The Assemblies of God

The Assemblies of God
Author: Margaret M. Poloma
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 271
Release: 2010-11-23
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0814767842

The Assemblies of God (AG) is the ninth largest American and the world’s largest Pentecostal denomination, with over 50 million followers worldwide. The AG embraces a worldview of miracles and mystery that makes“supernatural” experiences, such as speaking in tongues, healing, and prophecy, normal for Christian believers. Ever since it first organized in 1916, however, the “charismata” or “gifts of the Holy Spirit” have felt tension from institutional forces. Over the decades, vital charismatic experiences have been increasingly tamed by rituals, doctrine, and denominational structure. Yet the path towards institutionalization has not been clear-cut. New revivals and direct personal experience of God—the hallmarks of Pentecostalism—continue as an important part of the AG tradition, particularly in the growing number of ethnic congregations in the United States. The Assemblies of God draws on fresh, up-to-date research including quantitative surveys and interviews from twenty-two diverse Assemblies of God congregations to offer a new sociological portrait of the AG for the new millennium. The authors suggest that there is indeed a potential revitalization of the movement in the works within the context of the larger global Pentecostal upswing, and that this revitalization may be spurred by what the authors call “godly love:” the dynamic interaction between divine and human love that enlivens and expands benevolence. The volume provides a wealth of data about how the second-largest American Pentecostal denomination sees itself today, and suggests trends to illuminate where it is headed in the future.

Restoring the Faith

Restoring the Faith
Author: Edith Waldvogel Blumhofer
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Total Pages: 308
Release: 1993
Genre: Pentecostalism
ISBN: 9780252062810

American Pentecostalism began as a culturally isolated sect intent upon announcing the imminence of the world's end. The sect's early millenarian fervor gradually became muted in favor of flag-waving patriotism. At the end of the twentieth century it has become an affluent, worldwide movement thoroughly entrenched in popular culture. Edith Blumhofer uses the Assemblies of God, the largest classical Pentecostal denomination in the world, as a lens through which to view the changing nature of Anglo Pentecostalism in the United States. She illustrates how the original mission to proclaim the end resulted in the development of Bible schools, the rise of the charismatic movement, and the popularity of such figures as Aimee Semple McPherson, Charles Fox Parham, and David Du Plessis. Blumhofer also examines the sect's use of radio and television and the creation of a parallel Christian culture

Peace to War

Peace to War
Author: Paul Alexander
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2009
Genre: Peace
ISBN: 9781931038584

Once the Pentecostal peace witness extended throughout the movement and around the world-but was eventually muted and almost completely lost in the American Assemblies of God. This book, which is "gripping, powerful, and prophetic," says Amos Yong, tells the story of that shift. "The antiwar, Christian, pacifist sentiments of the Assemblies of God that Alexander describes . . . juxtaposed in close proximity to their pro-war and anti-pacifist passion and identification with America . . . is simply striking," comments J. Denny Weaver, in the C. Henry Smith Series Editor's Foreword. The implications, observes Cheryl Bridges Johns, Professor of Christian Formation and Discipleship, Church of God, "are worth examining by all traditions asking, 'Will our children have faith?' At the same time, mentions Harvey Cox, Hollis Professor of Religion, Harvard Divinity School, Alexander's narrative "suggests that Pentecostals may yet reclaim this invaluable element of their heritage."

Bible Doctrines

Bible Doctrines
Author: William W. Menzies
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2012-03
Genre: Pentecostal churches
ISBN: 9781607313342

Examines sixteen major Bible doctrines substantiated with numerous Scripture references. Topics include the inspired Scriptures, one true God, deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, divine healing, salvation of man, fall of man, baptism in the Holy Ghost, and new heavens and new earth.

People of the Spirit

People of the Spirit
Author: Gary B. McGee
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2014-07-29
Genre: Pentecostalism
ISBN: 9781607313755

Who were the men and women who laid the foundation of The General Council of the Assemblies of God? They were ordinary people, many with little or no ministry experience or formal training, yet they were the raw material God used in the modern Pentecostal movement. Shaped by the Holy Spirit, they became His instruments of vision and revival from generation to generation. Their journey is a foundation we can build on. Ideal for classroom use or personal reading, this updated version includes updated bios; new material covering the timeframe since the original writing of the book in 2000; and fresh design for easy reading. Pick up where this book ends and your faith will be strengthened as you live the history thathas changed the world.

Whose Community? Which Interpretation? (The Church and Postmodern Culture)

Whose Community? Which Interpretation? (The Church and Postmodern Culture)
Author: Merold Westphal
Publisher: Baker Academic
Total Pages: 160
Release: 2009-09-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1441206655

In this volume, renowned philosopher Merold Westphal introduces current philosophical thinking related to interpreting the Bible. Recognizing that no theology is completely free of philosophical "contamination," he engages and mines contemporary hermeneutical theory in service of the church. After providing a historical overview of contemporary theories of interpretation, Westphal addresses postmodern hermeneutical theory, arguing that the relativity embraced there is not the same as the relativism in which "anything goes." Rather, Westphal encourages us to embrace the proliferation of interpretations based on different perspectives as a way to get at the richness of the biblical text.

J. Roswell Flower

J. Roswell Flower
Author: David K. Ringer
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 100
Release: 2016-02-24
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1498231292

J. Roswell Flower was adrift in his late teens. When he surrendered himself to Jesus Christ at age nineteen, his heart found a home in the Pentecostal Movement. Soon his mind was exhilarated by studying the Bible, church history, and theology. Slowly, he began to realize he was called to full time ministry. Attracted by the announcement of a convention to encourage greater cooperation among Pentecostal groups, he went to what proved to be the founding meeting of the General Council of the Assemblies of God. Flower was elected as secretary of the new organization. He loved the Council's guiding principles of unity, voluntary cooperation, and fellowship, which at the same time protected the autonomy of local congregations. They guided his ministry for the next forty-six years as a local pastor, as a district superintendent, and as general secretary. Flower never wavered in his commitment to the classical Pentecostal doctrine of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. He spent much time in the last two decades of his public ministry teaching the principles and the denomination's position on Spirit-baptism to the new generations of Assemblies of God youth, both in the United States and abroad.

Suddenly from Heaven

Suddenly from Heaven
Author: Carl Brumback
Publisher: Literary Licensing, LLC
Total Pages: 396
Release: 2012-04-01
Genre:
ISBN: 9781258291358