addition to the overall knowledge of people’s history and the Church in Kerala that he possesses.

The author rightly argues with substantial data that Dalit Christians in Kerala had a prominent role in shaping the history of Pentecostalism in Kerala although it has been ignored hitherto.  The author’s historiographical evaluations in the book is very valuable as it exposes the dominant community’s views and perceptions with regard to Dalits’ place in the history of Christianity and especially Pentecostalism in Kerala.  The sustained effort of the author to keep methodological approaches has helped the author to conclude strongly that there is an entity within the larger Pentecostalism in Kerala which may be described as Dalit Pentecostalism.

Although the author had to face the problem of a lack of sources, he has overcome that difficulty by re-reading the existing sources and also by taking into account the oral sources seriously.  Orality, which is a strength of Dalit people’s way of keeping memory has helped the author to a great extent.

This book will no doubt stand as another valuable source in the library of Dalit history in India and especially in Kerala.

Adapted from the Foreword by Rev. Dr. George Ommen, Former Professor of History of Christianity, United Theological College, Bangalore, India

Softcover, 432 pages. $20.00 plus shipping. Available from: Asian Trading Corporation

It’s Tough being Pentecostal!

It’s Tough being Pentecostal!
By Garry E. Milley

I grew up among the Newfoundland Pentecostals. That tells you a lot about me! I was raised in a pastor’s home and cut my teeth on the back of a pew when it wasn’t popular to be a Pentecostal. Pentecostalism now numbers close to one half a billion world wide—half the size of Roman Catholicism in one tenth of the time! The bulk of the growth is in Asia, Africa and South America. I lived through the transition from persecution to popularity, poverty to prosperity. We are celebrating what the early Pentecostals could only dream about. However, we are our own worst enemies here in North America.

It seems that no one knows about us here until some TV evangelist gets his fingers caught in the cookie jar or we are publicly embarrassed by media exposé of secret goings-on inside Pentecostal institutions. I do not want to be defined by the worst among us but, as they say, we can select our friends but we are stuck with our relatives. For better or for worse I am a Pentecostal.

Review: Fits, Trances, and Visions

Fits, Trances, and Visions: Experiencing Religion and Explaining Experience from Wesley to James, by Ann Taves. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999.

Ann Taves, author of Fits, Trances, and Visions, holds a Ph.D. in History of Christianity and American Religion from the University of Chicago. In her book she discusses the religious experiences of fits, trances, visions, etc. in the church from the Enlightenment to the beginning of the twentieth century. Taves discusses these religious experiences using psychology, religion and popular public opinion of the time.

Fits, Trances, and Visions examines the differing views that the church and the scientific community had on the religious experiences that were rising out of the religious revivals of the Enlightenment and later periods. Examples outlining biblical support and opposition as well as scientific support and opposition for these extraordinary experiences are given to the reader for a broad understanding of why some church denominations supported these out-of-body experiences and why some did not.

One example of a conflict that the church was going through, and a major subject of Taves’ book, is enthusiasm versus formalism Many religious leaders of this time were caught in the middle of a debate as to the validity of these religious experiences; leaders included Chauncy, Edwards, and Hume (p. 46). Enthusiasm and formalism were the two extremes of thought that separated the ones who firmly believed in the reality of these supernatural experiences and those who did not. A few specific examples of these experiences would include speaking in tongues, having dreams, seeing visions, and hearing audible voices (p. 18). Some opponents to these religious experiences attributed these manifestations as being the result of scare tactics by preachers, a general excitement of congregations, and even nervous system diseases (p. 121).

Ann Taves brings together the religious views on these experiences as well as the psychological explanations for these experiences in a way that gives the reader an understanding of the cultural view of these experiences and the influence that both science and the church had on their acceptance or disapproval. This work can be used today as a guide to modern questions about religious views of supernatural experiences, their histories, and how they came to be accepted among some religious groups and rejected by others.

Reviewed by Virginia Dyer, Evangel University student

Paperback, 449 pages. $34.95 list price. Order from amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com

Review: Genuine gold in the early Christian and Missionary Alliance

Genuine Gold: The Cautiously Charismatic Story of the Early Christian and Missionary Alliance, by Paul L. King. Tulsa, OK: Word & Spirit Press, 2006.

The Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) has a rich and complex history that needs to be shared with all, and Paul L. King is just the author to do it. In his book, Genuine Gold, King lays out the history of the C&MA and its leaders. The Alliance struggled with its identity, whether it was charismatic, Pentecostal, or independent. The Alliance leaders had to respond to certain religious movements, including Azusa Street (1906-1909) and the Pentecostal Movement (1910-1919). The Alliance also had to deal with Pentecostal doctrines such as: visions, prophecies, tongues, holy laughter, and swooning.

Albert Benjamin Simpson, the founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, had to decide where the Alliance was going to stand on some of these issues. The Alliance had to decide if they were going to put emphasis on the moving of the Spirit, and whether they were going to be Pentecostal in doctrine or not. He and other Alliance leaders had to decide how the Alliance was going to respond and be impacted by the religious movements of the time. Doctrines and beliefs also had to be formulated.

Genuine Gold discusses all of these issues in depth. The book is divided into chronological sections, mapping out the history of the Alliance step-by-step. Each section contains several chapters that cover the time period with great detail and provide a balanced report. The author provides eyewitness accounts and personal anecdotes shared by leaders of the time. Each chapter is then broken down further, giving more clarity and fluidity to his writing.

King also makes it a point to remain in the middle of the road in his writing. His writing is not overtly charismatic, but neither is it non-charismatic. King exhibits both the good and the bad of the Alliance, giving the reader a chance to form his own opinions. The material is not “in your face,” but rather “handed to you on a silver platter.” It is presented in novel form, but has enough information to fill a college textbook. King did thorough research, digging deep through many sources and documenting his research.

Paul L. King defines genuine gold as, “… a church that is ‘cautiously charismatic’ or ‘charismatic without chaos’ — tongues and all gifts without controversy,” as A. B. Simpson envisioned the church. Simpson’s life’s work had a major impact on the Pentecostal belief system, and Genuine Gold provides Pentecostals with a chance to look back in history and see what impacted their doctrines and church operations. Every Christian should take the time to read Genuine Gold, because it will open eyes and impact beliefs.

Reviewed by Courtney Crowley, Evangel University student

Paperback, 336 pages. $22.99 retail. Order from Higher Life Ministries or amazon.com

Days of destiny

Rev. Ronald Wilson, General Superintendent of the Congregational Holiness Church, wrote an article in the June/July 2008 issue of The Gospel Messenger that is worth sharing. Wilson reminded readers that Pentecostals must be careful to not despise small things – including our humble roots where God transformed the lowliest of sinners into the unlikeliest of Gospel messengers. Importantly, Wilson also called for a revival of evangelism and holiness — encouraging believers to set aside personal agendas so that souls might be won. Thank you for helping to keep what is most important in focus, Rev. Wilson!

Days of Destiny
by Ronald Wilson, General Superintendent of the Congregational Holiness Church

I recently came across a quote from Leonard Ravenhill that I want to share with you this month. It really stirred my heart, and I believe it should cause each of us to pause and think. He said, “Do the Pentecostals look back with shame as they remember when they dwelt across the theological tracks, but with the glory of God in their midst? When they had a normal church life, which meant nights of prayers followed by signs and wonders, and diverse miracles, and genuine gifts of the Holy Ghost? When they were not clock watchers and their meetings lasted for hours, saturated with holy power? Have we no tears for these memories or shame that our children know nothing of such power?”

A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to Hot Springs, 1914

By J. Naaman Hall

In our fellowship, we often hear about the great things from our past, but occasionally, there were a few humorous occurrences also.

Sometime around the early to mid-sixties, perhaps about 1964 (during the time of the Assemblies of God’s 50th anniversary), my father, Rev. G. Oliver Hall and I, saw an article in an Assemblies publication, mentioning a story concerning a Rev. Lout, who attended and was ordained with the Assemblies when it was formed in 1914 in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

I looked over at my father and said, “I wish we could say that our family had been there also, that would be really neat.”

Dad looked back at me, and said with a smile, “Well, you are in luck then. My father attended the meetings in Hot Springs when the Assemblies of God formed.”

“And he joined the Assemblies then?”

“Well, no, he didn’t join for another year and a half because of what happened to him in Hot Springs, but that is quite the story.”

Loving stories as I always have, I pleaded with my father to tell me the story. Following, as best as I remember it, is the story my father told me, as it was told to him by his father, Lee Hall:

Review: Ivan Q. Spencer on the Faith Life

Faith: Living the Crucified Life, by Ivan Q. Spencer, selected and edited by Edie Mourey. Big Flats, NY: Furrow Press, 2008.

When Ivan Quay Spencer was healed of typhoid fever in 1909, this event set him on a trajectory to become a leader within the emerging Pentecostal movement. He soon identified with Elim Tabernacle (Rochester, NY), the influential Pentecostal congregation led by the Duncan sisters. In 1911 he matriculated at Rochester Bible Training School, which was affiliated with the church. Following several years of pastoral ministry with the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Assemblies of God, Spencer launched out on his own and started Elim Bible Institute at Endwell, NY in 1924. Spencer intended his school to carry on the mantle of the Duncan sisters’ school, which had closed. He began editing the Elim Pentecostal Herald (now called Elim Herald) in January 1931. The following year, Elim Ministerial Fellowship (renamed Elim Missionary Assemblies in 1947, then Elim Fellowship in 1972) was formed to commission and credential graduates of the school.

Spencer charted a course marked by interdenominational cooperation and openness to new revival movements. He attended the constitutional convention of the National Association of Evangelicals in 1943 and served on the board of administration for the Pentecostal Fellowship of North America at its inception in 1948. Spencer also led the school and denomination to accept the New Order of the Latter Rain, a revival movement beginning in 1948 that was rejected by most other Pentecostal denominations. Elim later became a prominent supporter of the charismatic movement. Spencer’s son, Ivan Carlton Spencer, succeeded him as president of the school in 1949 and as chairman of the fellowship in 1954. Elim, while maintaining a strong base in the northeastern states, has made a broad impact through its graduates who have ministered across the globe.

The important story of Ivan Q. Spencer’s life and ministry was told by Marion Meloon in the book, Ivan Spencer: Willow in the Wind (Logos, 1974). Now Spencer’s granddaughter, Edie Mourey, has assembled a book of his writings on the faith life. Mourey’s compilation, Faith: Living the Crucified Life, is important for a number of reasons. First, Spencer’s influence on the Pentecostal movement outstripped the size of his own organization. Many independent Pentecostal ministries drew upon his spiritual leadership. Spencer’s insights into the faith life – culled from his writings published from the 1930s through the 1950s – illustrate theological themes important to a whole segment within Pentecostalism. Second, Spencer’s reflective devotional musings challenge the assumption, held by certain critics, that early Pentecostals lacked theological substance. Third, Faith: Living the Crucified Life could be considered a companion volume of primary source essays to accompany the biography by Meloon.

Review: Encountering God at the Altar

Encountering God at the Altar: The Sacraments in Pentecostal Worship, by Daniel Tomberlin. Cleveland, TN: Center for Pentecostal Leadership and Care, 2006.

Since the beginning of the Pentecostal movement, experiencing the Spirit of God has been central to Pentecostals in both private and corporate worship. When it comes to congregational worship, Pentecostals have critiqued what they deem to be dead ritualism devoid of a personal experience of the Holy Spirit. As a result, Pentecostals have questioned many traditional practices relating to the sacraments (often viewed as theologically or historically suspect because of their relation to the Roman Catholic Church) and have opted for the term “ordinances” instead. The latter is often seen to be more of a faith-based means rather then a works-based means of experiencing the Spirit.

Daniel Tomberlin, pastor of Bainbridge Church of God (Bainbridge, GA) and chairman of Ministerial Development for the Church of God (Cleveland, TN) in South Georgia, has authored a book that will raise some eyebrows. In it, Tomberlin claims that Pentecostalism and sacramental worship are not mutually exclusive. Rather, he provides a stimulating discussion of how he believes Pentecostal worship is sacramental. This volume, which aims to provide an introduction to the subject for Pentecostal church leaders, is possibly one of the first educational resources of its kind published by a classical Pentecostal denomination.

Encountering God at the Altar touches on topics such as Pentecostal worship and spirituality. Tomberlin develops a Pentecostal theology of the sacraments and also explores the practice of the sacraments in Pentecostal worship.In following Church of God theologian Kenneth Archer, Tomberlin argues for the retrieval of the term sacrament over the term ordinance, claiming that the ordinances are sacramental — a “means of grace” where one encounters the Holy Spirit (p. 24). The author rightly points out that Pentecostal spirituality is centered on encountering the Holy Spirit. “Therefore,” Tomberlin states, “the center and focus of Pentecostal worship is the altar” (p. 19).

When addressing whether life in the church and the sacraments are essential to salvation, Tomberlin identifies the church and sacraments as “secondary salvific gifts,” compared to the Son and Spirit as “primary salvific gifts” from the Father. At the same time he ultimately admits “that participation in the sacramental life of the church may not be absolutely essential to salvation due to God’s prevenient grace” (p. 27).